It was a EASTERN Towhee, of course, not a Rufous ... getting up early enough for warblers makes my typing fingers tired.
Joanne
Joanne Howl, DVM
West River, MD
-----Original Message-----
From: Joanne Howl <>
To: MDOSPREY <>
Sent: Sat, May 5, 2012 7:26 pm
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Anhinga-A futile search
After a morning at North Bay, on the Cecil County Bird Club's trip to the
banding station (where we netted and released an Ovenbird, Common Yellow throat,
Cardinal, female Rufous Sided Towhee, Northern Parula, and Kentucky Warbler,
White Throated Sparrow and Carolina Wren), Jon Ranson and I went to Lake
Waterford.
We arrived at Lake Waterford about 4:30 and met several other birders who had
spied the Anhinga in a tall dead tree across the lake, in a cove. We got great
view, and continued to walk across the lake. We also had a very nice Great
Crested Flycatcher and heard Wood Duck, along with some more common species.
We also saw a bird that looked much like a swallow, but was bigger, and had a
very long tail, held closed. It didn't have the wing beat of a swallow, but it
flew in a bit more soaring fashion. It did not have the shape of an accipiter,
and certainly not a buteo or falcon, but I also really don't think it was, in
fact, a large barn swallow. It was unusual. I could see no color, just the
outline as it made a swift half-circle over the lake, then disappeared. If
anyone sees a similar bird, or this rings a bell, I'd love to hear suggestions
on what it might have been. We saw this around 5:40, just before we left, as we
were surveying the pool one last time (yes, we decided to stay a little longer -
but it did not come back).
When we finished our walk, about 5:30, the birders AND the Anhinga had
disappeared! We could not relocate the Anhinga, although we did try for a few
minutes.
Joanne
Joanne Howl, DVM
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