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Updated on Friday, October 19 at 09:27 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

Though our town of Easton, MD is a bit smaller than Charlotte, NC, we also
have a family of resident Barred Owls.  After nesting season they often
roost in some trees right beside our Talbot County Courthouse Building.  (We
think they are trying to impart wisdom to the county legislators and the
various attorneys.)  Some folks claim that the owls nest in a wooded site in
town about 5 blocks to the east of the Courthouse.  Others claim there is a
nest site on the grounds of the Talbot County Historical Society less than a
block away from the courthouse.  Anyhow, for the birders, it is fun to have
them around.  I suspect they have no great problem in finding rats in
downtown Easton if that is their favored food source.

Les Roslund
Talbot County
Easton MD 21601


-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:MDOSPREY AT HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM] On
Behalf Of FELLEY, JAMES
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 8:24 AM
To: MDOSPREY AT HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Urban barred owls


I have not been able to do much birding recently, and have been pretty much
tied to my computer.  No lunchtime walks in some time!  However, being tied
to your computer has some benefits:  I found this reference to barred owls
thriving in the city limits of Charlotte, NC.

   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/.htm

  The researcher, Rob Bierregaard, worked at the Smithsonian Institution
years ago,

                               Jim

 

Jim Felley

Smithsonian Institution

felleyj AT si.edu


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7:53 PM
 

Hello all.

Had a few good birds today. Numbers weren't spectacular for the most part, 
but diversity was good. Highlights were 14 Great Blue Heron along with 6 
sparrow species, and a Wilson's Snipe at Swan Creek this morning and a first-
of-season Hermit Thrush at Weinberg this evening. 

Highlights:
Swan Creek (Dredge Facility): Off of Kembo Road near 
AA County/Balt. City line:

Pied-billed Grebe: 1  Non-mitigated wetland
Double-crested Cormorant: 5  Patapsco River
Great Blue Heron: 14 Scattered in trees in the wetland areas
Mallard: 6
American Black Duck: 3  2 male, 1 female, mitigated wetland
Green-winged Teal: 3  flyover
Turkey Vulture: 3
Bald Eagle: 2 adult, patrolling the north cell
Cooper's Hawk: 2 adult
Red-tailed Hawk: 1 adult
Killdeer: 2
Wilson's Snipe: 1  edge of non-mitigated wetland
Ring-billed Gull: 80+ South cell and river
Herring Gull: 8 Over the Patapsco river
Great Black-backed Gull: 60+ South cell and river
Caspian Tern: 1
Hairy Woodpecker: 1 female
Eastern Phoebe: 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 2
Gray Catbird: 3
Myrtle Warbler: 4
Eastern Towhee: 3
Field Sparrow: 2  grasses at facility entrance
Song Sparrow: 4
Swamp Sparrow: 4  Mitigated wetland grasses
White-throated Sparrow: 9
Dark-eyed Junco: 3

Weinberg Park: Ft. Smallwood Road (Pasadena):

Double-crested Cormorant: 55+  On 'White Rocks'
Great Blue Heron: 2
Canada Goose: 30+
Mallard: 24
Wood Duck: 2  Small pond
Osprey: 1  They don't usually hang around this long around here
Ring-billed Gull: 45+  On and above Rock Creek
Great Black-backed Gull: 25+  On Rock Creek and 'White Rocks'
Caspian Tern: 5 Heard and seen
Hairy Woodpecker: 2 male, female
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch: 2 silently and acitvely foraging
Hermit Thrush: 1  Along the main trail
Myrtle Warbler: 5
Palm Warbler: 1 yellow
Eastern Towhee: 4
Song Sparrow: 3
Swamp Sparrow: 1
White-throated Sparrow: 7

Matt Grey
Pasadena

 
In a message dated 10/19/2007 9:05:34 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
Icepeep AT AOL.COM writes:

No  shortage of rats 
at  Harvard.  




or Yale either!

Rick Sussman
Wooodbine, MD
warblerick AT aol.com



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I had my second Pine Siskin of the season this afternoon, while actually 
talking to Bill Hubick on the phone about Pine Siskins! I put seed in my 
feeders two days ago after a month of them being empty! Living in town I have a 
House Sparrow problem, the bird left after a few minutes of trying to battle 
the vermin. 


Hans Holbrook
hansholbrook AT msn.com
Hagerstown, MD

_________________________________________________________________
Peek-a-boo FREE Tricks & Treats for You!
http://www.reallivemoms.com?ocid=TXT_TAGHM&loc=us

 
On a cold winter night thirty years ago I got my life Barred Owl in Harvard  
Yard . The students said it was eating rats like popcorn. No shortage of rats 
at  Harvard.  

Bob  Abrams
McLean, Virginia





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I have not been able to do much birding recently, and have been pretty
much tied to my computer.  No lunchtime walks in some time!  However,
being tied to your computer has some benefits:  I found this reference
to barred owls thriving in the city limits of Charlotte, NC.

   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/.htm

  The researcher, Rob Bierregaard, worked at the Smithsonian Institution
years ago,

                               Jim

 

Jim Felley

Smithsonian Institution

felleyj AT si.edu

 

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation moved its offices from L'Enfant Plaza to
the Navy Yard area this past year, and since they are my employer, I moved
with them.  While there are many cons associated with the move (and no, I'm
not talking about embezzling govt employees, I'm talking about longer
commutes, lack of cellular coverage in the building, lack of water pressure
on the upper floors, etc.) there is one definite pro - my view is much
better.  I'm now on the 8th floor instead of the 3rd, and have a much more
expansive view.  That's the upside.  The downside is that I'm looking north,
while my colleagues on the other side of the building get to see the
Anacostia River (a bit distant, but still close enough to see Great Egrets
and Forster's Terns with the naked eye).  In any case, I've now got the Rob
Hilton bug, and have a tendency to look out the window while pondering
highway congestion, advanced technologies and the weather (well, that IS my
job).  Birding has been decent since the summer, with a pair of AMERICAN
KESTRELS nesting on or near the building and giving a nice show when they
catch dragonflies on the wing.  So far I think my window list is up to 27
species, with the highlight being an adult PEREGRINE that zipped by my
window this afternoon.  I saw the bird again while I walking to Metro and
the bird alighted on a nearby building.  I'm guessing it's one of the
Potomac RR bridge birds (saw 2 on the lines there yesterday), but I guess it
could be a migrant too.  It will be interesting to see if it sticks around
and works on the many pigeons in the neighborhood.

Good birding,
Paul Pisano
Arlington, VA

We saw a group of about 20 of Rusty Blackbirds at Viollete's Lock about 3PM 
today. First in flight at the river's edge and then perched as a group high in 
a 

bare tree on the north side of the canal just a few hundred feet west of the 
lock. Some quite black as in breeding color. Oddly, also perched nearby on a 
bare tree were 10 or so Black Vultures undoubtedly from Seneca Creek roost.

Doris and Phil Brody

Hi All,

On our way home from town today (18 Oct) we checked Great Oak Pond at 
3:30 PM. There were still about 400 Snow Geese and around 1500 Canada 
Geese there plus Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, black duck, Green-winged 
Teal, Mallard, and two white domestic Greylags. The family of four 
ROSS'S GEESE first seen on 13 October were feeding in the cut over corn 
field south of the pond with Snow Geese, and a single Richardson's 
CACKLING GOOSE was with the Snow Geese on the south shore of the pond. 
We also had an Osprey and a Northern Harrier at the pond.

Good birding,

Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin

3460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620


rossgull (at) baybroadband.net

Observing Nature is like unwrapping a big pile of presents every time 
you take a walk.

 This morning while walking around the lake at Centennial I saw the following: 


Canada Goose  375
Mute Swan  1
Mallard  14
Great Blue Heron  2
Cooper's Hawk  1 im
Killdeer  3
Snipe  1
Kingfisher  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Catbird  2
Myrtle Warbler  8
Song Sparrow  4
White-throated Sparrow  6

--
Bob Ringler 
Eldersburg MD 
ringler1 AT comcast.net

Spelling correction to my heading from earlier post. On the heading  I wrote 
Bard Owl when I meant Barred Owl. Sorry for the Confusion I my have  caused.   
 
                                                                              
                                                      Birding Forever
                                                                              
                                                     Jennifer Elmer
                                                                              
                                               Pocomoke City MD  



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The recognition of Wilson's Snipe as a separate species from the 
Common was a "split" that I somehow missed.  I had wrongly 
assumed that it was another name change (and was also misled 
by the fact that Common Snipe is listed as an "annually occurring 
species" on the MOS Website, although Wilson's is listed in the 
current version of the checklist).  After checking some higher 
authorities (AOU, Cornell, Sibley) and paying attention to the 
scientific names, I now see my error.  So, the 3 Common Snipe 
that I reported at the Patuxent Research Refuge South Tract on 
October 9 were presumably Wilson's.

By the way, that report on October 9 was the same one in which 
I reported a Northern Goshawk at the South Tract.  I have gotten 
a couple of queries off-list about that bird, and I stand by my ID.

    
Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD  (PG County)
ehendric AT verizonmail.com


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Hi Les  ... For the record, Wilson's Snipe, I presume ... Phil


BTW, you know what Dr. Presume's full name was, don't you? ... Dr. 
Livingston I. Presume!



At 21:53 10/17/2007, Les Roslund wrote:
>Subject: Poplar Island Sightings from Oct 15, 2007
>
>             This report is submitted on behalf of Jan Reese of Talbot
>County, who continues to periodically survey the flora and fauna of Poplar
>Island.   The Poplar Island project has received a name change.  It is now
>called Paul Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island.
>             These sightings include the birds seen on Oct 15, 2007.  Some of
>the birds were seen from the boat during the trip from Tilghman Island and
>back.
>
>         Weather: Clear early; mostly cloudy thereafter  Temp range 52-69
>degrees  F
>
>
>SPECIES
>
>COMMON SNIPE               (1)

==================================
Phil Davis      Davidsonville, Maryland     USA
                 mailto:PDavis AT ix.netcom.com
================================== 

Subject: Poplar Island Sightings from Oct 15, 2007

            This report is submitted on behalf of Jan Reese of Talbot
County, who continues to periodically survey the flora and fauna of Poplar
Island.   The Poplar Island project has received a name change.  It is now
called Paul Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island. 
            These sightings include the birds seen on Oct 15, 2007.  Some of
the birds were seen from the boat during the trip from Tilghman Island and
back. 
	
	Weather: Clear early; mostly cloudy thereafter  Temp range 52-69
degrees  F

	
SPECIES

Double-crested Cormorant	   (520)
Great Blue Heron           	   (71)
Great Egret			   (3)
Snowy Egret			   (1)
Turkey Vulture			   (1)
Canada Goose			   (18)
American Black Duck		   (52)
Mallard                    	               (67)
Northern Shoveler                         (682)
Northern Pintail			   (5)
Green-winged Teal		   (117)
Ruddy Duck			   (27)

Osprey				   (2)
Bald Eagle			   (8)
Northern Harrier	  		   (4)
PEREGRINE FALCON		   (2)
Black-bellied Plover		   (7)
Semipalmated Plover		   (15)
Killdeer			 	   (15)
AMERICAN AVOCET		   (2)
Lesser Yellowlegs		   (1)

Semipalmated Sandpiper	   (5)
Least Sandpiper 		   (7)
Pectoral Sandpiper		   (1)
Dunlin				   (144)
COMMON SNIPE		   (1)
Laughing Gull		               (6)
Ring-billed Gull			   (17)
Herring Gull         	               (906)
Great Black-backed Gull 	   (981)
Royal Tern			   (4)

Northern Flicker			   (5)
Blue Jay			   (4)
Horned Lark			   (13)
Carolina Wren			   (2)
Golden-crowned Kinglet		   (2)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet		   (11)
Swainson's Thrush		   (2)
Hermit Thrush			   (1)

European Starling		   (115)
Yellow-rumped Warbler		   (2)
Palm Warbler			   (13)
Common Yellowthroat		   (1)
SAVANNAH SPARROW	   (42)
Song Sparrow			   (27)
Swamp Sparrow			   (2)
White-throated Sparrow		   (4)
Red-winged Blackbird         	   (133)
Brown-headed Cowbird	               (117)

Note: This set of songbirds was the largest number recorded on the site to
date. 

Les Roslund
Lroslund AT bluecrab.org
Talbot County
Easton MD 21601

 

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The following sightings were attained by Jan Reese of the Talbot Bird Club
at Tilghman Island on Sunday, October 14.
 
Common Loon (1),  
DC Cormorant (45),  
Great Blue Heron (28),  
Great Egret (1),  
Turkey Vulture (10),  
Wood Duck (3),  
Bald Eagle (3),  
Sharp-shinned Hawk (3),  
American Kestrel (3),  
Killdeer (4),  
Laughing Gull (8),  
Ring-billed Gull (2),  
Forster's Tern (12),  
Red-bellied Woodpecker (4),  
Downy Woodpecker (2),  
Hairy Woodpecker (1),  
Northern Flicker (21),  
Eastern Phoebe (3),  
Blue Jay (80),  
American Crow (72),  
Tufted Titmouse (1),  
Red-breasted Nuthatch (5),  
Brown-headed Nuthatch (7),  
Carolina Wren (6),  
House Wren (2),  
MARSH WREN (2),  
Golden-crowned Kinglet (8),  
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (15),  
American Robin (25),  
Gray Catbird (1),  
Northern Mockingbird (8),  
European Starling (125),  
Northern Parula (1),  
Black-throated Blue Warbler (3),  
Yellow-rumped Warbler (20),  
Black-throated Green Warbler (1),  
Pine Warbler (8),  
Common Yellowthroat (6),  
Chipping Sparrow (2),  
Song Sparrow (1),  
Dark-eyed Junco (6),  
Red-winged Blackbird (45),  
Eastern Meadowlark (4),  
Common Grackle (1),  
Brown-headed Cowbird (28),  
House Finch (40),  
American Goldfinch (10).
 
Les Roslund
Talbot County
Easton MD 21601
 

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Long-time MD birders:

Maryland Birdlife and American Birds published that an adult male 
Varied Thrush was seen by about 20 MOS members at the feeders of Mr. 
and Mrs. C. Ross Eck in Aberdeen between 5 and 12 Mar 1978. (To jog 
your memory, this was later in the same winter after another male 
bird had been seen at a feeder in Savage, MD in December 1977. This 
December record has already been accepted.) The Aberdeen bird was 
reported to have been photographed.

Mr. Eck and some other Harford County birders were contacted about 
this sighting back in 1996, but no documentation turned up at that time.

If anyone happens to have photographs or field notes of the Aberdeen 
bird ... or knows someone who might have documentation, please let me know!

Thanks!

Phil


===================================================
Phil Davis, Secretary
MD/DC Records Committee
2549 Vale Court
Davidsonville, Maryland  21035     USA

mailto:PDavis AT ix.netcom.com

MD/DCRC Web site:  http://www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html
===================================================

This evening I made a brief check of a local swamp (unnamed, in PG County; 
near Mt Calvert Manor).  Although some recent clearing (by Pepco's ROW 
folks) was unsightly and I have to wonder if anyone could have possibly been 
any sloppier, I was delighted to find some old friends at the swamp.

I saw 3 Red-headed Woodpeckers (2a, 1i), and it's been 3 years since I have 
seen one at this swamp.  They used to breed here, but have not bred here in 
3-4 years.  Despite the raucous noise from well over 1000 starlings, grackles 
and blackbirds also there, the woodpeckers could still be heard calling to each 

other as they fed in separate trees.  They were elegantly gorgeous in the late 
afternoon light, I wish I had a camera.

I also saw a White-crowned Sparrow, the first I've seen in 2007 anywhere in 
MD.  They were very scarce last winter for some reason.  This one was a 
hatch year bird.

Other than the large number of starlings, grackles and blackbirds, nothing else 

was noteworthy.

Cheers-
Jeff Shenot
jugbay AT msn.com

Hi,
Sorry for the delay in this report, but I went to James Farm Ecological 
Preserve near Bethany Beach, MD on Oct. 15 and birded there from 3 pm to 5 
pm,  and saw the following:
turkey vulture (1)
Merlin (1)
osprey (3 - one was an immature I think)
kingfisher (female)
brant (34)
snowy egret (2)
great egret (1)
great blue heron (1)
cardinals (6 or 7)
blue jay (5)
brown thrasher (1)
red bellied woodpecker (1)
flicker (1)
Carolina wren (2)
golden crowned kinglet (2)
chickadee (2)
red winged blackbird (1)
mockingbird (1)
cat bird (1)
Canada geese (9+/-)
bluebird (1)
ring billed gulls (9)
laughing gulls (4)
greater black backed gull (1)
double crested cormorant (11)
white throated sparrow (3)

Good birding to all,
Eleanor Holland 

Sorry I forgot the heading for my list.
                                                                              
                                               Birding  Forever
                                                                              
                                               Jennifer Elmer
                                                                              
                                            Pocomoke  City Md
                                                                      



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Yesterday  I went birding at Pemberton Park near Salisbury  and saw the 
following birds.
50+ American Robins 
1 Barred Owl
1 Sharp Shined Hawk
60+ Yellow-rumped Warblers
2 Palm Warblers
3 Eastern Towhee
100+ Common Grackles
1 Rusty Blackbird
50 Brown Headed Cow Birds
26 Cedar Waxwings
15 Golden Crown Kinglets
12 Ruby Crown Kinglets
2 Red Tailed Hawks ( one was a western)
20+ Blue Jays
5 Cardinals
200 Fish Crows
30 Carolina Chickadees
25 Tufted Titmice
15 Red Breasted Nuthatches
2 Downey Woodpeckers
1 Red-bellied  Wood Pecker
1 Flicker
2 King Fishers
1 Brown Thrasher 
13 Cat Birds
5 Pine Warblers
4 Carolina Wren
6 White Throated Sparrows
3 Chipping Sparrows 
26 Morning Doves
7 Northern Mockingbirds
 
Today I birded at Assateague on the ( off topic) Virginia side  and my 
*highlights where as follows.
*1 Buff Breasted Sandpiper ( I discovered the bird with one other  birder 
then showed 7 other birders an hour later. ) 
*1 American Golden Plover ( discovered by my dad after he saw the  Buff 
Breasted Sandpiper ) 
*5 Baird's Sand pipers ( a life bird for me)
*1 Merlin ( eating a baby Muskrat )
*1 Black Throated Green Warbler
Rest of the birds I saw where the following. 
4 Black Throated Blue Warblers
50+ Yellow-rumped Warblers 
10 Brown Headed  Nuthatch 
6 Red Breasted Nuthatch 
30 Palm Warblers
2 Pine Warblers
2 Least Terns
12+ Lesser Yellowlegs 
5+ Greater Yellowlegs
2 Willets
50+ Other Peeps including Dunlin, Least.   
30 Semipalmated Plovers
5 Brown Thrashers
1 Peregrine Falcon 
2 Bald Eagles
4 Red Tailed Hawks
5 Red Shouldered Hawks
3 American Kestrels
6 Boat Tailed Grackles
20 Red Wing Blackbirds
12 Gold Finches
5 Eastern Towhee  
Reptiles ( One 2 Ft Black Rat Snake) 
Mammals ( 5 Muskrats, 1 Delmarva Fox Squirrel, 4 Ponies, and 5 Sika  Elk.)
everything I saw  while biking around Snow Goose  Pond.
                                                                              
                                                    Birding forever
                                                                              
                                                   Jennifer Elmer
                                                                              
                                              Pocomoke City MD
 
                                                                
       
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
       
      



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I spent a very satisfying day birding on the Eastern Shore 
yesterday (Tuesday, October 16).  I started at 8:00 AM at 
Terrapin Park on Kent Island.  There was a great deal of 
activity, although it seemed like every other bird was a 
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (deja vu all over again), 
with many of the rest being AMERICAN ROBINS.  

In and around the pond I saw the following:

Great Blue Heron - 2
Little Blue Heron - 1 immature
Wood Duck - 2
American Black Duck - 2 or 3
Mallard - 18
Northern Pintail - 1 male
Green-winged Teal - 12+ (forgot to count)
Killdeer - 5 or 6
Greater Yellowlegs - at least 4
Lesser Yellowlegs - 30+
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 1

On the path to the beach I encountered a nice mixed flock of mostly 
sparrows:  Chipping (3), Field (1), Savannah (2), Song (several), 
Swamp (many - the most numerous), White-throated (1), and 
White-crowned (1 immature) Sparrows.  They were foraging with 
2 female EASTERN TOWHEES, 1 Palm Warbler (not yellow), 
and 1 female House Finch.  I also saw a BROWN THRASHER and 
a Common Yellowthroat and heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

By the time I got to Blackwater it was nearly noon, so I wasn't 
expecting much in the way of passerine activity.  I was delighted to be 
quickly proven wrong.  On the Marsh Edge Trail I found a very busy 
and noisy mixed foraging flock, mainly in the pines by the water:

Carolina Chickadee - several
Red-breasted Nuthatch - at least 6
BROWN CREEPER - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Nashville Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - many (of course)
Pine Warbler - 2

Along the Wildlife Drive, I saw more Yellow-rumps, plus:

Great Blue Heron - 2 or 3 (watched one eat a BIG fish)
Little Blue Heron - 5 or 6 immatures
Canada Goose - thousands
Mallard - scores
Bald Eagle - 1 immature (near Rte. 335 bridge)
Northern Harrier - 1 immature (my FOY)
Cooper's Hawk - 1 (viciously attacked by 2 crows)
Greater Yellowlegs - at least 2
Lesser Yellowlegs - 6
Spotted Sandpiper - 1
Sanderling - 1 (with the peeps)
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 10+
Pectoral Sandpiper - 2
Dunlin - 8
Forster's Tern - several
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
Eastern Phoebe - 3 or 4
Blue Jay - many
Brown-headed Nuthatch - heard
Eastern Bluebird - everywhere
Palm Warbler - 2 (not yellow)
Bay-breasted Warbler - 1 male (still showing bay on breast & sides)
Song Sparrow - several
Eastern Meadowlark - 5
Red-winged Blackbird - hundreds

Delmarva Fox Squirrel
Red Fox
White-tailed Deer

Finally, on the way back toward Cambridge on Egypt Road, I counted 
8 AMERICAN KESTRELS sitting on the wires alongside the road.

It was a great day to be out birding!


Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD  (PG County)
ehendric AT verizonmail.com


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Loch raven , white pine circuit

280+ canada goose
1 wood duck
13 black duck
8 mallard
1 northern shoveler
2 ruddy duck
19 pied billed grebe
6 double-creasted cormorant
3 great blue heron
11 killdeer
1 lesser yellowleg
2 wilsons snipe
 eastern phoebe
4 yellow-bellied sapsucker
 
Cloverland RFB

1 american kestrel
2 palm warblers[yellow]
25+ savannah sparrow
2 blue grosbeak

Paper mill flats

143 canada goose
15 black duck
9 green-winged teal
4 killdeer
1 greater yellowleg
14 lesser yellowleg
1 pectoral sandpiper
1 wilsons snipe

have a great day!
kye jenkins
phoenix md

Hi,
I ventured out to Bayside Sunday morning to join the Big Sitters. We had a
fairly good and varied flight of warblers, sparrows, kinglets, and
blackbirds. When the morning flight culminated around 11am I decided to
put my boots on and wander out into the saltmarshes in the cove north of
the Bayside campground. That turned out to be a very smart choice as I
found most of the species listed by Matt H. as missing on the Big Sit
list:

Highlights:
Great Egret: 40+
Snowy Egret: 2
Tricolored Heron: 3 juvies
Little Blue Heron: 1 ad. + 1 juv.
Northern Harrier: 1 imm. male
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 1
American Kestrel: 1
Greater Yellowleg: 4
Black-bellied Plover: 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 1
Red-eyed Vireo: 2
Marsh Wren: 6
Red-breasted Nuthatch: 5
Brown Creeper: 3
Northern Mockingbird: 1
Brown Thrasher: 1
Common Yellowthroat: 3
Eastern Towhee: 1
Palm Warbler: 1
Field Sparrow: 1
Seaside Sparrow: 2
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow: 5+

Photos are posted at: http://www.flickr.com/people/frodejacobsen/

Good luck birding!

Frode Jacobsen
Baltimore, MD

Marjorie Raclin and I spent a very quiet and unremarkable morning at  
the Maintenance Yard of Rock Creek Park.  We found only titmice,  
cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers, and a few towhees, nuthatches and  
chipping sparrows.

Have Fun Birding!

Wallace Kornack
Washington  DC

  

   Yesterday morning at Piney Run Park:

Canada Goose  430
Wood Duck  2
Gadwall  3
Baldpate  15
Black Duck  17
Mallard  110
Green-winged Teal  13
Ring-necked Duck  15
Ruddy Duck  6
Pied-billed Grebe  8
Great Blue Heron  3
Green Heron  1
Red-shouldered Hawk  1 adult
Coot  34
Killdeer  4
Ring-billed Gull  8
Kingfisher  2
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1, heard only
Golden-crowned Kinglet  2, heard only

   In the evening at Liberty Lake off Oakland Road with Kevin Graff:

Canada Goose  98
Wood Duck  3, flying over, Baltimore only
Black Duck  1, Baltimore only
Mallard  16
Common Loon  1, Baltimore only
Pied-billed Grebe  1
Red-necked Grebe 1, roosts in the same area every night with the Pied-billed 
Grebe 

Double-crested Cormorant  17

--
Bob Ringler 
Eldersburg MD 
ringler1 AT comcast.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Cordle [mailto:scordle AT capaccess.org] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 5:50 PM
To: birdeast AT listserv.arizona.edu
Subject: DC Area, 10/16/07

Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
Date:               10/16/2007
Coverage:           MD/DC/VA/DE
Telephone:          option 1
Reports (voice):    option 2
        (email):    voice AT AudubonNaturalist.org 
     (deadline):    midnight Mondays
Compiler:           Andy Martin 
Sponsor:            Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central
                      Atlantic States (independent of NAS!)
Transcriber:        Steve Cordle (scordle AT capaccess.org)

Please consider joining ANS, especially if you are a regular user of
the Voice (Individual $40; Family $50; Nature Steward $75; Audubon
Advocate $150). The membership number is , option 12; the
address is 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815; and the web
site is http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org.

This is the Voice of the Naturalist, a service of the Audubon
Naturalist Society. This report was completed Tuesday, October 16 at
12 noon.

Top birds of the week are RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD* in VA and
EURASIAN-COLLARED-DOVE in MD

Other birds of interest include: TRUMPETER SWAN, geese and ducks,
RUFFED GROUSE, COMMON LOON, RED-NECKED GREBE, AMERICAN BITTERN, GOLDEN
EAGLE, falcons, KING RAIL, SORA, shorebirds, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL,
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, wrens,
GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, AMERICAN PIPIT, warblers, sparrows, BALTIMORE
ORIOLE, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, PURPLE FINCH, and PINE SISKIN.

A EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE flew over Bayside, Assateague Island National
Seashore, Worcester Co, MD on October 13.

A single RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD each has been reported this past week from
a yard in Amherst Co and another yard in Lynchburg, VA. The Amherst Co
bird was banded. An unidentified SELASPHORUS HUMMINGBIRD visited a
feeder in Dinwiddie Co, VA on October 14.

TRUMPETER SWAN #962 continues at Schoolhouse Pond, Upper Marlboro,
Prince George's Co, MD as of October 14.

A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was found in Calfpasture Cove within
Eastern Neck NWR, Kent Co, MD on October 14. Two CACKLING GEESE were
seen at Eastern Neck NWR the same day. Another CACKLING GOOSE (located
among a flock of approximately 2,000 Canada Geese) was found at Great
Oak Pond, Kent Co, MD on October 9. Great Oak Pond also hosted four
ROSS'S GEESE on October 13. A ROSS'S GOOSE was seen on Assateague
Island, MD on October 14.

A female COMMON EIDER was found at Cape Henlopen, DE on October 13.
Four immature SURF SCOTERS were observed at Piney Run Lake, Carroll
Co, MD on October 12.

A RUFFED GROUSE was found at Finzel Swamp, Garrett Co, MD on October
12.

Two COMMON LOONS were seen on the Occoquan River off Deephole Point,
Occoquan Bay NWR, Prince William Co, VA on October 13.

A RED-NECKED GREBE was seen at Liberty Lake in Baltimore/Carroll Cos,
MD on October 12,14, and 15. 

An AMERICAN BITTERN was seen in flight at Possum Point, Prince William
Co, VA during the early morning hours of October 13. Another American
Bittern was seen October 14 at Millington WMA, Kent Co, MD.

A GOLDEN EAGLE was seen from the Snicker's Gap Hawk Watch,
Clarke/Loudoun Co line, VA on October 13.

A MERLIN flew over a Darnestown, Montgomery Co, MD yard on October 10.
Another MERLIN was seen at Fort C.F. Smith Park, Arlington, VA on
October 13.

A PEREGRINE FALCON passed by the Snicker's Gap Hawk Watch along the
Clarke/Loudoun Co line, VA on October 11. Another PEREGRINE was see
October 14 in the vicinity of Conowingo Dam, along the Harford/Cecil
Co line, MD.

A KING RAIL was found in the marsh at Occoquan Bay NWR, Prince William
Co, VA on October 13. A SORA was flushed from under the boardwalk at
Patterson Park, Baltimore, MD on October 14.

A BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER was reported from the Beaver Run section of
Liberty Lake, Carroll Co, MD on October 14. AMERICAN AVOCETS were
present at Bombay Hook NWR, DE this past week. Twenty-five STILT
SANDPIPERS were found at Blackwater NWR, Dorchester Co, MD on October
14.

A single MARBLED GODWIT was found October 14 on Assateague Island
National Seashore, Worcester Co, MD at the Fox Hill Levels.

Some notable birds found during the Baltimore Bird Club's bus tour of
Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore Co, MD this past week included: AMERICAN
GOLDEN-PLOVER, AMERICAN AVOCET, STILT SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER
and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were seen this week at Violette's Lock,
Montgomery Co, MD on October 10; Western RP, Howard Co, MD on October
10; Hughes Hollow, Montgomery Co, MD on October 12; Banshee Reeks
Nature Preserve, Loudoun Co, VA on October 13; Turkey Point, Cecil Co,
MD and Black Hill RP, Montgomery Co, MD on October 14.

A possible WESTERN KINGBIRD was found October 10 in Brownsville near
Nassawadox, Northampton Co, VA. 

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH reports continue throughout the area.

A MARSH WREN was found at Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore Co, MD on
October 11. Another MARSH WREN was seen at the Flint Hill School west
campus, Oakton, VA on October 15 in the marsh grasses and sedges of a
storm water retention pond. 

First of season WINTER WREN reports are starting to trickle in and
sightings of BROWN CREEPER are on the increase.

A GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH was observed at Rock Creek Park, DC on October
10 and 11. The flight calls of several GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH were heard
over Possum Point, Prince William Co, VA in the pre-dawn hours of
October 13.

An AMERICAN PIPIT was observed at Possum Point, VA on October 13.

Some notable warbler sightings this week included: A TENNESSEE WARBLER
in Rock Creek Park, DC on October 11; ORANGE -CROWNED WARBLER at
Assateague Island, Worcester Co, MD on October 12; a first year
NASHVILLE WARBLER at Accotink SVP in Annandale, Fairfax Co, VA on
October 11; another NASHVILLE WARBLER at Rock Creek Park, DC on
October 15; a BAY-BREASTED WARBLER at Possum Point, VA on October 13;
and a YELLOW WARBLER at Occoquan Bay NWR, Prince William Co, VA on
October 13. 

A Gambels's WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was found at Layhill Park,
Montgomery Co, MD on October 11. LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were reported from
a number of locations this past week. Two GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were
found at Western RP, Howard Co, MD on October 10. A FOX SPARROW was
located at Rachel Carson Park, Montgomery Co, MD on October 13.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES were seen this week at Bombay Hook NWR, DE on
October 11. Two BALTIMORE ORIOLES were seen from a yard overlooking
Jug Bay, Prince George's Co, MD on October 14.

RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were found this past week at Occoquan Bay NWR and
Possum Point in VA and at Black Hill RP, Blackwater NWR, and
Schoolhouse Pond (Upper Marlboro) in MD.

PURPLE FINCHES were reported from back yard feeders and other
locations this past week. Four PINE SISKINS were seen on Assateague
Island, MD on October 14.

The hawk watch at Snicker's Gap, on the Clarke/Loudoun Co (VA) line,
is looking for volunteers to help monitor hawk migration,
September-November. For information, call . The Turkey
Point Hawk Watch in Cecil Co, MD is also looking for volunteers; for
information, email pvaldata AT zoominternet.net.

See Life Paulagics has scheduled a trip on Saturday, October 20 out of
Lewes, DE. For more info, contact info AT paulagics.com.

Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the MDOsprey,
VA-Bird, and DE Birds list servers.
 
Finding Birds in the National Capital Area by Claudia Wilds is an
excellent source for directions to many birding sites. The ANS
Bookstore ( or
www.audubonnaturalist.org/cgi-bin/mesh/store) is an excellent source
for this and many other nature-related titles.

To report bird sightings, e-mail your report to
voice AT AudubonNaturalist.org or call  and select menu
option 2. Please post reports before midnight Monday, identify the
county as well as state, and include your name and a Tuesday morning
contact, either e-mail or phone. 

Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING.

*Of interest to the records committee.

Hi all,



Baltimore Bird Club's seventh in a series of weekly
walks to follow the progress of Fall Migration, next
and last walk on 10/23/07, at 830am.

10/16/07 - 8am-1140am
Robert E. Lee Park "Lake Roland" Hollins Ave &
Lakeside Dr., Riderwood, Baltimore Co., MD

LEADER: Paul Noell
OBSERVER: 11

WEATHER: MC, 54-70 degrees, calm- ENE 9 mph  

Canada Goose - 71
Mallard - 24
Great Blue Heron - 2
Turkey Vulture - 1
Osprey - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 1
Mourning Dove - 6
Chimney Swift - 20
Belted Kingfisher - 2
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1 seen by one & briefly by 2nd

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 6
Downy Woodpecker - 4
Hairy Woodpecker - 4
Northern Flicker - 9
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Blue-headed Vireo - 3
Blue Jay - 11
American Crow - 5
Fish Crow - 1
Tree Swallow - 17
Carolina Chickadee - 28
Tufted Titmouse - 16
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - 5
Carolina Wren - 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 11
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Hermit Thrush - 2
American Robin - 332
Northern Mockingbird - 2
European Staring - 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1 (male)
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 16
Eastern Towhee - 1
Song Sparrow - 4
White-throated Sparrow - 21
Northern Cardinal - 8
Red-winged Blackbird - 4
Common Grackle - 350 
American Goldfinch - 11
SPECIES: 43
TOTAL BIRDS: 1016

MAMMALS
Eastern Chipmunk - 2
Gray Squirrel - 13
Red Fox - 1

REPTILES
Eastern Painted Turtle - 2

BUTTERFLIES
Cabbage White - 1
Variegated Fritillary - 2


    Kevin Graff
    Jarrettsville, MD & West Ocean City, MD
    WhiteMarlin2001 AT yahoo.com



 
____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Tonight's top picks. What will you watch tonight? Preview the hottest shows on 
Yahoo! TV. 

http://tv.yahoo.com/ 

We had a RBN and a White-throated Sparrow at our back patio this morning.
Bethesda-Bannockburn area. First White-throated Sparrow (seen) this fall. 
First time ever that we observed a RBN there. 

Phil and Doris Brody

We got back from 10 days in Florida to find the birds have 
changed!  Yesterday and today we had the following 
first-of-season birds in our yard: RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, 
BROWN CREEPER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and WHITE-THROATED 
SPARROW.  I may have glimpsed a Dark-eyed Junco this morning 
but was not able to relocate it.

We continue to enjoy regular visits by a RED-BREASTED 
NUTHATCH and a female HAIRY WOODPECKER.

D

P.S. 8 life birds in Florida!

-- 
Derek C. Richardson, Laurel, PG County, MD
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/Archives/Photos/birds.html

Hi all,
   There seemed to be quite a few sparrows this morning at the lake.
Unfortunately there were almost as many lawn mowers. However, I managed to
spot at least 13 White-crowned Sparrows and one Lincoln's Sparrow. The
Lincoln's and all except one of the White-crowns were on the north side of
the peninsula. Other sparrows I saw: Chipping, Field, Song, and Swamp. 

Mike Ostrowski
Greenbelt, MD
uninspired_id AT comcast.net

Greetings,

I am new to this list and hope I am not repeating what someone else has
already sent.  I have been watching chimney swifts in the Silver Spring area
for 23 years... usually in pairs or maybe up to 20.  They can often be seen
dropping into or popping put of the unused brick chimney at the East Silver
Spring Elementary School (631 Silver Spring Ave. zip 20910) from late May to
mid-August.  

This year was very different during the Fall Migration. My count of swifts
was made at about 7 AM in each case as the swifts exited the chimney.

August  
August 
Sept.   
Sept.   
[Sept.   bird in a flock around 2 PM near the school]
Sept.   
Oct.      
Oct.      
Oct.        (very foggy - poor visibility)
Oct.      
Oct.     
Oct.       [very warm at 7 AM]
Oct.        [55 deg F and windy] all exiting birds flew south
Oct.      deg.

I am wondering if anyone else saw swifts this late in the year in this area?

George Lane
Silver Spring MD

Sorry for the delay in posting, I didn't have time for an analysis yesterday.? 

Sitting on Our Assateague participated in the Big Sit! for the 6th consecutive 
year and had a great day!? We ended up with 84 species which beats our average 
of 81.? We added 3 new species to the cumulative list bringing it up to 146.? 
For the first time we had a sitter present at midnight (Jim Stasz) and then an 
unprecedented number of people in the 3-6am range.? Unfortunately the night 
flight was minimal, but we had a good time anyway.? We called it a day at noon, 
which is pretty typical as the landbirding gets fairly slow.? 


Big Sitters this year include:? Jim Stasz, Zach Baer, Mark Hoffman, Jim 
Brighton, Bill Hubick, Matt Tillet, Tom Feild, Kevin Graff, Dan Haas, Jean and 
Larry Fry, Rick Timm(?) (from PA), Lance Biechele, Frode Jacobsen, and Kim and 
Matt Hafner.? A number of other people stopped by whose names I didn't catch 
and if they are reading this, please send me an email and I will include you in 
the official submission. 


The night was rather slow, but things picked up immediately at dawn.? There was 
a large flight of Myrtle Warblers (we probably underestimated), but other 
warblers were difficult to pick out.? The waterfowl flight was pretty good with 
lots of cormorants and a large raft of scoters off the point.? Shorebirds were 
our toughest group of birds this year, only 4 species.? Highlights included 
Pine Siskins, a couple good looks at Cape May Warblers, the raft of scoters, 
and always being up to look up and see Myrtle Warblers. 


The full list is below with the number of years (x/6) we have seen it on the 
sit.? At the end I have a list of misses including the 4 birds missed from the 
circle. 


Snow Goose     240 (3/6)

Ross's Goose 1 (1/6) new to list, Jim Stasz picked it out of a flock of Snows 
over South Point 


Brant     12 (3/6)

Canada Goose     10 (6/6)

American Black Duck     7 (6/6)

Northern Pintail     8 (5/6)

Greater Scaup 1 (2/6) adult male spent the day with a mixed scoter flock in the 
bay 


Surf Scoter     164 (4/6)

Black Scoter     4 (5/6)

Bufflehead     1 (1/6) new to count, feeding in the bay

Common Loon    15 (6/6)

Brown Pelican     14 (6/6)

Double-crested Cormorant 1793 (6/6) good flight, just couldn't pick out a 
Great... 


Great Blue Heron     6 (5/6) all but 1 at night

Great Egret     2 (6/6)

Snowy Egret     1 (6/6) heron flight was thin

Tricolored Heron     5 (6/6)

Black-crowned Night-Heron     3  (4/6)

Black Vulture     25 (5/6) all over South Point

Turkey Vulture     10 (6/6) same as above

Osprey     6 (6/6)

Bald Eagle     4 (5/6) all over South Point

Northern Harrier     3 (5/6)

Accipiter sp. 3 (1/6) new to count, but not added to cumulative since we've had 
Sharp-shinned Hawk previously, all were over South Point 


Red-tailed Hawk     1 (3/6) over South Point

Merlin     3 (3/6)

Peregrine Falcon     1 (6/6) a perk of being on Assateague

Killdeer     2 (5/6)

Sanderling     5 (3/6)

Dunlin     3 (5/6)

American Woodcock     1 (3/6) flushed at first light

Laughing Gull     134 (6/6)

Ring-billed Gull     3 (6/6)

Herring Gull     14 (6/6)

Great Black-backed Gull     3 (6/6)

Caspian Tern     6 (6/6)

Forster's Tern     2 (6/6)

Royal Tern     21 (6/6)

Mourning Dove     7 (5/6)

Belted Kingfisher     2 (6/6)

Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 (3/6) always odd to see out on the island, made 
several passes by the point 


Northern Flicker     36 (5/6)

Eastern Phoebe     1 (3/6)

Blue-headed Vireo     1 (2/6)

Fish Crow     200 (4/6)

Tree Swallow     4 (6/6)

Red-breasted Nuthatch     14 (2/6) 

Brown Creeper 1 (2/6) a bird that looks odd when it flys across the parking lot 


Carolina Wren     4 (6/6)

Winter Wren     1 (2/6)

Golden-crowned Kinglet     6 (5/6)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet     2 (3/6)

Gray-cheeked Thrush     3 (4/6)

American Robin     23 (3/6)

Gray Catbird     6 (6/6)

Brown Thrasher     2 (5/6)

European Starling     7 (6/6)

Cedar Waxwing     2 (5/6)

Cape May Warbler     10 (5/6)

Black-throated Blue Warbler     4 (3/6)

Yellow-rumped Warbler     221 (6/6)

Black-throated Green Warbler     1 (5/6)

Prairie Warbler     1 (3/6)

Yellow Palm Warbler     1 (3/6) we always have more Westerns

Western Palm Warbler    12 (6/6)

Blackpoll Warbler 2 (5/6) the one year we missed Blackpoll we had flover 
Baypoll sp. 


American Redstart     2 (5/6)

Common Yellowthroat     1 (4/6) night flyover

Eastern Towhee     3 (4/6)

Chipping Sparrow     1 (3/6)

Savannah Sparrow     4 (3/6)

Song Sparrow     1 (5/6)

Swamp Sparrow 1 (1/6) new to the count, don't usually find many out at the 
point, though they can be common in the marshes 


White-throated Sparrow     2 (4/6)

Dark-eyed Junco     1 (3/6)

Northern Cardinal     2 (5/6)

Indigo Bunting     2 (5/6)

Bobolink     1 (5/6)

Red-winged Blackbird     14 (6/6)

Eastern Meadowlark     13 (4/6)

Boat-tailed Grackle     21 (6/6)

Brown-headed Cowbird     20 (3/6)

Purple Finch     2 (3/6)

House Finch     1 (5/6)

Pine Siskin     4 (2/6) most common finch!


Seen outside the circle: Semipalmated Plover, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy 
Woodpecker, and Fox Sparrow (would have been new to the count) 


Worst Misses (birds seen 5/6 years):  
Little Blue Heron - evidence of the poor heron flight
Swainson's Thrush - night flight was slow, but it usually doesn't matter for 
Swainson's 


Bad Misses (bird seen 3-4/6 years):
Mallard (3/6) - not common Assateague, we usually see them flying around South 
Point 

Sharp-shinned Hawk (4/6) - we got Accipiter sp. instead
Black-bellied Plover (3/6)
Semipalmated Plover (3/6) - seen outside the circle
Greater Yellowlegs (3/6)
Rock Pigeon (3/6) - there is a flock on South Point, we just need them to fly 
around more 

Red-eyed Vireo (3/6) - always possible on a good flight day like Sunday
Northern Mockingbird (4/6) - present in the campground, but not a frequent 
visitor to the point 

Common Grackle (3/6) - always hit or miss on the island
American Goldfinch (3/6) - seems like a worse miss on a day with Purple Finch 
and Pine Siskins! 


Hope to see you next year!

Matt Hafner
Blacksburg, VA


________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - 
http://mail.aol.com 

Noteworhty birds seen this morning at Rock Creek Park are as follows:

In the Maintenance Yard---
Palm Warbler 4 yellow 1 western
Black-and-white Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 5
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Swainson's Thrush 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Winter Wren
Eastern Phoebe 5
White-throated Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 5
Chipping Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco 5
Bluebird 2
Red-shouldered Hawk (heard)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 20+
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Catbird 2

At the Dog Run (Gail, Jim, Wallace)----
Common Yellowthroat 2
White-throated Sparrow ~10
Swamp Sparrow
Song Sparrow 2+
Eastern Phoebe 2
Catbird 2

At the Ridge (Paul D.)----
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Blue-headed Vireo
Hermit Thrush

Observers:  Paul DeAnna, Wallace Kornack, Jim Lemert, Gail  
Mackiernan, Marjorie Raclin, John Stinson

Have Fun Birding!

Wallace Kornack
Washington  DC

Rigby's Folly, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, West
Ferry Neck Road near Royal Oak but nearer still to Bellevue.  Sunday,
September 30, 2007.

I haven't been here since September 17.  Son, George, who is now away
leading a bird tour in Argentina, left a list from September 30 that I
picked up at Rigby on October 15.  So ... a combination of circumstances
has led to this late report.

September 30 was a very good flight day.

66 species, including these new property high counts:  15 Red-breasted
Nuthatches, 14 Tufted Titmice, and 26 Carolina Chickadees.  For some reason
titmice and chickadees, resident and non-migratory, are more conspicuous on
flight days than otherwise.  Perhaps they get energized by the influx of
migrants.  

Good warbler day, 12 species:  4 Magnolias, 4 Black-throated Blues, 9
Yellow-rumpeds, 1 Black-throated Green, 3 Pines (2 singing), 2 Prairies, 3
Palms, 1 Blackpoll, and 5 Black-and-whites as well as 3 Northern Parulas, 4
redstarts, and 22 Common Yellowthroats.

Some other passerine migrants:  1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Winter Wren,
7 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 2 phoebes, 7 House Wrens, a Blue-headed & 2
Red-eyed vireos, a Scarlet Tanager, 3 juncos, a Swamp Sparrow, and 2 Indigo
Buntings.

Also:  110 Blue Jays, 2 Bald Eagles, 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks, a Pileated
Woodpecker, 30 flickers, 3 Northern Harriers, 2 Royal Terns, 2 Hairy
Woodpeckers, and 48 Killdeer (feeding along the edge of the cove).  

I have just returned from 14 days at Kiptopeke, Virginia, October 1-14. 
Prior to that Liz and I were on Monhegan Island, Maine, with Will Russell
September 21-27 (Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, 103 Gray Seals one day,
Dickcissels, Clay-colored & Lark sparrows, Common Eiders swallowing 3"-4"
crabs whole!).  

Depending on the appropriateness of the forum, my reports from these 2
places will follow in a week or so.

However, for now I can say that at Kiptopeke there were days of 162
Peregrine Falcons, 311 White Ibis, 105 Seaside Sparrows, 597 flickers, an
adult female Magnificent Frigatebird low and right overhead at the
hawkwatch platform, 7 peregrines captured and banded one day, and another
day on which countless thousands of Monarchs flooded through.  There's no
place like it!

Best to all.-Henry ("Harry") T. Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia,
PA . .  Please, any off-list replies to: 
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com  (never, please, to  ....)

With the numerous reports of RB nuthatches and other
fallish birds, i decided to start up my high
maintenance sunflower seed feeder a bit early.  Still
no RBNs, but white throated & white crowned sparrows
and juncos have arrived...juncos were first sighted
yesterday.

GHOs have been calling for weeks...

Hummer feeder remains up, but not visited to my
knowledge since the weekend of 9/22.

Jim Speicher
jugornought�at�yahoo-dot-com
Bethesda  AT work :(
Broad Run_S. FRED Co  AT home :)


 
____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get listings, 
and more! 

http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/3658 

Hi all!

I tagged along with Bill Hubick, Jim Brighton and Tom Field this weekend for
a trip through the Eastern Shore. Highlights for me were closing out my
first county bird (the ubiquitous TUVU), participating in the Assateague Big
Sit, and getting great looks at a Barred Owl in Wicomico. 

Lists are still pending, but I've posted a few photos from the weekend/Big Sit:
http://flickr.com/photos/mattyfioner/sets//
if that doesn't work:
http://flickr.com/photos/mattyfioner/

Happy birding,
Matt

I did a quick yard walk this morning.  The Mockingbird sat and sang for 
nearly 15 minutes.  The yard yielded a few new birds this morning:
    Song Sparrow
    Blue Headed Vireo
    Towhee

I then walked down the road to a favorite spot that gets the morning sun and 
has lots of grape vines and brambles.  It yielded a great bunch of birds:
    Palm Warblers -3
    Yellow Rumped Warbler
    Ruby Crowned Kinglet
    Phoebee - sang for a bit
    Bluebird - 3
    Chickadees
    Cardinals
    White-throated Sparrows
    Song Sparrows
    Swamp Sparrow - 1
    Chippping Sparrows
    White breasted Nuthatch
    Flickers and Red Bellied Woodpeckers calling
    Towhee - 1 - gave its t'hee call a couple of times
    Catbird
    Mockingbird
    Carolina Wrens
    Many Blue Jays
Great way to start the day!
Jim Wilson
Queenstown
 

Hi all,
   
 A quick list of birds I observed near Grovesnor Metro, along Beach Drive and 
Rt. 355: 

   
  5 Solitary Vireos
  1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW
  10 Ruby crowned Kinglets
  2 White thrt  Sparrows
  Robins (many)
  10 Bluejays
  12 Wood Ducks
  Canada Geese (flyovers)
  Northern Flickers 3
  Downy Woodpecker
  Red bellied "
  Crows
  Grackles
  Yellow Rumped Warblers 8-10
  Cedar Waxwings 20+
   
  D.Ford/Betheda, MD.

       
---------------------------------
Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel. 

Yesterday afternoon, as we watched our feeders here in West Ocean City while
eating lunch, we saw the usual Brown-headed Nuthatches.  They were
accompanied by 2 or 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches (not seen every year here in
the yard).  Then, flying in for just a second, a White-breasted Nuthatch!
This is only the second sighting of WBNU in 6 years here!!!!!

 

Norm

 

Norm Saunders

Cambridge and West Ocean City, MD

marshhawk AT verizon,.net

Hi Everyone,

I've posted a set of new photos from the Eastern Shore this weekend,
including the Assateague Big Sit. Have a great week!

http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html

Bill

Bill Hubick
Pasadena, MD
bill_hubick AT yahoo.com
http://www.billhubick.com

I had the opportunity to do a little birding at Ocean City's Northside Park
on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 13. In the small stand of pines on the north end
of the park, I was pleased to find this assortment:

Brown Creeper (1)

Brown-headed Nuthatch (1)

Palm Warbler (1)

Golden-crowned Kinglets (estimate 5)

Yellow-rumped Warblers (estimate 5-8)

 

And, I realize this is a little off-topic, but on a quick trip around
Chincoteague on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 14), we saw a flock of 150+ Black
Skimmers (juvenile and mature), as well as nearly 100 dowitchers on Swan
Cove. Since my chauffeur was not a birder, I was not able to take much time
to study the dowitchers. So, if anyone on this list happened to see this
same flock, I would appreciate any confirmation of the dowitchers. (I was
particularly delighted to see the Black Skimmers, since it has been a few
years since I'd spotted them in Ocean City, MD.)

 

Sue Probst

Howard County Bird Club

Busloads of White-throated Sparrows, Juncos, and Golden-Crowned Kinglets.
Also lots of Song Sparrow, Field Sparrow, and Eastern Towhee activity.

Still some Phoebes, plus Kingfisher and GB Heron. Blue Jays constantly
moving also. Usual Mockingbirds and Bluebirds.

Is a Blue-headed Vireo a reasonable sighting? Only a glimpse of a bird too
large and long for a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Prominent eye-ring and wing bars
but that's all I could observe before it disappeared.

fdp

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred Pierce (DNRC)- avialantic.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------

   This evening at Liberty Lake off Oakland Road:

Canada Goose  45
Wood Duck  2
Black Duck  3
Mallard  11, Baltimore only
Pied-billed Grebe  1, Baltimore only
Red-necked Grebe  1
Double-crested Cormorant  16
Great Blue Heron  1, Carroll only

--
Bob Ringler 
Eldersburg MD 
ringler1 AT comcast.net

In my own yard today (10/15) in Talbot County:
 
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Downy Woodpecker
Carolina Wren
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch (several)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1)
White-throated Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow (first of the season)
Junco (first of the season)
Common Yellowthroat (male and female)
Myrtle Warbler (several)
 
At Terrapin Park, Queen Anne's County during a brief mid-morning visit:
 
Snowy Egret
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Brown Thrasher
Robin (many)
Downy Woodpecker
Myrtle Warbler (many)
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow (10, mostly juveniles)
Song Sparrow
Junco
Eastern Towhee
 
 
Les Roslund
Talbot County
Easton MD 21601
 

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: /1068 - Release Date: 10/13/2007
10:15 AM
 

I also birded on Assateague the rest of 10/13. Only additional bird of note was 
a single Marbled Godwit at the Fox Hill Levels. Not as cooperative as the bird 
on the beach earlier in the year, but nonetheless did pose for a few 
photos..... 


http://www.pbase.com/wcbirding/image/

Good birding,
Mark L. Hoffman

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Jim Stasz  

> Hi Folks! 
> 
> I preparation for the Big Sit, I scouted Assateague Island. Mark Hoffman 
> joined me for a Little Sit" at the Bayside parking lot near the canoe rental. 

> Mark already posted the highlight! a flybay Eurasian Collared-Dove. This was 
> Mark's first for Assateague Island, but I had seen the one previously from 
just 

> about the same spot I was standing ;-) 
> 
> Location: ASSATEAGUE ISLAND NS--BAYSIDE 
> Observation date: 10/13/07 
> Notes: Eurasian Collared-Dove well seen; 2nd record for this location. 
> Brant = American. Palm Warbler = 2 Eastern, 2 Western. 
> Number of species: 81 
> 
> Brant 66 
> Canada Goose 26 
> Wood Duck 6 
> American Wigeon 7 
> American Black Duck 10 
> Mallard 2 
> Northern Pintail 7 
> Surf Scoter 234 
> Common Loon 17 
> Double-crested Cormorant 1011 
> Great Blue Heron 69 
> Great Egret 1 
> Little Blue Heron 2 
> Tricolored Heron 3 
> Black-crowned Night-Heron 1 
> Turkey Vulture 4 
> Osprey 4 
> Bald Eagle 2 
> Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 
> Red-tailed Hawk 2 
> Merlin 3 
> Black-bellied Plover 1 
> Semipalmated Plover 1 
> Greater Yellowlegs 3 
> Lesser Yellowlegs 2 
> Ruddy Turnstone 2 
> Least Sandpiper 1 
> Laughing Gull 150 
> Ring-billed Gull 4 
> Herring Gull 31 
> Great Black-backed Gull 3 
> Caspian Tern 8 
> Royal Tern 19 
> Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 
> Mourning Dove 2 
> Belted Kingfisher 2 
> Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 
> Downy/Hairy Woodpecker 2 
> Northern Flicker 39 
> Eastern Phoebe 2 
> Blue-headed Vireo 2 
> Blue Jay 1 
> American Crow 1 
> crow sp. 15 
> Tree Swallow 6 
> Red-breasted Nuthatch 17 
> Brown Creeper 1 
> Carolina Wren 3 
> Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 
> Gray Catbird 8 
> Brown Thrasher 3 
> European Starling 1 
> Cedar Waxwing 6 
> Northern Parula 3 
> Magnolia Warbler 1 
> Black-throated Blue Warbler 8 
> Yellow-rumped Warbler 174 
> Prairie Warbler 1 
> Palm Warbler 4 
> Blackpoll Warbler 1 
> Black-and-white Warbler 1 
> American Redstart 1 
> Common Yellowthroat 1 
> warbler sp. 20 
> Eastern Towhee 2 
> Chipping Sparrow 6 
> Field Sparrow 1 
> Savannah Sparrow 3 
> White-throated Sparrow 2 
> White-crowned Sparrow 1 
> Dark-eyed Junco 2 
> Northern Cardinal 1 
> Indigo Bunting 1 
> Red-winged Blackbird 11 
> Eastern Meadowlark 6 
> Common Grackle 2 
> Boat-tailed Grackle 18 
> Purple Finch 3 
> House Finch 4 
> American Goldfinch 2 
> 
> This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) 
> 
> Mark and I split up. In the afternoon I drove the ORV Zone, but did not find 
> anything unusual. 
> 
> Location: Assateague Island NS--ORV Zone 
> Observation date: 10/13/07 
> Notes: LBBG: 10 1st, 2 2nd,2 3rd,. 1 ad. 
> Number of species: 21 
> 
> Surf Scoter 2 
> Northern Gannet 3 
> Brown Pelican 178 
> Double-crested Cormorant 340 
> Great Blue Heron 3 
> Snowy Egret 2 
> Osprey 1 
> Black-bellied Plover 51 
> Semipalmated Plover 9 
> American Oystercatcher 1 
> Ruddy Turnstone 6 
> Sanderling 992 
> Least Sandpiper 6 
> Dunlin 18 
> Laughing Gull 13 
> Ring-billed Gull 161 
> Herring Gull 1227 
> Lesser Black-backed Gull 15 
> Great Black-backed Gull 201 
> Caspian Tern 69 
> Royal Tern 3 
> 
> This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) 
> 
> After that it was nap time before the Big Sit. Matt Hafner will report on 
> that. 
> 
> Good Birding! 
> 
> Jim 
> 
> Jim Stasz 
> North Beach MD 
> jlstasz AT aol.com 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ************************************** 
> See what's new at http://www.aol.com 
> 

I had about 20 White Throated Sparrows moving about early this morning.  A 
bit later, a couple started singing.

About 4 this afternoon, I noticed something chasing a Red-Breasted Nuthatch. 
It turned out to be a Palm Warbler.  After it chased the Nuthatch off it 
turned to a Phoebee and chased it away.  Then 2 more Palms flew in and they 
chased each other for awhile.  Good stuff.
Jim Wilson
Queenstown 

 Hi all on Fri 10- 12 I went to Terrapin Park on Kent Island in QA county . Not 
the best day for birding quite windy, whitecaps very visable on the Bay . Not 
Many Songbirds around . But it was the only time this weekend I had for birding 
. birds seen 



Ring Billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Blue Heron        1
Snowy  Egret       1 
Turkey Vultrue 
Black Vultrue 
Coopers Hawk         1   swooped by   a couple  of times   real low hunting 
Osprey         1
Green Winged   Teal      12
American  Wigeon         1  male 
Greater Yellowleggs      4  
Lesser Yellowleggs 10 both in a flock feeding in pond that has both the 
lookouts or blinds . nice to compare 

 Them side by side . close to the path to the bay 

Rock Pigeon        6
BlueJays      several 
Robins
Mockingbirds     in one spot 
Catbird            1
Cardinal          1
Yellow Rumped Warbler   12      first of the season 




Happy  Birding 
Danny  Poet 
Queenstown, Md 
birder231 AT hotmail.com

Website    birderforever.blogspot.com
_________________________________________________________________
Windows Live Hotmail and Microsoft Office Outlook � together at last. �Get it 
now. 


http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA102225181033.aspx?pid=CL100626971033 

The regular Baltimore Bird Club walk at Cylburn Arboretum, Baltimore
had quite a fine collection of typical October species, many of which
were first of the season (FOS) for me and others present. Particularly
notable sightings were at least 3 Blue-headed Vireos, a Winter Wren,
lots of Golden-crowned Kinglets, multiple Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers,
Hermit Thrush, lots of White-throated sparrow and a few Juncos, and 2
Purple Finches. The cool sunny weather couldn't have been nicer.


Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk - probably a local
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 3+
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker - we don't see too many at Cylburn
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo - 3+
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch - ho hum (this year)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper - FOS, by Garden of the Senses
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren - FOS, by Garden of the Senses
Golden-crowned Kinglet - many!
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee - lots
Savannah Sparrow - stump dump
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow - lots
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Purple Finch - 2
House Finch
American Goldfinch

Incidentally, I had my first solid White-throated Sparrows and Juncos
in my yard in Randallstown this morning.

Steve Sanford
Randallstown, Baltimore County
scartan^at^verizon^dot^net

Hi all,
   I had a couple unusual birds today at Lake Artemesia. This morning some
alarmed Common Grackles alerted me to the presence of a passing Peregrine
Falcon. It circled once over the peninsula and then continued roughly south.
On the way home I spotted an American Pipit on the grassy mudflat where the
lake has receded.

Highlights:
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Peregrine Falcon - 1
American Pipit - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - lots
Palm Warbler - 3
Field Sparrow - 2
Chipping Sparrow - 1
Song Sparrow - ~5
Swamp Sparrow - 2
White-crowned Sparrow - 5 (3 adult, 2 immature)
White-throated Sparrow - 2
Dark-eyed Junco - 2

Mike Ostrowski
Greenbelt, MD 
uninspired_id AT comcast.net

At lunch today, I got the chance to sort through the first large group of gulls 

to gather on Schoolhouse Pond this fall.  The majority of the gulls at 
yesterday's big sit were mostly flyovers.  Today's flock consisted of 
approximately 240 Laughing Gulls, 2 Herring Gulls, 5 Ring-billed Gulls, and one 

1st winter Bonaparte's Gull.  The Bonie was on the water with the Laughing 
Gulls and stood out due to its small size and lighter mantle relative to the 
Laughing Gulls. I also got good looks at the Bonaparte's Gull in flight when it 

made several passes over the pond as the group of gulls stirred at a passing 
hawk or eagle.

Fred Shaffer
Patuxent MOS
GlaucousGull AT verizon.net

Hi Everybody,

Although the weather was beautiful, if a little breezy, a profound lack 
of songbirds or a serious hawk flight consigned this year's Big Sit at 
Eastern Neck NWR to mediocrity as we tallied 56 species (the average 
tally is now 57.5 for six years). It was a pleasant mediocrity 
nonetheless. Our best bird was a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE that spent 
the early morning with Canada Geese in Calfpasture Cove to our south. It 
left for the fields at Ingleside at 8:05 AM and was not seen again, 
although it could have hidden amongst the returning Canadas as the light 
went against us. We also had two CACKLING GEESE in the flock, a gander 
and a goose. Other good birds were Wilson's Snipe (a quick flyby), 5 
Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 2 Gadwall, 2 American Wigeon,  and a 
very confiding Red-breasted Nuthatch (reflecting the big flight here on 
the Eastern Shore this fall). Although they are "routine" on our Big 
Sits it was also a pleasure to have the regular presence through the day 
of at least 16 Bald Eagles, 4 Northern Harriers (hunting close to the 
platform), 8 Royal Terns, and 16 Caspian Terns. Thanks to everyone who 
came by to help count, to Cindy Heffley from the Refuge who helped 
publicize the event, and to all of the visitors who dropped by to ask 
what the heck we were up to. We have appended our complete list below 
(including species seen away from the circle in brackets).

Good birding,

Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin

3460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620


rossgull (at) baybroadband.net

Observing Nature is like unwrapping a big pile of presents every time 
you take a walk.

Greater White-fronted Goose 1 (Greenland race); Canada Goose 1700; 
Cackling Goose 2 (Richardson's); Mute Swan 10; Wood Duck 6; Gadwall 2; 
American Wigeon 2; American Black Duck 30; Mallard 17; Green-winged Teal 
6; Greater Scaup 2; Lesser Scaup 29; Ruddy Duck 5; Common Loon 1; 
Double-crested Cormorant 30; Great Blue Heron 11; Black Vulture 10; 
Turkey Vulture 21; Osprey 1; Bad Eagle 16; Northern Harrier 4; 
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3; Red-tailed Hawk 2; Wilson's Snipe 1; Laughing Gull 
70; Ring-billed Gull 50; Herring Gull 12; Great Black-backed Gull 5; 
Caspian Tern 16; Royal Tern 8 (several juveniles chasing adults with 
pitiful calls); Forster's Tern 60; Red-bellied Woodpecker 2; Downy 
Woodpecker 1; Northern Flicker 6; Blue Jay 16; American Crow 6; Fish 
Crow 8; Horned Lark 9; Tree Swallow 136; Northern Rough-winged Swallow 
5; Carolina Chickadee 2; Tufted Titmouse 1; Red-breasted Nuthatch 1; 
Carolina Wren 5; Northern Mockingbird 2; [Gray Catbird 1 across the road 
from the parking lot]; European Starling 50; Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) 
Warbler 8; [Palm Warbler 1 at east end of boardwalk]; Common 
Yellowthroat 2; Eastern Towhee 3; Savannah Sparrow 1; Song Sparrow 6; 
Swamp Sparrow 4; White-throated Sparrow 1; [White-crowned Sparrow 2 im. 
behind rest rooms at parking lot]; [Northern Cardinal 6 at parking lot]; 
Red-winged Blackbird 150; Eastern Meadowlark 3; American Goldfinch 2.

When Barry Cooper and I arrived in the Maintenance Yard this morning,  
the field was alive with Chipping Sparrows and Palm Warblers.  Jim  
Lemert joined us later after scouting the Ridge and Equitation  
Field.  We saw the following:

In the Maintenance Yard----
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Northern Parula 2
PALM WARBLER 20 Yellow, 3 Western
Common Yellowthroat 7
NASHVILLE WARBLER
BLUE-HEADED VIREO
Red-eyed Vireo
CHIPPING SPARROW ~80
Swamp sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 15
White-throated Sparrow 2
Woodpeckers: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2, Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy,  
Pileated
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 15
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Phoebe 3
Dark-eyed Junco 2
House Wren
Grackle ---- hundreds
Canada Geese

At the Equitation Field (Jim)----
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Brown Thrasher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12+

At the Dog Run-----
BLUE-HEADED VIREO
White-throated Sparrow 15+
Chipping Sparrow 2
Song sparrow
House Finch 2

Have Fun Birding!

Wallace Kornack
Washington  DC