Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 17:50:50 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Marshall Iliff Subject: Brown Pelicans at Kent Narrows - when it rains it pours MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi all, I spent the morning birding Kent County (see second post "Kent Co. highlights") and wrapped up the day scanning for the reported Brown Pelicans at Eastern Neck NWR. Almost immediately I found groups of two and three birds (total five) all the way across the channel in Queen Anne's County. They were feeding and flying around just off Love Point, and did so for the 40 minutes that I was in the area. The group of three eventually took off and disappeared beyond the horizon, heading towards Kent Narrows. So I was pleased...a Queen Anne's County bird. I am aware of only one other recent Queen Anne's record - the one seen by Paul Spitzer sitting on Bodkin I. with cormorants in late May of this year. Well...as I was crossing Kent Narrows I glanced off to my south and saw a KETTLE of Brown Pelicans forming. I pulled off immediately and watched and counted over 20 pelicans circling over the Narrows. I immediately realized that they must have been sitting on the long breakwall that runs along the west side of the Narrows. Another six were sitting there. All told, 32 (!) Brown Pelicans at Kent Narrows today. With pelicans in the Kent Narrows area, I must digress a bit about the OTHER pelican species. You all recall the White Pelican at the GW bridge last August-September, and my last pelican post mentioned the 2nd-hand report of a White Pelican from Baltimore last August. The Spring issue of North American Birds will have reference to another White Pelican seen by Helen Patton on 10 Nov 1999 from The Wildfowl Trust (Horsehead), Queen Anne's County - right at Kent Narrows. The story continues as Paul Spitzer apparently saw a breeding condition White Pelican at Bodkin Island (off Kent Island, just west of the Narrows) in mid-May. Since Bodkin is accessible only by boat, no one has looked since, but on Paul's return trip to Bodkin in late May he only saw one Brown. Although, obviously, it could still be in the area. After seeing the 32 pelicans I surveyed two watermen. One said he had never seen pelicans here, gave me an incredulous look, and asked if I was sure they weren't seagulls (!). The second said "Oh yeah, they been here about a year". When I asked about the white one, he said that he hadn't seen it but some other guys had. I didn't press him on it. In any event, it seems clear that a) Brown Pelicans have set up semi-permanent residence in the Kent Narrows area b) a White Pelican, or two, has intermittently turned up and MAY still be present. Have a look for them next time you're on the Eastern Shore. Best viewing is from the Narrows restaurant, on the east side of Kent Narrows. Best, Marshall Iliff miliff@aol.com Annapolis, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================