Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 17:56:44 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Stan Arnold Subject: Re: Connecticut Warbler in Annapolis 9/28 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Multiple Connecticuts! Bill, can you give me very explicit instructions as to where you saw them (by which hedgerow/tree/bush, etc. etc. etc.). I was going to be out that way in the morning. Thanks. Stan -----Original Message----- From: WILLIAM B. SCHREITZ To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Date: Saturday, September 30, 2000 9:27 AM Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Connecticut Warbler in Annapolis 9/28 >Hello, > >Following Marshall suggestion that Bywater Road would make excellent fall >birding, I went there this morning a little after seven. I got three good >looks, over a forty minute interval, of a total of three possibly four >Connecticut Warblers. (It is possible that the last one I saw was one of >the ones I saw earlier across the road.) There were all within 60' of the >road , half way down the first field. A life bird for me! And three of >them, no less! > >In addition to the regulars this morning, there were 20+ song sparrows, 3 >white-throated sparrows, 1 bobolink, 1 winter wren, 3 magnolia warblers, 1 >Northern parula, and 1 yellow-billed cuckoo. > >Bill > > >WILLIAM B SCHREITZ CABINETMAKER INC >1806 VIRGINIA STREET >ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND 21041 >cabmkrwbs@erols.com >-----Original Message----- >From: Marshall Iliff >To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM >Date: Thursday, September 28, 2000 7:42 PM >Subject: [MDOSPREY] Connecticut Warbler in Annapolis 9/28 > > >>Hi all, >> >>Taking some of Jim's wisdom to heart, I set out this morning on a >>shop-till-I-drop, no sleep till Brooklyn, search for my Anne Arundel, year, >>and yard Connecticut. The areas surrounding my house are mostly overgrown >>fields reverting to woodland, so the habitat is perfect. That I haven't >had >>one here yet was only a product of too much time in school in the falls and >>too much time running around to other parts of MD once I got a license. >>Actually, I have had two "probable" Connecticuts here over the years - the >>first was listed as my lifer Mourning for a while, and the second one was >>just too brief a look. Both were at the perfect time of year in perfect >>habitat, and have always pained me. >> >>Starting at about 8:30, I walked every field and hedgerow on our property, >>and played judicious screech-owl tape at every stop. After tapping out the >>possibilities in my true yard, I wandered off property a bit to a favorite >>stream valley (where I had seen my lifer "Mourning"). No dice. Finally, I >>worked my way over to the Bywater Rd. fields, home of the famous Lark >Sparrow >>from the winter. Last December, while walking those fields with Gail >>Mackiernan and Barry Cooper, Gail remarked that they looked like a great >>place for a Connecticut. On my third stop there I heard and immediately >>recognized the chip, and was soon enjoying a very confiding (and very >>aggravated) Connecticut Warbler. It chipping and excitedly hopped around >for >>about 3-4 minutes. >> >>The habitat was an overgrown open field with no canopy layer. The bird was >>in a small island of wild cherry trees (3) with large pokeberries and >>blackberry bushes beneath them. Other bird sincluded 2 House Wrens, a >>yellowthroat, and several cardinals. >> >>I had a tape recorder along and made a recording of the chip note, which >the >>bird gave c. 15x on tape. There is a lot of background noise, so the >quality >>of the tape is not great, but learning this chip will be very useful for >>those hoping to find a Connecticut in MD. To me it does sound similar to >an >>empid (Least/Willow) "whit" note, but is not nearly so abrupt. It is far >>more liquid, with a softer introduction and ending, better verbalized as >>"quep". It sound slike no other warbler that I am familiar with, and quite >>different from yellowthroat, Mourning, and MacGillivray's, all of which >might >>be confused with a Connecticut, especially if they are behaving typically >and >>skulking in the brush giving only brief views. I don't have any resources >to >>put the recording online, but if anyone does I could perhaps send a copy of >>the tape. >> >>...Y2K is #309 and counting... >> >>This was otherwise a pretty dull day for migrants. Approximate numbers >were >>3 redstarts, 2 Black-and-whites, 1 Blackpoll, 1 Pine, 8 Magnolia, and 10 >>yellowthroats. This afternoon, starting about 3:30 p.m., I noticed a >>significant goose flight overhead, and counted about 15 flocks totaling 250 >>birds or so. The largest group contained 89. More exciting, the first >group >>(45) included one small individual, presumably _hutchinsii_, which was a >>first for my yard and perhaps the earliest ever for MD. Despite perfect >sky >>conditions, I saw NO hawks, even high, except for one kettle of 45 >>Broad-wingeds that passed low overhead, a high count for my yard. There >were >>lots of gulls milling about at the limit of vision though... >> >>Best, >> >>Marshall Iliff >>miliff@aol.com >> >>======================================================================= >>To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com >>with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey >>======================================================================= >> > >======================================================================= >To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com >with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey >======================================================================= > ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================