Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2002 14:29:30 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Bob Hartman Subject: s. Frederick Cty MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Very quiet birdwise on Lily Pons, Oland, Cap Stine, and Greenfield Roads this morning. The high point was along Greenfield Road, where Toni and I saw 9 Common Mergansers on the Monocacy River. Only one hen, but a few of the drakes were making half-hearted attempts to drive each other away from her. We have noted what seems to be a precipitous drop in the number of winter kestrels and harriers in that area. A few years ago, it was common to see half a dozen Kestrels along New Design Road, with others scattered around the area. Also, there was a good chance of seeing at least one harrier. Now it seems unusual to see a kestrel, and we haven't seen a harrier around there for several years (since about the time the nursery started up along Greenfield Road between New Design and MD 85, which is where we often saw them). Have others noted this also, or have we just missed them? Bob Hartman Colesville, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================