Re: MARYLAND'S NEXT TEN

Miliff@aol.com
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 14:34:50 EDT 

Hi all,

I can't resist throwing in my two bits on Rick's TOP TEN LIST.  With a few
obvious exceptions, my list came out quite different, but that's the fn of
this sort of thing I think.  I'll let loose with my own here, ranked from most
likely to least.

1. EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (no argument on that one!)
2. SHINY COWBIRD (same story)
3. SAY'S PHOEBE (records from almost EVERY other eastern state, including that
PA bird this past winter)
4. GARGANEY (records from around the country in April/May - _probably_ wild.
At least a few VA reports and the recent Brigantine bird)
5. TOWNSEND'S WARBLER (annual on the East Coast in late fall, look for this
one at Assteague in, say, November or feeders anywhere thereafter)
6. SLATY-BACKED GULL (Maryland has some good landfills...)
7. BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD (yeah Gary!)
8. GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE (Old report with no data, used to be more frequent in
the East but still possible)
9. WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD (with some El Nino hurricanes or a few more late
August pelagic trips)
10. LITTLE EGRET (We are overlooking some for sure)

I want to go on...Western Meadowlark would certainly come next (if not
earlier) and the shorebird possibilities go on and on.  Ditto on seabirds.
And if we could only figure out where those swallows go after they leave Cape
May...

Best,

Marshall Iliff
miliff@aol.com


In a message dated 98-06-11 04:44:21 EDT, you write:

<<  For almost a decade a few of us have played the game of predicting
 the next ten birds that will show up in Maryland. This year, rather than
 call a dozen people and ask them for their lists, I am posting mine on
 Osprey in the hope that many of them will follow suit.
         The following list does not include all the birds that are
 legitimate candidates to be found. If there were regular pelagic trips
 running out of Maryland, and if Gary Griffith's hummingbird network could
 be extended to the entire state, it would be possible to make a reasonable
 list made up of only seabirds and hummingbirds. If the Hart-Miller
 impoundment was in coastal Worcester County it would be possible to make a
 list of almost nothing but shorebirds. To some extent, this list reflects
 not only patterns of bird vagrancy, but birder behavior.
         I have tried to leave off all birds that have been reported but
         not
 ruled on by the MOSRC. It is possible that some of the birds may not be
 accepted, in which case they would be worthy additions. The list:
 
 EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE [any day now]
 WESTERN MEADOWLARK [there is probably one every year]
 SHINY COWBIRD [not that I'm thrilled about it...]
 BROWN BOOBY [will be found sitting on the 4th Street flats someday]
 REDDISH EGRET [if more people birded Ocean City...]
 SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER [a Hart-Miller bird]
 BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD [keep those reports coming Gary]
 BELL'S VIREO [overdue]
 GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE [probably overdue]
 BAND-TAILED PIGEON [there are about 50 records east of the Mississippi and
 the                         one quirky prediction I indulge myself in
 every year]
 
 Rick
 
 "Lack of education is an extraordinary handicap when one is being
 offensive."  Josephine Tey
 
 Rick Blom
 rblom@blazie.com
 Bel Air, Maryland