[MDOsprey] North Beach, MD, 16 Sep 99

BlkVulture@aol.com
Thu, 16 Sep 1999 22:50:56 EDT


Hello all...

Thursday, 16 Sep 99, Bob Abrams and I held a vigil at my 
grandparents-in-law's house in North Beach, on the Chesapeake.  We were able 
to stay in the lee of the house by staying inside (or sitting on the stoop), 
remaining dry.  More importantly our lenses stayed dry.  

We arrived at about noon or a little earlier.  After finding a tree down in 
the driveway (that I did not have to saw into pieces) and finding the rest of 
the house in tact, we began to search the bay for birds.  The wind was from 
the Northeast for much of the day, but at times there was a westerly 
component to the wind.  The bay was choppy.  Visibility was poor, about 
300-400 yards for much of the day.  There was a break where we could across 
the bay, and the Bay Bridge.  However the ceiling was always present.  Rain 
was a heavy mist for much of the morning, then when visibility improved, the 
rain stopped.  

The list of birds was not impressive.  There were two jaegers seen flying 
south at about 1:30, and they remain jaeger sp.  There were also two black 
terns seen.  

The more common birds seen in numbers were about 100 common terns, 12 
Forster's Terns, a few Royal Terns, many Great Black-backed Gulls, Herrings, 
Ringers, and Laughing Gulls were also noted, although the later were only 
seen on the ground near the hotel at Herrington Harbor.  Four swallows flew 
past.  We never got on them.  

We departed the bay around 5PM.  

Cheers, 

Todd Day
BlkVulture@aol.com
Jeffersonton, VA