Great spottings!

I birded with DC Audubon at Blackwater on Saturday, but we did not see the
golden eagle or the Eurasian collared dove.  Darn!

However, we did get to see the white pelicans, as well as the flock of cedar
waxwings at the Visitor Center parking lot.  
We also saw snow geese, several bald eagles, American widgeon, green wing
teal, blue wing teal, gadwall, northern shovelers, and American coot.   We
also got a view of a Delmarva fox squirrel!  He posed for us for 4 minutes!

Mary Pfaffko
Washington, DC

-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Frode Jacobsen
Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2006 9:02 PM
To: 
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Blackwater NWR Nov19: Golden Eagle & Eurasian Collared
Dove

Hi all,
Today I went to Blackwater NWR in hope of seeing the reported White
Pelicans. I made a few stops down Egypt Rd. with the highlights being 3
adult Bald Eagles, Northern Harrier, a flock of 200+ Killdeer, 10+ Horned
Larks, 13 American Pipits and 5 Eastern Meadowlarks. At the Refuge there
were thousands of Canada Geese and dabbling ducks, but no Snow Geese or
Pelicans. After the Wildlife Drive I decided to explore the roads down to
Hooper's Island checking all the estuaries for Pelicans without luck.
However, on my way back north, I suddenly noticed a suspiciously large dove
on a telephone wire. It turned out to be a Eurasian Collared Dove. As I
pulled off the road and got out of the car, I heard the familiar song of the
Collared Dove, but the song came from a different angle than the one I
initially spotted. I turned my head and indeed a second bird was perched on
the wire right behind me! The first bird responded to the male song and flew
over and landed next to him. I managed to shoot some photos of them before
they flew across the road and landed in a tree in someone's front yard
(house # 2363). A photo of the male bird has been posted at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37699157@N00/

Back at the Blackwater NWR Visitor Center, I was welcomed by a large flock
of Cedar Waxwings feeding in the fruit trees by the parking lot. They
allowed some very close-up looks. Wild panic spread through the flocks of
waterfowl when an adult Golden Eagle appeared in the sky. I followed it as
it drifted south and was later joined by three Bald Eagles. This bird barely
out of my sight, another adult Golden Eagle showed up right overhead the
Visitor Center. Wow! This bird soared for a while and then glided north.
While standing there, several flocks of Tundra Swans were heard coming in
for landing.
Hopefully, the Pelicans will return shortly.

Good birding,

Frode Jacobsen
Baltimore, MD