Fran and I drove down to Hooper's Island again this afternoon.  

In the raptor department, we saw 2 American Kestrels, one along Key
Wallace Drive and the other along Rt. 335; a male Northern Harrier
along Egypt Road; a Red-tailed Hawk tenting prey in a field along
Key Wallace Drive; and Bald Eagles just about everywhere we went.

On Upper Hooper Island we saw Common Loon (1), Bufflehead (many),
Horned Grebe (1), Sanderling (3), Purple Sandpiper (2), Surf Scoter
(3), Long-tailed Duck (18), Northern Gannet (2, distantly), and
Common Goldeneye (1m, 1f).  There was no sign of the bird described
previously by Diane Cole, nor did we see the Eurasian Collared-Dove
today.

We stopped several places where it was possible to pull off the road
and scan the wates along both sides (bay and river).  During that
time we had three different island folk stop and look us over very
carefully.  We waved and tried to act friendly but they were having
none of it.  I was able to talk with an older gentleman taking his
cat out for an afternoon drive in the pickup, so at least one island
native knows why we were there.  Could be that the influx of
strangers over the past few weeks has raised their levels of
concern, so be extra careful if you go there not to antagonize.

Best,
Norm Saunders

================================
Norm Saunders
Cambridge & West Ocean City, MD