Hi fellow birders,
You think the gas here is expensive? In Norway, the 10th or 11th greatest
oil exporting country in the world, regular gas is priced at $9/gal!! It's
all environmental taxes, so everyone benefits in the end. If the high gas
prices keeps people from driving as much as they absolutely need to, I am
all for it!

Frode Jacobsen
Baltimore, MD
frode1 AT umbc DOT edu



> Just got another great look at a Blackpoll right in my back yard. 2nd nice
> view this spring.
>
> 2 days ago I checked out Christmas Tree Park and Pine Valley Park, both in
> Manchester (MD, not England. At $3/gal, I can't afford the gas to drive to
> England). Got my first look at a Chestnut-sided this spring at the first
> and
> a Magnolia at the second. Plenty of Black-throated Blues and Greens and
> the
> less visible Blackpolls at both.
>
> Fished in the Catoctins yesterday and there were Blackpolls all over, but
> as
> usual none offered a look. These birds love to sing from behind leaves.
>     Almost got hit by a Waterthrush again. They have a way of zooming down
> stream like the idiots on a freeway. The fun part comes when their little
> ones fledge. I often see them running along the stream, tails pumping just
> like the adults. Waterthrush are one of the reasons I fish. They serenade
> me
> all day long in spring.
>     Jerry Tarbell
>     Carroll County
>