Our lab had a one day research cruise on the
Chesapeake on Sunday. We held station just about due
east of the Calvert Cliffs nuke plant. Nothing of real
interest other than a flock of about 25 Forster's
Terns near the Liquid Natural Gas platform where there
were lots of small fishing boats. In the flock was a
single Bonaparte's Gull.

On the way back south, once we had finished packing or
gear, I sat the in the pilot house and scanned the
water looking for any small black birds. Didn't find
any but I did see a group of 3 Brown Pelicans and 4
more singles all near the mouth of the Patuxent north
to the Cove Point lighthouse.

It was quite a miserable afternoon on the water as the
humidity jumped sometime around noon. Thankfully, the
breeze picked up causing some white caps. In a boat
that's 165 feet long, a few white caps are hardly
noticable. It's the cargo ships heading to Baltimore
that get the ship rocking!

At least Marty Cribb found some Wilson's Storm-petrels
in St. Mary's waters down near the mouth of the
Potomac on the Bay. Maybe one of these days I'll get
lucky and find one in Calvert waters.



Tyler Bell

California, Maryland


       
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