MD Osprey:

One caution ... re-reading my message, below, I made it sound like 
any adult meadowlark out in the open turf is likely to be the 
Western; but this is not the case. There are a few Eastern adults 
around, in addition to the Eastern juvies, and these Eastern adults 
can also be out in the open. Care will be necessary to separate the 
Western from the Easterns.

Phil


At 21:10 09/07/2008, Phil Davis wrote:
>MD Osprey:
>
>To make a long story short ... the moulting adult Western Meadowlark 
>was still present at Hurlock on Sat, 9/6 when Marshall Iliff saw it, 
>as reported earlier. I had actually photographed this bird on 
>Friday, 9/5 (it was not calling for me), but I had not enlarged and 
>reviewed my images until I saw the message about Marshall seeing it.
>
>This bird is going through a significant moult and I suspect that it 
>is going to be around for a while longer.
>
>I don't have my images posted, but here are Bill Hubick's again with 
>the links to Mikey Lutmerding's photos and video clips ...
>
>         http://www.billhubick.com/new_set.html
>
>Location details: Middle of the southernmost turf field on the west 
>side of MD 331, south of Hurlock, Maryland, just north of the 
>intersection with MD 14.
>
>Bill, Mikey, et al. had the bird in the evening last Sunday. 
>Marshall and I had it early in the morning on Sat and Fri, 
>respectively. The sun is better in the morning. Traffic noise can 
>make it difficult to hear when vehicles pass, especially during the 
>week and now that school is back in session.
>
>Listen for the soft "chuck" notes ... if it is calling.
>
>Visually, look for an adult, with black on the breast; a yellow 
>malar area (behind the base of the lower mandible); thin dark brown 
>bars on the wing coverts (not thick black bars); a weak eye stripe; 
>not a lot of contrast in the head stripes; no rufous on the back. 
>This bird is moulting, including it's tail feathers so the amount of 
>white on the outer tail feathers and pattern on the central 
>rectricies won't help.
>
>The bird tends to hang out by itself in the open turf about halfway 
>between the swale with the tall grass and the road. (Westerns 
>generally like drier habitats than Easterns). If you park just north 
>of the "goal post" you will be able to see up the slight rise to the 
>area where it has been seen.
>
>A scope will be required to see details.
>
>Hope this helps ...
>
>Good luck!
>
>Phil
>
>
>==================================
>Phil Davis      Davidsonville, Maryland     USA
>                 mailto:[log in to unmask]
>==================================