An ice storm shouldn't, in itself, cause an influx of birds. W
Robert,

An ice storm shouldn't, in itself, cause an influx of birds. What's more likely going on has to do with the deep cold temperatures occurring to the north, freezing the water surfaces there, and displacing the birds to areas of open water to the south. 

In winters in which cold temperatures freeze over the Great Lakes, our area tends to have a larger influx of Red-necked grebes over winters in which the lakes remain open. Over the next couple of weeks, the forecast shows a roller coaster ride of temperatures above and below freezing for that region. The heart of the winter won't occur until several weeks after the 1st of the year, so the worst should still be to come. With this winter starting off so cold, it will be interesting to see how this progresses if there isn't a moderation of temperatures in that region that would otherwise keep the lakes open. 
 Edward Boyd
Westminster, MD 




________________________________
From: Robert Ostrowski <>
To: 
Sent: Monday, December 22, 2008 12:10:20 AM
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Horned Grebes

That's interesting that you had two Horned Grebes, Jerry. At the Bowie CBC tally this evening, several people came in thinking that they were the lucky person who got to see Horned Grebes in December. As it turns out, we had 10 total Horned Grebes on the grand checklist - a Bowie CBC record (the previous record 1).

It's possible this ice storm caused this "explosion." I'd be interested to hear who else saw Horned Grebes today.

Robert Ostrowski
Bowie, MD