Volume 11 Number 6 |
June 1998 |
Phone: (410) 692-2794
Fax: (410) 329-1221
E-mail: raptors@bellatlantic.net
undertaken by our club.
Light fare (wine, soft drinks, crackers, cheese, vegetables, and fruit) will be included in the registration fee of $5.00. Please return your reservation form to Larry Fry by Thursday, July 2.
The speaker at the meeting will be Robert Schutsky who will present a program on the Birds and Beauty of Arizona. Bob is the owner and operator of BIRD TREKS, an eco-tourism company that offers trips to North and Central America. It took some searching to discover that Bob presented a program on the Lower Susquehanna to the club in January 1986. Bob will have tour information available at the social.
The Leight Center is located two miles east of Edgewood just off Route 40 on Otter Point Road. Details are available from Larry Fry at 410-452-8539.
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Harford Bird Club members have so far contributed $465 towards this project. Those members contributing were: Harold Boling, Enid Farrand, Eileen and Robert Frey, Jean and Larry Fry, Joyce Gorsuch, Mark Johnson, Bill Koch, Jessie and Ray Lutz, Phil Powers, Macrina and Dave Seitz, Bobbie Siebens, Norman Tyson, Jean Wheeler, Jean Williams, and Betsy and Edward Wilsey. The landscape designer kindly agreed to gather up the plants using his commercial discount, so he saved us much time and money. A work day was initially planned for May 23. However, the rainy weather forced a delay in tilling the soil. The work day was postponed until Saturday, May 30 when all the planting and mulching was accomplished. Thanks to everyone who helped.
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Ten birders from our club ventured forth last weekend to the MOS Conference held at the Wisp Resort in Garrett County. The weather was fantastic although slightly warm. The Conference always offers a wide variety of field trips and other activities and is a good way to renew friendships with other MOS members from across the state. The Friday night speaker was Dr. William Sladen who has been doing research on teaching geese and swans to migrate following an ultra light (of Fly Away Home fame). Jean and I took an all day trip to the West Virginia highlands to check out Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley State Park, and Dolly Sods Wilderness. The highlight of the field trip for us was viewing a Blue-headed Vireo and a Ruffed Grouse, both on their nests. Next year's MOS Conference is scheduled for mid-May in Calvert County at Solomons Island.
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The club had a display at the Earth Day celebration which was held in Havre de Grace on Saturday, April 18 from 9 AM until 3 PM. We sold several International Migratory Bird Day T-shirts and posters and gave out over 200 newsletters and county checklists. There was a steady stream of visitors with a myriad of questions. A special thanks to Lynn Davis and Matt Hafner who helped out that day.
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Although the club activities slow down somewhat in the summer, many of you will be birding on your vacations this summer. If you find a special area or would like to report on any unusual sightings, we will have a section in the October newsletter for "Birds I Saw on My Summer Vacation." Please send your contributions to either Larry Fry or Les Eastman by September 25.
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| Monday, June 15 | Field Trip Committee meeting at 7 PM at Dave Webb's house. |
| Saturday, July 11 | Martha Lewis Cruise at 6 PM. |
| Friday, July 17 | Summer Social at the Leight Estuary Center at 6:30 PM. |
| Wednesday. July 22 | Deadline to submit Harford bird reports to Russ Kovach for May 21 - July 21. Russ' address is 810 Falconer Rd, Joppatowne, MD 21085. |
| Saturday, July 25 | Deadline for submitting articles for the August newsletter to Les Eastman. Les' address is 4034 Wilkinson Road, HdeG, MD 21078. |
| Wednesday, Aug 12 | Harford Bird Club Executive Council at Larry Fry's house at 7:00 PM. |
| Saturday, Sep 12 | Annual Club Picnic at Rocks 4-H Camp from 2 to 6 PM. |
| Friday, Nov 6 | Dinner Meeting at Churchville Presbyterian Church. |
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Hats off to Marsha Webb, winner of two ribbons at this year's Havre de Grace Decoy Festival held on the first weekend of May. This being her first show, Marsha entered her drake Oldsquaw in the Novice Division. Competing in the Decorative, Life-size Non-Floating category she won second place within species, and a third place "Best of Show" award among all waterfowl entries. Congratulations, Marsha!
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Sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Capt. Lucille Wilson, who died on May 18 at Harford Memorial hospital. She was 82 years old. According to the club history, she has been a member since 1955 and was very active in the club. Although not able to participate in club activities in recent years, "Captain Willie" maintained her membership and retained her interest in birds and wildlife protection.
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Ten participants gathered at 7:30 AM with Mary Procell and me at Harford Glen on Saturday, March 28. Harford Glen is such a great diversified habitat that a few surprises are common. This turned out to be the first warm weekend of the spring with temperatures in the 80's and the birds were very cooperative. Our final total was 42 species including Savannah Sparrows, two Pileated Woodpeckers, and two flyby Bald Eagles.
Six people met on April 4, 1998, for the Rocks field trip. It was a misty, gray morning and not very warm. There were very few birds present and we were able to view only 32 species. Of these we were able to see all the possible woodpeckers except Red Headed, we had good looks at Belted Kingfishers and our best bird was a singing Northern Waterthrush, which sat only twenty feet from us and never flew away. We ended the trip early due to it starting to rain.
Our first attempt at weekday field trip was a success when six people showed up for a slow leisurely walk at Mariner Point Park in Joppatowne on Tuesday, April 14. The weatherman forecasted rain, but it was a pleasant, sunny spring morning instead. We saw 24 species of common birds including my first Common Yellowthroat of the season.
Agroup of seven club members took a leisurely walk along West Chapel Road north of Aberdeen on May 3. The sunny, warm weather was a welcome reprieve from the rains of the previous two days, and the birds also seemed to enjoy the relief as the air was full of song for the entire morning. We convened at the home of club members Bob & Betty Muse, where our first sightings of the morning were a Baltimore Oriole and Red-breasted Nuthatch in the same tree in the Muse's yard! Other nice species encountered along West Chapel Road included Eastern Meadowlark, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Eastern Kingbird (displaying the red crown patch!), Brown Thrasher, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. While walking along Aldino Road en route to our shuttle vehicle, we came across a Yellow-throated Vireo, Orchard Oriole, and our best bird of the day - a Nashville Warbler. This uncommon spring migrant was seen only briefly by a few in th e group, however everyone was able to hear its distinctive song. We finished up by walking the perimeter of Harford Memorial Gardens. Here we added Osprey, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and Prairie Warbler to our list, which totaled 61 species by trip's end.
Fourteen veterans and newcomers arrived at Deer Creek Farm, home of Rich Norling, on May 6 to walk through horse pastures and along the creek and brushy field edges. We saw and heard a total of 42 species, including Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Eastern Bluebirds, Great Blue Heron, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Red-winged Blackbird. Everyone appreciated Rich's hospitality.
Twelve intrepid Birders turned out for this morning trip. The weather was about as bad as it could get for a woodland birding trip. Rain to make one's binoculars fog up and bad light so that every bird appears a dark silhouette. Enough to tax the skills of even the experienced birder. Through the murk though, a number of interesting sightings were made to brighten the day. One of our group skillfully called up a group of male American Redstarts which chased one another through the trees much to the delight of beginning and experienced birders alike. A very cooperative Yellow-billed Cuckoo gave the party some of the best views of this normally secretive bird that they will see for a long time. Overall, over forty species were seen or heard. The Harford Bird Club is fortunate to have such a group of dedicated and persistent birders among its members.
Abeautiful May morning greeted 8 participants who gathered outside the Leight Estuary Center and listened to Wood Thrushes, White-eyed Vireos, and Magnolia Warblers singing while waiting for the canoes. We launched at the John Smith Park Area, where a singing Warbling Vireo watched us launch. Two Bald Eagles were picturesquely perched upon a snag at the rounding of the first point. Least Terns were flying by as we canoed up to Snake Island and into the headwaters of the estuary. Occasionally we were startled by huge carp bent on reproduction. Once in the forested section, we observed waves of migrants including Blackpoll, Prothonotary and Yellow Warblers, and both orioles. Back to the Leight Center, we hiked some of the adjoining trails for some more forest birds. A total of 57 species was seen or heard.
On Sunday, May 17, 1998, I led 7 birders on a two-mile walk through this relatively unknown birding area. Sweet Air Area offers a mix of open fields, edges and heavily wooded areas, as well as the Little Gunpowder River crossing through the park. It was a delightful day with mild temperatures and clear sky.
We saw 7 species of warblers including Blackpoll and Ovenbird. We again had an excellent look at a singing Veery and saw a pair of nest building Scarlet Tanagers. At the end of our walk, we saw a kettle of Broad-winged Hawks. Our total species count for the day was 49.
On Thursday, May 21, nine willing souls toured our raptor triage facilities. The group had a chance to see raptors really, really close. They went inside the flight cages and had the opportunity to touch a Barred Owl and Screech Owl. Entertainment was provided by Velcrow, the talking crow. Everyone was amazed of the great speaking ability of the Corvids. The bird has Debbie Delevan's voice down, accent and all. The bird sightings consisted of Common Yellowthroat, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Eastern Towhees, Pewees, Red-shouldered Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks. Three Red-shouldered Hawk's nests were observed with the parents circling above. The youngsters in the group got to hand feed a baby crow that is being rehabilitated at the facility. Kit Brown and Dave Powell gave us wonderful tips on native plants. All of us shared our expertise and had a great time.
The trip was billed as an Oriole and Eagle Watch and we saw plenty of each. We saw 4 or 5 Bald Eagles, including two flights almost directly over our heads at treetop level. Both Baltimore Orioles and Orchard Orioles were numerous as were Warbling Vireos. Other highlights were a female Baltimore Oriole building a nest, a Yellow-throated Vireo on the nest, and an Eastern Kingbird on the nest. We also found the nesting hole of a pair of Prothonotary Warblers. We had 52 species for the morning
Our annual Memorial Day bird walk in the Upper Deer Creek Valley was a big success. Twelve people saw over fifty species, most of which gave us good looks. Highlights included Worm-eating Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper, Horned Larks, Willow Flycatcher, both orioles, Warbling Vireo, and Cedar Waxwings. The beautiful weather made for an enjoyable morning.
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Return to Table of ContentsPlease return to Larry Fry, 1202 Ridge Road, Pylesville, MD 21132 by Thursday, July 2, 1998. __________ Number of adults ( at $5.00 each ) __________ Number of children under 14 ( at $3.00 each ) Please make checks payable to Harford County MOS. _______________________________ Print your name(s) Include address and phone number if you would like transportation to the meeting. _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ SUMMER SOCIAL RESERVATION FORM