Volume 16 Number 2 |
April 2003 |
It seems that the past year has been one of mourning - the most recent loss being Joe Vangrin. Joe was a staunch supporter of the Harford Bird Club and of the hobby of birdwatching. He represented the Harford Chapter at MOS, was always willing to help with a function; and with Carole, made sure we received our newsletters. We will miss him and his quiet, friendly participation.
A well-earned Spring has finally arrived - a busy time for birds and birdwatchers. Be sure to sign up to participate in the May Count on May 10th, and plan to participate in our Public Relations activities on Earth Day, April 19th and the Decoy Festival in Havre de Grace May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. There is always a need for volunteers to represent the club at our display tables to answer questions about birds and Harford Bird Club activities. Also keep in mind our July meeting featuring the interests, hobbies, and talents of our club members.
It is hard to believe that it has been two years since I became President of the Harford Bird Club. It has been an interesting, fulfilling, sometimes frustrating, but mostly an enjoyable experience. It is now my pleasure to introduce our new leadership team who will be installed at the May dinner meeting. Our new President will be Jean Wheeler; Vice-President - Debbie Stewart; Recording Secretary - Marjorie Heagy; Corresponding Secretary - Carole Vangrin; Treasurer - Joyce Gorsuch; and our State Board Representatives: Tom Congersky and one spot open for a volunteer.
Our speaker for the May dinner meeting will be Bob Schutsky from Bird Treks. He will tell us about the return of the raptors on the Susquehanna. Plan to attend and to bring a guest. EVERY MEMBER WHO BRINGS A GUEST WILL RECEIVE A PRIZE! May the Bluebird of happiness nest in your box. Carol Flora
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My family and I thank you all for caring - for your words of encouragement, prayers, cards and calls throughout the past year. It meant a lot to us to have the support of friends.
Sincerely,
Leslie, Michael and Carol Flora
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Volunteer participation is needed for this year's Earth Day 2003 and the 22nd Annual Decoy and Wildlife Festival. The Earth Day 2003 event is being held on Saturday, April 19, from 11:00 to 4:00 at Swan Harbor Farms in Havre de Grace. Over 1,500 visitors and over 35 exhibitors are expected to be part of this exciting event. The Harford Bird Club has been part of this event offering an interactive display of bird facts and two bird walks. Needed are five volunteers for two hour time spots and two bird walk leaders. The 22nd Annual Decoy and Wildlife Festival is to be held on the weekend of May 2, 3, and 4. Friday evening will require volunteers to set up our display. Other volunteers will be needed to man the display on Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers are primarily needed to greet folks and answer questions about our club's activities at both of these events. If you are able to participate, please contact Debby Stewart as soon as possible.
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Sympathy is extended to Carole Vangrin and her family upon the loss of husband and father, Joe Vangrin, who died on March 17, 2003, at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air of a sudden heart attack. He was 65.
Born in Greensburg, Pa., he was the son of Bernard Francis Vangrin of Slicksville, Pa., and the late Anna Kuzman Vangrin.
Joe received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University and a master's degree in mathematics from Montclair State College in New Jersey. His master's program was sponsored by the National Science Foundation. He had been retired from the Harford County Public Schools for seven years after 33 years of service as a mathematics teacher and work experience coordinator. He also had served as an adjunct faculty member at Essex and Harford community colleges. He had coached varsity football at Edgewood and C. Milton Wright high schools and at Apollo High School in Pennsylvania.
Joe had been a member of the Harford County Bird Club since 1988. He had served on the field trip committee for many years and had represented Harford County as a director on the Maryland Ornithological Society state board since 1995. He was always willing to lend a helping hand, whether it was assisting in hosting a state board meeting, setting up for the wine and cheese social, leading a field trip, helping out at the annual picnic, or putting the room back in order after a dinner meeting. He had traveled to Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, and Utah with "Spike" Updegrove on two summer birding forays. He and Carole had attended several Elderhostels after retiring. He was an avid fan of high school, college, and pro sports teams of western Pennsylvania, a member of the Bel Air Athletic Club, and treasurer of Boy Scout Troop 999 in Forest Hill. In addition to his love of birds, Joe had a diversity of interests including architecture, landscaping and horticulture, art, natural history, and Civil War and military history. Joe was a loving, kind and gentle man who greeted each day with a smile. He had a witty sense of humor and a positive attitude toward life.
In addition to his father, Mr. Vangrin is survived by his wife of 39 years, Carole L. Vasbinder Vangrin; a son, Eric Edward Vangrin of Bel Air; two daughters, Dawn L. Vangrin of Chestertown and Bethany A. Vangrin of Bel Air; two brothers, Bernard Vangrin of Napa Valley, California, and Robert Vangrin of Queensland, Australia; a sister, Anna Quinn of Export, Pa., and numerous sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.
Services were held on March 21, 2003 at the McComas Funeral Home in Bel Air. Interment was in Greenwood Cemetery in Indiana, Pa., on March 22.
Contributions in Joe's memory may be sent to Harford County MOS, c/o Ms. Joyce Gorsuch, 726 Loveville Road, Hockessin, Delaware 19707-1508. Jean Fry
Editor's Note: Joe was one of the genuinely nicest of men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing; and working with in club activities. He and Carole have patiently bailed me out of more than a few "late" newsletters. For that I have always been thankful. But I'll remember Joe most for his thoughtful sharing of a kind word and his quiet and sincere demeanor, suggestive of an unequaled humbleness - a courtesy blessed of greater men. R. L. Cheicante
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| April 19 | Earth Day with annual Earth Day Celebration at Swan Harbor. |
| May 2 | Dinner Meeting at Churchville Presbyterian Church at 6:15 p.m. Topic: "Return of the Raptors". |
| May 2-4 | 22nd Annual Havre de Grace Decoy and Wildlife Festival. |
| May 10 | May Count. |
| May 16 | Deadline - to contribute Harford Birdlife reports to Jean Fry for March 16, 2003 - May 15, 2003. Jean's address is 1202 Ridge Road, Pylesville, MD 21132 or email at ffryjl@aol.com. |
| March 23 | Deadline - to submit articles for the May/June issue of Wrenderings to Rick Cheicante. Rick's address is 1003-F Jessica's Ct, Bel Air, MD 21014 or rickcheicante@cs.com. |
| May 24-26 | MOS Conference in Potomac, MD. |
| July 18 | Summer Social at Anita Leight Estuary Center. |
| September 6 | Annual Picnic at Mariner Point Park in Joppatowne. |
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John Wortman Memorial Scholarship - The first John Wortman Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Thomas Smith, a third grade teacher at Fountain Green Elementary School in Bel Air. Mr. Smith is very interested in environmental and ecology issues and tries to incorporate them into his science curriculum wherever possible. He will be attending Workshop for Educators at Hog Island, Maine, from July 6-12. This workshop is designed especially for teachers and emphasizes integration of ecology and ornithology into the curriculum. The Maryland Ornithological Society scholarship committee is grateful to Lorna Wortman, her family, and the Harford Bird Club for making this scholarship possible. J. Fry
Welcome New Members - The Harford Bird Club would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest members:
Bylaws Revision: Update - The bylaws committee met three times and has finished with suggested revisions. All members of the Harford Bird Club will be receiving a mailing in mid-April which will include a copy of the old bylaws (dated 1988) and a copy of the proposed revisions. Please read over both when you receive them and come to the meeting on May 2, 2003, prepared to ask any questions you may have and to vote on the revisions. Members of the committee are: Debbie Bowers, Carol Flora, Dave Larkin, John Nack, and Larry and Jean Fry. J. Fry
Trivia Answer - The world's rarest bird may be the po'ouli, or Hawaiian Honeycreeper. There are 3 individuals left with the last known breeding to have occurred five years ago.
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Between December 5, 2002 and February 26, 2003, the area experienced about twenty "snow events" with a total of 55.6 inches. About 45 inches of that snow fell in the time period covered in this column. Temperatures remained at freezing or below and into the teens and twenties. We didn't reach fifty or sixty degrees until mid-March. Most ponds and lakes were completely or at least partially ice covered until that time also, which delayed the migration of waterfowl a couple of weeks compared to milder winters in recent years.
Red-necked Grebe sightings were of particular note. LE and MH spotted at least six actively diving and feeding at Lapidum Landing on the Susquehanna River on 3/1. Along with them were at least two Horned Grebes and two Pied-billed Grebes. LE reported two RNG at Lapidum Landing on 3/14, and RC saw five or six there on 3/15, with a couple showing early breeding plumage.
DL saw a Double-crested Cormorant at Lapidum Landing on 2/9; RC saw one there on 3/15.
Reports of waterfowl dominate the column this time. DL found a Mute Swan and a Tundra Swan at Swan Harbor on 2/2. How appropriate! PP found two Mute Swans at Mariner Point on 2/12. DW saw five Mute Swans in Spesutie Narrows on 3/15. LE saw thousands of Common Mergansers, feeding, flying, and loafing on the ice in the Susquehanna River up from the lighthouse in Havre de Grace on 1/19. He saw one immature female come up with a fish too large for it to swallow. A Herring Gull started harassing it. He didn't see the outcome. LE found an extravaganza of waterfowl in Havre de Grace on 1/25 including about 500 Mallards, 25 Black Duck, 6 American Wigeon, almost 100 Canvasback, 12 Redhead, 35 Ring-necked Duck, about 100 Lesser Scaup, about 100 Bufflehead, over 100 Ruddy Duck, 250 Common Merganser, 114 Gadwall. At the foot of Greene Street in HDG were 50 Hooded Mergansers and 50 Bufflehead. At the dock there was a pair of Wood Ducks and one Pintail in with the Mallards. On 2/2 DL saw American Wigeon, Gadwall, Hooded Merganser, and Common Merganser at Swan Harbor. DL also saw Red-breasted Merganser, Greater Scaup, and Ring-necked Duck at HDG on 2/9. At Lapidum Landing that same day he found Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye. PP saw one Bufflehead, two Hooded Mergansers, and about 36 Scaup species at Mariner Point on 2/12. On 2/15 he found one Ring-necked Duck and two Common Mergansers there. On 3/1 LE saw Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Common Merganser at Lapidum Landing. DK reported 70 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Redheads, 5 Black Ducks, 12 Mallards, and 5 American Wigeon on Turney's pond on Harford Creamery Road in White Hall. RC spotted two pair plus an additional male Wood Duck, one Green-winged Teal, many Mallards, and a few Black Duck at Harford Glen on 3/15. With a bit of open water on Lake Mitten in Pylesville by 3/9, JLF started to spot waterfowl: a pair of Hooded Mergansers on 3/9, 3/14, and 3/15, five Ring-necked Ducks on 3/14 and seven Ring-necked Ducks (six male and one female) on 3/15.
The only Osprey report came from LE on 3/15 at Conowingo Dam. He heard that there were four seen there that day. LE also found about ten Bald Eagles at that spot on 3/8. Earlier, he had seen at least twelve immature Bald Eagles out on the ice in the bay on 1/25. PP saw one mature and one immature Bald Eagle at Mariner Point on 2/15. DB had a Rough-legged Hawk for the first time in her backyard in Street on 1/24. There have been numerous reports of them farther north in PA this winter. JCV had a Red-shouldered Hawk in their backyard on 1/24. JLF found one near Lake Mitten on 2/24. RC saw one at Harford Glen on 3/15. JLF had four Red-tailed Hawks soaring over Lake Mitten on 1/19. Six American Crows were mobbing a RTH at that location on 1/22. Two RTH were seen there on 2/10. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew by near JLF's feeders on 1/21, and was seen in the lawn on 2/27. A Cooper's Hawk was seen near last year's nest on 3/12 in the woods at JLF's, and was heard calling on 3/15. Last year the first day that they observed nest building was on 3/12. CP saw sixteen large hawks riding the thermals on 3/8 in Jarrettsville. They were very white with black tips on their wings. Red-shouldered Hawks from the area checked them out but came back.
LE saw about 400 American Coots at Havre de Grace on 1/25. DK found two at Turney's pond on Harford Creamery Road in White Hall on 3/9.
DK had American Woodcock displaying in the pasture next to his lane in White Hall on 3/15.
LE estimated the following numbers of gulls at Havre de Grace on 1/25: 2000 Ring-billed, 750 Herring, 228 Great Black-backed, and several thousand gull species out on the bay and flying up and down the river. He also saw one Lesser Black-backed Gull at that location that day. PP reported eight Great Black-backed Gulls at Mariner Point on 2/15.
DB in Street heard a Barred Owl on 1/29 and several on 2/13. JLF heard one calling in Pylesville on 3/10 at 5:45 a.m. PP took a flashlight out to try to find one that he heard calling in Joppatowne on 3/16 at 3 a.m. Unfortunately, he set off his neighbor's motion light. He heard two other owls calling before running back inside.
There were several reports of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers: MCF in Jarrettsville saw one at their feeder on 1/26 and occasionally after that along with Hairy, Downy, and Red-bellied; TB had two on 1/18; one was nestled against an old oak tree and the other one was hanging on the suet feeder. She also had two Downies on her suet feeder, and one Northern Flicker. RC had a Downy and Hairy throughout the time of snow cover in Bel Air. JLF had a Hairy occasionally throughout the time period and found one on Grande View Drive in Pylesville on 2/24. EH in Churchville reported a Downy at her suet feeder on 2/19.
Most people reported White-breasted Nuthatches at their feeders including RC in Bel Air and EH in Churchville on 2/28. TB had a Carolina Wren on her woodpile in Jarrettsville on 1/18. JLF had a pair all winter; they started nest building in an open carriage shed about 3/12.
KB in Bel Air had a Brown Creeper on her suet on 1/20 and 1/21 as well as other days. It would get on the bottom and work its way up the suet. JLF also had a BC feeding on their suet in Pylesville on 1/19, 2/11,2/14, 2/24, and 2/25. Some observers noted that this was the first time that they had observed this bird feeding on suet.
EE from Bel Air reported a flock of about 150 American Robins in her yard on 1/8. (This was received too late to include in the last column.) EH in Churchville had seven scratching in the flower garden where the ground was bare on 2/21. RC saw Eastern Bluebirds at Steppingstone on 3/15. DB in Street saw a Hermit Thrush eating holly berries when the snow was so deep. JLF had a HT in their backyard in an area of bare lawn in the sun on 2/12, a cold windy day from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. It pumped with its feet and finally pulled a worm out of the ground! It also appeared on 2/13 and 2/14.
DL found two Gray Catbirds on 2/9 at Havre de Grace. LE had a Brown Thrasher on 2/18 near Havre de Grace. It was feeding on the ground where he had spread some black oil sunflower seeds.
Eastern Towhees were reported by JCV near the pond in their backyard in Bel Air on 1/24 (a pair), by JLF below the dam at Lake Mitten on 1/24, by EH on 2/20 in Churchville at her feeder, by MCF during the week of the big snow, and by RC in Bel Air throughout the snow cover.
The following numbers of Fox Sparrows were seen: one by PP at Mariner Point on 2/12, one by RC at a Creswell feeder on 3/8 and 3/9, three by RC in Creswell on 3/15, two by JLF in backyard in Pylesville on 3/10, 3/11, and 3/14, and two by JLF near Lake Mitten on 3/15.
LF found five American Tree Sparrows below the dam at Lake Mitten on 1/24. RC reported a Field Sparrow throughout the time of snow cover at a feeder in Creswell. RC also noted some White-throated Sparrows with great head color.
DB in Street saw a Purple Finch on 1/20. TB had two Song Sparrows at her feeder in Jarrettsville on 1/18. A lone Pine Siskin report came from JW in Glen Arm in Baltimore County on 3/2. MCF reported lots of Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds at their feeders throughout February. JLF noted very few Northern Cardinals earlier in the season, but by the middle of February they were seeing from five to eight males (and about the same number of females) at a time near their feeders in Pylesville.
Contributors to this column were: Deborah Bowers (DB), Tina Boyd (TB), Kit Brown (KB), Rick Cheicante (RC), Martha Crouse-Farley (MCF), Les Eastman (LE), Eleanor Edwards (EE), Jean and Larry Fry (JLF), Emily Hines (EH), Dennis Kirkwood (DK), Dave Larkin (DL), Carol Pace (CP), Phil Powers (PP), Joe and Carole Vangrin (JCV), Dave Webb (DW), and Jean Williams (JW).
The deadline for the next Harford Birdlife column is Friday, May 16 for the time period of March 16 until May 15. Be sure to include the date and location of your sighting. Please send your submissions to: Jean Fry, 1202 Ridge Road, Pylesville, MD 21132. E-mail: ffryjl@aol.com Phone: 410-452-8539.
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No remarkable species were found, however, some interesting relative abundance estimates were of note. Common Merganser edged out the Canada Goose for the most common waterfowl species. Twenty-three Bald Eagles were recorded, and there were three times the number of Rock Doves tallied relative to Mourning Doves. Fish Crows were missed and only one Fox Sparrow was found. The only owl species found were Barred Owls (Powers and Congersky).
Thanks go out to all who participated: Les Eastman, Bill Pfingsten, Tom Congersky, Suzanne Procell, Spike Updegrove (and 16 CMW students), Phil Powers, John and Barbara Cupp Sr., Carol Flora and Macrina Seitz, Jean Wheeler, Rick Cheicante, Eli and Teri Connell. Mark Johnson
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Please return to Eileen Nack, 8 Cresmont Drive, Aberdeen MD 21001 by April 23, 2003. __________ Number of adults ( at $11.00 each ) __________ Number of children 12 and under ( at $7.00 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. _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ TEL:___________________________ DINNER RESERVATION FORM