Strange Visitor?

My good friend and band mate Josh Chapman had this strange little visitor drop by he and his wife Anne's front porch yesterday in St. Margarets, MD. Could it be a commonly-sold DOMINANT SILVER ZEBRA FINCH? They go for almost $40 smackers! It's more than likely an escaped pet, but the identification is still a fun activity worth exploring.The little bird flew away soon after these two cell phone shots were taken. No more updates to report as of today.So, regardless of how you feel about those cute little birds trapped in cages at your local pet store, what do you think it is?

The little guy (or gal) sure looks sad in that second photo, eh?

Dan>

Become Enlightened

It's raining here at the beach, so I went on the interweb. There I found my friend Josh Cohen's blog. He is my local Representative and lives only a block or two away from my home. His yard is looking good, but what's more, his website is very informative. If you live in Anne Arundel County, I would go so far as to call it a 'must-read'. It even has the same minty-green background. Soothing to look at, right?And now... some bird-related news: North Carolina, the state located just South of Virginia, and North of South Carolina, has a great deal of fun. I've seen a lot of new life birds: SANDWICH TERN, WILSON'S PLOVER, BACHMAN'S SPARROW, EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE, and a bird with the absolute, best name... a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE.And though I've seen a WOOD STORK in Costa Rica, finding over 30 of them in two trees was an impressive sight.The even have an island devoted entirely to goats. I've your in North Carolina, you simply must goat. It's not ba-a-a-a-a-a-d.I've been birding with my wife's sister Eliza's significant other this week. The famous Chris Murray. Here is a photo of Chris, Eliza, Emery, Declan and myself enjoying a moment of beach bliss. The Dec-Man LOVES the beach, the water, the sand, the surf and of course, the ladies.We hope you are enjoying your own bliss this week as well.

Dan

Welcome to the Annapolis Environmental Commission

I'm honored. Recently, I learned that I was added to the Annapolis Environmental Commission. I am eager to learn about the role of the Commission. What's more, I can't wait to get some of my ideas turned into actions! I've got ideas for everything from regular community waterway clean-up events, to building chimney swift towers, erecting more purple martin houses, to implementing elementary school yard habitat improvement contests to... well, I could go on and on and...

Suffice it to say, I'm very excited.

Have a great weekend.

Dan

Falcon Update

Despite numerous unsuccessful checks for a nest this year to the Severn River Bridge, it appears as if the Peregrines may finally have set up shop. More details will soon be learned. US Fish & Wildlife Endangered Species Biologist Craig Koppie will be sneaking a peak sometime soon. With any luck, I might be able to join in on the fun. I will certainly keep you posted. In the meantime, here are three superb photos (taken by Craig) of the Peregrine Falcon Family from the Route 495 American Legion Bridge that connects Montgomery County, Maryland with Northern Virginia. Mom, Dad and hatch year female... all looking happy, healthy and marvelous.

MOM

DAD

HATCH YEAR FEMALE

Enjoy your week,

Dan

The Creek is Sparkling Clean

I trust everyone had a fine 4th of July weekend. Here are some results from today's excursions.

My friend Josh Chapman and I set out on kayaks at the crack of dawn (or maybe it was 10AM?) for the first annual 'Clean Up the Mess on the Bay Day'. Our prize? We took home SEVEN fully-stuffed black garbage bags filled with old cans, glass, styrofoam, nets, yards and yards of cloth, Tyvek house wrap, rusty wire crab traps, and more plastic bits of junk than one could ever imagine. I hope everyone enjoys the new, much cleaner looking Severn River.

Oh, but what about the birds you ask? Here are some highlights...

TWO PURPLE MARTINS. They have recently moved into one of the two Martin gourd houses that I installed around Weems Creek in West Annapolis. The white gourds are easily visible from the Ridgely Avenue Bridge just to the North. As for the second martin house, it is located high up on a hill at my friend's home, a far too difficult location for us to reach today. We had our minds on our garbage-collecting mission. I did send my friend an email to inquire about his gourds. As of yet, I have no information on the second martin house and/or it's possible current residents. As per the usual, there were numerous Ospreys and Barn Swallows. But the best news of the day: TWO PEREGRINE FALCONS may have started a family. After some extended observation, it is highly likely that these two have a scrape and are in the process of raising chick(s). More soon.

I returned home and took a much needed shower to remove that wonderful marshy-mud smell. Decided to get back out and do some more birding... this time with less trash.

Later, I was joined by Warren and Lisa Strobel of THE BIRD COUPLE fame. We spent a few hours at Waterworks Park and vicinity in Annapolis. Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Northern-Rough Winged Swallows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark, Belted Kingfisher, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Barn Swallows, Cedar Waxwings and Orchard Orioles were just some of the avian highlights. We also found some really interesting plants and empty eggs that will be fun to ID.

It was deja vu all over again. I returned home and took yet another shower, this time to remove the bug-repellent. And now... I'm happy enjoying some much needed relaxation.

Good Birding,

Dan

Ravens, Falcons and Cleaning Up Your Bay

I saw a poll on WBAL Channel 11's 6AM news cast this morning while feeding now my 6-month old son Declan his mushed-up bananas. It read something like, "Do you think it's okay for the Baltimore Ravens NFL Football team to fly trained Ravens over the stadium during home games?" They were asking people to email their responses about how they felt about the idea and about PETA protesting the live birds at M&T Stadium. County listers, I don't think this would count. Anyway, my son and I were covered in bananas, so I couldn't email the station with my response hon.

And here is a somewhat bird-related idea for the coming weekend...

This Sunday is the Chesapeake Bay's Kennedy Fitzgerald Pick Up or Shut Up (July 6th, 2008). It is an annual event dedicated to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. I don't know exactly what it's about, but I'll be out on my kayak in the Severn River with my garbage bag cleaning up Weems Creek and the surrounding areas. If you have time on Sunday, perhaps you too might spend some time cleaning up a stream, tributary, or even the bay itself?

While I'm out there, I'll be sure to paddle over to the two Severn River Bridges. The local pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS have been using both bridges this summer for perching, hanging out, passing the time, etc. No nesting news available as of yet. If I find anything out, I'll be sure to let you know. The giant nest box that was installed this past winter has not been moved into yet. You can read all about that experience HERE.If you go to Jonas Green Park or the Severn Inn near the Naval Academy / Rt 450 bridge, look up under the span at all of the mounted lights. The male has been perched there on a few occasions under the highest part of the bridge. A scope would make this a more enjoyable experience.These two photos were from this past Saturday, June 28th.

Have a great 4th of July weekend. You should start your holiday by celebrating your independence from Rainwater Runoff. If you live in Anne Arundel County, get your RAIN BARRELS HERE!

Good Birding,

Dan

My Community Kills Bees (and who knows what else?)

Last night, my wife Emery, five-month old son Declan and I decided to go downtown to get some ice cream on a warm summer evening. As we were walking out to the car, a truck came by spraying for mosquitos. What???

I started running towards my car and threw Declan and his car seat into the car and slammed the door. My wife and I unfortunately had the cloud of toxic chemical flow right past us. I was beyond upset.

So I called Anne Arundel County this morning. It turns out that our West Annapolis Community ASKED for this crap. Unreal. I never got any notice and our community association is weakly organized at best. There is NO online website or place on the web to find contact information except for a website that was last updated in February 2007.

The gentlemen with Anne Arundel County whom I spoke with this morning was very nice. He told me that the driver should have turned off the mist spray whenever anyone was near. This driver did no such thing and he no doubt saw me running with my my infant to get him out of the spray. Well, I am now (after the fact) able to exempt my property from this toxic gas. What parent in their right mind would chose THIS over a few bumps on their child's skin? People are so screwed up with their priorities.

Here are some highlighted hazards that my community actually ASKED to have sprayed into our lives:

HAZARDS TO HUMANS AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS
Caution. Causes moderate eye irritation. Harmful if swallowed, absorbed through skin or inhaled. Avoid contact with skin, eyes or clothing. Avoid breathing vaporor spray mist. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling and before eating, drinking, chewing gum, or using tobacco. Prolonged or frequently repeat-ed skin contact may cause allergic reactions in some individuals. Remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
This product is extremely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates. Do not apply directly to water, to areas where surface water is present or to intertidal areasbelow the mean high water mark. Do not apply when weather conditions favor drift from treated areas. Drift and runoff from treated areas may be hazardous toaquatic organisms in neighboring areas. Do not contaminate water when disposing of equipment washwaters. This product is highly toxic to bees exposed todirect treatment on blooming crops or weeds. Do not apply this product or allow it to drift to blooming crops or weeds while bees are actively visiting the treat-ment area. Do not allow spray treatment to drift on pasture land, crop land (other than crops listed), or water supplies.

Incidentally, I thought we were supposed to be concerned about massive honey bee die-offs. But here in West Annapolis, we requested their demise in order to hopefully prevent a few bug bites.

My family and I live amongst fools.

If you think your community might be getting poisoned with this crap, here is a form you can use to EXEMPT your property. Click HERE to view and print the form.

-Dan