Tomorrow, my son Declan and his Mom (my stunningly gorgeous wife Emery) are going to accompany me to the Cromwell Valley Park, just North of Baltimore. We are hoping to see a NORTHERN SHRIKE. This bird has been seen this week, enjoying the perks of the park located near the Loch Raven Reservoir, in the heart of the Cromwell Valley. I'm sure my love and my lovely son will enjoy the scenery and the trip.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes a NORTHERN SHRIKE as a predatory songbird that breeds in taiga and tundra and winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. Maryland, as you know, is not really all that North. So, this bird is a little South for it's range. NORTHERN SHRIKES dine on small birds, mammals, and insects, sometimes impaling them on spines or barbed wire fences. Yum.
Impaling. What could be better than that? Wish us luck. If we see it, we sure will be Vlad. Ok, I did reach a little for that joke.
If you should decide to try to see the PAINTED BUNTING for yourself this weekend, I think you will be quite successful. This brightly-colored songbird has been very reliable with it's feeding habits. No, it hasn't impaled anything... yet. It eats millet mostly.
In other good news this Friday, I can confirm that at least ONE of the Severn River Bridge PEREGRINE FALCONS have returned to the girders under the freshly-painted blue span. Sue Riccardi, famous for her Fort Smallwood Hawk Watch, emailed me earlier in the week to inform me that she saw a PEREGRINE flying near the bridge when she was crossing it. I'll take this as a sure sign of spring.
Oddly enough, I swear a PEFA (PEREGRINE FALCON) flew over my house at 4:30 this afternoon. Every bird that was relaxing in nearly every tree darted for the skies when they saw this raptor coming. Sadly, it flew too fast for a positive identification and it didn't even stop. It must have been in a hurry to beat the Annapolis rush hour traffic.
In the coming days, there will be more news about our local PEREGRINE FALCONS written here on the NERVOUS blog. Stay tuned.
Enjoy Your Weekend,
Dan
Friday, February 8, 2008
May No One SHRIKE Out Trying To See Life Birds This Weekend
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1 comment:
Sounds like you've been having good luck chasing birds.-I would love to see a male Painted Bunting-I did see a female which was a fairly dull green.-Good luck with your future endeavors-I enjoyed your added bit of humor.
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