Once again we are seeing the beginning of the "fall" migrations along the coast, even though mankind says August is still summer. Many of the shorebirds that were seen in spring (Knots, Yellowlegs, Sanderlings, Turnstones, Plovers) have completed their nesting season in the far north. Those now heading south are mostly adults who have finished their responsibilities and are leaving their nestlings to continue feeding and strengthening flight muscles.

These adults certainly look bedraggled as their feathers have been faded by the sun and edges torn by the stress of the flight north, mating, and nest building. Some have started to molt into their winter plumage, thus making identification more difficult.

We are beginning to see subtle changes in the coloring of the adult gulls as they begin their transition to winter plumage. This, along with the appearance of the immatures, increases the difficulties we have with identification. Learn the differences in body sizes as a clue, and trust your field guides to fill in the various nuances of color.

The same places you visited to watch the northward procession of the shorebirds are also great locations to observe their fall migrations: Brigantine and Cape May, New Jersey; Bombay Hook and Port Mahon, Delaware; Ocean City and Assateague, Maryland; and Chincoteague, Virginia are great places to put your scopes and binocs to use.

Do not give up - apply your abilities and knowledge to the task. Think positive! You can identify these shorebirds and gulls at this annual intermediate stage in their lives. Go for it, and Good Birding!

Earl Palmer

This issue of CHIP NOTES marks the beginning of a new birding year for the Baltimore Bird Club. The enclosed Membership Directory includes the new list of officers for the club. Earl Palmer is continuing as President and Bob Rineer is now Vice-President. Incidentally, our past president, Bill Newman, has become President of our parent organization, the Maryland Ornithological Society. Congratulations, and good luck!

There have been some major changes in the publications area. Michele Melia is now the Chairperson for publications, replacing Karen Skuldt, who is moving to Meadville, Pa. Thank you, Karen, for your years of hard work for the club. We wish you the best of luck. Steve Sanford is taking over the editorship of CHIP NOTES. Many thanks to Dottee Palmer for doing this job last year. Terry Ross is taking over the job of Distribution Coordinator for CHIP NOTES. We urge you to contact him at 467-8137 to help assemble the mailings and get them to the post office.

Try to take the time to complete the membership questionnaire included with this mailing. Please send it with your dues. This is your big chance to express your preferences on various subjects such as the ever-popular program book issue.

FROM THE PROGRAM COMMITTEE

LINKING TALKS AND TRIPS

This year the Program Committee is coordinating some of the Tuesday Evening at Cylburn lectures with our field trip schedule. BBC field trips have always tracked the "hot" or most plentiful bird species of each season. So this year we have scheduled as many lectures as possible to provide basic birding information for the seasonal birds. (For example, fall and spring warblers, fall hawk migration, and winter waterfowl and gulls.) Please check the Tuesday lecture write-ups in the Chip Notes for the planned follow-up field trips. We hope this new format will be helpful and fun for all birders, from beginners to advanced.

BEYOND BIRDING

Based on your response to last year's questionnaire, we are also scheduling a few new "Beyond Birding" trips. The first will be on Maryland Mushrooms, October 3 to be led by fungus expert and BBC member, Paul Noell.

Perhaps you are knowledgeable about butterflies, reptiles, trees, or geology, to name a few possibilities. If you could lead a "Beyond Birding" trip or have any other suggestions, please call Karen Morley, Program Coordinator, at (410) 547-0306.

TUESDAY AT CYLBURN

The first two lectures at Cylburn this season are both oriented towards helping you with identifying birds. The September 1 lecture will feature Pete Webb, faithful BBC field trip leader and organizer, showing us how to identify fall warblers in their tricky fall plumage. The October 6 lecture on hawks will be by Rik Blom, one of the top birders of Maryland and the east coast. See the "Activities Schedule" for details.

SITE GUIDES

The Board is trying to work up a series of site guides to be included in future CHIP NOTES. Please contact Earl Palmer, 252-6457, if you'd like to be involved. The first installment, on Cylburn, will appear in the next CHIP NOTES. (Feel free to submit informal articles about birding locales directly to CHIP NOTES any time.)

HELP WANTED --SCHOOL PROGRAMS

We need someone to step forward and volunteer to become the "Chairperson" for school programs. This would entail making arrangements for groups of students to learn about birds and nature by visiting Cylburn under the guidance of BBC members. Patsy Perlman has faithfully performed this important service for many years, for which we are very grateful. Now she would like to pass this job to someone new.

If you would like more information about what you would be doing, contact Patsy Perlman at 466-6908. If you are ready to volunteer, please contact Earl Palmer at 252-6457.

HELP WANTED --HOSPITALITY

Volunteers are needed to host the monthly meetings of the BBC. You would be responsible for providing the snacks and drinks enjoyed by club members during the social time before one meeting. The choice of snacks are up to your imagination! Have a new recipe that you are just dying to try out?... Team up with a friend or two, or just call me and I will find you a partner. Plates, napkins, and cups will be provided by the club. The names of the hosts or hostesses will be listed in the CHIP NOTES along with the announcement of the monthly topic. Call Mary Byers at 686-7294 to reserve your month!

Mary Byers

LET'S BE ENVIRONMENTALLY CORRECT

I would like for us to borrow a great idea from the Anne Arundel Bird Club.... BRING YOUR OWN CUP ! Starting next birding year, I encourage club members to bring a cup from home to enjoy the wonderful drinks we serve during the social time before each meeting. Since we are a group which has the enjoyment of nature and natural areas as one of its goals, I feel we should try to decrease the amount of waste we produce whenever possible. If you forget to bring your cup, we will still have paper or plastic cups available.

Mary Byers

BALTIMORE RARE BIRD BOOKS OPEN AGAIN

April 15, 1993--10 AM-12 Noon--has been set aside for another visit to the John Work Garrett Library of the Evergreen House of the Johns Hopkins University, 4545 N. Charles St. Those of us who visited the library in March '92 appreciated the opportunity to see the beautiful elephant folios as well as Alexander Wilson's books and one or two by John Gould. We realized there were many more books that we were not seeing the time allotted to us, and expressed an interest in returning. As was the case in March '92, the group will be limited to 30. After an introduction, half of the group will look at the books while the other will be taken on a tour of the Evergreen House. The two groups will change places so that all participants will see both the house and the books. Reservations are required. Call Joy Wheeler, 825-1204.

Joy Wheeler

NEW IN THE MUSEUM

Thanks to Bob Rineer, vice-president of the Baltimore Bird Club, we now have the list of birds seen by noted bird observer, Dr. Elliott Coues (1842-1899), while he was Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army, stationed at Fort McHenry in 1879. Warren Bielenberg, MOS member and ranger at the fort almost ten years ago had told us of the existence of this list and of his intentions to keep a list of his own for comparison, and for possible publication. Unfortunately, Warren was transferred to Delaware Water Gap before he could accomplish this.

The list, as we have it now, is a copy of the microfilm of Coues" records. It is not easy to read, but it is worth the effort if you are as inveterate a reader of bird lists as I am. The birds are listed by the scientific name in use at that time, the common name and a column of remarks: Cathartes aura -- Turkey Buzzard, ....Resident, abundant, or Haliaeetus leucocephalus -- Bald-headed Eagle.....Resident, frequently observed. As you persevere through the list, or only part of the way through, you may determine to do one of two things: more birding at Fort McHenry, further research on Elliott Coues' stay at the fort, or completion of Warren Bielenberg's project. The Elliott Coues list can be found in a legal-sized folder in the book collection in our bird museum.

Joy Wheeler

Towson State University's Department of Biological Sciences is offering its thirteenth travel-study trip to the Galapagos Island and mainland Ecuador from December 30, 1992 to January 22, 1993. The trip will be led by Dr. Richard D. Lainhart, ecology and aquatic biology professor at Towson State, and by Gene Scarpulla, Baltimore Bird Club member, and founder and coordinator of Atlantic Seabirds pelagic cruises.

One week will be spent on the Ecuadorian mainland with Quito as the home-base for each day's activities. The following two weeks will be spent at the various Galapagos Islands with two 12-passenger yachts providing transportation, food, and lodging.

In the Galapagos there are 57 species of resident birds as well as numerous migrants and accidentals. Of the residents, 26 are endemic, found nowhere else on earth. These include the Galapagos Penguin, Flightless Cormorant, Lava Heron, Galapagos hawk, Galapagos Rail, Lava Gull, Galapagos Dove, Large-billed Flycatcher, Galapagos Martin, four species of Galapagos Mockingbirds, and 13 species of Darwin's Finches. In addition to the endemics, an excellent assortment of resident seabirds are present including the Waved Albatross; Hawaiian Petrel; Audubon's Shearwater; White-vented, Band-rumped and Wedge-rumped Storm-petrels; Red-billed Tropicbird; Blue-footed, Masked and Red-footed Boobies; Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds; Swallow-tailed Gull; Sooty Tern; and Brown Noddy. Most species are reasonably tame, offering unsurpassed photographic opportunities.

For additional information, printed material, or to request a videotape loaner of last year's trip, call or write: Dr. Richard D. Lainhart, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Towson State University, Towson MD 21204, (410) 830-2443; or Gene Scarpulla, Atlantic Seabirds Inc., 7906-B Knollwood Rd., Towson MD 21286, (410) 821-0575 (evenings).

Gene Scarpulla

C. DOUGLAS HACKMAN

The Baltimore Bird Club notes with regret the death of C. Douglas Hackman. Doug was for many years an ardent hawk-watcher from his home in Parkville. He helped with Junior Nature Camp as well as being a regular contributor to and assistant editor of MARYLAND BIRDLIFE. We will miss his generously given time and talent. Sincere condolences are extended to his wife and family.

BIRDING AT OREGON RIDGE PARK

A seven sparrow day! In the short space of time between 8 AM and 9:30 there were more birds at Oregon Ridge than I had ever seen. April 10, 1992 started quietly with a good view of an almost motionless pair of Canada Geese, one bird on the nest keeping his eye on me. It took a very short time for the motion of birds, birds, and more birds to quicken and demand my attention in all directions. Over the parking lot woodpeckers were moving noisily from tree to tree, including a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

I took my usual path up the red trail into the woods. It was rather quiet, but there were six Hermit Thrushes at the top of the hill. In all my birdwatching I have never seen six Hermit Thrushes together in a flock. We are not fortunate enough here in the Piedmont to hear the beautiful song that heralds their nesting. I have heard it in Garrett County and West Virginia. It was worth the trip.

But I'm telling you about sparrows. They began to appear at the quarry. There was no wind that morning though the leaves there seemed to be moving. Four of the "leaves" were Song Sparrows. Four more were White-throated Sparrows. One darker bird, gray-faced with rufous head and rufous patches on the wings, was a Swamp Sparrow. Soon, a larger bird appeared, cinnamon-y on the back with large cinnamon breast spots, a Fox Sparrow. Add one more, a Junco. Five all together. I moved into the meadow where the number of sparrows was overwhelming. Loud and clear from three directions came the rising trills of Field Sparrows. I moved into the historic furnace area. Here the trills I heard were all on the same monotonous pitch of a Chipping Sparrow. Seven sparrow species!

I thought then of Etta Wedge, long-departed chair of the MOS program committee, advising that there were no birds at Oregon Ridge. It was many years later before we included it in the program. We've never been sorry. Hawk and loon flights are not uncommon in season, not to mention the warblers. One of our walks had a Golden Eagle. If any further enticement is necessary, we host Breakfast with the Birds: Saturday, September 26, 7 AM for breakfast, 8 AM for the walk. Please register with Joy Wheeler, 825-1204 or Oregon Ridge Nature Center, 887-1815 by September 22.

Joy Wheeler

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

CHIP NOTES can only be as good as the input it receives. I know our members are doing lots of good birding. Let us hear about it. Send in an article, or a piece of news, or a letter to the editor. It doesn't have to be a lengthy literary masterpiece. A short piece of information may be just what someone wants to know. Let us know about special birds you've seen, good trips you've taken or would like to take, good books you've read, good tapes you've heard, worthy causes you'd like us to support, projects you'd like to pursue...Don't keep it a secret!

Whatever happened to our field trip reports? They have apparently dwindled into oblivion because of misunderstandings by the leaders (including myself) as to who writes them and where to send them. The answer, according to Pete Webb, is that the leaders can write them and send them directly to me as CHIP NOTES editor. Otherwise, they won't get reported. There is no rigid format, but I suggest they be brief summaries of the best species, species total, number of participants, and weather.

I also invite you to contribute some artwork to liven up the newsletter. It would need to have minimal shading to reproduce well. Little birds could be very handy to fill in empty spaces.

Any suggestions or assistance with the brave new world of computerized desk-top publishing are also welcome.

Please do your best to get items for CHIP NOTES to me by the deadline (the first of every odd month from July through March). Items received after the deadline can't receive full consideration, especially if they are long.

Steve Sanford

The migration of hawks is possibly the crowning glory of the fall birding season. From mid-September to mid-November a gradually-changing procession of hawk species can be seen cruising south along mountain ridges and coastal corridors within two or three hours' drive of Baltimore, especially on brisk days of blustery northwest winds that come with the passage of a cold front.

Our BBC program features trips to three hawk-watching locations in October: Waggoner's Gap (Oct 4), Monument Knob (Oct 24), and the incomparable Hawk Mountain (Oct 31). These will be good opportunities to practice what you learn from the Tuesday Cylburn Lecture on October 6 on hawk migration and Identification by one of Maryland's top birders, Rick Blom. (See page 3 for details.)

If you'd like to explore further, Claudia Wild's Finding Birds in the National Capital Area has an excellent summary of places to watch hawks in our area. Here are two spots that are not on our program. They are usually not crowded, and the access is easy:

The Pulpit: This spot, northwest of Mercersburg Pa., about two hours from Baltimore, has an almost 360 degree view, and consequently can be good in many wind conditions. Goshawks and Golden Eagles are quite possible here. It is usually manned by Charlie Brightbill, a retired teacher who is always happy to help novice hawk-watchers flex their wings. The site belongs to a hang-gliding club which accepts hawk-watchers on the summit as long as their ownership is respected. The flights of the hang-gliders are an added attraction to enjoy between hawks. It is on US 30 about three miles west of Ft. Loudon (north of Mercersburg) at the crest of the highest ridge. You can park across from the restaurant at the top. The Pulpit is at the highest spot in the area, about a quarter of a mile up a trail that begins behind the restaurant (i.e. it's several hundred yards southwest of the restaurant.)

Town Hill: If you like leisurely birding, this spot in eastern Allegany County can't be beat. You drive to the top of a ridge, park, get out a folding chair, and watch the hawks go by. Unlike most hawk-watching spots, this one is oriented towards the southeast, so it's best on days with easterly or southerly winds. On Columbus Day last year I was treated there to close encounters with a Peregrine Falcon, a Merlin, and a Golden Eagle. It is usually manned by Jim Paulus or other wonderfully hospitable Allegany County birders.

To get there, take I-70 and I-68 (i.e. the route to Cumberland) for somewhat over two hours. About 5 miles beyond the Allegany County line (or about 7 miles beyond Sideling Hill) exit to Orleans Road and go north. Turn left where it ends onto scenic Route 40 west and go about one mile to the top and park in the area across from the Town Hill Inn.

Good Hawking,

Steve Sanford

HIGHLIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE

We need a pool of volunteers to keep the MOS Museum open during "Open Houses" and other events at Cylburn.

If you can help with this occasionally, please call Graham Egerton, 243-5993, for more information.

An old Chinese saying says "Misfortune never comes singly." That was certainly the case for this year's May Count.

A cool spring retarded migration and denied us some species. Cliff Swallows, for example, which are normal at certain spots by May Count, just hadn't arrived; and we almost missed Cuckoos! May Count day was cool and somewhat rainy. Many of our counters who regularly produce unique species were unavailable this year. My efforts to get coverage for Hart-Miller Island fell through at the last minute. Consequently, our species count of 159 was low compared to previous years.

But it was not all gloom and doom. The highlights of the count were a Northern Goshawk and a Brewster's Warbler found by the Lake Roland-Cylburn party under the direction of Ben Yokel (who regrettably has moved away to Minnesota) and Peggy Bohanan. The assortment of warblers overall was quite respectable too.

Many thanks to all participants, especially to our area leaders Brent Byers, John Canoles, Karen Morley, and Karen Skuldt.

Here is the list:

COMMON LOON          3
P-B GREBE            1
HORNED GREBE         1
D-C CORMORANT      138
GRT BLUE HERON      60
GREAT EGRET          1
SNOWY EGRET          1
CATTLE EGRET         1
GR-BCK HERON        11
BLK-CRWN NT-HERON    2
YEL-CRWN NT-HERON    1
CANADA GOOSE        52
WOOD DUCK           33
BLACK DUCK           1
MALLARD            181
BL-WNG TEAL          2
COM GOLDENEYE        1
RD-BRSTD MERGANSER   3
BLACK VULTURE       15
TURKEY VULTURE      87
OSPREY              16
BALD EAGLE           1
SHARP-SHIN HAWK      1
N GOSHAWK            1
RED-SHOULD HAWK     23
BRD-WNG HAWK         5
RED-TAILED HAWK     24
AMER KESTREL        13
PEREGRINE FALCON     2
RNG-NCK PHEASANT     3
N BOBWHITE           2
SEMIPALMTD PLOVER    5
KILLDEER            27
GRTR YELLOWLEGS      8
LSR YELLOWLEGS       2
SOLITARY SANDPIPER  24
SPOTTED SANDPIPER   30
SEMIPALM SANDPIPER   5
LEAST SANDPIPER      9
COM SNIPE            6
 AMER WOODCOCK       2
LAUGHING GULL      207
BONAPARTES GULL      1
RING-BILLED GULL   132
HERRING GULL        68
GREAT BLK-BK GULL   11
CASPIAN TERN         4
FORSTERS TERN        7
LEAST TERN           5
ROCK DOVE          359
MOURNING DOVE      233
BLK-BILL CUCKOO      3
YEL-BILLED CUCKOO    1
BARRED OWL           4
COM NIGHTHAWK        1
CHUCK-WILLS-WIDOW    1
WHIP-POOR-WILL       3
CHIMNEY SWIFT      149
RB-TH HUMMINGBIRD    9
BELTED KINGFISHER   16
RED-BEL WOODPECKER 119
DOWNY WOODPECKER    68
HAIRY WOODPECKER     4
N FLICKER           84
PILEATED WOODPECKR   4
E WOOD-PEWEE         6
ACADIAN FLYCATCHER  13
EASTERN PHOEBE      53
GR CR FLYCATCHER    24
E KINGBIRD          58
PURPLE MARTIN       23
TREE SWALLOW        28
N RGH-WNG SWALLOW   92
BANK SWALLOW        22
BARN SWALLOW       372
BLUE JAY           267
AMER CROW          351
FISH CROW            7
CAROLINA CHICKADEE 160
TUFTED TITMOUSE    116
 WHT-BRSTD NUTHATCH 18
BROWN CREEPER        1
CAROLINA WREN      158
HOUSE WREN         107
MARSH WREN           5
RUBY-CRWN KINGLET   16
BL-GR GNATCATCHER  182
EASTERN BLUEBIRD    54
VEERY               26
SWAINSONS THRUSH     2
HERMIT THRUSH        1
WOOD THRUSH        149
AMERICAN ROBIN     698
GRAY CATBIRD       277
N MOCKINGBIRD       99
BROWN THRASHER      17
CEDAR WAXWING      139
EUROPEAN STARLING  960
WHITE-EYED VIREO    81
SOLITARY VIREO       5
YEL-THRTD VIREO      9
WARBLING VIREO       3
RED-EYED VIREO     113
BLUE-WNGD WARBLER   58
BREWSTERS WARBLER    1
TENNESSEE WARBLER    6
NASHVILLE WARBLER   22
NORTHERN PARULA     74
YELLOW WARBLER      93
CHESTNUT-SD WARB    37
MAGNOLIA WARBLER     8
CAPE MAY WARBLER    10
BLK-TH BL WARBLER   74
MYRTLE WARBLER     369
BL-TH GRN WARBLER   50
BLACKBURNIAN WARB   10
YEL-THRTD WARBLER    8
PINE WARBLER         2
PRARIE WARBLER      40
PALM WARBLER         8
 CERULEAN WARBLER    2
BLACKPOLL WARBLER    1
BLK & WT WARBLER    40
AMERICAN REDSTART   72
PROTHONOTARY WARB    3
WORM-EAT WARBLER    14
OVENBIRD            86
N WATERTHRUSH        9
LA WATERTHRUSH      17
KENTUCKY WARBLER     9
COM YELLOWTHROAT   180
HOODED WARBLER      17
WILSONS WARBLER      4
CANADA WARBLER      11
YEL-BRSTD CHAT       4
SCARLET TANAGER     52
N CARDINAL         448
ROSE-BRST GROSBEAK  17
BLUE GROSBEAK        1
INDIGO BUNTING      25
RUFOUS-SD TOWHEE   109
CHIPPING SPARROW   101
FIELD SPARROW       69
SAVANNAH SPARROW     6
GRASSHOPPR SPARROW   1
SONG SPARROW       177
SWAMP SPARROW       14
WHT-THRTD SPARROW  425
WHT-CRWN SPARROW     2
BOBOLINK           112
RED-WNG BLACKBIRD  665
EASTERN MEADOWLARK  10
COMMON GRACKLE     654
BRWN-HD COWBIRD    164
ORCHARD ORIOLE      10
BALTIMORE ORIOLE    87
HOUSE FINCH        285
AMER GOLDFINCH     512
HOUSE SPARROW      251

PARTICIPANTS: John Barber, Peggy Bohanan, M Broyles, Brent Byers, Mary-Jo Campbell, John Canoles, Roland Canoles, John & Lettie Cullom, John Barber, Joanne Dreyer, Graham Egerton, Muffin Evander, Sara Franklin, Gail Frantz, Shirley Geddes, Shiras Guion, Mel Hellert, Jim & Jane Highsaw, Sukon Kanchanaraksa, Elliott Kirschbaum, Dolly Leonig, Henry Leskinner, Margaret Mays, Michele Melia, Karen Morley, Mark Pemburn, Patsy Perlman, Mac Plant, Linda Prentice, Bob Rineer, Art Rogers, Brian Rollefink, Terry & Roberta Ross, Nancy Rowe, Steve Sanford, Karen Skuldt, Eddie Slaughter, Chris Slaughter, Ed Smith, Nancy Smith, Stephania Sommerman, Debbie Terry, John Thaden, Nancy Thaden, Elizabeth Thompson, Robin Todd, Joy Wheeler, Ben Yokel.

Steve Sanford, Compiler

Please note the following corrections to the Membership Directory issued with the last CHIP NOTES:

The Covered Dish Supper is on Sunday January 17, not Tuesday.

Roberta Ross' official title is now "Membership Secretary," not "Financial Secretary."

FLORIDA

Every time I visit Mom and Dad in Fort Myers Florida, I vow to see a Painted Bunting. It wasn't until my fifth trip that it happened.

On February 4th I visited Corkscrew Swamp. There I saw my first Great-crested Flycatcher and Chuck-Will's-Widow. Also swarming through the swamp were Palm Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Pileated Woodpeckers, a Red-shouldered Hawk and two gators (they weren't swarming, however). One of the guides had zoomed her scope in on one of almost 900 Wood Stork nests where young were being tended. About noon, I completed the boardwalk and perched on a bench just north of the gatehouse. Within minutes two green female Painted Buntings appeared followed by a brilliant male. Pictures don't do him justice! This was probably one of my most rewarding, sought-after birding moments! I looked around, but there was no one to tell.

On the 5th, I took a Manatee boat ride and saw about a dozen Manatees. I have always wanted to jump in and swim with them! The next day I visited a site where Burrowing Owls were reputed to hang out. They were there... about a dozen in various locations, but predominantly sunning themselves on mounds of displaced dirt. I also visited Ding Darling on Sanibel Island, where I saw the obligatory but delightful Roseate Spoonbill. There were also gads of herons and egrets, including my first Reddish Egret.

My action plan: Go back for Mangrove Cuckoo.

Betsy Taylor

During the month of July 1992 I visited Copenhagen, Denmark and went on a cruise of the Norwegian fjords. I took with me Jim Flegg's Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, published by Cornell University Press. I recommend it highly. It has over 200 pages of photographs plus geographic maps and excellent descriptions of bird appearance and behavior.

In Copenhagen I saw my first Magpie, Woodpigeon, and Great Tit. In the Geiranger Fjord I saw my first Oystercatcher as well as Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, House Martins, and an interesting bird that had the body of a Mockingbird and the head of a Nuthatch. This turned out to be a White Wagtail. A Reed Bunting was spotted in an orchard. I saw Herring Gulls galore as well as Black-backed Gulls. The Blackheaded Gull was seen in Oslo and Copenhagen. It is really chocolate brown. Hooded Crows were seen in Oslo and Bergen.

While all these birds are very common in their respective locations, they were mostly new to me and added greatly to the pleasure of seeing the fjords.

Irma Weinstein

Joel A. Allen devoted his life to being a museum curator, first at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard and then at the Museum of Natural History. He served as an editor for the Bulletin of the Nutall Ornithological Club, The Auk, and the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. He is credited with authoring 1450 technical papers, and his work at the American Museum of Natural History earned him the title of "Dean of the Scientific Staff." However, Joel Allen for two other distinctions. He is acknowledged as the father of the American Ornithologists' Union and for the formulation of Allen's Rule.

Allen's Rule was generalized based on years of studying animal specimens. Simply stated, birds living in colder climates tend to have shorter bills, feet, and wings than their counterparts who live in the warmer parts of the country. A 1% difference in wing length could be correlated with a 2 degree difference in north-south latitude. The ecological significance of this was that heat is lost through the appendages of an organism. The smaller these appendages are, the less heat is lost. Thus, for birds living in a colder climate, it would to their benefit if they had smaller feet, bills, and wings.

While Joel Allen was not known as a public speaker and had little to do with popular nature writing of his time, his influence in the scientific community was immense and is attributed to having stabilized the scientific nomenclature for American ornithology.

Joseph M Lewandowski

The Maryland Rare and Endangered Species Calendar from the Department of Natural Resources are again available for $5.00 each. Contact Earl Palmer, 252-6457 if you'd like one.

This is a summary of the activities of the various committees of the Board of Directors during the 1991-1992 Bird Club Year.

The HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE under the leadership of Betsy Taylor and ably assisted by Brent and Mary Byers, Dot Clark, Anneke Davis, Graham Egerton, Patsy Perlman, Debbie Terry, and Joy Wheeler did a great job of furnishing refreshments for our monthly lecture series. Betsy's coordination of the "Pot Luck" dinner was most successful as indicated by the variety and quantity of food served.

Maureen Fahey, our REPRESENTATIVE TO CYLBURN ARBORETUM, reported that there were more visitors at the museums during their monthly open houses and other occasions during the year. The president of the arboretum has been most appreciative of Maureen's help.

The BIRD FEEDING project at Cylburn Park, under the direction of Mitchell Gerber, distributed 925 pounds of feed from October through May. Filling the feeders three times a week were Jeanette Cabeen, Priscilla Howard, Irma Weinstein, and Frank and Hester Witchey. The group did not dispense as much feed as usual due to the theft of two feeders. These feeders are the center of bird observations by the school program and other visitors to the many Cylburn trails.

The DOROTHY BLAKE MARTIN FUND, chaired by Karen Morley, reports that $2000 was donated to the coalition to preserve Black Marsh and $500 to pay for the school bus transportation fund (second half of the funding previously requested). A balance of $35,989.40 is on hand as of April 30, 1992.

Besides the chair, the committee consisted of Anneke Davis, Dick Gibbs, Elliott Kirschbaum, Barbara Larrabee, and Joy Wheeler.

The SCHOOL PROGRAM and MUSEUM, with Patsy Perlman as Chair, reports that this school year went very well, and that some inroads into the Baltimore City Public School System were made. The Dorothy Blake Martin Fund provided bus transportation for six city schools. In all, 43 classes from 30 schools made a total of 1926 children attending the program. A count of the adults with the classes was not made.

Patsy Perlman and Joy Wheeler gave a workshop on birds for elementary school children at the Peale Museum on September 29, 1991 with 15 children present.

On March 31, 1992 Joy Wheeler led the workshop for the Volunteer School Guides with 17 people in attendance. Many thanks go to all our guides for a job well done. They are Nancy Abrams, Candy Andrejeski, Peggy Bohanan, Bill Bridgeland, John Brooks, Peggy Cluster, Dot Clark, Mimi Cooper, Anne Allen Dandy, Walter Dandy, Lynn DeWitt, Phyllis Gerber, Josie Gray, Earl Palmer, Patsy Perlman, Ann Sauerborn, and Joy Wheeler.

Peggy Cluster, Patsy Perlman, and Joy Wheeler have been working throughout the year in the museums. Several changes and additions have been made to the exhibits. The MOS Wall Exhibit on the second floor has been kept up-to-date by Joy Wheeler with the current seasons and our programs.

The LECTURE AND EQUIPMENT COMMITTEE had an active year giving 50 talks to various garden clubs, nursing homes, schools, scout troops, senior centers, and various private and summer-school trips to Cylburn Park. Using slides, bird mounts, tapes, and the museum, Dot Clark, Earl Palmer, Patsy perlman, Pete Webb, and Joy Wheeler reached approximately 1500 people spreading the message about birding and the need for the conservation of Maryland's natural resources.

Mary Gruver-Byers, Chair of the PUBLICITY COMMITTEE, sent notices of the club's activities to Maryland Pennysaver Group, City Paper, Baltimore Magazine, Times Publishing Group, the Morning and Evening Sun, and The Avenue. We received excellent coverage from the Pennysaver and the recreation section of The Evening Sun. The Avenue ran an article on the BBC and its involvement with the environmental community and various field trips. These articles resulted in many phone calls regarding our organization. The Publicity Committee also held a contest to chose a design for an official logo of the organization. A committee of three declared Don Culbertson's design of a Baltimore Oriole as the winner. Atlantic Seabirds donated an award of free passes to Don for a future pelagic trip from Ocean City. Our thanks to all members who participated.

Our representative to the SANCTUARY COMMITTEE and the Coalition to Preserve Black Marsh, Brent Byers, reports that we had members attending the three working weekends at Irish Grove (fall and spring) and Carey Run. Repairs to the buildings and walkways, and pruning were accomplished. Irish Grove has been expanded by the addition of three individual plots, all next to the present property.

The Coalition to Preserve Black Marsh continues to strive for reduced development of the Black Marsh (now North Point State Park). The DNR wants to construct a boating facility, an amphitheater, multipurpose building, outdoor cafe, and large parking

lots adjacent to the shoreline. A legal battle to preserve the area in its natural state is underway. The Martin Fund has contributed to the cause.

During the 1991-92 year, the CONSERVATION Chair, Anneke Davis, has actively represented the BBC in the Maryland conservation Council which has been involved with such issues as the development of Black Marsh in Baltimore County, the re-authorization of the Clean Air Act, and the proposed redefinition of wetlands. Anneke also kept the club apprised of the progress of Project Open Space, of the activities and projects being considered by the Department of Natural Resources, pending bills before the state legislature, possible reorganization of the Baltimore City Administration (which could have directly affected the BBC), development regarding the dam at Lake Roland, and many local zoning issues. A major conservation goal for the coming year is for our organization to participate in a program for better legal protection for city park property and more consequential citizen participation in its development.

The PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, chaired by Karen Skuldt, produced and distributed five newsletters, some with enclosures. Dottee Palmer was the editor/productionist.

Enclosures included a membership list with Board Members, program and field trip information, membership questionnaire, a ballot, and a membership envelope.

Contributors to the newsletter included Burton Alexander, Brent Byers, Mary Gruver-Byers, Joseph Lewandowski, Bertie MacGregor, Karen Morley, Earl Palmer, Steve Sanford, Gene Scarpulla, Lester Simon, Debbie Terry, and Joy Wheeler.

Mailings were coordinated by Steve Sanford ably assisted by Rick and Judy Fleddermann, Earl Palmer, Terry and Roberta Ross, Karen Skuldt, and Betsy Taylor.

The NOMINATING COMMITTEE presented its slate of officers, directors, and state directors which were voted upon and elected unanimously. Roberta Ross and Gene Scarpulla were the two Nominating Committee candidates who received the highest number of votes to serve for two years (1992-1994). Karen Skuldt was the committee Chair.

The records of the TREASURER have been audited and found to be in order. Our receipts were $11,328.43 with expenses of $9,309.06, leaving a balance of $2,129.37.

Our membership was 500 including all categories.

Earl Palmer, President

OOPS!

A YOUNG EAGLE AT LOCH RAVEN

REMINDER: It's time to sign up for Rare Books at Evergreen. See "Activities."

The nominating committee has met and is pleased to announce the following slate of officers for the 1993-1994 year. The ballot will appear in the April-May issue of Chip Notes along with voting instructions.

TRIP TO NEW ZEALAND

APRIL IN MONTANA

There's been a new face on Cylburn's staff since November 2, 1992, Maureen Wood Kief. Her title: naturalist with speciality in plant ecology. She made her first visit to Cylburn Arboretum in June 1992 when she came to apply for the job left vacant by Glenda Weber's move to Frederick two years before. Maureen's first day on the job made it obvious to anyone who met her that she is the right person, as witnessed by her smile, her friendliness, her willingness to answer questions as well as ask them.

On January 15, 1993 two wildlife biologists from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Don Schwab and Tom Gwynn were birding in Northampton County on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Stopping by a roadside near a flooded soybean field, they heard an unusual repetitive call from a line of willows and soon spotted a brilliant red and dark flycatcher. They quickly identified it as a Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, and concluded that it was a subadult male. This is the first state record for this tropical flycatcher. Since its discovery, the bird has been seen by dozens of birders.

Welcome to another year of birding with the Baltimore Bird Club. As I take over as President, I would like to thank all those who have worked so hard in the past to make this organization what it is today. With this year's materials you have received the 1993-94 BBC booklet which contains information about the organization and programs for the upcoming year. This is a format that had been used in the past, and a group of dedicated people volunteered their time and effort to plan and put this information together for you. Congratulations are in order for their efforts. As has been our tradition in recent years you will continue to be advised of meetings, fieldtrips, and updates in the Chip Notes.

Something new has been added this year: We are suggesting that a regularly scheduled walk be held at Cylburn each Sunday morning during migrations. These walks will not have a designated leader, but will offer an opportunity to share a birding experience with other members.

Please feel free to direct any comments or suggestions to me about the organization or how to improve it. We are still in need of volunteers to fill committee positions and your help will be greatly appreciated. I hope that you will find the programs of interest. Please participate as actively as you can.

Bob Rineer

We are offering a Leadership Training Seminar on Tuesday, September 14, 7:30 PM at Cylburn. While some birds, sadly, may be diminishing in numbers, birdwatcher numbers, happily, are on the rise. It is our goal to enlist as many of these new birders as we can into the BBC. (Birdwatchers are known to be active in environmental preservation and the environment needs all the help it can get.) We believe that sensitive leadership within the club and out in the field has always been an important key to our success. To ensure our continued success we are offering an evening session where three of our most experienced leaders, Jean Worthley, Ben Poscover and Jim Peters will present some practical methods on how to enable a group of birders to see all the birds they want to see on any given outing, and how to do this as comfortably and congenially as the habitat allows.

We extend a special invitation to all leaders listed in this year's program, as well as to those who have led trips in the past and to those who would be agreeable to leading trips in the future. Our seminar leaders have had many experiences with MOS (some amusing, some not so amusing) and have all had careers where their leadership skills have been honed ta a state of perfection, not to mention their bird identification skills. We predict that you will come away begging to lead your favorite field trip.

Please register your intent to attend the seminar with Joy Wheeler, 825-1204, so that we can estimate the numbers of materials needed. However, don't stay away just because you haven't registered.

Joy Wheeler

In our May 1993 meeting the Board of Directors voted to support a motion to provide funds to send five children to a one-week session of the Carrie Murray Outdoor Education Center summer day camp. The children were identified through the office of Elaine Amos of the Baltimore City Health Department, Sandtown-Winchester area of Baltimore. The Board felt that this allocation of funds was appropriate to help meet our goals for education and outreach. the CMOEC is well-equipped to offer programs of outdoor education in Baltimore City's largest and most natural park, Leakin Park. Corinna Parks, director of the CMOEC, is well known to many of us from her years as naturalist at Cylburn. The children will be in good hands.

Joy Wheeler

May 1, 1993 SEVERN RUN - FT SMALLWOOD. Weather: Sunny, high 70's. 11 participants. Leader: Pete Webb. 55 species.

The birding was so good at the Nursery Rd Park & Ride, where we met, that we had to force ourselves to get on with the actual trip! (Northern Oriole, Osprey, Wood Duck and Black-crowned Night-Heron).

Severn Run was fairly productive with some good looks at Hooded Warblers, a Scarlet Tanager, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers on the nest, and several Parula's. The only true migrants were Yellow-rumped Warblers. One sighting caused much speculation: a groundhog wedged into the top branches of a slender sapling, 20 feet in the air. How did he get there? His own power? Dropped by a careless raptor? We moved next to Ft. Smallwood. The walk around the pond produced a singing Brown Thrasher and some very nicely plumaged Savannah Sparrows. Hawk watching was rather slow -- probably due to the wind direction (Southeasterly). Some close approaches by Cooper's Hawks gave a few moments of excitement. Ft. Smallwood is getting perhaps the best coverage in many years with at least one expert hawk watcher on duty every day this Spring.

MP

May 16 -- C & O CANAL: Sunny, temperatures around 75-80. 15-20 participants, including many new faces. Leader: Pete Webb. 75 species. 12 warblers.

Another pleasant weekend made migrants scarce. There were a few Canada Warblers, and Blackpolls. Interestingly these two were rather reversed this year. Blackpolls, normally late, were very thick since early May. Canadas, normally early, seemed to have just become fairly thick. The best bird was a Prothonotary Warbler that posed in clear view. A rump group went west to the Poolesville area, where we heard a Vesper sparrow as a thunder storm was approaching, and we saw a beautiful Magnolia Warbler, rather out of place in a hedgerow in the middle of farmlands.

SS

May 22 -- BOMBAY HOOK: Pleasant 70 degree temps with moderate breeze to keep the mosquitoes in check. About 25 participants. Leader: Pete Webb. 84 species.

The shorebirds at the refuge were not too numerous but the quality was great. Gene Scarpulla located a Curlew Sandpiper and some White-rumped Sandpipers. There were also a number of handsome Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. As we watched, a Merlin swept in and snatched up an unfortunate little peep for lunch. Port Mahon Road had a good collection of shorebirds, including a few distant Red-necked Phalaropes and some Red Knots. The last major stop was Pickering Beach which has a new public-access pathway to the beach. The concentration of shorebirds there, mainly Semi-palmated Sandpipers, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstones and Red Knots, was truly remarkable -- probably the best we've had on a BBC field trip for many years.

SS

May 29, 1993 BIG DAY - BALTIMORE TO NEW JERSEY. Some AM rain, then clear and sunny later. 60° - 75° . 11 participants. Leader: Steve Sanford. 111 species.

Our first stop was Susquehanna State Park. Yellow-throated and Kentucky Warblers were heard as well as Ovenbird and American Redstart. The group stopped to admire a good-looking Blue-winged Warbler "singing" from a tree top. We were able to 'scope him for quite a while. By contrast, a Yellow-breasted Chat refused to show himself despite earnest searching. Other stars were an acrobatic Yellow-throated Vireo and some brilliant Yellow Warblers.

We quit the Park around 10:00 and made the trek to Brigantine. Herons and shorebirds were available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes - from Least Sandpipers to Great Egrets. The number and quality of birds was heartening despite the lateness of the season. Our trip tally ran over 100 species within an hour. We had several good sightings of uncommon Gull-billed Terns. Unfortunately the 25 Whimbrels that were there the previous weekend were gone. Great excitement was provided by unusually good looks at several Clapper Rails on the nest. Species #101 for the day was a small group of Seaside Sparrows, singing and flitting among the marsh reeds. Number 102 was a Barn Owl. Some sharp eyes spotted it roosting in one of the newer hacking boxes near the end of the drive. The scarcely-visible owl occasionally lifted its head just enough for one or the other of us to tick it off on our life lists.

After the sun set, the diehards braved the flies and mosquitos to "grunt" for Virginia Rails (in vain), and listen (successfully) for the calls of Chuck-Will's-Widows and Whip-Poor-Wills.

MP

Mark Pemburn and Steve Sanford

The Baltimore 1993 May Count was held on May 8, 1993. It was a beautiful day - sunny, with mid-day temperatures about 75 to 80 degrees. The apparently inevitable consequence was that the birding was pretty slow. Warbler numbers in particular were low, with some major "misses" such as Yellow-throated, Prothonotary, Bay-breasted, and Tennessee Warblers. Another sad "miss" was Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, which has been regular at Lake Roland but was only rarely seen there this year due to the reconstruction of the dam. The steady decline of Bluebirds, Pheasants, and Bobwhites continues. Bobolinks and Swallows were also low, especially Barn Swallows. On the other hand a few warblers were notably high, such as Yellow-breasted Chat and Blackpolls, which were early and numerous this year. Some other species that were substantially up this year were Blue Jays, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Towhees, Catbirds, and Wood Thrushes. We had a total of 169 species.

Many thanks to our 71 participants. I especially thank you for getting your lists in to me so promptly without my having to prod you. Special thanks to Bob Dixon for counting at Hart-Miller Island, which added 15 species to the total. Also special thanks to Mary and Brent Byers for hosting an informal tally rally in addition to doing some heavy-duty birding.

If you would like a copy of my compilation of the May Count records for Baltimore for 1989 through 1993, send me a stamped self-addressed envelope (legal sized) with a request. Here is this year's list:

COMMON LOON           8
D-C CORMORANT       110
GRT BLUE HERON       69
GREAT EGRET           1
SNOWY EGRET           2
CATTLE EGRET          2
GR-BCK HERON          4
BLK-CRWN NT-HERON     1
CANADA GOOSE        105
WOOD DUCK            23
GR-WNG TEAL          25
BLACK DUCK            1
MALLARD             145
BL-WNG TEAL           1
GADWALL               7
CANVASBACK            5
RING-NCK DUCK         1
LESSER SCAUP          1
COM MERGANSER         2
RUDDY DUCK          121
BLACK VULTURE         1
TURKEY VULTURE       60
OSPREY               22
BALD EAGLE            3
N HARRIER             1
SHARP-SHIN HAWK       3
RED-SHOULD HAWK      20
BRD-WNG HAWK          3
RED-TAILED HAWK      14
AMER KESTREL          2
PEREGRINE FALCON      4
RNG-NCK PHEASANT      2
WILD TURKEY           2
N BOBWHITE            2
VIRGINIA RAIL         6
AMER COOT             1
BLK-BEL PLOVER       14
SEMIPALMTD PLOVER    64
KILLDEER             36
GRTR YELLOWLEGS       2
LSR YELLOWLEGS        2
SOLITARY SANDPIPER   12
SPOTTED SANDPIPER    33
 SEMIPALM SANDPIPER   7
LEAST SANDPIPER     124
WHT-RMP SANDPIPER     1
DUNLIN                7
STILT SANDPIPER       1
SH-BILL DOWITCHER     1
AMER WOODCOCK         1
LAUGHING GULL        25
BONAPARTES GULL       1
RING-BILLED GULL    143
HERRING GULL         49
GREAT BLK-BK GULL    27
CASPIAN TERN         57
COMMON TERN           3
FORSTERS TERN         3
ROCK DOVE           224
MOURNING DOVE       240
BLK-BILL CUCKOO       1
YEL-BILLED CUCKOO     5
GREAT HORNED OWL      3
BARRED OWL            5
CHUCK-WILLS-WIDOW     1
WHIP-POOR-WILL        8
CHIMNEY SWIFT       147
RB-TH HUMMINGBIRD    20
BELTED KINGFISHER    10
RED-HD WOODPECKER     1
RED-BEL WOODPECKER  108
DOWNY WOODPECKER     42
HAIRY WOODPECKER     15
N FLICKER            55
PILEATED WOODPECKR   18
E WOOD-PEWEE         21
ACADIAN FLYCATCHER   40
WILLOW FLYCATCHER     1
LEAST FLYCATCHER      1
EASTERN PHOEBE       26
GR CR FLYCATCHER     37
E KINGBIRD           90
PURPLE MARTIN        29
TREE SWALLOW         10
N RGH-WNG SWALLOW    64
 BANK SWALLOW        10
CLIFF SWALLOW        10
BARN SWALLOW        288
BLUE JAY            854
AMER CROW           356
FISH CROW            13
CARO CHICKADEE      119
TUFTED TITMOUSE     146
WHT-BRST NUTHATCH    21
CAROLINA WREN       111
HOUSE WREN           77
MARSH WREN           63
RUBY-CRWN KINGLET     1
B-G GNATCATCHER     136
EASTERN BLUEBIRD     37
VEERY                29
SWAINSONS THRUSH      5
WOOD THRUSH         160
AMERICAN ROBIN      422
GRAY CATBIRD        339
N MOCKINGBIRD        75
BROWN THRASHER       11
AMER PIPIT            1
CEDAR WAXWING        39
EURO STARLING       684
WHITE-EYED VIREO     96
YEL-THRTD VIREO      14
WARBLING VIREO       10
RED-EYED VIREO      254
BLUE-WNGD WARBLER     4
TENNESSEE WARBLER     1
NASHVILLE WARBLER     1
NORTHERN PARULA      64
YELLOW WARBLER       91
CHESTNUT-SD WARB      5
MAGNOLIA WARBLER     10
CAPE MAY WARBLER      1
BLK-TH BL WARBLER    33
MYRTLE WARBLER      149
BL-TH GRN WARBLER    19
BLACKBURNIAN WARB     2
PINE WARBLER          5
 PRAIRIE WARBLER     14
BLACKPOLL WARBLER    40
CERULEAN WARBLER      4
BLK & WT WARBLER     37
AMERICAN REDSTART    87
WORM-EAT WARBLER      6
OVENBIRD             96
N WATERTHRUSH         1
LA WATERTHRUSH       10
KENTUCKY WARBLER     14
MOURNING WARBLER      1
COM YELLOWTHROAT    141
HOODED WARBLER        7
WILSONS WARBLER       3
CANADA WARBLER        9
YEL-BRSTD CHAT       21
SUMMER TANAGER        1
SCARLET TANAGER      54
N CARDINAL          301
ROSE-BR GROSBEAK     24
BLUE GROSBEAK         4
INDIGO BUNTING       53
RUFOUS-SD TOWHEE    129
CHIPPING SPARROW     47
FIELD SPARROW         9
SAVANNAH SPARROW      1
GRASSHOPPR SPARROW    2
SONG SPARROW        136
SWAMP SPARROW        24
WHT-THRTD SPARROW    40
WHT-CRWN SPARROW      1
DARK-EYED JUNCO       4
BOBOLINK             84
RED-WG BLCKBRD      735
EAST MEADOWLARK      10
COMMON GRACKLE      425
BRWN-HD COWBIRD     145
ORCHARD ORIOLE       19
BALTIMORE ORIOLE     89
HOUSE FINCH         331
AMER GOLDFINCH      357
HOUSE SPARROW       130

Baltimore 1993 May Count Participants

Paula Balser, John Barber, Julia Barber, Peg Barber, Peggy Bohanan, Mary Brown, Clare Brunner, Brent & Mary Byers, Mary-Jo Campbell, Todd Campbell, Betty Christopher, Bob Christopher, Martin Cribb, Herb Cromwell, Ralph Cullison, Bob Dixon, Joanne Dreyer, Graham Egerton, Muffin Evander, Shirley Geddes, Theresa Guckert, Dottie Gustafson, Betty Anne Hackett, Jane Highsaw, Jim Highsaw, Joann Hoover, Rodney Hoover, Agnes Hostettler, Kye Jenkins, Sarah Johnson, Ken Jones, Sukon Kanchanaraksa, Elliott Kirschbaum, Dolly Leonig, Paul Noell, Linda Panitz, Patsy Perlman, Mary Plaine, Mac Plant, Linda Prentice, Anne Redfern, Bob Rineer, Brian Rollefink, Alan Ross, Barbara Ross, James Ross, Roberta & Terry Ross, Nancy Rowe, Blaine Rush, Steve Sanford, Gene Scarpulla, Mary Shock, Steve Simon, Chris & Eddie Slaughter, Ed Smith, Nancy Smith, Catherine Smoot & Clauson Smoot, Stephanie Sommerman, Debbie Terry, Elizabeth Thompson, Mary Beth Tierney, Robin & Will Tress, Pete Webb, Joy Wheeler, Roger Wood, Ben Yokel. Total: 71 participants.

Steve Sanford - Compiler

The Loch Raven watershed, city-owned public land within Baltimore County, is once again threatened with development, this time with the expansion of the Pine Ridge Golf Course from 18 holes to 39 holes. The privately-owned Baltimore Municipal Golf Corporation (BMGC), which operates PRGC, has been conducting a 6-month feasibility study of the planned expansion. Of course, it's feasible. There's money to be made and there's plenty of space. But at what price? The clearcut deforestation of 100 acres of the watershed east and south of the Dulaney Valley Road Bridge as well as an area south of the current entrance to the course are some of the areas to be sacrificed. Just how much will Baltimore City's treasury benefit from leasing this land to a private corporation? How easily will Baltimore County's zoning regulations be circumvented by promises from the profit-making BMGC? How will the water quality be affected by the disturbance during construction as well as the disturbance from pesticides and fertilizer? We are all aware of the current trends in the reduction of the numbers of bird species noted in the wooded areas of the Loch Raven watershed, especially wood warblers. Can you imagine the impact of a 100-acre clearcut, just the beginning of the degradation of this rich area of the watershed?

• You can help in three ways:

1 - Write to Mayor Schmoke stating your reasons for opposing the golf course at this site in your own words. (Address below)

Send copies to:

2 - Spread the word to friends, neighbors and groups.

3 - Become a member of the Watershed Protection Coalition by sending $5.00 for individual, $7.50 for family, or $25 for groups to Watershed Protection Coalition, P.O. Box 212, Timonium MD 21094-0212 (Telephone 252-5515), and consider a donation to help us with the expenses of publication and mailings.

Joy Wheeler

The Dry Tortugas are a group of keys 68 miles west of Key West, Florida. They belong to the U.S., and they are a part of the Fort Jefferson National Monument. Access to them is limited to seaplanes and boats. Camping is permitted.

I spent a weekend in April aboard the "Yankee Freedom," a 100 foot vessel, with a group sponsored by Florida Nature Tours. The Dry Tortugas have fabulous birding in April and May, with two different bird populations to study. Some of the keys are nesting sites for Terns, Boobies, Frigate Birds, and other sea birds. These tiny islets are also landing spots for migrating warblers and other birds heading north for the summer. Spring storms bring fallouts of birds you may never see any other way.

In three exhilarating days of intensive birding I saw Sooty, Roseate, and Bridled Terns. There were nesting Frigate Birds, Brown Boobies, Masked Boobies, and one immature Red-footed Booby which caused great excitement in the group.

Land birds seen included Indigo and Painted Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks, and Scarlet and Summer Tanagers. Warblers included Swainson's, Worm-eating, Tennessee, Yellow-throated, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Kentucky, and Hooded. We saw Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, a Short-eared Owl, and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. A dozen Broad-winged Hawks circled overhead; a Kestrel flew from one end of the fort to another; a Merlin perched in a palm tree.

These birds were seen close-up! No straining or craning the neck to see a distant flicker of wings. Garden Key was literally crawling with birds, clearly visible without binoculars. It was an experience not to be missed.

Irma Weinstein

The ballots have been counted for 93-94 BBC officers, directors, and nominating committee. A total of 40 ballots were counted (8.8% of membership). Eighteen additional ballots were disqualified - most for not having the member's signature on the outside of the envelope. The following people have been elected to the respective positions:

OFFICERS:

President Bob Rineer

Vice-president Sukon Kanchanaraksa

Recording Secretary Dottee Palmer

Corresponding Secretary Dot Clark

Treasurer Bob Wood

Membership Secretary Roberta Ross

DIRECTORS - for a term of 2 years, expiring in 1995:

STATE DIRECTORS - for a term of 1 year:

NOMINATING COMMITTEE: for a term of 2 years, expiring in 1995

All of you who scoffed at the announcement at the March 1993 Annual Meeting about the planned attempts to attract Purple Martins to the Purple Martin house at Cylburn's Perennial Garden were entirely correct. Playing the Purple Martin dawn song tape one half-hour before sunrise each day (well, almost each day) brought in very few sightings of the birds, much less serious house-hunting sub-adult male Martins.

The team has learned a lot, though. It has seen a lot of other wonderful birds, and has had the unforgetable experience of many sunrises at Cylburn with a few full-moon settings as a bonus. The planet Venus has kept a watchful eye over it all, and if I were more of a Greek classicist I would pledge offerings to her for next year's success.

I cannot predict where Venus will be next year in March or April when we get the tape out again, and I know better than to predict next year's chances of attracting Purple Martins to Cylburn. But we will be trying. Join us. By then we will have had the benefit of November's Tuesday Evening at Cylburn lecture by Purple Martin expert, Kathleen Klimkiewicz, on the "Life History of the Purple Martin," November 2, 7:30 at Cylburn.

Joy Wheeler

Summer is a surprisingly dull season for birding. A major exception to this rule is the birding in the coastal marshlands. This summer was truly exceptional along the Delaware Bay coast.

The superstar of the season was a Whiskered Tern which appeared first at Cape May, then settled into the Ted Harvey and Pickering Beach areas of Little Creek WMA from mid-July to mid-August. This was the first appearance ever of this species in North America. Its normal home is around the Mediterranean! You had to find a European or world bird guide to see a picture of one. Its appearance was even front page news in papers from the New York Times to the Washington Post. BBC members seemed to have had better than average success in seeing this bird, which was notoriously evasive. A gentleman from Arizona, for example, flew out twice to see it, without success.

The other big star was a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper which appeared quite reliably at Bombay Hook. It's breeding territory is Siberia. In addition, one or more White-winged Terns, Curlew Sandpipers, and Ruffs -- all quite rare in North America -- returned to the area, as they have for the last few years. There were also several White Ibises and a Reddish Egret.

Closer to home, there was a White Ibis for several weeks at Liberty Lake by Route 140, and an Avocet appeared at the Paper Mill Flats of Loch Raven.

See Mark Pemburn's story inside detailing one BBC birding couple's quest for the Whiskered Tern. Also note the letter in this issue from James Kuethe of New York.

Steve Sanford

Late August and early September were favored by a welcome reduction in the blistering heat and high humidity of the previous weeks. Migration is under way but slowly. The early field reports reflected small numbers of Warblers and other expected migrants. This was borne up in the editor's forays to local migrant traps (Black Walnut Point and Point Lookout) where a long day's work turned up only a baker's dozen Warbler species and scarcely any Hawks. Hopefully next month's reports will bring better news in this regard.

Burton Alexander's trip to Liberty Reservoir (Sept. 5th) yielded 44 species including Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Black Vulture, Great Egret and a number of Indigo Buntings, including immatures. Common Yellowthroat was the only Warbler. The group also located a pair of Warbling Vireos in an area along the track where an active nest had been spotted last May. Nine participants.

A well-attended (18 participants) September 7th trip to Lake Roland led by Mac Plant turned up a total of 42 species (4 Warbler sp.) Among the highlights were Solitary Sandpiper, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Sukon Kanchanaraksa led the trip to the Phoenix area on a warm and sunny Sunday, September 12th. The trip tally was 52 species including 3 Warbler species. Highlights included several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, A Cedar Waxwing feeding young and a pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoo fledglings. 9 birders attended.

And this just in -- pressed into my sweating palm as we gallop toward the deadline . . .

The month's second trip to Lake Roland was on the 14th, this time under the direction of Josie Gray. Of the 46 species seen, 7 were Warblers, indicating that migration is heating up a bit. Goodies included Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue and Bay-breasted Warblers. Scarlet Tanagers were represented as well as three flavors of Vireo (White-eyed, Red-eyed and Yellow-throated). The lake's reduced water level has attracted more sho