OH MY.... That's some great looking spey hackle hanging from his neck. :) I want to get my hands on the African Crowned Crane they had on ebay a couple weeks ago. I've had a back yard full of all kinds of things. I've even had a peacock show up twice this summer. I'm glad to hear Howards out and about again and you guys found your bird. Regards, Deb
www.uftri.org www.linesend.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Byard Miller Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2006 12:27 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [VFB] OT...Rare bird sighting Off topic, but I wanted to share a most noteworthy day with you all. Maybe not completely off topic as I'd lay odds that a few of you would want some feathers from this critter <g> On the 18th there were reports of a sighting of a Western-Reef Heron off of Kittery Point Maine and also across the river in New Castle NH. As the week progressed the Heron was feeding and roosting primarily on the inward side of New Castle, an island at the mouth of the Piscatagua River. This species is a resident of West Africa had has been seen in the USA only once before. In September of 1983 one was seen on Nantucket, MA. He stayed in the area for quite sometime and was seen by many birders. This last Friday, my friend Howard and I decided to take the 2 hour drive over to the coast to try and spot the wayward bird. Howard must be a good luck charm as within one minute of stopping at our first spot we saw the Heron. We watched him and other shore birds from about 11:30 to 12:30. He was feeding with about a dozen Snowy Egrets. We had some great views through both binoculars and spotting scopes. Don and Lillian Stokes, of birding field guide authoring fame, were over there on Monday and took some incredible photographs. They can be seen at http://stokesbirdingblog.blogspot.com/ . Be sure to scroll through the rather long text block to see additional photos. We were wishing we had brought along our fly rods as it was nearing high tide and we saw quite a few large swirls in the fast moving tides every time we noticed diving terns. Most likely Stripers! Other birds of note on the journey included: Roseate Tern Great Egret And Saturday morning a male Evening Grosbeak visited my feeders. They used to be fairly common but now are seldom seen. Byard Miller Line's End Inc <http://www.linesend.com> Virtual Flybox <http://www.virtualflybox.com>
