In response to suggestions that we write postings to inform the rest of the community about our homes, scenery, habits, etc., there were several threads which were very interesting, and I, for one, would like to see more like them.

I read an interesting article in this morning's newspaper, not badly written, which illustrates one of the fauna of Maryland, so I propose a thread in which we all contribute a brief sketch of something which we feel is a part of our local scene. This should be of interest to those from other areas, and may spark some questions and discussion.

From the Baltimore Sun this morning, by Heather Dewar, a staff writer:
"A sudden streak of charcoal and cream hurtles toward the earth. There is a moment when calamity seems imminent. Then a pair of wings unfurls to a 6-foot span, beats twice, and the blur snaps into focus.
"A great hunting bird nearly 2 feet tall, golden-eyed, dark-backed and white-throated, hovers inches from the sand with its talons outstretched.
"In the briefest of touch-and-go landings, the talons close around a hunk of driftwood. The shoulders tighten, accepting the weight. The big bird flies away with its burden, picking up speed and altitude as it heads for its nest on a nearby channel marker. For the osprey, this spring foraging for nest materials is a routine hosekeeping chore...."

The article goes on to tell how the osprey, or fish hawk, was nearly extinct 20-odd years ago, but how it has come back with the ban on DDT. The nests are built of twigs, some surprisingly large, and may be 6 feet in diameter, always perched on top of something, channel markers, buoys, telephone poles, dead trees, etc. being the most common.

My wife and I spent a weekend several years ago at an inn on Tilghman Island, which is on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay, a rural spot not much changed in the last 300 years. The back of the inn, where our room was, faces a narrow channel between the island and the mainland. Across the channel is a bird sanctuary. Not 50 yards from the little terrace outside our room was an osprey nest on a channel marker, inhabited by a pair with chicks. We could watch the actions of the parents, but got only an occasional glilmpse of the chicks because of the size and depth of the nest. Not far away were nests of egrets and great blue herons. The ospreys are interesting, although not especially beautiful birds. The egrets are beautiful, but not especially interesting and they stayed far away. The herons were both interesting and beautiful. The great blue heron is large and colorful, with handsome grey and blue plumage. They walk around in majestic fashion and spear fish from the shallow water with their sharp sword-like beaks. We were greatly amused by one enterprising fellow who got himself a regal meal by snatching a soft crab which had just molted in the holding tanks of the inn restaurant, a tasty meal which we paid about $15 for. The only downside of this wonderful mini-vacation was the mosquitoes, which were dreadful. Since the bird sanctuary was so close, they couldn't use any pesticide to keep the mosquitoes down, and there were clouds of them at dusk. We had to drive 20 minutes to St. Michaels, the nearest town, and bought the last package of Benedryl in the county.