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Thanks for 8 Days a Week

Dear Bay Weekly:

Just got my Bay Weekly today [March 19], and was absolutely delighted when I saw the colored photo and descriptive material on the Maggie Sansone concert at the Captain Salem Avery House and Museum tonight. Thanks so much for always giving good coverage to our events. It matters so much.

–Mavis Daley, Shady Side

The Value of Old Books

Dear Bay Weekly:

Bill Burton’s “The Packrat’s Reward” [Feb. 12] was so funny and good. So with an inherited library, I tried Alibris — but was not so successful. Would Mr. Burton email a direct connect for those old books? I want to follow his directions. Someone should be thrilled to read them, so I do not want to toss them.

–Marion Snyder, via email

Editor’s reply: Bill Burton’s daughter and search agent, Liz Steere, tells me that the starting point is the search engine www.alibris.com (or www.alibris.co.uk for books printed in the United Kingdom). From either, look to the bottom of the page for Rare, Out-of-Print & Collectable Books. Enter that page, and choose Advanced Search. You there find blanks to fill in all the information you know about the book in hand. “Books printed before the 1970s have no ISBN number,” she notes, “so all the descriptive information you can enter about the book’s publication and condition helps identify its value.”

Good luck!

Osprey Migration Underway

Dear Bay Weekly:

As of March 12, all four of our surviving osprey are doing fine.

Adult osprey are heading north right now.

Youngsters, including our Claws and Conomo, probably won’t move for another month or so. They’re sort of like teenagers; not likely to start anything early. The crack of dawn meaning about noon. Tracking young ospreys on their first migration (I have tagged 22 fledglings) has proven to be a really exciting avenue of research.

But over the years we’ve lost all four tagged birds that tried to overwinter in the Dominican Republic, as well as one that was just passing through. These numbers are alarming.

I have been in touch with Jorge Brocca, president of the Hispaniola Ornithological Society, since the first bird (Mohup) was shot. When we lost the fourth bird this year, Jorge expressed concern and willingness to help launch an educational campaign. The International Osprey Foundation has agreed to a grant of $1,000, toward an estimated budget of $3,000 to 4,000 and has offered to be the conduit for any other funds we might raise.

The effort will be admittedly difficult: The budget is small, the country large and many of the people who pose a threat to osprey are beyond the reach of any sort of media campaign. Nonetheless, we feel compelled to make an effort.

So, I’m sending out this request. Contributions, earmarked for Conservation in the Dominican Republic should be sent to The International Osprey Foundation, P.O. Box 250 Sanibel Island, FL 33957

–Rob Bierregaard, UNC-Charlotte

Editor’s note: St. Patrick’s Day is the usual time osprey arrive in Chesapeake Country; starting March 15, Bay Weekly spotters began seeing returning birds.

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