What is Maryland Osprey?

Maryland Osprey (MDOsprey) is a LISTSERV mailing list. Any message sent by a subscriber to MDOsprey is in turn re-sent to all subscribers. In short, it is a way to keep a large group of like-minded individuals in touch with each other through Internet e-mail. That's the more technical definition. In reality, MDOsprey is something old and something new. The 'Osprey' part of the name harkens back to the computer bulletin board, The Osprey's Nest, run for a bit over ten years by Norm and Fran Saunders. During that ten-year period, Norm and Fran met a lot of local Maryland and Virginia and DC birders, learned a lot about birding themselves, and, hopefully, taught some things to a few new birders. The sense of community on The Osprey's Nest was unparalleled. That's the old part that Norm and Fran hope to keep alive with MDOsprey. The new part of MDOsprey is the addition of the word Maryland. The restrictive part of The Osprey's Nest was that it really only attracted folks who lived within a local call of the bulletin board. Now, in this age of almost instantaneous e-mail, we can reach out to people throughout Maryland and hopefully begin to see again a sense of community among birders all over the state and from anywhere else in the world who have an interest in birding in Maryland. Like The Osprey's Nest, Norm and Fran, both members of the Maryland Ornithological Society, hope that MDOsprey will serve as a focal point for those who just want to chat about birding. You don't have to be a Ph.D. ornithologist, you don't need to ask 'intelligent' questions, you just need to enjoy birds and want to know more about birding in Maryland. Joining MDOsprey is as easy as sending an e-mail message.