FYI Joe Coleman
----- Original Message -----
Birdeast
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 7:21 PM
Subject: DC Area, 9/27/2005
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 9/27/2005
Coverage: MD/DC/VA/DE
Telephone: 301-652-1088 option 1
Reports (voice): 301-652-1088 option 2
(email): voice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(deadline): midnight Mondays
Compiler: Lydia Schindler
Sponsor: Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central
Atlantic States (independent of NAS!)
Transcriber: Steve Cordle (scordle@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Please consider joining ANS, especially if you are a regular user of
the Voice (Individual $40; Family $50; Nature Steward $75; Audubon
Advocate $150). The membership number is 301-652-9188 option 12, the
address is 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, and the web
site is http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org.
This is the Voice of the Naturalist, a service of the Audubon
Naturalist Society. This tape was made Tuesday, September 27, at 5:30
p.m.
Top birds this week are SWAINSON'S HAWK and SABINE'S GULL in MD and
WESTERN KINGBIRD, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, and LARK SPARROW in VA.
Other birds of interest include AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, AMERICAN
BITTERN, raptors, SORA, shorebirds, BLACK TERN, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER,
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, EASTERN KINGBIRD,
BLUE-HEADED and PHILADELPHIA VIREOS, COMMON RAVEN, RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, GRAY-CHEEKED and
SWAINSON'S THRUSH, BREWSTER'S and other WARBLERS, SCARLET TANAGER,
LINCOLN'S and other SPARROWS, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, DICKCISSEL,
BOBOLINK, and HOUSE FINCH.
A light-phase SWAINSON'S HAWK was discovered Sept 25 at Point Lookout
SP, St. Mary's Co, MD. It was observed from the fishing pier, and it
drifted northward.
An adult SABINE'S GULL was spotted Sept 26 over the Potomac River in
Montgomery Co, MD. This gull, showing a bold white triangle on its
wings, appeared just above tree height a few hundred yards upriver
from Violette's Lock. The bird then began to head across the river. It
quickly gained speed and height, angling upriver into VA and heading
southwest.
A Sept 21 visit to Back Bay NWR, Virginia Beach, yielded both WESTERN
KINGBIRD and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (plus 11 species of warbler). The
sparrow was seen first, and well, about three-quarters of the way down
the Bay Trail, which is to the left of the refuge headquarters. An
attempt to relocate the sparrow some hours later revealed one EASTERN
KINGBIRD and 2 WESTERN KINGBIRDS, all flycatching from a snag.
A first-winter LARK SPARROW showed up on the Northern Neck of VA Sept
24, near the entrance to the George Washington Birthplace National
Monument in Westmoreland Co. The sparrow flew from a telephone wire to
the roadside, where it hopped around for more than 5 minutes.
An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was again seen at the north impoundment at
Ted Harvey Conservation Area, DE, on Sept 22. Also present was a
HUDSONIAN GODWIT.
This was a week when raptors ruled.
A MISSISSIPPI KITE was spotted Sept 25 at the Turkey Point hawk watch,
Cecil Co, MD.
The coastal hawk watch at Kiptopeke SP, Northampton Co, VA, draws
falcons: on Sept 25, 164 AMERICAN KESTRELS, 155 MERLINS, and 42
PEREGRINE FALCONS.
The Washington Nationals baseball team also drew a KESTREL; at their
game the night of Sept 21, the Kestrel feasted on insects attracted to
the lights at RFK Stadium.
Inland, BROAD-WINGED HAWKS made an impressive showing. Snickers Gap,
on the Clarke/Loudoun Co (VA) line, had 664 BROAD-WINGS on Sept 22 and
474 on the 23. On Sept 22, Harvey's Knob hawk watch on the Blue Ridge
Parkway near Roanoke tallied more than 900.
In MD, the hawk watch at Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore Co,
registered nearly 1,000 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS between 9 and 10 am Sept
24; the Broadwings were followed by "a fairly steady flight of
accipiters, falcons, BALD EAGLES, and OSPREY." That same morning, Sept
24, about 850 BROAD-WINGS were observed over Baltimore's Cylburn
Arboretum, and "many hundreds" kettled over Blue Mash Nature Trail in
Montgomery Co.
On Sept 22, more than 750 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS emerged at Middle
Patuxent EA, Howard Co, MD, during a 15-minute period. Late in the
afternoon of Sept 23, 2,000 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS migrated past a yard in
Jarrettsville, Harford Co, MD. On Sept 25, 8 or 9 kettles, some with
70 or 80 birds, soared over a house in Gaithersburg.
A chorus of at least 20 SORAS greeted the dawn on Sept 24 at Woodland
Beach WA, DE. The reeds there also held an AMERICAN BITTERN.
The weekly tour of Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore Co, found 4 SORAS,
plus 17 species of shorebird, including AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER,
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE--and 92 AMERICAN AVOCETS.
An AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was found Sept 24 at the Patton Turf Farm on
River Rd, south of White's Ferry in far western Montgomery Co.
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was one of 19 species of shorebird found at
Chincoteague NWR, Accomack Co, VA, on Sept 23--along with 1 HUDSONIAN
GODWIT and 5 MARBLED GODWITS, and 210 BLACK SKIMMERS.
An AMERICAN AVOCET, in its handsome pale gray, black, and white winter
plumage, was present at Great Oak Pond, Kent Co, MD, Sept 24 and 25.
Two BLACK TERNS were seen Sept 24 at Bear Swamp, Bombay Hook NWR, DE.
Signs of fall noted this week include YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, BROWN
CREEPER, WINTER WREN, and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET.
A brightly colored YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was seen Sept 24 at Blue
Mash, as was a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.
PHILADELPHIA VIREO again appeared at numerous sites. On Sept 22, a
yard in Jeffersonton, Culpeper Co, VA, hosted both PHILADELPHIA and
BLUE-HEADED VIREOS. On Sept 23, a PHILADELPHIA VIREO was found at
Riverbend Park, Fairfax Co, VA. On Sept 25, one was seen at the New
York Monuments area of Manassas National Battlefield Park, Prince
William Co, VA. Also on Sept 25, a PHILADELPHIA VIREO visited a yard
in Croom, Prince George's Co, MD.
A COMMON RAVEN was reported from Lothian, Anne Arundel Co, MD, Sept
22.
Migrating RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES again enlivened several locations,
as did GRAY-CHEEKED and SWAINSON'S THRUSHES, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS,
and SCARLET TANAGERS.
Warbler flocks, sometimes large and typically flitty, continue to move
through the area. A BREWSTER'S WARBLER was found Sept 24 at Little
Bennett RP, Montgomery Co. A CONNECTICUT WARBLER was one of 10 species
seen Sept 21 at a farm in Fauquier Co, VA. A CONNECTICUT WARBLER was
one of 20 species turned up Sept 24 in Prince William Co, mostly along
Cockpit Rd near Possum Point Rd.
Other warbler fests unfolded at Rock Creek Park's stables and
maintenance yard, NW DC; Rock Creek Park, Montgomery Co; Middle
Patuxent EA; in Fairfax Co, at Huntley Meadows Park, Monticello Park,
Mason Neck SP, and yards in Annandale and Great Falls; and in Loudoun
Co, VA, at the Blue Ridge Center.
The sparrow scene was brightened by LINCOLN'S SPARROW--one at Jug Bay,
Prince George's Co, MD, Sept 23, and one at Huntley Meadows Sept 24. A
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was seen at Blue Mash Sept 24. SAVANNAH, SWAMP,
FIELD, and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were noted Sept 22 at Middle Patuxent
EA. WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are back, too.
A single BOBOLINK was found--in amongst more than 100 HOUSE
FINCHES--at Flint Hill School, Oakton, Fairfax Co, on Sept 22. Some 29
BOBOLINKS were found Sept 24 at Hart-Miller, as were 2 DICKCISSELS.
On Oct 22, See Life Paulagics is running a trip out of Lewes, DE. For
more information, contact them at 215-234-6805 or check their web page
at paulagics.com.
Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the MDOSPREY,
VA-Bird, and DE Birds list servers.
Finding Birds in the National Capital Area by Claudia Wilds is an
excellent source of directions to many birding sites. The ANS
Bookstore (301-652-3606 or
www.audubonnaturalist.org/cgi-bin/mesh/store) is an excellent source
for this and many other nature-related titles.
To report bird sightings, e-mail your report to
voice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. But please do not submit photographs. You
may also report by calling 301-652-1088 and selecting menu option 2.
Please post reports before midnight Monday, identify the county as
well as state, and include your name and a Tuesday morning contact,
either e-mail or phone.
Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING.
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