FYI - this report is for sightings from May 19 through May 25 and was
compiled by Joe Coleman.
Joe Coleman
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 05/26/2015
Coverage: MD/DC/VA central and southern DE/WV panhandle
Reports, comments, questions: voice@xxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:voice@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Compiler: Joe Coleman
Sponsor: Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic
States (independent of NAS)
Transcriber:
Please consider joining ANS, especially if you are a regular user of the
Voice (Individual $50; Family $65; Nature Steward $100; Audubon Advocate
$200). 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 report covers the week starting Tuesday, May 19 and was
completed on Tuesday, May 26 at 9:30 a.m.
The top birds this week were a NEOTROPIC CORMORANT* in MD and a WHITE-WINGED
DOVE in DE.
Other birds of interest this week included EGYPTIAN GOOSE, TRUMPETER SWAN,
ducks, NORTHERN BOBWHITE, ANHINGA, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, MISSISSIPPI KITE,
COMMON GALLINULE, SANDHILL CRANE, BLACK-NECKED STILT, shorebirds,
flycatchers including OLIVE-SIDED, ALDER and YELLOW-BELLIED, WESTERN
KINGBIRD, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, warblers including
GOLDEN-WINGED, SWAINSON'S, and MOURNING, sparrows, DICKCISSEL, RUSTY
BLACKBIRD, and PINE SISKIN.
TOP BIRDS
The NEOTROPIC CORMORANT* near Violette's Lock, Montgomery Co MD, continued
to be seen there throughout the week with the most recent sighting from May
25.
A WHITE-WINGED DOVE was found May 23 at Slaughter Beach, DE; it was heard on
the 24th from Yerkes Rd at Slaughter Beach.
OTHER BIRDS OF INTEREST
The EGYPTIAN GOOSE of unknown provenance was seen again in Baltimore, MD,
with a report of it at Patterson Park on the 19th.
Ducks and swans continue to linger in the area /beyond their normal late
dates. The TRUMPETER SWAN continues in the vicinity of the Black Hill
Regional Park, Montgomery Co., MD with a sighting on May 23 at the nearby
Lake Churchill.
A REDHEAD was seen May 20 at Tydings Marina, Harford Co, MD. A SURF SCOTER
was seen throughout the week at Violette's Lock, Montgomery Co MD. Forty-two
BLACK SCOTERS were seen May 20 at North Beach, Virginia Beach, VA. A female
BLACK SCOTER was seen May 22 at Back Bay NWR, Virginia Beach, VA. Two
LONG-TAILED DUCKS were seen May 23 at Point Lookout SP, St. Mary's Co, MD.
NORTHERN BOBWHITES turned up at a variety of widely scattered locations this
past week.
An ANHINGA was reported on May 21 back at the same location they were at on
Blackwater Rd, Chesapeake, VA last year. An ANHINGA was seen and
photographed on a farm in Fluvanna Co, VA on the 22nd and 23rd.
AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS were seen May 23 and 24 at Fowler Beach, Sussex Co,
DE.
MISSISSIPPI KITES were seen in a number of locations throughout the week
including one in Norfolk, VA on the 19th; two the same day flying over the
Fort Smallwood Park hawk watch, Anne Arundel Co, MD; and Perryman Park,
Harford Co, MD on the 24th. Two MISSISSIPPI KITES were seen May 21 in a tree
close to the road at Gaines and Jackson Streets in Burke, Fairfax Co, VA.
One was seen May 23 flying over Lake Accotink Park, Fairfax Co, VA.
MISSISSIPPI KITES were also seen along Whiton Crossing Rd, Worcester Co, MD
on the 23rd, 24th, & 25th. A MISSISSIPPI KITE was seen the 24th flying over
Rte 40, W. Patrick St, Frederick, MD. A MISSISSIPPI KITE was flying along
Rte 40 behind Perryman Park, Harford Co, MD, at the Gray's Run crossing on
the 24th. Also on the 24th, a MISSISSIPPI KITE was seen soaring high towards
Lake Drummond (Great Dismal Swamp NWR, Suffolk, VA) just south of Balyhack
Rd. A MISSISSIPPI KITE flew over Rockwood Beach (near Fort Smallwood) on the
25th.
A COMMON GALLINULE was seen May 22 at the Dutch Gap Conservation Area,
Chesterfield Co, VA.
Two SANDHILL CRANES were found May 21 in a flooded field in the 3122-3190
block of Rte 146 in Harford Co, MD. A SANDHILL CRANE was seen May 25 heading
southwest from Fort Smallwood Park.
Two BLACK-NECKED STILTS were found May 23 at Hog Island, Surry Co, VA.
SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS were seen at the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, NE
DC, from the 19th through the 22nd. A SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER and a DUNLIN
were seen May 23 at the Rowe Rd farm pond just east of the intersection of
Rowe and Intyre Rds, Washington Co, MD; the DUNLIN and three SEMIPALMATED
PLOVERS were there on the 24th. Thirty-two SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS were seen
May 20 at Belvoir Pond, Fauquier Co, VA; two were seen there on the 25th.
Two PIPING PLOVERS were spotted April 11 at Fort Monroe, Hampton, VA.
As many as 9 WHIMBRELS were found on the 23rd, first at Dyke Marsh and then
later on the mudflats at Hunting Creek, Fairfax Co, VA. This past week RED
KNOTS turned up in relatively small numbers on ocean beaches from Virginia
Beach to Delaware. A couple of RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were found May 17 & 18
at the Pickering Beach side of Little Creek Wildlife, Kent, DE.
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS turned up at a number of locations including Hughes
Hollow, Montgomery Co, MD on the 20th; Violette's Lock, Montgomery Co, MD,
on the 22nd & 23rd; at Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore Co, MD on the 21st &
the 23rd; on the 23rd along the WB&A Trail - Old Pond Dr, Prince George's
Co, MD; on the 23rd at Fort Washington NP, Prince George's Co, MD.
ALDER FLYCATCHERS were also seen in a number of locations including Cromwell
Valley Park on the 21st & 23rd; Governor Bridge NA, Prince George's Co, MD,
on the 22nd; at Meadowpark Park, Howard Co, MD on the 23rd and also, the
same day, at the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, Howard Co, MD. ALDER
FLYCATCHERS were seen and heard at a variety of locations in Highland Co, VA
this past week including three at Beaver Ponds in on the 23rd.
A YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER turned up in a private yard on the 22nd in
Harford Co, MD. Both a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER and a PHILADELPHIA VIREO
were reported May 23 in the same tree north of Blairs Valley Lake,
Washington Co, MD.
A WESTERN KINGBIRD was reported from the Bombay Hook NWR, Kent Co, DE Allee
House area on the 24th.
A LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was seen throughout the week at Burwells Bay Rd at
Purvis Rd, Isle of Wight, VA.
A PHILADELPHIA VIREO was seen May 24 at the northwest corner of the lake at
Wheaton RP, Montgomery Co, MD.
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS were seen May 23 at their regular spot on Wimer
Mountain Rd, Highland Co, VA.
MOURINING WARBLERS turned up at a number of locations this past week. Some
of the sightings included one in a yard in western Loudoun Co on May 19, one
on May 20 along the Flag Ponds Parkway powerline, Calvert Co, MD, and
another May 21 in the Rock Creek Park (NW DC) maintenance yard. One was also
seen at Governor Bridge NA, Prince George's Co, MD, on the 22nd. Another was
seen May 23 near Paddy Knob, Highland Co, VA. One was also seen on the 23rd
at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax Co, VA. A MOURNING WARBLER was also seen on
the regular weekly bird walk at Great Falls National Historical Park,
Fairfax Co, VA, on May 24.
Two VESPER SPARROWS were seen May 23 along the road in Laurel Forks,
Highland Co, VA. Another was singing the same day on Smith Rd, Jefferson Co,
WV.A LINCOLN'S SPARROW was seen May 20 in Rock Creek Park, NW DC. Two were
seen the 21st in the maintenance yard at Rock Creek Park. A LINCOLN'S
SPARROW was also seen the 22nd at Mount Pleasant Farm, Howard Co (MD)
Conservancy. And one was seen the 22nd at Theodore Roosevelt Island, NW DC.
A couple of WHITE-THROATED and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS continued to turn up
at feeders in the area.
A singing DICKCISSEL was seen the 25th at the Mustang Trailhead, Meadowood
Recreation Area, Gunston and Harley Rds, Lorton. A DICKCISSEL was also
located the 25th at the corner of Brookfield Rd and Parkgate Dr, near
Nokesville, Prince William Co, VA.
Other lingering winter birds included a single RUSTY BLACKBIRD on the 20th
at Piscataway Park, Prince George's Co, MD and two PINE SISKINS in Howard
Co, MD from the 20th through the 21st as well as in a few other locations.
***
This week's report was based on reports on the DE, MD, VA, and WV list
servers via the ABA Internet links, and on eBird records.
The Audubon Sanctuary Shop (301-652-3606, anshome.org/shop) is an excellent
source for guidebooks and many other nature-related titles.
To report bird sightings, e-mail your report to voice@xxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:voice@xxxxxxxxxxx> .
Please post reports before midnight Monday, identify the county as well as
the state, and include your name and a Tuesday morning contact, e-mail or
phone.
Thank you for your interest, and enjoy the birds.
*Of interest to the applicable state records committee
