FYI - this report is for sightings from May 23 through May 28 and was compiled
by Lydia Schindler & transcribed by Steve Cordle
Joe Coleman
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 5/29/2012
Coverage: MD/DC/VA/DE/WV panhandle
Telephone: 301-652-1088 option 1
Reports, comments, questions:
(e-mail): voice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(voice): 301-652-1088 option 2
Compiler: Lydia Schindler
Sponsor: Audubon Naturalist Society of the
Central Atlantic States (independent of NAS!)
Transcriber: Steve Cordle
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 was completed Tuesday, May 29, at 10
AM.
Top birds this week are WHITE-FACED IBIS* in MD, SABINE'S GULL* in DE,
and WHITE-WINGED DOVE* in MD.
Other birds of interest include NORTHERN BOBWHITE, SOOTY SHEARWATER,
ANHINGA, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, LEAST BITTERN, LITTLE BLUE HERON,
MISSISSIPPI KITE, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, PEREGRINE FALCON, SANDHILL CRANE,
shorebirds (UPLAND, WHIMBREL, RED KNOT) WILSON'S SNIPE, AMERICAN
WOODCOCK, GULLS, TERNS, CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW, EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL,
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, LEAST FLYCATCHER, CLIFF SWALLOW, warblers
(golden-winged, cerulean, Mourning), HENSLOW'S SPARROW, SUMMER
TANAGER, DICKCISSEL, BOBOLINK, and RED CROSSBILL.
A WHITE-FACED IBIS* again turned up in Worcester Co, MD, on May 23. It
was with two GLOSSY IBIS in a pond on Newport Bay Drive in South
Point, opposite #11423.
The SABINE'S GULL* found at Mispillion Harbor, DE, on May 20, was seen
off and on through the afternoon of May 26. It was often visible from
the deck at the DuPont Nature Center or at nearby Slaughter Beach.
A WHITE-WINGED DOVE* flew into a pine stand on the Assateague Island
causeway, Worcester Co, on the afternoon of May 24. It was relocated
that evening just north of the blind at Shell Rd.
A NORTHERN BOBWHITE was calling in the Summit Point area of Jefferson
Co, WV, on May 26. On May 27 a BOBWHITE was heard in an undeveloped
area near the Rehoboth Beach Yacht and CC (DE), where bobwhites once
were common but have been absent for years.
A sea watch at Assateague Island yielded a SOOTY SHEARWATER on May 25.
An ANHINGA was again observed at Harwood's Mill Reservoir, York Co,
VA, on May 25.
Five AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS were seen May 23 at Bear Swamp Pool,
Bombay Hook NWR, DE, and presumably the same birds were seen May 25 at
Thousand Acre Marsh near Delaware City, DE.
On May 25 a LEAST BITTERN at Deal Island WMA, Somerset Co, MD, spent
at least 10 minutes feeding in plain sight; it was at the base of
needlerush on the south side of Deal Island Rd, just east of the
utility pole with yellow labels 38955 over 86568.
A LITTLE BLUE HERON continued in Jefferson Co, WV, where on May 24 it
stood on a big log jam near the Rte 9 bridge over the Shenandoah.
On May 25 an adult MISSISSIPPI KITE flew over the hawk watch at Fort
Smallwood Park, Anne Arundel Co, MD. That same day, a MISSISSIPPI KITE
flew over a yard in Oxford, Talbot Co, MD. On May 27 a MISSISSIPPI
KITE soared over a kayaker on Whitehall Creek near Amberly, Anne
Arundel Co.
A dark-morph BROAD-WINGED HAWK*, a subspecies not previously seen in
MD, was observed for 5 minutes as it flew above the Allegany Co
Fairgrounds near Cresaptown on May 24.
Inspection of the PEREGRINE FALCON nest on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
(linking Anne Arundel and Queen Anne's Counties) revealed two hatched
young as of May 21. On May 23, a PEREGRINE flew over Ft Bayard Park in
NW DC.
On May 26 a SANDHILL CRANE landed at Prime Hook NWR, DE, at the
headquarters picnic pavilion; later it was found a short distance down
the Dike Trail.
Along with the thousands of migrating RED KNOTS and other shorebirds
feeding on horseshoe crab eggs along Delaware Bay, a May 24 aerial
survey of the Eastern Shore of VA revealed nearly 3,000 WHIMBREL near
Box Tree Marsh; these birds "bulk up on fiddler crabs" before flying
non-stop to the high Arctic.
A May 23 survey at Chincoteague NWR, Accomack Co, VA, discovered a
REEVE (female RUFF) at the south end of Snow Goose Pool, shortly after
the pond becomes visible on the left (just past a gravel service road
on the right).
On May 23 an UPLAND SANDPIPER could be heard in Washington Co, MD,
along Broadfording Rd east of Spickler Rd.
An AMERICAN WOODCOCK flushed up in a yard near Croom, MD, May 28.
A WILSON'S PHALAROPE was at the end of Rumbley Point Road, Somerset
Co, MD on May 23. The number of RED-NECKED PHALAROPES at Violette's
Lock, Montgomery Co, MD, had climbed to three by the evening of May
22.
About 100 LEAST TERNS are nesting on Poplar Island, Talbot Co, MD.
SANDWICH TERNS were one of 6 species of tern at Fowler's Beach, DE,
May 24.
A WHIP-POOR-WILL was singing and seen in a yard in Arlington, VA, on
May 24.
Three RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were present at Hughes Hollow May 23. On
May 28 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were found at 3 locations in NW Carroll
Co, MD: Sharrett Rd just west of the easternmost stream crossing;
Baumgarder Rd S just south of Bullfrog Rd; and Teeter Rd where it
crosses Piney Creek south of Ruggles Rd.
A possible LEAST FLYCATCHER was reported May 22 along the Capital
Crescent Trail, NW DC, about 500 yards west of Key Bridge.
On May 28 a dozen CLIFF SWALLOWS were sailing over the WSSC ball
fields near Rocky Gorge Reservoir, on the north side of Brooklyn
Bridge Rd, just west of I-95, in Prince George's Co, MD.
Warbler migration has pretty much wound down but nesting species
continue to captivate. A May 26 walk at the Blue Ridge Center for
Environmental Stewardship, Loudoun Co, VA, tallied 10 warbler species,
including BLUE-WINGED, KENTUCKY, and CERULEAN. A MOURNING WARBLER
continued at Eden Mill, Harford Co, MD, through the morning of May 25;
it was along the path leading from the parking lot to the canoe
launch. A MOURNING WARBLER visited Monticello Park, Alexandria, VA,
May 22, 23, 24, and 28.
On May 26 three GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS were singing along Old
Legislative Rd in Allegany Co, MD-as were half a dozen HENSLOW'S
SPARROWS. (From I-68, take exit 33 south for 2 miles, cross through
Woodland, and start listening.)
A SUMMER TANAGER was found again May 22 and 28 above Riley's Lock,
Montgomery Co, between mile markers 23 and 24.
A new colony of DICKSISSELS at the south end of Bridgeville, DE, was
reported May 24; there were six or seven singing males along a newly
built service road west of US 13, at the first right south of DE 404.
On May 23 and 26, four DICKCISSELS were found in Washington Co, MD, on
the south side of Broadfording Rd west of Spickler Rd. DICKCISSELS
were also reported from several locations in northern Frederick Co and
nearby Carroll Co, MD, on May 28; sites include Creamery Rd and Sixes
Bridges Rd. Near Poolesville, Montgomery Co, a DICKSISSEL continues to
sing in the vicinity of 20900 Westerly Road.
Single male BOBOLINKS were found May 28 in Carroll Co: Keysville Rd
opposite Hagerstown Lane; Walnut Grove Rd west of Frock Rd; and Sixes
Bridge Rd just north of Mumma Ford Rd.
The mountains of western VA and eastern WV were hosting RED CROSSBILLS
this weekend. Reports came from Shenandoah Mountain in Rockingham Co,
VA (on the WV line), an area accessed by following Rte 257 west from
Rte 42 in Dayton, VA and taking Forest Rd north towards Bother Rd; and
from several sites along WV's Highlands Scenic Highway near Red Spruce
Knob in the Monongahela National Forest.
Most of this week's reports have been gleaned from the MDOsprey,
VA-Bird, West Virginia Birding List, and DE-Birds list servers.
The Audubon Sanctuary Shop (301-652-3606,
http://www.audubonnaturalist.org/default.asp?page=511) is an excellent
source for guidebooks and many other nature-related titles.
To report bird sightings, e-mail your report to
voice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or call 301-652-1088. 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.
*Of interest to the records committee
