DC Area, 3/17/98
scordle (scordle@tidalwave.net)
Tue, 17 Mar 1998 17:02:03 -0500
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 3/17/98
Coverage: MD/DC/VA/DE
Telephone: 301-652-1088
Reports (voice): 301-652-9188 x3101
(fax): 301-951-7179
(email): voice@capaccess.org
(deadline): midnight mondays
Compiler: Jane Hill
Sponsor: Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central
Atlantic States (independent of NAS!)
Transcriber: Steve Cordle (scordle@capaccess.org)
!!Check www.capaccess.org/snr/vguide.txt for guidelines on
reporting your sightings!!
This is the Voice of the Naturalist, a service of the
Audubon Naturalist Society. This tape was made Tue, Mar 17, at 2
pm. Please note that the Voice's email server, CapAccess, is
scheduled to be offline all day Monday, March 23, so please
either post your email reports for next week's Voice well before
Monday, or report by fax or phone message to ANS.
Top birds this week are: SANDHILL CRANE, possible YELLOW-
BILLED LOON, EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and SMEW in MD; SANDHILL
CRANE, BLACK-TAILED GULL, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, RED and WHITE-
WINGED CROSSBILL, and PAINTED BUNTING in VA.
Other birds of interest include RED-THROATED LOON, NORTHERN
GANNET, SWAN GOOSE, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, RING-NECKED DUCK, REDHEAD,
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, eiders, HARLEQUIN DUCK, LEAST SANDPIPER,
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, OSPREY, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, MERLIN,
PEREGRINE FALCON, AMERICAN KESTREL, EASTERN PHOEBE, BLUE-GRAY
GNATCATCHER, PALM and PINE WARBLERs, and PINE SISKIN.
A bird reported as a YELLOW-BILLED LOON was seen at St
George Ck, St Mary's Co, MD [DeLorme Pg 23, A1-2] on Mar 12, but
was not relocated on Mar 13, despite diligent searching. Then,
on Mar 14, a birding group reported an adult, winter-plumaged
YELLOW-BILLED LOON at the same location. Birders are encouraged
to examine the loons in this area carefully and take photographs
and notes of any unusual ones, so that a conclusive
identification can be made. To look for the bird, take Rt 5
southeast from the DC Beltway; turn right on Rt 249 at Callaway;
proceed until you cross the bridge onto St George Is; then look
for Evans Seafood Restaurant on your left. The bird was last
seen from the restaurant parking lot, in the middle of the creek,
in the area of a "crossed" pole and a channel marker.
A carefully described, adult, male SMEW in breeding plumage,
possibly escaped from a waterfowl collection, was seen from the
public boat landing in Cambridge, Dorchester Co, MD, on Mar 14.
An adult, male EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was seen at E.A.
Vaughn Wildlife Mgmt Area, Worcester Co, MD [DeLorme Pg 27, B4],
on Mar 17. To reach this spot, take Rt 12 south from Salisbury,
through Snow Hill, to Girdletree; turn left on Taylors Landing
Rd, which is just before the post office in Girdletree; go 1.9 mi
to a brown sign for E.A. Vaughn, and go right; follow the dirt
road 0.1 mi. Look for the bird in the more distant of the two
ponds you'll see on your left. The bird was in the SE corner,
with some American Green-winged Teal.
A flock of 13 SANDHILL CRANEs was seen flying northward at
low altitude by a birding group at Lucketts Community Ctr,
Loudoun Co, VA, on Mar 14. Two SANDHILL CRANEs, both of them
banded, were spotted at the confluence of the NE and NW branches
of the Anacostia River, Bladensburg, Prince Georges Co, MD, on
Mar 16.
Three male BREWER'S BLACKBIRDs were reported from along
Oatlands Mill Rd (Rt 650), Loudoun Co, VA, on the morning of Mar
13; the birds were in a flock of robins and starlings in a field
on the right, about 1/4 mi past the Dulles Greenway Wetlands,
before a bridge.
An adult BLACK-TAILED GULL was seen at CBBT Is #4,
Northampton Co, VA, on Mar 15; it was frequenting the east side
of the island between noon and 1 pm.
Crossbills were not reported from MD this week, but continue
to be seen in northern VA. Thirty CROSSBILLS, including at least
two WHITE-WINGED and eight RED, were spotted in evergreens along
the entrance road and in the hills above them, at Long Branch
Park, Arlington Co, VA, on Mar 11. A flock of up to ten
crossbills of undetermined species was observed in flight there
on Mar 12. Seventeen RED CROSSBILLs were spotted at Beaverdam
Reservoir, Loudoun Co, VA, on Mar 16.
A pair of PAINTED BUNTINGs was seen again at a feeder at the
Holiday Travel Park, Virginia Beach, VA [DeLorme Pg 35, B7], on
Mar 11. To look for these birds, take General Booth Blvd south
from VA Beach, past Bird Neck Rd; turn right, into the travel
park, and ask for information at the registration desk.
The remainder of the reports this week were dominated by
water birds. A wild-type SWAN GOOSE (aka CHINESE GOOSE),
undoubtedly an escaped bird, was seen with Canada Geese at Black
Hill Reg Pk, Montgomery Co, MD, on Mar 14.
An adult NORTHERN GANNET and a RED-THROATED LOON were noted
in the Chesapeake Bay at Flag Ponds Nature Park, Calvert Co, MD,
on Mar 10. Another NORTHERN GANNET was seen flying over the
Potomac R, south of Cobb Is, Charles Co, MD, on Mar 15. Four RED-
THROATED LOONs were reported from Hart-Miller Is, Baltimore Co,
MD, on Mar 15. Six winter-plumaged LEAST SANDPIPERs were seen at
Hart-Miller the same day.
An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was turned up by a birding
group at Patuxent River Pk at Jug Bay, Prince George's Co, MD, on
Mar 14; the bird, which was on the river, was seen from the bluff
near the park buildings.
Eiders and HARLEQUIN DUCKs are still being reported from
CBBT Islands, with Is #4 holding at least 10 COMMON EIDER Mar 11;
four KING EIDER Mar 15; and seven HARLEQUIN DUCKs, also on Mar
15. These three species are also still being seen at the Ocean
City, MD, jetty.
Winter ducks also continue to frequent inland waters, with
RED-BREASTED MERGANSERs reported from numerous locations. Up to
300 RING-NECKED DUCKs were in the Triadelphia Lake Rd area of
Triadelphia Reservoir, Montgomery Co, MD, on Mar 14. And two
REDHEADs were spotted in the NW corner of Clopper Lake, Seneca Ck
St Pk, Montgomery Co, MD, on Mar 15.
OSPREY are being reported widely, with courtship displays a
highlight at Jug Bay, MD, on Mar 14.
Raptor reports included a NORTHERN GOSHAWK at Beaverdam
Reservoir, Loudoun Co, VA, on Mar 16. Two PEREGRINE FALCONs were
observed at the Natl Shrine of the Immaculate Conception,
Catholic University, DC, on Mar 14. A single PEREGRINE FALCON
was seen at the corner of Nash St and Key Blvd, Rosslyn, VA, on
Mar 11 and 13. A MERLIN was spotted over Congressional Plaza,
Rockville, Montgomery Co, MD, on Mar 14. Two AMERICAN KESTRELs,
seen in the 1600 block of Q St, NW, DC, on Mar 11, rounded out
the raptor sightings.
A BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER is still being observed at Dyke
Marsh, Alexandria, VA, with the most recent report for Mar 14. A
PINE SISKIN was frequenting a feeder in Silver Spring, Montgomery
Co, MD, the same day.
EASTERN PHOEBEs have returned in force, with reports from
throughout the region, and warbler migration is also continuing.
The first report of PALM WARBLER came in, with two birds seen
just north of Riley's Lock, C & O Canal, Montgomery Co, MD, on
Mar 15. PINE WARBLERs are being reported with increasing
frequency. Waterbird migrants, too, are turning up, with two
BLUE-WINGED TEAL reported from ponds at St Charlestowne Ctr,
Charles Co, MD, on Mar 15.
There will be a reservations-only trip to DE coastal refuges
on Sat, Mar 21; call the leader, Paul DuMont of Arlington, at
703-931-8994, to reserve your spot. There will be a
reservations-only trip to Myrtle Grove, MD, on Sun, Mar 29; call
the leader, Tony Futcher of Hyattsville, at 301-422-3927, to
secure your place.
To report bird sightings you can FAX your report to ANS at
301-951-7179, or call 301-652-9188, extension 3101 for a
dedicated answering machine at all hours. Internet users can
email reports to: voice@capaccess.org. Thank you for calling,
and GOOD BIRDING.