Dc Area, 3/24/98
scordle (scordle@tidalwave.net)
Tue, 24 Mar 1998 17:03:45 -0500
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 3/24/98
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: Steve Cordle
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 24, at 2
pm. Please consider joining the Society, especially if you are a
regular user of the Voice (Indiv.$30; Family $40; Nature Steward
$60; Audubon Advocate $100). The membership number is above and
the address is 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.
Please note that the Voice's email server, CapAccess, was offline
beginning late Monday, March 23, so some reports may not have
gotten through.
Top birds this week are: possible YELLOW-BILLED LOON and
IPSWICH SPARROW in MD, and SAY'S PHOEBE in PA.
Other birds of interest include RED-THROATED LOON, NORTHERN
GANNET, ROSS' GOOSE, REDHEAD, COMMON SNIPE, and N. ROUGH-WINGED
SWALLOW.
A "pale-billed, pale-faced loon," reported as a YELLOW-
BILLED LOON was seen again as recently as Sun, Mar 22, 30 feet
off the pier at Evan's Seafood restaurant on St. George Is, St
Mary's Co, MD [DeLorme Pg 23, A1-2]. This bird has been seen
intermittently over the past week. 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 the restaurant
on your left.
A good variety of waterfowl and shore birds were reported
this past week. RED-THROATED LOON continued their presence in
the upper Chesapeake Bay, seen at both Cambridge and at Elliott
Is, Dorchester Co, MD on Thu, Mar 19. NORTHERN GANNETS were also
seen in the upper Bay, with twelve in the Chesapeake Beach-North
Beach area, MD and eight at Blackwalnut Pt, MD [Delorme, p. 39,
B5], both on Mon, Mar 23. Two adult white-phase ROSS' GEESE were
present, along with an abundance of other birds, in the field
next to the Visitor's Center at Blackwater NWR, Dorchester Co, MD
on Fri, Mar. 20. REDHEAD continued to be seen last week. One
was sighted on the Potomac between Haines Point and the 14th St
Br, DC, along with numerous Scaup on Fri, Mar 20. Two more were
near the dam at Clopper Lake, Seneca St Pk, Mont Co, MD on Sun,
Mar 22. Sightings of COMMON SNIPE were widespread, including 75-
80 seen in and around the pond behind the Visitor's Center at
Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, Prince Georges Co, MD on Fri, Mar 20,
and 12 that were flushed from the shallow muddy pond immediately
west of the Lilypons store building, Frederick Co, MD on Sun, Mar
22.
An IPSWICH SPARROW, which is a large, pale variety of
SAVANNAH SPARROW, was seen and photographed on Thu, Mar 19 in the
beach grass beside the south side and to the west of Cambridge
Fishing Pier, Dorchester Co, MD. The pier is the old Rt.50
bridge [Delorme p.42, D2].
Other land birds of note include the SAY'S PHOEBE that is
still frequenting a farm near Newville, PA, seen again on Mon,
Mar 23. For more information and directions, call the Central PA
birdline at 717-255-1212, ext 5761. A N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW
was seen at Hughes Hollow, Mont Co, MD on Tues, Mar 24.
As a special favor to Defenders of Wildlife, please keep an
eye out for a Tundra Swan wearing a yellow tubular plastic neck
band with a code vertically engraved. The swan is one of those
that completed a 103 mile migration from Airlie, VA to Crapo MD
in Dec behind an ultralight aircraft, and has not been seen there
since Mar 9. Call 888-264-4728 if you have information about
this bird.
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. Please note that a trip once
scheduled for Sat, Apr 4 to Oxon Hill Children's Farm has been
changed to April 11; to reserve your space, call the leader, Paul
Baicich of Oxon Hill at 301-859-9736. A trip to Charles Co, MD
Parks and Refuges is planned for Sun, Apr 5; call the leader,
Carol Ghebelian of Indian Head at 301-753-6754 for reservations.
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.