(Fwd) DC Area, 11/10/98
Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Mon, 16 Nov 1998 18:51:18 -0500
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From: scordle@capaccess.org
To: birdeast@listserv.arizona.edu
Subject: DC Area, 11/10/98
Date sent: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 23:51:15 GMT
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 11/10/98
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: Lydia Schindler
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 on Tuesday, Nov
10, at 1 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,the address is 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase,
MD 20815, and the website is http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org.
Top bird this week is CINNAMON TEAL, in both Maryland and
Virginia.
Other birds of interest include: HORNED GREBE, loons, BRANT,
CANADA and SNOW GEESE, ducks, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, NORTHERN
GOSHAWK, GOLDEN EAGLE, MERLIN, HORNED LARK, WINTER WREN,
kinglets, HERMIT THRUSH, AMERICAN PIPIT, sparrows, SNOW BUNTING,
warblers, PURPLE FINCH, and EVENING GROSBEAK.
A pair of CINNAMON TEAL, drake and duck, were reported from
the ANS trip to Eastern Neck NWR, Kent Co, MD, on the morning of
Nov 8, though they were not relocated later that day. To look for
these birds, follow MD Rte 445 into the refuge, then pull off
immediately at the base of the bridge on the east side of the
road. The birds were about 40 yards offshore, loosely associated
with other dabbling ducks. Closer to home, another CINNAMON TEAL,
in breeding plumage, showed up at Mason Neck NWR, Fairfax Co, VA,
at the end of the Great Marsh trail. It was reported on Nov 6
and again on Nov 8, both times with a group of 4 other teal.
22 HORNED GREBES, along with 1 RED-THROATED and 14 COMMON
LOONS, were also seen at Eastern Neck on Nov 8. Another HORNED
GREBE was at Zion Pond on Zion Rd, in eastern Montgomery Co, MD,
on Nov 8. It was in the company of some of the many ducks now
being reported widely, including GREEN- and BLUE-WINGED TEAL,
AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, LESSER SCAUP, and BUFFLEHEAD. From
Piscataway, Prince Georges Co, MD, comes a report of GADWALL,
AMERICAN WIGEON, CANVASBACK, RING-NECKED DUCK, and RUDDY DUCK,
also on Nov 8. HOODED MERGANSERS were reported from Black Hill
Regional Park in Boyds, Montgomery County, on Nov 7.
A BRANT has been hanging out with a large flock of CANADA
GEESE in northwest Harford County, MD, with the most recent
report from Nov 7. This goose is on a pond at 4531 Harford
Creamery Road, about 1 mile south of the intersection with
Brandenbaugh Road (DeLorme 75 B6). It's all right to drive down
the lane, but be careful not to block the driveway. And in
southern Calvert Co, MD, a blue phase SNOW GOOSE, seen on Nov 6,
was a new bird for Jefferson Patterson Park, west of Cape Leonard
(DeLorme 30 B3).
There was a report of a NORTHERN GOSHAWK attacking a SHARP-
SHINNED HAWK in Arlington, VA, on Nov 9. In Montgomery County,
MD, a GOLDEN EAGLE was sighted on the afternoon of Nov 7, soaring
high over fields in Sandy Spring, south of Rte 108. Montgomery
Co also saw a burst of suburban MERLINS this week. One bird
showed up in Silver Spring around 5 pm on Nov 5; it perched in a
snag, and snagged a starling, on Montgomery Street, just south of
Seminary Road and east of the Walter Reed Hospital Annex. This is
the same area where a MERLIN spent much of the winter in 1994-
1995. Another MERLIN was seen from a Bethesda office building on
Nov 6, scaring up pigeons and starlings. A third report came from
the Gaithersburg public library, at the intersection of
Montgomery Village Ave and Christopher Ave. At 4:30 pm on Nov 8,
the bird was sitting atop a tree to the right of the library
entrance.
WINTER WRENS, both kinglets, and HERMIT THRUSHES are being
reported at many sites, including along the C&O Canal near Seneca
and at Hughes Hollow, Montgomery Co.
Sparrows have been plentiful. Along Monocacy Bottom Road,
near Lilypons, Frederick Co, MD, WHITE-CROWNED and SWAMP SPARROWS
outnumbered WHITE-THROATED and SONG SPARROWS on Nov 4. FOX
SPARROWS, moving through, have been reported from numerous
locations. An AMERICAN TREE SPARROW was spotted at Loch Raven
Reservoir, Baltimore Co, MD, on Nov 6, and two more were reported
from the Dulles Greenways Wetlands Mitigation Project, Loudoun
Co, VA, that same day. Further afield, LE CONTE'S and CLAY-
COLORED SPARROWS were seen at Kiptopeke State Park at Cape
Charles, Northhampton Co, Va, on Nov 8.
On Nov 4, HORNED LARKS and AMERICAN PIPITS were scoped in
the fields along Lilypons Road near the intersection with Rte 85.
Lingering warbler reports include an AMERICAN REDSTART at
Bombay Hook NWR, DE, on Nov 8 and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT--the
latter juxtaposed with a female PURPLE FINCH--at Jefferson
Patterson Park, Calvert Co, on Nov 4.
Other signs of winter were the SNOW BUNTINGS reported from
several locations: a dozen at Beaverdam Reservoir, Loudoun Co,
VA, on Nov 3; 32 on Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore Co, MD, Nov 7;
and, that same day, 2 at Big Meadows in Shenandoah NP, VA, along
the fire road on the west side of the meadow.
Finally, on Nov 8, a flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS was seen
along Port Mahon Rd, DE. They were flying from the vegetation
behind the fishing shop along the bay edge.
There will be a reservations-only trip to Huntley Meadows
Park, VA, on Sat Nov 14. Make reservations with the leader, Bob
Beard of Arlington, at 703-534-3178. There will be a
reservations-only trip in Charles County, MD, on Sun, Nov 15.
Call the leader, George Jett of Waldorf, before 9 pm, at 301-843-
3524. There will be a reservations-only trip to the
Woodbridge/Occoquan Bay Refuge, Prince William Co, VA, on Sat,
Nov 21. Make reservations with the leader, Jim Waggener of
Woodbridge, at 703-497-0506.
To report bird sightings, you can fax your report to ANS at
301-951-7179, or email it to voice@capaccess.org. Please post
email reports before midnight Monday, and be sure to include your
name and a Tuesday morning phone number. You may also report by
calling 301-652-9188, extension 3101, for a dedicated answering
machine at all hours. Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING.
===============
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
osprey@ari.net