(Fwd) DC Area, 12/8/98
Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Wed, 9 Dec 1998 04:13:37 -0500
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From: scordle@capaccess.org
To: birdeast@listserv.arizona.edu
Subject: DC Area, 12/8/98
Date sent: Tue, 08 Dec 1998 21:45:15 GMT
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 12/8/98
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 Tues, Dec 8, at
1:45 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 birds this week are: GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and
CINNAMON TEAL in both MD and VA; KING EIDER, COMMON EIDER, and
HARLEQUIN DUCK in MD; and ROSS' GOOSE in VA.
Other birds of interest include: NORTHERN GANNET, TUNDRA
SWAN, BAR-HEADED GOOSE, LESSER SCAUP, AMERICAN AVOCET, COMMON
SNIPE, MARBLED GODWIT, DUNLIN, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WILLET,
hawks, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, HORNED LARK, and sparrows.
An adult male COMMON EIDER and six HARLEQUIN DUCKs, three of
them male and three female, were spotted at Ocean City Inlet,
Worcester Co, MD, on Dec 5. Four male HARLEQUIN DUCKs were seen
there the following day. An immature male KING EIDER was
reported at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, St Mary's Co, MD,
on Dec 3. Note that the naval base is a restricted area and you
need permission to bird there; to arrange a visit, call Kyle
Rambo, Doug Lister, or Jackie Smith, at 301-342-3670.
Two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were noted at Craney Island,
Portsmouth, VA, on Dec 1; they were with Canada Geese, in the
south impoundment. Four more GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, three
of them adults and one an immature, were frequenting West Ocean
City Pond, MD, on Dec 5. Another goose of note this week was a
white-phase ROSS' GOOSE, spotted in a flock of about 3,000 Snow
Geese in, appropriately, Snow Goose Pool, Chincoteague NWR,
Accomack Co, VA, on Dec 5.
CINNAMON TEALs are still lingering in our area. A breeding-
plumaged male was seen again in Accotink Bay, Accotink Bay
Wildlife Refuge, Ft Belvoir, Fairfax Co, VA, between 10 am and
noon on Dec 4. And the pair of CINNAMON TEALs that have been
frequenting Eastern Neck NWR, Kent Co, MD [DeLorme 49, A-B6],
were reported again on Dec 4 and 6. These birds were near the Rt
445 bridge that leads into the refuge. Pull off at the base of
the bridge, and look both east and west of the bridge.
The BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER seen Nov 30 and Dec 1 near
Hanover, PA, has not been reported again, despite searching on
Dec 2.
Lingering shorebirds reported this week included a late
WILLET, seen at Ocean City Inlet, MD, on Dec 5. Little Creek
Wildlife Area, DE, had its share of late shorebirds, too,
including a MARBLED GODWIT, 75 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERs, and about
800 AMERICAN AVOCETs, all on Dec 7. DUNLINs are wintering at
Little Creek in large numbers, with a minimum of 15,000 birds
observed Dec 7. And 1,000 DUNLINs were noted at Blackwater NWR,
Dorchester Co, MD, on Dec 6.
At least 60 NORTHERN GANNETs were seen moving south along
the Atlantic coast at Assateague Is, Worcester Co, MD, also on
Dec 6.
Raptor reports this week included sightings on Dec 1 and 4
of the light-phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK that has been frequenting
Craney Is, Portsmouth, VA. The bird was seen at the north dike,
both in flight and sitting on a mound of dirt. A MERLIN was
frequenting Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax Co, VA, on Dec 4, and a
PEREGRINE FALCON was spotted at Mason Neck St Pk, Fairfax Co, VA,
on Dec 2. An AMERICAN KESTREL and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK were seen
from a window on Capitol Hill, DC, also on Dec 2.
Wintering waterfowl noted this week included about 2500
LESSER SCAUP and 52 TUNDRA SWANs, seen at the end of Great Marsh
Trail, Mason Neck NWR, Fairfax Co, VA, on Dec 6. Other local
wintering birds included a dozen COMMON SNIPE in the first
impoundment on the right at Hughes Hollow, Montgomery Co, MD, on
Dec 6; and two COMMON SNIPE at Lilypons, also in Montgomery Co,
Dec 5. The Lilypons area yielded other interesting finds as
well, with two AMERICAN TREE SPARROWs and about 18 WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROWs spotted along Monocacy Bottom Rd, and a flock of HORNED
LARKs in fields on the north side of both Lilypons and Oland Rds,
near the intersection with Rt 85, all on Dec 7.
Landbirds spotted in VA included a FOX SPARROW, seen at
Huntley Meadows Pk, Dec 4; and single RED-HEADED WOODPECKERs at
Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge on Dec 7 and at Mason Neck St Pk
during the week.
Exotic birds of the week are three BAR-HEADED GEESE, seen in
a small flock of Canada Geese at Lake Anne, Reston, Fairfax Co,
VA, on Dec 7.
Upcoming pelagics in our region include trips departing VA
Beach, VA, on Jan 16 and 23, and Feb 6 and 20. Call Brian
Patteson, at 703-765-4484, to reserve your place.
No ANS birding trips are scheduled for the rest of December
because of the upcoming Christmas Bird Counts. For a list of
more than 30 counts in our region, see p. 9 of the December
Audubon Naturalist News, or visit the ANS web site, at
www.AudubonNaturalist.org, and click on "What's New". Birders of
all skill levels are welcome on all counts, so don't hesitate to
call a compiler and experience the fun and rewards of monitoring
our winter birds.
Some of the early counts close to DC are:
SAT, Dec 19: WASHINGTON, DC, contact Dee Hammond-Brooks at
Woodend, 301-652-9188, x 3006; TRIADELPHIA RESERVOIR, MD,
compiler, Rick Sussman (Ashton), call 301-774-1185.
SUN, Dec 20: SENECA, MD-VA, compiler, Steve Pretl
(Potomac), call 301-251-8648; JUG BAY, MD, compiler, Sam Droege,
call 410-798-6759 (h), or 301-497-5840 (o); PORT TOBACCO, MD,
compiler, George Wilmot (Bryans Road), call 301-375-8552.
To report bird sightings, you can FAX your report to ANS at
301-951-7179, or email it to voice@capaccess.org. You may also
call 301-652-9188, extension 3101, for a dedicated answering
machine at all hours. Please post email reports before midnight
Monday, and be sure to include your name and Tuesday morning
phone number. Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING.
===============
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
osprey@ari.net