(Fwd) DC Area, 12/15/98

Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Wed, 16 Dec 1998 18:10:12 -0500


------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From:           	scordle@capaccess.org
To:             	birdeast@listserv.arizona.edu
Subject:        	DC Area, 12/15/98
Date sent:      	Tue, 15 Dec 1998 21:46:37 GMT

Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
Date:               12/15/98
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 15, at
2:30 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: SANDHILL CRANE in MD; and GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE in MD and VA.

     Other birds of interest include: COMMON LOON, OLDSQUAW,
CINNAMON TEAL, COMMON EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, WILLET, COMMON
SNIPE, BONAPARTE'S GULL, MERLIN, ROUGH-LEGGED and SHARP-SHINNED
HAWKs, BARN SWALLOW, COMMON RAVEN, BLUE-HEADED and WHITE-EYED
VIREOs, CAPE MAY WARBLER, SNOW BUNTING, and "IPSWICH" SPARROW.

     Five SANDHILL CRANEs were spotted flying across US Rt 50,
near the Davidsonville exit (Exit 16), Anne Arundel Co, MD, on
Dec 12.  They were headed more or less southwest.

     Four GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, three of them adults and
one an immature, were seen again this week in a flock of Canada
Geese at West Ocean City Pond, Worcester Co, MD, on Dec 12.  The
same day, another GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was reported from
Accotink Bay, Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, Ft Belvoir, Fairfax
Co, VA, but the report is unconfirmed.

     Nine HARLEQUIN DUCKs, six of them male and three female,
were frequenting Ocean City Inlet, Worcester Co, MD, on Dec 12.
Also there that day was an immature male COMMON EIDER.  Another
COMMON EIDER, an adult male, was seen at Fisherman Inlet, north
of Fisherman's Is, Northampton Co, VA, on Dec 13.

     Several out-of-season songbird migrants were reported this
week, including an immature WHITE-EYED VIREO seen near the third
pond along Griffin Rd, off MD Rt 589 at Ocean Downs, between
Ocean City and Berlin, Worcester Co, MD [DeLorme 35, B5], on Dec
12.  This location is described on p. 184 of Claudia Wilds' book,
"Finding Birds in the National Capital Area".  Other late
migrants included a BLUE-HEADED VIREO and a CAPE MAY WARBLER,
both seen at the entrance gate to Craney Island, Portsmouth, VA,
on Dec 10; and a BARN SWALLOW noted at Fisherman Inlet, VA, on
Dec 13.  Lingering shorebird migrants included a WILLET, seen at
Ocean City's Third Street flats, Dec 12.

     A total of 103 SNOW BUNTINGs were counted at Hart-Miller Is,
Baltimore Co, MD, on Dec 14.  SNOW BUNTINGs were also frequenting
the north end of Assateague Is, Worcester Co, MD, as seen from
Ocean City Inlet, on Dec 12.

     A sparrow belonging to the Ipswich race of SAVANNAH SPARROW
was spotted at Hart-Miller Is, MD, on Dec 14.

     CINNAMON TEAL are still lingering in our region.  The pair
that has been frequenting Eastern Neck NWR, Kent Co, MD [DeLorme
49, A-B6], were seen again Dec 9 and 10. They were resting on mud
flats under the wooden bridge into the refuge.  The male,
breeding-plumaged CINNAMON TEAL that has been observed for some
weeks in Accotink Bay, Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, VA, was
spotted again the morning of Dec 12.

     An OLDSQUAW was seen in a flock of Bufflehead at Black Hill
Reg Pk, Montgomery Co, MD, on Dec 10.  The following day, an
OLDSQUAW was spotted in MD waters of the Potomac River, just
downstream from the boat launch at Riverbend Park, Fairfax Co,
VA.  Also in the Potomac, but in DC waters, was a COMMON LOON,
off Gravelly Pt, Arlington, VA, on Dec 12.  The same day, at
least 500 BONAPARTE'S GULLs were seen at Indian River Inlet, DE.

     A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was still frequenting Craney Is,
Portsmouth, VA, with reports from the south impoundment on Dec 9
and 10.  MERLINs were seen in a number of locations:  One bird
was perched in a tree at the corner of 7th St and Pennsylvania
Ave, across from the Capitol South Metro Station, SE DC, on Dec
11; this is the same spot where a MERLIN lingered for more than a
week last January.  A MERLIN was also spotted in a backyard in
Bethesda, Montgomery Co, MD, the same day.  And a MERLIN is still
being seen at Huntley Meadows Pk, Fairfax Co, VA, with a report
for Dec 12.  Other raptor reports included a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK,
seen by a sixth-floor office worker in downtown Bethesda,
Montgomery Co, MD, on Dec 14.

     Fifteen COMMON SNIPE were frequenting Hughes Hollow,
Montgomery Co, MD, on Dec 13.

     Two COMMON RAVENs were spotted on a radio tower at the
intersection of Gum Spring Rd and Braddock Rd, in southern
Loudoun Co, VA [ADC Loudoun Map 36, K13], on Dec 8.

     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 upcoming 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.
     SUN, Dec 27:  BOWIE, MD, compiler, Fred Fallon (Bowie), call
301-249-1518;  CENTRAL LOUDOUN CO, VA, compiler, Joe Coleman
(Round Hill), call 540-554-2542; MANASSAS/BULL RUN, VA, compiler,
Stan Gray, contact Fairfax Audubon Society (Annandale), 703-256-
6895.

     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