------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: scordle@capaccess.org To: birdeast@listserv.arizona.edu Subject: DC Area, 11/23/99 Date sent: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 14:27:27 -0500 Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist Date: 11/23/99 Coverage: MD/DC/VA/DE Telephone: 301-652-1088 option 1 Reports (voice): 301-652-1088 option 2 (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.sitesbysteve.com/nvbc/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 Tuesday, Nov 23, at 1 pm. Please consider joining ANS, especially if you are a regular user of the Voice (Indiv.$30; Family $40; Nature Steward $60; Audubon Advocate $100). The membership number is 301-652- 9188 ext. 12, the address is 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, and the website is http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org. Top birds this week are PACIFIC LOON* and KELP GULL* in MD, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD in VA, and PINK-SIDED JUNCO in VA and possibly in MD.* Other birds of interest include: RED-THROATED and COMMON LOONS, HORNED GREBE, NORTHERN GANNET, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, ducks, raptors, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, HORNED LARK, AMERICAN PIPIT, sparrows, SNOW BUNTING, DICKCISSEL, and winter finches. The PACIFIC LOON* discovered last week on the Susquehanna River, above Conowingo Dam in the vicinity of Broad Creek, Harford Co, MD (DeLorme 76, A3), was seen again each day from Nov 18 to the 22nd. The bird can be viewed, along with COMMON LOONS, from the Cecil Co side, sometimes fairly close to the shoreline. To reach this area, cross Conowingo Dam on US 1 heading north. Turn left on US 222, take another left on Pilot Town Rd, and left again on Bald Friar Rd (which turns into a dirt road). Park at the end of the road, near railroad tracks, lock your car, and walk upriver along the tracks to your right. In about 1/4 mile, where the tracks bend sharply to the right, you will be looking across the river towards Broad Creek. A scope is helpful. Maryland's KELP GULL* was most recently reported Nov 17, as usual on the pilings behind the Sea Breeze Restaurant, Sandgates, St. Mary's Co, MD (DeLorme 30, B2). The bird is less likely to be seen in the very early morning or later than mid-afternoon, or when there's heavy boat traffic at the restaurant piers. The RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD in Vienna, VA, was seen as recently as Nov 20 but failed to appear on Nov 21 or 22. A male PINK-SIDED JUNCO was reported again this week near the hawkwatch platform at Kiptopeke State Park, Northampton CO, VA. It was seen on Nov 20 but not the 21st. On Nov 18 or 19, birders checking out the PACIFIC LOON reported a possible PINK- SIDED JUNCO at the intersection of Pilot Town Rd with Bald Friar Rd. A HORNED GREBE is among waterbirds now gathering at Black Hill Regional Park, Montgomery Co, MD. Others include AMERICAN WIGEON, RING-NECKED DUCK, CANVASBACK, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, HOODED MERGANSER and RUDDY DUCK. Four to five dozen RUDDY DUCKS were on Clopper Lake, Seneca Creek SP, Montgomery Co, on Nov 21. GREEN-WINGED TEAL swam in the second impoundment above Penneyfield Lock on the C&O Canal, Montgomery Co, on Nov 22. From the State Park at Cape Henlopen, DE, comes a Nov 19 report of RED-THROATED LOON and HORNED GREBE as well as NORTHERN GANNET, SURF and BLACK SCOTERS, and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. WOOD DUCK and PINTAIL, plus 3 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS, were reported from Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary, Arlington Co, VA, Nov 22. This area lies north of National Airport and can be accessed from the George Washington Parkway, southbound. Urban raptors this week included a PEREGRINE FALCON at Georgetown Reservoir, DC, Nov 18, and both MERLIN and PEREGRINE, as well as a small accipiter, in downtown Bethesda, Montgomery Co, Nov 19. That same day a GOLDEN EAGLE was spotted over Arlington, VA, and BALD EAGLES--nine of them--gathered on the mud flats exposed at low tide north of the Belle Haven picnic area, Fairfax Co, VA. A LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was discovered near Poolesville, Montgomery Co, Nov 21. This bird was in trees at the county police firing range across from the National Institutes of Health facility on Elmer School Road (ADC 18, K5). The bird could be seen intermittently from the road. A LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was also reported from Sky Meadows SP, Fauquier Co, VA, on Nov 21. The bird was in the eastern section of the park, off Rte 17 about half a mile north of the section with the visitor center. The shrike was sitting on fence by the parking lot near the bridle trail and Shearman's Mill Trail. In southern Frederick County, MD, the fields along Lilypons and Oland Roads adjacent to Rte 85 hosted flocks of HORNED LARKS and 1 to 2 SNOW BUNTINGS on Nov 17 and 21. Nearby, on Cap Stein Rd just south of the intersection with south Renn Rd (ADC 37, G2), there were, along with about 100 HORNED LARKS, some 30 AMERICAN PIPITS, 6 LAPLAND LONGSPURS, and 10 SNOW BUNTINGS. At Lilypons itself, birders found TREE, FOX, and WHITE- CROWNED SPARROWS. Clusters of as many as 8 FOX SPARROWS were reported along the C&O Canal, upriver from Penneyfield Lock, on Nov 22, and also from Hughes Hollow, Montgomery Co, that same day. An unusually late CHIPPING SPARROW put in an appearance at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax Co, VA, Nov 19; an immature WHITE- CROWNED SPARROW was seen there Nov 18 and 19. A walk billed as a "butterfly walk" Nov 21 at the Eastern Shore of VA NWR, Northampton Co, VA, turned up CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and LECONTE'S SPARROW, in addition to 2 or 3 DICKCISSELS. Again this week, the Eastern Shore NWR or neighboring Kiptopeke SP posted reports of RED CROSSBILL, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, and COMMON REDPOLL. PURPLE FINCHES were seen Nov 22 at Lilypons and at Hughes Hollow, and Nov 21 in Sterling, Loudon Co, VA in the swampy area behind Potomac Falls High School. The latter site also held a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. Reports of PINE SISKINS at backyard feeders have dwindled to two. One came from Woodbridge, Prince William Co, VA, and the other from Clifton, Fairfax Co, both for Nov 21. There will be a reservations-only trip to Delaware coastal areas, including Bombay Hook NWR, on Sat, Nov 27. Call the leader, Paul DuMont of Arlington, at 703-931-8994, to make your reservation. There will be a reservations-only trip to the Cambridge area and Blackwater NWR, MD, on Sun, Nov 28. Call the leader, Chuck Studholme of Arlington, at 703-845-1128, to reserve your place. There will be a reservations-only walk at Black Hill Regional Park, MD, on Sun, Dec 5. To reserve a spot, call the leader, Dick Cleveland of Gaithersburg, at 301-926-7109. To report bird sightings, you can e-mail your report to voice@capaccess.org, or fax it to ANS at 301-951-7179. You may also report by calling 301-652-1088 and selecting menu option 2. Please post e-mail reports before 10 am Tuesday, and be sure to include your name and a Tuesday morning phone number. Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING. * Of interest to the MD/DC Records Committee. For more information, visit http://www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcreview.html ------- End of forwarded message ------- =============== Norm Saunders Colesville, MD osprey@ari.net