[MDOsprey] (Fwd) DC Area, 12/21/99

Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Tue, 21 Dec 1999 17:27:42 -0500


------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	scordle@capaccess.org
To:             	birdeast@listserv.arizona.edu
Subject:        	DC Area, 12/21/99
Date sent:      	Tue, 21 Dec 1999 14:18:54 -0500

Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
Date:               12/21/99
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:           Jane Hill
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 Tues, Dec 21, at 1:25
p.m.  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 SANDHILL CRANE, KELP GULL*, and LARK
SPARROW in MD; and YELLOW-LEGGED GULL, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, CAVE
SWALLOW, and HARRIS' SPARROW in VA.

Other birds of interest include: DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, winter
waterfowl; PARASITIC JAEGER; GULLs, including CALIFORNIA, LESSER
BLACK-BACKED, and LAUGHING; BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE; raptors;
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH; GRAY CATBIRD; ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER;
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT; AMERICAN TREE SPARROW; SNOW BUNTING; PURPLE
FINCH; and WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL.

A YELLOW-LEGGED GULL, described as a first-year bird of the form
michahellis or atlantis, was spotted on Chesapeake Bay
Bridge/Tunnel Island #2, Northampton Co, VA, after 2 p.m., Dec
16.  

Three CAVE SWALLOWs were reported at the north end of Grandview
Beach Preserve, Hampton, VA, on Dec 18.  

A LARK SPARROW was seen in a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos, 1-2 p.m.,
Dec 15, then relocated at 7:40 a.m., Dec 17, in Annapolis, Anne
Arundel Co, MD.  Also at this spot were a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
and a GRAY CATBIRD on Dec 16; and three WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLs
and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER on Dec 17. This area is private
property and access is restricted.  If you wish to bird there,
call Marshall Iliff, at 410-269-1589, or email him at
miliff@aol.com.

Maryland's KELP GULL was seen again on Dec 19, at its usual haunt
in the Patuxent River, behind the Sea Breeze Restaurant,
Sandgates, St Mary's Co [DeLorme Pg 30, B2].

Two female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDs, now banded, were seen again at
feeders in a yard in Vienna, Fairfax Co, VA. The most recent
report was for Dec 17.  The address is 2503 Jackson Parkway. From
the intersection of Gallows Rd with Cottage St, take Cottage west
2 blocks, turn right on Drexel, and drive north 4 blocks to
Stonewall Drive, a stop sign. Turn left on Stonewall. A short
block will bring you to Jackson Parkway, where you again turn
left. Please remember that this is private property.    
 
A SANDHILL CRANE was seen on Tarbutton Mill Rd, south of Easton,
Talbot Co, MD, at 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., Dec 18.  

A HARRIS' SPARROW was observed just off Running Post Court, less
than 0.1 mile west of Bull Run Post Office Rd, western Fairfax
Co, VA, on Dec 15 and 16; it was on the west side of Running Post
Rd, in the shrub thicket bordering the small stream that flows
under the road. 

The injured SNOWY OWL that had been frequenting Port Mahon Rd,
Little Creek Wildlife Area, DE, and that was taken to a bird
rehab center on Dec 14, has died.

Two WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLs have been frequenting a feeder in
Portsmouth, VA, with reports for Dec 18-21.  For directions, call
the Virginia Birdline, 757-238-2713.

Birders on area Christmas Bird Counts this past weekend turned up
some interesting finds.  On the DC CBC, held Dec 18, three LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULLs, two of them adult and the other a probable
third-year bird, and 14 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTs were tallied at
the Tidal Basin.  In addition, 18 HOODED MERGANSERs, ten
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHes, a GRAY CATBIRD, and a PURPLE FINCH were
all seen at the National Arboretum.  In the Anacostia River, near
Kingman Island, was a flock of 232 LAUGHING GULLs--a high number
for December.

Virginia Christmas Counters had their share of interesting birds,
too.  On The Plains, CBC, held Dec 19, an adult CALIFORNIA GULL
was spotted at the Fauquier Co landfill, just south of Warrenton,
VA.  Also tallied at the landfill that day were three LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULLs, including a first-winter bird and an adult. 
The landfill is located off Green Rd (VA Rt 674), on the west
side, about a mile south of Meetze Rd (VA Rt 643) [DeLorme Pg 75,
C6].  It is open 8-4, M-F, and 8-3, Sat, and closed on Sun.  It
is not known whether visitors are allowed there while equipment
is operating.  Also found on The Plains CBC was a SNOW BUNTING
off Vint Hill Rd, Pr Wm Co, and a SHORT-EARED OWL, also off Vint
Hill Rd, but in Fauquier Co rather than Pr Wm. Further finds on
The Plains Count included 13 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHes, 19 AMERICAN
TREE SPARROWs, and 80 PURPLE FINCHes, as well as three REDHEADs
and nine COMMON GOLDENEYE.  

On the Hopewell, VA, CBC, also held Dec 19, an OSPREY was seen
off Coggins Pt, outside of Hopewell, Pr George Co. 

In MD, OLDSQUAW, CANVASBACKs, and NORTHERN PINTAILs were all
reported on the Triadelphia CBC.  

DC hosted its share of raptors this week. Two BALD EAGLEs were
seen circling above the US Capitol dome, the afternoon of Dec 17. 
A MERLIN was spotted atop the AFL-CIO building, at the corner of
16th and I Sts, NW, at 1:15, Dec 15. Later the same day, a
RED-TAILED HAWK was circling with several gulls above downtown
DC. Hawk sightings near 25th and Q Sts, NW, this week included a
RED-TAILED HAWK on Dec 14; and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and a
COOPER'S HAWK, both on Dec 18.  A COOPER'S HAWK was also seen at
the corner of 17th St and Massachusetts Ave, NW, on Dec 20. 

In MD, a MERLIN was observed chasing Rock Doves through morning
fog, Dec 15, in Bethesda, Montgomery Co, MD.  And another MERLIN
was spotted at Gunners Lake, Germantown, Montgomery Co, MD, the
same day.  Gunners Lake is on Wisteria Dr, east of Great Seneca
Hwy.  

Other raptor reports this week included a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, seen
along Port Mahon Rd, Little Creek Wildlife Area, DE, on the
afternoon of Dec 18 and again on Dec 19.  On the 19th, it perched
and hunted along the road, in the vicinity of the storage tanks. 

Winter waterfowl are being seen widely on area waters.  The lake
at Black Hill Regional Park, Montgomery Co, MD, held 21 species
of waterfowl during the week, including a pair of OLDSQUAW and a
pair of COMMON MERGANSERs on Dec 18, and flocks of RING-NECKED
DUCKs numbering as many as 15,000 birds.  Waterfowl at Huntley
Meadows Pk, Fairfax Co, VA, on Dec 17, included more than 40
GREEN-WINGED TEAL, more than 8 HOODED MERGANSERs, and at least 2
RUDDY DUCKs.  

On the coast, a male HARLEQUIN DUCK was spotted at Ocean City
Inlet, Worcester Co, MD, on Dec 19.  A female COMMON EIDER was at
Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel Island #4, on Dec 16 and 19.  Two
female HARLEQUIN DUCKs were also reported at this spot on Dec 16,
and off Island #2 on Dec 19.  Other interesting finds at CBBT
this week included a PARASITIC JAEGER, apparently a juvenile
bird, between Islands #3 and #4, on Dec 19. First-winter
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKEs were reported from between Islands #1 and
#2, with one bird seen on Dec 17, and two birds on Dec 19; they
were in flocks of many thousands of Bonaparte's Gulls.

No bird trips are scheduled for the rest of December, so that
birders will be free to take part in area Christmas Counts. 
Birders of all skill levels are welcome on all counts, so call a
compiler today and experience the fun and rewards of monitoring
our winter birds.  Some of the upcoming counts in our region are:

SUN, Dec 26:
     Bowie, MD: Compiler, Fred Fallon (Bowie), 301-249-1518.

     Central Loudoun Co, VA:  Compiler, Joe Coleman (Round Hill),
     540-554-2542.

     Manassas/Bull Run, VA:  Compiler, Jack Dent.  Contact
Fairfax   Audubon Soc. (Annandale), 703-256-6895.

TUES, Dec. 28:
     Ocean City, MD: Compiler, Jay Sheppard (Laurel),
301-725-5559.

WED, Dec. 29:
     South Dorchester Co (Blackwater), MD:  Compiler, Chan
Robbins 
     (301-725-1176 (h) or 301-497-5641 (o).

THURS, Dec 30:  
     Cape Charles, VA:  Compiler, Harry Armistead (Philadelphia),
     215-248-4120.


SUN, Jan 2: 
     Fort Belvoir, VA:  Compiler, David Abbott (Ashburn),
703-729-  7036.

     Sugarloaf Mtn, MD:  Compiler, Gary Nelson (Bethesda),
301-897-  8916 (h) or Robb Gibbs (Gaithersburg), 301-253-6903.
     
     Calmes Neck, VA:  Compiler, Frances Endicott (Boyce),
540-837-  1471.

     Patuxent River Naval Air Station, MD:  Compiler, Doug
Lister,   301-994-2582 (h) or 301-342-3670 (o).

For additional counts, see the December issue of the "Audubon
Naturalist News".

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