> -----Original Message-----
> From:  [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 4:46 PM
> To: 
> Subject: DC Area, 5/4/04
>
>
> Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
> Date:               5/4/04
> Coverage:           MD/DC/VA/DE
> Telephone:          301-652-1088 option 1
> Reports (voice):    301-652-1088 option 2
>         (email):    
>      (deadline):    midnight Mondays
> Compiler:           Lydia Schindler
> Sponsor:            Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central
>                       Atlantic States (independent of NAS!)
> Transcriber:        Steve Cordle ()
>
> Please consider joining ANS, especially if you are a regular
> user of the Voice (Individual $30; Family $40; Nature Steward
> $60; Audubon Advocate $100). The membership number is
> 301-652-9188 option 12, the address is 8940 Jones Mill Road,
> Chevy Chase, MD 20815, and the web site is
> http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org.
>
> This is the Voice of the Naturalist, a service of the Audubon
> Naturalist Society. This tape was made Tuesday, May 4, at 5 p.m.
>
> Top bird this week is AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN in DE.
>
> Other birds of interest include BROWN PELICAN, AMERICAN
> BITTERN, LITTLE BLUE and TRICOLORED HERONS, YELLOW-CROWNED
> NIGHT-HERON, MISSISSIPPI KITE, rails, shorebirds, LITTLE and
> GLAUCOUS GULLS, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW,
> WHIP-POOR-WILL, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, vireos, SEDGE and MARSH
> WRENS, warblers, SUMMER TANAGER, VESPER SPARROW,
> ROSE-BREASTED and BLUE GROSBEAKS, and BOBOLINK.
>
> An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was discovered along Prime Hook Rd,
> DE, on April 30 and seen again May 1 and 2. It was among the
> phragmites islands near a sharp bend in the road.
>
> A BROWN PELICAN was found May 1at Hooper's Island, near
> Blackwater NWR, Dorchester Co, MD. The Blackwater area also
> held a TRICOLORED HERON and RAILS--CLAPPER, KING, and VIRGINIA.
>
> On May 2, an AMERICAN BITTERN twice flushed from reed-filled
> ponds at Lilypons Water Gardens, Frederick Co, MD. That same
> day an AMERICAN BITTERN was found on private land in Howard
> Co, MD; that area also held 2 SORA and a MARSH WREN.
>
> A YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was relocated in the flooded
> woodland along Sycamore Landing Rd, Montgomery Co, MD, on May 1.
>
> A LITTLE BLUE HERON was found May 1 near LaPlata, Charles Co,
> MD; it was at the Old Tobacco Courthouse Pond, on Chapel
> Point Rd just off Rte 6.
>
> A female HARLEQUIN DUCK continues at Cape Henlopen, DE.
>
> On May 2, a MISSISSIPPI KITE was found in the vicinity of
> Blackwater NWR; it was near a new impoundment along Maple Dam
> Rd. Also on May 2, a MISSISSIPPPI KITE was spotted from I-70,
> near South Mountain in Frederick Co.
>
> On April 29, 2 SORA foraged in plain view next to the
> boardwalk at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax Co, VA. On April
> 30, a KING RAIL flushed from the large impoundment at Hughes
> Hollow, Montgomery Co. On May 3, the wetland at the end of
> Riverside Drive in western Loudoun Co, VA, held VIRGINIA RAIL
> and SORA, plus an assortment of shorebirds.
>
> KILLDEER have nested and raised two chicks in downtown DC;
> the nest is located adjacent to the Botanic Gardens at
> Independence and 3rd Sts, SW.
>
> In Kent Co, 19 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS and a male WILSON'S
> PHALAROPE stopped by Great Oak Pond on May 3. The pond at
> Chesapeake Farms hosted a rich lode of shorebirds, included
> 50 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, both YELLOWLEGS, SEMIPALMATED,
> LEAST, and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS plus a single DUNLIN and a
> SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER.
>
> In Montgomery Co, the draining of Pine Lake in Wheaton RP has
> created mud flats that have drawn SOLITARY, SPOTTED, and
> LEAST SANDPIPERS. At Huntley Meadows, low water levels have
> attracted those species plus both GREATER and LESSER
> YELLOWLEGS and WILSON'S SNIPE.
>
> On May 1, an UPLAND SANDPIPER was discovered in Fauquier Co,
> VA. It was on the north side of Harrison Rd, by the fence
> line at the end of the first field on the right. The
> sandpiper was relocated the following morning, just west of
> the fence line.
>
> The shorebird influx has started along the Delaware Bay
> shore, with April 30 reports of both LONG- and SHORT-BILLED
> DOWITCHERS at Bombay Hook's Raymond Pool and a WHITE-RUMPED
> SANDPIPER at Shearness Pool. Port Mahon Rd featured 2
> WHIMBREL, while 5 PIPING PLOVER could be seen at Cape Henlopen.
>
> A LITTLE GULL was found among BONAPARTE'S GULLS at Pickering
> Beach, DE, April 30.
>
> A second-winter GLAUCOUS GULL was seen May 2 on the stone
> jetty at Sandy Point SP, Anne Arundel CO, MD; it was spotted
> by a boater as he passed beneath the Bay Bridge. A
> second-winter GLAUCOUS GULL was reported May 2 near
> Salisbury, Wicomico Co, MD; it was at the borrow pit on the
> north side of Rte 50, west of the Salisbury bypass.
>
> A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO offered excellent looks to birders at
> Picnic Area 18 at Rock Creek Park, NW DC, April 30. A
> BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was heard May 1 along Buck Neck Rd, Kent Co.
>
> Birders seeking out chucks and whips have not been
> disappointed this week. Some 30 to 40 WHIP-POOR-WILLS were
> tracked down in Fauquier Co May 1. On May 2, more than 20
> Whips were heard around Federalsburg, Caroline Co, MD; in
> Worcester Co, some 25 to 30 CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOWS were calling
> at Truitt's Landing, southeast of Snow Hill.
>
> Ruby-throated hummingbirds have returned to feeders and
> gardens throughout the area.
>
> ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS have appeared at several locations,
> including April 29 at Rock Creek Park; April 30 along Paint
> Branch, south of Pilgrim Hill Park, near Beltsville, Prince
> George's Co, MD, and at Leesylvania SP, Prince William Co,
> VA; May 1 at Riverbend Park and at Huntley Meadows, both in
> Fairfax Co.
>
> On April 28, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, NE DC, held 4
> species of VIREO--BLUE-HEADED, WARBLING, RED-EYED, and
> WHITE-EYED, plus a singing BLUE GROSBEAK.
>
> SEDGE WREN and MARSH WREN were singing at a marsh in Elkton,
> Cecil Co, MD, on April 30 and May 1. A MARSH WREN was found
> at Hughes Hollow on April 28, near the dyke separating the
> two ponds on the right. A MARSH WREN was found at Dyke Marsh,
> Fairfax Co, May 2.
>
> There have been several reports of VEERY and SWAINSON'S
> THRUSH. Both species were seen April 27 in Anne Arundel Co,
> near Marley Neck Blvd east of Glen Burnie. A SWAINSON'S was
> also found in the process of atlasing East Baltimore City.
>
> Warbler highlights at the maintenance yard at Rock Creek Park
> included a CAPE MAY WARBLER April 30 and an eye-level
> BLACKBURNIAN May 4.
>
> SUMMER TANAGER was noted April 29 at Huntley Meadows; April
> 29 and 30 at Lubber Run Park, Arlington Co, VA; April 30 at
> the entrance to Leesylvania SP, Prince William Co, VA; May 1
> at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, NE DC, and at Huntley Meadows;
> and May 3 in a yard in Howard Co, MD. In Salisbury, Wicomico
> Co, MD, a SUMMER TANAGER is eating seed-laden suet at a feeder.
>
> A VESPER SPARROW was discovered May 2 was found on Limestone
> School Rd near Lucketts, Loudoun Co; it was near the windmill
> at the Equestrian Center.
>
> ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS continued to be a delight at parks
> and at feeders.
>
> BOBOLINKS are on the scene. Six were seen April 28 along
> Harrison Rd in Fauquier Co; they were in a grassy field just
> east of the lake. On May 1, BOBOLINKS were found in the
> Riverside wetland park in western Loudoun Co. On May 2, 27
> BOBOLINKS were noted in the vicinity of Sumerduck, Fauquier
> Co; they were on Rte 755, off Rte 651. Also on May 2, about
> 30 BOBOLINKS were in willow treetops along Cloverland Dr near
> Phoenix, Baltimore Co. On May 3 there was a large flock of
> BOBOLINKS at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center;
> these birds were along Beaver Dam Rd near the water treatment
> facility. On May 4, a dozen or so BOBOLINKS were in the
> fields on either side of Sugarland Road just west of
> Montevideo Rd, northern Montgomery Co.
>
> A pelagic trip is scheduled for June 6 out of Lewes, DE. For
> more information, contact See Life Paulagics at 215-234-6805
> or check their web site at www.paulagics.com.
>
> Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the
> MDOSPREY and VA-Bird list servers.
>
> Claudia Wilds' book, Finding Birds in the National Capital
> Area, is an excellent source of directions to many birding sites.
>
> To report bird sightings, you can e-mail your report to
>  You may also report by calling
> 301-652-1088 and selecting menu option 2. Please post e-mail
> reports before midnight Monday, and be sure to include your
> name and a Tuesday morning phone number.
>
> Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING.
>

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