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FW: DC Area, 5/11/04

From:

Norm Saunders

Reply-To:

Maryland Birds & Birding

Date:

Wed, 12 May 2004 03:17:14 -0400

> -----Original Message-----
> From:  [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 6:08 PM
> To: 
> Subject: DC Area, 5/11/04
> 
> 
> Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
> Date:               5/11/04
> Coverage:           MD/DC/VA/DE
> Telephone:          301-652-1088 option 1
> Reports (voice):    301-652-1088 option 2
>         (email):     
>      (deadline):    midnight Mondays
> Compiler:           Joe Coleman
> 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 11, at 5 p.m.
> 
> Top birds this week are AMERCIAN WHITE PELICAN in VA and PURPLE
> GALLINULE* in MD and VA.
> 
> An AMERCIAN WHITE PELICAN was reported from Halifax Co, VA on May
9.
> 
> A PURPLE GALLINULE was seen in Hughes Hollow, Montgomery Co, 
> MD on May 6 but has not been relocated since then. A PURPLE 
> GALLINULE was seen near Williamsburg, VA on May 9 and 
> relocated the morning of the 11th. It has been seen at the 
> very west end of the farm in a narrow strip of water where a 
> farm pasture meets a small swamp along the Colonial Parkway 
> between Williamsburg and Jamestown, VA. Do not park on the 
> shoulder of the road as the park police frown on this practice.
> 
> Other birds of interest include AMERICAN and LEAST BITTERN, 
> LITTLE BLUE HERON, CATTLE EGRET, MISSISSIPPI KITE, RUFFED 
> GROUSE, rails, shorebirds, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, 
> CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW, WHIP-POOR-WILL, YELLOW-BELLIED 
> FLYCATCHER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, MARSH WRENS, thrushes, warblers 
> including MOURNING, SUMMER TANAGER, HENSLOW'S SPARROW and 
> other sparrows, ROSE-BREASTED and BLUE GROSBEAKS, and BOBOLINK. 
> 
> On May 8, an AMERICAN BITTERN was located on one of the ponds 
> at the Blandy Experimental Farm, Clarke Co, VA. A nearby SORA 
> was also heard there. A LEAST BITTERN was observed at Dyke 
> Marsh, Fairfax Co, VA on May 8.
> 
> The LITTLE BLUE HERON that was reported last week was again 
> seen on May 4 near LaPlata, Charles Co, MD on Old Tobacco 
> Courthouse Pond, on Chapel Point Rd just off Rt 6. 
> 
> A CATTLE EGRET, unusual for Virginia's northern Piedmont, was 
> found on May 7 in a pasture in Fauquier Co, VA directly 
> across from Liberty High School on Rt 17.
> 
> A MISSISSIPPI KITE was again found near a new impoundment 
> along Maple Dam Rd in the vicinity of Blackwater NWR on May 
> 6. A trip to Greensville Co, VA on May 8 found several 
> MISSISSIPPI KITES near the town of Emporia.
> 
> A RUFFED GROUSE was observed at the Blue Ridge Center for 
> Environmental Stewardship in northwestern Loudoun Co, VA, 
> just south of Harper's Ferry on May 8 and two were heard on 
> May 9 drumming on the North Ridge Trail at Sky Meadows State 
> Park, Fauquier Co, VA.
> 
> On May 4 and again on May 6 a VIRGINIA RAIL was clearly seen 
> from the boardwalk at Huntley Meadows Pk, Fairfax Co, VA. 
> VIRGINIA RAILS and SORAS were reported from the Dulles 
> Greenway Wetlands Mitigation Project, Loudoun Co, VA on May 4.
> 
> Two BLACK-NECKED STILTS were seen in a pond right behind the 
> visitor center at the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, Prince 
> George's Co, MD on May 7. 
> 
> A number of different shorebirds were reported from Huntley 
> Meadows throughout the week. They included both GREATER and 
> LESSER YELLOWLEGS, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, PECTORAL 
> SANDPIPERS, STILT SANDPIPER, and WILSON'S SNIPE. An AMERICAN 
> WOODCOCK was heard displaying in the back meadow at Huntley 
> Meadows early on the morning of May 7.
> 
> The UPLAND SANDPIPER which was discovered last week along 
> Harrison Rd in Fauquier Co, VA was last seen on May 5. It has 
> not been seen since then.
> 
> BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS were seen and or heard on May 8 at 
> several different locations including Dyke Marsh, Fairfax Co, 
> VA, Four Mile Run, Arlington Co, VA, the Phelps WMA, Fauquier 
> Co, VA, and at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental 
> Stewardship. On May 9 there was a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO at 
> Monticello Park, Alexandria, VA.
> 
> Along with three WHIP-POOR-WILLS, a CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW was 
> heard at the Quantico Marine Base in Prince William Co, VA on 
> May 8. It was heard on road MCB8 between Aden Rd and Rt. 611. 
> A single WHIP-POOR-WILL was heard from Bull Run Post Office 
> Rd, western Fairfax Co, VA on the same day while several were 
> heard that at the Phelps WMA in southern Fauquier Co, VA.
> 
> YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were reported from Glencarlyn Park 
> on May 8 and from the Isaac Walton Way in western Montgomery 
> Co, MD on May 10.
> 
> Apparently the WESTERN KINGBIRD which was at Fort McHenry, 
> Baltimore, MD last year has returned as it was seen using its 
> old perch in the flowering crabtree near the visitor center on May
10.
> 
> A MARSH WREN was found at Hughes Hollow on May 8. A MARSH 
> WREN was also found at Dyke Marsh, Fairfax Co on the same day.
> 
> There have been several reports of VEERY and SWAINSON'S 
> THRUSH during the past week. On May 9 a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH 
> was reported from Rock Creek Park.
> 
> Thirty-five different warbler species were observed during 
> the past week. Highlights included MOURNING WARBLERS at 
> Little Bennett Regional Park, Montgomery Co, MD on May 8 and 
> another at Glencarlyn Park, Arlington Co, VA the same day.  
> SWAINSON'S WARBLERS continued to be found in the Great Dismal 
> Swamp NWR, Suffolk, VA last week.
> 
> SUMMER TANAGERS were reported from several locations during 
> the week with one at Fort Smith Park, Arlington Co, VA on May 
> 4. Other sightings included one near Old Angler's Inn along 
> the C&O Canal National Historical Park in Montgomery Co, MD 
> and one at the Nature Center in Rock Creek Park,, Washington 
> DC, both on May 7 and another at Leesylvania SP, Prince 
> William Co, VA on May 8. 
> 
> A VESPER SPARROW was discovered May 5 in the brushy field 
> above the flooded swamp area at Black Hill Regional Park, 
> Montgomery Co, MD. A HENSLOW'S SPARROW was reported from a 
> wet ditch in a field just north of the Rapidan Berry Farm, 
> Rapidan, Culpeper Co, VA on May 5. It was not relocated later 
> in the week. A LINCOLN'S SPARROW was seen and heard singing 
> at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship on May 
> 8. There were several reports of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS in 
> suburban yards as they moved through the area last week.
> 
> ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS continued to be widely seen at parks 
> and at feeders while BLUE GROSBEAKS were reported from 
> several different parks. 
> 
> Small and large flocks of BOBOLINKS were seen throughout the area.
> 
> A pelagic trip is scheduled for June 5 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.
>