> -----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.
> |