> -----Original Message-----
> From:  [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 3:20 PM
> To: 
> Subject: DC Area, 7/27/04
> 
> 
> Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
> Date:               7/27/04
> 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, July 27, at 1 p.m.
> 
> Top birds this week are MISSISSIPPI KITE and EURASIAN 
> COLLARED-DOVE, both in VA. 
> 
> Other birds of interest include LEAST BITTERN, herons, GLOSSY 
> IBIS, RUDDY DUCK, SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL, shorebirds, terns, 
> COMMON RAVEN, swallows, including BANK, SEDGE and MARSH WREN, 
> LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, KENTUCKY WARBLER, SALT-MARSH SHARP-TAILED 
> and SEASIDE SPARROWS.  
> 
> The MISSISSIPPI KITES, which are believed to have nested in 
> the Waynewood area of Fairfax Co, VA, were seen on July 23 
> and July 24 in the vicinity of the Waynewood Elementary 
> School, reached by taking the Waynewood Blvd exit off the 
> George Washington Parkway. (If you enter the school grounds, 
> please sign in at the office.)  On July 22 a MISSISSIPPI KITE 
> was first seen flying along the Potomac shoreline by a driver 
> on the George Washington Parkway in Fairfax Co, VA.  Later it 
> was seen perched near the area referred to as Pipeline Bay 
> between Tulane Drive and Morningside Lane.
> 
> A EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was seen at the intersection of Rt. 
> 3 and Lyells Road in Westmoreland Co, VA on July 26.
> 
> Two LEAST BITTERNS, one a first year bird, were among several 
> interesting species observed during a canoe trip into Dyke 
> Marsh, Fairfax Co, VA early the morning of July 23.
> 
> A GLOSSY IBIS continues to be seen at Huntley Meadows Park, 
> Fairfax Co, with the most recent report from July 24.  GREAT 
> BLUE HERONS and GREAT EGRETS were widely reported last week 
> as their disbursement seems to be in full swing.  As many as 
> 25 GREAT EGRETS were reported from the Bladensburg Waterfront 
> Park, Prince Georges Co, MD on July 25 along with 
> BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS.  Two SNOWY EGRETS were reported 
> from the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, NE DC on July 26.  
> 
> The RUDDY DUCKS which were reported last week as breeding 
> successfully in Baltimore City were seen again at the Druid 
> Hill Park reservoir on July 20.
> 
> Four SORAS and three VIRGINIA RAILS were seen and heard at 
> Lake Arnold at Blandy Experimental Farm, Clarke Co, VA, on 
> July 24.  The SORAS were also seen at other times earlier in 
> the week.  
> 
> Shorebird sightings continued to grow with fifteen different 
> species of shorebirds seen July 24 on a trip to Hart-Miller 
> Island,, Baltimore Co, MD.  On July 25 four PECTORAL 
> SANDPIPERS were seen at the Hunting Creek mudflats, Fairfax 
> Co, VA along with seven other species of shorebirds.  Some of 
> the other places healthy numbers of shorebirds were also 
> reported were Huntley Meadows Pk, Lake Roland, Howard Co, MD 
> and Craney Island, Portsmouth, VA.
>  
> Two GULL-BILLED TERNS were seen at Craney Island on July 21.  
> A family of LEAST TERNS, one adult and three juveniles, were 
> seen at Anacostia Park, SE DC on July 24.
> 
> This week, on July 25, a COMMON RAVEN was seen and heard from 
> the boat ramp area of Riverbend Pk, Fairfax Co, VA flying 
> over the Potomac River.
> 
> Swallows continued to mass during the past week with large 
> numbers being reported from several different locations.  The 
> flocks along Hibler Road, Rt. 656, in the Lucketts area of 
> Loudoun Co included BANK SWALLOWS on both July 20 and July 
> 24, with about 30 on the latter date.
> 
> The same canoe trip that saw the LEAST BITTERNS in Dyke Marsh 
> on July 23 also saw MARSH WRENS.
> 
> SEDGE WRENS were heard and seen on July 22 and 25 in Augusta 
> Co, VA on Rt. 876 near its intersection with Rt. 602.  The 
> wrens have been perching on a fence row in an open field near 
> an abandoned brick house and a barn.
> 
> Two LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES were seen in Augusta Co, VA in the 
> vicinity of the SEDGE WRENS on July 25.  Another LOGGERHEAD 
> SHRIKE was seen in central Clarke Co, VA on July 24.  
> 
> A KENTUCKY WARBLER was among the 60 species observed during 
> the regular monthly bird walk at the Blue Ridge Center for 
> Environmental Stewardship in northwestern Loudoun Co, VA on July
24.
> 
> A survey along two remote marsh roads south of Blackwater 
> NWR, Dorchester Co, MD on July 25 yielded more than two 
> SALTMARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS and 55 SEASIDE SPARROWS on 
> Cedar Creek Rd and two SALTMARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS and 24 
> SEASIDE SPARROWS on Willey's Neck Rd. 
> 
> A pelagic trip is scheduled for Aug 28 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, 
> VA-Bird, and Delaware Birds list servers.
>  
> Claudia Wilds' book, Finding Birds in the National Capital 
> Area, is an excellent source of directions to many birding 
> sites. And the ANS Bookstore is an excellent source for this 
> and many other nature-related titles: 301-652-3606.
> 
> 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, identify the county and 
> state, and 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 www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html.
>