> -----Original Message-----
> From:  [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 2:25 PM
> To: 
> Subject: DC Area, 8/03/04
> 
> 
> Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
> Date:               8/03/04
> 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, August 3, at 3
p.m.
> 
> Top birds this week are RED-NECKED STINT in DE, BLACK TERN in 
> MD, and ELEGANT TERN in VA.
> 
> Other birds of interest include LEAST BITTERN, waders 
> including SNOWY EGRET, MISSISSIPPI KITE, shorebirds including 
> AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, and SEDGE WREN,

> 
> An adult RED-NECKED STINT was spotted at Bombay Hook NWR, DE, 
> in the late morning of July 31. This bird, which retained a 
> good bit of breeding plumage on the head and breast, was at 
> the north end of Shearness Pool. Around midday, the birds 
> there were put up by a hawk and the Stint was not relocated.
> 
> Some 35 BLACK TERNS migrated through Montgomery Co, MD, Aug 
> 1--and one still lingered Aug 2. They were seen across from 
> Violette's Lock, swooping for insects over the emergent 
> vegetation above the rapids in the Potomac River.
> 
> There was a report of an ELEGANT TERN at Chincoteague NWR, 
> Accomack Co, VA. On the afternoon of Aug 2 this bird was 
> resting with a variety of other terns on the Queen's Island 
> Sound flats on the northeast side of the causeway to 
> Chincoteague (Rte 175), at low tide.  
> 
> Two LEAST BITTERNS were spied at Neabsco Creek, Prince 
> William Co, VA, July 31. 
> 
> Two SNOWY EGRETS were still at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, NE 
> DC, July 31.
> 
> In Prince George's Co, MD, Lake Redington at the Patuxent 
> Research Refuge featured a variety of waders, including 
> GLOSSY IBIS, an immature LITTLE BLUE HERON, and BLACK-CROWNED 
> NIGHT-HERON.
> 
> At least 42 CATTLE EGRETS were found July 29, amidst the 
> cattle at Todd's Inheritance, near Fort Howard in eastern 
> Baltimore Co. 
> 
> A MISSISSIPPI KITE was again observed over the Waynewood 
> Elementary School, Fairfax Co, VA, July 27 and 31, both days 
> around 6 p.m. (Take the Waynewood Blvd exit off the George 
> Washington Parkway. If you enter the school grounds, please 
> sign in at the office.) 
> 
> Other Fairfax Co sightings of MISSISSIPPI KITES included one 
> bird over a yard in Annandale, west of the Beltway, on July 
> 30, while and 2 or 3 were seen over Mason Neck SP July 31.
> 
> At Bombay Hook, edges are starting to appear in the formerly 
> flooded impoundments, and on July 31 they drew 17 species of 
> shorebird (in addition to the stint). At the Logan Tract of 
> the Ted Harvey Conservation Area, DE, July 31, the south end 
> of the south pond was full of herons and ibis as well as 
> shorebirds--including AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER in nearly full 
> breeding plumage. 
> 
> Also on July 31, Hart-Miller Island, a dredge-containment 
> facility in the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore Co, featured 19 
> species of shorebird, including HUDSONIAN GODWIT, RED KNOT, 
> and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. At Craney Island, Portsmouth, 
> VA--another dredge-fill site--more than 2,000 small peeps 
> were joined by DOWITCHERS, STILT SANDPIPERS, and at least one 
> juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER.  
> 
> Closer to town, shorebirds are congregating on the mudflats 
> at Hunting Creek, Fairfax Co, and at Paper Mill Rd, Baltimore 
> Co. Plus, the vegetation on the Potomac at Violette's Lock 
> hid a surprising variety of shorebirds, including RUDDY 
> TURNSTONE, SANDERLING, and PECTORAL SANDPIPER.
> 
> A bird thought to be a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was reported 
> from Ft. C. F. Smith Park in Arlington, VA, on July 30.
> 
> The SEDGE WRENS of Augusta Co, VA, were observed repeatedly 
> throughout the week. As of Aug 1 at least 3 could be 
> found--at a distance--in a field along Rte 876 near its 
> intersection with Rte 602. A scope is recommended.
> 
> The Aug 28 pelagic trip from Lewes, DE, is fully subscribed. 
> To inquire about a waiting list, 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.
>