> -----Original Message-----
> From:  [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 12:24 PM
> To: 
> Subject: DC Area, 8/10/04
> 
> 
> Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
> Date:               8/10/04
> 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 10, at
noon.
> 
> Top birds this week are *CURLEW SANDPIPER in both MD and DE, 
> *ROSEATE TERN in MD, *ELEGANT TERN in VA, and *RUFOUS 
> HUMMINGBIRD in MD.
> 
> Other birds of interest include AMERICAN BITTERN, waders, 
> MISSISSIPPI KITE, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, shorebirds including 
> UPLAND SANDPIPER, COMMON NIGHTHAWK, OLIVE-SIDED and 
> YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, SEDGE WREN, 
> warblers, and BOBOLINKS.
> 
> A *CURLEW SANDPIPER was discovered Aug 8 on Assateague 
> Island, Worcester Co, MD. The bird was about 2.5 km north of 
> the State Park parking lot; it was seen on a large bayside 
> flat reached by walking diagonally from a white-topped post 
> marked 8.0 through a narrow fringe of marsh.
> 
> A CURLEW SANDPIPER, molting out of breeding plumage, was seen 
> at Bombay Hook NWR, DE, Aug 5, 6, and 7. It was initially 
> observed at the far back of Shearness Pool, then later, at 
> high tide, closer to the road in Raymond Pool.
> 
> A *ROSEATE TERN, still trailing long streamers, was one of 7 
> species of tern present on Skimmer Island, Ocean City, 
> Worcester Co, early on the morning of Aug 7. The terns were 
> observed from the Rte 50 bridge as the tide rushed out.
> 
> An ELEGANT TERN reported last week at Chincoteague NWR, 
> Accomack Co, VA, was seen again Aug 6, as before with a 
> variety of other terns on the Queen's Island Sound flats on 
> the northeast side of the causeway to Chincoteague (Rte 175). 
> 
> An adult male *RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD showed up at a feeder in
Woodbine,
> Carroll Co, MD, Aug 6.   
> 
> An AMERICAN BITTERN was found Aug 9 at Huntley Meadows Park, 
> Fairfax Co, VA. On Aug 6, Huntley held a GLOSSY IBIS.
> 
> A SNOWY EGRET was again seen at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, 
> NE DC, Aug 4 and 9. A SNOWY EGRET was spotted near Memorial 
> Bridge, SW DC, Aug 7. On Aug 8, a LITTLE BLUE HERON was 
> reported from KAG, near the observation platform. 
> 
> The ANS trip Aug 7 to DE hotspots scored LITTLE BLUE HERONS 
> and CATTLE EGRETS at Bombay Hook and TRICOLORED HERONS at Ted 
> Harvey Conservation Area. An adult winter WHITE-FACED IBIS 
> was seen Aug 7 at the south pond of the Logan Tract at Ted 
> Harvey, as was a HUDSONIAN GODWIT. There was also a reported 
> were 2 MARBLED GODWITS flying up the bay north of the town of 
> Kitt's Hummock. 
> 
> The Waynewood Elementary School in Fairfax Co continues to be 
> a good spot to look for MISSISSIPPI KITE, with sightings both 
> morning and afternoon on Aug 7. (Take the Waynewood Blvd exit 
> off the George Washington Parkway. If you enter the school 
> grounds, please sign in at the office.) 
> 
> Aug 9 saw the first notable migration at Snicker's Gap Hawk 
> Watch, on the Clarke/Loudoun Co line, with 11 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS. 
> 
> Three SANDHILL CRANES are being seen in Augusta Co, VA, with 
> reports through Aug 9. They favor a field along Mossy Creek 
> Rd/Rte 757, next to a large yellow house with a wrap-around 
> porch, and box #398. Traffic is dangerous; park your vehicle 
> in front of a vacant store across from the yellow house 
> and--carefully--walk back. 
> 
> Shorebird influx has started in earnest. The ANS trip on Aug 
> 7 tallied 17 species and tens of thousands of individuals. 
> Bombay Hook's Raymond and Shearness Pools hold hundreds of 
> STILT SANDPIPERS and AMERICAN AVOCETS. Birders visiting 
> Hart-Miller Island in the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore Co, found 
> 18 species on Aug 7. A WILSON'S PHALAROPE was
> still at the Broadkill Beach, DE, impoundments as of Aug 7.     
> 
> The sod farm on John Brown Rd, Queen Anne's Co, MD, has 
> hosted a sprinkling of shorebirds from time to time, 
> including a juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER on Aug 7 (but not Aug 
> 8). A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was also reported from Chincoteague 
> Aug 8. Among 14 shorebird species at Craney Island, 
> Portsmouth VA, on Aug 8 was an UPLAND SANDPIPER. Shorebirds 
> are also turning up at the Easton Wastewater Treatment Plant, 
> Talbot Co, MD.  
> 
> Around town, shorebirds are being seen along the Anacostia 
> River in the vicinity of the Benning Rd bridge, NE DC, and at 
> Cameron Run, Alexandria, VA, where DOWITCHERS showed up more 
> than once.
> 
> COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were noted over a Baltimore City yard Aug 9.
> 
> On Aug 6, an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER sat atop a snag next to 
> the Nature Center in Rock Creek Park, NW DC.
> 
> YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was observed at two sites in 
> Calvert Co, MD, Aug 9, one at the American Chestnut Land 
> Trust and the other along a power line cut on Dalyrumple Rd.
> 
> A family of LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES was spotted Aug 6 in Orange 
> Co, VA. Two adults and two juveniles were on wires over the 
> Robinson River, along Rte 15 north of Orange. A single 
> LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was seen Aug 4 in Augusta Co, along Rte 876 
> in the vicinity of the SEDGE WRENS. 
> 
> The SEDGE WRENS of Augusta Co were located again Aug 4 and 7; 
> they sing from a field along Rte 876 near its intersection 
> with Rte 602. On Aug 6, a SEDGE WREN was found in Charles Co, 
> MD, on private lands. 
> 
> Migrant warblers are starting to show up. A BLACK-AND-WHITE 
> WARBLER visited a yard in Great Falls, Fairfax Co, Aug 6. On 
> Aug 7, 10 species of warbler were noted at Turkey Point in 
> Elk Neck SP, Cecil Co, MD. In DE, a GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER was 
> a highlight on the Boardwalk Trail at Prime Hook NWR Aug 8.
> 
> Six juvenile BOBOLINKS were found Aug 4 in western Loudoun 
> Co, VA; they were near a small pond bordering Ebenezer Church 
> Rd. BOBLINKS were also in evidence at Bombay Hook Aug 7, in 
> the field preceding the Visitor Center.
> 
> 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.
>