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FW: DC Area, 9/27/2005

From:

Norm Saunders

Reply-To:

Norm Saunders

Date:

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:06:02 -0400

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Cordle [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 6:21 PM
> To: 
> Subject: DC Area, 9/27/2005
> 
> 
> Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
> Date:               9/27/2005
> 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 $40; Family $50; Nature Steward 
> $75; Audubon Advocate $150). 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, September 27, 
> at 5:30 p.m.
> 
> Top birds this week are SWAINSON'S HAWK and SABINE'S GULL in 
> MD and WESTERN KINGBIRD, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, and LARK SPARROW in
VA.
> 
> Other birds of interest include AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, 
> AMERICAN BITTERN, raptors, SORA, shorebirds, BLACK TERN, 
> RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, 
> YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, EASTERN KINGBIRD, BLUE-HEADED and 
> PHILADELPHIA VIREOS, COMMON RAVEN, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 
> BROWN CREEPER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, GRAY-CHEEKED and 
> SWAINSON'S THRUSH, BREWSTER'S and other WARBLERS, SCARLET 
> TANAGER, LINCOLN'S and other SPARROWS, ROSE-BREASTED 
> GROSBEAK, DICKCISSEL, BOBOLINK, and HOUSE FINCH. 
> 
> A light-phase SWAINSON'S HAWK was discovered Sept 25 at Point 
> Lookout SP, St. Mary's Co, MD. It was observed from the 
> fishing pier, and it drifted northward.
> 
> An adult SABINE'S GULL was spotted Sept 26 over the Potomac 
> River in Montgomery Co, MD. This gull, showing a bold white 
> triangle on its wings, appeared just above tree height a few 
> hundred yards upriver from Violette's Lock. The bird then 
> began to head across the river. It quickly gained speed and 
> height, angling upriver into VA and heading southwest.
> 
> A Sept 21 visit to Back Bay NWR, Virginia Beach, yielded both 
> WESTERN KINGBIRD and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (plus 11 species of 
> warbler). The sparrow was seen first, and well, about 
> three-quarters of the way down the Bay Trail, which is to the 
> left of the refuge headquarters. An attempt to relocate the 
> sparrow some hours later revealed one EASTERN KINGBIRD and 2 
> WESTERN KINGBIRDS, all flycatching from a snag.
> 
> A first-winter LARK SPARROW showed up on the Northern Neck of 
> VA Sept 24, near the entrance to the George Washington 
> Birthplace National Monument in Westmoreland Co. The sparrow 
> flew from a telephone wire to the roadside, where it hopped 
> around for more than 5 minutes. 
> 
> An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was again seen at the north 
> impoundment at Ted Harvey Conservation Area, DE, on Sept 22. 
> Also present was a HUDSONIAN GODWIT.
> 
> This was a week when raptors ruled. 
> 
> A MISSISSIPPI KITE was spotted Sept 25 at the Turkey Point 
> hawk watch, Cecil Co, MD. 
> 
> The coastal hawk watch at Kiptopeke SP, Northampton Co, VA, draws
> falcons: on Sept 25, 164 AMERICAN KESTRELS, 155 MERLINS, and 
> 42 PEREGRINE FALCONS.
> 
> The Washington Nationals baseball team also drew a KESTREL; 
> at their game the night of Sept 21, the Kestrel feasted on 
> insects attracted to the lights at RFK Stadium.
> 
> Inland, BROAD-WINGED HAWKS made an impressive showing. 
> Snickers Gap, on the Clarke/Loudoun Co (VA) line, had 664 
> BROAD-WINGS on Sept 22 and 474 on the 23. On Sept 22, 
> Harvey's Knob hawk watch on the Blue Ridge Parkway near 
> Roanoke tallied more than 900.
> 
> In MD, the hawk watch at Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore Co, 
> registered nearly 1,000 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS between 9 and 10 
> am Sept 24; the Broadwings were followed by "a fairly steady 
> flight of accipiters, falcons, BALD EAGLES, and OSPREY." That 
> same morning, Sept 24, about 850 BROAD-WINGS were observed 
> over Baltimore's Cylburn Arboretum, and "many hundreds" 
> kettled over Blue Mash Nature Trail in Montgomery Co. 
> 
> On Sept 22, more than 750 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS emerged at 
> Middle Patuxent EA, Howard Co, MD, during a 15-minute period. 
> Late in the afternoon of Sept 23, 2,000 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS 
> migrated past a yard in Jarrettsville, Harford Co, MD. On 
> Sept 25, 8 or 9 kettles, some with 70 or 80 birds, soared 
> over a house in Gaithersburg.  
> 
> A chorus of at least 20 SORAS greeted the dawn on Sept 24 at 
> Woodland Beach WA, DE. The reeds there also held an AMERICAN
BITTERN. 
> 
> The weekly tour of Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore Co, found 4 
> SORAS, plus 17 species of shorebird, including AMERICAN 
> GOLDEN-PLOVER, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, WILSON'S 
> PHALAROPE--and 92 AMERICAN AVOCETS.
> 
> An AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was found Sept 24 at the Patton 
> Turf Farm on River Rd, south of White's Ferry in far western 
> Montgomery Co. AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was one of 19 species 
> of shorebird found at Chincoteague NWR, Accomack Co, VA, on 
> Sept 23--along with 1 HUDSONIAN GODWIT and 5 MARBLED GODWITS, 
> and 210 BLACK SKIMMERS. 
> 
> An AMERICAN AVOCET, in its handsome pale gray, black, and 
> white winter plumage, was present at Great Oak Pond, Kent Co, 
> MD, Sept 24 and 25.
> 
> Two BLACK TERNS were seen Sept 24 at Bear Swamp, Bombay Hook NWR,
DE.
> 
> Signs of fall noted this week include YELLOW-BELLIED 
> SAPSUCKER, BROWN CREEPER, WINTER WREN, and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. 
> 
> A brightly colored YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was seen Sept 24 
> at Blue Mash, as was a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 
> 
> PHILADELPHIA VIREO again appeared at numerous sites. On Sept 
> 22, a yard in Jeffersonton, Culpeper Co, VA, hosted both 
> PHILADELPHIA and BLUE-HEADED VIREOS. On Sept 23, a 
> PHILADELPHIA VIREO was found at Riverbend Park, Fairfax Co, 
> VA. On Sept 25, one was seen at the New York Monuments area 
> of Manassas National Battlefield Park, Prince William Co, VA. 
> Also on Sept 25, a PHILADELPHIA VIREO visited a yard in 
> Croom, Prince George's Co, MD.
> 
> A COMMON RAVEN was reported from Lothian, Anne Arundel Co, 
> MD, Sept 22.
> 
> Migrating RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES again enlivened several 
> locations, as did GRAY-CHEEKED and SWAINSON'S THRUSHES, 
> ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, and SCARLET TANAGERS.
> 
> Warbler flocks, sometimes large and typically flitty, 
> continue to move through the area. A BREWSTER'S WARBLER was 
> found Sept 24 at Little Bennett RP, Montgomery Co. A 
> CONNECTICUT WARBLER was one of 10 species seen Sept 21 at a 
> farm in Fauquier Co, VA. A CONNECTICUT WARBLER was one of 20 
> species turned up Sept 24 in Prince William Co, mostly along 
> Cockpit Rd near Possum Point Rd. 
> 
> Other warbler fests unfolded at Rock Creek Park's stables and 
> maintenance yard, NW DC; Rock Creek Park, Montgomery Co; 
> Middle Patuxent EA; in Fairfax Co, at Huntley Meadows Park, 
> Monticello Park, Mason Neck SP, and yards in Annandale and 
> Great Falls; and in Loudoun Co, VA, at the Blue Ridge Center. 
> 
> The sparrow scene was brightened by LINCOLN'S SPARROW--one at 
> Jug Bay, Prince George's Co, MD, Sept 23, and one at Huntley 
> Meadows Sept 24. A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was seen at Blue 
> Mash Sept 24. SAVANNAH, SWAMP, FIELD, and GRASSHOPPER 
> SPARROWS were noted Sept 22 at Middle Patuxent EA. 
> WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are back, too. 
> 
> A single BOBOLINK was found--in amongst more than 100 HOUSE 
> FINCHES--at Flint Hill School, Oakton, Fairfax Co, on Sept 
> 22. Some 29 BOBOLINKS were found Sept 24 at Hart-Miller, as 
> were 2 DICKCISSELS.
> 
> On Oct 22, See Life Paulagics is running a trip out of Lewes, 
> DE. For more information, contact them at 215-234-6805 or 
> check their web page at paulagics.com. 
> 
> Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the 
> MDOSPREY, VA-Bird, and DE Birds list servers. 
> 
> Finding Birds in the National Capital Area by Claudia Wilds 
> is an excellent source of directions to many birding sites. 
> The ANS Bookstore (301-652-3606 or
> www.audubonnaturalist.org/cgi-bin/mesh/store) is an excellent 
> source for this and many other nature-related titles.
> 
> To report bird sightings, e-mail your report to 
>  But please do not submit 
> photographs. You may also report by calling 301-652-1088 and 
> selecting menu option 2. Please post reports before midnight 
> Monday, identify the county as well as state, and include 
> your name and a Tuesday morning contact, either e-mail or phone. 
> 
> Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING.
>