Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
Date:               2/21/2006
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, Feb 21, at 3:30p.m.

Top birds this week are AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN in MD and *SNOWY OWL in
DC, VA, and MD.
 
Other birds of interest include GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, TUNDRA
SWAN, EURASIAN WIGEON, EURASIAN TEAL, COMMON EIDER, HARLEQUIN DUCK,
WILD TURKEY, RED-NECKED, EARED, and other GREBES, GREAT CORMORANT,
raptors, AMERICAN WOODCOCK, gulls, RAZORBILL, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER,
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, CEDAR WAXWING, BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER,
sparrows, RUSTY and BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS, and PURPLE FINCH. 

AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS continue to draw birders to Blackwater NWR,
Dorchester Co, MD. The birds were sighted from the Wildlife Drive on
Feb 14 and 15.

SNOWY OWLS were, amazingly, reported from multiple locations.

First, the SNOWY OWL at Dulles Airport, Loudoun Co, VA: After
disappearing in the camouflage of snowfall early in the week, the owl
was again in sight on Feb 18, 19, and 20. The bird is being viewed
from a 3-story public parking garage on the corner of Aviation Dr and
Propeller Ct; this can be accessed from the Airport Services exit off
the Dulles Toll Rd.  

At 9 in the morning on Feb 15, a SNOWY OWL flew low over a yard near
Rectortown, northern Fauquier Co, VA.

Around 10 pm on Feb 15, a likely SNOWY OWL was sighted as it flew over
Scott Circle, NW DC.

And around 10 am on Feb 18, a SNOWY OWL landed in yard in the northern
section of Annapolis, Anne Arundel Co, MD. It stayed long enough to be
photographed before being driven off by a mob of crows.  

Two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were found Feb 18 in Queen Anne's Co,
MD; they were near the intersection of Rte 301 and Rolling Bridge Rd
southeast of Centreville. 

A flock of some 1,200 TUNDRA SWANS created a spectacular vista in a
field along Rte 331 north of Salisbury, Wicomico Co, MD, on Feb 18.

A EURASIAN WIGEON was still at the Eagles Nest Golf Course, south of
Ocean City, Worcester Co, MD, as of Feb 18. A EURASIAN WIGEON was
reported from Deal Island WMA, Somerset Co, MD, Feb 18. 

A EURASIAN TEAL was again singled out at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax
Co, VA, on Feb 16.

A COMMON EIDER was present at the Ocean City Inlet Feb 19. 

On Feb 18, Indian River Inlet, DE, held a COMMON EIDER, as well as 2
HARLEQUIN DUCKS, and a RAZORBILL.

A large flock of WILD TURKEYS has been frequenting a field in Ocean
City, on the south side of Rte 50 at the intersection with Race Track
Rd; the turkeys numbered more than 60 on Feb 16 and more than 30 on
Feb 18.
 
A RED-NECKED GREBE was seen Feb 18 at West Bay Park on Rehoboth Bay,
DE; the waters there also held PIED-BILLED and HORNED GREBES.

Two EARED GREBES were found Feb 20 in Ocean City; they were observed
from the boardwalk at the north end of the OC Convention Center.

GREAT CORMORANTS were noted at Indian River Inlet; Roosevelt Inlet in
Lewes DE; and Elms Environmental Park, St. Mary's Co, MD. 

A distant ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was spotted Feb 15 from Elliott Island Rd,
Dorchester Co.

On Feb 15, an adult GOLDEN EAGLE was observed as it soared just east
of Rte 301 between MD 313 and Chesterville Bridge Road, Kent Co, MD.
On Feb 18, a GOLDEN EAGLE was spied from Black Bottom Rd east of
Massey in Kent Co. 

The MERLIN at the Fairlington Community Center, Arlington Co, VA, was
found again Feb 19. Three MERLINS were noted at Hains Point, SW DC, on
Feb 18.  

A pair of adult PEREGRINE FALCONS was seen this week on the railroad
bridge over the Potomac, SW DC; the bridge holds a nest box. An adult
PEREGRINE was seen Feb 18 in Towson, Baltimore Co, MD. An adult
PEREGRINE was noted Feb 14 at Ben Brenman Park, Alexandria.

AMERICAN WOODCOCK popped up in a variety of locations. In addition to
peenting along the marsh edges in eastern DE, one WOODCOCK caught the
headlights on a country road in Loudoun Co Feb 14 and one took refuge
under a bush in a yard in Alexandria Feb 15. On Nov 19, 3 WOODCOCKS
flushed up along the a trail in the North Tract of Patuxent Research
Refuge, Anne Arundel Co, while 2 showed up at Patapsco Valley SP,
Baltimore Co.

An ICELAND GULL and a GLAUCOUS GULL were both in the same scope view
at Fowler Beach, DE, on Feb 18. On Feb 15, the landfill in Talbot Co,
MD, held a first-winter GLAUCOUS GULL as well as 5 LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULLS. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was reported from Lake Brittle,
Fauquier Co, on Feb 16.

A participant in the Great Backyard Bird Count tallied 4 RED-HEADED
WOODPECKERS Feb 20 in his yard in southwestern Loudoun Co.

A BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE visited a heated birdbath in Darnestown,
Montgomery Co, MD, on Feb 18.

A flock of more than 300 CEDAR WAXWINGS was observed Feb 17 and 18 in
Croom, Prince George's Co, MD, off Nottingham Rd.

A BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER last seen on New Year's Day showed up
again Feb 19 at a yard in Arlington.

FOX SPARROWS were noted at a variety of locations, including Blue Mash
Nature Trail, Montgomery Co, and Fort Smith Park, Arlington, both on
Feb 18. FOX SPARROWS were one of 9 species found in western Montgomery
Co on River Rd extended, along with AMERICAN TREE and WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROWS. An AMERICAN TREE SPARROW was found at Dyke Marsh, Fairfax
Co, on Feb 20. 

Two BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS were in a large flock found in Fauquier Co on
Feb 18; the birds were in fields 1 mile south of the intersection of
Rtes 603 and 605.

Some 16 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were noted in Paint Branch Stream Valley
Park, College Park, Prince George's Co, on Feb 18.

On Feb 19, about 40 PURPLE FINCHES invaded the woods bordering River
Rd extended, just west of Willard Rd.

See Life Paulagics will be running a regular 12-hour offshore pelagic
on Saturday Feb 25, and possibly an 8-hour inshore pelagic on Sunday
Feb 26. For more details, check the web site at paulagics.com or call
215-234-6805.

Brian Patteson proposes a Feb 25 (26) pelagic trip from Hatteras, NC,
looking for Great Skuas and Red Phalaropes. For details, check the
website at seabirding.com, or phone 252-986-1363 to express your
interest.

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 no photographs, please. 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. 

*Of interest to either the MD/DC Records Committee
(www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html) or the VA Records Committee
(www.virginiabirds.org