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FW: DC Area, 5/16/06

From:

Norm Saunders

Reply-To:

Norm Saunders

Date:

Wed, 17 May 2006 05:11:55 -0400

 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Cordle [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 9:54 PM
> To: 
> Subject: DC Area, 5/16/06
> 
> Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
> Date:               5/16/2006
> 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 report was prepared Tuesday, May 16, at 8
pm.
> 
> Top birds this week are TRUMPETER SWAN in MD, ANHINGA, 
> MISSISSIPPI KITE, and SANDHILL CRANE in VA, WHITE-WINGED DOVE 
> in DE, and WESTERN KINGBIRD in MD.  
> 
> Other birds of interest include NORTHERN BOBWHITE, LEAST 
> BITTERN, herons, COMMON MOORHEN, PEREGRINE FALCON, BLACK and 
> other RAILS, shorebirds, GLAUCOUS GULL, GULL-BILLED TERN, 
> BLACK SKIMMER, COMMON NIGHTHAWK, OLIVE-SIDED and other 
> FLYCATCHERS, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, HORNED 
> LARK, BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH, GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, warblers, 
> LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and BOBOLINK.
> 
> A TRUMPETER SWAN was still at Schoolhouse Pond, Upper 
> Marlboro, Prince George's Co, MD, as of May 11.
> 
> A male ANHINGA could be seen--with a scope--from the spillway 
> of Stumpy Lake (on Elbow Road), just over the line in 
> Virginia Beach, on May 13.
> 
> For the sixth year in a row, a MISSISSIPPI KITE has returned 
> to the Waynewood neighborhood of eastern Fairfax Co, VA, with 
> reports from May 12 and 13. On May 15, a MISSISSIPPI KITE was 
> spotted near Manassas, Prince William Co, VA, as it flew over 
> the Rte 234 exit from I-66. On May 14, a MISSISSIPPI KITE 
> soared over Back Road in Shenandoah Co, VA.
> 
> Two SANDHILL CRANES flew across the James River, from Hog 
> Island WMA to College Creek in James City Co, VA, on May 10.
> 
> A male WHITE-WINGED DOVE was frequenting feeders in the last 
> block of Tazewell Ave in Cape Charles, Northampton Co, VA, 
> May 11 and 12. On May 12, a WHITE-WINGED DOVE was seen at 
> Cape Henlopen SP, DE; it was spotted at the parking lot at the
Point.
> 
> At Ft McHenry, Baltimore, a WESTERN KINGBIRD provided 
> extended views on the evening of May 10.
> 
> NORTHERN BOBWHITE was heard calling at the Aberdeen Proving 
> Ground, Harford Co, MD, on May 9. Three BOBWHITES were 
> reported near Upper Marlboro on May 13. Also on May 13, 5 
> NORTHERN BOBWHITES were found at Blandy Experimental Farm, 
> Clarke Co, VA--along with 2 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS, a VESPER 
> SPARROW, and BOBOLINKS.
> 
> At least 100 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS are nesting in far 
> southern Prince George's Co, on towers that carry the power 
> line from Chalk Point across the Patuxent River to Calvert Co.
> 
> A LEAST BITTERN was found during the May 13 May Count at 
> Courthouse Point WMA, Cecil Co, MD.
> 
> An immature BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was discovered May 9 
> behind an office building in McLean, Fairfax Co. A 
> BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was observed flying over Rock Creek 
> Park, NW DC, on May 10, and on May 13, a YELLOW-CROWNED 
> NIGHT-HERON was seen at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, NE DC, 
> along the wooded river trail.
> 
> Both BLACK-CROWNED and YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS were 
> scoped at the second impoundment at Pennyfield Lock, 
> Montgomery Co, on May 14--along with 8 to 10 pairs of nesting 
> GREEN HERONS. On May 16, the adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON 
> had been joined by a first-summer bird. On May 9, a pair of 
> YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS perched not far from the tower at 
> Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax Co. 
> 
> On May 16, a PEREGRINE FALCON soared past an office at 
> Bailey's Crossroads, Fairfax Co.
> 
> A BLACK RAIL found May 13 was the first noted in Dorchester 
> Co, MD, in several years; that same day southern Dorchester 
> was home to 17 CLAPPER, 1 KING, and 47 VIRGINIA RAILS--as 
> well as 9 COMMON MOORHENS.
> On May 13, a single KING RAIL was heard, close at hand, in 
> Prince George's Co on May 13; it was on a stretch of the 
> Patuxent River between River Airport and Milltown Landing.
> 
> The beaches and wash flats of Chincoteague NWR, Accomack Co, 
> VA, hosted a colorful assortment of birds over the weekend, 
> including PIPING PLOVER, BLACK SKIMMER, and GULL-BILLED 
> TERNS. In Kent Co, MD, the main pond at Chesapeake Farms, 
> Kent Co, MD, held more than 700 shorebirds on May 13, 
> including a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER and a STILT SANDPIPER, 
> while fields around Great Oaks pond sported 400 BLACK-BELLIED
PLOVERS.
> 
> Following an impressive spawn of horseshoe crabs on May 13, 
> the beaches of Delaware Bay were teaming with shorebirds. In 
> addition to an estimated 1,000-1,500 RED KNOTS, Mispillion 
> Harbor held several hundred RUDDY TURNSTONES, at least 2,000 
> DUNLIN, and a few hundred SANDERLINGS and DOWITCHERS, plus 
> several BLACK-NECKED STILTS and a few AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS. 
> 
> On May 15, the impoundments on Broadkill Beach Rd, DE, held 3 
> STILT SANDPIPERS and 3 WILSON'S PHALAROPES, as well as 10 
> BLACK-NECKED STILTS. On May 10, Craney Island, Portsmouth, 
> VA, hosted 5 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS plus BLACK-NECKED 
> STILTS, BLACK SKIMMERS, and
> 3 GULL-BILLED TERNS.
> 
> A GLAUCOUS GULL was present at the fishing pier along Port 
> Mahon Rd, DE, late in the day on May 14. 
> 
> COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were in evidence at a variety of locations, 
> with as many as 15 seen in the Tyson's Corner area of Fairfax 
> Co, over the illuminated buildings on Gallows Rd at Boone 
> Blvd near Leesburg Pike.
> Single birds have been seen in VA, at Monticello Park and 
> Falls Church. In MD, they have appeared in yards in Cabin 
> John, Montgomery Co, and Ferndale, Anne Arundel Co. One 
> NIGHTHAWK was roosting in an oak at Picnic Area 18 in Rock 
> Creek May 12, and on May 14 and 16, a NIGHTHAWK was perched 
> in a tree overhanging the C&O Canal beside the first 
> impoundment at Pennyfield Lock.
> 
> OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS made their traditional 
> Mother's-Day-weekend pass through the area, with 2 seen in 
> the Granite Area of Patapsco Valley SP, Baltimore Co, on May 
> 13, and one at a home near Clifton, Fairfax Co, on May 14.
> 
> On May 13, an ALDER FLYCATCHER was found along Leeds Manor Rd 
> in the vicinity of Sky Meadows SP, western Fauquier Co. This 
> road also offered BOBOLINKS and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS--and, 
> further along--a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. Sky Meadows itself 
> presented a WILLOW FLYCATCHER along the Bridle Trail.
> Both ALDER and WILLOW FLYCATCHERS were singing May 16 in 
> Pocahontas SP on VA's Northern Neck; they were along the 
> Beaver Lake Trail boardwalk. A WILLOW FLYCATCHER was found 
> May 13 at the DC Veterans Memorial on the Mall, NW DC, and 2 
> were found May 12 at Haul Rd at Dyke Marsh, Fairfax Co.
> 
> A HORNED LARK was seen and heard in DC on May 14, as it 
> winged over the road through Kenilworth Park. 
> 
> The trails of Eastern Shore NWR, Kent Co, revealed 3 pairs of 
> nesting BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES on May 13.
> 
> A PHILADELPHIA VIREO surfaced at Rock Creek Park on May 12.
> 
> GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH was seen at several area locations.
> 
> Warbler highlights this week included a female GOLDEN-WINGED 
> WARBLER at Rock Creek Park May 10, and a MOURNING WARBLER 
> there May 11 and May 12, the latter near the Nature Center. A 
> MOURNING WARBLER was discovered May 13 along the C&O Canal 
> upstream from Pennyfield Lock, singing and foraging across from MP
20.
> 
> Other sites with double-digit warbler species included the 
> National Arboretum, NE DC; in MD, Upper Watts Branch Park, 
> Rockville, Montgomery Co; Rockburn Branch Park, Howard Co; 
> Soldiers Delight NA, Baltimore Co; Patuxent Research 
> Refuge/North Tract, Anne Arundel Co; in VA, Huntley Meadows 
> Park; Prince William Forest Park; Possum Point Rd, Prince 
> William Co; and the G. Richard Thompson WMA in western Fauquier
Co.  
> 
> LINCOLN'S SPARROWS were again seen at several locations, 
> including Rock Creek Park; the Blue Ridge Center in northwest 
> Loudoun Co, VA; and Riverbend Park, Fairfax Co.
> 
> Some 20 BOBOLINKS popped up at Kenilworth Park, NE DC, May 
> 13--along with an EASTERN MEADOWLARK and a BLUE GROSBEAK. A 
> few BOBOLINKS lingered at Lake Artemesia in Greenbelt, Prince 
> George's Co, through May 11. On May 12, 30 BOBOLINKS flitted 
> through fields near the main pond at the soccerplex in 
> Germantown, Montgomery Co. Some BOBOLINKS visited fields in 
> western Loudoun Co May 13, and about 35 were seen on Deer 
> Park Rd, Carroll Co, that same day. 
> 
> Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the 
> MDOSPREY and VA-Bird 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 big photo files, 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.
> 
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>  
> 

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