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FW: DC Area, 5/8/07

From:

Norm Saunders

Reply-To:

Norm Saunders

Date:

Wed, 9 May 2007 06:08:25 -0400

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Cordle [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 9:40 PM
To: 
Subject: DC Area, 5/8/07

Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
Date:               5/8/2007
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 completed at 8 am on Tuesday, May
8. 

Top birds this week are GLOSSY IBIS and WESTERN KINGBIRD in MD and
MISSISSIPPI KITE in VA.  Exotic of the week is a MONK PARAKEET in VA.

Other birds of interest include HARLEQUIN DUCK, NORTHERN BOBWHITE,
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, AMERICAN BITTERN, CATTLE EGRET, COMMON
MOORHEN, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, shorebirds, PARASITIC JAEGER,
LEAST and BLACK TERNS, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, COMMON NIGHTHAWK,
CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE,
swallows, thrushes, AMERICAN PIPIT, MOURNING and other WARBLERS,
SUMMER TANAGER, sparrows, and BOBOLINKS.

A GLOSSY IBIS was discovered at Hughes Hollow, Montgomery Co, MD, on
May 4, and was there--in the large impoundment on the left--until at
least the early morning of May 7. A bonus on May 4 was an AMERICAN
BITTERN perched on a nearby log; on May 7 a COMMON MOORHEN was
present.

A MISSISSIPPI KITE passed over the College Creek Hawkwatch, near
Williamsburg, VA, on May 2. A MISSISSIPPI KITE circled over the town
of Cape Charles, Northampton Co, VA, on May 4.

The WESTERN KINGBIRD has returned to Fort McHenry, Baltimore. It was
first seen on May 8 in sycamores near the sea wall.

A MONK PARAKEET has been making visits to a yard in Alexandria,
several times a day, starting on April 29.

A HARLEQUIN DUCK was again seen at the CBB/T, Northampton Co, on May
4; it was on the west side of the first island.

A NORTHERN BOBWHITE was calling at Greenbury Point in Annapolis on May
1. 

The AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS at Blackwater NWR, Dorchester Co, MD, were
noted for the first time in more than a month on May 5, when 5 birds
were seen from the wildlife drive, opposite Pool 3b. 

On May 1, 3 AMERICAN BITTERNS were found at the UMBC campus in
Baltimore.

A CATTLE EGRET was a highly unusual visitor to Allegany Co, MD; it was
found near Cumberland on May 2. Several CATTLE EGRETS were feeding in
fields near Gambrills, Anne Arundel Co, MD, on May 6. 

Four adult YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS flew past a busy urban
intersection in Bethesda on May 3. Four active YELLOW-CROWNED
NIGHT-HERON nests can be seen in the vicinity of Piney Branch and
Sligo Creek Parkway in Montgomery County. And YELLOW-CROWNED
NIGHT-HERONS are again nesting in Folly Lick Stream Park, just outside
of Herndon, Fairfax Co, VA.

A COMMON MOORHEN was reported May 6 from Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax
Co.

Local shorebird sightings include LESSER YELLOWLEGS and SOLITARY and
LEAST SANDPIPERS at the Constitution Gardens ponds, NW DC; more than
100 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, along with 7 other species of shorebird, at
Huntley Meadows on May 1; and 8 species foraging on mudflats at the
rear of Schoolhouse Pond, Upper Marlboro, Prince George's Co, MD, on
May 3. 

Further afield, 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were among hundreds of
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS in fields near Bombay Hook NWR, DE, on May 4. On
May 5, the ORV zone at Assateague Island, Worcester Co, MD, hosted
PIPING PLOVER and 120 WHIMBREL, as well as a COMMON TERN.

Three PARASITIC JAEGERS passed through the south channel of the CBB/T
and into the Bay on the morning of May 6, and another that evening. 

A LEAST TERN was reported from Little Patuxent Oxbow Lake Nature
Preserve, Anne Arundel Co, May 5. A BLACK TERN was seen at Ted Harvey
Conservation Area, DE, May 4. 

A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, temporarily stunned by a window collision, was
observed in Herndon on May 5. A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was seen in
Edgewater, Anne Arundel Co, May 4. Another was found, feeding low,
near the nature center pond at Rock Creek Park, NW DC, on May 6. 

COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were reported from a number of locations. A perched
bird was found May 5 at Riley's Lock, Montgomery Co. 

On May 1, CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOWS were singing along Fairview Beach Road,
near Pasadena, Anne Arundel Co.   

On May 1, an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER perched on a dead tree just
outside the entrance to Rock Creek Park's maintenance yard.

Two LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES were again seen along the Bridle Trail at Sky
Meadows SP, Fauquier Co, VA, on May 6.

All 6 East Coast swallows were ID'd at Burke Lake, Fairfax Co, May 6.

A VEERY was found at Rock Creek Park May 2, and across the street from
Monticello Park, Alexandria, May 6. On May 3 one visited a Bethesda
yard, 3 were seen at Mason Neck SP, Fairfax Co, and 2 or 3 VEERIES,
along with HERMIT and WOOD THRUSHES, were found near Lincoln in
western Loudoun Co, VA. A VEERY was scoped at Schoolhouse Pond May 6.
The UMBC campus hosted a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH on May 1 and a VEERY on
May 2. A SWAINSON'S THRUSH visited a yard in Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel
Co, May 5 and 6.

An AMERICAN PIPIT was working the equitation field at Rock Creek Park
on May 2.

Among the week's 35 species of warbler were a GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
along Old Legislative Rd in Allegany Co, and a GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
in a yard near Bluemont, western Loudoun Co; a BREWSTER'S WARBLER in
Western Regional Park, Howard Co, MD, May 3; and a MOURNING WARBLER at
Huntley Meadows May 4. A WILSON'S WARBLER paid an extended visit to an
Arlington yard May 6.

Local breeders include CERULEAN WARBLERS at Potomac Overlook RP,
Arlington; the McKeldin Area/Patapsco Valley State Park in Howard Co;
Susquehanna SP, Harford Co, MD; and the G. Richard Thompson WMA in
western Fauquier Co. PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS are on territory along the
C&O Canal in Montgomery Co, notably above Riley's Lock. SWAINSON'S
WARBLERS are in full song at the Great Dismal Swamp outside of
Suffolk, VA.
  
Locations with double-digit warbler sightings this week included the
National Arboretum, especially the Azalea Gardens, in NE DC; Rock
Creek Park's maintenance yard and picnic area 18, in NW DC; Little
Falls Park in Bethesda; and the UMBC campus in Baltimore.

SUMMER TANAGER was found at Soldiers Delight Natural Area, Baltimore
Co--along the Red Trail, appropriately enough--on May 5 (along with 13
species of warbler). A pair of SUMMER TANAGERS was seen at Flag Ponds
Nature Park, Calvert Co, MD, May 2.

A FIELD SPARROW showed up in downtown DC on May 1, in a courtyard on
Indiana Ave next to the DC police department. GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS,
along with BOBOLINKS, were seen May 5 along Lorton and Furnace Rds,
Fairfax Co. SEASIDE SPARROWS were reported from Flag Ponds May 2 and
Edgewater, Anne Arundel Co, May 3. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were noted
at numerous locations.

In Montgomery Co, a BLUE GROSBEAK was singing near the kayakers'
parking lot at Pennyfield Lock May 5. A BLUE GROSBEAK was seen at
Leesylvania SP, Prince William Co, VA, May 6.

A dozen BOBOLINKS were found May 6 along the River Trail at Kenilworth
Aquatic Gardens, NE DC; two dozen were seen May 4 at Patuxent River
Park, Prince George's Co. BOBOLINKS were also sighted at the National
Arboretum May 5; at UMBC May 1 and 2; at Gravelly Point, Arlington Co;
near the Naval Academy dairy farm, Gambrills, Anne Arundel Co; and
along Ebenezer Church Rd in Loudoun Co May 7. 

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 for 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
 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 the record committee.