-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Cordle [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 5:31 PM
To: 
Subject: DC Area, 4/21/09

Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist 
Date:               4/21/09
Coverage:           MD/DC/VA/DE 
Telephone:          301-652-1088 option 1 
Reports (voice):    301-652-1088 option 2 
       (email):      
    (deadline):     midnight Mondays 
Compiler:           John Bjerke
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 Tuesday, April 21, at 8:00 am.

Top birds this week are WHITE-FACED IBIS* in MD and DE and HARRIS'S
SPARROW* in VA

Other birds of interest include BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK*, EURASIAN
WIGEON, RUFFED GROUSE, RED-NECKED GREBE, LITTLE BLUE HERON, NORTHERN
GOSHAWK, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, GOLDEN EAGLE, BLACK RAIL, SORA, SANDHILL CRANE,
shorebirds, FRANKLIN'S GULL, LITTLE GULL, BONAPARTE'S GULL, terns, EURASIAN
COLLARED-DOVE*, SNOWY OWL, SHORT-EARED OWL, vireos, COMMON RAVEN, CLIFF
SWALLOW, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, warblers including SWAINSON'S, VESPER and
LINCOLN'S SPARROWS*, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, and WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILL.

A WHITE-FACED IBIS* was seen near Berlin, Worcester Co, MD on Apr 18 and 19.
The bird was on the east side of Rt 113 just south of Rt 346.
Another WHITE-FACED IBIS* was spotted on the Prime Hook Beach Road, Sussex
Co, DE on Apr 18 and 19.

The HARRIS'S SPARROW at a residence near Dayton, Rockingham Co, VA was
present all week with last report on Apr 19. The owner at 5946 West Dry
River Rd is happy to share with courteous birders. A first year HARRIS'S
SPARROW continues at a feeder in Columbia, Howard Co, MD.
 
The BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK* continued this week at Silver Lake,
Rehoboth, DE. A EURASIAN WIGEON was found in Snow Goose Pool, Chincoteague
NWR, Accomack Co, VA on Apr 18.

WILD TURKEY AND RUFFED GROUSE were seen in Finzel Swamp, Garrett Co, MD on
Apr 18.

Two RED-NECKED GREBES were found in the Potomac River near Hains Point,
Washington, DC on Apr 15.

Among the many egret and heron sightings were LITTLE BLUE HERONS at
Schoolhouse Pond, Prince Georges Co, MD on Apr 16, Kenilworth Aquatic
Gardens, Washington, DC on Apr 17, and Harford Glen, Harford Co, MD on Apr
19.

A juvenile NORTHERN GOSHAWK flew over Columbia, Howard Co, MD on Apr 18. The
largest of several flights of BROAD-WINGED HAWK was 176 at Cromwell Valley
Park, Baltimore Co, MD on Apr 17. A GOLDEN EAGLE flew over the hawk watch at
Ft Smallwood Park, Anne Arundel Co, MD on Apr 18.

Four BLACK RAILS were heard in the marshes of southern Dorchester Co, MD on
Apr 19. Three SORAS were found at Lilypons, Frederick Co, MD on Apr 15.
Another SORA was seen at Hughes Hollow, Montgomery Co, MD on Apr 17. A SORA
was heard at the Union Mills wetland, Carroll Co, MD on Apr 19.

A SANDHILL CRANE graced the Dulles Greenway Wetlands, Loudoun Co, VA on Apr
17.

Shorebird migration has begun. AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were seen outside
Bombay Hook NWR, Kent Co, DE this week. A WESTERN SANDPIPER was seen at
Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore Co, MD on Apr 18. Thousands of DUNLIN are
staging to leave the area. WILSON'S SNIPE moving through our region were
widely reported.

An adult FRANKLIN'S GULL was found at Back River, Baltimore Co, MD on Apr
20.  A LITTLE GULL in breeding plumage was seen on Hart-Miller Island on Apr
18. Hundreds of BONAPARTE'S GULLS are at Back River. A third year LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULL was there on Apr 20.

A ROYAL TERN flew past Fletcher's Boathouse on the Potomac, Washington, DC
on Apr 19. A COMMON TERN was on Diamond Pt, Back River, on Apr 14.

A EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE* was seen at a feeder in Fruitland, Wicomico Co, MD
on Apr 15. 

A SNOWY OWL was spotted in the Drexel Woods townhomes in Catonsville,
Baltimore Co, MD on Apr 16. A SHORT-EARED OWL was found at Griffith Neck,
Dorchester Co, MD on Apr 16.

As migration progresses, first-of-season reports flood the list-serves and
hotlines. Birders took particular note across the region of CHIMNEY SWIFTS,
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, vireos, especially BLUE-HEADED, swallows and
HOUSE WREN. CLIFF SWALLOW was noted at Oxbow Lake in Anne Arundel Co, MD and
along the Patuxent River near Mt.
Calvert, Prince Georges Co, MD. All six of the regularly occurring swallow
species were seen at Violette's Lock on the C&O Canal on Apr 20.

COMMON RAVEN continue to wander from traditional areas; a single bird was
seen at Oxbow Lake on Apr 16 and two were there on Apr 18.

RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS are on their way out of area but birders saw 50 on Apr
19 at Rockburn Park, Howard Co, MD.

Warbler sightings continued to multiply. Among the sites with the most
reports were Huntley Meadows and Dyke Marsh in Fairfax Co, VA; Hughes Hollow
and Little Bennett Regional Park in Montgomery Co, MD; and Rock Creek Park
in Washington, DC. Five SWAINSON'S WARBLERS were heard and one was
photographed along Jericho Ditch, in Great Dismal Swamp NWR, Suffolk, VA on
Apr 18.

Two VESPER SPARROWS were found in Southwest Area Park, Baltimore Co, MD on
Apr 19. Another VESPER SPARROW was at the intersection of Wilt Rd and
Wakefield Valley Rd, Carroll Co, MD on Apr 19. A LINCOLN'S SPARROW was seen
near milepost 163 on the C&O Canal on Apr 19.

Unusual inside the Beltway, an EASTERN MEADOWLARK was observed in Ben
Brenman Park, Alexandria, VA on Apr 19.

Winter lingerers included several reports of RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, the largest
count was 230 in the Main Meadow at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax Co, VA on
Apr 19. Eight PURPLE FINCHES stopped in a Bethesda, Montgomery Co, MD yard
on Apr 19. Nineteen WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were seen on Hillandale Rd
between Fountainhead Rd and Briarcliff Dr in Washington Co, MD on Apr 19.
Another WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL was in Centennial Park, Howard Co, MD on Apr
15.

Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the MDOsprey, VA-Bird,
and Delaware list servers.  

The Audubon Sanctuary Shop (301-652-3606,
http://www.audubonnaturalist.org/default.asp?page=511) is an excellent
source for guidebooks and many other nature-related titles. 

To report bird sightings, e-mail your report to 
or call 301-652-1088 and select 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 records committee.