-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Cordle [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 11:59 AM
To: 
Subject: DC Area, 8/18/09

Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist 
Date:               8/18/09
Coverage:           MD/DC/VA/DE 
Telephone:          301-652-1088 option 1 
Reports (voice):    301-652-1088 option 2 
        (email):     
Compiler:           Lou DeMouy
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, August 18, at 9:00 am.

Top bird this week is ROSEATE SPOONBILL* in DE.

Other birds of interest include ducks, WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, NORTHERN
GANNET, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, WHITE IBIS, MISSISSIPPI KITE, COMMON
MOORHEN, shorebirds, terns, MONK PARAKEET*, LEAST FLYCATCHER, LOGGERHEAD
SHRIKE, PURPLE MARTIN, and BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH. 

The ROSEATE SPOONBILL* seen intermittently the last few weeks on Fenwick
Island, Sussex Co, DE was reported again from the vicinity of the Catch 54
Restaurant on Aug 14 and 15.

Eight NORTHERN SHOVELERS showed in Shearness Pool at Bombay Hook NWR on Aug
16. A RUDDY DUCK was spotted at Tuckahoe State Park, Queen Anne's Co, MD on
Aug 14. Other RUDDY DUCKS were at Hurlock Waste Water Treatment Plant,
Dorchester Co, MD, on Aug 15.

WILSON'S STORM PETRELS were spotted on Aug 13 offshore from Chincoteague
NWR, VA. A trip to Assateague Island, Worcester Co, MD, on Aug 14 reported
an immature NORTHERN GANNET on the water and WILSON'S STORM PETRELS in the
distant sky over the water.

An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was observed in the Little Blackwater River at
Seward, Dorchester Co, MD on Aug 14.

A juvenile WHITE IBIS was seen in the Ten Mile Creek area of Little Seneca
Creek Lake, Black Hill Regional Park, Montgomery Co, MD on Aug 16.

Three MISSISSIPPI KITES were seen over the Kings Park subdivision, Fairfax
Co, VA on Aug 13 and another was seen in the same area on Aug 15. A
MISSISSIPPI KITE was flying southwest of the intersection of routes 29 and
215, Fauquier Co, VA on Aug 16. 

A COMMON MOORHEN was found at Swan Creek, Anne Arundel Co, MD, on Aug 12.

There are many shorebird reports. Notable locations for their migration
include the Delaware refuges, especially Bombay Hook and Prime Hook NWRs and
Taylor's Gut, Skimmer Island in Ocean City, MD, and the ORV zone on
Assateague Island, MD. Over 100 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS were seen on Aug 16
adjacent to Edgewater Farm Lane, Kent Co, DE. A single BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER
was on the south part of the polo fields along Hughes Road, Montgomery Co,
MD on Aug 17. An AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER was spotted along Route 9 between
Leipsic and Little Creek, Kent Co, DE on Aug 11. Four UPLAND SANDPIPERS were
seen at the turf farm south of Hurlock Waste Water Treatment Plant,
Dorchester Co, MD on Aug 15. UPLAND SANDPIPER reports have also come from
the Cartanza Road area, near Route 9, Kent Co, DE with sightings on Aug 11,
15, and 16. An UPLAND SANDPIPER was seen southwest of the intersection of
Route 85 and Oland Road, Frederick Co, MD on Aug 17. A HUDSONIAN GODWIT was
in the south end of Shearness Pool, Bombay Hook NWR on Aug 14. Two MARBLED
GODWITS were seen at Mispillion Harbor, Sussex Co, DE on Aug 13. Twenty-six
PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were among shorebirds at Rigby's Folly/Ferry Neck, Field
1, Talbot Co, MD on Aug 11. A BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was reported along
Route 9 between Leipsic and Little Creek, Kent Co, DE on Aug 11. A RUFF was
spotted next to Broadkill Beach Road, Sussex Co, DE on Aug 13. Three
WILSON'S PHALAROPES and two RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were reported from a trip
to Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore Co, MD on Aug 17, which included many
shorebird sightings.

SANDWICH TERNS were seen at Bayside at Assateague Island, Worcester Co, MD
on Aug 13 and 14 as were LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS. A GULL-BILLED TERN was
spotted next to Route 9 between Leipsic and Little Creek, Kent Co, DE on Aug
11. A BLACK TERN was spotted close to the river in Williamsport, Washington
Co, MD on Aug 17.

A possibly wild MONK PARAKEET* was seen at the Education Center at Woodland
Beach, Kent Co, DE on Aug 16.

A LEAST FLYCATCHER was reported from a trip to Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore
Co, MD on Aug 17.

Sightings of the LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE continued with reports on Aug 13, 14, 15,
and 17 near the new Hagerstown Shopping Center west of I-81 and the area of
a drainage pond, Washington Co, MD.

A flock of PURPLE MARTINS was seen on Aug 12 north of Mt. Vernon, VA,
heading down the Potomac River. The roost of PURPLE MARTINS in Chantilly,
Fairfax Co, VA had a reported 600 to 1,000 of these birds on Aug 15.

A BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH was found at Southern Park baseball field, off Route
257 on Wilson Road, Charles Co, MD on Aug 15.

Scattered warbler sightings are beginning across our region and should
increase in the coming weeks.

Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the MDOsprey, VA-Bird,
and DE-Birds 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