-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Cordle [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 10:53 AM
To: 
Subject: DC Area, 6/22/10

Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist 
Date:               6/22/2010
Coverage:           MD/DC/VA/DE 
Telephone:          301-652-1088 option 1 
Reports (voice):    301-652-1088 option 2 
        (email):     
Compiler:           Joe Coleman
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, June 22, at 10 AM.

Birds of interest this week include NORTHERN BOBWHITE, GREATER SHEARWATER,
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, LEAST BITTERN, TRICOLORED
HERON, MISSISSIPPI KITE, KING RAIL, COMMON MOORHEN, AMERCIAN COOT, SANDHILL
CRANE, BLACK-NECKED STILT, AMERICAN AVOCET, UPLAND SANDPIPER, RED KNOT,
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, CHUCK-WILL'S WIDOW, sparrows, DICKCISSEL, and BOBOLINK.

Two NORTHERN BOBWHITES were found at Blackwater NWR, Dorchester Co, MD on
June 15.

A SHEARWATER, probably a GREATER, and likely ill or injured, was floating
among the swimmers at the public beach at Chincoteague NWR, Accomack Co, VA
on June 18.

A WILSON'S STORM-PETREL was seen at the Ocean City Inlet, Worcester Co, MD
on June 15; a few were also seen there on June 17.

An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was seen at Blackwater NWR, Dorchester Co, MD on
June 15.

A LEAST BITTERN was seen June 16 in Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, Anne Arundel
Co, MD during a kayak trip down the Patuxent River. A LEAST BITTERN was seen
June 17 flying over Kelso Dr in Essex, Carroll Co, MD.

One TRICOLORED HERON was seen at Poplar Island, Talbot Co, MD on June
15 and two were there on June 16.

A sub-adult MISSISSIPPI KITE was seen June 17 soaring above the bottomland
forests along the Pocomoke River in both Wicomico and Worcester Counties,
MD.

A COMMON MOORHEN was seen from June 16 through the 19th in Smith's Pond in
the Swoope area of Augusta Co, VA. An AMERCIAN COOT was found on the weekly
walk at Dyke Marsh, Fairfax Co, VA this past Sunday.

Two SANDHILL CRANES were relocated on Ben's Point Rd in Queen Anne's Co, MD
near Church Hill on June 19 and again on June 20. As a consolation prize for
not finding the Sandhill Cranes, several KING RAILS were heard at the end of
Ben's Point Rd on June 21.

A BLACK-NECKED STILT on nest was seen this past week at Little Creek WMA,
DE.

An AMERICAN AVOCET was seen on Poplar Island, Talbot Co, MD on June 15.
 
An UPLAND SANDPIPER was found on the south side of Oland Rd in Frederick Co,
MD on June 19 between New Design Rd and Buckeystown Pike and about a mile
from Lilypons. It was also seen on the 20th and 21st.
Both SAVANNAH and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were found in the same area.

Four RED KNOTS were seen at Cape Henlopen SP, DE on June 20.

A nice surprise during a breeding bird survey in Dinwiddie Co, VA on June 18
was a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO calling from a wooded area adjacent to a large
field along Rte 642, just south of its intersection with Rte 613. A
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was seen June 19 at Chino Farms, New Kent Co, MD.
Two CHUCK-WILL'S WIDOW were seen and heard June 18 at the parking entrance
to the wildlife loop at Chincoteague NWR, Accomack Co, VA.
Two were also heard on Tilghman Neck Road, Queen Anne's Co, MD the night of
June 18.

Carroll Co, MD fields were again good places to look for grassland birds
this past week with a report on June 17 of a VESPER SPARROW along Harney Rd
in the large fields just west of Monocacy River and another along Harney Rd
just east of Bullfrog Rd. A juvenile SAVANNAH SPARROW was seen June 16 along
Ebenezer Church Rd, near Bluemont, Loudoun Co, VA along with a few
GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS. 
 
Two DICKCISSELS were singing on June 17 along Sharrett Road in a field
opposite white trailers, midway between Rte 194 and Crouse Mill Rd in
Carroll Co, MD. On June 19 there was a DICKCISSEL on Bastable Mill Rd, Rte
603, about a 1/4 mile from the Rte 28 intersection in Fauquier Co, VA.
Another DICKCISSEL pair was discovered in lower Delaware at Fleatown Rd and
Clendaniel Pond Rd near Milford.

A couple of BOBOLINKS continued to be seen and heard this past week in the
fields along Ebenezer Church Rd a few miles from Bluemont in western Loudoun
Co, VA. On June 16 in the hay fields near Smith's Pond in the Swoope area of
Augusta Co, VA there was a small flock of BOBOLINKS. Two probable female
BOBOLINKS were seen in western Fairfax Co, VA at the Hunter-Hacor tract in
the large field SW of the gas pumping station.  They can be reached by
walking west from 6002 Pleasant Valley Dr along the gravel road under the
power lines.

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