-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Cordle [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 8:47 AM
To:
Subject: DC Area, 3/06/12
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 3/06/2012
Coverage: MD/DC/VA/DE/WV panhandle
Telephone: 301-652-1088 option 1
Reports, comments, questions:
(e-mail):
(voice): 301-652-1088 option 2
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 $50; Family $65; Nature Steward $100; Audubon Advocate
$200). 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, March 6 at 7:30 AM.
Top birds this week include WESTERN GREBE* in DE and VIRGINIA'S
WARBLER* in MD.
Other birds of interest include waterfowl, WHITE IBIS, OSPREY, GOLDEN EAGLE,
SANDHILL CRANE, AMERICAN WOODCOCK, gulls, SNOWY OWL, SHORT-EARED OWL,
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, LARK SPARROW, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, and ORCHARD ORIOLE.
The VIRGINIA'S WARBLER* continued to be seen at Pickering Creek Audubon
Center, Talbot Co, MD during the week. To find the bird, take the gravel
entrance road into Pickering Creek Audubon and park in the lot on the left;
take the trail that heads towards the impoundments and begin looking in the
bushes on both sides of the path in both scrubby fields. Pickering Creek has
asked that the following practices be adopted immediately by those searching
for the bird: 1. In general, do what you can to minimize the chaos and
confusion for the bird due to your searching. 2. In particular - please
respect the fact that the habitat of the field where the bird has been seen
is a warm season grass meadow disrupted only by a minimal set of deer
trails. This meadow has not previously been tramped down by human traffic,
and it would be best to keep it that way. Therefore, birders are asked to do
their searching through use of existing mown trails, driveways, mowed
fields, and dormant agriculture lands, but are asked to NOT trample through
the warm season grassy meadows. Such trampling is not likely to produce the
bird, and will likely result in the bird leaving the entire area.
There is a secondhand report that the WESTERN GREBE* was seen again on Mar 3
at the ferry landing in Lewes, Sussex Co, DE.
The seasons are certainly in transition and there were many signs of spring.
AMERICAN WOODCOCK, TREE SWALLOWS, and FOX SPARROWS were widely noted as
first-of-season across our area. Close-in spots for WOODCOCK included Hughes
Hollow and Sycamore Landing Road in Montgomery Co, MD and Huntley Meadows
Park in Fairfax Co, VA. Among nearby sites for TREE SWALLOWS were Kingman
Island in the Anacostia River, Hughes Hollow, and several spots in the
Northern Virginia suburbs.
There were many reports of migrating waterfowl this week. Three GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and a CACKLING GOOSE were within the massive flock of
SNOW GEESE to the west of Seaford, DE on Mar 1. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED
GOOSE and a CACKLING GOOSE were found along Belvoir Road, Fauquier Co, VA on
Mar 4.
The Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was found at Lilypons, Frederick Co,
MD on Mar 2.
An adult WHITE IBIS was seen along Riley Roberts Road, Deal Island WMA,
Somerset Co, MD on Mar 1 and 2.
OSPREY returned to Jug Bay on the Patuxent River in southern MD in late Feb
and were noted throughout the week across the area. An adult GOLDEN EAGLE
flew north over Swan Harbor, Harford Co, MD on Mar 5. A PEREGRINE FALCON
continues at the Skyline Office Complex, Fairfax Co, VA.
There were two SANDHILL CRANES in a field near the intersection of Gorman
and Murray Hill Rds, Howard Co, MD on Feb 28 and Mar 5.
An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was seen on the Susquehanna River at Lapidum,
Harford Co, MD on Mar 5. Two adult BLACK-HEADED GULLS were at the end of Big
Stone Beach Rd, Kent Co, DE on Mar 5. An immature GLAUCOUS GULL was at the
marina overlook at Occoquan Bay NWR, Prince William Co, VA on Mar 4.
There is a second hand report on Mar 5 of a possible SNOWY OWL in Severna
Park, Anne Arundel Co, MD. Two SHORT-EARED OWLS were observed along Bull
Frog Rd about a half mile from Baumgardner Rd, Frederick Co, MD on Mar 4.
A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was found in E. A. Vaughn WMA-North near the vineyard
along the entrance road on Mar 2. The LARK SPARROW near Pumphouse #2 at
Assateague SP, Worcester Co, MD, was seen again on Mar
1 and 2. A LARK SPARROW was spotted on the River Trail at Shenandoah River
SP, Warren Co, VA on Mar 4.
In addition to reports of RUSTY BLACKBIRDS across the region, three BREWER'S
BLACKBIRDS were seen in a field along Rt 620 southwest of Wakefield, Sussex
Co, VA on Mar 4. A possible ORCHARD ORIOLE at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax
Co, VA on Mar 5 would be an exceptionally early arrival if confirmed.
Most of this week's reports have been gleaned from the MDOsprey, VA-Bird,
West Virginia Birding List, and DE-Birds list servers.
The Audubon Sanctuary Shop (301-652-3606, http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org,
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. 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
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