> Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist > Date: 2/17/98 > Coverage: MD/DC/VA/DE > Telephone: 301-652-1088 > Reports (voice): 301-652-9188 x3101 > (fax): 301-951-7179 > (email): voice@capaccess.org > (deadline): midnight mondays > Compiler: Jane Hill > Sponsor: Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central > Atlantic States (independent of NAS!) > Transcriber: Steve Cordle (scordle@capaccess.org) > > !!Check www.capaccess.org/snr/vguide.txt for guidelines on > reporting your sightings!! > > This is the Voice of the Naturalist, a service of the > Audubon Naturalist Society. This tape was made Tue, Feb 17, at > 3:30 pm. Please consider joining the Society, especially if you > are a regular user of the Voice (Indiv.$30; Family $40; Nature > Steward $60; Audubon Advocate $100). The membership number is > above and the address is 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, MD > 20815. > > Top birds this week are: BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, BLUE-GRAY > GNATCATCHER, RED CROSSBILL, and PAINTED BUNTING in VA; EARED > GREBE, EURASIAN WIGEON, COMMON REDPOLL, and RED and WHITE-WINGED > CROSSBILL in MD; ROSS' GOOSE, Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, > EURASIAN WIGEON, SHORT-EARED OWL, and RED and WHITE-WINGED > CROSSBILL in DE. > > Other birds of interest include: NORTHERN GANNET, LESSER > BLACK-BACKED GULL, REDHEAD, COMMON and KING EIDER, HARLEQUIN > DUCK, scoters, RING-NECKED DUCK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, RED KNOT, > PURPLE SANDPIPER, and SNOW BUNTING. > > Please be aware that CapAccess, the Voice's email server, > was experiencing technical difficulties over the last few > days, so some of your bird reports were not received. > > An immature BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was seen on CBBT Is #4, > Northampton Co, VA, on Feb 17. > > A male, Eurasian form of GREEN-WINGED TEAL was found in Bear > Swamp, Bombay Hook NWR, DE, on Feb 11. A male EURASIAN WIGEON > was seen again in West Ocean City Pond, Worcester Co, MD, on Feb > 10 and 14; the bird sometimes lurks in woody vegetation, where it > may be difficult to see. Another EURASIAN WIGEON was spotted > from the observation tower over the south impoundment at Little > Creek Wildlife Area, DE, on Feb 16. > > The EARED GREBE reported last week from Pt Lookout, St > Mary's Co, MD, was seen again on Feb 10. It was near pilings at > the point, on the bay side. > > An adult ROSS' GOOSE was found in a flock of several > thousand Snow Geese in a field alongside US Rt 113, about 1 mi > south of the intersection with DE Rt 9 [DeLorme Pg 52, A2], on > Feb 15. > > A SHORT-EARED OWL was spotted along Port Mahon Rd, Little > Creek Wildlife Area, DE, at dusk on Feb 14, and again at 2 p.m. > on Feb 16. An adult, light-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was spotted > at the Howard County Landfill, MD [DeLorme Pg 57, B5], on Feb 14; > access to the landfill is restricted, so try looking for the bird > from Alpha Ridge Pk, which is off Rt 99, north of I-70, or try > along nearby Marriottsville Rd. Another ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, also > an adult, light morph, was spotted about 1/4 mi north of the > southern end of Sanders Ln, Garrett Co, MD [DeLorme Pg 64, A1], > on Feb 14; search the open fields from this point northward on > Sanders to the sharp, westward bend in the road. Two more ROUGH- > LEGGED HAWKs, one of them a dark morph, were found at Deal Is > WMA, Somerset Co, MD, on Feb 16. > > Crossbills continue to be seen widely across our region, > with reports from western MD to northern VA and central MD, to > the DE coast. The western MD sightings included at least 30 > WHITE-WINGED and a single RED CROSSBILL feeding high in hemlock > trees at Swallow Falls St Pk [DeLorme Pg 65, D5], and a flyby > WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL at New Germany St Pk [DeLorme Pg 66, B2], > both in Garrett Co, on Feb 15. > > In northern VA, up to 20 RED CROSSBILLs were seen in pines > along the entrance road to Brambleton Regional Pk, Loudoun Co, on > Feb 11; this spot is on Rt 772 (Ryan Rd), just west of Rt 659 > (Belmont Ridge Rd) [DeLorme Pg 76, A1; ADC Maps 29-30, 11 K,A]. > Mornings before 10 a.m. seem to be the best time to look for the > birds at Brambleton; the crunching sounds as they feed in pine > cones may be the first clue to the crossbills' presence. > > In central MD, Pine Knob Rd, Liberty Reservoir, Carroll Co > [DeLorme Pg 57, A5] continues to be a reliable crossbill spot, > with sightings from Feb 12 through 15. Many of the reports were > of flyover flocks of undetermined species composition, but > sightings of identified birds included up to 30 RED CROSSBILLs on > Feb 12, and a single, female RED CROSSBILL Feb 13. Twelve RED > CROSSBILLs and 12 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL were observed there on > Feb 14. Again, mornings seem to be a good time to search. > > Also in central MD, 18 RED CROSSBILLs were noted at Broad > Creek Memorial Boy Scout Reservation, Harford Co [DeLorme Pg 76, > A3], the morning of Feb 15. And 13 RED CROSSBILLs were found on > Gunpowder Rd, 0.5 mi north of Beckleysville Rd, in Prettyboy > Reservoir, NW Baltimore Co [DeLorme Pg. 74, B3], the same day. > > On the DE coast, an adult female WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL was > seen at Cape Henlopen St Pk, Feb 15; it was found beyond the gate > at the parking lot that is across the road from the parking area > for the Great Dune Trail. Also at Cape Henlopen were > approximately 20 RED CROSSBILLs, near the campgrounds on Feb 14, > and seven were at this spot the following day. > > A flyby flock of about 15 COMMON REDPOLLs was noted at New > Germany St Pk, MD, on Feb 15. > > A PAINTED BUNTING was still frequenting a feeder at the > Holiday Travel Park, south of Virginia Beach, VA [DeLorme Pg 35, > B6-7], on Feb 17. Call the VA Birdline, at 757-238-9145, for > details and directions. > > A BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER continues to hang on at Dyke Marsh, > Alexandria, VA, with the most recent report for Feb 15. > > A single REDHEAD was seen at West Ocean City Pond, Worcester > Co, MD, on Feb 10; two REDHEADs were found in Prospect Bay, at > the eastern end of the Horsehead Wetlands Ctr, Graysonville, > Queen Annes Co, MD, on Feb 10; and a single REDHEAD was spotted > at Silver Lake, Rehoboth Beach, DE, on Feb 15. At least 200 > RING-NECKED DUCKs were noted at Prime Hook NWR, DE, on Feb 11. > > Ocean City Inlet, Worcester Co, MD, continues to provide > excellent viewing of eiders and HARLEQUIN DUCKs, with reports for > Feb 10 and 11, and 14 through 16. Reports of COMMON EIDER ranged > from 7 to 18 birds; KING EIDER, 1 to 8 birds; and HARLEQUIN DUCK, > 8 to 12 birds, including a number of adult males. Also noted at > the inlet during the week were at least two RED KNOTs, some > PURPLE SANDPIPERs, all three scoter species, and a flyby NORTHERN > GANNET. > > The CBBT islands also continue to be good birding spots, > with the following sightings for Feb 17: seven HARLEQUINs, eight > COMMON EIDERs, and a single KING EIDER on Is #2; 14 HARLEQUINs, > nine COMMON EIDERs, and two KING EIDERS on Is #3; and seven > HARLEQUINs, 13 COMMON EIDERs, and three KING EIDERs on Is #4. > > Georgetown Reservoir, NW DC, was hosting two adult, > 77winter-plumaged LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLs on the afternoon of > Feb 16. > > A flock of at least 40 SNOW BUNTINGs was seen at Cape > Henlopen St Pk, DE, on Feb 14 and 15. > > A pelagic trip will depart VA Beach, VA, on Feb 21. Call > Brian Patteson, at 703-765-4484, for more information, or visit > the website www.patteson.com. > > There will be a reservations-only trip to Woodbridge Refuge > and Leesylvania St Pk, VA, on Sat, Feb 21; call a leader, Jim > Waggener of Woodbridge, at 703-497-0506, or Charlie Creighton of > Lorton, at 703-339-6671, to secure your place. > > To report bird sightings you can FAX your report to ANS at > 301-951-7179, or call 301-652-9188, extension 3101 for a > dedicated answering machine at all hours. Internet users can > email reports to: voice@capaccess.org. Thank you for calling and > GOOD BIRDING. >