(Fwd) DC Area, 11/3/98
Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Tue, 3 Nov 1998 18:53:22 -0500
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From: scordle@capaccess.org
To: birdeast@listserv.arizona.edu
Subject: DC Area, 11/3/98
Date sent: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 23:06:02 GMT
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 11/3/98
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: Lydia Schindler
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 on Tuesday, Nov
3, at 1:30 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,the address is 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase,
MD 20815, and the website is http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org.
Top bird this week is ROSS' GOOSE.
Other birds of interest include: RED-THROATED and COMMON
LOONS, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, BRANT and SNOW GOOSE, scoters,
VIRGINIA RAIL, AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, GOLDEN EAGLE, hawks
including NORTHERN GOSHAWK and MERLIN, HORNED LARK, COMMON RAVEN,
WINTER WREN, HERMIT THRUSH, AMERICAN PIPIT, OVENBIRD, sparrows,
SNOW BUNTING, and RUSTY BLACKBIRD.
A ROSS' GOOSE was found in a flock of SNOW GEESE at Bombay
Hook NWR, DE, on Nov 1. It was seen from the Bear Swamp Tower,
in the water near the tower. An immature BRANT was found at the
end of the Bear Swamp auto circuit, in a field on the left. At
least 30 BRANT were seen along Chincoteague Channel, Accomack Co,
Va, on Nov 2.
One or perhaps two RED-THROATED LOONS, along with 15 COMMON
LOONS, were reported from Tom's Cove, Chincoteague NWR, on Nov 1,
as were more than 75 SCOTERS, including SURF and BLACK. The two
species of LOONS and 32 BLACK SCOTERS were also reported from
Conowingo Dam, on the Harford-Cecil County line, MD, Nov 1.
An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was frequenting Chincoteague's
Swan Cove on Oct 31.
The VIRGINIA RAIL is still being seen in the Smithsonian
Institution's Enid Haupt Garden, near the Natl Museum of African
Art, SW DC, with the most recent report for Oct 30. And the
OVENBIRD reported last week was still there, too, just outside
the garden in the yews that line Independence Avenue.
Hawk watches have been busy. At Waggoner's Gap, near
Carlisle, PA, in addition to hundreds of RED-TAILED and RED-
SHOULDERED HAWKS and good numbers of other raptors over the
weekend, viewers tallied more than 4 dozen GOLDEN EAGLES and, on
Oct 29, 7 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS. Snicker's Gap Hawkwatch, on the
Loudoun-Clarke county line, VA, had a GOLDEN EAGLE on Nov 1 and a
GOSHAWK on Oct 30. A GOSHAWK was also reported from Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center, Prince George's Co, MD, on Oct 28. On
Nov 1, a MERLIN was spotted at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax Co,
VA, perched near the boardwalk before the first split.
Two COMMON RAVENS made an unexpected appearance at Conowingo
Dam, MD, on Oct 28. A pair of RAVENS was also reported on Nov 1
in Carroll County, in Morgan Run Natural Environmental Area, off
Bartholow Road near Route 97 (DeLorme 74 D1).
Wintering songbirds showed up at a variety of nearby
locations. In the Lilypons area, Frederick Co, Md, 5 FOX
SPARROWS and numerous WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, along with a WINTER
WREN, were seen on Nov 1 along Monocacy Bottom Road. On Oct 28,
SAVANNAH and VESPER SPARROWS were seen in fields along both New
Design Road and Lilypons Road; so were HORNED LARKS. On Nov 1
there was an AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER in the same fields. Hughes
Hollow, Montgomery Co, MD, hosted AMERICAN PIPITS and HERMIT
THRUSH, as well as flocks of up to 75 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS and a
dozen SNIPE on Oct 31 and Nov 1. FOX SPARROWS were also reported
from a back yard in Arlington, Va, on Oct 29 and 30, and VESPER
SPARROWS at Luckett's, Loudoun County, Va, on Oct 30.
The first reports of SNOW BUNTINGS came from two locations.
Two were spotted Oct 31 on Hart-Miller Island, Baltimore Co, MD,
and two birds were seen that same day on a private beach in
Calvert County, MD.
There will be a reservations-only trip to Eastern Neck NWR,
MD, and nearby areas on Sun, Nov 8; call the leader, Paul DuMont
of Arlington, at 703-931-8994, to reserve your spot. There will
be a reservations-only trip to Huntley Meadows Park, VA, on Sat
Nov 14. Make reservations with the leader, Bob Beard of
Arlington, at 703-534-3178. There will be a reservations-only
trip in Charles County, MD, on Sun, Nov 15. Call the leader,
George Jett of Waldorf, before 9 pm, at 301-843-3524.
To report bird sightings, you can fax your report to ANS at
301-951-7179, or email it to voice@capaccess.org. Please post
email reports before midnight Monday, and be sure to include your
name and Tuesday morning phone number. You may also report by
calling 301-652-9188, extension 3101, for a dedicated answering
machine at all hours. Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING.
===============
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
osprey@ari.net