------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: scordle@capaccess.org To: birdeast@listserv.arizona.edu Subject: DC Area, 12/29/98 Date sent: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 21:38:21 GMT Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist Date: 12/29/98 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.sitesbysteve.com/nvbc/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 Tues, Dec 29, 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 birds this week are: NORTHERN GOSHAWK and ORANGE- CROWNED WARBLER in DC; ICELAND GULL in MD; and BLACK-HEADED GULL and GLAUCOUS GULL in DE. Other birds of interest include: TUNDRA SWAN; HOODED MERGANSER; AMERICAN AVOCET; BONAPARTE'S and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLs; FORSTER'S TERN; BALD EAGLE; COOPER'S and RED-TAILED HAWKs; MERLIN; PEREGRINE FALCON; RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH; WINTER WREN; AMERICAN PIPIT; PINE WARBLER; LINCOLN'S, FOX, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWs; and RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Birders in DC turned up some interesting songbirds, water birds, and raptors this week. From Dec 26 through 28, pine trees around the Navy and Marine Memorial, at LBJ Grove, near the Columbia Is marina, held as many as two ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERs and six PINE WARBLERs. A single RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH was seen there Dec 26, and a WINTER WREN was turned up Dec 27 and 28. This spot, which is accessible from both the north- and south- bound lanes of the GW Pkway, is across the Boundary Channel from the Pentagon. Raptor finds in DC this week were varied, with representatives of the eagles, accipiters, buteos, and falcons all making appearances. The Mall made for especially interesting viewing. Highlights included an immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK, seen Dec 26 and 28. At the Dec 28 sighting, the bird was first seen flying into trees in front of the Natl Mus of Natural History. It then flew to trees on the south side the Mall, west of the Freer Gallery of Art. Birders are urged to examine any accipiter found on the Mall closely, because a COOPER'S HAWK was also seen there, Dec 26 and 29. At the eastern end of the Mall, a PEREGRINE FALCON was seen perched on the side of the US Capitol dome, Dec 29. A PEREGRINE FALCON was also spotted pursuing and catching a Rock Dove over the AFL-CIO building, near Lafayette Square, 16th and I Sts, NW, DC, on Dec 23. The falcon then flew two blocks to the top of the New Executive Office Building, where it ate the dove before flying off in pursuit of a RED-TAILED HAWK. Other falcon finds in DC included a MERLIN, seen again at Hains Pt, Dec 28. This bird was perched in a dead tree on the golf course. Also perched in a tree at the golf course that day was an adult BALD EAGLE. Among the waterbird finds in DC was a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, seen at Georgetown Reservoir, NW, on Dec 26. Several other interesting gulls were seen outside DC, in MD and DE. In MD, two ICELAND GULLs, one a first-winter and the other an adult, were spotted on the lake at the visitor's center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Prince George's Co, at about 2 pm on Dec 26. Also there that day was an adult LESSER BLACK- BACKED GULL. Farther afield, a BLACK-HEADED GULL was spotted among thousands of BONAPARTE'S GULLs and FORSTER'S TERNs at Indian River Inlet, DE, on Dec 23, and a first-winter GLAUCOUS GULL was noted at Cape Henlopen St Pk, DE, the same day. Raptor sightings near but not in DC included a PEREGRINE FALCON, seen again on the USA Today building, Rosslyn, VA, on Dec 27. It was perched on the "Y" of the building name. Note that searches for this bird are often unsuccessful. The building is lit at night, so the bird probably does not use the letters as a night roost. Instead, they may be a regular but infrequent stop for the bird as it patrols its hunting territory. And a MERLIN was seen again in Silver Spring, Montgomery Co, MD, on Dec 28. One hundred four TUNDRA SWANs were seen at Mason Neck NWR, Fairfax Co, VA, on Dec 22. Twelve TUNDRA SWANs were spotted flying over a residence in Great Falls, also in Fairfax Co, VA, on Dec 24. As small ponds and lakes froze over this week, waterfowl concentrated on the larger lakes. One of these spots was Lake Brittle, in Fauquier Co, VA [DeLorme Pg 75, B-C7], where 174 HOODED MERGANSERs were congregating Dec 26. This lake is just south of US Rts 15/29, NE of Warrenton. On the DE coast, AMERICAN AVOCETs continued to hold on, with 39 birds counted at Kitts Hummock, SE of Dover AFB, on the Bombay Hook Christmas Count, Dec 27. Sparrow reports included a LINCOLN'S SPARROW, spotted at Dyke Marsh, Alexandria, VA, Dec 25. A group of counters on the Manassas/Bull Run, VA, Christmas Bird Count, Dec 27, tallied 21 FOX SPARROWs in an area that included Manassas Battlefield Natl Pk. Record numbers of both FOX and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWs, and AMERICAN PIPITs, were tallied on the Bombay Hook Christmas Count, also held Dec 27. Finally, a pair of RUSTY BLACKBIRDs was spotted at Lock 6, C&O Canal, Montgomery Co, MD, on Dec 27. Upcoming pelagics in our region depart VA Beach, VA, in Jan and Feb. Spaces remain on the Jan 23 and Feb 6 and 20 trips. Call Brian Patteson, at 703-765-4484, to reserve your spot. It is still Christmas Bird Count season. For a list of local counts, see p. 9 of the December Audubon Naturalist News; or check the ANS web site, at www.AudubonNaturalist.org (click on "What's New"). Birders of all skill levels are welcome on all counts, so don't hesitate to call a compiler and experience the fun and rewards of monitoring our winter birds. Some of the upcoming counts are: TUES, Dec 29: OCEAN CITY, MD; and WED, Dec 30: SOUTH DORCHESTER CO (BLACKWATER) MD; compiler for both these counts is Chan Robbins (Laurel); call him at 301-725-1176 h), or 301-497-5641 (w). SAT, Jan 2: CALMES NECK, VA; call compiler Frances Endicott (Boyce), at 540-837-1471. SUN, Jan 3: SUGARLOAF MTN, MD; compilers, Gary Nelson (DC) and Rob Gibbs (Gaithersburg); call Gary at 202-686-7062 (h) or 703-558-4700 (w); or Rob at 301-253-6903. FT BELVOIR, VA; call compiler David Abbott (Ashburn), at 703-729-7036. To report bird sightings, you can FAX your report to ANS at 301-951-7179, or email it to voice@capaccess.org. You may also call 301-652-9188, extension 3101, for a dedicated answering machine at all hours. Please post email reports before midnight Monday, and be sure to include your name and Tuesday morning phone number. Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING. =============== Norm Saunders Colesville, MD osprey@ari.net