> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Cordle [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
> Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2006 9:04 PM
> To: 
> Subject: DC Area, 1/31/06
> 
> 
> Hotline:            Voice of the Naturalist
> Date:               1/31/2006
> Coverage:           MD/DC/VA/DE
> Telephone:          301-652-1088 option 1
> Reports (voice):    301-652-1088 option 2
>         (email):     
>      (deadline):    midnight Mondays
> Compiler:           Lydia Schindler
> 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 tape was made Tuesday, Jan 31, at 7 p.m.
> 
> Top birds this week are AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, RUFF, and 
> RAZORBILL in MD and *SNOWY OWL, *ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, 
> *PINE GROSBEAK, and RED CROSSBILL in VA. 
> 
> Other birds of interest include GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, 
> ROSS'S GOOSE, EURASIAN TEAL, EURASIAN WIGEON, and other 
> waterfowl, RED-NECKED GREBE, GREAT CORMORANT, raptors 
> including GOLDEN EAGLE, KING RAIL, GLAUCOUS and other GULLS, 
> SHORT-EARED OWL, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, BROWN-HEADED 
> NUTHATCH, ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, and YELLOW-THROATED 
> WARBLERS, sparrows, and PURPLE FINCHES.  
> 
> AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS continue at Blackwater NWR, 
> Dorchester Co, MD, with reports of three birds seen again on 
> Jan 27 and 29. The pelicans favor a mudbar on the Blackwater 
> River towards the end of the Wildlife Drive.
> 
> A RUFF was discovered Jan 29 east of Bestpitch, Dorchester 
> Co, where it was photographed as it foraged in a flooded 
> field along Griffith Neck Rd. Attempts to relocate it later 
> that day and the next day were not successful, but it was 
> back in that same field on Jan 31. 
> 
> A RAZORBILL was spotted at Ocean City Inlet, Worcester Co, 
> MD, on Jan 29. 
> 
> The SNOWY OWL discovered Jan 23 at Dulles Airport, Loudoun 
> Co, VA, was viewed by many delighted birders, and 
> photographers, throughout the week. Sometimes the owl has 
> been seen at close-range, sometimes in the distance; it 
> perches on light poles, signs, and airplane tails. The best 
> (and safest) viewing is probably from a 3-story public 
> parking garage on the corner of Aviation Dr and Propeller Ct; 
> this can be accessed from the Airport Services exit off the 
> Dulles Toll Rd. A scope is helpful. The Dulles fields also 
> hold SHORT-EARED OWL and NORTHERN HARRIER.
> 
> The *ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER in Richmond, VA, was seen again 
> Jan 24 and 27;  it frequents the train yard just south of the 
> Richmond floodwall along the southern bank of the James River. 
> 
> A PINE GROSBEAK visited a feeder in Hampton, VA, on Jan 27, 
> and made a split-second reappearance on Jan 29.
> 
> RED CROSSBILLS continue in Highland Co, VA, near the Augusta 
> Co line (DeLorme 65, B 7). Two females were seen during a 
> chilly sunrise Jan 28, again along US Rte 250, just west of 
> the Civil War site known as the Confederate Breastworks. 
> (This area is at a hairpin turn, but a wide shoulder on the 
> north side of the road makes it easy to park.)  
> 
> The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at Huntley Meadows Park, 
> Fairfax Co, VA, was spotted as recently as Jan 28, asleep 
> amidst CANADA GEESE. That same morning, a GREATER 
> WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was again present at Colonial Farm Park 
> in Accokeek, Prince George's Co, MD; on Jan 29, the goose was 
> in a small fenced field near the park buildings. A GREATER 
> WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was photographed Jan 29 in Loudoun Co, 
> VA, and refound Jan 30; it was at a sod farm near South 
> Riding, by a pond on Middlesex Drive, just off Pleasant Valley Rd.

> 
> On Jan 29, a ROSS'S GOOSE was identified at Blackwater NWR, 
> near the beginning of the Wildlife Drive.
> 
> The drake EURASIAN WIGEON was still at the Eagle's Nest Golf 
> Course south of Ocean City as of Jan 28. The drake EURASIAN 
> WIGEON at Horsehead Wetlands Center, Queen Anne's Co, MD, was 
> relocated several times through Jan 28, but was not found Jan 
> 29. A male EURASIAN WIGEON at Ridgeway Park, off Rte 258 in 
> Hampton, VA, was reported again Jan 28.
> 
> A EURASIAN (COMMON) TEAL was seen off and on at Huntley 
> Meadows through Jan 30. 
> 
> On Jan 28, Indian River Inlet, DE, hosted a female COMMON EIDER.
> 
> A RED-NECKED GREBE was present at Horsehead on Jan 28 and 29.
> 
> A GREAT CORMORANT was noted at the Ocean City Inlet Jan 28 and 29.
> 
> BALD EAGLE pairs have been observed sitting at or near their 
> nests at several locations, including Sycamore Island in the 
> Potomac River, Montgomery Co, MD; on an island viewable from 
> the towpath upriver from Violette's Lock, Montgomery Co; and 
> at Scientists Cliffs in Calvert County, MD.
> 
> A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was found during the Harford Co (MD) 
> Mid-winter Count Jan 28; it was seen from Trappe Church Rd 
> outside of Churchville, between Rte 136 and E. Nobles Mill 
> Rd. The Frederick Co Mid-Winter Count turned up a 
> ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK between mileposts 43 and 44 on the C&O 
> Canal. A light-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was found Jan 28 in 
> Highland Co, near Snowy Mountain; it perched atop a tree 
> along Rte 642.  
> 
> On Jan 28, two GOLDEN EAGLES were again seen near Snowy 
> Mountain; they were observed from Rte 644. 
> 
> A MERLIN was found Jan 29 at the Fairlington Community 
> Center, Arlington Co, VA; it sat in a large oak between the 
> building and the playground. On Jan 29, a MERLIN perched atop 
> a bare tree at Lake Fairfax Park; it could be seen by looking 
> east from the bridge at the lake. On Jan 30, a MERLIN swooped 
> into a yard in Rockville, Montgomery Co, and took a dove. On 
> Jan 30, an adult MERLIN was in a tree on the golf course at 
> Algonkian Park in Loudoun Co, VA, where it was visible from the
road. 
> 
> Near sunset on Jan 27, a PEREGRINE FALCON flew over Rte 110 
> in Arlington, then over the Pentagon, heading toward DC. The 
> Ocean City PEREGRINE was seen on the water tower near the 
> Inlet Jan 29. 
> 
> A KING RAIL again put in an appearance at Occoquan Bay NWR, 
> Prince William Co, VA,  on Jan 28; it was at the marsh along 
> Charlie Rd. 
> 
> On Jan 26, a second-year GLAUCOUS GULL was found at Fort 
> McHenry in Baltimore; on Jan 27, the gull turned up near the 
> Chester Cove marina, at the east end of Thames St in Fells 
> Point. It was seen there again Jan 28 and 29.
> 
> North East Town Park, Cecil Co, MD, hosted a first-winter 
> ICELAND GULL and a LESSER-BLACK-BACKED GULL on Jan 25; the 
> ICELAND GULL was still present Jan 31.  
> 
> SHORT-EARED OWLS and NORTHERN HARRIERS were found again Jan 
> 27 along Crenshaw Road (Rte 624) at Rectortown, Fauquier Co, 
> VA, at both dawn and dusk. 
> 
> RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were seen in Weinberg Park in 
> Pasadena, northern Anne Arundel Co, MD, on Jan 27 and again Jan
28. 
> 
> BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES were briefly heard but not seen Jan 
> 28 in Calvert Co, MD, near the end of Lloyd Bowen Rd not far 
> from Jefferson Patterson Park.
> 
> An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen Jan 28 on private grounds 
> near Horsehead. A NASHVILLE WARBLER was seen Jan 25 and 26, 
> and again Jan 28, in Baltimore's Carroll Park; it favored the 
> hollies between the golf course and the new Gwynn Falls trail. 
> 
> A YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was back at a West Ocean City 
> feeder Jan 28. The YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER in Indian Head, 
> Charles Co, MD, visits the feeder daily. 
> 
> On Jan 28, Occoquan Bay NWR featured 9 species of SPARROW, 
> including VESPER, SAVANNAH, and FOX. On Jan 29, birders found 
> at least 3 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS at the Occoquan refuge.
> 
> Another bonus from the Frederick Co Mid-Winter count: a flock 
> of 21 PURPLE FINCHES.
> 
> See Life Paulagics will be running trips on Feb 25 and 26. 
> The Saturday trip will be a regular 12-hour offshore pelagic. 
> The Sunday trip will be an 8-hour inshore trip. For more 
> details, check their web site at paulagics.com or call
215-234-6805.
> 
> Brian Patteson, using his own new boat, the Stormy Petrel, 
> proposes running two, perhaps three, February pelagic trips 
> (Feb 11 [12] and Feb 18 [19], perhaps Feb 25 [26]) out of 
> Virginia Beach. For details, check the website at 
> www.seabirding.com, or phone 252-986-1363 to express your
interest.
> 
> Some of this week's reports have been gleaned from the 
> MDOSPREY, VA-Bird, and DE Birds list servers. 
> 
> Finding Birds in the National Capital Area by Claudia Wilds 
> is an excellent source of directions to many birding sites. 
> The ANS Bookstore (301-652-3606 or
> www.audubonnaturalist.org/cgi-bin/mesh/store) is an excellent 
> source for this and many other nature-related titles.
> 
> To report bird sightings, e-mail your report to 
>  But no photographs, please. You 
> may also report by calling 301-652-1088 and selecting 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 either the MD/DC Records Committee
> (www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html) or the VA Records Committee
> (www.virginiabirds.org)
>