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1 Sep Delaware Valley RBA, 1 SEPTEMBER 2010 [Stephen E Kacir ] 1 Sep HSR: Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch (01 Sep 2010) 17 Raptors ["Hawkcount.Org Reports" ] 1 Sep Fwd: HSR: Ashland Nature Center (01 Sep 2010) 11 Raptors [Cyrus Moqtaderi ] 1 Sep Primehook today [Charles Fullmer ] 1 Sep Ashland bird walk [joe sebastiani ] 1 Sep Cape Hawk Watch commences; Lark Sparrow @ Fort Miles [Jeffrey Gordon ] 31 Aug Buff-breasted Sandpipers north of Milford ["Bennett Chris (DNREC)" ] 31 Aug DOS Field Trip - Fall Migrants at White Clay Creek State Park, Sun. Sept 5 @ 8:00AM [Anthony Gonzon ] 30 Aug Hawk Watch Begins! ["sally o'byrne" ] 30 Aug Hawk Watch Begins! [sally o'byrne ] 30 Aug Merlin at Pennsville Post Office, Salem Co. NJ 08/30 [Jeff Kiger ] 30 Aug DE Seashore Park Royal Terns [Rachael Shapiro ] 30 Aug DOS Cape May trip, 9/11/10 [Derek Stoner ] 30 Aug Informal DVOC summer meeting this Thursday, September 2 ["F.Arthur McMorris" ] 30 Aug The LAST Pea Patch Heronry Survey ["Bennett Chris (DNREC)" ] 30 Aug Fall Whip-poor-will (UNCLASSIFIED) ["Moyer, Brian R Mr CIV USA ACSIM" ] 29 Aug Late August Migration Mish-mash [Derek Stoner ] 29 Aug Royal Terns, Dewey Beach; Rehoboth Beach bayside [Michael Bowen ] 29 Aug Fwd: chimney swifts ["sally o'byrne" ] 29 Aug Cuckoos for Cuckoos [Forrest Rowland ] 29 Aug More Migrants & other action this morning in Phillips Park, Newark [Alex Zorach ] 28 Aug 8/28- Black-Headed Gull, R-N Phal, MarbWit- Bombay Hook [Jeffery Davis ] 28 Aug Photo Study Of Birds At E.B.Forsythe NWR (Brigantine) And Bombay Hook NWR, August 26-27th, 2010 ["Howard B. Eskin" ] 28 Aug Hoopes' Reservoir [Andy Ednie ] 28 Aug Bombay Hook-- BH Gull, RN Phalarope [David Smith ] 28 Aug No Subject [Andrew Block ] 28 Aug Prime Hook morning... [Forrest Rowland ] 28 Aug A Kingdom of Kingbirds [Derek Stoner ] 28 Aug Chester Co., Bucktoe Creek Preserve [Joe Sebastiani ] 28 Aug Buff-breasted Sandpiper @ Fowler Beach [Jeffrey Gordon ] 27 Aug RBA: Birdline delaware, August 27th, 2010 [Andy Ednie ] 27 Aug Lum's Pond ["Michael C. Moore" ] 27 Aug Middle Run Birds and Butterflies [Derek Stoner ] 27 Aug Fort Mott SP, Salem Co., NJ 08/27 [Jeff Kiger ] 27 Aug Thompson's Island, August 27 [Michael Bowen ] 26 Aug Upland Sandpipers [Lin Just ] 26 Aug Fort Mott SP, Salem Co, NJ 08/26 [Jeff Kiger ] 26 Aug Nighthawks at BCSP [Andy Ednie ] 26 Aug Kent County birds, August 26 [Michael Bowen ] 25 Aug Delaware Valley RBA, 25 AUGUST 2010 [Stephen E Kacir ] 25 Aug BCSP Bird Walk on Saturday [Andy Ednie ] 25 Aug Abbott's Pond saga [Jason Beale ] 24 Aug Red-necked Phalarope, Am. Golden-Plover at Bombay Hook [Derek Stoner ] 24 Aug Salem County, NJ [Jeff Kiger ] 23 Aug Migrant Broad-wingeds at Ashland [Derek Stoner ] 23 Aug Warblers 8/23/10 [Matthew Sarver ] 23 Aug 8/23 - Bombay Hook NWR - Black-headed Gull, Hudsonian Godwit [Bert Filemyr ] 23 Aug Wilson's Warbler, Least Flycatcher at Middle Run [Derek Stoner ] 23 Aug CVWO Kiptopeke Challenge - Call for Teams [Paul Nasca ] 22 Aug Mourning the loss of a Connecticut [Derek Stoner ] 22 Aug Connecticut Warbler at Middle Run [Derek Stoner ] 22 Aug Results of Sun, Aug 19-20 Pelagic - Another Dark Storm-Petrel Trifecta! [Paul Guris ] 22 Aug Bombay Hook - 8/21 [Andy Urquhart ] 22 Aug Bird-brain [Maurice Barnhill ] 21 Aug Influx of Migratory Warblers & Other Migrants @ Phillips Park, Newark [Alex Zorach ] 21 Aug Little and Black-headed Gulls @ Bombay Hook [atgonzon AT verizon.net ] 20 Aug RBA: Birdline Delaware, August 20th, 2010 [Andy Ednie ] 19 Aug American Golden Plovers [Lin Just ] 19 Aug Nighthawks [Andy Ednie ] 19 Aug Chester Co., Bucktoe Creek Preserve [Joe Sebastiani ] 19 Aug Western Kingbird [Maurice Barnhill ] 18 Aug Delaware Valley RBA, 18 AUGUST 2010 [Stephen E Kacir ] 18 Aug Results of Sun, Aug 15 Pelagic - Dark Storm-Petrel Trifecta! [Paul Guris ] 18 Aug Photo Study Of Some Birds At Bombay Hook NWR (Kent County) Yesterday ["Howard B. Eskin" ] 17 Aug Western Kingbird and Baird's Sandpiper [Derek Stoner ] 17 Aug Boy am I embarrassed! ["Bennett Chris (DNREC)" ] 17 Aug Bombay Hook Birds for Bob Eskin ["Bennett Chris (DNREC)" ] 17 Aug Around Bombay Hook [Maurice Barnhill ] 17 Aug Re: Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook ["Lovelace Glen (DelDOT)" ] 17 Aug Re: Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook [atgonzon AT verizon.net ] 16 Aug Bombay Hook 08/15 [Barbara Hiebsch ] 16 Aug Cape Henlopen to Mispillion Saturday ["Bennett Chris (DNREC)" ] 16 Aug Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook [Bert Filemyr ] 15 Aug Common Nighthawk ["Steininger, Kim" ] 15 Aug Re: Upper bay on Saturday [Maurice Barnhill ] 15 Aug Cliff Swallow and Middle Run migrants, 8/15 [Derek Stoner ] Subject: Delaware Valley RBA, 1 SEPTEMBER 2010 From: Stephen E Kacir <rba AT DVOC.ORG> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 23:17:39 -0400 - RBA * PA, NJ, DE * Delaware Valley: Southeast PA, Central/Southern NJ & DE * PADV1009.01 * September 1, 2010 - Birds Mentioned Black-bellied Whistling-duck (NJ)+ (NJ)+ (Details requested by NJBRC) (PA)+ (Details requested by PORC) (DE)+ (Details requested by DERC) Brown Pelican Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Yellow-crowned Night-heron Glossy Ibis Brant King Eider Surf Scoter Broad-winged Hawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Sora Common Moorhen American Golden-plover Piping Plover American Avocet Western Willet Upland Sandpiper Whimbrel Marbled Godwit Red Knot Western Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Long-tailed Jaeger Black-headed Gull Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Caspian Tern Black Tern Eurasian Collared-dove Black-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Red-headed Woodpecker Olive-sided Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Yellow-throated Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Common Raven Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown-headed Nuthatch Golden-winged Warbler Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Cape May Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Prairie Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Cerulean Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Kentucky Warbler Connecticut Warbler Mourning Warbler Hooded Warbler Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Summer Tanager Lark Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Saltmarsh Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Blue Grosbeak Dickcissel Bobolink Purple Finch - Transcript Hotline: Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert Email reports to: rba AT dvoc.org Compiler: Steve Kacir, Delaware Valley Ornithological Club Phone: (215) 240-7547 Voice of the Delaware Valley RBA: Cindy Ahern URL: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm Welcome to the September 1, 2010 edition of the Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert, a service provided by the joint efforts of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC), covering the Delaware Valley Region of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I'm Steve Kacir your guide for birding in the Greater Philadelphia Region. This week, we highlight reports of BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS in Cape May County, NJ. Remember to check out our website for additional content and information: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR NEW JERSEY: Cape May County: The juvenile drake KING EIDER was last reported from Cape May Point State Park on Aug 27, and was at Sunset Beach on Aug 26-27. Three BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS were last reported from the Lighthouse Pond at Cape May Point State Park on Aug 25. The State Park had BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS on the beach on Aug 30 & Sep 1. On Sep 1, the Cape May Point State Park Hawk Watch had a flyby MARBLED GODWIT. A WILSON'S PHALAROPE flew towards the Rea Farm from the State Park on Aug 27. A LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER was at the Bunker Pond at Cape May Point State Park on Aug 28. On Aug 30 & Sep 1, the south beach of The Nature Conservancy Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge had BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS, and they were at the Plover Pond closest to the refuge on Aug 28 & 30. On Aug 30, a LARK SPARROW fed at the West Path's dune crossover at the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, and a LARK SPARROW was at the southeast corner of the refuge on Sep 1. The Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge had a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER on Aug 30 & Sep 1, a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER on Aug 30, a MARBLED GODWIT on Aug 30 and a CAPE MAY WARBLER on Aug 30. A SORA and COMMON NIGHTHAWK were at the East Path of the refuge on Aug 28. A BRANT was at the Cape May County Back Bay area on Aug 30. The Back Bay area also had TRICOLORED HERONS, YELLOW- CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and WHIMBRELS. Notable sightings from Higbee Beach WMA included ALDER FLYCATCHER on Sep 1, PHILADELPHIA VIREO on Aug 28 & Sep 1, CERULEAN WARBLER on Aug 28, MOURNING WARBLER on Aug 27 & Aug 31, CAPE MAY WARBLERS on Aug 26-Sep 1, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER on Aug 28, WILSON'S WARBLERS on Aug 26-27 & Aug 30, two SUMMER TANAGERS on Aug 30, DICKCISSELS on Aug 26-28 and a LARK SPARROW on Aug 30. A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was seen in the area of the Higbee dike on Aug 30-Sep 1, and a BUFF- BREASTED SANDPIPER flew past the dike on Aug 30. Other birds at Higbee included WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, CANADA WARBLERS, YELLOW- THROATED WARBLERS, BLACKPOLL WARBLER, WORM-EATING WARBLERS, YELLOW- BREASTED CHATS and BLUE GROSBEAKS. A PURPLE FINCH was reported from downtown Cape May Courthouse on Aug 30. On Aug 29, the Villas WMA had two OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS, and another was there on Aug 27. On Aug 26, Stone Harbor Point had 2 RED KNOTS and PIPING PLOVERS. That day, Nummy Island had a MARBLED GODWIT, 20 WESTERN WILLETS, 110 RED KNOTS and YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS. On Aug 27, Nummy Island had 2 TRICOLORED HERONS. On Aug 28, a LONG-TAILED JAEGER, a dozen BLACK TERNS and 6 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were at East Lump, 16 miles offshore of Townsend Inlet. Cumberland County: A MARBLED GODWIT was at Heislerville WMA on Aug 29. Atlantic County: The Brigantine Division of Edwin B Forsythe NWR had 3-4 AMERICAN AVOCETS on Aug 27-31. On Aug 31, the grassy flats of the northwest pool had 4 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, 4 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and 3 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS. A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was at the north dike on Aug 28, and two were reported from the refuge on Aug 27. Two BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS were at the last leg of the dike road on Aug 30. A PHILADELPHIA VIREO was seen from the wildlife drive on Aug 30. Other recent sightings from Brigantine included YELLOW- CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS, WESTERN SANDPIPERS, STILT SANDPIPER, WHIMBREL, WESTERN WILLETS, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, BLACK TERN and BLUE GROSBEAKS. On Aug 26, Great Egg Harbor and Inlet had TRICOLORED HERONS, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT- HERONS, 4 MARBLED GODWITS, WESTERN WILLETS and a COMMON NIGHTHAWK. Ocean County: A PHILADELPHIA VIREO was at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on Aug 26. On Aug 26, Island Beach State Park had BROWN PELICANS, TRICOLORED HERONS and a BRANT. Monmouth County: On Aug 29, a COMMON MOORHEN was at Longbridge Rd in Colts Neck. Sandy Hook had BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS on Aug 28-29, with five BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS at the tidal cut and dry pond area on Aug 29. Two YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were at the road to nowhere/Raccoon Alley area of Sandy Hook on Aug 28, and that species was also at Sandy Hook on Aug 26 & 29. Sandy Hook had LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on Aug 28-29, BLACK TERN on Aug 28, KENTUCKY WARBLER on Aug 26, WILSON'S WARBLER on Aug 26, two BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS on Aug 28 and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER on Aug 27. Other sightings from Sandy Hook included RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, NASHVILLE WARBLER and CANADA WARBLERS. Burlington County: Recent sightings from Palmyra Cove Nature Park included TENNESSEE WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. Salem County: A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was at East Coast Sod Farms (formerly Delea Sod) on Aug 28, seen on sod south of Route 40 at the intersection of Route 40 and Pointers Auburn Rd. A PEREGRINE FALCON was hunting in this area that day. A CLIFF SWALLOW coursed over the Griers Lane sod field at Johnson Farm on Aug 28. That day, over a hundred CATTLE EGRETS were at Featherbed Lane, and over 50 CATTLE EGRETS were reported from Compromise Rd. The CATTLE EGRETS were scattered around both locations on Aug 29. On Aug 29, two family groups of COMMON MOORHENS were on the east side of the Route 45 bridge at Mannington Marsh. Fort Mott State Park had CATTLE EGRETS, BANK SWALLOWS and BLUE GROSBEAKS. Gloucester County: The National Park dredge spoils had YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER on Aug 27 & 30, PHILADELPHIA VIREO on Aug 28, MOURNING WARBLER on Aug 30, CAPE MAY WARBLER on Aug 28 & 31, WILSON'S WARBLER on Aug 31, CANADA WARBLERS on Aug 30, WORM-EATING WARBLER on Aug 26 and BLACKPOLL WARBLER on Aug 26. The cove area at National Park had CASPIAN TERNS on Aug 28 & Aug 30. Mercer County: A CONNECTICUT WARBLER was reported from Baldpate Mountain on Aug 30. Somerset County: Colonial Park had COMMON NIGHTHAWKS on Aug 28. On Aug 26, Schermann-Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary had PHILADELPHIA VIREO, RED- BREASTED NUTHATCH and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS. Hunterdon County: Spruce Run Reservoir had a GLOSSY IBIS on Aug 27, two AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS on Aug 29, a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER on Aug 25, a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on Aug 28 and a PHILADELPHIA VIREO on Aug 27-29. Other sightings from Spruce Run included LITTLE BLUE HERON, CASPIAN TERNS, COMMON NIGHTHAWK and CLIFF SWALLOWS. Warren County: This week, the Raccoon Ridge Hawk Watch reported BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, MERLINS, COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, COMMON RAVENS RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and TENNESSEE WARBLERS. A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was at the Warren Green Acres (aka Glenhurst Meadows) on Aug 29. On Aug 26, Warren Green Acres had 2 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS, an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and PURPLE FINCH. Morris County: A PHILADELPHIA VIREO was at Great Swamp NWR on Aug 28. Union County: Watchung Reservation had a NASHVILLE WARBLER and a WILSON'S WARBLER on Aug 31. -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR DELAWARE: New Castle County: On Aug 26, seventy-three COMMON NIGHTHAWKS passed over Brandywine Creek State Park. Middle Run Natural Area had PRAIRIE WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK and BOBOLINKS. Hoopes Reservoir had RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and CANADA WARBLER on Aug 28. On Aug 29, Philips Park in Newark had RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and CANADA WARBLERS. On Aug 28-29, roosting CHIMNEY SWIFTS were at Highlands School at the intersection of Delaware Ave and Gilpin Ave in Wilmington. Kent County: On Aug 28, the continuing BLACK-HEADED GULL was at Shearness Pool at Bombay Hook NWR, and a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was at Bear Swamp. A MARBLED GODWIT was at Raymond Pool and Shearness Pool on Aug 28, and was at Raymond Pool on Aug 26. Other recent sightings from Bombay Hook NWR included AMERICAN AVOCETS, STILT SANDPIPERS, WHITE- RUMPED SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPER and SORA. On Aug 26, two UPLAND SANDPIPERS were in potato fields along Route 9, just outside Bombay Hook. That day, another UPLAND SANDPIPER was in a recently plowed potato field on the west side of Route 9, north of Whitehall Crossroads. On Aug 31, two BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS were at a recently harvested cucumber field at the intersection of Cricket Hollow Lane and Canterbury Rd in Milford. Ted Harvey WA had 2 BONAPARTE'S GULLS on Aug 26. At Milford Neck WA & Big Stone Beach Rd had YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, BLACKPOLL WARBLER, WORM-EATING WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAKS on Aug 29. Sussex County: On Aug 28, the headquarters area of Prime Hook NWR had 2 GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and BLUE GROSBEAKS. The next day, the headquarters area had HOODED WARBLER, TENNESSEE WARBLER and BLACKPOLL WARBLER. On Sep 1, the dike trail of Prime Hook had NASHVILLE WARBLER, BLACKPOLL WARBLER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. On Aug 28, a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was on a sandy mudflat south of the road at the east end of Fowler Beach. On Aug 29, Broadkill Rd had TRICOLORED HERON and BLACK TERN. Lighthouse Rd had SALTMARSH SPARROWS. On Aug 29, a hen SURF SCOTER bobbed in the surf while 2 PIPING PLOVERS were at the beach at Lighthouse Point in Cape Henlopen State Park. A LARK SPARROW was near the east end of the buildings at Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park on Sep 1, a nice beginning for the Cape Henlopen State Park Hawk Watch. On Aug 27, Thompson's Island had BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES, CANADA WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAKS. -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia County: On Aug 31, a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE flew through the intersection of Grays Ferry Ave and S 34th St. Hundreds of CHIMNEY SWIFTS were at the Shawmont School in Roxborough on Aug 27. Delaware County: Five hundred and eighty-five COMMON NIGHTHAWKS flew over Haverford College on the evening of Aug 28. Chester County: On Aug 28, Bucktoe Creek Preserve had TENNESSEE WARBLER, CANADA WARBLERS and 59 BOBOLINKS. An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and a MOURNING WARBLER were at Hibernia County Park on Aug 30. Montgomery County: A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was at the mudflats at the Church Rd Natural Area of Green Lane Park/Green Lane Reservoir on Aug 27. On Aug 26, forty-three CASPIAN TERNS were at the Church Rd area; that area had 9 CASPIAN TERNS on Aug 25 and two more on Sep 1. Green Lane Reservoir had BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS at the Church Rd mudflats through Sep 1. High counts for BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS included 5 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS on Aug 29 & 31 and 7 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS on Aug 30. On Aug 30-Sep 1, a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was in the drier grassier sections of the Church Rd mudflats. A STILT SANDPIPER was at the Church Rd area on Aug 29 & Sep 1, and a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER was there on Aug 31. The Militia Hill Hawk Watch counts of COMMON NIGHTHAWK peaked on Aug 28 with a count of 2,400 NIGHTHAWKS; another 750 NIGHTHAWKS were added on the evening of Aug 29. Bucks County: On Aug 29, Haycock Mountain had 2 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS and a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. The Churchville Nature Center had 3 STILT SANDPIPERS on Aug 29 and CANADA WARBLER on Aug 28. Northampton County: An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was at the Koch property on Aug 27. On Aug 28, PURPLE FINCHES were at feeders on the Koch property. That day, the Koch property also had WILSON'S WARBLER and over 50 BOBOLINKS. On Sep 1, a probable juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was at the pond near the intersection of Route 611 and Riverton Rd. That day, a BLUE GROSBEAK called from DePues Ferry Rd, and two WHITE- CROWNED SPARROWS were in the PP&L area. Lehigh County: This week, the Bake Oven Knob Hawk Watch reported BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, MERLIN, COMMON RAVENS and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES. Berks County: On Aug 30, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary had 6 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS, 2 YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, 60 BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS and PURPLE FINCH. The next day, Hawk Mountain attracted OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER and BLACKPOLL WARBLER. The Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hawk Watch reported OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER on Aug 29, PHILADELPHIA VIREO on Aug 26, two PURPLE FINCHES, a DARK-EYED JUNCO on Aug 28 and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW on Aug 27. Other sightings from Hawk Mountain included BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, PEREGRINE FALCON, COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, YELLOW- THROATED VIREO, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and TENNESSEE WARBLER. On Aug 31, the Kittatinny Ridge had OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, YELLOW- BELLIED FLYCATCHER and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES. On Aug 30, a BUFF- BREASTED SANDPIPER was seen on private property off Route 222 near Topton. Lancaster County: On Aug 29-31, the Conejohela Flats had BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, with a high count of 3 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS on Aug 31. The Flats had AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS from Aug 29-31, with five GOLDEN- PLOVERS noted on Aug 29 & Aug 31. The flats had BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS on Aug 29-31, with a high count of 6 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS on Aug 31. On Aug 29, the Flats had a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. On Aug 31, Gull Island had a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, 2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and 4 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS. Other sightings from the flats included CASPIAN TERNS and PEREGRINE FALCON. On Aug 31, an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER perched in a snag at Warwick Rd near the Millport Conservancy. On Aug 28, Pumping Station Rd had TENNESSEE WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER and CANADA WARBLER. On Aug 31, Pumping Station Rd had WORM-EATING WARBLER, HOODED WARBLERS and CANADA WARBLERS. On Aug 28, Speedwell County Park had WILSON'S WARBLER and CANADA WARBLER. A juvenile YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was at the pond off Umbletown Rd through Aug 28. On Aug 29, a CATTLE EGRET was near a pond off Millcross Rd near Pitney Rd. Lebanon County: On Sep 1, a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was at the pond at North Mount Pleasant Rd, about a mile north of Route 322. On Aug 28, the Second Mountain Hawk Watch reported a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. Other reports from Second Mountain mentioned BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, MERLIN, COMMON RAVEN, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER and Timber Rattlesnake. SGL 145 had a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER on Aug 27. Carbon County: On Aug 29, Blue Mountain Ski Resort had COMMON RAVEN, TENNESSEE WARBLER, 2 NASHVILLE WARBLERS, a CAPE MAY WARBLER and CANADA WARBLER. Monroe County: On Aug 29, Big Pocono State Park had TENNESSEE WARBLER. On Aug 29, thirty COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were south of the Pocono Brewing Company in Swiftwater. On Aug 28, Shadow Mountain Farm in Kunkletown had 2 PHILADELPHIA VIREOS. An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was there on Aug 28-29. The farm also hosted CLIFF SWALLOW, NASHVILLE WARBLER, CANADA WARBLER and PURPLE FINCH. Pike County: Sightings from campus of the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) on the evening of Aug 30 included PHILADELPHIA VIREO and YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS. The next day PEEC had OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, TENNESSEE WARBLER and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW. -------------------------------------------------------------- ANNOUNCEMENTS: On Sep 11, Jane Henderson will lead a joint DVOC/Wyncote Audubon Society field trip for fall migrants at the Fort Washington State Park in Montgomery County, PA. Please contact Jane if you plan on attending. The trip will meet at 8:00AM at the Militia Hill Hawk Watch. On Sep 12, Sandra Keller will lead a DVOC field trip to Stone Harbor Point and Nummy Island in Cape May County, NJ. Please contact Sandra if you plan on attending. The trip will meet at the Wetlands Institute parking lot at 11:30AM. On Sep 15, Jane Henderson will lead a joint DVOC/Wyncote Audubon Society field trip to the Shawmont School Chimney Swift roost site in Philadelphia. The trip meets at the Shawmont School at 6:45PM, with parking available in the school's parking lot. Please contact Jane if you are interested in attending. Additional information for all these trips including past years' trip reports, contact information for the trip leaders as well as maps and directions for some trips can all be found on the DVOC website: http://www.dvoc.org An informal summer meeting of the DVOC takes place on September 2 at 7:30pm at the John Heinz NWR at Tinicum in Philadelphia, PA. This informal meeting's short presentations will include "Global Warming: The Impact on Birds" by Phil Witmer, "Bird-Safe Glass Demonstration Project at Heinz" by Gary Stolz and "Identification of Wigeon" by Frank Windfelder. The next meeting will be on September 16 at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, featuring "A Naked Safari: Tales of East Africa" by Adrian Binns. Details are on the website, and guests are always welcome. The Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert is a weekly report on birding in the Delaware Valley Region including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. To report birds or significant birding events and planned pelagic trips, please email rba AT dvoc.org. This is Steve Kacir, good birding to you all and thanks for calling, surfing and reporting. - End Transcript Steve Kacir rba AT dvoc.org DVOC Rare Bird Alert Committee Chair Academy of Natural Sciences Delaware Valley Ornithological Club Philadelphia Subject: HSR: Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch (01 Sep 2010) 17 Raptors From: "Hawkcount.Org Reports" <reports AT HAWKCOUNT.ORG> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 21:09:15 -0400 Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch Lewes, Delaware, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 01, 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 12 12 12 Bald Eagle 0 0 0 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0 Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 5 5 5 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Swallow-tailed Kite 0 0 0 Total: 17 17 17 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Forrest Rowland Observers: Liz Dumont, Lynn Smith, Mike Duch, Susan Gruver Visitors: Many visitors today including Molly Murray, Jeff Gordon, and plenty of familiar faces observing our first day back. Weather: HOT! Our first day back on the bunker saw a high temp. of 32C/90F with only a light breeze of 2-5mph ESE. High humidity with visibility <20KMs was observed throughout the day under clear, but hazy skies. Raptor Observations: Very little movement today, with unfavorable winds. But we did get a few Osprey and Kestrels to start us off. Non-raptor Observations: Migrants around today included 11 Baltimore Orioles, 2 Indigo Buntings, one Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, one Yellow Warbler, and a few flyover Bobolink. Best bird of the day was at Ft. Miles this morning, where one Juvenile/1st year LARK SPARROW put in a fine appearance at close range!!! Predictions: S winds 10-15mph with a high of 90F. Ummmm....I can't wait for the Hurricane to get here! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Forrest Rowland (Rowbird AT gmail.com) Subject: Fwd: HSR: Ashland Nature Center (01 Sep 2010) 11 Raptors From: Cyrus Moqtaderi <cyrusmoqtaderi AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 19:14:55 -0400 September has come, and again finds us counting hawks on the Ashland Hill. Many adventures since last year's stellar season, and I'm really excited to be back on the hill for another round. A handful of good birds today, despite the intense heat. Our first bird of the 2010 season was a nice one, details below. Let the migration commence, see you up there... - Cyrus Moqtaderi Ashland Hawk Watch is a joint project by the Delaware Nature Society and the Delmarva Ornithological Society and DNREC Ashland Nature Center Hockessin, Delaware, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 01, 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture                0              0              0 Turkey Vulture               0              0              0 Osprey                       1              1              1 Bald Eagle                   0              0              0 Northern Harrier             0              0              0 Sharp-shinned Hawk           4              4              4 Cooper's Hawk                2              2              2 Northern Goshawk             0              0              0 Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0 Broad-winged Hawk            0              0              0 Red-tailed Hawk              0              0              0 Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0 Golden Eagle                 0              0              0 American Kestrel             3              3              3 Merlin                       1              1              1 Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0 Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0 Unknown Buteo                0              0              0 Unknown Falcon               0              0              0 Unknown Eagle                0              0              0 Unknown Raptor               0              0              0 Total:                      11             11             11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end   time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter:        Cyrus Moqtaderi Observers:        Joe Sebastiani, Sally O'Byrne Visitors: Amy White was officially the first visitor of the 2010 season, followed by Jill Constantine. Good to see some familiar faces up top. Sally O. and Joe S. kept watch for a good portion of the day, as well. 6 total. Weather: A bit of a hot streak here. Humid, hazy, and hot all day. A touch of cloud cover developed for the last few hours. Raptor Observations: 11 total. A beautiful immature Merlin took the honor of being the first bird of the 2010 count. A few Kestrels, Sharpies, and Cooper's Hawks followed, as well as one Osprey. Starting out slow, as expected this time of year. But momentum builds quickly on the Ashland hill, and before long we'll likely be ticking off birds by the hundreds! If I remember correctly, this is 2 more than last year's first day. A good sign? Non-raptor Observations: Tree Swallows and Chimney Swifts fill the sky. 11 Monarchs fluttered past along with swarms of dragonflies. Predictions: Sunscreen and heat. Probably similar to today, but we'll soon have a change in the weather once this storm passes us. Cooler air and NW winds coming up soon! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Cyrus Moqtaderi (hawkwatch AT delawarenaturesociety.org)  information may be found at: www.delawarenaturesociety.org Subject: Primehook today From: Charles Fullmer <cmfullmer AT MCHSI.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 16:20:46 -0400 PHNWR A pre-dawn walk along the dike was climaxed with great orange ball rising over the Broadkill at the trails end. A number of assorted Herons were flying North across the face of the sun were comforting as I reached for another dose of repellant. Still suffering from chiggers after a miscue on a Virginia trail last week, the skeeter welts are easily tolerated. As Forrest reported earlier in the week, YBCUs were seen everywhere along with a close second, Eastern Wood Pewees. I bumped into John (met last week at BBH on the Western Kingbird hunt) and I offer him a blast of DEET from my holster. We exchanged sightings and moved on. Finishing at the end of Turkle Pond Rd., the species encountered were: Great horned Owl Osprey Bald Eagle YB Cuckoo Ruby throated Hummingbird Red bellied, Pileated and Downey WP EW Pewee Willow FC GC Flycatcher E. Kingbird Wht & Red eyed Vireo Marsh & House wren BG Gnatcatcher Cedar WW Magnolia W Yellow W Nashville W Blackpoll W Black & White W Prothonotary W N. Parula C. Yellowthroat A. Redstart YB Chat Seaside Sparrow and the usual Chuck Fullmer Georgetown http://www.flickr.com/photos/allseasonshooter Subject: Ashland bird walk From: joe sebastiani <joe AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 11:56:11 -0400 Dear Birders: We are beginning the weekly Thursday morning bird walks at Ashland Nature Center tomorrow. The walk will begin at 8am in the parking lot. We look forward to finding some interesting fall migrants with you. Afterwards, Cyrus can always use your help spotting raptors at the Ashland Hawk Watch. Directions can be found at http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/dns_sites.html. See you tomorrow! Joe Joe Sebastiani Members Program Team Leader Delaware Nature Society P.O. Box 700 Hockessin, DE 19707 (302) 239-2334 ext. 115 fax (302) 239-2473 joe AT delawarenaturesociety.org web: www.delawarenaturesociety.org The Nature of Delaware Blog: www.delawarenaturesociety.org/blog Subject: Cape Hawk Watch commences; Lark Sparrow @ Fort Miles From: Jeffrey Gordon <jeffgyr AT ME.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 09:08:41 -0400 The Cape Henlopen hawk watch for Autumn, 2010 begins not with a hawk, but with a sparrow: Lark Sparrow! At Fort Miles, near E end of buildings. A juvie, seen by Forrest & Sue. Still waiting for the first raptor. Jeffrey Gordon Lewes, DE jeffgyr AT mac.com www.jeffreyagordon.com Subject: Buff-breasted Sandpipers north of Milford From: "Bennett Chris (DNREC)" <Chris.Bennett AT STATE.DE.US> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:06:00 -0400 Taking the back way home from Camden yesterday after a stop at Lowes I spotted a nice harvested cucumber field with a small flock of 14 Black-bellied Plovers that looked like it should have had a Buff-breasted or two as well. So this morning I decided to check it out on the way to work and sure enough there were 2 Buff-breasted Sandpipers along with a bunch of Semipalmated Sandpipers, Killdeer and 2 Least Sandpipers. The field is at the intersection of Canterbury Road (SR 15) and Cricket Hollow Road (CR 400). A series of other fallow and/or harvested fields that might harbor birds (today and yesterday they had Killdeer, Semi Plovers and Horned Larks) can be found if you continue east/north on Cricket Hollow, on to Bowman and then on to Tub Mill Pond Road which intersects SR 1 at Meddings Seafood. There are harvested fields on either side of SR1 at this intersection. All of these fields have potential for Buff-breasted Sandpiper and American Golden Plover. Chris Bennett Milford, DE "The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?'" Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac Subject: DOS Field Trip - Fall Migrants at White Clay Creek State Park, Sun. Sept 5 @ 8:00AM From: Anthony Gonzon <atgonzon AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:28:02 -0400 Greetings all, Join Eric Braun and I at the Nature Center off of Hopkins Bridge Road at 8:00 AM this Sunday for our annual field fall trip to White Clay Creek State Park. This is a half day trip taken as a leisurely walk around the park as we help participants observe an identify some of the fall migrants as they head to more southerly places. With any luck, you can expect to see a variety of fall warblers, vireos, flycatchers, hawks, and cuckoos along with some of the resident birds. Of course there is always a chance to see some of the less common species such as a Mourning or Connecticut Warbler, Philadelphia Vireo, or possibly something completely unexpected passing through in the wake of Hurricane Earl. Please keep in mind that park entrance fees are still in effect. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Hope to see many of you there! Anthony Gonzon Middletown, DE atgonzon AT verizon.net 302-598-5893 Subject: Hawk Watch Begins! From: "sally o'byrne" <salobyrne AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:21:39 -0400 The Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch and the Ashland Hawk Watch begin Sept 1, and you are cordially invited to volunteer (or just attend) anytime between Wednesday's start and the November 30 ending. The Hawk watch hours will be from 9 - 4 daily. Extra eyes are always a help, and no matter what your skill level, you are welcome. This year we will be collecting additional information for the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, and they have provided us with some nifty new equipment for recording weather and height of flight information. Even if you aren't skilled at identifying a raptor in flight, we can use help in recording data. Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch (CHHW) is located at Cape Henlopen State Park, and this year we are pleased to have Forrest Rowland back in his third year as the professional counter. Cyrus Moqtaderi will be returning for his second year at Ashland Hawk Watch (AHW). Both hawk watches depend upon capable volunteer helpers in addition to Forrest and Cyrus, both as extra eyes during daily counting as as substitute counters when they are off duty, which is usually on Sunday and Monday. Ashland will also be counting additional afternoon hours from 4 - 6 in mid to late September, when the Broadwing Hawks may come through in big numbers. DOS has obtained funding for both hawk watch sites, and will act in a direct supervisory role at the Cape, in the capable hands of Jeff Gordon. The Ashland Hawk watch, now in its 4th year, is a very successful partnership with Delaware Nature Society, with Joe Sebastiani from DNS supervising that site. The Ashland Hawk Watch is looking for a donation of a sturdy outdoor table with an umbrella, that could be used to shade the equipment. If you are getting ready to buy a new one next summer, please consider donating your old one now. Contact Joe if you have a table/umbrella combo to donate. Any more questions?? Contact: CHHW Jeff Gordon 302-388-4444 AHW Joe Sebastiani 302-239-2334, ext 115 I'm getting my binoculars polished and reviewing my 'raptor in flight' profiles in anticipation. Hope to see you at one of the sites this autumn to witness one of the marvels of North America, Sally O'Byrne President, DOS Subject: Hawk Watch Begins! From: sally o'byrne <salobyrne AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:21:39 -0400 The Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch and the Ashland Hawk Watch begin Sept 1, and you are cordially invited to volunteer (or just attend) anytime between Wednesday's start and the November 30 ending. The Hawk watch hours will be from 9 - 4 daily. Extra eyes are always a help, and no matter what your skill level, you are welcome. This year we will be collecting additional information for the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, and they have provided us with some nifty new equipment for recording weather and height of flight information. Even if you aren't skilled at identifying a raptor in flight, we can use help in recording data. Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch (CHHW) is located at Cape Henlopen State Park, and this year we are pleased to have Forrest Rowland back in his third year as the professional counter. Cyrus Moqtaderi will be returning for his second year at Ashland Hawk Watch (AHW). Both hawk watches depend upon capable volunteer helpers in addition to Forrest and Cyrus, both as extra eyes during daily counting as as substitute counters when they are off duty, which is usually on Sunday and Monday. Ashland will also be counting additional afternoon hours from 4 - 6 in mid to late September, when the Broadwing Hawks may come through in big numbers. DOS has obtained funding for both hawk watch sites, and will act in a direct supervisory role at the Cape, in the capable hands of Jeff Gordon. The Ashland Hawk watch, now in its 4th year, is a very successful partnership with Delaware Nature Society, with Joe Sebastiani from DNS supervising that site. The Ashland Hawk Watch is looking for a donation of a sturdy outdoor table with an umbrella, that could be used to shade the equipment. If you are getting ready to buy a new one next summer, please consider donating your old one now. Contact Joe if you have a table/umbrella combo to donate. Any more questions?? Contact: CHHW Jeff Gordon 302-388-4444 AHW Joe Sebastiani 302-239-2334, ext 115 I'm getting my binoculars polished and reviewing my 'raptor in flight' profiles in anticipation. Hope to see you at one of the sites this autumn to witness one of the marvels of North America, Sally O'Byrne President, DOS Subject: Merlin at Pennsville Post Office, Salem Co. NJ 08/30 From: Jeff Kiger <stabbedouteyes AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:53:52 -0400 Didn't get out today but luckily had a good bird to watch at work off the back dock. Nice looking Merlin hunted from the tree tops for about an hour before catching what looked like a female House Finch and going off into the woods to dine. Stayed in pretty close view for me to at least shoot 10-20 shots of it. Never seen one this early in the area. The local Sharp-shinned Hawk is getting a rather full looking belly by bouncing along the feeders still in the Penn Beach neighborhoods. Still haven't seen a bird at mine in 3 days now since he hit it hard and took a House Sparrow with him. Take care and happy birding, Jeff Kiger Subject: DE Seashore Park Royal Terns From: Rachael Shapiro <rshapiro AT AWOUS.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:13:42 -0400 Hello DE Birds, This past Saturday morning at Tower Beach, I walked South, and to my surprise and delight I saw loafing ~ 10 Royal Terns. Looked like adults and juvy¹s This is the first time I¹ve seen the ROTE hang in this particular spot. Later that evening ~ 7 PM while walking on West and King Charles: in close came a Royal Tern: looking for a Dewey Beach House Party invite? Glide In, Hang Out, Rachael -- ATTENTION: NEW EMAIL ADDRESS: rshapiro AT awous.com Rachael Shapiro, President A Woman of Uncommon Scents, Inc. P.O. Box 103 Roxbury, PA 17251 1-800-377-3685 1-800-ESSENTL Subject: DOS Cape May trip, 9/11/10 From: Derek Stoner <derekstoner AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:06:08 -0400 A great way to celebrate fall migration is with a pilgrimage to Cape May, that special place where birds and birders alike flock each fall. Once again this fall, the Delmarva Ornithological Society(DOS) will be hosting a field trip to this legendary locale. The trip is scheduled for Saturday, September 11, meeting at 6:45am in the second small parking lot on the left side of New England Road at Higbee Beach Wildlife Area. The early start is due to the fact that the parking lots fill very quickly at this time of year, and we want to get afield to take full advantage of the "morning flight" phenomenon at this location. We often witness excellent flights of Merlins and other raptors on this trip, in addition to lots of warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and sparrows. A real cornucopia of bird life is expected at this time on the Cape May calendar. To get the scoop on the current birding buzz in Cape May, check out BirdCapeMay.org. Because of the early start on Saturday, I highly recommend coming down Friday evening(9/10) if your schedule allows and staying overnight. If you choose this option, we will be holding an evening bird walk at the South Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge("The Meadows") along Sunset Boulevard at 6:00pm. Afterwards, we will head to a local eatery for a late dinner. If you are interested in taking part in the field trip or have any questions, please feel free to email me or call me on my cell phone(302-893-8426). Hope to see you in Cape May! - Derek Stoner Field Trip Leader Subject: Informal DVOC summer meeting this Thursday, September 2 From: "F.Arthur McMorris" <mcmorris AT MAC.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:20:00 -0400 The next meeting of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) is this Thursday, September 2, 2010, at 7:30 PM at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge (Tinicum), Philadelphia, PA. Details at www.dvoc.org . Everyone is invited to attend. Visitors are always welcome. Our summer meetings are informal, with short presentations. The programs for this Thursday are: Global Warming: the Impact on Birds – Phil Witmer Bird-Safe Glass Demonstration Project at Heinz – Gary Stolz Identification of Wigeon – Frank Windfelder Art McMorris Bala-Cynwyd, Montgomery County, PA Vice President, DVOC Subject: The LAST Pea Patch Heronry Survey From: "Bennett Chris (DNREC)" <Chris.Bennett AT STATE.DE.US> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:07:32 -0400 It's that time of year again. With autumns approach activity in the Pea Patch Heronry is winding down and fewer and fewer birds are returning to roost each night. Tomorrow evening, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 will be the final survey of this season from Battery Park at the end of Clinton Street in Delaware City. The survey begins at 5:35 pm (2 hrs before sunset) and ends at 8:05 (30 minutes after sunset). The August survey is usually somewhat less hectic than the May, June and July counts with an average of 439 birds counted (585 - max., 308 min.) in the 2.5 hour survey. There is usually more opportunity to discuss the finer points of identifying herons and egrets in flight. The weather looks like it should be very nice with the temps dropping from the low 90s to the low 80s during the survey with light winds. I hope you can come out and lend a hand (or a pair of eyes). Chris Bennett Natural Resource Management Specialist Environmental Stewardship Program Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation 89 Kings Highway Dover, DE 19901 Phone: (302) 739-9230 Fax: (302) 739-3817 "The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?'" Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac Subject: Fall Whip-poor-will (UNCLASSIFIED) From: "Moyer, Brian R Mr CIV USA ACSIM" <brian.r.moyer1 AT US.ARMY.MIL> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:21:58 -0400 Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE All, Was delighted to have actually heard a Whip-poor-will calling Sat morning 28 August in Elkton. This was on my property in SW Elkton, MD (closer to North East). It called 4 times at about 0500 or an hour before dawn. This represents my first Fall record of the species on the property though they breed out here each year since 1997 when I moved in. In fact when entering this in E-bird, I got a red flag on the sighting. Also seen from my location during a quick walk on Sun 29 August were Blackburnian and Black-throated Green Warbler; Philadelphia vireo among the many Red-eyed. Cedar Waxwings and Robins working the Black Gum tree berries, and a Sharp-Shinned Hawk already buzzing the bird feeders. Brian R. Moyer Elkton, MD Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE Subject: Late August Migration Mish-mash From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:35:40 -0400 A few highlights from an outstanding late August day birding with PA birder Chad Kauffman: Milford Neck from dawn until 7:45am was just as Forrest advertised: jammed full of migrant songbirds. Highlights included Bay-breasted Warbler and Black-throated Blue Warbler(among many other warblers), a flock of ten Blue Grosbeaks whipping around the treetops, and a surprise Merlin that interrupted the songbird party. Milford Neck gave us 75 species(including Yellow-billed Cuckoo) to start our morning. As an interesting follow-up to Michael Bowen's tern observations, I counted 67 Royal Terns gathered on the pilings in front of the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor. Of these birds, 37 wore silver leg bands. The question is, from which mid-Atlantic colony are these birds dispersing from? Broadkill Beach Road is most interesting right now with the numbers of wading birds. I counted 587 "white egrets," with about two-thirds being Snowy Egret and one-third being Great Egrets. Also in the mix were a Tri-colored Heron, a Black Tern, Gadwall, and hundreds of Blue-and Green-winged Teal. At Cape Henlopen's Lighthouse Point, a female Surf Scoter bobbed in the surf- either an unnoticed summer lingerer or a very early arriving migrant. Two Piping Plovers tottered around the point. A visit to the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch platform brought no raptors but we did find piles of red and white plastic flower petals strewn all about the area. Perhaps a sacrificial offering to the raptor gods? Hundreds of swallows and Purple Martins covered the wires at Prime Hook and Bombay Hook, and a lone Cliff completed our six-specie sweep of swallows. Phalarope-less Bombay Hook still had plenty of good shorebirds to offer(White-rumped, Western, Pectoral) and we managed to find 21 species of shorebirds on a day where the grasspipers(Upland and Buff-breasted) went missing. Catching a great wave of early fall migration is a treat, and Chad and I enjoyed all the variety(130 species) that the day provided. Good birding, Derek Stoner Hockessin, DE Subject: Royal Terns, Dewey Beach; Rehoboth Beach bayside From: Michael Bowen <dhmbowen AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:51:33 -0400 One of the great pleasures of late summer down here in lower (slower) Delaware is watching for birds moving around at dusk and dawn. The last few evenings it has been interesting to watch from the deck of our Dewey Beach condo, which faces North, the late day movements of birds between Rehoboth Bay and the ocean beach area. On Friday evening, Aug. 27, between 60 and 70 Royal Terns moved in a Northeasterly directions right over our condo on Rodney Avenue just before it got really dark at 8:00 p.m., suggesting perhaps a night roosting area somewhere around the Gordon's Pond area of the Cape Henlopen State Park. The birds moved in groups of 9 or 10, and were very vocal, with their characteristic high-pitched calls. Yesterday, on Saturday the 28th, 41 Royal Terns came through on almost the same track and at about the same time. Tonight, Sunday, August 29, the Royal Terns again numbered exactly 41 . . . .except that they came over about 10 minutes earlier. Michael Bowen Dewey Beach, DE, and Bethesda, MD P.S. Rehoboth Beach birder Lynn Smith generously showed my wife and me some birding areas close to the bay in southern Rehoboth Beach this evening. It was warm, still, and no migrant passerines were found, but we had Clapper Rails (3 seen, 2 heard), both Yellowlegs, many Killdeer and Semipalmated Plover, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Semi-sandpipers and 5 Least Sandpipers. Also 1 Caspian Tern, 1 Belted Kingfisher and 2 Green Herons D.H.Michael Bowen 8609 Ewing Drive Bethesda, MD 20817-3845 Telephone: (301) 530-5764 e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom Subject: Fwd: chimney swifts From: "sally o'byrne" <salobyrne AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:48:50 -0400 Just got this now so may be late for interested birders tonight, but looks like the chimney swift gathering is now at Highlands School on Del. Ave. I just got back from Alaska and haven't been here for an evening yet to check out Ursuline, but usually by now they have left. Sally Begin forwarded message: > From: "ROBIN DOODY" > Date: August 28, 2010 9:53:43 PM EDT > To: , > Cc: , > Subject: chimney swifts > > August 28th > > Have watched an extremely large gathering of swifts at Highlands for > the past couple of evenings. This is a much larger group than we saw > in the spring. > > Will be there tomorrow also about 7:15 pm. Hope you can join me and > also bring other interested birders. This is a sight worth seeing. > > Robin Subject: Cuckoos for Cuckoos From: Forrest Rowland <rowbird2005 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:00:54 -0400 Hello All! Forrest Rowland here, reporting on what some would call a phenomenon. Others may find it unlikely. Fewer still would rather refer to it as "simply of mild interest". Before I talk myself out of posting about it at all (not in my nature) I will proceed at some slight risk to my credibilty: I SAW ELEVEN YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS TODAY! OK There. I said it. It's out. In what seemed an unreal morning, no matter where I stopped for passerines I saw and heard Cuckoos! At one point I tried to make one into a Black-billed Cuckoo, but it insisted on giving me a better look (Devil !!!). Though not a year-bird, Yellow-billed Cuckoo gets the Bird of the Day for my second day's birding in The First State. I'm tempted to alert the town of Milford that, during Football Season at least, they should adopt this bird as their mascot. Any suggestions on who one would talk to should one want to insist on changing the mascot of a football team one has no affiliation with or vested interest in? Before this gets terribly off topic - I spent the very early part of the morning (dawn to ~7:15) at Prime Hook HQ where migrants were fairly well represented. Not everyday that you are watching Redstarts and Hooded Warbler popping around just underneath Blackpoll and Tennessee Warblers. Such was the case today. Totals for PHHQ were 2 Cuckoos, 1 Blackpoll, *1 Tennessee*, 3 BG Gnatties, 4 Waterthrush, 4 Redstarts, 2 Yellows, *1 Hooded*, 1 GC Fly, 1 Acadian, 1 Veery, and 1 Wood Thrush, plus the other usual suspects. I hit Fowler's on my way North to Big Stone Beach Rd. It held little to nothing of note, save for the ever-cooperative Clappers. Had a family of 6 walk across the road some 25 feet from me. Hilarious, fun, birds! Lighthouse Road was dead save for the good Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows. Big Stone Beach Road. This is where it got really interesting. My methodology was to drive slowly until I heard a titmouse, chickadee, or Pine Warbler. I would get out (if it was more than say 300 meters from my last stop) and pish and wait to see what turned up. It resulted in 5 stops, once I got past Scott Corner and in the last two stretches of "good" woods, and the following assortment of migrants: *9 *Yellow-billed Cuckoos, 6 RE Vireos, 15 Pine Warblers, 7 American Redstarts, *15* Black-and-Whites, 4 Magnolias, 3 WE Vireos, 1 Yellow-throated Warbler, 5 Parula, 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (oh no! migrations almost over), 2 Chestnut-sideds, 1 Blackpoll, 2 Prairies, *1 Worm-eating Warbler*, 1 Ovenbird, 5 Wood-Pewee, and 1 Acadian. It was a lovely, memorable morning at Milford Neck. Just to be entirely sure that no one would get jealous about the good birds I saw this morning, I proceeded to Bombay Hook and missed both the Red-necked Phalarope and Black-headed Gull (again) and managed to smash a blood-engorged mosquito right in the middle of my chest. This created an alarmingly large and disgusting stain on my white T-shirt causing me to be overly self-conscious while entertaining friends after lunch. So....a morning with both Yin and Yang. It was Great!!! Looking forward to what tomorrow holds... Good Birding, Forrest Rowland Subject: More Migrants & other action this morning in Phillips Park, Newark From: Alex Zorach <cazort AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:00:46 -0400 Hello! This morning I birded Phillips Park as usual. Highlights: * Very loud territorial calls of two red-shouldered hawks in the forested area. In the mix were some jays and American crows that were being very loud and flying about--but I did not see them mobbing the hawks. It was not clear exactly what was going on. Tried to see any other potential predator but I couldn't see anything--but I have seen a fox in the area in the past week. Jays were also imitating the hawks calls. * 1 Chestnut-Sided Warbler (1st fall female) * 2 Redstarts (1 adult male) * 2 Canada Warbler (1 1st fall female) * 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, travelling with the warblers * A song sparrow making a dry chip call that I had never heard this species make before (I've only ever heard two calls, the "kip" note and the one more similar to the white-throated sparrow's call note). Got an extensive close view so I'm sure of the ID. Alex Zorach Newark, DE cazort AT gmail.com Subject: 8/28- Black-Headed Gull, R-N Phal, MarbWit- Bombay Hook From: Jeffery Davis <jwdjwd67 AT MSN.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:48:32 -0400 It was a Beautiful day at Bombay Hook today with tolerable temperatures and tolerable biting insects and some nice birds. Highlights included a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (Distant Photo) at the Bear Swamp and the continuing BLACK-HEADED GULL (also a distant Photo) at the Shearness pool. While I was waiting for the BHGU to finally stop hunting and join the floating Laughing Gulls, I also had a fantastic scoped view of a MARBLED GODWIT (which had only afforded me distant, heat distorted views at Raymonds Pool early in the day) flying low over the water heading from the direction of Raymond's Pool toward Bear Swamp. It made me wish I wasn't just a lowly digiscoper, but overall a great day at the B-hook! ;) If you would like to see our photos they are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffamy/. Thanks. regards, jeff Downingtown, PA Checkout our bird photos at the link below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffamy/ "Birding Like I Have Six Months To Live" Subject: Photo Study Of Birds At E.B.Forsythe NWR (Brigantine) And Bombay Hook NWR, August 26-27th, 2010 From: "Howard B. Eskin" <hbeskin AT VOICENET.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:19:23 -0400 We were able to get to Brig on Thursday afternoon and Bombay Hook on Friday morning this week. There were not as many birds as last week in either Refuge because the high pressure system gave the migrants a chance to move on. In any event, the bright sunshine made for some neat photo ops. To see the Photo Study, please click on the following link: http://www.howardsview.com/BrigBombay/BrigBombay.html Howard B. Eskin Harleysville (Montgomery County), PA Subject: Hoopes' Reservoir From: Andy Ednie <ednieap AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:55:56 -0400 I went to Hoopes' for a quick look this morning before the BCSP birdwalk. Unfortunately, I developed car trouble and spent the next 4 hours there. At least I broke down in a very birdy spot. Highlight of the day was Yellow-rumped Warbler and 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches. I too had swarms of Kingbirds, although not as many as Derek reported at Middle Run. Ended the morning with 9 species of warbler including Black-throated Blue and Green, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, and Canada. One unidentified empid gave adequate looks but was still a mystery. Warbling Vireo was new to my Hoopes' list Andy Ednie Claymont, Delaware Subject: Bombay Hook-- BH Gull, RN Phalarope From: David Smith <dcs_wamphyri AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:22:52 -0400 Drove to Bombay Hook NWR on Saturday to enjoy the nice weather and take in some birds. Overall, a very satisfying day. Along with Barry and his wife from WV, we re-found the BLACK-HEADED GULL at Shearness Pool in the afternoon. He was hawking insects among the swallows, and at one point landed in the water beside the road for extra close looks. Also, a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was present at Bear Swamp. Other highlights include plenty of American Avocets, Stilt Sandpipers, and a very active population of migrating swallows. dcs David C. Smith Owings Mills, MD Subject: No Subject From: Andrew Block <troubleinshangrila1 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:11:19 -0700 http://troubleinshangrila1.blogers.asia/09/09/stop-it-now.html Subject: Prime Hook morning... From: Forrest Rowland <rowbird2005 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:58:14 -0400 HELLLLLOOOO Delaware! Forrest Rowland speaking, very happy to be back among Delaware Birds, Birders, and Friends. Sharon Lynn, Jeff Gordon, and I started off at HQ looking for passerine migrants... 'Twas a good kickoff to the Fall (and a healthy boost to my NA Year List...which I have been oddly vigilant with in 2010 for some reason...) this morning at Prime Hook. "Word on the Street" was that today was going to be busy with birds and inspired our diligence. We were rewarded with fine looks at 2, possibly 3, Northern Waterthrush at very close range. 2 Veeries, 6 Yellow Warblers, 3 American Restarts, 2 Black-and-White Warblers, 2 Red-eyed Vireo, 1 Great Crested Flycatcher, 2 Acadian Flycatchers, 1 Willow Flycatcher, 1 Great Crested Flycatcher, 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 2 singing Grasshopper Sparrows, and a fine sampling of some lovely locals including numerous Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, an Orchard Oriole or two, and the unsung beauty of the East - Northern Cardinal. I missed these fellas (though fine substitutes were found). From the HQ we drove up to Fowler Beach where the first bird in my scope view was a Least Tern. The Second? A lone BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER on a sand bar. Yes....a sand bar. We enjoyed great looks at the bird at rest and in flight for the few minutes it was present. Not surprisingly, this individual remembered it was a "grass"piper and flew on to greener pastures to the slight disappointment of some late-arriving birders. A surprise to be sure, and a quite wonderful look! Other good birds included dozens of Least Terns, a pair of Black Skimmers (both juv's) several other shorebird species and the always nice showing of Clapper Rails and Seaside Sparrow family groups at close range. Our last stop of the morning was to Broadkill Beach. High water left little habitat for anything other than an impressive conglomeration of Egrets, with the odd Tricolored Heron mixed in. It's nice to be back, and Fall migration in the region appears to be off to a great (if somewhat early) start! Good Birding, Forrest Rowland Subject: A Kingdom of Kingbirds From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:57:35 -0400 This morning at Middle Run Natural Area, we witnessed a unique sight while conducting the Bio-Blitz. A flock of 33 Eastern Kingbirds flew over, making quite a racket. The flock flew over the woods and headed north, followed shortly thereafter by another flock of 12 kingbirds, and another flock of 10, then another flock of 9. Perhaps we should call an aggregation of 64 kingbirds a kingdom. All morning long, a pair of kingbirds stationed atop a lone cherry tree in the meadow would launch spirited aerial attacks on any(and almost every) bird that flew across the field. We watched kingbirds chase Northern Flickers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Tree Swallows, American Crows, European Starlings, Indigo Buntings, and many other species. That's just Tyrannus tyrannus living up to its scientific name. Other notable birds observed include Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Bobolink, Magnolia Warbler, and Blue Grosbeak. Preliminary results of the insect survey conducted along Middle Run Birding Trail show that we tallied at least 29 species of butterflies, including notables like Checkered Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Appalachian Brown, and Gray Hairstreak. Not bad for a 40-acre patch! Good birding, Derek Stoner Hockessin, DE Subject: Chester Co., Bucktoe Creek Preserve From: Joe Sebastiani <bunker17 AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:38:53 -0400 Today, I did a bit of birding around the Bucktoe Creek Preserve. Highlights included a Red-breasted Nuthatch, Scarlet Tanager, 59 Bobolink flyovers, and 10 species of warbler. See the complete list below if you are interested. Also, attend the free bird walks at the preserve this Sunday and Monday starting at 8am. Holly Merker will lead on Sunday, and on Monday, I will lead the walk. Directions to the site can be found at http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/dns_sites.html. Joe Sebastiani, Delaware Nature Society Location: Bucktoe Creek Preserve Observation date: 8/28/10 Notes: Joe Sebastiani. Red-breasted Nuthatch heard and seen. Red breast, eye stripe, higher pitched nasal call compared to White Breasted Nuthatch. Number of species: 53 Black Vulture 13 Turkey Vulture 5 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 1 Mourning Dove 11 Chimney Swift 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 7 Downy Woodpecker 7 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 7 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Wood-Pewee 5 Eastern Phoebe 4 Red-eyed Vireo 5 Blue Jay 15 American Crow 12 Tree Swallow 1 Barn Swallow 7 Carolina Chickadee 9 Tufted Titmouse 14 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 12 Carolina Wren 9 House Wren 9 Eastern Bluebird 19 Veery 5 Wood Thrush 3 American Robin 32 Gray Catbird 36 Northern Mockingbird 3 European Starling 20 Tennessee Warbler 1 Northern Parula 1 Chestnut-sided Warbler 6 Magnolia Warbler 2 Black-throated Green Warbler 3 Black-and-white Warbler 3 American Redstart 7 Ovenbird 1 Common Yellowthroat 4 Canada Warbler 2 Eastern Towhee 4 Chipping Sparrow 31 Song Sparrow 2 Scarlet Tanager 1 Northern Cardinal 17 Indigo Bunting 5 Bobolink 59 Brown-headed Cowbird 2 House Finch 15 American Goldfinch 8 House Sparrow 10 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: Buff-breasted Sandpiper @ Fowler Beach From: Jeffrey Gordon <jeffgyr AT ME.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:42:02 -0400 Forrest just found a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Fowler Beach in very atypical habitat--sandy mudflat south of the road near the east end of Fowler Beach. We watched it for 5 minutes or so. At this point, it appears to have moved on. Good birding, Jeff Jeffrey Gordon Lewes, DE jeffgyr AT mac.com www.jeffreyagordon.com Subject: RBA: Birdline delaware, August 27th, 2010 From: Andy Ednie <ednieap AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:13:41 -0400 RBA * Delaware * Statewide * August 27 2010 * DEST1008.27 *Birds mentioned Snow Goose Mute Swan Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal Blue-winged Teal Great Shearwater Cory's Shearwater Audubon's Shearwater Wilson's Storm Petrel Leach's Storm Petrel Band-rumped Storm Petrel Northern Gannet Green Heron Cooper's Hawk Sharp-shinned Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Sora American Golden Plover Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover American Avocet Marbled Godwit Hudsonian Godwit Upland Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Red-necked Phalarope Black-headed Gull Little Gull Bonaparte's Gull Caspian Tern Least Tern Black Tern Black Skimmer Common Nighthawk Yellow-billed Cuckoo Least Flycatcher Brown-headed Nuthatch Marsh Wren Blue-winged Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Prairie Warbler Pine Warbler American Redstart Black and White Warbler Canada Warbler Wilson's Warbler Mourning Warbler Bobolink Baltimore Oriole Hotline: Birdline Delaware Date: August 27 2010 Number: 302-658-2747 To Report: Andy Ednie 302-792-9591 (VOICE) Compiler: Andy Ednie (ednieap AT verizon.net) Coverage: Delaware, Delmarva Peninsula, nearby Delaware Valley, Southern New Jersey, Maryland Transcriber: Andy Ednie (ednieap AT verizon.net) For Friday, August 27h, this is Birdline Delaware from the Delaware Museum of Natural History in Greenville. The 2010 Unofficial Delaware State Year List increased to 315 species this week. A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was seen at Shearness Pool in Bombay Hook NWR this week after strong easterly winds. This week both LITTLE and BLACK-HEADED GULLS were seen on Saturday. Both birds were in basic adult plumage. The LITTLE GULL has not been seen, but the BLACK-HEADED GULL continues to be seen daily. Several AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS were among the BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS at the refuge. A SORA was seen at Bear Swamp. There are huge numbers of AMERICAN AVOCETS at Raymond Pool, described as an flowing river of birds. MARBLED and HUDSONIAN GODWITS continue to be seen with the AVOCETS. Also reported have been the first DUNLIN of the season, WESTERN, PECTORAL, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, and over 30 STILT SANDPIPERS. 2 UPLAND SANDPIPERS were seen in the plowed field opposite Whitehall Neck Road off Rt 9 north of Leipsic. Along with the LITTLE and BLACK-HEADED GULLS, 2 BONAPARTE'S GULLS were seen at the Logan Lane Tract at Kitts Hummock. BLACK SKIMMERS and LEAST TERNS continue to be seen at Fowler's Beach. Migrant warblers at Thompson's Island at the Spring Lake condominiums included CANADA, MAGNOLIA, BLACK AND WHITE, and AMERICAN REDSTART. Also reported were several BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES. BLACK-BELLIED AND SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS were reported at Bay Vista near Rehoboth Beach. The previous reported MARSH WREN continues to be seen. Brown-headed Nuthatches, along with BALTIMORE ORIOLE and AMERICAN REDSTART were also seen there. BLACK and CASPIAN TERNS were seen at Thousand Acre Marsh. Large numbers of BLUE and GREEN-WINGED TEAL have returned to Thousand Acre along with SHOVELER and NORTHERN PINTAIL. A GREEN HERON was seen at Greer's Pond. A number of shorebirds have made use of the beaver dam at Abbott's Mill Nature Center near Milford. 8 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS and 4 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS were among the LEAST and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS and both YELLOWLEGS. BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER was seen at Walnut Ridge in Centerville. Flint's Woods had YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO and NORTHERN PARULA. BLUE-WINGED WARBLERS were seen at Brandywine Creek State Park. 4 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were seen at the park on Sunday; while a big flight of 73 NIGHTHAWKS were seen last evening. A MOURNING WARBLER was reported at Middle Run off Possum Park Rd near Newark this week. Also reported there were WILSON'S WARBLER and LEAST FLYCATCHER. Some warblers at White-clay Creek State Park today by the pump station included a single PINE WARBLER plus CHESTNUT-SIDED, MAGNOLIA and REDSTART. GREEN HERON was also seen by the dam. The first flight of BROAD-WINGS was reported at Ashland Nature Center. 6 were seen flying down the valley. Also reported were RED-SHOULDERED, COOPER'S and SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS. MUTE SWAN continues to be seen at Hoopes' reservoir. 8 BAND-RUMPED STORM PETREL and a LEACH'S STORM PETREL were reported on the pelagic trip to Delaware waters this weekend. A total of 885 WILSON'S STORM PETRELS were counted along with NORTHERN GANNET, AUDUBON'S, GREAT, and CORY'S SHEARWATER. And now for the Birdline Special feature from WILM News Radio. In autumn, birds are move south to their winter quarters. Molted adults and immature birds in incomplete plumage produces a group of birds called confusing fall warblers. These are birds that have lost their characteristic field marks in their changing plumage. One of the first to arrive back is the CHESTNUT SIDED WARBLER. In spring (SFx) it has a brown streak on the flanks and yellow cap. In fall, the bird is just a dull green and white, with wing bars and eye ring. At first glance, it might look like the similar RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. Theodore Roosevelt, our only birder president, reported a CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER at a February meeting of his cabinet. A rare species in winter in Washington, maybe the near-sighted Roosevelt actually saw a RUBY-CROWN on the White House lawns. The BLACKPOLL and BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS nest in spruce bogs in Canada. In spring, the BAY-BREASTED WARBLER is brightly colored compared to the Blackpoll, which looks like a CHICKADEE, In fall, the young are indistinguishable, a sign of their common ancestry. Both are gray and white with streaks and wing bars. The only way to tell them about is by their leg color, BAY-BREASTED with black and BLACKPOLLS have yellow legs. Many a beginning birder has quit due to headaches caused by these plumage problems. Special thanks to Michael Moore, Michael Bowen, Anthony Gonzon, Andy Urquhart, Jason Beadle, Matt Sarver, Alex Zorach, Lynn Smith, Derek Stoner, Paul Guris, Bert Filmyer, Lin Just, Maurice Barnhill, and Kim Steininger for their updates. Please call your reports to 302-792-9591 or email to ednieap AT verizon.net. Until next week, good birding. -end transcript Andy Ednie Claymont, Delaware Subject: Lum's Pond From: "Michael C. Moore" <michael.moore AT ASU.EDU> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:08:53 -0400 Greetings, A quick check of Lum's Pond today produced NINE Solitary Sandpipers in the small impoundment at the inlet side of the pond, along with 3-4 Least Sandpipers. The highest count published in the Birds of Delaware is 8. Also interesting were adult Little Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Non bird highlight was a life dragonfly for me - the impossibly tiny Elfin Skimmer. Mike Moore Newark, DE mcmoore32 AT gmail.com Subject: Middle Run Birds and Butterflies From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:05:14 -0400 At Middle Run Natural Area this morning, a hike along the birding trail loop produced a smattering of migrants: Prairie and Magnolia Warblers, American Redstart, Eastern Kingbirds(lots!), Veery and Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, and Bobolink. More impressive is the diversity of butterflies in the meadows, with 17 species noted. Notable numbers of Red-spotted Purples, Common Buckeye, Pearl Crescent, and Common Wood Nymph go along with observations of less-common species like Dun Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, and Little Wood Satyr. All bodes well for a great Bio-Blitz event tomorrow at Middle Run. ( http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/blog/ ) Butterflies(and birds) are on the morning menu! Good birding, Derek Stoner Hockessin, DE Subject: Fort Mott SP, Salem Co., NJ 08/27 From: Jeff Kiger <stabbedouteyes AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:23:42 -0400 Highlights were slim to none but a pair of Bald Eagles was a nice sight and a lone Sharp-shinned Hawk. Lots of juv. birds out and about. Warblers...non exsistent. Woodpeckers...none. Most notable was a lone Veery and the gathering of Great-crested Flycatchers. Not much activity today probably due to the park doing alot of brush cutting this morning. Fort Mott State Park 08/27/10 0900-1000a 2 Bald Eagle (one Adl., one 2nd yr.) 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Veery 1 Baltimore Oriole 3 Red-eyed Vireo 14 Great-crested Flycatcher (all on powerline) 12 Cedar Waxwing (8 juv.) 3 Blue Grosbeak (1 juv.) 1 American Goldfinch 3 Bank Swallow 12 Tree Swallow (powerline, numerous in air) 1 Barn Swallow (powerline, numerous in air) 12 Cattle Egret (field) 2 Eastern Peewee 3 Eastern Towhee 3 Northern Cardinal xx American Robin xx Northern Mockingbird xx Gray Catbird xx Mourning Dove Take care and happy birding, Jeff Kiger Subject: Thompson's Island, August 27 From: Michael Bowen <dhmbowen AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:49:22 -0400 There was a fair amount of bird activity at the Thompson's Island portion of Delaware Seashore State Park, Dewey Beach, this morning from 7 to 8 a.m. Many birds were local breeders like Blue Grosbeak, Pine Warbler, and Common Yellowthroat -- and a small, noisy flock of Brown-headed Nuthatches. Migrants included numerous Red-eyed Vireos, Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-and White Warbler, American Redstart, Magnolia Warbler and Canada Warbler (this last was a Sussex County first for me). Several deer and an inquisitive Red Fox helped enliven the morning. The cool front that is moving through the coastal area today should bring more migrants tomorrow. Michael Bowen Dewey beach, DE D.H.Michael Bowen 8609 Ewing Drive Bethesda, MD 20817-3845 Telephone: (301) 530-5764 e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom Subject: Upland Sandpipers From: Lin Just <crazy4wildbirds AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:13:48 -0400 Ater a slow morning at Bombay hook, I searched the potatoe fields on Rte. 9, north of Whitehall Neck rd. I had 2 UPLAND SANDPIPERS where the plowed field meets the grass. Also one HORNED LARK. Lin Just Colora, Md Subject: Fort Mott SP, Salem Co, NJ 08/26 From: Jeff Kiger <stabbedouteyes AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:15:57 -0400 Great morning for a walk with the new 1 month old birder. And again surprises were had. Not much in the Warbler category though. The usual amounts were out except one odd daylight visitor nd one seasonal visitor. A Great Horned Owl hunted within the woods for over a half hour before being chased off by two Northern Flickers. As we were leaving the next odd-ball...one single adult Snow Goose honking like crazy flying north. Haven't seen one this early ever which makes me think something was either wrong with this fella or we had along delay in our flight north. Heading back out of the park there were 2 Cattle Egret having a field day in...well the field eating grasshoppers. Sadly as much as I pointed and shot photos of these birds, the little boy slept the whole time. I still will add the checks on his list heh. Fort Mott State Park 08/26/10 9:00-10:00a 2 Northern Flicker 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 Downy Woodpecker 47 Tree Swallow (on powerline) x Gray Catbird x American Robin x Starling x Mourning Dove 4 Eastern King Bird 3 Northern Cardinal 6 Red-eyed Vireo 5 Eastern Wood Peewee 1 Yellow Warbler 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 Blue Grosbeak 1 Indigo Bunting 2 Black-capped Chickadee 4 House Wren 1 Carolina Wren 1 Brown Thrasher 1 Osprey 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Great Horned Owl 1 Snow Goose (fly over) 2 Cattle Egret Take care and Happy Birding, Jeff Kiger Subject: Nighthawks at BCSP From: Andy Ednie <ednieap AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:00:08 -0400 There was a respectable flight of Common Nighthawk over the Brandywine Valley this evening. One scan produced 55 birds, with a total of 73 nighthawks for the evening. Also was buzzed by a hummingbird and had one Calidris-type sandpiper fly over very high. The evening ended with 10 Nighthawks buzzing the stone walls about 10 feet off the ground, just over my head. The ones downslope were giving me a great view of the back pattern in flight. Good birding, Andy Andy Ednie Claymont, Delaware Subject: Kent County birds, August 26 From: Michael Bowen <dhmbowen AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:45:06 -0400 Route 9 -- west of road and just North of Whitehall Crossroads, in recently plowed potato field: a single UPLAND SANDPIPER at 10:30 a.m. this morning, August 26. It was not present at noon. Getting a little late for this species. No Buff-breasted Sandpipers here, which is what we were looking for. But the field looks good for Buffies, and most agricultural fields in the area have not been cropped yet, being mostly planted with corn and soy beans. In Bombay Hook NWR today, the highlights were: 1 MARBLED GODWIT in with about 75 American Avocets (down a lot from recent highs) in Raymond Pool. 4 STILT SANDPIPER in Shearness. A couple of hours later we had two BONAPARTE'S GULLs at Ted Harvey WMA. Gourmets (gourmands?) may want to note that the crab cake sandwiches at Sambo's restaurant in Leipsic are as succulent as ever. Let's show the flag for birding at this closest restaurant to Bombay Hook; keep your binoculars around your neck as you eat, and fill out your checklist at the table!! Michael and Joy Bowen Bethesda, MD, and Dewey Beach, DE 8609 Ewing Drive Bethesda, MD 20817-3845 Telephone: (301) 530-5764 e-mail: dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom Subject: Delaware Valley RBA, 25 AUGUST 2010 From: Stephen E Kacir <rba AT DVOC.ORG> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:17:02 -0400 - RBA * PA, NJ, DE * Delaware Valley: Southeast PA, Central/Southern NJ & DE * PADV1008.25 * August 25, 2010 - Birds Mentioned Leach's Storm-petrel (NJ)+ Band-rumped Storm-petrel (DE)+ Band-rumped Storm-petrel (NJ)+ Anhinga (PA)+ Black-bellied Whistling-duck (NJ)+ possible Loggerhead Shrike (NJ)+ (NJ)+ (Details requested by NJBRC) (PA)+ (Details requested by PORC) (DE)+ (Details requested by DERC) Cory's Shearwater Great Shearwater Audubon's Shearwater Wilson's Storm-petrel Leach's Storm-petrel Northern Gannet Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Yellow-crowned Night-heron Snow Goose Brant King Eider Common Eider Northern Harrier Red-shouldered Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Merlin Wild Turkey Northern Bobwhite Sora Sandhill Crane American Golden-plover Piping Plover Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Western Willet Upland Sandpiper Whimbrel Hudsonian Godwit Marbled Godwit Red Knot Sanderling Western Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Wilson's Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Laughing Gull Little Gull Black-headed Gull Bonaparte's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Gull-billed Tern Caspian Tern Royal Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Black Tern Budgerigar Black-billed Cuckoo Barred Owl Common Nighthawk Olive-sided Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Western Kingbird Philadelphia Vireo Common Raven Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Blue-winged Warbler Brewster's Warbler Lawrence's Warbler Golden-winged Warbler Tennessee Warbler Nashville Warbler Cape May Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Prairie Warbler Palm Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler "Baypoll" Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Cerulean Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Connecticut Warbler Mourning Warbler Hooded Warbler Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Vesper Sparrow Saltmarsh Sparrow Blue Grosbeak Dickcissel Bobolink Yellow-headed Blackbird Purple Finch - Transcript Hotline: Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert Email reports to: rba AT dvoc.org Compiler: Steve Kacir, Delaware Valley Ornithological Club Phone: (215) 240-7547 Voice of the Delaware Valley RBA: Cindy Ahern URL: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm Welcome to the August 25, 2010 edition of the Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert, a service provided by the joint efforts of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC), covering the Delaware Valley Region of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I'm Steve Kacir your guide for birding in the Greater Philadelphia Region. This week, we highlight reports of LEACH'S STORM-PETREL and BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS in offshore waters associated with Sussex County, DE & Atlantic County, NJ; ANHINGA in Lebanon County, PA and the continuing BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS in Cape May County, NJ. Remember to check out our website for additional content and information: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR NEW JERSEY: Cape May County: Cape May's three BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS relocated to The Nature Conservancy Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge from Cape May Point State Park on Aug 19. On Aug 23, a fourth BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK had joined the original trio. A WESTERN KINGBIRD was at the dunes in the refuge on Aug 19. A first year male and a female YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD flew from the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge towards Cape May Point State Park's Bunker Pond on Aug 20. One of the YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS was seen the next day near Sunset Blvd at the East Path of the refuge. On the evening of Aug 20, two SORAS were at the bridge at the refuge's West Path. A flyby WILSON'S PHALAROPE was reported from the refuge on Aug 21. Other birds at the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge included TRICOLORED HERONS, PIPING PLOVER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, BROAD- WINGED HAWKS, MERLINS, ROYAL TERNS, BLUE GROSBEAKS, BOBOLINKS and River Otter. A DICKCISSEL perched at the Cape May Point State Park Hawk Watch platform on Aug 21. A WILSON'S SNIPE was at the park's first Plover Pond on Aug 21. Other sightings from Cape May Point State Park included TRICOLORED HERONS, STILT SANDPIPER, WHITE- RUMPED SANDPIPER, BLACK TERN, CLIFF SWALLOWS and BOBOLINKS. The subadult drake KING EIDER was still in the vicinity of the Concrete Ship at Sunset Beach through Aug 23. At times, the best viewing for the KING EIDER has been from Alexandria Ave. A BONAPARTE'S GULL was spotted from Cape Island on Aug 23. A GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER was at the second field of Higbee Beach WMA on Aug 19. A LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER flew past Higbee's dike on Aug 24, and a CAPE MAY WARBLER flew past on Aug 23. On Aug 20, two WILD TURKEYS were near Higbee at New England Rd. That day, Higbee's migrants included a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, a record early CONNECTICUT WARBLER and a BREWSTER'S WARBLER. A LAWRENCE'S WARBLER migrated past the dike on Aug 19. A BARRED OWL appeared at the wet woods on the road to the Higbee dike on Aug 21. Other birds at Higbee this week included LEAST FLYCATCHERS, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, WORM-EATING WARBLERS, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, TENNESSEE WARBLER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAKS and BOBOLINKS. On Aug 19, Hidden Valley Ranch had 5 WILD TURKEYS and BOBOLINKS. The Rea Farm had BLUE GROSBEAKS. A PALM WARBLER was at the Villas WMA on Aug 21-22. Other sightings from the Villas included YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS, BLUE-WINGED WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAKS. A NORTHERN BOBWHITE has been calling at the Cape May Bird Observatory Goshen Center for Research and Education. On Aug 23, Stone Harbor Point and Nummy's Island had WESTERN WILLETS, WHIMBRELS, 200 RED KNOTS, WESTERN SANDPIPERS and 2 STILT SANDPIPERS. Cumberland County: A SANDHILL CRANE was in a cow pasture near Dividing Creek on Aug 22. Atlantic County: Tuckahoe WMA had WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS, STILT SANDPIPERS and a WILSON'S PHALAROPE on Aug 19. A SORA was at the Brigantine Division of Edwin B Forsythe NWR on Aug 19. On Aug 24, a BUFF- BREASTED SANDPIPER was at Brigantine, just west of the cross-dike at the dogleg of the north dike. On Aug 21-24, three AMERICAN AVOCETS were at the refuge, reported from the East Pool, the bay near the South Dike observation tower and the West Pool. Other sightings from Brigantine included WHIMBREL, WESTERN WILLETS, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, GULL-BILLED TERNS, CASPIAN TERNS, BLACK TERN, BLUE GROSBEAK, SALTMARSH SPARROW and BOBOLINKS. A See Life Paulagics pelagic trip out of Lewes, DE found 8 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS and a LEACH'S STORM-PETREL in offshore waters shared by NJ and either Delaware or Maryland. More details on this trip can be found in the Sussex County, DE section of the RBA. Ocean County: Three COMMON EIDERS were at Island Beach State Park on Aug 19, and three BLACK TERNS were there on Aug 18 & 25. A VESPER SPARROW was at Island Beach's A-21 parking lot on Aug 25. Monmouth County: An UPLAND SANDPIPER was at the Herbert Rd sod farms on Aug 21. Five BLACK TERNS were at the submerged road in Assunpink WMA on Aug 25. Sandy Hook had a possible LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE on Aug 21, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER on Aug 21, STILT SANDPIPER on Aug 23 and BLACK TERNS on Aug 21-23. Two BRANT were at Spermaceti Cove on Aug 22. Other sightings from Sandy Hook included PIPING PLOVERS, BROAD-WINGED HAWK and BANK SWALLOW. Salem County: On Aug 22, two AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were on the south side of Route 40 at East Coast Sod Farms (aka DeLea Sod Farms). Featherbed Lane had 185 CATTLE EGRETS that day. On Aug 24, Riverview Beach Park had a GULL-BILLED TERN, 4 FORSTER'S TERNS and 6 COMMON TERNS. Gloucester County: On Aug 20, the National Park dredge spoils had TENNESSEE WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and BOBOLINKS. Two CASPIAN TERNS were at the cove area that day. The Floodgates area had 11 CASPIAN TERNS on Aug 20. Middlesex County: A ROYAL TERN was at the Morgan Ave mudflats on Aug 22. Somerset County: An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was at Little Brook Sanctuary on Aug 24. Scherman-Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary had RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, WORM-EATING WARBLER and CANADA WARBLER. Hunterdon County: The Spruce Run Reservoir area had LITTLE BLUE HERON on Aug 21 & 24, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER on Aug 21, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS on Aug 19-21 & Aug 24, BONAPARTE'S GULL on Aug 21 & 24, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on Aug 21, FORSTER'S TERN on Aug 21 & 24, CASPIAN TERNS on Aug 20- 21 & Aug 24 and a BLACKPOLL WARBLER on Aug 21. Warren County: Merrill Creek Reservoir had a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS on Aug 19 & 21, a BLACK TERN on Aug 18 and an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER on Aug 21. The Raccoon Ridge Hawk Watch reported BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, COMMON RAVENS, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and Timber Rattlesnake. -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR DELAWARE: New Castle County: On Aug 22, a juvenile MOURNING WARBLER was at Middle Run Natural Area in a goldenrod field just below Tri-State Bird Rescue. On Aug 23, Middle Run had a WILSON'S WARBLER and a LEAST FLYCATCHER. A BLACK TERN and BOBOLINKS were at the Thousand Acre Marsh on Aug 24. On Aug 19, thirty-six COMMON NIGHTHAWKS migrated past Brandywine Creek State Park. Ashland Nature Center had BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS. Kent County: On Aug 21, a BLACK-HEADED GULL, a LITTLE GULL (both in basic plumage) and a MARBLED GODWIT were at Shearness Pool in Bombay Hook NWR. The BLACK-HEADED GULL was back at Shearness on Aug 23, when it was joined by a HUDSONIAN GODWIT in alternate plumage. Shearness Pool attracted a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE on Aug 24. That day, Raymond Pool had an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER and a flyby SNOW GOOSE. On Aug 19, a dozen AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS were just outside Bombay Hook in a potato field north of the intersection of Whitehall Neck Rd and Route 9. A SORA was at Bear Swamp on Aug 21. A WILSON'S PHALAROPE was at Bombay Hook on Aug 20. An early DUNLIN was at the refuge on Aug 21, and another DUNLIN sighting was made from Raymond Pool on Aug 24. Other sightings from Bombay Hook included TRICOLORED HERON, NORTHERN BOBWHITES, RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, AMERICAN AVOCETS, BLACK-NECKED STILTS, STILT SANDPIPERS, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS, WESTERN SANDPIPERS, BANK SWALLOWS and BLUE GROSBEAKS. Port Mahon had ROYAL TERNS. Sussex County: A See Life Paulagics pelagic trip out of Lewes, DE on Aug 19-20 found 3 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS and a LEACH'S STORM-PETREL in Delaware Waters and 5 more BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS in Maryland waters. Other sightings from that pelagic trip included NORTHERN GANNET, CORY'S SHEARWATERS, GREAT SHEARWATERS, AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER, WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, BLACK TERNS, Bottlenose Dolphins, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtles and Portuguese Man o' War. Prime Hook NWR had 4 BLACK TERNS at Broadkill Rd on Aug 19. On Aug 25, a LITTLE BLUE HERON was at Abbott's Pond in the Abbott's Mill Nature Center. -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia County: On Aug 19, Carpenter's Woods had CANADA WARBLER and BLUE-WINGED WARBLER. COMMON NIGHTHAWKS flew past the East Mount Airy section of Philadelphia on Aug 21. Chester County: On Aug 22, a WILSON'S PHALAROPE was on the private grounds of the Brandywine Polo Club. Bucktoe Creek Preserve had 2 BLUE GROSBEAKS and a BLACKPOLL WARBLER on Aug 22 and CANADA WARBLERS on Aug 18-19 & 22. Hibernia Park had CANADA WARBLER and NASHVILLE WARBLER on Aug 21. A COMMON NIGHTHAWK flew over Chambers Lake on Aug 21. A RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH attended a feeder in Devon on Aug 23. Black Rock Sanctuary had a TENNESSEE WARBLER on Aug 23. Montgomery County: On Aug 22-24, three BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and 2 CASPIAN TERNS were at the Church Road mudflats at Green Lane Reservoir (Green Lane Park). The Church Rd area attracted a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER on Aug 20, three STILT SANDPIPERS on Aug 22, and a BANK SWALLOW was there on Aug 24. A BLACK TERN was at Knight Lake in Green Lane Park on Aug 25. A MOURNING WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER and WILD TURKEYS were at the Pennypack Environmental Restoration Trust on Aug 23. This week, COMMON NIGHTHAWKS passed by the Militia Hill Hawk Watch in Fort Washington State Park, with one count of over 100 NIGHTHAWKS. Bucks County: On Aug 21, Haycock Mountain hosted an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and PHILADELPHIA VIREO. On Aug 18-19 & Aug 22-23, a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER was at the Elm Ave area at Churchville Nature Center, and a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was there on Aug 18. On Aug 22, the Elm Ave ponds attracted 20 STILT SANDPIPERS. Two CASPIAN TERNS were at the Woodbourne Rd causeway at Core Creek Park on Aug 23. A COMMON RAVEN called from a cell tower in Nockamixon Twp on Aug 21. Northampton County: On Aug 22, a STILT SANDPIPER was at a small farm pond at the intersection of Route 611 and Riverton Rd just outside Upper Mount Bethel Twp. A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was there on Aug 23. A BLUE GROSBEAK was near the intersection of Fowl Rift Rd and Depues Ferry Rd at Martins Creek PP&L on Aug 22. Four BLUE GROSBEAKS were at the Grand Central Landfill on Aug 24. Two BLUE GROSBEAKS were in a fallow field at the end of Fritch Dr, off of Brodhead Rd, on Aug 25. On Aug 19, two CERULEAN WARBLERS and 8 CLIFF SWALLOWS were at Polk Valley Park in Hellertown. On Aug 21, a MOURNING WARBLER and a TENNESSEE WARBLER were in East Allen Twp, Bath. An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was in a cedar snag in the upper fields of the Koch property on Aug 25. The lower fields of the Koch property attracted up to 40 BOBOLINKS on Aug 19-22. Other migrants at the Koch property included BROAD-WINGED HAWK, COMMON NIGHTHAWK, LEAST FLYCATCHER and CANADA WARBLER. On Aug 21, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS, WILSON'S WARBLERS, CANADA WARBLER, BAY- BREASTED WARBLER and WORM-EATING WARBLER were reported from the hawk watch lookout at Little Gap above Danielsville on Blue Mountain. Lehigh County: This week, the Bake Oven Knob Hawk Watch reported BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, COMMON RAVENS and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Berks County: On Aug 20, SGL 110 had a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, WILSON'S WARBLER and CANADA WARBLER. This week, the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hawk Watch reported BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, MERLIN, LEAST FLYCATCHER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, TENNESSEE WARBLER, HOODED WARBLER and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS. Fifty BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS and 30 BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS were counted at Hawk Mountain on Aug 23. Lancaster County: On Aug 21-24, a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was in the area of Avocet Point and Gull Island at the Conejohela Flats. On Aug 21-22, two SANDERLINGS were at the Conejohela Flats. On Aug 21-25, a SORA was seen in the purple loosestrife near the duck blind at the flats. On Aug 22, two LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and a STILT SANDPIPER were at the Conejohela Flats. That day, a LAUGHING GULL made a brief appearance between the Lancaster County shoreline and Avocet Point, while 2 BLACK TERNS foraged in the main channel south of Green Island. On Aug 18, fifty FORSTER'S TERNS, 5 CASPIAN TERNS and 5 BLACK TERNS were at the Susquehanna River south of the Blue Rock public boat ramp. Two BLACK TERNS, 7 CASPIAN TERNS and 8 FORSTER'S TERNS were at the flats on Aug 24. A YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was at the pond off Umbletown Rd through Aug 23. On Aug 20, a COMMON RAVEN traveled along the south side of Furnace Hills Ridge in SGL 156. Other sightings from Furnace Hills Ridge included RED- BREASTED NUTHATCH, WORM-EATING WARBLER and CANADA WARBLER. Pumping Station Rd had WORM-EATING WARBLER and CANADA WARBLER on Aug 23. Lebanon County: On Aug 19, an ANHINGA was reported from the Second Mountain Hawk Watch. Other sightings from Second Mountain included BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and COMMON RAVENS. On Aug 23, a female NORTHERN HARRIER hunted the fields at the west end of Ridge Rd in Palmyra. Two COMMON RAVENS were over Spring Hill Acres on Aug 24. Monroe County: A MERLIN was at Blakeslee Farm on Aug 22. Recent Saylorsburg sightings included COMMON RAVEN, CAPE MAY WARBLER and PURPLE FINCH. Pike County: A blue BUDGERIGAR visited the feeders at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) through Aug 23. On Aug 25, PEEC had an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER at the swamp between Thurner Rd and Pickerel Pond, and a BARRED OWL called from the swamp that day. Other migrants at PEEC that day included CAPE MAY WARBLER. Other species reported from PEEC included RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, COMMON NIGHTHAWK, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, PRAIRIE WARBLER, "BAYPOLL" WARBLER and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. Twenty-five COMMON NIGHTHAWKS flew past the Milford area of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on Aug 21. -------------------------------------------------------------- ANNOUNCEMENTS: On August 28, Steve Kacir will lead a DVOC field trip to the Johnson Farm sod fields in Salem County, NJ. Please contact Steve if you plan on attending. The trip will meet at 7:30AM on Griers Lane just past the intersection of Griers Lane and Route 77. On August 29, Frank Windfelder will lead a DVOC field trip to Palmyra Cove Nature Park in Burlington County, NJ. The trip is limited to a maximum of 10 participants. Please contact Frank Windfelder to register for this trip if you plan on attending. The trip will meet at the Palmyra Cove Nature Park parking lot at 6:45AM. On Sep 2, Mike Fritz will lead a "Confusing Fall Birders" DVOC field trip to Higbee Beach WMA in Cape May, NJ for "confusing fall warblers" and other migrants. The trip meets at the main lot for Higbee Beach WMA at 7:30AM. Please contact Mike Fritz if you are interested in attending. Additional information for all these trips including past years' trip reports, contact information for the trip leaders and maps and directions for the grasspiper trip can all be found on the DVOC website: http://www.dvoc.org An informal summer meeting of the DVOC takes place on September 2 at 7:30pm at the John Heinz NWR at Tinicum in Philadelphia, PA. This informal meeting's short presentations will include "Global Warming: The Impact on Birds" by Phil Witmer, "Bird-Safe Glass Demonstration Project at Heinz" by Gary Stolz and "Identification of Wigeon" by Frank Windfelder. The next meeting will be on September 16 at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, featuring "A Naked Safari: Tales of East Africa" by Adrian Binns. Details are on the website, and guests are always welcome. The Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert is a weekly report on birding in the Delaware Valley Region including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. To report birds or significant birding events and planned pelagic trips, please email rba AT dvoc.org. This is Steve Kacir, good birding to you all and thanks for calling, surfing and reporting. - End Transcript Steve Kacir rba AT dvoc.org DVOC Rare Bird Alert Committee Chair Academy of Natural Sciences Delaware Valley Ornithological Club Philadelphia Subject: BCSP Bird Walk on Saturday From: Andy Ednie <ednieap AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:04:09 -0400 The monthly birdwalk at Brandywine Creek State Park is this Saturday, starting at the nature center off Addam's Dam Road at 8:00 am. The walk will last about 2-3 hours, depending on the migrants. There have been a good number of Blue-wings and Redstarts seen lately. Park fees are in effect, $4 for in-state and $8 for out of state vehicles without a park pass. Next month the walk will meet at the Thompson's Bridge parking lot due to an invasion of Redcoats. Good birding, Andy Andy Ednie Claymont, Delaware Subject: Abbott's Pond saga From: Jason Beale <jaybirdbeale AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:04:22 -0400 The Battle of the Beavers continues and the current winners are the shorebirds. A hefty dam at the pond's headwaters has slowed outflow to a trickle and mudflats abound from the upper pond to past the white cedar island. Some of the flats are now visible from the road and the Morton Tract of the nature center. Yesterdays canoe/slogging excursion to the dam yielding the following species and estimates: Least Sandpipers - ~50 Semipalmated Sandpipers - 6 Solitary Sandpipers - 8 Lesser Yellowlegs - 3 Greater Yellowlegs - 2 Semipalmated Plover - 4 (my first sightings at the nature center) Little Blue Heron (imm.) - 2 Great Egret - 1 Green Heron - 3 Great Blue Heron - 1 Wood Ducks - 12 Belted Kingfisher - 1 Cedar Waxwings Aside from the rare shorebird treat, the quality of the viewing was spectacular. The birds seemed to largely ignore our canoe and my 3 year old daughter (not the paragon of stealthy behavior). We viewed most of these birds with 10 yards and some as close as 7 feet away. Leg color on all species was a uniform, clumpy brown. Subject: Red-necked Phalarope, Am. Golden-Plover at Bombay Hook From: Derek Stoner <derekstoner AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:58:00 -0400 Today I joined up with Aden Troyer and his crew of birders from Pennsylvania for our second annual late August tour de Delaware. Fifteen able-bodied birders armed with a dozen scopes provided plenty of optic power to take on the fall migrants. With cloudy skies, a crisp breeze, and chilly temperatures, it sure felt like fall! At Thousand Acre Marsh we sifted a Black Tern out of the 400+ Forster's Terns, along with finding Northern Shoveler, Blue- and Green-winged Teal, and a Northern Pintail. Bobolinks flew over in small flocks. Our main highlight at Bombay Hook was the discovery of a Red-necked Phalarope amidst the shorebird masses at Shearness Pool. There are at least 30 Stilt Sandpipers in Shearness, and still more than 500 American Avocets at the refuge. At Raymond Pool, we found an American Golden-Plover with several Black-bellied Plovers, a White-rumped Sandpiper, several Western Sandpipers, and a single Dunlin. A Snow Goose flew by and joined a flock of Canada Geese. I had not heard of any over-summering Snows on the refuge, so perhaps this is an early-arriving migrant. We finished our day at Fowler Beach, where Spotted and Least Sandpipers walked down the road and an adult Clapper Rail with five tiny black chicks swam across the marsh. Black Skimmers and Least Terns are still present at Fowler. Our day afield yielded a solid 21 species of shorebirds,103 species overall, and a good sampling of fall migrant diversity. Good birding, Derek Stoner Hockessin, DE Subject: Salem County, NJ From: Jeff Kiger <stabbedouteyes AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:26:38 -0400 Sorry for the lack of reports...no time due to the birth of my son. First day...well kind of out. More of a walk in the park with him. Rt 49 just south of Walmart had roughly 49 Cattle Egret feeding with the cows. One Sharp Shinned has been pestering feeders in the Penn Beach area. Also at Riverview Beach park was quite a concentration of Terns. Oddly enough there was one Gull Billed Tern, 4 Forster's Tern, 6 Common Tern, and a mix of Gulls were feeding between the river and the park lake. Never have seen Terns in the park lake before but they were concentrating on a swarm of minnows in the lake it seemed. Take care, Jeff Kiger Subject: Migrant Broad-wingeds at Ashland From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:45:53 -0400 Steady winds from the north at 10-15mph made the hawk watching a sure bet at lunch today on Ashland's Hawk Watch Hill. Steve Johnas, Judy Montgomery and I saw a nice bit of raptor movement while scanning the cloudy skies. A total of six Broad-winged Hawks were counted as they circled high on thermals and headed due south. At least 15 Black Vultures also rode the high thermals and headed south with purpose. Other raptors seen on the move(but not necessarily in the act of migrating) include two Red-shouldered Hawks, two Sharp-shinned Hawks, two Cooper's Hawks and three Red-tailed Hawks. A good warm-up for the official upcoming season at the hawk watch. Good birding, Derek Stoner Subject: Warblers 8/23/10 From: Matthew Sarver <ammodram AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:21:44 -0700 Hi all - Several species of migrant warblers in my yard in Greenville this morning included Black-throated Green, Redstart, Prairie, Magnolia, and Northern Parula. Best, Matt Matt Sarver Greenville, DE Subject: 8/23 - Bombay Hook NWR - Black-headed Gull, Hudsonian Godwit From: Bert Filemyr <afilemyr AT COMCAST.NET> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:20:21 -0400 Around noon today, in Shearness Pool at Bombay Hook NWR, a basic plumage Black-headed Gull and a near alternate plumage Hudsonian Godwit were seen. The gull was associating with a group of Laughing Gulls. The godwit was distinctively different from the Hudsonian Godwit see in Raymond Pool on 8/17 Bert Filemyr Connie Goldman Lynn Jackson Mike Rosengarten Subject: Wilson's Warbler, Least Flycatcher at Middle Run From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:15:28 -0400 This morning at Middle Run Natural Area I was joined by Bob Strahorn, Hank Davis and Dick and Lynne Bingham for a great walk that had a mix of birds and interesting insects. We did not turn up the juvenile Mourning Warbler but not for lack of effort. On the edges of that same field we did find and photograph a nice first-of-fall Least Flycatcher. Other flycatchers observed include Great-crested and Acadian, along with at least 15 Eastern Kingbirds. In grapevine tangles and fall webworm clusters we came across several Baltimore Orioles and Scarlet Tanagers gleaning insects. A mixed warbler flock included a Prairie, several Black-and-whites, and an American Redstart. As we marched back up along the Possum Hollow powerline, Lynne pointed out a bright yellow warbler in the grapevines that turned out to be a juvenile Wilson's Warbler. Consulting my records on E-Bird, I found that we observed Wilson's Warblers at this exact location on August 22, 2007 and August 22, 2009. Pretty consistent migration appearances by this boreal songbird! The interesting insects observed include a massive Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar hanging from a bush, a Tiger Spiketail(dragonfly), many Buckeyes and Red-spotted Purples(butterflies), and a gorgeous Sleepy Orange, a type of sulphur butterfly that breeds as far north as the Carolinas and occasionally strays north in late summer. This was life butterfly for all of us! This Saturday at Middle Run we will be holding the second annual Bio-Blitz, concentrating on the identification of insects. We will collect and photograph insects of all types, but concentrate on the showy insects like butterflies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers. The event will be held from 8:00am to Noon and be based in the main parking lot off of Possum Hollow Road. Bring your binoculars for bugs and birds! Good birding, Derek Stoner Ashland Nature Center Hockessin, DE Subject: CVWO Kiptopeke Challenge - Call for Teams From: Paul Nasca <nasca AT GWFFOUNDATION.ORG> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:39:00 -0400 Dear Delaware Birders; On behalf of the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, and with the kind permission of the De-Birds Listserv Owner, I extend the following: The Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory (CVWO) invites you to participate in the 16th Annual Kiptopeke Challenge (KC) set to be held on Saturday, September 25, 2010. The Kiptopeke Challenge is a fun and friendly team birding competition, whereby teams compete to identify the greatest number of bird species in a single day within the competition boundary of Accomack and Northampton Counties, Virginia, (Virginia's portion of the DELMARVA Peninsula), including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The primary goals of the KC are to raise awareness of fall bird migration on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and to raise funds for the not-for-profit CVWO. It is easy to get involved and there are several categories in which to compete: 24-Hour, 3-Hour, Youth Team (age 18 and under) and Special Venue. The KC is open to anyone! Participants can form their own team or a single individual can request to be placed on an existing team. Please consider forming a team today. It's a great way to put your birding skills to work and help support an organization dedicated to avian research, habitat conservation and public education. For more information, a brochure, or to get involved in the 16th Annual KC please write to or visit . Sincerely, Paul Nasca CVWO - Kiptopeke Challenge Coordinator kiptopekechallenge AT gmail.com Subject: Mourning the loss of a Connecticut From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:31:03 -0400 A birding parable celebrating and lamenting the wonders of new technology: After favorable weather conditions the past couple nights, I'd read enough of the reports on David LaPuma's wonderful bird migration forecasting site(woodcreeper.com) to know that going afield in search of migrants would be a no-brainer. (Notice the use of "no-brainer). The reports from over in Cape May(birdcapemay.org) of freshly-arrived goodies(Blackburnian Warblers, Prothonotary Warbler, Dickcissel, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and even a record-early Connecticut Warbler) had me pumped to get afield at my favorite local birding spot. After a rainy-morning visit to the store to replace my malfunctioning cell phone with a newer model, I arrived at Middle Run Natural Area in Newark. As I walked through the field of goldenrod, I flushed lots of rain-sodden Field Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, Indigo Buntings, Gray Catbirds, and Eastern Towhees. I stopped to "pish" in order to attract the creator of an unusual metallic chip note. Soon a chunky warbler with bright yellow underparts and olive upperparts came flashing through the weeds and landed in an Autumn Olive. I noted the faint white eye-ring, the bright pink legs, the stout beak, the chunky thrush-like body, and the short tail. Trading the Leica binoculars for the Nikon digital SLR camera, I snapped off a few frames while the bird was briefly perched in the open. The shy warbler quickly turned tail and disappeared into the tall weeds, not to be seen again. I'd had the bird within view for about 20 seconds, but felt fairly confident of the ID as a juvenile Connecticut Warbler. This would be a new state bird for me, and I'd spent untold hours each fall searching for them following sightings at northern Delaware hot spots. With the rush of a hot bird coursing through my veins, I made a decision to use my new phone's email capability and did what many birders do nowadays: reach into their pockets and send out an alert via their "mobile device." Certainly other birders would be interested in seeing a record-early fall migrant Connecticut in Delaware, no? There's the "no-brainer" part. I should have analyzed my photos before sending out a report. We all know the famous plates in the Peterson Guide that helped us compare "Confusing Fall Warblers." The truth is there are just Confused Birders waiting to Fall flat on their face with a mis-identification. As Pete Dunne says "The only difference between beginner and expert birders is the beginners have made less mistakes." I'm constantly learning from the mis-calls and analysis of tough birds. Today the Oporornis genus reared its pretty gray hood and knocked another birder down a few pegs. Now I am Mourning my mis-use of technology but thankful for getting a pretty decent photo of a juvenile Mourning Warbler. Technology is a powerful tool, but we must wield it wisely. From now on, insert phone in mouth before reporting a tough-ID bird! If we kept stats as birders, I think that the birding percentage on identification of fall Oporornis warblers might be startling low. How many people have called a Mourning a Connecticut and never known the difference? I'm glad I caught myself before erroneously adding this bird to my list! On the plus side, the bird migration forecast was dead-on, as I had 8 species of warblers including Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, and American Redstart, with one flock of more than 15 warblers feeding in a cherry tree. One warbler sent a text message to his buddies telling them... Good learning birding, Derek Stoner Humbledville, DE Subject: Connecticut Warbler at Middle Run From: Derek Stoner <derekstoner AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:59:51 +0000 Looking at a Connecticut Warbler at Middle Run, in the goldenrod field just below Tri-State Bird Rescue. Seen and photographed at 4:45pm. - Derek Stoner ---------- Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone Subject: Results of Sun, Aug 19-20 Pelagic - Another Dark Storm-Petrel Trifecta! From: Paul Guris <paulagics.com AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:17:25 -0400 See Life Paulagics ran a small boat overnight pelagic trip for a very limited number of birders out of Lewes, DE and staying primarily in Delaware waters. The big highlights were 8 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS (in both DE and MD) and 1 LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS (seen in DE). These birds were all in a crossover zone that is also claimed by New Jersey as part of its pelagic waters. Other expected species were also seen such as CORY'S, GREATER (now GREAT per the AOU), and AUDUBON'S SHEARWATERS plus a high total for WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS. Other marine life was seen such as the offshore form of BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN, a quick LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE, multiple LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLES, and several PORTUGUESE MAN O' WAR jellyfish. We did a bit of fishing in the dark and caught two BLUE SHARKS of about 60-80 pounds each (released) and caught 28 MAHI MAHI so everybody went home with some nice fresh fillets. Final totals (not including birds seen within 15 miles or so of land) were: SPECIES COUNT ---------------- ----- Northern Gannet 1 Cory's Shearwater 7 Great Shearwater 5 Audubon's Shearwater 1 Wilson's Storm-Petrel 885 (about 200 in MD) Leachs's Storm-Petrel 1 Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 8 (5 seen in MD) Laughing Gull 4 Common Tern 1 Black Tern 9 Atl. Bottlenose Dolphin 8 Leatherback Sea Turtle 1 Loggerhead Sea Turtle 5 Portuguese Man O' War 3 Our next trip from Lewes won't be until December 11. Hope to see you aboard. -PAG -- Paul A. Guris See Life Paulagics PO Box 161 Green Lane, PA 18054 215-234-6805 paulagics.com AT gmail.com info AT paulagics.com Subject: Bombay Hook - 8/21 From: Andy Urquhart <AUrqu AT AOL.COM> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:57:00 EDT Hello DE-Birders - Yesterday's shorebird ID workshop, co-led by Eric Braun and myself, went well. We had a total of 18 shorebird species. Unfortunately about 5 of these were on our second pass by Raymond Pool, after about half the group had to leave. In addition to the Marbled Godwit and Stilt Sandpipers mentioned previously and in addition to the more numerous, expected species, we had singles or small numbers of Black-bellied Plovers, Willets, Spotted Sandpipers, an early Dunlin (distant but seemed to be in full breeding plumage), Pectoral Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, and Western Sandpipers. Also, a Sora was seen at Bear Swamp, a very unusual sighting. My thanks to my co-leader, trip participants, and others present at the Hook for finding many of these birds and pointing them out to the group. Andy Urquhart Newark Subject: Bird-brain From: Maurice Barnhill <mvb AT udel.edu> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 11:02:09 -0400 It is raining fairly hard on my yard right now, and the Robins are working the yard under the trees and the edges of the bushes. Not the bird-brain, however. He is perched on the cross-bars of the legs of one of my yard chairs, nice and dry. He scans the yard around the chair, and when he sees something he runs over, grabs it, and returns to the chair. A second one has now joined him on an adjacent chair. -- Maurice Barnhill mvb AT udel.edu Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 Subject: Influx of Migratory Warblers & Other Migrants @ Phillips Park, Newark From: Alex Zorach <cazort AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:14:26 -0400 Phillips Park in Newark saw an influx of migrants today. This was a notable change; the park has been quiet in past weeks, with me typically only observing 15-20 species in dwindling numbers, except robins and starlings which have been increasing in numbers. Today it was very active The migrants were: * 1 American Redstart (Immature, singing) * 1 Black-and-white Warbler * 1 Dendroica Sp. (Probably pine warbler) Also, non-warblers: * 2 Blue-gray gnatcatcher * 1 Empidonax sp. These birds all do breed in New Castle County, but I am almost positive that none of them breed in Phillips park; I bird there a couple times a week and I have not seen any of them since spring migration. Resident birds included a red-shouldered hawk, great crested flycatcher, and eastern wood pewee...all of which I have been seeing and hearing on and off all summer. --- Also, the great crested flycatcher had caught a very large bug, and kept dropping it while trying to swallow it. It would then fly down and catch the dropped bug in mid air. It would then return to its perch and try again, only to drop the bug again. It was highly amusing to watch; Alex Zorach Newark, DE cazort AT gmail.com Subject: Little and Black-headed Gulls @ Bombay Hook From: atgonzon AT verizon.net <atgonzon@VERIZON.NET> Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:31:19 -0400 At approximately 10 am this morning, Eric Braun and I observed both a Little and Black-headed Gull at Shearness Pool in Bombay Hook. Both were in with a large group of Laughing Gulls and terns. Both are in basic plumage. Also present are a single Marbled Godwit, 20+ Still Sands, and a roaming Peregrine. Good birding, Anthony Gonzon Middletown, DE Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone Subject: RBA: Birdline Delaware, August 20th, 2010 From: Andy Ednie <ednieap AT verizon.net> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:19:45 -0400 RBA * Delaware * Statewide * August 20, 2010 * DEST1008.20 *Birds mentioned Black-bellied Whistling Duck Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal Blue-winged Teal Common Eider Red-breasted Merganser Great Shearwater Cory's Shearwater Audubon's Shearwater Wilson's Storm Petrel Brown Booby Brown Pelican Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Green Heron White Ibis Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Cooper's Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Peregrine Falcon American Kestrel Clapper Rail American Golden Plover Black-bellied Plover Piping Plover Killdeer Semipalmated Plover American Oystercatcher American Avocet Black-necked Stilt Marbled Godwit Hudsonian godwit Spotted Sandpiper Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling White-rumped Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Wilson's Phalarope Lesser Black-backed Gull Caspian Tern Royal Tern Sandwich Tern Forster's Tern Least Tern Black Tern Great Horned Owl Common Nighthawk Yellow-billed Cuckoo Chimney Swift Western Kingbird Cliff Swallow Warbling Vireo Brown-headed Nuthatch Marsh Wren Blue-winged Warbler Prairie Warbler Pine Warbler American Redstart Black and White Warbler Louisiana Waterthrush Canada Warbler Scarlet Tanager Blue Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Field Sparrow Bobolink Baltimore Oriole Orchard Oriole Hotline: Birdline Delaware Date: August 20, 2010 Number: 302-658-2747 To Report: Andy Ednie 302-792-9591 (VOICE) Compiler: Andy Ednie (ednieap AT verizon.net) Coverage: Delaware, Delmarva Peninsula, nearby Delaware Valley, Southern New Jersey, Maryland Transcriber: Andy Ednie (ednieap AT verizon.net) For Friday, August 20th, this is Birdline Delaware from the Delaware Museum of Natural History in Greenville. The 2010 Unofficial Delaware State Year List increased to 311 species this week. A WESTERN KINGBIRD was found on Monday and seen through Wednesday along the entrance road (Whitehall Neck Rd) to Bombay Hook NWR near Smyrna. Bombay Hook has been busting with good birds this week, including both HUDSONIAN and MARBLED GODWITS with over 500 AMERICAN AVOCETS at Raymond Pool. A juvenal BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was also reported at Raymond this week, along with a WILSON'S PHALAROPE. A half-dozen BLACK-NECKED STILT continue to be seen at Shearness Pool, along with STILT and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS. 3 TRICOLORED HERONS were counted among the waders, along with LITTLE BLUE HERON and CATTLE EGRETS. 4 BLACK TERNS and LEAST TERNS were seen at Shearness. A BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was found at the sod farms off the Smyrna- Leipsic Rd at the intersection with Big Oak Road. A half dozen AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS were seen in Wick's Potato Fields along Rt. 9 opposite the Whitehall Neck Rd. AMERICAN KESTREL was also reported. At the refuge, PEREGRINE FALCON, RED-SHOULDERED, and COOPER'S HAWKS were reported. NORTHERN SHOVELER, GREEN-WINGED and BLUE-WINGED TEALS were also seen. The previously reported BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK was at the north side of the Broadkill Beach impoundments of Prime Hook NWR this weekend. 6 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS along with PECTORAL SANDPIPER were among the peeps. 24 AMERICAN AVOCETS with several BLACK-NECKED STILTS were also reported, along with CASPIAN TERNS. The previously reported immature WHITE IBIS was again reported this week at the Prime Hook Beach Rd. MARBLED GODWIT continues to be seen at Fowler's Beach. CASPIAN TERNS and AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were seen at Mispillion Inlet. 2 SANDWICH TERNS were again seen on the point at Cape Henlopen State Park. There were also 250 COMMON TERNS, 15 ROYALS, and SEVERAL LEAST TERNS. 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were on the ocean side of the point. The previously reported immature drake and female COMMON EIDERS continue to be seen along the Lewes breakwater. You just have to look early before the fishermen scare them off. The ball field at Cape Henlopen had the plover trifecta, BLACK-BELLIED, SEMIPALMATED and KILLDEER. PIPING PLOVER with SANDERLING and RUDDY TURNSTONE were also seen at the point, along with a single BROWN PELICAN. 2 more SANDWICH TERNS were seen at Tower Road below Dewey Beach in Delaware Seashore State Park on Wednesday. A BLACK TERN was seen at Indian River Inlet, along with FORSTER'S, COMMON, LEAST and ROYAL TERNS. A female RED-BREASTED MERGANSER was seen from the kayak launch at north marina. Another MARBLED GODWIT was seen at the head of Rehoboth Bay at Bay Vista this evening. 20+ SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, CLAPPER RAIL and GREEN HERONS were also reported. A MARSH WREN was also calling, a rare species in the inland bays. Landbirds included a PINE WARBLER feeding young and BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH, plus a COOPER'S HAWK and GREAT HORNED OWL on the same branch in daylight. A CLIFF SWALLOW was among the swallows at Middle run Wildlife Area near Newark this week. Warblers seen include BLUE-WINGED, PRAIRIE, BLACK AND WHITE, AMERICAN REDSTART, and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, WARBLING VIREO, and BOBOLINK were reported, along with large numbers for BALTIMORE ORIOLE, BLUE GROSBEAK, INDIGO BUNTING, and FIELD SPARROW. Tri-State bird rescue along Possum Hollow road at Middle Run reports that the previously discussed immature BROWN BOOBY was successfully rehabbed. That bird was flown down to Miami for release. A nice flight of 36 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were seen at Brandywine Creek State Park last evening. There were also 75 CHIMNEY SWIFTS seen. A peak count of 454 CHIMNEY SWIFTS was counted at Ursuline School off Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Wilmington this week. Another NIGHTHAWK was seen at Brandywine Creek State Park on Sunday. Large numbers of both BALTIMORE and ORCHARD ORIOLE were seen by the entrance booth to the park that day. Warblers reported included BLUE-WINGED, BLACK AND WHITE, REDSTART, and CANADA. A late WARBLING VIREO was still feeding young along the creek on Saturday. The first NORTHERN HARRIER was hunting over the fields, also reported were BALD EAGLE, OSPREY, COOPER'S HAWK, and KESTREL. 2 GREEN HERONS and a WOOD DUCK were found at the Winterthur Ponds on Rt. 92. The pelagic trip out of Lewes this weekend found AUDUBON'S, CORY'S, and GREAT SHEARWATER in Delaware waters along with 215 WILSON'S STORM PETRELS. There were also 3 Fin Whales seen, the second largest mammal in existence. Special thanks to Chris Bennett, Lynn Smith, Dave Bridge, Derek Stoner, Paul Guris, Mike Rosengarten, Bert Filmyer, Lin Just, Maurice Barnhill, Barb Hiebsch, Sally O'Byrne, Julie Bartley at Tri-State, and Kim Steininger for their updates. Please call your reports to 302-792-9591 or email to ednieap AT verizon.net. Until next week, good birding. -end transcript Andy Ednie Claymont, Delaware Subject: American Golden Plovers From: Lin Just <crazy4wildbirds AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:32:49 -0400 While going on a wild goosechase in search of the Western Kingbird (which I never did find), I did have a great consellation bird (or birds, I should say). The potato fields across from the entrance rd. to Bombay Hook held a dozen AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS. I got a pretty good look at them before they flew north across the field. Further south at Broadkill Beach rd., a nice showing of at least 4 BLACK TERNS. Lin Just crazy4wildbirds Colora, Md Subject: Nighthawks From: Andy Ednie <ednieap AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:44:42 -0400 A quick run to the hawkwatch parking lot at Brandywine Creek State Park was very successful tonight. It started with 9 Common Nighthawks moving up the valley, joined by 6 more . Then a group of 21 birds came over the ridge from Fairfax. A total of 36 Nighthawks then flew south towards Rockland. There were also about 75 Chimney Swift with a few Tree and Barn Swallows. As the sun set, the Kestrel and Pileated Woodpecker called. 3 Meadowlarks were next to the road as I left. Andy Ednie Claymont, Delaware Subject: Chester Co., Bucktoe Creek Preserve From: Joe Sebastiani <bunker17 AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:07:56 -0400 Recently at the Bucktoe Creek Preserve, I have had a few migrants moving through. August 14 - Black-throated Green Warbler; August 18 & 19 - Canada Warbler. Attend the free bird walks this Sunday and Monday, when Larry Lewis and Kathleen Pileggi will lead the group around this 300-acre private nature reserve. Walks start at 8am and directions can be found at http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/dns_sites.html. Joe Sebastiani, Delaware Nature Society Subject: Western Kingbird From: Maurice Barnhill <mvb AT udel.edu> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:00:18 -0400 The Cape May RBA reports that a Western Kingbird was found today "flying west towards the state park." It would be very interesting to know if the Bombay Hook bird is still present, and if not, when the last observation was. -- Maurice Barnhill mvb AT udel.edu Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 Subject: Delaware Valley RBA, 18 AUGUST 2010 From: Stephen E Kacir <rba AT DVOC.ORG> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:46:36 -0400 - RBA * PA, NJ, DE * Delaware Valley: Southeast PA, Central/Southern NJ & DE * PADV1008.18 * August 18, 2010 - Birds Mentioned Leach's Storm-petrel (NJ)+ Band-rumped Storm-petrel (NJ)+ White Ibis (DE)+ Black-bellied Whistling-duck (DE)+ Black-bellied Whistling-duck (NJ)+ South Polar Skua (Extralimital: MD) Western Kingbird (DE)+ (NJ)+ (Details requested by NJBRC) (PA)+ (Details requested by PORC) (DE)+ (Details requested by DERC) Wilson's Storm-petrel Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Yellow-crowned Night-heron Glossy Ibis Tundra Swan King Eider Common Eider Surf Scoter Red-shouldered Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Merlin Wild Turkey Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Western Willet Upland Sandpiper Western Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Lesser Black-backed Gull Gull-billed Tern Caspian Tern Royal Tern Sandwich Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Black Tern Eurasian Collared-dove Black-billed Cuckoo Common Nighthawk Red-headed Woodpecker Olive-sided Flycatcher Yellow-throated Vireo Common Raven Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Tennessee Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Cape May Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Pine Warbler Prairie Warbler Cerulean Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Mourning Warbler Hooded Warbler Canada Warbler Grasshopper Sparrow Saltmarsh Sparrow Blue Grosbeak Bobolink - Transcript Hotline: Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert Email reports to: rba AT dvoc.org Compiler: Steve Kacir, Delaware Valley Ornithological Club Phone: (215) 240-7547 Voice of the Delaware Valley RBA: Cindy Ahern URL: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm Welcome to the August 18, 2010 edition of the Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert, a service provided by the joint efforts of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC), covering the Delaware Valley Region of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I'm Steve Kacir your guide for birding in the Greater Philadelphia Region. This week, we highlight reports of BAND-RUMPED STORM- PETRELS & LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS offshore of Atlantic County, NJ at the Wilmington Canyon; WHITE IBIS & BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK in Sussex County, DE; BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK in Cape May County, NJ and WESTERN KINGBIRD in Kent County, DE. Remember to check out our website for additional content and information: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR NEW JERSEY: Cape May County: The three BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS were still at Lighthouse Pond in Cape May Point State Park through Aug 17. Two AMERICAN AVOCETS were at the park's Bunker Pond on Aug 17, and a BLACK TERN was there on Aug 18. A MARBLED GODWIT has been seen at the Bunker Pond sporadically as well. An adult and a juvenile SANDWICH TERN were near the pavilion at the state park on Aug 14, and they were seen on the south Cape May beachfront on Aug 17. Other reports from Cape May Point State Park mentioned STILT SANDPIPERS, WHITE- RUMPED SANDPIPERS and BOBOLINKS. A SURF SCOTER was seen at various locations between the State Park and Higbee Beach WMA through Aug 16. The immature drake KING EIDER was spotted off Sunset Beach and occasionally on the Concrete Ship through Aug 18. Three BLACK TERNS and 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were at The Nature Conservancy Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge on Aug 16. Other birds at the refuge included PIPING PLOVER and BLUE GROSBEAK. A CAPE MAY WARBLER was near Cape May Point on Aug 16. The Cape May back bay area had TRICOLORED HERONS, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, MARBLED GODWIT, WHIMBRELS and CASPIAN TERNS. Cumberland County: Two ROYAL TERNS were at the High Street Boardwalk in Bivalve on Aug 13. Atlantic County: On Aug 15, a See Life Paulagics pelagic trip out of Lewes, DE found 3 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS and 4 LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS in the crossover zone at the Wilmington Canyon that exists as both Maryland waters and New Jersey waters. On Aug 12, two AMERICAN AVOCETS and a BLACK TERN were at the northwest impoundment of the Brigantine Division of Edwin B Forsythe NWR, and a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and 3 MARBLED GODWITS were found at Brigantine during the high tide. Two WILSON'S PHALAROPES were at Brigantine on Aug 14. On Aug 14-15, over 70 WHIMBRELS were at Brigantine. On Aug 17, two BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS and an immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER were at the Experimental Pool in Brigantine, and a YELLOW-THROATED VIREO was at Jen's Trail. That day, a MARBLED GODWIT was found on the refuge at high tide. Other reports from Brigantine mentioned TRICOLORED HERON, STILT SANDPIPERS, WESTERN SANDPIPERS, WHITE- RUMPED SANDPIPERS, WESTERN WILLET, GULL-BILLED TERNS, CASPIAN TERN, ROYAL TERN, BLUE GROSBEAK, SALTMARSH SPARROW and BOBOLINKS. On Aug 16, Malibu Beach WMA had 2 YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and 2 LITTLE BLUE HERONS. Ocean County: Great Bay WMA in Tuckerton had a TRICOLORED HERON. Burlington County: The injured TUNDRA SWAN was at Whitesbog through Aug 12, and twelve GULL-BILLED TERNS were there on Aug 11. Salem County: The Johnson Farm sod fields attracted an UPLAND SANDPIPER on Aug 17. Middlesex County: On Aug 13, two ROYAL TERNS were at the Morgan Avenue Mudflats in South Amboy. Somerset County: Lord Stirling Park had a YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON on Aug 18. Hunterdon County: On Aug 13, the mouth of the Mulhockaway Creek at Spruce Run Reservoir hosted a probable WESTERN SANDPIPER and a CASPIAN TERN; an immature BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was there on Aug 17. -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR DELAWARE: New Castle County: On Aug 15, Middle Run Natural Area had a CLIFF SWALLOW, BOBOLINK, PRAIRIE WARBLER and two family groups of BLUE GROSBEAKS. A COMMON NIGHTHAWK flew over Brandywine Creek State Park on Aug 15. Kent County: On Aug 16-17, a WESTERN KINGBIRD was just outside Bombay Hook NWR, on the wires along Whitehall Neck Rd near Parsons Point Rd. On Aug 14-17, a HUDSONIAN GODWIT was at Raymond Pool in Bombay Hook NWR. A MARBLED GODWIT was at Raymond Pool on Aug 17. A juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was at Raymond Pool on Aug 17. A WILSON'S PHALAROPE was at Raymond Pool Aug 13-16, and two WILSON'S PHALAROPES were there on Aug 17. A BLACK TERN was at Bombay Hook on Aug 17. Other sightings from Bombay Hook included TRICOLORED HERONS, LITTLE BLUE HERONS, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, AMERICAN AVOCETS, BLACK-NECKED STILTS, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, STILT SANDPIPERS, CASPIAN TERNS and BLUE GROSBEAK. The turf farm between Bombay Hook and Smyrna had a BUFF- BREASTED SANDPIPER on Aug 17. Port Mahon had ROYAL TERNS. A leucistic BARN SWALLOW was at Boon Docks Restaurant on Aug 13. That day, a BOBOLINK was at Taylor's Gut. Sussex County: On Aug 15, a See Life Paulagics pelagic trip out of Lewes, DE found 3 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS and 4 LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS in the crossover zone at the Wilmington Canyon that is exists as both Maryland waters and New Jersey waters. Sightings from Delaware waters during that trip included 6 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 15 GREAT SHEARWATERS, 6 AUDUBON'S SHEARWATERS, 215 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, a BLACK TERN, 3 Fin Whales, a Leatherback Sea Turtle and a Portuguese Man-o-war. Additional sightings of interest in Maryland waters for that trip included a SOUTH POLAR SKUA and 142 Pilot Whales. On Aug 14, the immature drake and adult hen COMMON EIDERS were on a rock west of the Breakwater Light at Cape Henlopen State Park. That day, the bayside of Cape Henlopen Point had 2 SANDWICH TERNS, 15 ROYAL TERNS, two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and a PIPING PLOVER. On Aug 13, an immature WHITE IBIS was feeding with hundreds of egrets at Prime Hook Rd in Prime Hook NWR. On Aug 13-14, a BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK was at the marsh on the north side of Broadkill Rd in Prime Hook NWR. The BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK was first reported near the bridge past the two pull-off areas. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at the southern Broadkill Rd impoundment on Aug 13, and a juvenile RED KNOT was there on Aug 12. Other birds at the Broadkill Rd impoundments included AMERICAN AVOCETS, BLACK- NECKED STILTS, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS, GULL-BILLED TERNS and CASPIAN TERNS. A WESTERN WILLET was at Fowler Beach Rd on Aug 13. Mispillion Harbor had CASPIAN TERNS. Three LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and 12 ROYAL TERNS were at Dewey Beach on Aug 13. -------------------------------------------------------------- FOR PENNSYLVANIA: Chester County: Two BLACK TERNS were at Chambers Lake on Aug 15. On Aug 13, Bucktoe Creek Preserve had WORM-EATING WARBLERS and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO. Montgomery County: The mudflats at the Church Road Natural Area of Green Lane Reservoir (Green Lane Park) had four RED KNOTS and 52 STILT SANDPIPERS on August 15. A GLOSSY IBIS was at the Church Rd area on Aug 13. Other sightings from the Church Rd area included SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS and BANK SWALLOWS. Two FORSTER'S TERNS were at the Walt Road section of Green Lane Park on Aug 16. Bucks County: A CANADA WARBLER was at Silver Lake Park on August 14. The Churchville Nature Center had PINE WARBLER. Northampton County: A MOURNING WARBLER was in a yard in Bath, East Allen Twp on Aug 15. A CERULEAN WARBLER was at Jacobsburg State Park on Aug 17. Other birds at Jacobsburg included BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, CANADA WARBLER and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. Three COMMON RAVENS were spotted over Pen Argyl on Aug 14. A possible BLACK TERN was at Green Pond on Aug 15. Lehigh County: A MOURNING WARBLER was at Franko Park on Aug 18. The Bake Oven Knob Hawk Watch reported BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and MERLIN. Berks County: The Hawk Mountain Hawk Watch reported BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, RED- SHOULDERED HAWK, MERLINS, HOODED WARBLER, TENNESSEE WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. Lancaster County: On Aug 18, a GULL-BILLED TERN was reported from the Conejohela Flats at Avocet Point and Gull Island. Two GLOSSY IBISES were at the north tip of Rookery Island on Aug 18. On Aug 14, a BLACK TERN was over the main channel off Gull Island on, and a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER was in the area of Avocet Point and Gull Island. A LITTLE BLUE HERON was on Avocet Point that day. On Aug 13, thirty- five FORSTER'S TERNS were at the Conejohela Flats. A juvenile WILSON'S PHALAROPE was at the flats on Aug 13, and the evening tern flight included 2 BLACK TERNS, a COMMON TERN and 30 FORSTER'S TERNS. Other reports from the Flats mentioned SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, CASPIAN TERNS, PEREGRINE FALCONS and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. On Aug 16, five BLUE GROSBEAKS were along the tour road at Middle Creek WMA, including a pair at Girl Scout Rd. That day, twenty- nine BOBOLINKS flew in from the Lebanon County part of Middle Creek. On Aug 14, a MOURNING WARBLER was at SGL 156, just west of the parking area. Other birds at SGL 156 that day included BROAD- WINGED HAWK, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and CANADA WARBLER. A LITTLE BLUE HERON was at the Falmouth Boat Access on Aug 18. Three CANADA WARBLERS were at Pumping Station Rd on Aug 17. Lebanon County: On Aug 17, a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was at the intersection of Route 322 and Valley Lane. An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and a BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER were at SGL 145 on Aug 13, seen from the General Biddle Rd area off Pinch Rd. On Aug 16, Middle Creek WMA had 4 WILD TURKEYS, 43 BOBOLINKS at Chapel Rd and 29 BOBOLINKS with 2 GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS at auto tour stop #3. The Second Mountain Hawk Watch reported 3 BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS on Aug 17. Second Mountain also noted BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, MERLINS and COMMON RAVEN. -------------------------------------------------------------- ANNOUNCEMENTS: On August 28, Steve Kacir will lead a DVOC field trip to the Johnson Farm sod fields in Salem County, NJ. Please contact Steve if you plan on attending. The trip will meet at 7:30AM on Griers Lane just past the intersection of Griers Lane and Route 77. On August 29, Frank Windfelder will lead a DVOC field trip to Palmyra Cove Nature Park in Burlington County, NJ. The trip is limited to a maximum of 10 participants. Please contact Frank Windfelder to register for this trip if you plan on attending. The trip will meet at the Palmyra Cove Nature Park parking lot at 6:45AM. On Sep 2, Mike Fritz will lead a "Confusing Fall Birders" DVOC field trip to Higbee Beach WMA in Cape May, NJ for "confusing fall warblers" and other migrants. The trip meets at the main lot for Higbee Beach WMA at 7:30AM. Please contact Mike Fritz if you are interested in attending. Additional information for all these trips including past years' trip reports, contact information for the trip leaders and maps and directions for the grasspiper trip can all be found on the DVOC website: http://www.dvoc.org An informal summer meeting of the DVOC takes place on September 2 at 7:30pm at the John Heinz NWR at Tinicum in Philadelphia, PA. This informal meeting's short presentations will include "Global Warming: The Impact on Birds" by Phil Witmer, "Bird-Safe Glass Demonstration Project at Heinz" by Gary Stolz and "Identification of Wigeon" by Frank Windfelder. The next meeting will be on September 16 at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, featuring "A Naked Safari: Tales of East Africa" by Adrian Binns. Details are on the website, and guests are always welcome. See Life Paulagics is running a pelagic trip out of Lewes, DE on August 19-20. The trip will focus on summer seabirds and cetaceans, including White-Faced Storm-petrel. For more information, call 215-234-6805 or visit them on the web at http://www.paulagics.com The Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert is a weekly report on birding in the Delaware Valley Region including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. To report birds or significant birding events and planned pelagic trips, please email rba AT dvoc.org. This is Steve Kacir, good birding to you all and thanks for calling, surfing and reporting. - End Transcript Steve Kacir rba AT dvoc.org DVOC Rare Bird Alert Committee Chair Academy of Natural Sciences Delaware Valley Ornithological Club Philadelphia Subject: Results of Sun, Aug 15 Pelagic - Dark Storm-Petrel Trifecta! From: Paul Guris <paulagics.com AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:24:31 -0400 See Life Paulagics's annual summer trip out of Lewes, DE was a success. The big highlights were 3 BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETRELS and 4 LEACH'S STORM-PETRELS, all in Maryland waters. An interesting point is that these birds were in a crossover zone that is also claimed by New Jersey as part of its pelagic waters. The birds were seen well, photographs were obtained of both, and write-ups will be submitted to the appropriate records committees. Another highlight was a poorly seen but fortunately photographed SOUTH POLAR SKUA seen on the way back in. This bird was also in Maryland waters. (I still need to check to see if we were still in the New Jersey crossover zone.) The expected CORY'S, GREATER (now GREAT per the AOU), and AUDUBON'S SHEARWATERS and were all seen well and, at one point, we had all 3 species sitting together. WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS showed well, as usual. To round out the trip, we had FIN WHALE, PILOT WHALE (an excellent show), the offshore form of BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN, a briefly viewed LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE, and two brightly colored PORTUGUESE MAN O' WAR jellyfish. A bonus was catching a few MAHI MAHI and a SKIPJACK TUNA. Final totals were: SPECIES DE MD TOTAL ---------------- ----- ----- ----- Cory's Shearwater 6 3 9 Great Shearwater 15 13 28 Audubon's Shearwater 6 9 15 Wilson's Storm-Petrel 215 96 311 Leachs's Storm-Petrel - 4 4 Band-rumped Storm-Petrel - 3 3 South Polar Skua - 1 1 Laughing Gull 2 - 2 Black Tern 1 - 1 Fin Whale 3 - 3 Atl. Bottlenose Dolphin - 14 14 Pilot Whale - 142 142 Leatherback Sea Turtle 1 - 1 Portuguese Man O' War 1 1 2 Our next trip (which is sold out) is a special 22-hour small group trip to Delaware waters leaving this Thursday night. Wish us luck! -PAG -- Paul A. Guris See Life Paulagics PO Box 161 Green Lane, PA 18054 215-234-6805 info AT paulagics.com Subject: Photo Study Of Some Birds At Bombay Hook NWR (Kent County) Yesterday From: "Howard B. Eskin" <hbeskin AT VOICENET.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:56:33 -0400 Ed Norman and I hit Bombay Hook NWR and Port Mahon Ditch yesterday. Our target birds were the Western Kingbird and the Hudsonian Godwit that had been reported seen for the past few days. We got lucky! Also, there were well over one thousand wading birds (Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Glossy Ibises, Tri-colored and Little BlueHerons, etc.) as well as even more shorebirds throughout the Refuge. To see the Photo Study as well as a list of the species seen, please click on the following link: http://www.howardsview.com/BombayHookAug17th_10/BombayHookAug17th_10.html Howard B. Eskin Harleysville (Montgomery County), PA Subject: Western Kingbird and Baird's Sandpiper From: Derek Stoner <derekstoner AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:49:56 -0400 As a matter of follow-up to the previous positive reports, the Western Kingbird along Whitehall Neck Road was still catching June (or August?) Beetles from atop the soybeans at 7:45pm this evening as dusk fell. With one stand of trees at the farmstead(.6 miles east of the intersection with Bear Swamp Road), the bird is likely retiring there for the night... or with the light winds from the North overnight, he could depart and be in Maryland or Virginia tomorrow! The show at Raymond Pool is just as-advertised: incredible! I made an audio recording of the raucous grunting and squawking produced by the herd of herons, egrets, and ibis in the north end of the impoundment. Jammed beak-to-beak, the walls of white waders looked and sounded quite like a swarm of Snow Geese. My rough count of the flock tonight was: 170 Great Egrets, 240 Snowy Egrets, 12 Little Blue Herons(all juveniles), and 180 Glossy Ibis. I checked carefully for Little Egret with no luck. A good surprise in Raymond is the influx of ducks: 17 Northern Shovelers, 140 Blue-winged Teal, and 20 Green-winged Teal. I studied one medium-sized teal for a while that had very good female Cinnamon characters, particularly the heavier streaking and rustier color in comparison to the female Blue-winged Teal. Unfortunately distance and fading light did not allow for a better analysis of this different-looking bird. Worth looking for again... Other notables in Raymond included a juvenile Baird's Sandpiper, both Godwits side-by-side for photos, and the continuing Wilson's Phalarope. It's remarkable to see so many of the peeps feeding atop the thick mats of algae. A banded Peregrine Falcon tore through the shorebird flocks and scattered all but the avocets and godwits. Good birding, Derek Stoner Hockessin, DE Subject: Boy am I embarrassed! From: "Bennett Chris (DNREC)" <Chris.Bennett AT STATE.DE.US> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:12:51 -0400 Please note that it was Howard and not "Bob" Eskin who reported the birds at Bombay Hook. My apologies Howard! I'm pretty sure I got all of his birds and their locations correct this time however!! Chris Bennett Milford, DE "The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?'" Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac Subject: Bombay Hook Birds for Bob Eskin From: "Bennett Chris (DNREC)" <Chris.Bennett AT STATE.DE.US> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:55:13 -0400 Bob Eskin just called me from Bombay Hook to report that both Hudsonian and Marbled Godwit along with lots of Avocets are in Raymond Pool and the Western Kingbird is still hanging out in the same place it's been reported for the past few days - near the intersection of the Whitehall Neck Road and the gravel driveway on the south side of the road just before Parson Point Road. He also reports good numbers of other shorebirds and wading birds. Chris Bennett Milford, DE "The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?'" Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac Subject: Around Bombay Hook From: Maurice Barnhill <mvb AT udel.edu> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:51:34 -0400 Having discovered that I had not taken a picture of a Western Kingbird, I went down to Bombay Hook this morning (Aug 17). No problem with the Kingbird, it even came out to the road at one point. A quick and very superficial look at Bombay Hook turned up a flock of 10-15 Shovelers, a group of around 5 swimming Stilt Sandpipers, and 1 soaring Cooper's Hawk with a bulging crop. The usual stuff was also there, but Peep were low because of the stage of the tide. At the turf farm on the road back to Smyrna, I saw birds out of the corner of my eye. A brief stop got a lot of Killdeear and two quick glimpses of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. It has been a long time since that little patch of turf turned something up for me; maybe the lack of harvested potato fields drove the bird there. -- Maurice Barnhill mvb AT udel.edu Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 Subject: Re: Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook From: "Lovelace Glen (DelDOT)" <Glen.Lovelace AT STATE.DE.US> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:03:17 -0400 The bird was there between 8 and 8:30 AM along the lines running up the driveway (dirt lane). As I was leaving its last feeding foray took it into the trees nearer to the house. It was either in the tree or on the line on the house side, but I did not pry too far with my scope. So if not immediately in view, it may be up around the house. County closeout on Western Kingbird. Take that MD county listers! ;) Good bird chasing, Glen Lovelace III Seaford, DE -----Original Message----- From: Delaware Birding [mailto:de-birds AT Princeton.EDU] On Behalf Of atgonzon AT verizon.net Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 7:39 AM To: de-birds AT Princeton.EDU Subject: Re: [de-birds] Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook The western kingbird is still present this morning along Whitehall Neck Rd. near Bombay Hook. The bird is frequenting the lines just west of Parsons Point Rd near a dirt lane intersection with a parallel line before the hard bend on Whitehall Neck. Good luck to anyone looking for this bird. It is being very photogenic. Anthony Gonzon Middletown, DE Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone ----- Reply message ----- From: "Bert Filemyr" Date: Mon, Aug 16, 2010 12:46 pm Subject: [de-birds] Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook To: I just got a call from Mike Rosengarten. He and others are looking at a Western Kingbird on the wires along Whitehall Neck Road near Parsons Point Road. Pictures were taken. Bert Filemyr - Meadowbrook Pa Subject: Re: Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook From: atgonzon AT verizon.net <atgonzon@VERIZON.NET> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 07:38:35 -0400 The western kingbird is still present this morning along Whitehall Neck Rd. near Bombay Hook. The bird is frequenting the lines just west of Parsons Point Rd near a dirt lane intersection with a parallel line before the hard bend on Whitehall Neck. Good luck to anyone looking for this bird. It is being very photogenic. Anthony Gonzon Middletown, DE Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone ----- Reply message ----- From: "Bert Filemyr" Date: Mon, Aug 16, 2010 12:46 pm Subject: [de-birds] Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook To: I just got a call from Mike Rosengarten. He and others are looking at a Western Kingbird on the wires along Whitehall Neck Road near Parsons Point Road. Pictures were taken. Bert Filemyr - Meadowbrook Pa Subject: Bombay Hook 08/15 From: Barbara Hiebsch <redsquirrelgirl AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:10:21 +0000 Hi all, If trying to bird unsuccessfully in the rain AT Brandywine State park. We gave up and went to Bombay Hook. Arrived at 5:30 PM and stayed to 8:00PM. Spectacular!! I will mention that we had 2 Caspian terns AT Woodland Beach , near the dead-end. First off I will mention that I did not see the western kingbird! Kudos to Mike. Whitehall-neck Rd. brought us the usual good numbers of indigo's; 1 blue grosbeak; 1 Am. kestrel (female) and it appeared to be 5 horned larks. We both got the Hudsonian godwit in Raymond pool. I was amazed by the numbers of A. Avocets. I've seen the 200 plus before, but not between 400 -500 of them. What a treat. Raymond was packed. Then I went to shearness where I had already seen the large numbers of herons and egrets. Again I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of it! More snowy egrets that I've ever seen, as well as sev. immature Little blue herons. Also 3 tri-colored herons, missed out on the cattle egrets though. These guys were packing the water and mud flats. My estimate of snowy would have to be over 200. The aerial counts are for the refuge to do. Also had a red-shouldered hawk in the fields across from Raymond tower. 2 ospreys; 1 AT Raymond pool and another AT Bear swamp. A female peregrine who somehow seemed very large , perched near shearness. 16 Bl-cr. night-herons; 2 bl-necked stilts AT shearness, some long-billed dowitchers with the many short-billed. one spotted sandpiper; 3 pectoral; stilt; semi-p. sandpipers and plovers. No b-bellied plovers or Willets for me. No warblers either. You must try to come see this spectacle! Good birding , Barb Hiebsch Norristown, Pa. Subject: Cape Henlopen to Mispillion Saturday From: "Bennett Chris (DNREC)" <Chris.Bennett AT STATE.DE.US> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:02:04 -0400 Since there were no reports from the southern Delaware Bay shore from over the weekend I figured I'd bore all of you with a recount of my morning trip on Saturday from Cape Henlopen to Mispillion Harbor. The day started a little later than I had hoped - plan was to be out of the house by 6 am and for various reasons mostly due to a visitor who will remain nameless I finally started towards CHSP at 7:30 - and I was scoping the point by 8 am. On the drive to the point there were Killdeer, Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plovers on the Parade Field. The Eiders (female and immature male) were sitting on a rock just west of the Breakwater Light (red lighthouse) with only part of the male's head visible and the female "exposed" from the upper breast up. There was still a lot of exposed sand for feeding shorebirds and loafing terns and gulls on the bayside of the point. I had 250 Common Terns, 15 Royal Terns, 10 or so Least Terns and 2 Sandwich Terns. Among the shorebirds present were 1 Piping Plover, lots of Sanderlings and a few Ruddy Turnstones. There were two immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the ocean side of the point. I was hoping that the three days of easterly winds would have pushed at least a few WISPs in close to shore but I failed to turn any up. My next stop was Broadkill Beach Road where as previously reported there is water again on the south side of the road and lots of shorebirds - most of which were out of ID range on the back side of the impoundment. Of the birds I could ID there were Semipalmated, Least, White-rumped (at least 6) and Pectoral Sandpipers, both Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitchers, Semipalmated Plovers and several Black-necked Stilts. The marsh on the opposite side of the road held many of the same shorebirds (in lesser numbers) plus 24 American Avocets and 1 Black-bellied Whistling Duck (very close to where it was reported on Friday). As I drove back out to RT 1 I stopped to scan the marsh just west of the ditch and fishing area and had a small group of Caspian Terns. With the recent sprint tides the water levels along Prime Hook Beach Road were as high as I've seen them since the breach at Fowler's. Shorebird numbers were relatively low but every culvert had a large group of herons and egrets hungrily feeding on the small fish schooling in the tidal currents. I spent quite a bit of time photographing snowy egrets at one culvert and photographed a bird that I was sure was a Little Blue - but upon examining my photos I'm a bit puzzled. The bird has the bi-colored bill of a little blue, with gray lores, but legs that were yellow down the back and dark down the front with yellow toes like a snowy. Is this a juvenile snowy with gray lores? I'll post a photo or two to the DOS photogallery for anyone that's interested in taking a look. At another culvert I spent some time photographing feeding Least Terns. Water was high at Fowlers with nothing out of the ordinary. At Mispillion I had a small group of Caspian Terns, an American Oystercatcher and lots of Dowitchers, Sanderlings and Turnstones. Chris Bennett Milford, DE "The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: 'What good is it?'" Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac Subject: Western Kingbird - near Bombay Hook From: Bert Filemyr <afilemyr AT COMCAST.NET> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:46:19 -0400 I just got a call from Mike Rosengarten. He and others are looking at a Western Kingbird on the wires along Whitehall Neck Road near Parsons Point Road. Pictures were taken. Bert Filemyr - Meadowbrook Pa Subject: Common Nighthawk From: "Steininger, Kim" <KSteininger AT MNAT.COM> Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:33:00 -0400 I both started and ended my day at Brandywine Creek State Park today. While waiting for someone to open the gate this morning I had at least a couple dozen BALTIMORE and ORCHARD ORIOLES in the tree to the left of the gate! I also had a NORTHERN HARRIER which was a nice surprise. This afternoon, starting at 4:00, was the annual picnic for the Delaware Dunlins youth birders which was held at Brandywine Creek State Park. The Dunlins, their parents and siblings, spent a wet but enjoyable pre-birding dinner with Bill Stewart, Derek Stoner and myself. The first two hours of the picnic were mostly bird free due to all the rain but when it finally let up around 6:00 we were treated to one of the park's AMERICAN KESTREL fledglings, a BALD EAGLE, NORTHERN HARRIER and COMMON NIGHTHAWK! In spite of the weather, a good time was had by all! Kim Steininger This message, including any accompanying documents or attachments, may contain information that is confidential or that is privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, please note that the dissemination, distribution, use or copying of this message or any of the accompanying documents or attachments is strictly prohibited. If you believe that you may have received this message in error, please contact me at (302) 658-9200 or by return e-mail. Subject: Re: Upper bay on Saturday From: Maurice Barnhill <mvb AT udel.edu> Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:15:13 -0400 Beautiful pictures. They also settle the age question; the bird is a molting adult. On 8/15/2010 10:42 AM, kds wrote: > Lots of shorebirds at Bombay Hook, 8/14. A beautiful Hudsonian Godwit > was at Raymond's Pool, eating worms and getting muddy. Pics have been > posted to DOS, http://www.dosbirds.org/photogallery > Happy birding, > H&K Snyder > www.moonbeampublishing.com > -- Maurice Barnhill mvb AT udel.edu Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716 Subject: Cliff Swallow and Middle Run migrants, 8/15 From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:44:23 -0400 By far the best find at Middle Run Natural Area this morning was a Cliff Swallow amongst the flocks of Tree and Barn Swallows coursing the fields. I've only ever seen a couple other Cliff Swallows up in the Piedmont region, despite always checking the swallow flocks carefully. This bird is a long-anticipated addition to the Middle Run bird survey list. Migrant-wise, I found Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Bobolink, and a tremendously entertaining flock of 14 Baltimore Orioles. The orioles flew back and forth in the tops of walnut trees, being constantly harassed by a very aggressive Eastern Kingbird(the Tyrant himself!). One moment there'd be a lineup of bright orange orioles, and the next moment the flock would flush in a burst of color. I found and photographed two family groups of Blue Grosbeaks, with the stubby-tailed and yellow-gaped fledglings following the parents closely and being fed caterpillars. Groups of 12 Indigo Buntings and 10 Field Sparrows working the field edges also showed plenty of parent-chick interaction. Other notable birds observed are Prairie Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, Warbling Vireo, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo among the 62 species seen on a beautifully overcast and cool morning. Good birding, Derek Stoner Hockessin, DE