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11 May Birding with the Knots, 5/10 [Derek Stoner ] 11 May Wilmington Big Day ["sally o'byrne" ] 11 May Re: Wood Sandpiper still present at 5:30 pm [Kurt Gaskill ] 11 May Re: Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday [Kurt Gaskill ] 11 May Just starting out [Denise LaMont ] 11 May Wood Sandpiper still present at 5:30 pm [Ed Sigda ] 11 May Re: Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday [Kurt Gaskill ] 11 May Bobolinks on Mother's Day [Bill Stewart ] 11 May From Prime Hook to Sandy Hook (long)--Wood Sandpiper, Cape May Warbler etc, PICS [JEFFERY DAVIS ] 11 May Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday [Bill Fintel ] 10 May Wood Sandpiper [Scott Baron ] 10 May Gordons Pond Spring Round-up + Prime Hook [Chris Bennett ] 10 May Wood Sandpiper still present at 5:00pm [Ed Sigda ] 10 May More Wood Sandpiper photos, plus 5/7/08 Big Day report [Steve Collins ] 10 May Wood Sandpiper [Sharon Lynn ] 10 May Wood Sandpiper present at 5:30 am (Saturday) [Ed Sigda ] 9 May Wood Sandpiper present until 6:30 pm [Ed Sigda ] 9 May Wood Sandpiper photos on DOSBirds.org [Homsey ] 9 May Wood Sandpiper present Fri 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM [Rick Cheicante ] 9 May Waterthrush on a wet day [Derek Stoner ] 9 May Re: Wood Sanpiper [ksnyder ] 9 May Wood Sandpiper present at 1:30 - please be safe [Ed Sigda ] 9 May Wood Sanpiper [Chris Starling ] 9 May RBA: Birdline Delaware, May 9th, 2008 [Andy Ednie ] 9 May Wood Sandpiper - Yes - 9:00 AM Friday [] 9 May Re: directions to Broadkill Beach Rd.? [Ed Sigda ] 8 May directions to Broadkill Beach Rd.? [Scott Baron ] 8 May Prime Hook [Lin Just ] 8 May Wood Sandpiper still present at last light [Ed Sigda ] 8 May Wood Sandpiper Seen at 5:20 pm today [Marcy Stutzman ] 8 May Big Day list - 5/8 [Forrest Rowland ] 8 May ALERT - DOS Bird-A-Thon Honorary Birdwalk at Mt. Cuba 5/9 [Bill Stewart ] 8 May Wood Sandpiper and Yellow Rail [Jay K ] 8 May Big Day - 5/7 No countable Wood Sandpiper, but quite a day nonetheless.. [Forrest Rowland ] 8 May Wood Sandpiper Still Being Seen at 3:15 PM [] 8 May Wood Sandpiper present at 1:30pm [Ed Sigda ] 8 May Glasses Lost at Wood Sandpiper Site [Bob Strahorn ] 8 May Bombay Hook NWR Bird Sightings: April 28 thru May 07, 2008 [tina watson ] 8 May Ashland this morning [joe sebastiani ] 8 May Bombay photos [Scott Michaud ] 8 May Pileated Woodpecker [Kevin Fleming ] 8 May Delaware Valley RBA, 7 May 2008 [Stephen E Kacir ] 8 May Wood Sandpiper in Present - 5/8 [] 7 May Spring Round Up - This Saturday [John Janowski ] 7 May Milford Neck, Woodshaven and Brandywine Creek Saturday to Tuesday [Chris Bennett ] 7 May Recent White winged tern sightings? [Ben Weinstein ] 7 May PHNWR Wood Sandpiper [Ed Sigda ] 7 May A few details on the Broadkill Beach Wood Sandpiper [Jeffrey Gordon ] 7 May Alapocas Woods walk results ["sally o'byrne" ] 7 May Alapocas Woods walk results [sally o'byrne ] 7 May Wood Sandpiper at Broadkill Beach [Maurice Barnhill ] 7 May Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch 05-07-08 1 Raptor, 1 Kite [Susan Gruver ] Subject: Birding with the Knots, 5/10 From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 23:42:05 -0400 5/10/08 - 4:30am - The parking lot of the Super 8 Motel in Milford, DE Bill Stewart, Judy Montgomery and I meet up with an excited group of youth birders and their parents from Baltimore. Members of The Friends of the Red Knot, these enthusiastic kids came to Delaware for the weekend to take part in the Spring Roundup and compete in the youth division of the Delaware Bird-A-Thon. Our adventure begins on Big Stone Beach Road in the midst of the always-wild Milford Neck Wildlife Area. We immediately hear peenting American Woodcock and a few distant Whip-poor-will's. The kids chuckle at our attempts to woo a Screech Owl with whinnies and trills. Further up the road, a Chuck-will's-widow sings its name dozens of times before flying over our heads and landing in the road. Illuminated in the car headlights, the obliging nightjar gives everyone a "life look" at a new bird. This is the first night birding anyone in this group of 12 has ever done! Dawn along Big Stone Beach is always a treat and this morning does not disappoint. We see Blue Grosbeaks, Wood Ducks, Great-horned Owls, Ospreys, Black Skimmers, Eastern Kingbirds, and all sorts of other birds. Little hands, ages 7 to 12, frantically spin the focus wheels on binoculars. Rain showers at Mispillion Harbor do not dampen the enthusiasm of the group, as the kids queue up in front of the scopes for looks at American Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Black-necked Stilt, Least Sandpiper, and many other shorebirds. Of course, we also find a flock of their favorite bird- the Red Knot. Around noon Jason Beale graciously leads us through the trails at Abbott's Mill Nature Center, where we observe the lingering female Bufflehead and enjoy incredible scope views of Prothonotary Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Orchard Oriole, and other colorful songsters. Assessing the kids' Bird-A-Thon list in the early afternoon, 12 year-old team captain Mike Hudson discovers that they have observed 96 species. With the magical century mark in such close reach, we tell Mike that it is time to head to a very special place: Prime Hook NWR. Arriving at the now-even-more-famous Broadkill Beach Road, we help the kids locate Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, and Red-breasted Merganser in the south impoundment. Turning our attention to the north, we cross the road(very carefully with a group of 15 people!). I plop the Leica scope in front of Mike, directing it at the patch of marsh that contains a very special bird. Passing up the offers of other birders to look through their scopes, Mike(a very sharp-eyed birder) picks out the Wood Sandpiper on his own. This young man actually begins twitching with excitement as he shares such a wonderful bird with friends and family. "That's species number 100!" Mike proudly announces. A Northern Bobwhite sounds off to make for a fun 101st species. But number 100 will always be a special bird for this group of young birders. Reaching a century on their first-ever Big Day and seeing a mega-rarity cannot be topped. In an appropriate stroke of fortune, the Wood Sandpiper sighting plays a pivotal role in these young conservationists' efforts to help preserve more land in the Prime Hook region for these remarkable shorebirds. Reaching 100 is a goal that they achieved, and we are proud to help them out. Thank you to all who took part in a very exciting week of birding in Delaware. The incredible reports of Bird-A-Thon teams, the scintillating discovery of a rare bird(thank you Sharon!), and the great tradition of the Spring Roundup combined to make this a very memorable moment for birders in the First State. Good birding, Derek Stoner Hockessin, DE Subject: Wilmington Big Day From: "sally o'byrne" <salobyrne AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 22:23:05 -0400 Mike Smith and I did our Big Day Bird-A-Thon on Saturday with the help of Jim Lewis and Pete Ziegler, limiting our area to our Spring Round up area. Our goal was to hit 100 species in the Geographic region of Wilmington and North. Starting at 3:15 am looking for rails (getting sora and Virginia rail) at Russ Peterson refuge and ending at Ramsey Road with a Yellow throated vireo at 8 pm, we hit 102. And though we can't count it in any official way, we found a cockatiel in the woods at Russ Peterson, which was a first for that refuge and for me as well. We spent the majority of our time at Russell Peterson and Alapocas, but also hit Brandywine Creek State Park, Ramsey Road, and the landfill. Needless to say, our numbers don't compare to some of the reports from earlier in the week, but we were very pleased to get at least two birds not reported by Forrest and Steve. We got a bobolink in the vacant lot next to the Riverfront outlets, while a regatta and barbeque was going on close by, and we got a kingfisher as bird #101 along the Brandywine near Ramsey Road. Our memories of last year were that it was a peak day for migration and warblers were plentiful. Not so this year - we worked hard for every warbler. The Russ Peterson refuge had a good variety of shorebirds, however, with a quite high numbers of solitary sandpipers, spotted sandpipers, and semi palmated plovers, both yellowlegs and a variety of peeps and dunlin. We saw a number of chicks - goslings at Blue Ball barn, Wood duck chicks at Brandywine Creek, and an incredibly cute killdeer chick at Fox Point. There was a lingering gadwall and ruddy duck at the sewage treatment ponds, and the peregrine obliged us by sitting on his nest box on the Brandywine Building. We guestimated 6000 (?) laughing gulls at the dump. As far as the BBA goes, copulating laughers confirmed their breeding many times over ( and the one on top always seemed to be laughing) All in all, a productive and fun day, and not a bad way to raise funds for a good cause. Kudos to all who spent a day in the field for the Bird-A-Thon, and we can hold our collective breath to see if we reached our goal of $40,000. Start collecting those pledges! Sally O'Byrne p.s. our complete list available from Mike Smith by request. Subject: Re: Wood Sandpiper still present at 5:30 pm From: Kurt Gaskill <KurtCapt87 AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 21:32:05 -0500 Ed, At least he identified the bird's name correctly! Kurt "OUCH!" Gaskill -----Original Message----- From: Delaware Birding [mailto:de-birds AT Princeton.EDU] On Behalf Of Ed Sigda Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 5:37 PM To: de-birds AT Princeton.EDU Subject: [de-birds] Wood Sandpiper still present at 5:30 pm After a bit of early morning birding and a 3 hour nap I headed over to Broadkill Road at 3:30 for some lunch and watched the Wood Sandpiper until a little after 5:30. During my stay I also got to spend some time with a visiting birder that stepped out of his car with the keys in the ignition and then got locked out when his dogs ran to the window and locked the doors. Several attempts were made to get the dogs to unlock the doors, but eventually this task was up to the local locksmith to perform. I did notice during my stay that the bird has extended it's range to the area north of the second pull out. Of course if the weather goes as planned for the next 24 hours the habitat along Broadkill Road is going to change as another 1-2 inches of rain is expected. I would expect that the available habitat to the south will decrease further and increase on the north side of the road. With the current forecast, and the need for some sleep, I will not be out early Monday morning, but I will try to get out later in the day to look for the bird. The highlight of this morning's outing was a Reeve is a flooded field along Fowler Beach Road across from the refuge information kiosk. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Subject: Re: Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday From: Kurt Gaskill <KurtCapt87 AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 21:28:43 -0500 Bill, Mea Culpa - Please let me claim the excuse of complete and utter lack of sleep. It is, of course, a Wood Sandpiper! My humble apologies to all - and yes Barry, do not wake up early! Sheesh! Talk about your embarrassments! I will now act like an Ostrich and bury my head into the sands of the Kalahari! Kurt "oh no, not again!" Gaskill -----Original Message----- From: Bill Stewart [mailto:hcf2 AT earthlink.net] Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 3:52 PM To: Kurt Gaskill Subject: Re: [de-birds] Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday Kurt, Just out of curiosity, why are you calling the Wood Sandpiper a Marsh Sandpiper? I'll let you explain. Bill Stewart On May 11, 2008, at 5:24 PM, Kurt Gaskill wrote: Delaware Birders, Sherman Suter and I re-found the Marsh Sandpiper near 8am pretty much near the spot described by Ed (below and in previous posts). The bird was unseen for about 45 min. Near 8am, Sherman and I found a suspicious tringa along the SW edge of the south pond and it flew into the vegetation near the cars - yet remained unseen! We thought it may have slipped away, walking the edge towards ocean side. Sherman started searching in that direction. Me? I had a bit of water and leaned back against the car with the scope. I looked and saw the Marsh Sandpiper leave the brown vegetation and muddy habitat and walk into the small bit of water near the white pole. I got everyone on the bird and it posed for a few minutes, and then flew, apparently to the backside of the island of taller green and brown vegetation (near the white pole) which cannot be seen from the road. We soon left for other locations. As for plumage characteristics, in brief, it was very close to the adult summer painting in nearly every way (crown, nape, face, bill, back, scapulars, legs, throat, breast and belly as well as in flight) found in Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant, "Birds of Europe" Princeton University Press, 2004 (a fine guide for Eurasian birds by the way). We saw Ed Sigda later and filled him in. Later in the morning we met a fellow who saw the bird later than us, perhaps after 9am or so. The events of this morning suggest a pattern and future observers may wish to check the south pond as they wait out the bird. Otherwise, nothing too much unusual at Broadkill Beach Rd. Perhaps 3 pairs of Gadwall, several American Black Ducks, a few Mallards, 3 Northern Pintail, a Northern Shoveler, many Green-winged Teal, 3 Blue-winged Teal, and 3 Lesser Scaup. Overflying Bobolink observed and "blinks" were heard throughout our stay. We found 18 Red Knots on Fowler's Beach Rd and another 30 at Mispillion (sp?) inlet. Royal and Caspian Terns at Fowler's Beach. 2 Pectoral Sandpipers at the south pond on Broadkill Beach Rd. If you let us tally Black Skimmers as honorary shorebirds/waders, we ended our short day with 19 species in the group. Thanks to Sharon Lynn and Ed and Frank and everyone else on finding and staying on top of the Marsh Sandpiper. Good birding to you all, Kurt Gaskill -----Original Message----- From: Delaware Birding [mailto:de-birds AT Princeton.EDU] On Behalf Of Bill Fintel Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 7:08 AM To: de-birds AT Princeton.EDU Subject: [de-birds] Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday Ed Sigda called to report that the Wood Sandpiper was present at 5:20 this morning on the North side of Broadkill Beach Road in the pool near the first white PVC post. This is where it has been observed most frequently in recent days. Bill Fintel Lewes, DE Subject: Just starting out From: Denise LaMont <lamontde AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 19:44:18 -0400 Hello all, I have been interested in birding for the past two years, it is only now that I am taking myself seriously. When I tell my friends that this is a serious interest of mine I get "the look." I suppose there aren't many 25yr old birding enthusiasts? Anyway, right to the question: I really don't know where to start. Does anyone have any ideas for me? Perhaps a book they recommend? Is there a proper way and improper way to go bird watching. Anything that I can do to make the experience as gratifying as possible? All I know is, when I drive my car, I almost wreck it some days because I'm trying to follow a bird take flight. I think something more constructive would make other drivers and myself more safe. Denise Bear, DE lamontde AT gmail.com Subject: Wood Sandpiper still present at 5:30 pm From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 18:37:18 -0400 After a bit of early morning birding and a 3 hour nap I headed over to Broadkill Road at 3:30 for some lunch and watched the Wood Sandpiper until a little after 5:30. During my stay I also got to spend some time with a visiting birder that stepped out of his car with the keys in the ignition and then got locked out when his dogs ran to the window and locked the doors. Several attempts were made to get the dogs to unlock the doors, but eventually this task was up to the local locksmith to perform. I did notice during my stay that the bird has extended it's range to the area north of the second pull out. Of course if the weather goes as planned for the next 24 hours the habitat along Broadkill Road is going to change as another 1-2 inches of rain is expected. I would expect that the available habitat to the south will decrease further and increase on the north side of the road. With the current forecast, and the need for some sleep, I will not be out early Monday morning, but I will try to get out later in the day to look for the bird. The highlight of this morning's outing was a Reeve is a flooded field along Fowler Beach Road across from the refuge information kiosk. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Subject: Re: Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday From: Kurt Gaskill <KurtCapt87 AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 16:24:36 -0500 Delaware Birders, Sherman Suter and I re-found the Marsh Sandpiper near 8am pretty much near the spot described by Ed (below and in previous posts). The bird was unseen for about 45 min. Near 8am, Sherman and I found a suspicious tringa along the SW edge of the south pond and it flew into the vegetation near the cars - yet remained unseen! We thought it may have slipped away, walking the edge towards ocean side. Sherman started searching in that direction. Me? I had a bit of water and leaned back against the car with the scope. I looked and saw the Marsh Sandpiper leave the brown vegetation and muddy habitat and walk into the small bit of water near the white pole. I got everyone on the bird and it posed for a few minutes, and then flew, apparently to the backside of the island of taller green and brown vegetation (near the white pole) which cannot be seen from the road. We soon left for other locations. As for plumage characteristics, in brief, it was very close to the adult summer painting in nearly every way (crown, nape, face, bill, back, scapulars, legs, throat, breast and belly as well as in flight) found in Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant, "Birds of Europe" Princeton University Press, 2004 (a fine guide for Eurasian birds by the way). We saw Ed Sigda later and filled him in. Later in the morning we met a fellow who saw the bird later than us, perhaps after 9am or so. The events of this morning suggest a pattern and future observers may wish to check the south pond as they wait out the bird. Otherwise, nothing too much unusual at Broadkill Beach Rd. Perhaps 3 pairs of Gadwall, several American Black Ducks, a few Mallards, 3 Northern Pintail, a Northern Shoveler, many Green-winged Teal, 3 Blue-winged Teal, and 3 Lesser Scaup. Overflying Bobolink observed and "blinks" were heard throughout our stay. We found 18 Red Knots on Fowler's Beach Rd and another 30 at Mispillion (sp?) inlet. Royal and Caspian Terns at Fowler's Beach. 2 Pectoral Sandpipers at the south pond on Broadkill Beach Rd. If you let us tally Black Skimmers as honorary shorebirds/waders, we ended our short day with 19 species in the group. Thanks to Sharon Lynn and Ed and Frank and everyone else on finding and staying on top of the Marsh Sandpiper. Good birding to you all, Kurt Gaskill -----Original Message----- From: Delaware Birding [mailto:de-birds AT Princeton.EDU] On Behalf Of Bill Fintel Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 7:08 AM To: de-birds AT Princeton.EDU Subject: [de-birds] Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday Ed Sigda called to report that the Wood Sandpiper was present at 5:20 this morning on the North side of Broadkill Beach Road in the pool near the first white PVC post. This is where it has been observed most frequently in recent days. Bill Fintel Lewes, DE Subject: Bobolinks on Mother's Day From: Bill Stewart <hcf2 AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 13:23:15 -0400 Good afternoon and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who read DE-Birds, Running out quite early this beautiful morning to hit DBBA Block #2, I started at the turn on Ramsey Rd. My first impression was the morning chorus was just rockin', something I haven't heard in a while. Trying to divide the songs into species proved to be a challenge due to number of birds singing and the proverbial American Redstart's playing with their inconsistent repertoire! With great delight, I heard that wonderful tinkling, R2D2 song of the Bobolink. I counted nine before they flew off to the huge Sycamore tree next to Ramsey's Farm driveway. Other birds of note are listed below: PEREGRINE FALCON CAPE MAY WARBLER Kentucky Warbler Green Heron Veery (love that song) Louisiana Waterthrush Prairie Warbler Brown Thrasher Finished the hour long survey with 55 species. Good birding, Bill Stewart Subject: From Prime Hook to Sandy Hook (long)--Wood Sandpiper, Cape May Warbler etc, PICS From: JEFFERY DAVIS <jwdjwd67 AT MSN.COM> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 10:04:43 -0400 Long story about our long day of birding yesterday. Here goes: Yesterday morning, we got up "dark and early" at 3:00 am so we could make it to Prime Hook by first light to see the little brown and white wader that has become such a celebrity. While Jeff drove, I used the dashboard light to work on the final paper I'd sworn that no migrant, no matter how far off course, would distract me from. Two hours, seventeen minutes, two big cans of RockStar and half a page later, we arrived at Broadkill Beach Road where several other birders had already set up scope, and immediately got us on the WOOD SANDPIPER! (Thanks again!). We watched him energetically searching out his prey, traversing the long shallow pools and providing us with side-by-side comparisons with a SOLITARY SANDPIPER and a LESSER YELLOWLEGS, bobbing his little back end as he went. While Jeff snapped a couple hundred (mostly very blurry) pictures through the scope, I followed the songs of a BLUE GROSBEAK and NORTHERN BOBWHITE, but didn't get any looks. Finally, guiltily, I went back to the car where I managed to write another half a page before going back out to watch the sandpiper until the rain finally chased us away around 8:00 am. Some other species seen/heard at Broadkill Road were (in order of appearance): COMMON GRACKLE, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, CANADA GOOSE, OSPREY, NORTHERN SHOVELER, HERRING GULL, LAUGHING GULL, AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, AMERICAN CROW, GREAT EGRET, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, GREEN HERON, WILLET, SONG SPARROW, GLOSSY IBIS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, BARN SWALLOW, LEAST SANDPIPER, FORSTER'S TERN, NORTHERN CARDINAL, WILSON'S SNIPE, MALLARD, YELLOW WARBLER. Having gotten our "Big Get," we decided to push our luck and head to Sandy Hook NJ to try for the Wilson's Phalarope (a nemesis bird for us) and the Loggerhead Shrike that had been seen (our decision was partly based on the premise that the New Jersey Turnpike was the perfect distraction-free study location.) We needed to re-stock our supplies so we hit up the Wawa outside of Dover for some study aids (aka caffeine and sugar)--and saw a sad sight. Laid out on top of the trash can there was a dead Common Yellowthroat, presumably a window fatality. After Jeff convinced me not to bring him with us (a friend of mine is a taxidermist), we were off. Four hours, two bottles of Diet Mountain Dew, one paragraph and a weary, teary-eyed throwdown (over barbecue!) later, we arrived in Sandy Hook, where we found that the birders far outnumbered the birds. Neither shrike nor phalarope had been seen. However, we were told that there were two CAPE MAY WARBLERS seen on the Fisherman's Trail, so that's where we headed. Pointed in the right direction by another helpful birder (Thanks again!), we spent about 45 minutes trying to find the warblers, and finally we did (at least, one of them)! We watched him feeding among the white (plum?) blossoms, his beak covered in pollen, and happily, Jeff got a few "glamour shots" of him. He was just gorgeous, and he was our second lifer for the day! Other species seen/heard on Fisherman's Trail included: EASTERN TOWHEE, AMERICAN ROBIN, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, GRAY CATBIRD, MOURNING DOVE, BARN SWALLOW, HERRING GULL, HOUSE WREN, NORTHERN CARDINAL, CAROLINA WREN, YELLOW WARBLER, OSPREY, HOUSE FINCH, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, LAUGHING GULL, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, TREE SWALLOW, WHITE-EYED VIREO, WILLET, COMMON TERN, FIELD SPARROW, HOUSE SPARROW, and a warbler with a yellow rump which may or may not have been the second CAPE MAY reported (only Jeff got a too-brief glance at it). Finally, we went back to the Audubon Center, where we watched the feeder birds, and others, which included: HOUSE FINCH, HOUSE SPARROW, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, COMMON GRACKLE, EUROPEAN STARLING, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, SONG SPARROW, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, INDIGO BUNTING, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, BRANT, HERRING GULL, AMERICAN ROBIN, AMERICAN CROW, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, CEDAR WAXWING, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, RING-BILLED GULL, CHIPPING SPARROW, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, COMMON TERN and OSPREY. Jeff got some nice pictures of the grosbeak, White-crowns and waxwings. All pics are posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/21068017 AT N07/ and I am working on uploading a video of the Wood Sandpiper (without much success--if I get it I'll post again). Regards, and happy birding, Amy and Jeff Davis Downingtown, Chester County, PA Checkout our bird photos at the link below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21068017 AT N07/ Subject: Wood Sandpiper 5:20 am Sunday From: Bill Fintel <avian2 AT CE.NET> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 08:08:01 -0400 Ed Sigda called to report that the Wood Sandpiper was present at 5:20 this morning on the North side of Broadkill Beach Road in the pool near the first white PVC post. This is where it has been observed most frequently in recent days. Bill Fintel Lewes, DE Subject: Wood Sandpiper From: Scott Baron <brnpelican AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 21:24:02 -0700 The Wood Sandpiper at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge was still present at 7pm when I left the area. It was feeding in the marsh about 75' from the left side of Broadkill Beach Rd. if you are coming from Rte. 1. For birders who haven't been to this spot, there is a wide shoulder on the left side of the road which gives you more room to set up a scope and look straight out into the marsh. Lingering waterfowl in the marsh on the other side of the road were a pair of Northern Pintail, 2 male Northern Shovelers and 3 scaup sp. Thanks to Ms. Sharon Lynn for finding this bird. Scott Baron Fairfax, Va. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ Subject: Gordons Pond Spring Round-up + Prime Hook From: Chris Bennett <cb2564 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 21:58:36 -0400 Dave Keck and I birded Gordons Pond, along Henlopen Avenue in Rehoboth and the Cape Henlopen Lands west of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal (primarily Wolfe Neck Road area) between 5:30 am and 3:30 pm today for the DOS Spring Round-up.? While the weather was fairly atrocious for most of the day - we found a nice collection of birds.? We ended our day with 118 species and just over 2000 individuals.? Highlights included 14 species of Wablers - Northern Parula, Yellow, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Pine, Prairie, Blackpoll, Black and White, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow-breasted Chat), 16 species of Shorebirds, 10 Species of Sparrows (Eastern Towhee, Chipping, Field, Savannah, Grasshopper, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed, Seaside, Song, Swamp and White-throated), 75 Northern Gannet, 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, both Orioles, 2 Merlins and a Peregrine.? Noteworthy were at least two species that went un-recorded - though I must admit I'm a bit embarassed to divulge them - Northern Mockingbird and Indigo Bunting.? I was unsatisfied with 118 so made a few quick stops on the way home at Prime Hook and picked up an additional 16 species - Wood Sandpiper, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler and Lesser Scaup (dabbling with the shovelers) at Broadkill Beach Road, Mute Swan (1), Red-breasted Merganser, American Avocet, Sanderling, White-rumped Sandpiper (1) and Great Horned Owl at Fowlers Beach, Prothonotary Warbler along Deep Branch Road, Red Knot at Slaughter?Beach (4)?and finally (!) both Northern Mockingbird and Indigo Bunting. Complete list for Cape area is below. 2????????? SNOW GOOSE 37??????? CANADA GOOSE 1????????? AMERICAN BLACK DUCK 16??????? MALLARD 4????????? NORTHERN BOBWHITE 7????????? COMMON LOON 75??????? NORTHERN GANNET 60??????? DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT 2????????? GREAT BLUE HERON 5????????? GREAT EGRET 25??????? SNOWY EGRET 1????????? TRICOLORED HERON 3????????? GREEN HERON 45??????? GLOSSY IBIS 1????????? BLACK VULTURE 10??????? TURKEY VULTURE 8????????? OSPREY 1????????? NORTHERN HARRIER 2????????? MERLIN 1????????? PEREGRINE FALCON 6????????? CLAPPER RAIL 36??????? BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER 27??????? SEMIPALMATED PLOVER 1????????? PIPING PLOVER 1????????? KILLDEER 6????????? AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER 2????????? BLACK-NECKED STILT 20??????? GREATER YELLOWLEGS 210????? LESSER YELLOWLEGS 2????????? SOLITARY SANDPIPER 15??????? WILLET 23??????? SPOTTED SANDPIPER 1????????? RUDDY TURNSTONE 122????? SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER 65??????? LEAST SANDPIPER 150????? DUNLIN 180????? SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER 47??????? LAUGHING GULL 13??????? BONAPARTE'S GULL 2????????? RING-BILLED GULL 20??????? HERRING GULL 20??????? GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL 6????????? COMMON TERN 25??????? FORSTER'S TERN 20??????? LEAST TERN 2????????? BLACK SKIMMER 2????????? ROCK DOVE 17??????? MOURNING DOVE 1????????? EASTERN SCREECH-OWL 3????????? RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD 1????????? BELTED KINGFISHER 6????????? RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 2????????? DOWNY WOODPECKER 3????????? NORTHERN FLICKER 5????????? EASTERN WOOD PEWEE 6????????? GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER 1????????? EASTERN KINGBIRD 3????????? WHITE-EYED VIREO 1????????? BLUE-HEADED VIREO 4????????? RED-EYED VIREO 10??????? BLUE JAY 10??????? AMERICAN CROW 2????????? FISH CROW 10??????? HORNED LARK 3????????? PURPLE MARTIN 14??????? TREE SWALLOW 60??????? BARN SWALLOW 35??????? CAROLINA CHICKADEE 20??????? TUFTED TITMOUSE 5????????? RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH 10??????? BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH 5????????? CAROLINA WREN 1????????? MARSH WREN 7????????? BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER 1????????? VEERY 3????????? WOOD THRUSH 60??????? AMERICAN ROBIN 35??????? GRAY CATBIRD 2????????? BROWN THRASHER 16??????? EUROPEN STARLING 4????????? NORTHERN PARULA 1????????? YELLOW WARBLER 2????????? BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER 29??????? YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER 3????????? BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER 2????????? BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER 12??????? PINE WARBLER 1????????? PRAIRIE WARBLER 2????????? BLACKPOLL WARBLER 5????????? BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER 2????????? AMERICAN REDSTART 7????????? OVENBIRD 51??????? COMMON YELLOWTHROAT 1????????? YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT 1????????? SCARLET TANAGER 20??????? EASTERN TOWHEE 4????????? CHIPPING SPARROW 4????????? FIELD SPARROW 16??????? SAVANNAH SPARROW 2????????? GRASSHOPPER SPARROW 2????????? SALTMARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROW 20??????? SEASIDE SPARROW 1????????? SONG SPARROW 1????????? SWAMP SPARROW 3????????? WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 25??????? NORTHERN CARDINAL 2????????? ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK 2????????? BLUE GROSBEAK 75??????? RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 4????????? EASTERN MEADOWLARK 15??????? COMMON GRACKLE 1????????? BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE 20??????? BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD 3????????? ORCHARD ORIOLE 3????????? BALTIMORE ORIOLE 2????????? HOUSE FINCH 17??????? AMERICAN GOLDFINCH 10??????? HOUSE SPARROW Chris Bennett Milford, DE Subject: Wood Sandpiper still present at 5:00pm From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 18:32:56 -0400 The Wood Sandpiper was still present at 5:00pm when I stopped by before heading home for the evening after a long day of birding. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding,com Subject: More Wood Sandpiper photos, plus 5/7/08 Big Day report From: Steve Collins <dcollins AT UFL.EDU> Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 14:35:51 -0400 If you’re interested in seeing even more Wood Sandpiper photos – I have posted some photos from Friday afternoon here, including an in-flight shot showing the white rump. http://www.flickr.com/photos/odephoto/archives/date-taken/2008/05/09/detail/ If a long Big Day narrative is not the kind of thing that interests you, then please stop reading now. Forrest Rowland invited me to do a Big Day on Wednesday (5/7/08) in my favorite birding destination: Delaware. I obviously could not refuse, so I took off work and headed to DE at 12:30am to meet up with Forrest at 2am. We birded from 2am to 8pm and got 199 species - tying the Delaware Big Day Record set in 1997. There were a few misses (ahem, Belted Kingfisher!!), but we lucked out and had a really great day birding. We started the day (night?) in Thousand Acre Marsh, where we quickly realized the night was likely to be a good night. Winds were 3-4 mph out of the southwest and listening conditions were good. We heard Canada Goose, Great Blue Heron, Virginia Rail and American Coot (our only coot of the day). At another location Sora and Common Moorhen sounded off within minutes of our arrival. One could say that Grier’s Pond was especially quiet. Actually it wasn’t quiet at all, as the Swamp Sparrows and Marsh Wrens were singing up a storm and a Barred Owl called, but it was Least Bittern quiet. We spent at least 15 minutes here, cocking our ears in every conceivable angle in hopes of hearing the classic “ku-ku-ku” of the Least Bittern. After giving each side of the pond time, we were thinking about where else we could possibly get Least Bittern and were about to leave. Then we both heard it! Success! While driving south on Route 9, six inches of water on the road caused some excitement, as we barreled directly through it. It was definitely due to the tide, and we were in a low spot: why not try for King Rail? While sitting in the middle of the road, we both jumped out of the car and lo and behold, a King Rail sounded off. Serious luck. To say that the Bullfrogs and Green Frogs at Finnis Pool are loud is like saying that a diesel truck engine is loud: “Loud” may be an inadequate word. Luckily we were able to pick out a calling Eastern Screech-Owl, distant twittering of an American Woodcock, and flyover American Redstart and Blackpoll Warblers. Birds were on the move. Port Mahon was almost rail-less with the exception of Virginia. Clapper Rails were quiet. Weird. Seaside and Swamp Sparrows, Marsh Wrens and a distant Yellow-breasted Chat were singing. A flyby Black-crowned Night Heron let out a single “kaw,” and a Wood Thrush, Black-throated Blue, Blackburnian, and several Palm Warblers called while flying overhead. The promise of neotropical migrants in the morning was exhilarating. We were hoping for Black Rail at Pickering Beach, where Andy Ednie and I had heard them on Saturday night, but they may have moved on. We did pick up Tree Swallows flying around the town’s lights, a flyover Swainson’s Thrush (our only of the day) and another Yellow-breasted Chat. Milford Neck was our nightjar spot, and it did not disappoint. Chuck-wills-widows and then Whip-poor-wills were calling from several locations. American Woodcocks seemed to be everywhere – twittering away – while a few were “peent”ing. The mosquitoes were voracious and kept us dancing around. Dawn was approaching and we headed toward the marsh, where even more mosquitoes greeted us. Boat-tailed Grackles were immediately apparent, and then Northern Bobwhite and Wild Turkey called from the wood’s edge. Yes! After a quick tally, I realized we had 62 species already by dawn. Not a bad night. Milford Neck was really birdy, and I’m glad we picked this as our dawn-chorus spot. Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Sedge Wren called from the short marsh, all three being our only birds of the day. The woods were alive with birdsong, and here we picked up Kentucky, Nashville, Yellow-throated, Prairie, and Black-and-White Warblers, plus Ovenbird and Northern Waterthrush. A certain vireo sounded interesting and Forrest suspected Philadelphia. It sang; we listened. It sang and we played the song for comparison: it was dead-on. Wow! By 6:15 we had 94 species, and we moved on to Mispillion Lighthouse. The idea was that we could get Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow while they were still singing. The idea backfired. The marsh was filled with sparrows . . . Seaside Sparrows. There were likely hundreds singing from all areas around the marsh, which unfortunately muffled the sounds of any potential Saltmarsh Sparrows. The Seaside Sparrow spectacle was immediately overshadowed by the shorebird spectacle. Shorebirds moved in waves across nearly every exposed mud surface: Greater Yellowlegs, Willets, Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlin and a few Black-necked Stilts. While scoping from the DuPont nature center, we found Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knots, American Oystercatchers, and a White-rumped Sandpiper among the thousands of Dunlin. We couldn’t pick out any Lesser-black Backed Gulls, and after spending too much time enjoying this scene, we needed to move. The grasslands in the vicinity of Hunting Quarter Road proved a wise morning destination: Grasshopper, Savannah and Vesper Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark and Horned Larks were singing. No Bobolinks, but we couldn’t complain about our luck so far. Redden State Forest held the targeted Red-headed Woodpeckers and Summer Tanagers, in addition to Worm-eating, Black-throated Green, Yellow-throated, Kentucky, Pine, and Black-and-White Warblers, Cedar Waxwings, and Hairy and Pileated Woodpecker. Two flyover Common Loons were a surprise. 131 species by 8:24am. We switched up the plan, and headed to Prime Hook instead of doing that in the afternoon. While changing the schedule could spell disaster, the morning Prime Hook run was excellent. We had Veery standing in the middle of the road at the entrance. I told Forrest to stop the car, “I heard something similar to a Hooded Warbler.” We waited, while only a Red-eyed Vireo sang. I started to doubt myself, and we were about to move on when it sang out, “Wheet-o, Wheet-o, Wheet-ee-o.” Forrest replied, “Oh, so you mean the bird that sounds exactly like a Hooded Warbler!” The boardwalk trail produced a few good birds, most notably a beautiful adult White-crowned Sparrow (thank you!), Blue-headed Vireo, Prothonotary, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll and Magnolia Warblers. The Broadkill impoundment was in bad light, so we started IDing distant ducks mostly by shape: Gadwall, Mallard, Black Duck, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Red-breasted Merganser. These turned out to be some of the only waterfowl of the day, but where were the Blue-wings? While scoping shorebirds, I noticed an unusual shorebird in the far southeast corner of the southern impoundment with the Green-winged Teal. It looked similar in shape to a yellowlegs, but the bill wasn’t right for either. I asked Forrest to take a look, and he quickly realized it was a Ruff. I took another look and the beige-y color, posture, and bill shape all were spot-on for Ruff (Reeve). Excellent! We actually didn’t notice the Wood Sandpiper, nor did we know about it, though in hindsight, I can’t eliminate the possibility that we were looking right at it as we drove by. We hoped for diving ducks in the bay. The bay was empty with the exception of Laughing Gulls, though we did hear a Song Sparrow singing, our first (and only?) of the day. We headed to Cape Henlopen with 155 species. No Yellow-crowned Night Heron at a brief stop in Lewes on the way, and no Bufflehead in the ponds near the entrance. Drat. Herring Point was mostly birdless, though after a few minutes we did luck out with Common, Least and Royal Tern flybys. The jetty below had three Spotted Sandpipers. I got a kick out of watching Forrest fight with the no-see-ums. We made a quick stop at the campground, though besides a Pine Warbler and some Robins, it was quiet. I guess Forrest forgot his Crossbill pheromone. At the nature center, the feeders were empty, so we walked the trail behind them. Quiet, though it was midday. I was thinking some Red-breasted Nuthatches might still be hanging around, since I had heard one in Baltimore Co the day before. After a few minutes both Brown-headed and a Red-breasted Nuthatch sounded off. Serious luck. At the Point we found a huge flock of Brant hugging the icebreaker, and we scoped Common, Forsters and Royal Terns near the point. We tried to turn one of the Royals into a Caspian, but it wasn’t to be. Piping Plover was notably absent. We walked down to the bayside fence. Still no Piping Plover. We knew time was critical, but I knew we would be kicking ourselves if we left without the plover, so we hiked to the ocean side. Again, this turned out to be a great decision. We had a flyover Merlin, Red-throated Loon and flyby Black Scoters. While squinting into the heat haze for the hoped-for Piping Plover, Forrest noticed the 2nd-year Lesser Black-backed Gull at our feet. Then after a few minutes time, a Piping Plover came into view. We headed south to Indian River inlet with 170 species before noon. At Savages Ditch rd, we found our first Great Egret of the day, though no Little Blue or Tricolored Herons. The inlet proved to be full of boaters and was almost a wasted effort if it weren’t for two juvenile Great Cormorants swimming around the north jetty. No Bonaparte’s Gull and no Saltmarsh Sparrows or Tricolored Heron on the bay side. We stopped by New Road on the way north hoping for a bay duck of any kind, though we only had a breeding-plumaged Common Loon. Silver Lake had Mallards and a few Canada Geese – and one female Ruddy Duck. It was starting to get difficult to add new birds. Fowler Beach did not produce the hoped-for Belted Kingfisher or any new ducks, though it did have a considerable number of Black-bellied Plovers, with at least 2 American Golden-plovers mixed in. The Great Horned Owl chicks on the platform are getting rather big. The north pond at Ted Harvey did not have Bonaparte’s Gull or Tricolored Heron, though it did have Pectoral Sandpiper. At Bombay Hook, we had a number of necessary targets and we got nearly all of them: Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, American Avocet, Ring-necked Pheasant, and Yellow-crowned Night Heron. This is when we heard about the Wood Sandpiper, but we both agreed we would rather finish the Big Day with the planned route. Woodland Beach had the Snow Geese and Greater-white Fronted Geese. Excellent. 182 species by 4:01pm. I was telling Forrest that I have had Bank Swallow at the first of two bridges over Appoquinink Creek and suspected they may breed somewhere in the area, so we stopped there. Cliff Swallows were readily evident, when a Bank Swallow flew high over us. 184. We headed back to Thousand Acre Marsh hoping for Peregrine Falcon, an attempt that proved unsuccessful when Forrest tried last year. We scanned the bridge over the canal from all angles without any birds. When we had nearly given up and were ready to leave, a Peregrine Falcon flew directly over our heads. We had very little time to spare, but we decided to risk a run to Dragon Run park for Mute Swans. Dragon Run was Mute Swanless, but we did have flyby Wood Ducks and then an adult Little Blue Heron flew high overhead. I couldn’t believe our luck. We headed to White Clay Creek, lucked out with Cattle Egrets on the way, and had 188 species by 5:15pm. I don’t think we could have had better luck at White Clay Creek; it seemed like someone was throwing all of our target birds at us. We got Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-throated Vireo, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, and White-breasted Nuthatch – all of which we expected. The lucky birds were a flyover Sharp-shinned Hawk, an adult Coopers Hawk racing through the woods directly in front of us, and Warbling Vireo. At one point we thought we had Cerulean Warbler singing, and Forrest pointed out that the cadence was right. It was almost dead-on. Almost. I wasn’t convinced, and we waited to get a look at the bird. It had a wing bar, but also had a yellow and orange throat: It was a Parula. I wonder if after years of unscrupulous birders taping for Cerulean Warbler, the local Parulas didn’t pick up and try to imitate. While at Tweeds Mill Rd, I pondered, “What else is left that we could possibly still get? How about Rose-breasted Grosbeak?” A Rose-breasted Grosbeak responded by singing. “How about Blue-winged Warbler?” A few minutes later a Blue-winged Warbler was singing. It was almost creepy. The last two birds of the day were an almost unexpected Willow Flycatcher, and at least two very unexpected Gray-cheeked Thrushes. 199 species by 7:15pm. While walking back towards the car, the only thing left was Belted Kingfisher. We waited until sunset at 8pm, though the Kingfisher never obliged. This photo was taken at 8pm in White Clay Creek when we called it quits. http://www.flickr.com/photos/odephoto/2476484919/ Below is our bird list for the day and some summary totals: 25 Shorebird sp. Vireo, Nuthatch, and Swallow sweep. 26 Warbler sp. 12 Sparrow sp. only 14 Waterfowl sp. It's hard to find waterfowl in May - this probably hurt us the most. Red-throated Loon Common Loon Double-crested Cormorant Great Cormorant Least Bittern Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Cattle Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Glossy Ibis Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose Canada Goose Brant Wood Duck Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Black Scoter Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Ring-necked Pheasant Wild Turkey Northern Bobwhite Clapper Rail King Rail Virginia Rail Sora Common Moorhen American Coot Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover Killdeer American Oystercatcher Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper Willet Spotted Sandpiper Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Ruff Short-billed Dowitcher Common Snipe American Woodcock Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull Royal Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Least Tern Black Skimmer Rock Dove Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Barn Owl Eastern Screech-Owl Great Horned Owl Barred Owl Chuck-will's-widow Whip-poor-will Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-headed Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Wood-Pewee Acadian Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird White-eyed Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Warbling Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Fish Crow Horned Lark Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown-headed Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren Sedge Wren Marsh Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Veery Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher European Starling Cedar Waxwing Blue-winged Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Pine Warbler Prairie Warbler Palm Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Prothonotary Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Kentucky Warbler Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Summer Tanager Scarlet Tanager Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Seaside Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak Blue Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow Cheers, Steve Collins Towson, MD Subject: Wood Sandpiper From: Sharon Lynn <slynn001 AT COMCAST.NET> Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 10:31:46 -0400 The Wood Sandpiper has been present all morning. Several birders saw it near the white pole on the left side of Broadkill Beach RD(North side). Sharon Lynn Rehoboth Beach Subject: Wood Sandpiper present at 5:30 am (Saturday) From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 06:19:03 -0400 Wood Sandpiper located on North side, several birders already present. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Subject: Wood Sandpiper present until 6:30 pm From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 21:00:08 -0400 The Wood Sandpiper was present until 6:30 pm this evening when it flew off to parts unknown. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Subject: Wood Sandpiper photos on DOSBirds.org From: Homsey <homsey AT COMCAST.NET> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 20:57:28 -0400 If anyone wants to see photos of the Wood Sandpiper, there are several on the DOS website, in the photogallery (www.DOSBirds.org/photogallery). Chris Bennett and Kirsten and Hal Snyder have kindly uploaded some nice shots. -Andrew Homsey Kennett Square Subject: Wood Sandpiper present Fri 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM From: Rick Cheicante <rickcheicante AT CS.COM> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 19:55:01 -0400 The Wood Sandpiper showed well, and rewarded many this Fri. from 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM. It worked the south impoundment along the shore from the west end to about three-fourths the distance to the east end. The bird also made two flights to the north impoundment landing and feeding in the exposed muddy areas at the west end. All near the road and very viewable. At 10:30, the Wood Sandpiper appeared mainly with a Lesser Yellowlegs, eventually joining numerous Least and Spotted (particularily in the west end). At 11:30 AM, I was the only person there as heavy rains hit the area. After the rains (and deluges)(...and drying of optics), the number of shorebirds increased dramatically (Greater Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Semipalmated Plover, dowitchers, etc...and Solitary Sandpiper). Finding the bird during brief lapses became funner with the extra shorebirds about. By noon, folks started arriving again and the Wood Sandpiper was very cooperative staying along the shore of the south impoundment. The bird seemed less skiddish than earlier, providing close-ups, and some short flights showing the white rump. Does quite a bit of Spotted Sandpiper-like "tail- bobbing" too. The bill and lack of extension in the primaries are quite evident. In today's poor to OK light, the legs appeared a dullish green, particularly when standing next to either of the yellowlegs. To incoming birders, please heed Ed's advice regarding the roadway. Park well off the road, and definitely don't stand or form groups in the road. Nice chatting with you Ed S.- good luck to all this weekend! Rick Cheicante Harford County Bel Air, MD Subject: Waterthrush on a wet day From: Derek Stoner <derek AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 16:56:55 -0400 Today at the Ashland Nature Center, two male Northern Waterthrush sang throughout the day from the wet woods alongside the marsh. We watched these birds chase each other and establish temporary territory boundaries, perhaps defending the best concentrations of tasty water-logged caterpillars. A Louisiana Waterthrush calling from along the Red Clay Creek allowed for a nice comparison of the two Waterthrush vocalizations. A pair of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds actively fed at the nectar feeders, frequently puffing up and shaking off their rain-soaked feathers. The male performed the frenetic U-shaped courtship flight above the perched female, with his bright red gorget flashing in the otherwise gloomy low light. Good birding, Derek Stoner Hockessin, DE Subject: Re: Wood Sanpiper From: ksnyder <sny AT bee.net> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 15:10:25 -0400 We headed down to Prime Hook after work on Thursday and got to see the Wood Sandpiper. While the light was fading and the bird was apparently more distant than it had been during the week, we were thrilled to see it. We have just posted some (sorry, rather poor) pictures to DOS (pics may be up this evening) but hopefully every view is helpful, especially for those who can't make it to Prime Hook. As for Chris Starling's question about east coast records, "Shorebirds" by Hayman, Marchant, Prater says it was see in New York State October,1907 and the Islands of Bermuda and Barbados October, 1955. What a treat for us! It also says, JFYI, "Often abundant in Sub-Saharan Africa and India." Please remember good birding ethics in the field so that others can enjoy our Delaware birds! All the best, K Snyder Subject: Wood Sandpiper present at 1:30 - please be safe From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 13:52:37 -0400 The Wood Sandpiper was still present at 1:30 today in the same general area as the past few days. Please note that due to the rain the amount of habitat on the south side has decreased, but it has increased on the north side so it might expand it's range. Please be safe while observing the bird. I heard of a near miss this morning from a local resident when a birder ran across the road "for his bird book" without looking first. Needless to say the locals are quite interested in whats going on. While they are used to lots of stopping cars during the winter months with the Snow Geese, they can't necessarily see what the event is this time. Please take the time to let any of the locals know what's going on. The ones that I have talked to so far seemed to like knowing that they have a celebrity in town. Let's keep that positive attitude going. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Subject: Wood Sanpiper From: Chris Starling <beltedkingfisherchris AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 12:53:42 -0400 The Broadkill Beach Wood Sandpiper was being seen in the south impoundment at the west end when I left the bird around 1030AM. There were a lot of people there when I left. It seemed like the majority of them had come over on the ferry from Cape May (this is world series weekend). I met a lady from Minnasota and saw license plates from all over the east coast! Does anyone know if there are other east coasts records of this species? -Chris Starling North East, MD _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live SkyDrive lets you share files with faraway friends. http://www.windowslive.com/skydrive/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Refresh_skydrive_052008 Subject: RBA: Birdline Delaware, May 9th, 2008 From: Andy Ednie <ednieap AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 10:46:56 -0400 RBA * Delaware * Statewide * May 9, 2008 * DEST0805.09 *Birds mentioned Greater White-fronted Goose Brant Black Scoter Surf Scoter Bufflehead Red-breasted Merganser Common Loon American Bittern Least Bittern Little Blue Heron Green Heron Yellow-crowned Night Heron Swallow-tailed Kite Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Merlin Yellow Rail Black Rail King Rail Clapper Rail Virginia Rail Sora Common Moorhen American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover American Oystercatcher Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Wood Sandpiper Red Knot Pectoral Sandpiper Ruff Bonaparte's Gull Black Tern Black Skimmer Yellow-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Chucks-will-widow Common Nighthawk Barred Owl Belted Kingfisher Red-headed Woodpecker Willow Flycatcher Blue-headed Vireo Cliff Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown-headed Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Ruby-crowned Kinglet Sedge Wren Veery Swainson's Thrush Gray-cheeked Thrush Nashville Warbler Cape May Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Black and White Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Northern Waterthrush Kentucky Warbler Wilson's Warbler Hooded Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Summer Tanager Blue Grosbeak Rose-breasted Grosbeak Savannah Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Bobolink Hotline: Birdline Delaware Date: May 9, 2008 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, May 9th this is Birdline Delaware, from the Delaware Museum of Natural History in Greenville. The unofficial Delaware State Year List now stands at 285 species, up 25 birds from last week. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS were reported coming to feeders throughout the state. Two species still missing are CANADA WARBLER and BANK SWALLOW. A new bird to the Delaware State List was a WOOD SANDPIPER found at the impoundments at Broadkill Beach, part of Prime Hook NWR . Found by Sharon Lynn of Rehoboth Beach, that bird was seen for the last three days mostly on the south side by the second pullout. It has also been seen on the north side. This is the first East Coast record since the Rye, New York bird found by Tom Burke on October 31, 1990. Related to our Yellowlegs, in flight this Eurasian wader flies like a SPOTTED SANDPIPER. A RUFF was also reported at Broadkill Beach on Wednesday morning. To get to the Broadkill Beach impoundments to find the WOOD SANDPIPER, turn east at the light for the Rt 16 and Delaware Rt 1 intersection, east of Milton. The turn is marked by a sign for the Prime Hook NWR. From the turn to the refuge headquarters, go straight down the Broadkill Beach Road another 2.2 miles. Drive to the sharp left turn with the dirt road and yellow gate at Island Farms. Check the impoundments and marsh east of this sharp turn. Please sign in at the log book at the second pullout on the south side of the road.. Parking may be an issue; you may want to park at the gate to Island Farms and walk east along the edge of the impoundments. YELLOW and BLACK RAIL was also reported along the Broadkill Beach Road this week. Another BLACK RAIL was calling last Saturday morning at 1:30 am along the Pickering Beach Road. That bird was looked for again on Wednesday without success. VIRGINIA and CLAPPER RAIL were heard at Port Mahon, along with SEDGE WREN. There were two SWALLOW-TAILED KITES reported in the state this week. One was seen over Trap Pond State Park last weekend. The second was at the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch on Tuesday. MERLIN, NORTHERN HARRIER, SHARP-SHINNED and COOPER'S HAWK were also reported this week. RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was reported at Redden State Forest, along State Forest Road 1.3 miles south of Wilson Hill Road, just north of Georgetown. There was no report of RED-HEADED WOODPECKER along Deep Branch Road, but SUMMER TANAGER was seen there. A good fallout of warblers and other passerines was reported at Prime Hook this week. 18 species of warbler on Saturday, including: NASHVILLE, MAGNOLIA, BLACKPOLL and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH. This week, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was seen along the Boardwalk Trail. Other birds reported included BLACKBURNIAN and WILSON'S WARBLER, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was also seen in Milford this week, along with CAPE MAY, BLACKBURNIAN, and BLACKPOLL WARBLER. A WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH was also reported, a bird rare in Delaware below the piedmont. Abbott's Mill had HOODED and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, BARRED OWL and BUFFLEHEAD. Johnson Branch had BLUE-HEADED VIREO, MAGNOLIA WARBLER and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 17 species of warbler were found along Big Stone Beach Road on Saturday, including BAY-BREASTED, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, WORM-EATING, MAGNOLIA, CHESTNUT-SIDED, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH was also reported. DuPont Nature Center at the Mispillion Inlet had 300 RED KNOTS, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, and BLACK-NECKED STILT. TRICOLORED HERON, SEASIDE and SALT MARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROW were found along Lighthouse Road. PIPING PLOVER was also reported at Cape Henlopen State Park this week. Goatsuckers there included CHUCKS-WILL-WIDOW and COMMON NIGHTHAWK. DUCKS off the point included; SURF and BLACK SCOTER, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, and BRANT. AMERICAN BITTERN was found at Indian River Inlet. RED KNOTS continue to be seen at Bombay Hook along with AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, AMERICAN AVOCET, BLACK-NECKED STILT, and PECTORAL SANDPIPER. YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON continues to be seen at Bear Swamp, SAVANNAH SPARROW was seen along the dike at Raymond Pool, and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was seen at Finis Pool. The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was again seen this week behind Tony Florio's at Woodland Beach WMA. YELLOW-THROATED and PINE WARBLERS were found along the Pickering Beach Road at the powerline cut through the pine trees. There have been no further reports of the WHITE-WINGED TERN or LITTLE GULL at the Logan Tract this week. BONAPARTE'S GULL, BLACK TERN and BLACK SKIMMER were seen at the north pond this weekend. AMERICAN AVOCET was reported on the south side of the Logan Tract. BELTED KINGFISHER was also seen here on Sunday, sorry Forrest I had to throw that in! CERULEAN WARBLER was reported this week at White Clay Creek State Park. Two were singing along Creek Road, south of Hopkin's Bridge, before the little wooden bridge along Creek Road. WILSON'S MAGNOLIA, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLACK-THROATED BLUE and GREEN, were also reported. WILLOW FLYCATCHER, VEERY, SWAINSON'S and GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH were reported along the creek on Wednesday. Brandywine Creek State Park had an impressive 23 species of warbler on Sunday. Reports included NASHVILLE, MAGNOLIA, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, and GREEN, BLACKPOLL, PALM, WORM-EATING, HOODED, PROTHONOTARY, YELLOW-THROATED and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH. 5 species of VIREO were also found. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was calling in the park this week, and a DARK-EYED JUNCO was at the Nature Center. The later bird is very rare in Delaware in May. 7 flyover COMMON LOONS were seen at Ashland Nature center on Thursday. PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was seen along Red Clay Creek south of the nature center. BLUE and ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS were also reported. Birds reported at Lums Pond State Park included BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-AND-WHITE, and KENTUCKY WARBLER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, plus LITTLE BLUE, and GREEN HERON BOBOLINKS were found at the Huguenot House off Rt 9 south of Odessa. CLIFF SWALLOWS continue to be seen at the Rt 9 Bridge. LEAST BITTERN COMMON MOORHEN, SORA, KING and VIRGINIA RAIL were all reported at Thousand Acre Marsh this week. And now for this week's special feature from 1450 WILM News Radio. You can hear Birdline Delaware on your radio on Wednesday at 5:55 and 8:55 am and again at 6:55 pm. Here now is this week's feature: As April warms into May, the spring migration reaches its peak. Spring warblers are arriving daily. Wave upon wave of migrate birds are arriving, after flying all night. Birds like the PRAIRIE WARBLER, (SFx) whose song is an ascending trill in perfect scales, are back in Delaware. To understand where these birds come from and when to look for them is to understand migration and weather patterns. Neotropical migrants nest in the arboreal forests of North America and winter in the neotropics. There are three different strategies for their spring migration: Trans-Caribbean migrants, like the BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER journey straight up the East Coast via the Florida peninsula after wintering in the Caribbean Islands. Others, like the NASHVILLE WARBLER circum-navigate the Gulf of Mexico from Central America. The most dangerous route is the Trans-gulf migration. From the Yucatan Peninsula, birds like the BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, flying non-stop, 500 miles to the Gulf Coast, arriving noontime at places like High Island, Texas or the Dry Tortugas Spring migration weather patterns are the exact opposite of those experienced in the fall. In the fall, watch for migrants after a cold front, as the northwest wind pushes birds eastward. Conversely, a southwest wind with an approaching cold front is better in the spring. A warm front that forms to the north, creates a cloud barrier that causes the birds to drop, creating a wave of migration. Doppler radar has demonstrated the decline of neotropical migrants. It also clues us in to when the next wave will hit. Birders have been accused of taping the Weather Channel to document migration. I've been listening to a MAGNOLIA WARBLER singing outside my window here in Claymont while typing this report. Special thanks to the Sharon Lynn, Bill Fintel, Steve Collins and Derek Stoner for their reports. To report sightings or add birds to this year's state year list call me at 302-792-9591 or email to ednieap AT verizon.net. Thanks for calling, until next time good birding. -end transcript. Subject: Wood Sandpiper - Yes - 9:00 AM Friday From: ROHRBAF AT AOL.COM Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 09:00:08 EDT Bruce Peterjohn called and reported that the Wood Sandpiper is present and feeding on the north side of the road at 9:00 AM in front of the white pole across from the pull offs on Broadkill Beach Road. Frank Rohrbacher Wilmington, Delaware **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) Subject: Re: directions to Broadkill Beach Rd.? From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 00:27:15 -0400 Please check out the following link for directions to Prime Hook: http://www.primehookbirding.com/directions.htm. Broadkill Road is Route 16. The location of the bird is 2.2 miles past the entrance road to the refuge headquarters. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Scott Baron wrote: > Hi, > > Can someone please provide directions to the Wood Sandpiper area? I'm not familiar w/ the Broadkill Beach area. > > Thanks very much, > > Scott Baron > Fairfax, Va. > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Be a better friend, newshound, and > know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ > > Subject: directions to Broadkill Beach Rd.? From: Scott Baron <brnpelican AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 20:18:43 -0700 Hi, Can someone please provide directions to the Wood Sandpiper area? I'm not familiar w/ the Broadkill Beach area. Thanks very much, Scott Baron Fairfax, Va. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ Subject: Prime Hook From: Lin Just <crazy4wildbirds AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 21:31:56 -0400 My husband Jim and I enjoyed the afternoon of birding at Prime Hook, especially the famous WOOD SANDPIPER. Thanks to Derek Stoner and friends, we were able to obtain great looks at this bird. Thanks again Derek! After Derek's group departed, I was determined to see the bird in flight with his white rump pattern. He would make short flights but I would always seem to miss it when he did. After Jim decided to look at the sign up book to see if he recognized any names, the bird did take to flight, flew across the road and right in front of me! It was all it took for me to contain myself from shreaking to my husband but I kept quiet since I didn't want to scare the bird! What a thrilling experience! We left the bird foraging on the side of the road between both parking areas. After basking in this excitement, we decided to bird the headquarters area. We walked the boardwalk trail seeing BLUE GROSBEAK as a FOY bird. We then walked the Blue Goose Trail, seeing BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and heard BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. Good birding! Lin Just crazy4wildbirds AT yahoo.com Colora, Md Subject: Wood Sandpiper still present at last light From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 21:24:01 -0400 The Wood Sandpiper was still present along the north side of Broadkill Road at last light (8:30pm). Unlike last night when the bird stopped feeding around 7:30, tonight it continued to feed right up to the point when the light faded. The bird was feeding in a small area of water just in front of the north side pull out. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Subject: Wood Sandpiper Seen at 5:20 pm today From: Marcy Stutzman <marciastutzman AT NETSCAPE.NET> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 21:06:27 -0400 Jay Sheppard refound the Wood Sandpiper today at 5:20 p.m. It was very cooperative offering long looks. Several birders got the opportunity to see the bird. From the sign-in book, look across the road and slightly to the left. See the big white pole sticking up near the road. The sandpiper was in the marshy area in front of and to the right of the white pole. Marcy Stutzman Russett, MD marciastutzman AT netscape.net Subject: Big Day list - 5/8 From: Forrest Rowland <rowbird2005 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 19:52:39 -0500 Hello all, Here's the list from the Big Day Steve Collins and I conducted yesterday. I've highlighted some of the "Good" birds Red-throated Loon Common Loon Double-crested Cormorant Great Cormorant Least Bittern Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Cattle Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Glossy Ibis Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose Canada Goose Brant Wood Duck Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Black Scoter Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Ring-necked Pheasant Wild Turkey Northern Bobwhite Clapper Rail King Rail Virginia Rail Sora Common Moorhen American Coot Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover Killdeer American Oystercatcher Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper Willet Spotted Sandpiper Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Ruff Short-billed Dowitcher Common Snipe American Woodcock Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Great Black-backed Gull Royal Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Least Tern Black Skimmer Rock Dove Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Barn Owl Eastern Screech-Owl Great Horned Owl Barred Owl Chuck-will's-widow Whip-poor-will Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-headed Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Wood-Pewee Acadian Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird White-eyed Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Warbling Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Fish Crow Horned Lark Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown-headed Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren Sedge Wren Marsh Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Veery Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher European Starling Cedar Waxwing Blue-winged Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Pine Warbler Prairie Warbler Palm Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Prothonotary Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Kentucky Warbler Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Summer Tanager Scarlet Tanager Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Seaside Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak Blue Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow --------------------------------- Yahoo! Deportes Beta ˇNo te pierdas lo último sobre el torneo clausura 2008! Entérate aquí http://deportes.yahoo.com Subject: ALERT - DOS Bird-A-Thon Honorary Birdwalk at Mt. Cuba 5/9 From: Bill Stewart <hcf2 AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 20:28:45 -0400 To DOS Honorary Members, Fellows and Officers, Due to the potential of some nasty morning weather, I want to send out a few guidelines. If we are experiencing drenching downpours and/or thunderstorms, the walk will be cancelled. If we are experiencing showers and birdable weather, we will go for it. Either way, I will be at Mt. Cuba by 8:00 to assess the situation and make a determination and greet participants. If you would like to call and get an up to the minute status, please feel free to call me at 610 864 0370. Let's hope the weathermen are wrong.........again. Bill Stewart Subject: Wood Sandpiper and Yellow Rail From: Jay K <azure.jay AT earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 17:20:35 -0400 Hello DE-Birders, I heard about the Wood Sandpiper when most others did last evening, and was immediately dismayed realizing I couldn't do anything about it. I had a busy day scheduled in the office the next day (in Washington DC) and have plans to be out of town for the weekend. What's a NUT JOB birder to do? Well, it's to hop in the car at 2 AM after 2 hours of sleep and drive to Prime Hook to see the bird at first light. That's exactly what I did, and got into the office at a reasonable time and handled it all! I arrived at the refuge at just about 4:30 AM, and headed right for Broadkill Beach Rd. I was driving slowly with the windows down listening for night critters and had MARSH WREN, WILSON'S SNIPE, and a couple of others. As I drove farther, I heard the "song" of the BLACK RAIL so immediately found a small pulloff to listen for it again. This pulloff is actually just before the bridge that is just before the left-hand bend in the road near the area where the Sandpiper is being seen. This informal pulloff is marked with a "P" sign and is on the right as you head east. I sat here for perhaps 30 minutes overall (sunrise was still far off), and after about 15 minutes, I began to hear some odd, quiet sounds coming from the grasses quite close to the road that I did not recognize. After several minutes of this, the distinctive tic-tic tic-tic-tic of the YELLOW RAIL fired off a couple of phrases, confirming the identity of the creature making those unusual sounds. After this, ! it repeated the tics once and went back to the other sounds. Amazing! At this point the sky was starting to turn that deep blue-purple color, so I headed for the second pulloff after the bend. Here I sat in silence for a long while in my car until I could start to make out some shorebird shapes outside my window. At one point after it got lighter, I could clearly see that the two birds I was looking at were a LESSER YELLOWLEGS and a WOOD SANDPIPER. The two standing side-by-side made it remarkably easy to differentiate the Wood SP from the Lesser. After a while, two birders from NJ arrived (Frank and Frank - did not get their last name) and we immediately found the bird, this time it was alone. It was interesting how seeing the bird alone made it seem like a tougher ID. I squinted to make sure it was the bird but the thing that stands out is its foraging behavior as compared to a Yellowlegs, along with its supercilium and other features. After just a couple of minutes, the bird flew off, giving its high-pitched call and we could not locate it again before I had to depart back to DC. A truly memorable and fantastic trip, perhaps my last before I move away at the end of the month. I will certainly miss my regular visits to Delaware. Take Care, Jay Keller, Arlington, VA Subject: Big Day - 5/7 No countable Wood Sandpiper, but quite a day nonetheless.. From: Forrest Rowland <rowbird2005 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 15:30:09 -0500 Hello all, This is the preliminary short version. The long one will be days in the making, as I will be busy and traveling until early next week. To make a long story short: Steve Collins and I conducted our Bird-a-Thon Big Day Wednesday, May 7th. The forecast was good for the day, with good winds the evening before and sun. We didn't know what to expect. This may give you an idea of the way the day went overall: We arrived at White Clay Creek State Park at about 5:45p. At this point our target birds were dwindled to Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawk, Common Nighthawk, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Willow Flycatcher, Yellow-throated and Warbling Vireo, Gray-cheeked and Hermit Thrush, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, or Black-billed Cuckoo. By 6 pm we had Yellow-throated Vireo, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. We were practically jogging through the park to get to Hopkins Bridge, hoping that time wouldn't run out on us. We got to the open field hoping for Blue-winged Warbler. Instead we had a Warbling Vireo begin singing madly AND Rose-breasted Grosbeak trying to compete for air time. Thinking our luck had finally run out, on the awlk back to Hopkins Rd, a male Blue-winged Warbler sang not 20 feet away. We crossed the bridge on the pumphouse side. Willow Flycatcher singing on the far side. An adult Cooper's Hawk cruised right across the path at eye level just before an odd Thrush "jreet". We waited. Gray-cheeked Thrush was suspected, and confirmed when another began singing opposite the original bird!!!! We thought we were in the Truman Show. This MUST be a joke. Nobody could get this lucky!! Of course, we weren't lucky enough to break 200. At 8pm, after 18 hours of birding, we had tallied 199 species. It was an incredible day. More to come.... Forrest Rowland --------------------------------- Yahoo! Deportes Beta ˇNo te pierdas lo último sobre el torneo clausura 2008! Entérate aquí http://deportes.yahoo.com Subject: Wood Sandpiper Still Being Seen at 3:15 PM From: ROHRBAF AT AOL.COM Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 15:15:32 EDT Derek Stoner called and said the Wood Sandpiper is on the north side of the road working a 20 yard pool between the first and second pull off at 3:15 PM. A logbook has been placed at the second pull off - please sign it if you look for the bird. Thanks Frank Rohrbacher Wilmington, Delaware **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) Subject: Wood Sandpiper present at 1:30pm From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 14:13:48 -0400 While I was there the bird was in the vicinity of the first pull out. I also heard reports that the bird had been on the north side of the road as well. There are also a few more shorebirds present today than yesterday. I have posted a few shots of the bird on my website. Please be very careful when out of your car as parking is going to be difficult and the traffic will be heavy as the weekend approaches. It's not unusual for cars to travel 60mph in this area. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Subject: Glasses Lost at Wood Sandpiper Site From: Bob Strahorn <bstrahor AT COMCAST.NET> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 13:59:51 -0400 I have a pair of glasses (silver metal frames, not bifocals) that were found this morning at one of the pull offs. They were lost prior to 11:00 am. If they are yours, or you think you know who they might belong to, contact me off list. Bob Strahorn bstrahor AT comcast.net 302-584-2065 Subject: Bombay Hook NWR Bird Sightings: April 28 thru May 07, 2008 From: tina watson <tinawatsonde AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 08:19:53 -0700 Bombay Hook NWR Spring Bird Count is Saturday, May 10, 2008. If you would like to help meet at the Visitor Center at 7:00am. Please record all your sightings on the clipboard in the lobby of the Restroom area. Thanks. > Here are the bird sightings for the week April 28 thru May > 07, 2008. > > American Bittern > Little Blue Heron > Black-crowned Night-Heron > Glossy Ibis > Green-winged Teal > Ruddy Duck > Osprey > Bald Eagle > Peregrine Falcon > Merlin > American Golden-Plover > Semipalmated Plover > Black-necked Stilt > American Avocet > Red Knot > Pectoral Sandpiper > Dunlin > Ruff > Little Gull > Hairy Woodpecker > Acadian Flycatcher > Great Crested Flycatcher > Eastern Kingbird > Sedge Wren > Ruby-crowned Kinglet > White-eyed Vireo > Yellow-throated Vireo > Red-eyed Vireo > Blue-winged Warbler > Hooded Warbler > Northern Parula > Yellow Warbler > Black-throated Blue Warbler > Black-throated Green Warbler > Yellow-rumped Warbler > American Redstart > Prothonotary Warbler > Black-and-white Warbler > Ovenbird > Northern Waterthrush > Common Yellowthroat > Blue Grosbeak > Indigo Bunting > Eastern Towhee > Savannah Sparrow > Baltimore Oriole ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ Subject: Ashland this morning From: joe sebastiani <joe AT DELAWARENATURESOCIETY.ORG> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 10:47:17 -0400 Forrest Rowland led an excellent walk this morning at Ashland. Highlights include: * 7 flyover Common Loon * Blue-winged Warbler * Black-and-white Warbler * Prairie Warbler * Blue-winged Warbler * Blackpoll Warbler * Yellow Warbler * Ovenbird * Common Yellowthroat * Blue Grosbeak * Rose-breasted Grosbeak (female) Immediately after the walk, a Prothonotary Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Chestnut-sided Warbler were along Red Clay Creek below the nature center. 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 Subject: Bombay photos From: Scott Michaud <mazhude AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 09:35:29 -0400 I birded Bombay Hook NWR on Monday. Put up the pictures last night. I have some shots of warblers, ibis, and fox cubs. 44 bird day. Enjoy! http://www.flickr.com/photos/mazhude/ List: Great Blue Heron Great Egret Robin Cardinal Barn Swallow Tree Swallow Goldfinch Common Grackle Red-winged Blackbird Starling Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Laughing Gull Black-bellied Plover Black-necked Stilt Ring-billed Gull Eastern Kingbird Swamp Sparrow Catbird Common Yellowthroat Yellowrump Palm Warbler Yellow Warbler Magnolia Warbler Great-crested Flycatcher Eastern Towhee Bluejay Northern Flicker Dunlin Semi-palmated Plover Solitary Sandpiper House Wren Lesser Yellowlegs Avocet Bald Eagle Savannah Sparrow Red Knot Killdeer Mallard Glossy Ibis Snowy Egret Brown-headed Cowbird Eastern Bluebird Red-bellied Woodpecker -- Scott Michaud Riviera Beach, MD _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live SkyDrive lets you share files with faraway friends. http://www.windowslive.com/skydrive/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Refresh_skydrive_052008 Subject: Pileated Woodpecker From: Kevin Fleming <kfleming AT DMV.COM> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 07:52:27 -0400 Hello All, Yesterday I photographed (for the first time in my life) a Pileated Woodpecker near Ashland Nature Center. Here's what's new on www.WildDelaware.com Canada goose goslings at Winterthur raccoons and foxes Ring-billed Gull with a striped cask eel crab megalopae Tree Swallows baby Black Vultures (very cool) Short-billed Dowitchers American Oystercatcher Willet Bobwhite Quail Black-necked Stilt And much more! Thanks for looking, Kevin Fleming Subject: Delaware Valley RBA, 7 May 2008 From: Stephen E Kacir <rba AT DVOC.ORG> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 04:28:51 -0700 - RBA * PA, NJ, DE * Delaware Valley: Southeast PA, Central/Southern NJ & DE * PADV0805.08 * May 8, 2008 - Birds Mentioned Clark's Grebe ++ Anhinga ++ Swallow-tailed Kite + Swallow-tailed Kite +++ Mississippi Kite ++ Yellow Rail + Wood Sandpiper +++ Eurasian Collared-dove + Fork-tailed Flycatcher + Loggerhead Shrike + Loggerhead Shrike ++ + (Details requested by NJBRC) ++ (Details requested by PORC) +++ (Details requested by DERC) Common Loon Great Cormorant American Bittern Least Bittern Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Yellow-crowned Night-heron Common Eider Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Common Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Broad-winged Hawk Merlin Ruffed Grouse Northern Bobwhite Black Rail King Rail Virginia Rail American Golden-plover Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover Black-necked Stilt Whimbrel Marbled Godwit Red Knot White-rumped Sandpiper Wilson's Phalarope Parasitic Jaeger Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull Caspian Tern Roseate Tern Black Tern Black-billed Cuckoo Barred Owl Long-eared Owl Chuck-will's-widow Whip-poor-will Red-headed Woodpecker Olive-sided Flycatcher Acadian Flycatcher White-eyed Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson's Thrush Golden-winged Warbler Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Sutton's Warbler Cape May Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Prairie Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Cerulean Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Kentucky Warbler Hooded Warbler Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Summer Tanager Vesper Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Blue Grosbeak Bobolink Purple Finch Pine Siskin - Transcript Hotline: Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert Email reports to: rba AT dvoc.org Compilers: Steve Kacir and Tony Croasdale -- Delaware Valley Ornithological Club Phone: (215) 240-7547 URL: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm Welcome to 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. For May 7, 2008 we highlight reports of WOOD SANDPIPER in Sussex County, DE; a possible CLARK'S GREBE in Berks County, PA; ANHINGAS in Chester County, PA; SWALLOW-TAILED KITES in Monmouth, NJ and Sussex County, DE; MISSISSIPPI KITE in Lehigh County, PA; YELLOW RAIL in Cumberland County, NJ; EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in Cumberland County, NJ; possible FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER in Monmouth County, NJ; LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES in Monmouth County, NJ and Bucks County, PA. 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: A RUFF was at The Nature Conservancy's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge on May 7, and a Reeve (female RUFF) was there on May 5. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at the refuge on May 6. PIPING PLOVERS were on the beach at Cape May Point State Park and the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge. A ROSEATE TERN was at the St Peter's Jetty on May 4, and up to 3 COMMON EIDERS were seen in the Cape May Point area through May 7. The rips off Cape May Point have attracted PARASITIC JAEGERS through the week. Highlights from Higbee Beach WMA this week included BLUE GROSBEAKS and NASHVILLE WARBLER. The Rea Farm had BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAKS. The Villas WMA hosted PINE SISKIN and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER; the Villas WMA RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were noted through May 4. A BOBOLINK was at the Woodcock Trail of Cape May NWR on May 4. This week's highlights from Belleplain State Forest included SUMMER TANAGERS, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, PROTHONOTARY, KENTUCKY, WORM-EATING and HOODED WARBLERS. CATTLE EGRETS were at the Eastern Shore Nursing Home and the Cape May County Park and Zoo on May 4. A CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW called from Reeds Beach Rd on May 4. Jake's Landing had a calling YELLOW RAIL on May 1, and BLACK RAILS on May 4. A KING RAIL, VIRGINIA RAILS and LEAST BITTERNS were at Cedar Swamp Creek on May 5. Nummy's Island had a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, WHIMBREL and RED KNOT on May 4, while the Hereford Inlet area hosted SURF SCOTER and TRICOLORED HERON. Nearly 300 WHIMBREL were at Nummy's Island on May 7. A MARBLED GODWIT was at Two Mile Landing that day, while RED KNOTS were at the Two Mile Beach Unit of Cape May NWR. Cumberland County: On May 4, WHIP-POOR-WILL and VIRGINIA RAILS called from Turkey Point Wildlife Area at the Glades Wildlife Refuge. That day, a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER was at the Robinstown Rd area. On May 2, a SUMMER TANAGER and WORM-EATING WARBLER were at the Paynter's Crossing/Railroad Ave area. A EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was found along Valatia Ave in Millville on May 4. Atlantic County: Edwin B Forsythe NWR's Brigantine Division had a GLAUCOUS GULL in the marsh north of the dike just before leaving the dike at Jen's Trail on May 3. Other sightings from the refuge that day included MARBLED GODWIT and 53 WHIMBREL. A BLUE GROSBEAK appeared in Port Republic on May 4. Monmouth County: A probable FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER was near the Sandy Hook Coast Guard Base on May 6. That day, a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE and a WILSON'S PHALAROPE were found near Fisherman's Trail, and the PHALAROPE was seen again on May 7. Sandy Hook boasted ROSEATE TERNS through May 7. The ROSEATES were reported from the bay across from the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory, the sandbar north of Plum Island, North Beach, and the False Hook area on May 3. Other notable sightings from Sandy Hook this week included 8 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS, BLACK TERN, AMERICAN BITTERN, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, BANK SWALLOWS, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, CAPE MAY WARBLER and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO. Sandy Hook had 17 species of warbler on May 4, including YELLOW- THROATED, BAY-BREASTED and WORM-EATING WARBLERS. The Sandy Hook Migration Watch had a high count of 58 MERLINS on May 4. A SWALLOW-TAILED KITE flew by the Migration Watch on May 2. A BARRED OWL called from the Rusty Barn area on May 1. On May 3, Sandy Hook's False Hook area at the end of Fisherman's Trail had PIPING PLOVERS. On May 4, a BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER was at Natco Lake. That day, Allaire State Park had YELLOW-THROATED VIREO; CAPE MAY, CANADA and HOODED WARBLERS. Burlington County: This week, Palmyra Cove Nature Park had COMMON GOLDENEYE and at least 16 species of warbler including WILSON'S, WORM-EATING, HOODED and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS. That day, there were BLUE GROSBEAKS at the Chatsworth section of Franklin Parker Preserve. The Hawkins Rd area had PROTHONOTARY, HOODED and WORM-EATING WARBLERS. A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at Riversedge Park on May 3. Brightview Farm had BOBOLINKS, GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and SUMMER TANAGER on May 6. Salem County: On May 4, BOBOLINKS were at Featherbed Lane and CATTLE EGRETS were at Compromise Rd. Gloucester County: A CASPIAN TERN was at the High Hill Rd Marsh area on May 1, and Raccoon Island had 2 GREAT CORMORANTS that day. A NORTHERN BOBWHITE was at Riverwinds on May 3. Glassboro Woods WMA had HOODED, WORM-EATING, KENTUCKY and PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS. Camden County: A WORM-EATING WARBLER and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO were at the Stafford Trails in Vorhees Twp on May 4. A BOBOLINK was at the Stafford Farm in Vorhees on May 5. KENTUCKY WARBLERS were at Winslow WMA on May 1. Mercer County: Baldpate Mountain had eBird reports of OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and KENTUCKY WARBLER on May 2. A HOODED WARBLER was at Princeton Institute Woods on May 7. Somerset County: Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve had BLUE GROSBEAKS, VESPER SPARROWS and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS on May 5. Hunterdon County: On May 3, Spruce Run Reservoir had nearly 50 COMMON LOONS, PURPLE FINCHES, SUMMER TANAGER and 15 species of warbler including TENNESSEE and GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS. Warren County: Old Mine Rd had 20 species of warblers on May 4, including CERULEAN, CANADA, HOODED and WORM-EATING WARBLERS. A BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER was near Merril Creek Reservoir on May 4. FOR DELAWARE: New Castle County: This week, Brandywine Creek State Park had YELLOW-THROATED VIREO and 23 species of warbler including WORM-EATING, KENTUCKY, HOODED and BLACKPOLL WARBLERS. On May 3, White Clay Creek State Park hosted YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER and 13 species of warbler including WILSON'S WARBLER. On May 1, the Meadows Tract of Blackbird State Forest had HOODED and KENTUCKY WARBLERS. Alapocas Woods Park had SWAINSON'S THRUSH on May 7. A KING RAIL called from Grier's Pond on May 4. Kent County: On May 4, Bombay Hook NWR had 35-50 RED KNOTS at Shearness Pool. Other highlights from Bombay Hook that day included BLUE GROSBEAKS and BLACK-NECKED STILTS. Killens Pond State Park had a SUMMER TANAGER on May 5. Sussex County: A WOOD SANDPIPER was found at the Broadkill Impoundments of Prime Hook NWR on May 5, and was still present in the area on May 8. The WOOD SANDPIPER was found on the right side of the impoundment, and was observed from the second pull-out after the nearly ninety degree turn at the gated Island Farm Rd. On May 4, Prime Hook NWR had 18 species of warbler including YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT; WORM- EATING, PROTHONOTARY, HOODED and BLACKPOLL WARBLERS. Trap Pond State Park had a SWALLOW-TAILED KITE on May 3, and another SWALLOW-TAILED KITE was seen from the Cape Henlopen State Park Hawk Watch on May 7. A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was found on State Forest Rd, a mile north of Seashore Highway in the Redden State Forest Area. The RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was seen as recently as May 7, when it was 1.8 miles south of Deer Forest Rd. The DuPont Nature Center had RED KNOTS and a TRICOLORED HERON on May 4. On May 7, Abbott's Mill Nature Center had ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, BLUE GROSBEAK, HOODED and PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS. On May 4, Milford Neck WA had BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. FOR PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia County: On May 3, John Heinz NWR at Tinicum had YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, WHITE-EYED VIREO and 17 species of warbler including YELLOW- BREASTED CHAT. The next day, the refuge had a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and 15 species of warbler. The University of Pennsylvania's Biopond hosted NASHVILLE WARBLER on May 5. A BAY- BREASTED WARBLER was found along the Wissahickon Creek near Valley Green Inn in Chestnut Hill on May 3. That day a WILSON'S WARBLER and WORM-EATING WARBLER were banded at Fairmount Park, and a few BOBOLINKS were at the hay fields along Spring Lane. Delaware County: Two ANHINGAS soared over Struble Lake on May 4. That day Hibernia Park also hosted a LONG-EARED OWL, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO and PURPLE FINCH. A May 4 walk along Crum Creek at Scott's Arboretum at Swarthmore College provided SWAINSON'S THRUSH, SUMMER TANAGER, TENNESSEE and HOODED WARBLER. Chester County: At the private Bucktoe Creek Preserve in Chester County, there were 15 BOBOLINKS on May 5. A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was in a yard near White Clay Creek on May 3. This week, White Clay Creek Preserve had PURPLE FINCHES and at least 15 species of warbler including BAY-BREASTED and HOODED WARBLERS. PINE SISKINS appeared on private property on May 7. Montgomery County: A BAY-BREASTED WARBLER was found in Audubon on May 4. On May 3, the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove had a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. On May 3, Green Lane Reservoir had 6 COMMON LOONS, and 3 DUNLIN were at the Church Rd area. This week, Fort Washington State Park hosted GRAY-CHEEKED and SWAINSON'S THRUSH and at least 17 species of warbler including GOLDEN-WINGED, CERULEAN, YELLOW- THROATED, WORM-EATING and WILSON'S WARBLERS. A BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER was at Huntingdon Valley on May 1. Mill Creek Preserve had WORM-EATING WARBLER and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO on May 5. Bucks County: On May 5, a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was seen from a dirt path near the Callowhill Rd bridge over the Perkiomen Creek. A May 2 walk along the Perkiomen Trail in Perkasie revealed 14 species of warbler. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was at Hidden Lake off of Route 532 near Newtown on May 2. Seventeen species of warbler were noted at Peace Valley Park through May 3, including WORM-EATING and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. Silver Lake Park had RUSTY BLACKBIRD and 10 species of warbler on May 3. This week Churchville Nature Center had PURPLE FINCH and HOODED WARBLER. Nockamixon State Park had YELLOW- THROATED VIREO, BLACKBURNIAN and TENNESSEE WARBLERS on May 3. That day, SGL-157 had PURPLE FINCH; RED-HEADED WOODPECKER; HOODED, BLACKBURNIAN and WORM-EATING WARBLERS. On May 5, Core Creek Park had a CLIFF SWALLOW. Northampton County: On May 4, Moore Twp sightings included KENTUCKY WARBLER, GRASSHOPPER and VESPER SPARROWS. Green Pond had LESSER BLACK- BACKED GULLS through May 3, with a high count of 107 LESSER BLACK- BACKS on May 3. This week Jacobsburg State Park hosted WHITE-EYED VIREO, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and 16 warbler species including BLACKBURNIAN and HOODED WARBLERS. A LINCOLN'S SPARROW was at Jacobsburg State Park on May 5, and five more were there on May 7. Lehigh County: On May 3, Purchase Park had 7 species of warbler. A MISSISSIPPI KITE was seen from Treichlers Bridge near Laury's Station on May 7, and a CERULEAN and several WORM-EATING WARBLERS were in that area. Schuylkill County: On May 2, the Tumbling Run Watershed had 16 species of warbler including HOODED and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS. A CLIFF SWALLOW was at Hidden Valley on May 4. Sweet Arrow Lake had HOODED WARBLER on May 2. Berks County: A possible CLARK'S GREBE and a COMMON LOON were on Blue Marsh Lake on May 7. CERULEAN and WORM-EATING WARBLERS were at Hay Creek on May 3. That day, SGL-110 had RUFFED GROUSE and 13 species of warbler including WORM-EATING and HOODED WARBLERS. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary had migrating BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and MERLINS. Lancaster County: On May 4, the Conejohela Flats had RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 4 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER; FORSTER'S, CASPIAN and BLACK TERNS. Five DUNLIN were at the Flats on May 2. On May 3, Holtwood Ash Basin #2 had PRAIRIE WARBLER, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and WHITE-EYED VIREO. Three BLUE GROSBEAKS were at Lancaster County Central Park on May 2, along with 14 species of warbler including YELLOW-THROATED and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS. Safe Harbor Park that day hosted 3 CERULEAN WARBLERS, and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was at Observation Site Rd. Northern Lancaster County Park's Pumping Station Rd had GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO on May 7. Lebanon County: On May 3, the power line area along Pinch Rd revealed 20 species of warbler; including CERULEAN, BAY-BREASTED, KENTUCKY, PROTHONOTARY, HOODED and WORM-EATING WARBLERS. *** ANNOUNCEMENTS *** Due to scheduling and internet access issues, there will be no Delaware Valley RBA for the week of May 19, 2008. We will resume a regular schedule for the week of May 26, 2008. On May 9-11, Colin Campbell will lead a DVOC field trip, Birding Southern Delaware into Maryland. If you would like to attend this field trip, contact Colin Campbell in advance. A flyer with additional information will be made available to participants. The DVOC website also has information about this trip, including contact information for the trip leader and reports from past trips: http://www.dvoc.org On 12, Sandra Keller will lead a DVOC field trip exploring Gloucester County, NJ. The trip will meet at will meet at 7:00AM at Glassboro Woods WMA on Carpenter - the west (Rt. 47) end; pull into the parking area by the gate. Please contact Sandra Keller if you plan on attending. Additional information, including contact information for the trip leader is on the DVOC website: http://www.dvoc.org The next meeting of the DVOC is on Thursday May 15 at 7:30pm at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, when Debi Shearwater will present "Penguins of the World." In lieu of an Ornithological Study that evening, the Nikon DVOC Lagerhead Shrikes will present their World Series of Birding report. The meeting after that will be on June 5, featuring Frank Windfelder's "My Philly Big Year in 2007." Details are on the website, and guests are always welcome. Spring Migration is in full swing. For a bird's eye view of the phenomenon and some birding forecasts, check out David La Puma's Woodcreeper.com website at http://www.woodcreeper.com Or read his forecasts at http://birdcapemay.org/bfma The second Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas kicks off this year. Please consider taking part in this massive citizen science project to study the map the distribution of birds breeding in Delaware and compare the data with that gathered by the first Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas from 20 years ago. For more information contact the DE BBA Coordinator, Anthony Gonzon at Anthony.Gonzon AT state.de.us or call (302)653-2880. More information is available at the DE BBA Website: http://www.fw.delaware.gov/BBA 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: Wood Sandpiper in Present - 5/8 From: ROHRBAF AT AOL.COM Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 06:50:23 EDT I received a report from Jay Keller that the Wood Sandpiper is foraging actively at the same place as yesterday on Broadkill Beach Road at first light today Thursday May 8. Frank Rohrbacher Wilmington, Delaware. **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) Subject: Spring Round Up - This Saturday From: John Janowski <jsbirders AT VERIZON.NET> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 21:55:29 -0400 Can birding in Delaware get any more exciting than this! May is certainly living up to its reputation of International Migratory Month. Not only are we blessed with our returning neotropics but the report today of a Wood Sandpiper at Broadkill makes two Eurasian species in as many weeks. This sets the stage for what could be a record Spring Roundup this Saturday, May 10. We could set a record for most species seen in a Roundup and maybe add some exciting new birds to the cumulative list. The Swallow-tailed Kite might just stick around. The Roundup is a great way to participate in the DOS Bird-A-Thon and even get some of your surveys underway for the Breeding Bird Atlas. All birders are needed for this event and if your compiler hasn't contacted you yet, don't be shy about participating. Here are the compilers and the areas they cover: If you need a Spring Roundup count list, I'll be glad to e-mail you one. Area 1: New Castle County south to the C&D Canal, Mike Smith michael.a.smith AT villanova.edu Area 2: C&D Canal south to the Leipsic River in Kent County, John Janowski jsbirders AT verizon.net Area 3: Kent County south of the Leipsic River to the Sussex County Line, Joe Sabastiani bunker AT kennett.net Area 5: Sussex County south Lewes, Frank Rohrbacher, rohrbaf AT aol.com Area 6: Lewes to the Indian River Inlet, Glen Lovelace, glen.lovelace AT state.de.us Area 7: Indian River Inlet south to the Maryland Line, Bob Rufe rrufe1 AT aol.com Thank you and enjoy this great season of birding in Delaware. John Janowski Port Penn, DE Subject: Milford Neck, Woodshaven and Brandywine Creek Saturday to Tuesday From: Chris Bennett <cb2564 AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 21:52:44 -0400 I apologize of the tardiness of this report – but I’m going with better late than never.  As Matt mentioned shortly after the fact – I led a fieldtrip to Milford Neck and the Dupont Nature Center for the Sussex Bird Club on Saturday.  We had a great turn out in participants as well as birds.  It was cool and foggy for most of the day with the sun finally burning off the fog after noon as we stood on the deck at the Dupont Center and watched a spectacular shorebird show.  As Matt mentioned in his post Saturday, we had one nice mixed songbird flock which contained Red-eyed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, chickadees and titmice and the following warblers – Northern Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided (4), Magnolia, Black-throated Blue (3-4), Yellow-rumped (~10), Black-throated Green (2-3), Bay-breasted, Black and White, American Redstart and Worm-eating.  We also had Kentucky, Pine, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow-breasted Chat during the day – bringing our warbler total for the day to 17.   The other highlights on Milford Neck included Brown-headed Nuthatch along Big Stone Beach Road, a Merlin flying over the beach at Big Stone Beach and a pair of Killdeer with fluffy chicks – in one of my Atlas blocks!   On the way out to the Dupont Center we had a bunch of Seaside Sparrows and a single distant Sharp-tailed Sparrow in the marsh along Lighthouse Road.  We also had a single Tricolored Heron perched on the top of a tree on the opposite side of Cedar Creek.  The real show, though, was in the Harbor.  There were thousands of Dunlin and 100 – 300 Red Knots along with lesser numbers of Short-billed Dowitchers, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones and Semipalmated Sandpipers.  Also seen were a American Oystercatcher, Black-necked Stilt and Clapper Rail.  A great day of birding was enjoyed by all.  The final total for the day was 88 species.   On Sunday the good birding continued.  While walking the dog around the neighborhood in the morning Karen and I had Yellow (bathing in our front yard water feature) Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Northern Parula, Blackburnian, Blackpoll and Cape May Warblers, Scarlet Tanager, Baltimore and rchard Oriole and Veery.  We made a quick run out to Milford Neck to do an hour or so of Atlasing and confirmed Eastern Bluebird nesting in an old woodpecker cavity in a short snag and added both Orioles, Prothonotary Warbler, White-breasted Nuthatch and Black-billed Cuckoo to great list we racked up on Saturday.   I worked in the field at Brandywine Creek on Monday and Tuesday in Tulip Tree Woods.  While pulling Garlic Mustard I was serenaded by Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue Warblers, Scarlet Tanager and Yellow-billed Cuckoo on Tuesday. During lunch on Tuesday a pair of Red-tailed Hawks engaged in a courtship flight above the woodlot near the Amphitheater.  I also had a singing Eastern Meadowlark and a male American Kestrel in the meadows and a single Dark-eyed Junco in the gardens in front of the Nature Center on Tuesday.   The complete list for Saturday’s trip is below.   CANADA GOOSE MALLARD DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT GREAT BLUE HERON SNOWY EGRET TRICOLORED HERON GLOSSY IBIS BLACK VULTURE TURKEY VULTURE OSPREY NORTHERN HARRIER MERLIN CLAPPER RAIL BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER SEMIPALMATED PLOVER KILLDEER AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER BLACK-NECKED STILT GREATER YELLOWLEGS WILLET RUDDY TURNSTONE RED KNOT SANDERLING SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER LEAST SANDPIPER DUNLIN SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER LAUGHING GULL RING-BILLED GULL HERRING GULL GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL FORSTER'S TERN ROCK DOVE MOURNING DOVE RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER DOWNY WOODPECKER PILEATED WOODPECKER GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER WHITE-EYED VIREO RED-EYED VIREO BLUE JAY AMERICAN CROW PURPLE MARTIN TREE SWALLOW BARN SWALLOW CAROLINA CHICKADEE TUFTED TITMOUSE BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH CAROLINA WREN HOUSE WREN RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER AMERICAN ROBIN GRAY CATBIRD NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD BROWN THRASHER EUROPEN STARLING CEDAR WAXWING EUROPEAN STARLING NORTHERN PARULA YELLOW WARBLER CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER MAGNOLIA WARBLER BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER PINE WARBLER PRAIRIE WARBLER BAY-BREASTED WARBLER BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER AMERICAN REDSTART WORM-EATING WARBLER OVENBIRD KENTUCKY WARBLER COMMON YELLOWTHROAT YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT SCARLET TANAGER EASTERN TOWHEE CHIPPING SPARROW FIELD SPARROW SALTMARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROW SEASIDE SPARROW SONG SPARROW SWAMP SPARROW WHITE-THROATED SPARROW NORTHERN CARDINAL BLUE GROSBEAK INDIGO BUNTING RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD COMMON GRACKLE BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD HOUSE FINCH AMERICAN GOLDFINCH   Chris Bennett Milford, DE Subject: Recent White winged tern sightings? From: Ben Weinstein <bweinstein AT SYSSRC.COM> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 21:40:07 -0400 Hello DE birders Like many people, i will be trying for the wood sandpiper on friday, however i'd like to also try for the ted harvey white winged tern. The last report i've seen is for May 2nd at North Pond, is this correct? In the past has this species hung around? Thanks Ben Weinstein Reisterstown MD Subject: PHNWR Wood Sandpiper From: Ed Sigda <sigdae AT PRIMEHOOKBIRDING.COM> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 21:15:25 -0400 Congrats again to Sharon Lynn for following up on her unknown bird from Monday. And special thanks to all of my friends with cell phones that called me while I was at work in my PA office. The Wood Sandpiper was my 300th species for Prime Hook NWR. I hope to post some photos on my website later this evening. I watched the bird from 6:00pm to 7:58pm when it flew off to the south hopefully just for the evening. As Jeff mention in his mail the bird has been staying on the south side of the road up close to the road. While I observed the bird in covered about three quarters of the shoreline, with the second pullout being the center point. The bird was very skittish if you tried to walk towards it. My best advice would be to cross over to the other side of the road to get in front of it and then wait for it to walk right up to you. Also keep your ears open as the bird calls frequently when it is is flight. Beyond a few peeps the only other birds present were a Lesser Yellowlegs and a Solitary Sandpiper. Please be very careful when out of your car as parking is going to be difficult and the traffic will be heavy as the weekend approaches. It's not unusual for cars to travel 60mph in this area. For all visiting birders the entrance road to headquarters area for Prime Hook is about 2 miles back towards route 1 and has some excellent habitat for migrant land birds. Ed Sigda Milton, DE www.primehookbirding.com Subject: A few details on the Broadkill Beach Wood Sandpiper From: Jeffrey Gordon <jeffgyr AT MAC.COM> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 18:43:38 -0400 Hello, DE-BIRDers & others-- Congratulations to Sharon Lynn on her amazing find of a Wood Sandpiper at Broadkill Beach Impoundment in Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, east of Milton, Delaware. I've posted a photo set about it on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffgyr/sets/72157604940005597/ Click any photo to view it larger size. A couple of details about this bird.... Finding & observing it: It's hanging out on the near shore, quite close to the right (south) shoulder of Rt 16, about 0.3 miles beyond the "big bend" where the gated Island Farm Road continues straight. It's the second pulloff on the right, as you head east towards the bay. The distance to the spot is about a hair more than 3.3 miles from the intersection of Rt 1 & Rt 16. There is a small green and white "Important Bird Area" sign on the right that is just about a perfect marker for the spot, though it does range up and down the shore a few hundred feet, especially in the direction of the bay. There are only a few shorebirds in the area--some Leasts, a Lesser Yellowlegs, and the Wood Sandpiper. Here's a Google Map of the exact spot: http://snipurl.com/27rzk Backstory: It was found Monday, May 5 by Sharon Lynn, who knew it was odd, but couldn't quite decide what it was. Sharon forwarded me excellent photos which I received this morning, and which I admit I at first passed off as an odd yellowlegs, but on second viewing strongly suspected Wood Sandpiper. Liz & I immediately dashed out to Broadkill and were able to re-find and confirm the bird. Observing it: It is tolerant of people within limits. It will flush before you even leave the road if you pursue it, so please be very careful about your movements. I did not flush it, by the way, but several passing vehicles did at times, and it was obvious from the bird's behavior when I approached it that it would have flushed had I pressed it at all. Be very careful of traffic, both blocking it and getting hit by it. We all want this to be a positive event for everyone in the local community, both birders and non-birders. Things to watch for: Dumpy shape compared to Lesser Yellowlegs, with wings less projecting at rear. Capped appearance, with dark crown and prominent eyestripe. Dull straw legs. Two tone bill with greenish-straw base, thicker than Lesser Yellowlegs. High thin call, somewhat like Lesser Yellowlegs, but more like Solitary Sandpiper. Moves like Solitary Sandpiper; bounces when alert and on landing. White rump with strong black bands near end of tail. Gray wing linings. Documentation: Obviously, the more the better. But be aware that the bird has already been photographed, videotaped, and sound recorded, so there is not a *pressing* need to get close to it for more. The main priority is to make sure it stays as long as it cares to and is enjoyed safely by all those who come to see it. It would be an excellent subject for digiscoping, though, which can be done at longer distances. Light is best in the afternoon. Good birding, Jeff Jeff Jeffrey Gordon Lewes, DE jeffgyr AT mac.com Home page: www.jeffreyagordon.com Subject: Alapocas Woods walk results From: "sally o'byrne" <salobyrne AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 17:39:56 -0400 7 May - Alapocas DOS walk - 8 participants This was not a big warbler fall-out day - many birds that seemed common on Monday weren't around today, but even so it was a lovely morning to walk and discover the beauty of Alapocas. We had 6 species of warbler and 3 thrush, including a Swainson's. Some of the group heard a Red-breasted grosbeak, which others of us saw as the last bird of the morning. I had my FOY E. Wood-Peewee and Acadian Flycatcher. For many it was their FOY Great crested flycatcher. This is my BBA area, so the group kindly helped look for evidence of breeding birds. We found 2 Baltimore oriole nests being built, 1 orchard oriole carrying nesting material, a cardinal nest with two eggs, a blue grey gnat nest, and several nests with unknown occupants. 47 species altogether. Sally O'Byrne Complete list: Turkey Vulture Canada Goose Mallard Greater Yellowlegs Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Cuckoo sp. (heard) Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Wood-Peewee Acadian Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay Tree Swallow Rough-winged Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren House Wren Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Chestnut Sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Ovenbird Common Yellowthroat Scarlet Tanager Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grossbeak Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole American Goldfinch Subject: Alapocas Woods walk results From: sally o'byrne <salobyrne AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 17:39:56 -0400 7 May - Alapocas DOS walk - 8 participants This was not a big warbler fall-out day - many birds that seemed common on Monday weren't around today, but even so it was a lovely morning to walk and discover the beauty of Alapocas. We had 6 species of warbler and 3 thrush, including a Swainson's. Some of the group heard a Red-breasted grosbeak, which others of us saw as the last bird of the morning. I had my FOY E. Wood-Peewee and Acadian Flycatcher. For many it was their FOY Great crested flycatcher. This is my B