FYI - this report is for sightings from Dec 17 through Dec 23 and was compiled
by John Bjerke & transcribed by Steve Cordle.
Joe Coleman
Hotline: Voice of the Naturalist
Date: 12/24/2013
Coverage: MD/DC/VA/DE/WV panhandle
Telephone: 301-652-1088 option 1
Reports, comments, questions:
(e-mail): voice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Compiler: John Bjerke
Sponsor: Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central
Atlantic States (independent of NAS!)
Transcriber: Steve Cordle (scordle@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Please consider joining ANS, especially if you are a regular user of the Voice
(Individual $50; Family $65; Nature Steward $100; Audubon Advocate $200). The
membership number is 301-652-9188, option 12; the address is 8940 Jones Mill
Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815; and the web site is
http://www.AudubonNaturalist.org.
This is the Voice of the Naturalist, a service of the Audubon Naturalist
Society. This report was completed Tuesday, December 24, at 7 AM.
Top birds this week are BARNACLE GOOSE* in MD, SNOWY OWLS IN DE, MD, DC, & VA,
and SAY'S PHOEBE* in VA.
Other birds of interest include waterfowl, RED-NECKED GREBE, AMERICAN BITTERN,
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, SANDHILL CRANE, ICELAND GULL, WHITE-WINGED DOVE*,
SHORT-EARED OWL, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, WESTERN
KINGBIRD, TREE SWALLOW, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, SNOW BUNTING, OVENBIRD,
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.
Two BARNACLE GEESE* were seen from Dec 19 through 23 near Oakington, Harford
Co, MD. Access is limited, please see the cautions on the MDbirding list server.
The irruption of SNOWY OWLS into the region continued to amaze birders and the
general public. A bird was seen in flight early on Dec 20 near the Federal
Center Metro stop in Washington, DC. Maryland birds included one that perched
throughout the week on lane markers at the east end of the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge (Queen Anne's Co). Best views have been from Hemingway's on Kent Island.
A bird was seen at Assateague Island National Seashore, Worcester Co on Dec 17,
18, and 20. Other sightings in MD include Tavern Creek, Kent Co on Dec 19; the
Flower Hill Shopping Center, Gaithersburg, Montgomery Co on Dec 17; Ketch Rd,
Calvert Co on Dec 18; and Duck Puddle Rd, near Galena, Kent Co, on Dec 22.
Delaware sightings include Rt 9 and Whitehall Neck Rd near Bombay Hook NWR,
Kent Co on Dec 17; Rt 9 near Cartanza Rd, Little Creek, Kent Co on Dec 17; Port
Mahon Rd, Kent Co on Dec 20 and 21; the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion
Harbor, Kent/Sussex Co on Dec 22 and earlier; Indian River Inlet, Sussex Co on
Dec 19, 20, and 22; and up to three seen near The Point, Cape Henlopen SP,
Sussex Co during the week.
An aerial survey of Virginia's barrier islands on Dec 21 found two SNOWY OWLS
on the southern portion of Assateague Island, one on North Wallops Is, one on
Hog Is, one on Wreck Is, and one on Ship Shoal Is. Earlier in the week a bird
was seen on Fisherman Is. Another bird was found on Craney Is near Virginia
Beach on Dec 21.
A SAY'S PHOEBE* was seen on Normans Ford Rd or Sumerduck Rd near the Woodward
Turf Farm, Fauquier Co, VA throughout the week; latest report is Dec 23.
A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was spotted on Dec 21 on Long Green Pike,
Baltimore Co, MD. A ROSS'S GOOSE was seen near University Blvd and Rothbury Dr,
Prince William Co, VA on Dec 21 and 22. A dark morph SNOW GOOSE was found near
Memorial Bridge in Washington, DC waters on Dec 22. CACKLING GOOSE sightings
include two at Hunting Creek Bridge, Fairfax Co, VA on Dec 21; two at the Dyke
Marsh picnic area, Fairfax Co, VA on Dec 22; and one in Constitution Gardens,
Washington, DC on Dec 21.
A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was in Calf Pasture Cove, Eastern Neck NWR, Kent Co, MD
on Dec 21. Another was in a pond along Simpson Rd, Sussex Co, DE on Dec 22 and
one was on Craney Is, Virginia Beach, VA on Dec 21. An immature male KING EIDER
continued at Rudee Inlet, Virginia Beach VA. A drake HARLEQUIN DUCK was seen
from Ft Armistead Park near the Key Bridge, Anne Arundel Co, MD on Dec 21 and
22. Two female HARLEQUIN DUCKS were on the Yorktown, VA waterfront near the
Coleman Bridge on Dec 21, 22, and 23. A drake BARROW'S GOLDENEYE* has returned
for a third year to a point on the north edge of the Elms Environmental Center,
St Mary's Co, MD; please check MDbirding list server for detailed directions
and access considerations.
A RED-NECKED GREBE was seen from Ft Armistead Park Dec 20 through 22. Three
RED-NECKED GREBES were found at North Beach, Calvert Co, MD on Dec 21.
An AMERICAN BITTERN was found along the Black Marsh Trail at North Point SP,
Baltimore Co, MD on Dec 18 and 20.
A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen on the north side of Rt 165 near Pylesville,
Harford Co, MD Dec 19, 20, and 21.
Three SANDHILL CRANES alternated between Bradshaw Rd and Pfeffer Rd, Baltimore
Co, MD, through the week with latest report from Dec 22.
An ICELAND GULL was spotted on Wharf Rd, Prince George's Co, MD on Dec 22.
A WHITE-WINGED DOVE* was in a yard at Pleasure House Point, Virginia Beach, VA
on Dec 22.
A SHORT-EARED OWL was seen on Riley Roberts Rd in Deal Island WMA, Somerset Co,
MD on Dec 22. Another SHORT-EARED was found in the marsh north of Lighthouse Rd
near Mispillion Harbor, Kent/Sussex Co, DE on Dec 22 and one was on Craney Is,
Virginia Beach on Dec 21.
A hardy RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD continues at a feeder in Amberley, Anne
Arundel Co, MD. A RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD continues at a feeder in North Beach,
Calvert Co, MD.
A WESTERN KINGBIRD was seen at the third traffic circle in Ashville Park,
Virginia Beach, VA on Dec 22.
The calendar and the sun may say winter solistice but that didn't keep a TREE
SWALLOW from appearing at Jug Bay on the Patuxent River, Prince George's Co, MD
on Dec 22. Nor did it dissuade an OVENBIRD from foraging with some House
Sparrows on E St SW between 3rd and 4th in Washington, DC on Dec 20.
Up to two LAPLAND LONGSPURS were found near the Woodward Turf Farm, Faquier Co,
VA during the week. A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was seen on the Patton Turf Farm on
River Rd, Montgomery Co, MD on Dec 17 and 18. Up to four SNOW BUNTINGS were
seen at the Swan Harbor Farm Park, Harford Co, MD during the week. SNOW BUNTING
flocks were also at The Point in Cape Henlopen SP, Sussex Co, DE.
An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen at the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC on Dec
20.
A female or immature YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was in a large flock of Red-winged
Blackbirds along Woodland Beach Rd, Kent Co, DE on Dec 19.
Most of this week's reports have been gleaned from the DE, MD, VA, and WV list
serversvia the ABA Internet links, and from eBird records. The Audubon
Sanctuary Shop (301-652-3606,
http://www.audubonnaturalist.org/index.php/support-ans/shop is an excellent ;
source for guidebooks and many other nature-related titles. To report
bird sightings, e-mail your report to voice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Please post
reports before midnight Monday, identify the county as well as state, and
include your name and a Tuesday morning contact, either e-mail or phone.
Thank you for calling, and GOOD BIRDING.
*Of interest to the records committee
