* Pennsylvania
* Philadelphia
* PAPH0511.25
* November 25, 2005
- Birds mentioned
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Cackling Goose
Ross' Goose
Greater white-fronted Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Northern Shoveler
American Wigeon
Eurasian Wigeon
Redhead
Lesser Scaup
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Hooded Merganser
King Rail
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
American Avocet
American Oystercatcher
Marbled Godwit
Purple Sandpiper
American Woodcock
Laughing Gull
Franklin's Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Razorbill
Rufous Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird (NJ)
Western Kingbird
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Varied Thrush (DOA)
Hermit Thrush
American Pipit
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Snow Bunting
Lapland Longspur
Rusty Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Red Crossbill
Purple Finch
Transcript
Hotline: Philadelphia Birdline
Date: November 25, 2005
Number: 215-567-BIRD (2473)
To Report: Armas Hill, 302-529-1876 (VOICE)
302-529-1085 (FAX)
Compiler: Andy Ednie (ednieap@wittnet.com)
Coverage: Delaware Valley, Delmarva Peninsula, Southern New Jersey
Transcriber: Andy Ednie (ednieap@wittnet.com)
For Friday, November 25th, this is a special Thanksgiving edition of the
Philadelphia Birdline. The birdline is sponsored by several bird clubs from
the Delaware Valley and comes to you from the Academy of Natural Sciences in
Philadelphia. I'm Andy Ednie, substituting for Armas Hill, who is away this
week in Chile.
A VARIED THRUSH was found dead near a sun porch in Glen Mill, Delaware Co.,
Pennsylvania last weekend. The bird, the apparent victim of a windowkill, is
only the second county record, and the first since 1991. Another bird found
dead this week was an AMERICAN WOODCOCK, on the Temple University campus in
Philadelphia.
A pair of REDHEADS has been seen at a pond in south Philadelphia in FDR
Park. There are several ponds to check in the park, each with several
species of waterfowl that included LESSER SCAUP, PIED-BILLED GREBE, AMERICAN
COOT, GADWALL, and NORTHERN SHOVELER. FDR Park is right across from the
sports complex in South Philly.
Highlights at the John Heinz NEEC at Tinicum included PIED-BILLED GREBE,
WOOD DUCK, AMERICAN WIGEON, BUFFLEHEAD, HOODED and COMMON MERGANSER,
BLUE-HEADED VIREO, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, and RUSTY BLACKBIRD were also
reported.
Western HUMMINGBIRDS on the East Coast have been a recent phenomenon, but
this year might break all the records. There have been double digit reports
of Hummingbirds in the Delaware valley this season. Here is a quick synopsis
from Scott Weidensaul and Nick Pulcinella:
There are at least 4 SELASPHORUS in Chester Co., 3 were immature female
RUFOUS.
There is an adult female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD in Berks Co. west of Hamburg.
The home owner states he had a reddish hummer earlier this summer.
An immature female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was banded this week in Narberth,
Montgomery Co.
One immature female RUFOUS has been in Hummelstown, Daulphin Co. for about a
month.
There are two reports of unidentified SELASPHORUS in Northampton Co.
Two more reports of SELASPHORUS hummingbirds come from Gloucester Co. in New
Jersey.
Finally, also in New Jersey, there is a report of a bird reputed to be a
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD coming to a feeder near Barnaget Light on Long
Beach Island. The feeder is at the house at 29 West 9th Street. Park on the
street and walk around to the back yard along the left side of the house.
Identification of this hummer is determined by the shape of the primaries
and several other features, but how you can see that in the field is beyond
me. You can see pictures of this bird on Scott Elowitz's web site:
/www.scottelowitzphotography.com
If your at Barnaget Inlet, some birds reported there include, 20 HARLEQUIN
DUCK, 40+ PURPLE SANDPIPERS, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, PALM WARBLER and SNOW
BUNTING.
Back in Pennsylvania, A big flock of RUDDY DUCKS have collected at Marsh
Creek State Park in Chester Co. Also reported at this inland lake were
COMMON LOON, PIED-BILLED GREBE, AMERICAN COOT, RING-NECKED DUCK, and HOODED
MERGANSER.
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE have been reported this week from both Green
Lane Reservoir in Montgomery Co and Peace Valley in Bucks Co. Birds also
reported at Peace Valley include, GREATER SCAUP, COMMON GOLDENEYE, and big
fallout of BUFFLEHEADS (over 150), COMMON and HOODED MERGANSERS. Some late
birds reported this week included SPOTTED SANDPIPER and BLACK-THROATED GREEN
WARBLER.
A female PURPLE FINCH was reported coming to a nearby feeder by Bowman's
Hill this week. At Hawk Mountain, a flock of RED CROSSBILLS were reported
flying past North Lookout on Sunday. Birders are still waiting for the big
invasion of winter finches to erupt.
We received a belated report of a FRANKLIN'S GULL in Bucks Co. Seen two
Saturdays ago at Comly's Turf Farm in Buckingham Twp.
ICELAND GULL and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL were reported along the Delaware
River from the Turnpike Bridge up to Florence in New Jersey last weekend.
In Cape May, a sub-adult YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was seen in West Cape May.
A SANDHILL CRANE continues to be seen around the point.
The AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN continues to be seen at the Forsythe NWR at
Brigantine. A Eurasian Wigeon was seen at the refuge last Sunday. A TREE
SWALLOW, SNOW BUNTINGS, and HERMIT THRUSH were also reported.
In Delaware, an AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN continues to be seen at Bombay Hook
NWR. A WESTERN KINGBIRD was seen briefly by Raymond Pool at Bombay Hook on
Sunday. Efforts to relocate that bird were unsuccessful. Some other birds
reported at Bombay Hook this week included a PALM WARBLER, KING RAIL, 50
AMERICAN AVOCETS, and a single MARBLED GODWIT. There were 2 CACKLING GEESE
among the CANADA GEESE and a ROSS' GOOSE was seen in with the SNOW GEESE at
the refuge.
At least 10 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were reported at Cartanza Road this week, one
of the largest numbers ever counted in the state. There were also 4 AMERICAN
PIPITS, 200 HORNED LARKS and 50 SAVANNAH SPARROWS including a leucistic
bird. Cartanza Rd. is north of the town of Little Creek off Rt 9.
A pair of NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS were the highlight of the Winter
Gull trip to the Cherry Island Landfill off I-495 in Wilmington on Saturday.
Those two birds were on the chain linked fence near the gate of the waste
treatment ponds. Six species of gulls were counted among the estimated
10,000 GULLS present, including many late LAUGHING GULLS, 2 ICELAND, and
about 20 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS. The Cherry Island Landfill is now
restricted and no birders are allowed except in special cases.
RAZORBILLS were spotted this week off the north Jersey coast. There is a
winter pelagic trip scheduled for December 4th, out of Barnaget Light, New
Jersey on the Doris Mae IV. The cost is $109. For reservations, contact
Focus on Nature Tours at 1-800-721-9986 access the web at
www.focusonnature.com.
A winter Christmas count pelagic is scheduled out of Belmar NJ on Friday
December 30. Call 215-234-6805 or visit the web at www.paulagics.com for
more information.