RBA
* Pennsylvania
* Philadelphia
* December 6, 2005
* PAPH1206.05
* Birds mentioned:
PACIFIC LOON (pa)
Red-necked Grebe (pa)
Horned Grebe (45 at one pa place)
Pied-billed Grebe
Cackling Goose
ROSS' GOOSE (nj)
Brant
Ring-necked Duck
Canvasback
Redhead
Bufflehead
Greater Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Long-tailed Ducks (at a few places in pa)
Harlequin Duck (nj)
Surf Scoter (pa)
White-winged Scoter (pa)
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Golden Eagle
Peregrine Falcon
Black-necked Stilt (de)
Spotted Sandpiper (pa)
Purple Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
BLACK GUILLEMOT (nj)
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD (pa)
ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (ohio)
Tree Swallow
Horned Lark
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Mockingbird
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
American Robin
Hermit Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat (pa)
American Tree Sparrow
"Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow
HARRIS' SPARROW (pa)
WESTERN TANAGER (nj)
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Purple Finch
Evening Grosbeak (ny)
Philadelphia Birdline
Date: December 6, 2005
Number: 215/567-BIRD
To Report: Armas Hill, 302/529-1876 (VOICE)
302/529-1085 (FAX)
Compiler: Armas Hill
Coverage: Delaware Valley, and southern New Jersey
Transcriber: Risė Hill
Prepared on Tuesday, December 6th, this is the
Philadelphia Birdline - from the Academy of
Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and supported
by a number of bird clubs and individuals. I'm Armas Hill, glad to be with you.
This past weekend, on Saturday & Sunday, December
3rd & 4th, a BLACK GUILLEMOT was present at
Barnegat Light, New Jersey, at the north end of
Long Beach Island. It was seen about half-way
down the jetty, about 10 yards from the jetty.
When it was seen, it was seen well. It was not
seen, we understand, by people looking for it on Monday, December 5th.
The BLACK GUILLEMOT has historically been the
rarest of the alcids seen in New Jersey.
HARLEQUIN DUCKS (15 or so), and PURPLE SANDPIPERS
(30 or so) have been at Barnegat Light.
A WESTERN TANAGER was found in New Jersey on
Sunday, December 4th, at Brigantine Refuge, in
Oceanville, northwest of Atlantic City. The bird,
either a female or a first-winter male, was near
the refuge headquarters. That WESTERN TANAGER at
Brig was not alone. It was with numerous
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and ROBINS, and these
other species: HERMIT THRUSH, CATBIRD, BROWN
THRASHER, MOCKINGBIRD, CAROLINA WREN, CEDAR WAXWINGS, and PURPLE FINCHES.
Other birds observed at Brigantine Refuge on December 4th included:
over 200 HOODED MERGANSERS,
a juvenile ROSS' GOOSE, as a fly-over among SNOW GEESE,
and, while referring to GEESE: numerous adult
BRANT, but only very few juveniles.
An "IPSWICH" SPARROW was noted with many SAVANNAH
SPARROWS of the more normal sort.
A GOLDEN EAGLE was seen at Brigantine Refuge on
Sunday, December 4th. It was seen soaring
overhead over the north dike at about 11am.
A number of BALD EAGLES were also seen at the
refuge that day, at least 7, both adults and immatures.
3 PEREGRINE FALCONS were seen, as was 1 TREE SWALLOW.
There have been no further reports of the
sometimes-elusive PACIFIC LOON at Lake
Ontelaunee, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, that
was noted here last time. There's also been a
report of a PACIFIC LOON in Chester County, not
far as the loon would fly, at Marsh Creek, on
November 26th. Also, elusive, as only seen once.
About a hundred RUDDY DUCKS were also that day at Marsh Creek.
Also, a male REDHEAD was at Marsh Creek on Saturday, December 3rd.
GOLDENEYE have been spotted lately at Lake Ontelaunee.
At Struble Lake, in Chester County, (a cold
Struble Lake in Chester County), on Saturday,
December 3rd, a female LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen
late in the day. It came in with a female COMMON MERGANSER.
Toward the end of the day, the number of GULLS at
Struble increased from about 5,000 to about
20,000 (all of them, RING-BILLED and HERRING).
Also on Saturday, December 3rd, a female
LONG-TAILED DUCK (and a COMMON MERGANSER) were
seen at the Octarara Lake, on the Chester-Lancaster County border.
A GOSHAWK was also observed in that area.
And nearby, there was a very large flock of
blackbirds: RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, BROWN-HEADED
COWBIRD, GRACKLES, and STARLINGS. That large
flock would only have been one bird larger if
there had been a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. But there wasn't.
Also on Saturday, December 3rd, there was a
single LONG-TAILED DUCK noted on another
Pennsylvania body of water, the Green Lane
Reservoir in northern Montgomery County.
Also observed in that area, that day, was a
CACKLING GOOSE and an adult RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.
The next day, Sunday, December 4th, at the Green
Lane Reservoir, by Walt Road, there were:
2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS, 4 SURF SCOTERS (1 of them a
male), 10 CANVASBACKS, 12 RING-NECKED DUCKS, 22
RUDDY DUCKS, 5 BUFFLEHEAD, and 4 HORNED GREBES.
3 kinds of GREBES have been at Peace Valley in
Bucks County PA this past week: PIED-BILLED on
November 29th, 2 HORNED GREBES on December 3rd,
and 1 RED-NECKED GREBE from November 29th to December 3rd.
Also, a LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen this past week at Peace Valley.
A SPOTTED SANDPIPER at Peace Valley until at
least November 30th extended the fall late-date for the county.
A COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was seen at the bird blind
at the Peace Valley Nature Center, on November 24th and the 28th & 29th.
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES continue to outnumber
CAROLINA CHICKADEES at Peace Valley by far.
HERMIT THRUSH, WINTER WREN, RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCH, and PURPLE FINCH continue at Peace Valley.
A large flock of HORNED LARKS has on a field east
of Newtown in Bucks County, near I-95, toward Yardley.
A COMMON YELLOWTHROAT has been in the area of the
Kernsville Dam in Berks County, at the "butterfly
garden". It was seen there as recently as
December 3rd. There have been other sightings of
that species (and probably that bird) on November
2nd & 19th. The YELLOWTHROAT has been keeping company with SONG SPARROWS.
On the Susquehanna River, a quarter of a mile
north of the Rockville Bridge in Dauphin County,
on Sunday, December 4th, these waterbirds were seen:
as many as 45 HORNED GREBES, 10 REDHEAD, 7
BUFFLEHEAD, 20 GREATER SCAUP, 3 CANVASBACK, 3
RUDDY DUCKS, 2 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and as
many as 14 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, and 2 SURF SCOTERS.
In Northampton County PA, a first-winter HARRIS'S
SPARROW was found on Monday, December 5th, in a
yard in East Allen Township. We've heard no
report of that bird being seen again.
In Lehigh County PA, a birder was pleased to see
his first AMERICAN TREE SPARROW in his yard yesterday afternoon, December 5th.
A WINTER WREN has been reported to us as being in
a yard lately in Willingboro, New Jersey.
Back across the river in Pennsylvania, in
Southwest Philadelphia, birds lately at the John
Heinz Refue at Tinicum have included: WINTER
WREN, and large flocks of CEDAR WAXWINGS eating bittersweet.
Also, these raptors: SHARP-SHINNED and
RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, and 2 adult BALD EAGLES.
An adult BALD EAGLE was seen on Thursday,
November 24th, near Phoenixville PA along White
Horse Road, between Routes 23 & 29, as it swooped
down in an attempt to catch a road-killed
opossum. This happened right in front of a
birder's car traveling along on the road at the time.
A wonderful place to watch BALD EAGLES, flying
(sometimes acrobatically), perching, and feeding
(both adults and birds with various stages of
immature plumages has been the Conowingo Dam, in
Maryland, where US Route 1 meets the Susquehanna
River. And some wonderful photographs taken
lately of BALD EAGLES there, are now in the
Birdline Photo Gallery in the web-site: www.focusonnature.com
Scroll down the left side of the home page.
In 1 of the photos, in the blue sky, there's both
an adult & an immature EAGLE, together. One is
with a fish; the other is interested in it.
Also in the Birdline Photo Gallery is a picture
of an immature female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD that's
been recently in Southampton, Bucks County PA.
That's one of the hummingbirds from the West
that's been in these parts in recent weeks.
Another is the first-year SELASPHORUS HUMMINGBIRD
that's been at a yard in Elkins Park, in suburban
Philadelphia. It has continued there, as of at
least November 29th, since first being seen on
November 5th. Since then, it initially visited
flowers, but after those were gone, it continued
to feed at a hummingbird feeder.
Other than the SELASPHORUS HUMMINGBIRDS, there
was, as you may know, in New Jersey a BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD. It's now gone.
On the other side of Pennsylvania, an ANNA'S
HUMMINGBIRD has been in Ohio, a first state record.
* Pennsylvania
* Philadelphia
* December 6, 2005
* PAPH1206.05
* Birds mentioned:
PACIFIC LOON (pa)
Red-necked Grebe (pa)
Horned Grebe (45 at one pa place)
Pied-billed Grebe
Cackling Goose
ROSS' GOOSE (nj)
Brant
Ring-necked Duck
Canvasback
Redhead
Bufflehead
Greater Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Long-tailed Ducks (at a few places in pa)
Harlequin Duck (nj)
Surf Scoter (pa)
White-winged Scoter (pa)
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Golden Eagle
Peregrine Falcon
Black-necked Stilt (de)
Spotted Sandpiper (pa)
Purple Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
BLACK GUILLEMOT (nj)
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD (pa)
ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (ohio)
Tree Swallow
Horned Lark
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Mockingbird
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
American Robin
Hermit Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat (pa)
American Tree Sparrow
"Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow
HARRIS' SPARROW (pa)
WESTERN TANAGER (nj)
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Purple Finch
Evening Grosbeak (ny)
Philadelphia Birdline
Date: December 6, 2005
Number: 215/567-BIRD
To Report: Armas Hill, 302/529-1876 (VOICE)
302/529-1085 (FAX)
Compiler: Armas Hill
Coverage: Delaware Valley, and southern New Jersey
Transcriber: Risė Hill
Prepared on Tuesday, December 6th, this is the
Philadelphia Birdline - from the Academy of
Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and supported
by a number of bird clubs and individuals. I'm Armas Hill, glad to be with you.
This past weekend, on Saturday & Sunday, December
3rd & 4th, a BLACK GUILLEMOT was present at
Barnegat Light, New Jersey, at the north end of
Long Beach Island. It was seen about half-way
down the jetty, about 10 yards from the jetty.
When it was seen, it was seen well. It was not
seen, we understand, by people looking for it on Monday, December 5th.
The BLACK GUILLEMOT has historically been the
rarest of the alcids seen in New Jersey.
HARLEQUIN DUCKS (15 or so), and PURPLE SANDPIPERS
(30 or so) have been at Barnegat Light.
A WESTERN TANAGER was found in New Jersey on
Sunday, December 4th, at Brigantine Refuge, in
Oceanville, northwest of Atlantic City. The bird,
either a female or a first-winter male, was near
the refuge headquarters. That WESTERN TANAGER at
Brig was not alone. It was with numerous
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and ROBINS, and these
other species: HERMIT THRUSH, CATBIRD, BROWN
THRASHER, MOCKINGBIRD, CAROLINA WREN, CEDAR WAXWINGS, and PURPLE FINCHES.
Other birds observed at Brigantine Refuge on December 4th included:
over 200 HOODED MERGANSERS,
a juvenile ROSS' GOOSE, as a fly-over among SNOW GEESE,
and, while referring to GEESE: numerous adult
BRANT, but only very few juveniles.
An "IPSWICH" SPARROW was noted with many SAVANNAH
SPARROWS of the more normal sort.
A GOLDEN EAGLE was seen at Brigantine Refuge on
Sunday, December 4th. It was seen soaring
overhead over the north dike at about 11am.
A number of BALD EAGLES were also seen at the
refuge that day, at least 7, both adults and immatures.
3 PEREGRINE FALCONS were seen, as was 1 TREE SWALLOW.
There have been no further reports of the
sometimes-elusive PACIFIC LOON at Lake
Ontelaunee, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, that
was noted here last time. There's also been a
report of a PACIFIC LOON in Chester County, not
far as the loon would fly, at Marsh Creek, on
November 26th. Also, elusive, as only seen once.
About a hundred RUDDY DUCKS were also that day at Marsh Creek.
Also, a male REDHEAD was at Marsh Creek on Saturday, December 3rd.
GOLDENEYE have been spotted lately at Lake Ontelaunee.
At Struble Lake, in Chester County, (a cold
Struble Lake in Chester County), on Saturday,
December 3rd, a female LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen
late in the day. It came in with a female COMMON MERGANSER.
Toward the end of the day, the number of GULLS at
Struble increased from about 5,000 to about
20,000 (all of them, RING-BILLED and HERRING).
Also on Saturday, December 3rd, a female
LONG-TAILED DUCK (and a COMMON MERGANSER) were
seen at the Octarara Lake, on the Chester-Lancaster County border.
A GOSHAWK was also observed in that area.
And nearby, there was a very large flock of
blackbirds: RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, BROWN-HEADED
COWBIRD, GRACKLES, and STARLINGS. That large
flock would only have been one bird larger if
there had been a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. But there wasn't.
Also on Saturday, December 3rd, there was a
single LONG-TAILED DUCK noted on another
Pennsylvania body of water, the Green Lane
Reservoir in northern Montgomery County.
Also observed in that area, that day, was a
CACKLING GOOSE and an adult RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.
The next day, Sunday, December 4th, at the Green
Lane Reservoir, by Walt Road, there were:
2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS, 4 SURF SCOTERS (1 of them a
male), 10 CANVASBACKS, 12 RING-NECKED DUCKS, 22
RUDDY DUCKS, 5 BUFFLEHEAD, and 4 HORNED GREBES.
3 kinds of GREBES have been at Peace Valley in
Bucks County PA this past week: PIED-BILLED on
November 29th, 2 HORNED GREBES on December 3rd,
and 1 RED-NECKED GREBE from November 29th to December 3rd.
Also, a LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen this past week at Peace Valley.
A SPOTTED SANDPIPER at Peace Valley until at
least November 30th extended the fall late-date for the county.
A COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was seen at the bird blind
at the Peace Valley Nature Center, on November 24th and the 28th & 29th.
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES continue to outnumber
CAROLINA CHICKADEES at Peace Valley by far.
HERMIT THRUSH, WINTER WREN, RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCH, and PURPLE FINCH continue at Peace Valley.
A large flock of HORNED LARKS has on a field east
of Newtown in Bucks County, near I-95, toward Yardley.
A COMMON YELLOWTHROAT has been in the area of the
Kernsville Dam in Berks County, at the "butterfly
garden". It was seen there as recently as
December 3rd. There have been other sightings of
that species (and probably that bird) on November
2nd & 19th. The YELLOWTHROAT has been keeping company with SONG SPARROWS.
On the Susquehanna River, a quarter of a mile
north of the Rockville Bridge in Dauphin County,
on Sunday, December 4th, these waterbirds were seen:
as many as 45 HORNED GREBES, 10 REDHEAD, 7
BUFFLEHEAD, 20 GREATER SCAUP, 3 CANVASBACK, 3
RUDDY DUCKS, 2 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and as
many as 14 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, and 2 SURF SCOTERS.
In Northampton County PA, a first-winter HARRIS'S
SPARROW was found on Monday, December 5th, in a
yard in East Allen Township. We've heard no
report of that bird being seen again.
In Lehigh County PA, a birder was pleased to see
his first AMERICAN TREE SPARROW in his yard yesterday afternoon, December 5th.
A WINTER WREN has been reported to us as being in
a yard lately in Willingboro, New Jersey.
Back across the river in Pennsylvania, in
Southwest Philadelphia, birds lately at the John
Heinz Refue at Tinicum have included: WINTER
WREN, and large flocks of CEDAR WAXWINGS eating bittersweet.
Also, these raptors: SHARP-SHINNED and
RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, and 2 adult BALD EAGLES.
An adult BALD EAGLE was seen on Thursday,
November 24th, near Phoenixville PA along White
Horse Road, between Routes 23 & 29, as it swooped
down in an attempt to catch a road-killed
opossum. This happened right in front of a
birder's car traveling along on the road at the time.
A wonderful place to watch BALD EAGLES, flying
(sometimes acrobatically), perching, and feeding
(both adults and birds with various stages of
immature plumages has been the Conowingo Dam, in
Maryland, where US Route 1 meets the Susquehanna
River. And some wonderful photographs taken
lately of BALD EAGLES there, are now in the
Birdline Photo Gallery in the web-site: www.focusonnature.com
Scroll down the left side of the home page.
In 1 of the photos, in the blue sky, there's both
an adult & an immature EAGLE, together. One is
with a fish; the other is interested in it.
Also in the Birdline Photo Gallery is a picture
of an immature female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD that's
been recently in Southampton, Bucks County PA.
That's one of the hummingbirds from the West
that's been in these parts in recent weeks.
Another is the first-year SELASPHORUS HUMMINGBIRD
that's been at a yard in Elkins Park, in suburban
Philadelphia. It has continued there, as of at
least November 29th, since first being seen on
November 5th. Since then, it initially visited
flowers, but after those were gone, it continued
to feed at a hummingbird feeder.
Other than the SELASPHORUS HUMMINGBIRDS, there
was, as you may know, in New Jersey a BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD. It's now gone.
On the other side of Pennsylvania, an ANNA'S
HUMMINGBIRD has been in Ohio, a first state record.