RBA
* Delaware
* Statewide
* December 20, 2006
* DEST0612.20
* Birds mentioned:
Pied-billed Grebe
RED-NECKED GREBE
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Canada Gosoe
Cackling Goose
Snow Goose
Wood Duck
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Bonaparte's Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Barn Owl
Barred Owl
Long-eared Owl
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD
& other hummingbirds (extralimital, in feature)
Eastern Phoebe
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Marsh Wren
HOUSE WREN
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Pipit
NORTHERN PARULA (in early Dec)
American Tree Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Snow Bunting
Baltimore Oriole
Birdline Delaware
Date: December 20, 2006
Number: 302/658-2747
To Report: Armas Hill, 302/529-1876 (VOICE)
302/529-1085 (FAX)
Compiler: Armas Hill
Coverage: Delaware, and southern New Jersey
Transcriber: Risė Hill
For Wednesday, December 20th, this is Birdline
Delaware - from the Delaware Museum of Natural
History, and supported by a number of regional
birders. I'm Armas Hill, glad to be with you.
The RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, at a property north of
Wilmington has been there now, as of December
19th, just over a month, still either feeding on
insects or using the hummingbird feeder. The
bird, a first-year female, was banded a while ago.
The Birdline Feature that follows later here is
about HUMMINGBIRDS occurring in the East late in
the year - birds such as this RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD
north of Wilmington, a BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD
that's been near Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, and others.
The 66th annual Bombay Hook Christmas Count was
conducted this past weekend, on Sunday, December
17th. Two people who participated on the Count
this year, as I understand it, did so on the
first Count back in 1937, my friends, Herb and
Betty Cutler. I'm not absolutely sure about that
math, but I think during the Second World War
there were some years that the Count did not take
place. Anyway, they say "1937".
Referring to a part of that number - that is
"37": it's been during that many years, the
current compiler and another friend, Andy Ednie,
has participated on the Bombay Hook Count - since his early teenage years.
Herb Cutler's brother, Dave, by the way, was the compiler for many years.
Regarding the birds during the Bombay Hook Count
this year on December 17th, 105 species has so far been reported.
On the refuge itself, 90 species, including:
PIED-BILLED GREBE at Shearness Pool,
a single CACKLING GOOSE with the SNOW GEESE on
the flats opposite Shearness Pool,
WOOD DUCKS at Finis Pool,
both PEREGRINE and MERLIN,
EASTERN PHOEBE by Bear Swamp; SNOW BUNTING also there,
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET,
PIPITS on fields by the Allee House and across from the refuge headquarters,
AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS by the Raymond Tower,
and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS at the feeders by the refuge headquarters.
The Bombay Hook Count area includes more than
just the Bombay Hook Refuge. Other birds during the Count included:
a RED-NECKED GREBE at the pond along Route 113,
south of the Dover Air Force Base,
AMERICAN BITTERNS at Shearness Pool (Bombay Hook
Refuge), Port Mahon, and Little Creek.
BONAPARTE'S GULLS were at Little Creek; a ROSS' GOOSE was there as well.
At least 3 different LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were found during the Count.
There was an unusually high number of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS.
During the early hours of the Count there were
OWLS. All of these were on the refuge: a BARRED
OWL calling at Finis Pool, a LONG-EARED OWL heard
calling across the way from the refuge headquarters, and 4 BARN OWLS.
Shorebirds were lean: only KILLDEER, LESSER
YELLOWLEGS, and DUNLIN, with considerably less than usual of the latter.
Among landbirds, a number of both MARSH WRENS and HOUSE WRENS were found.
There have been many thousands of SNOW GEESE
lately at Bombay Hook Refuge. A spectacle. But
somewhere in Delaware, one SNOW GOOSE can be
noteworthy. At the pond behind the Brandywine
Towne Center, known as "Harry's Pond", early in
the morning on December 15th, there was a single
SNOW GOOSE among the CANADA GEESE.
In southern Delaware, there's been a NORTHERN
SHRIKE. On December 16th, it was sitting on a
wire, late in the day, near the Prime Hook
National Wildlife Refuge. That wire, and the bird
at that time, were both across from the recycling
area. But the bird seems to move about. The
previous day, there was a report of it at Beach Plum Island.
Further south in Delaware, a flock of 35 SNOW
BUNTINGS has been at Cape Henlopen.
Last week, two people who live in Hockessin, in
northern Delaware, brought into the Ashland
Nature Center, videos of 2 birds seen recently at their feeder:
one was a NORTHERN PARULA, videotaped on December 2nd,
the other was a first-year BALTIMORE ORIOLE, videotaped back on November 20th.
Both of those birds were seen there only one day.
Now, the Birdline Feature this time - as already
indicated, about HUMMINGBIRDS, as given on the
radio, where the Birdline is heard every
Wednesday, before 6am, 9am, and 7pm, on station
AM 1450 WILM in Wilmington, and everywhere on www.wilm.com
This is the Birdline (on the radio):
Most people see HUMMINGBIRDS, in these parts, in
the late spring, the summer, and the early fall.
That's because that's when most HUMMINGBIRDS are here.
However, some occur in our region later in the
fall, when the weather is more like winter.
There's been a HUMMINGBIRD in a yard north of
Wilmington, Delaware, during much of November,
and into December. It's been coming, even when
the weather's been cold, to a HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER,
that's been left up for it with sugar and water,
and it's been feeding, on occasion, on plants
still in bloom such as PINEAPPLE SAGE. That
plant, around here, is a late-bloomer, and
there's recently been some mild, as well as some cold, weather.
If one sees a HUMMINGBIRD in our region from
mid-spring to mid-fall, it's a RUBY-THROATED
HUMMINGBIRD, the only SPECIES during that time in
the East. Now, many of them are in warmer climes,
in places such as Costa Rica.
In Western North America, there are more species
of HUMMINGBIRDS. In Arizona, for example, in the
summer, there can be as many as 14.
In all, throughout the Americas, from Alaska to
Tierra del Fuego, there are about 320 species of
HUMMINGBIRDS, most of which are in the Tropics.
But, yes, I said Alaska. In the southern part of
that state, some RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, in the
northern part of their range, breed in the
summer. Most of them spend the winter months in
woods of pines and oaks in the Mexican mountains.
But the HUMMINGBIRD that's been at the yard north
of Wilmington, in November and into December, has
been a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, an immature female, from the West (maybe Alaska).
It's been found, during recent years, that it's
not abnormal for HUMMINGBIRDS from the West to
be, in the late fall, in the East. And it seems,
that during recent years, there have been more of them.
It may just be that more people are noticing the
HUMMINGBIRDS, or it may be that are now more
birds. Certainly, the phenomenon is now more known.
During recent days, there have also been RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRDS, from the West, in both eastern and
western Pennsylvania, and in New York. It's most
interesting that the bird in western PA, an adult
female, was banded earlier this year, actually
last winter, on January 25th in Mississippi.
Recently, south of us, there have been RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRDS (including both adult male & female)
in North Carolina, including one at the Governor's home in Raleigh.
And, there's been another hummer from the West in
North Carolina lately, a CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, an
immature male, near Charlotte.
All North American HUMMINGBIRDS are small. The
RUFOUS, head to tail, is 3.75 inches, the same as
the RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. The CALLIOPE is even smaller, 3.25 inches.
North of us, as of December 3rd, as many as 5
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS were banded in recent weeks in Connecticut.
And one little CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD was found
there, all 3.25 inches of it near New Haven,
having travelled across the continent.
And yet another Western HUMMINGBIRD SPECIES has
been in the East recently. In Harper's Ferry,
West Virginia, there's been, and still is, a
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, a bird normally in the desert.
There's no desert in West Virginia of course. The
HUMMINGBIRD there, an adult female, has been visiting a feeder.
(Note: There are photos of this bird in the
Birdline Photo Gallery in the web-site: www.focusonnature.com
Scroll down the left side of the home-page to the
"Birdline Photo Gallery 2006 Part 2".)
HUMMINGBIRDS have to feed - alot. It's said they
need about half their body weight in food a day.
That's why it just didn't seem right that
HUMMINGBIRDS would be in this part of the world,
during November and December days, when, overall,
their food supply isn't as much as it would seem
it should be. For the HUMMINGBIRDS, however, it's apparently been all right.
I'm Armas Hill.
And with that, we'll close for now. More, next
time. Until then, good birding, wherever you may
be, and thank you for tuning in to the Birdline.
Merry Christmas to you & yours!
- end transcript
* Delaware
* Statewide
* December 20, 2006
* DEST0612.20
* Birds mentioned:
Pied-billed Grebe
RED-NECKED GREBE
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Canada Gosoe
Cackling Goose
Snow Goose
Wood Duck
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Bonaparte's Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Barn Owl
Barred Owl
Long-eared Owl
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD
& other hummingbirds (extralimital, in feature)
Eastern Phoebe
NORTHERN SHRIKE
Marsh Wren
HOUSE WREN
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Pipit
NORTHERN PARULA (in early Dec)
American Tree Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Snow Bunting
Baltimore Oriole
Birdline Delaware
Date: December 20, 2006
Number: 302/658-2747
To Report: Armas Hill, 302/529-1876 (VOICE)
302/529-1085 (FAX)
Compiler: Armas Hill
Coverage: Delaware, and southern New Jersey
Transcriber: Risė Hill
For Wednesday, December 20th, this is Birdline
Delaware - from the Delaware Museum of Natural
History, and supported by a number of regional
birders. I'm Armas Hill, glad to be with you.
The RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, at a property north of
Wilmington has been there now, as of December
19th, just over a month, still either feeding on
insects or using the hummingbird feeder. The
bird, a first-year female, was banded a while ago.
The Birdline Feature that follows later here is
about HUMMINGBIRDS occurring in the East late in
the year - birds such as this RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD
north of Wilmington, a BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD
that's been near Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, and others.
The 66th annual Bombay Hook Christmas Count was
conducted this past weekend, on Sunday, December
17th. Two people who participated on the Count
this year, as I understand it, did so on the
first Count back in 1937, my friends, Herb and
Betty Cutler. I'm not absolutely sure about that
math, but I think during the Second World War
there were some years that the Count did not take
place. Anyway, they say "1937".
Referring to a part of that number - that is
"37": it's been during that many years, the
current compiler and another friend, Andy Ednie,
has participated on the Bombay Hook Count - since his early teenage years.
Herb Cutler's brother, Dave, by the way, was the compiler for many years.
Regarding the birds during the Bombay Hook Count
this year on December 17th, 105 species has so far been reported.
On the refuge itself, 90 species, including:
PIED-BILLED GREBE at Shearness Pool,
a single CACKLING GOOSE with the SNOW GEESE on
the flats opposite Shearness Pool,
WOOD DUCKS at Finis Pool,
both PEREGRINE and MERLIN,
EASTERN PHOEBE by Bear Swamp; SNOW BUNTING also there,
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET,
PIPITS on fields by the Allee House and across from the refuge headquarters,
AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS by the Raymond Tower,
and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS at the feeders by the refuge headquarters.
The Bombay Hook Count area includes more than
just the Bombay Hook Refuge. Other birds during the Count included:
a RED-NECKED GREBE at the pond along Route 113,
south of the Dover Air Force Base,
AMERICAN BITTERNS at Shearness Pool (Bombay Hook
Refuge), Port Mahon, and Little Creek.
BONAPARTE'S GULLS were at Little Creek; a ROSS' GOOSE was there as well.
At least 3 different LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were found during the Count.
There was an unusually high number of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS.
During the early hours of the Count there were
OWLS. All of these were on the refuge: a BARRED
OWL calling at Finis Pool, a LONG-EARED OWL heard
calling across the way from the refuge headquarters, and 4 BARN OWLS.
Shorebirds were lean: only KILLDEER, LESSER
YELLOWLEGS, and DUNLIN, with considerably less than usual of the latter.
Among landbirds, a number of both MARSH WRENS and HOUSE WRENS were found.
There have been many thousands of SNOW GEESE
lately at Bombay Hook Refuge. A spectacle. But
somewhere in Delaware, one SNOW GOOSE can be
noteworthy. At the pond behind the Brandywine
Towne Center, known as "Harry's Pond", early in
the morning on December 15th, there was a single
SNOW GOOSE among the CANADA GEESE.
In southern Delaware, there's been a NORTHERN
SHRIKE. On December 16th, it was sitting on a
wire, late in the day, near the Prime Hook
National Wildlife Refuge. That wire, and the bird
at that time, were both across from the recycling
area. But the bird seems to move about. The
previous day, there was a report of it at Beach Plum Island.
Further south in Delaware, a flock of 35 SNOW
BUNTINGS has been at Cape Henlopen.
Last week, two people who live in Hockessin, in
northern Delaware, brought into the Ashland
Nature Center, videos of 2 birds seen recently at their feeder:
one was a NORTHERN PARULA, videotaped on December 2nd,
the other was a first-year BALTIMORE ORIOLE, videotaped back on November 20th.
Both of those birds were seen there only one day.
Now, the Birdline Feature this time - as already
indicated, about HUMMINGBIRDS, as given on the
radio, where the Birdline is heard every
Wednesday, before 6am, 9am, and 7pm, on station
AM 1450 WILM in Wilmington, and everywhere on www.wilm.com
This is the Birdline (on the radio):
Most people see HUMMINGBIRDS, in these parts, in
the late spring, the summer, and the early fall.
That's because that's when most HUMMINGBIRDS are here.
However, some occur in our region later in the
fall, when the weather is more like winter.
There's been a HUMMINGBIRD in a yard north of
Wilmington, Delaware, during much of November,
and into December. It's been coming, even when
the weather's been cold, to a HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER,
that's been left up for it with sugar and water,
and it's been feeding, on occasion, on plants
still in bloom such as PINEAPPLE SAGE. That
plant, around here, is a late-bloomer, and
there's recently been some mild, as well as some cold, weather.
If one sees a HUMMINGBIRD in our region from
mid-spring to mid-fall, it's a RUBY-THROATED
HUMMINGBIRD, the only SPECIES during that time in
the East. Now, many of them are in warmer climes,
in places such as Costa Rica.
In Western North America, there are more species
of HUMMINGBIRDS. In Arizona, for example, in the
summer, there can be as many as 14.
In all, throughout the Americas, from Alaska to
Tierra del Fuego, there are about 320 species of
HUMMINGBIRDS, most of which are in the Tropics.
But, yes, I said Alaska. In the southern part of
that state, some RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, in the
northern part of their range, breed in the
summer. Most of them spend the winter months in
woods of pines and oaks in the Mexican mountains.
But the HUMMINGBIRD that's been at the yard north
of Wilmington, in November and into December, has
been a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, an immature female, from the West (maybe Alaska).
It's been found, during recent years, that it's
not abnormal for HUMMINGBIRDS from the West to
be, in the late fall, in the East. And it seems,
that during recent years, there have been more of them.
It may just be that more people are noticing the
HUMMINGBIRDS, or it may be that are now more
birds. Certainly, the phenomenon is now more known.
During recent days, there have also been RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRDS, from the West, in both eastern and
western Pennsylvania, and in New York. It's most
interesting that the bird in western PA, an adult
female, was banded earlier this year, actually
last winter, on January 25th in Mississippi.
Recently, south of us, there have been RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRDS (including both adult male & female)
in North Carolina, including one at the Governor's home in Raleigh.
And, there's been another hummer from the West in
North Carolina lately, a CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, an
immature male, near Charlotte.
All North American HUMMINGBIRDS are small. The
RUFOUS, head to tail, is 3.75 inches, the same as
the RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. The CALLIOPE is even smaller, 3.25 inches.
North of us, as of December 3rd, as many as 5
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS were banded in recent weeks in Connecticut.
And one little CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD was found
there, all 3.25 inches of it near New Haven,
having travelled across the continent.
And yet another Western HUMMINGBIRD SPECIES has
been in the East recently. In Harper's Ferry,
West Virginia, there's been, and still is, a
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, a bird normally in the desert.
There's no desert in West Virginia of course. The
HUMMINGBIRD there, an adult female, has been visiting a feeder.
(Note: There are photos of this bird in the
Birdline Photo Gallery in the web-site: www.focusonnature.com
Scroll down the left side of the home-page to the
"Birdline Photo Gallery 2006 Part 2".)
HUMMINGBIRDS have to feed - alot. It's said they
need about half their body weight in food a day.
That's why it just didn't seem right that
HUMMINGBIRDS would be in this part of the world,
during November and December days, when, overall,
their food supply isn't as much as it would seem
it should be. For the HUMMINGBIRDS, however, it's apparently been all right.
I'm Armas Hill.
And with that, we'll close for now. More, next
time. Until then, good birding, wherever you may
be, and thank you for tuning in to the Birdline.
Merry Christmas to you & yours!
- end transcript