RBA
* Delaware
* Statewide
* July 19, 2007
* DEST0707.19
*Birds mentioned
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Common Merganser
Brown Pelican
Least Bittern
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron
Glossy Ibis
Black-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Wild Turkey
King Rail
Semipalmated Plover
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Whimbrel
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Red Knot
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Ruff
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Least Tern
Common Tern
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Acadian Flycatcher
Cliff Swallow
Bank Swallow
Warbling Vireo
Marsh Wren
Sedge Wren
Wood Thrush
Veery
Northern Parula
Prothonotary Warbler
Vesper Sparrow
Bobolink
Transcript
Hotline: Birdline Delaware
Date: July 19, 2007
Number: 302/658-2747
To Report: Armas Hill, 302/529-1876 (VOICE)
302/529-1085 (FAX)
Compiler: Andy Ednie (ednieap@fcc.net)
Coverage: Delaware, Delmarva Peninsula, nearby Delaware Valley, Southern
New Jersey, Maryland
Transcriber: Andy Ednie (ednieap@fcc.net)
For Thursday, July 19th, this is Birdline Delaware, from the Delaware Museum
of Natural History in Greenville. Hello. I'm Andy Ednie, glad to be with you
this week.
A BLACK-BILLIED WHISTLING DUCK was seen behind Tony Florio's at Woodland
Beach Wildlife Area on Wednesday morning, July 18th. That bird was looked
for again today without success. The bird was in the ponds behind the house
by the manager's office. Please be respectful to the private property here.
A half-dozen STILT SANDPIPERS were also seen there.
There is always a question if these waterfowl species are escapes, but this
bird was unbanded. The BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK is a species that has
been moving east, colonizing Florida, and moving up this past month into
Georgia and South Carolina.
The chestnut and black RUFF seen last week at Taylor's Gut, along Rt. 9 at
Woodland Beach has not been seen since Sunday morning. For consolation, a
beautiful female WILSON'S PHALAROPE was seen there later on Sunday.
Along the Delaware coast, 18 WHIMBREL were seen flying by along the beach at
Fenwick Island on Saturday. 32 BROWN PELICANS were also seen cruising the
coast. This has been a good year for PELICANS in southern Delaware with
several large flocks reported fishing offshore. 40+ SANDERLING were along
the beach along with a single RED KNOT. COMMON, LEAST, ROYAL and CASPIAN
TERN were seen, along with a 2nd summer LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Also
reported was a TRICOLORED HERON.
TRICOLORED HERON was also reported at Bombay Hook, along with LITTLE BLUE,
CATTLE EGRET, GREEN HERON, GLOSSY IBIS, YELLOW-CROWNED, and BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT HERON. 2 GULL-BILLED TERNS were seen flying past the Raymond Tower on
Sunday. The AMERICAN AVOCET population has increased to 146 birds, plus 46
BLACK-NECKED STILTS. 14 species of shorebird were reported at the refuge
this week, including SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, SPOTTED, SOLITARY, WESTERN,
PECTORAL, and STILT SANDPIPER, plus hundreds of SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS. A
singing SEDGE WREN was found opposite Raymond Pool, just past "the
swing-set". A single male BOBOLINK, still in breeding plumage, was seen
along the dike at Bear Swamp. BANK SWALLOWS were mixed in with the other
swallows at Shearness Pool.
This year, a new nesting species was discovered in Delaware. A pair of
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was found on nest at Ashland Nature Center. That nest
fledged 4 young this week, after being observed since mid-April. In recent
years, there have been several summer records of SHARP-SHINNED HAWK in the
Piedmont region of Delaware, its good to know that it isn't just our
imagination.
Some other birds at Ashland this week included YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO and
WARBLING VIREO. If you see the SHARP-SHINNED HAWK fly by, it will usually be
followed by an angry mob of SWALLOWS.
The CLIFF SWALLOW nest down at Odessa along Rt 9 at the north bridge over
the Appoquinmink Creek is down to only one nesting pair now. All the other
birds have fledged and moved on. MARSH WREN and KING RAIL were also heard
there this weekend.
This continues to be a good year for CUCKOOS in the state. Both
YELLOW-BILLED and BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS were heard this week at White Clay
Creek State Park. Also at the park were 2 singing NORTHERN PARULAS, SOLITARY
SANDPIPER, WARBLING VIREO, VEERY, and the usual ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS and WOOD
THRUSH. Another YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was heard in a yard in Newark, with no
real woods in the area.
A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was found at Prime Hook NWR last weekend, along with 2
families of WILD TURKEY. A LEAST BITTERN was seen along Prime Hook Beach Rd.
A YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was seen flying over Rt 1 at the Dover toll booth
this week. Another YELLOW-BILL was reported at Killen's Pond State Park,
near Magnolia. A half-dozen PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, some carry fecal sacs,
were seen by kayak there last weekend.
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO and a VESPER SPARROW, "singing its guts out" were found
in southwestern Sussex Co between Oak Grove and Bridgeville. Also seen were
2 AMERICAN KESTRELS.
In downtown Wilmington, a female COMMON MERGANSER was seen along the banks
of the Brandywine Creek, near the Brandywine Zoo.
And now for this week's special feature, from 1450 WILM News Radio. You can
hear the birdline on the radio on Wednesdays at 5:55 and 8:55 am and again
at 6:55 pm. Here now, is this week's feature:
(Train Whistle SFx) The Siberian Express has started. Shorebirds are
beginning to arrive back in Delaware from their arctic breeding grounds.
Some of these birds travel from the Kamchatka Peninsula, across the Bering
Sea, through Canada to the Great Lake. Following the north shore of the
Great Lakes, they eventually hit the Atlantic seacoast, and settle in the
coastal marshes of Delaware.
In Delaware, one of the first shorebirds to arrive is the SHORT-BILLED
DOWITCHER. Also known as the "Red-breasted Snipe" by the locals for its
brick red breast and long bill, the bill is almost as long as its body.
There are actually two species of Dowitcher; the SHORT-BILLED and the
LONG-BILLED DOWICHERS. You can't tell them apart by bill. Males have the
shortest bill, females the longer bill. The female SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER
has a bill that overlaps the size of the male LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER.
Field identification of the two species has baffled birders. Habitat helps,
SHORT-BILLS prefer salt water, LONG-BILLS like fresh water. Their calls are
distinctive, the SHORT BILL (Short-bill SFx) makes a soft tu-tu-tu,, the
LONG BILL (Long-bill SFx) calls a higher Twee-Twee-Twee. LONG-BILLS will
also call when feeding while SHORT-BILLS are silent.
Recent research has discovered that there is a difference in the white
superciliary mark over the eye. That mark is arched in SHORT-BILLS, straight
in LONG-BILLS. Also, the Loral angle, between the eye and bill is different.
One mark from a distance is the hump. In medical terms, Dowager's Hump
refers to post menopausal cervical kyphosis. In shorebird gestalt, a
Dowitchers's hump is a field mark for the LONG-BILL, SHORT-BILLS have a
straight back.
The sequence of arrival for Dowitchers in the state has been very
interesting. SHORT-BILLS seem to appear first. The red-breasted form
"griseus" nests along the shores of Hudson Bay. The spot-breasted form
"hendersoni" nests further west into the interior of Canada. This time of
year, the red breasted "griseus" form is most common. LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS
nest further west, into Alaska. They usually don't start to arrive until
August. It would be an interesting graduate study to determine Dowitcher
migration through Delaware.
Just to make matters more difficult, the Dowitchers are about to be
separated into a third species, the ASIATIC DOWITCHER. That should make even
the most experienced birders scratch their heads.
I'd like to thank all those that contributed to this week's report: Sean
McCandless, Andrew Leidig, Derek Stoner, Joe Sabastiani, Frank Rohrbacher,
Ed Sigda, and especially Chris and Karen Bennett. You can call reports into
me at 302-792-9591 or email me at ednieap@fcc.net. Thank you for calling and
until next time, good birding.
-end transcript
* Delaware
* Statewide
* July 19, 2007
* DEST0707.19
*Birds mentioned
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Common Merganser
Brown Pelican
Least Bittern
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron
Glossy Ibis
Black-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Wild Turkey
King Rail
Semipalmated Plover
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Whimbrel
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Red Knot
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Ruff
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Least Tern
Common Tern
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Acadian Flycatcher
Cliff Swallow
Bank Swallow
Warbling Vireo
Marsh Wren
Sedge Wren
Wood Thrush
Veery
Northern Parula
Prothonotary Warbler
Vesper Sparrow
Bobolink
Transcript
Hotline: Birdline Delaware
Date: July 19, 2007
Number: 302/658-2747
To Report: Armas Hill, 302/529-1876 (VOICE)
302/529-1085 (FAX)
Compiler: Andy Ednie (ednieap@fcc.net)
Coverage: Delaware, Delmarva Peninsula, nearby Delaware Valley, Southern
New Jersey, Maryland
Transcriber: Andy Ednie (ednieap@fcc.net)
For Thursday, July 19th, this is Birdline Delaware, from the Delaware Museum
of Natural History in Greenville. Hello. I'm Andy Ednie, glad to be with you
this week.
A BLACK-BILLIED WHISTLING DUCK was seen behind Tony Florio's at Woodland
Beach Wildlife Area on Wednesday morning, July 18th. That bird was looked
for again today without success. The bird was in the ponds behind the house
by the manager's office. Please be respectful to the private property here.
A half-dozen STILT SANDPIPERS were also seen there.
There is always a question if these waterfowl species are escapes, but this
bird was unbanded. The BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK is a species that has
been moving east, colonizing Florida, and moving up this past month into
Georgia and South Carolina.
The chestnut and black RUFF seen last week at Taylor's Gut, along Rt. 9 at
Woodland Beach has not been seen since Sunday morning. For consolation, a
beautiful female WILSON'S PHALAROPE was seen there later on Sunday.
Along the Delaware coast, 18 WHIMBREL were seen flying by along the beach at
Fenwick Island on Saturday. 32 BROWN PELICANS were also seen cruising the
coast. This has been a good year for PELICANS in southern Delaware with
several large flocks reported fishing offshore. 40+ SANDERLING were along
the beach along with a single RED KNOT. COMMON, LEAST, ROYAL and CASPIAN
TERN were seen, along with a 2nd summer LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Also
reported was a TRICOLORED HERON.
TRICOLORED HERON was also reported at Bombay Hook, along with LITTLE BLUE,
CATTLE EGRET, GREEN HERON, GLOSSY IBIS, YELLOW-CROWNED, and BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT HERON. 2 GULL-BILLED TERNS were seen flying past the Raymond Tower on
Sunday. The AMERICAN AVOCET population has increased to 146 birds, plus 46
BLACK-NECKED STILTS. 14 species of shorebird were reported at the refuge
this week, including SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, SPOTTED, SOLITARY, WESTERN,
PECTORAL, and STILT SANDPIPER, plus hundreds of SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS. A
singing SEDGE WREN was found opposite Raymond Pool, just past "the
swing-set". A single male BOBOLINK, still in breeding plumage, was seen
along the dike at Bear Swamp. BANK SWALLOWS were mixed in with the other
swallows at Shearness Pool.
This year, a new nesting species was discovered in Delaware. A pair of
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was found on nest at Ashland Nature Center. That nest
fledged 4 young this week, after being observed since mid-April. In recent
years, there have been several summer records of SHARP-SHINNED HAWK in the
Piedmont region of Delaware, its good to know that it isn't just our
imagination.
Some other birds at Ashland this week included YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO and
WARBLING VIREO. If you see the SHARP-SHINNED HAWK fly by, it will usually be
followed by an angry mob of SWALLOWS.
The CLIFF SWALLOW nest down at Odessa along Rt 9 at the north bridge over
the Appoquinmink Creek is down to only one nesting pair now. All the other
birds have fledged and moved on. MARSH WREN and KING RAIL were also heard
there this weekend.
This continues to be a good year for CUCKOOS in the state. Both
YELLOW-BILLED and BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS were heard this week at White Clay
Creek State Park. Also at the park were 2 singing NORTHERN PARULAS, SOLITARY
SANDPIPER, WARBLING VIREO, VEERY, and the usual ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS and WOOD
THRUSH. Another YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was heard in a yard in Newark, with no
real woods in the area.
A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was found at Prime Hook NWR last weekend, along with 2
families of WILD TURKEY. A LEAST BITTERN was seen along Prime Hook Beach Rd.
A YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was seen flying over Rt 1 at the Dover toll booth
this week. Another YELLOW-BILL was reported at Killen's Pond State Park,
near Magnolia. A half-dozen PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, some carry fecal sacs,
were seen by kayak there last weekend.
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO and a VESPER SPARROW, "singing its guts out" were found
in southwestern Sussex Co between Oak Grove and Bridgeville. Also seen were
2 AMERICAN KESTRELS.
In downtown Wilmington, a female COMMON MERGANSER was seen along the banks
of the Brandywine Creek, near the Brandywine Zoo.
And now for this week's special feature, from 1450 WILM News Radio. You can
hear the birdline on the radio on Wednesdays at 5:55 and 8:55 am and again
at 6:55 pm. Here now, is this week's feature:
(Train Whistle SFx) The Siberian Express has started. Shorebirds are
beginning to arrive back in Delaware from their arctic breeding grounds.
Some of these birds travel from the Kamchatka Peninsula, across the Bering
Sea, through Canada to the Great Lake. Following the north shore of the
Great Lakes, they eventually hit the Atlantic seacoast, and settle in the
coastal marshes of Delaware.
In Delaware, one of the first shorebirds to arrive is the SHORT-BILLED
DOWITCHER. Also known as the "Red-breasted Snipe" by the locals for its
brick red breast and long bill, the bill is almost as long as its body.
There are actually two species of Dowitcher; the SHORT-BILLED and the
LONG-BILLED DOWICHERS. You can't tell them apart by bill. Males have the
shortest bill, females the longer bill. The female SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER
has a bill that overlaps the size of the male LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER.
Field identification of the two species has baffled birders. Habitat helps,
SHORT-BILLS prefer salt water, LONG-BILLS like fresh water. Their calls are
distinctive, the SHORT BILL (Short-bill SFx) makes a soft tu-tu-tu,, the
LONG BILL (Long-bill SFx) calls a higher Twee-Twee-Twee. LONG-BILLS will
also call when feeding while SHORT-BILLS are silent.
Recent research has discovered that there is a difference in the white
superciliary mark over the eye. That mark is arched in SHORT-BILLS, straight
in LONG-BILLS. Also, the Loral angle, between the eye and bill is different.
One mark from a distance is the hump. In medical terms, Dowager's Hump
refers to post menopausal cervical kyphosis. In shorebird gestalt, a
Dowitchers's hump is a field mark for the LONG-BILL, SHORT-BILLS have a
straight back.
The sequence of arrival for Dowitchers in the state has been very
interesting. SHORT-BILLS seem to appear first. The red-breasted form
"griseus" nests along the shores of Hudson Bay. The spot-breasted form
"hendersoni" nests further west into the interior of Canada. This time of
year, the red breasted "griseus" form is most common. LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS
nest further west, into Alaska. They usually don't start to arrive until
August. It would be an interesting graduate study to determine Dowitcher
migration through Delaware.
Just to make matters more difficult, the Dowitchers are about to be
separated into a third species, the ASIATIC DOWITCHER. That should make even
the most experienced birders scratch their heads.
I'd like to thank all those that contributed to this week's report: Sean
McCandless, Andrew Leidig, Derek Stoner, Joe Sabastiani, Frank Rohrbacher,
Ed Sigda, and especially Chris and Karen Bennett. You can call reports into
me at 302-792-9591 or email me at ednieap@fcc.net. Thank you for calling and
until next time, good birding.
-end transcript