Delaware (Statewide) RBA
May 9, 2008
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 10:44:58 -0400
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From: Andy Ednie <ednieap@verizon.net>
Subject: [BIRDEAST] RBA: Birdline Delaware, May 9th, 2008
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RBA
* Delaware
* Statewide
* May 9, 2008
* DEST0805.09
*Birds mentioned
Greater White-fronted Goose
Brant
Black Scoter
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Loon
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Swallow-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Merlin
Yellow Rail
Black Rail
King Rail
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Moorhen
American Golden Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
American Oystercatcher
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Wood Sandpiper
Red Knot
Pectoral Sandpiper
Ruff
Bonaparte's Gull
Black Tern
Black Skimmer
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Chucks-will-widow
Common Nighthawk
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Willow Flycatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Cliff Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Sedge Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Nashville Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Blue Grosbeak
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Bobolink
Hotline: Birdline Delaware
Date: May 9, 2008
Number: 302/658-2747
To Report: Andy Ednie 302-792-9591 (VOICE)
Compiler: Andy Ednie (ednieap@verizon.net)
Coverage: Delaware, Delmarva Peninsula, nearby Delaware Valley, Southern
New Jersey, Maryland
Transcriber: Andy Ednie (ednieap@verizon.net)
For, Friday, May 9th this is Birdline Delaware, from the Delaware Museum of
Natural History in Greenville. The unofficial Delaware State Year List now
stands at 285 species, up 25 birds from last week. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS
were reported coming to feeders throughout the state. Two species still
missing are CANADA WARBLER and BANK SWALLOW.
A new bird to the Delaware State List was a WOOD SANDPIPER found at the
impoundments at Broadkill Beach, part of Prime Hook NWR . Found by Sharon
Lynn of Rehoboth Beach, that bird was seen for the last three days mostly on
the south side by the second pullout. It has also been seen on the north
side. This is the first East Coast record since the Rye, New York bird found
by Tom Burke on October 31, 1990. Related to our Yellowlegs, in flight this
Eurasian wader flies like a SPOTTED SANDPIPER. A RUFF was also reported at
Broadkill Beach on Wednesday morning.
To get to the Broadkill Beach impoundments to find the WOOD SANDPIPER, turn
east at the light for the Rt 16 and Delaware Rt 1 intersection, east of
Milton. The turn is marked by a sign for the Prime Hook NWR. From the turn
to the refuge headquarters, go straight down the Broadkill Beach Road
another 2.2 miles. Drive to the sharp left turn with the dirt road and
yellow gate at Island Farms. Check the impoundments and marsh east of this
sharp turn. Please sign in at the log book at the second pullout on the
south side of the road.. Parking may be an issue; you may want to park at
the gate to Island Farms and walk east along the edge of the impoundments.
YELLOW and BLACK RAIL was also reported along the Broadkill Beach Road this
week. Another BLACK RAIL was calling last Saturday morning at 1:30 am along
the Pickering Beach Road. That bird was looked for again on Wednesday
without success. VIRGINIA and CLAPPER RAIL were heard at Port Mahon, along
with SEDGE WREN.
There were two SWALLOW-TAILED KITES reported in the state this week. One was
seen over Trap Pond State Park last weekend. The second was at the Cape
Henlopen Hawk Watch on Tuesday. MERLIN, NORTHERN HARRIER, SHARP-SHINNED and
COOPER'S HAWK were also reported this week.
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was reported at Redden State Forest, along State
Forest Road 1.3 miles south of Wilson Hill Road, just north of Georgetown.
There was no report of RED-HEADED WOODPECKER along Deep Branch Road, but
SUMMER TANAGER was seen there.
A good fallout of warblers and other passerines was reported at Prime Hook
this week. 18 species of warbler on Saturday, including: NASHVILLE,
MAGNOLIA, BLACKPOLL and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH. This week, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO
was seen along the Boardwalk Trail. Other birds reported included
BLACKBURNIAN and WILSON'S WARBLER, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was also seen in Milford this week, along with CAPE MAY,
BLACKBURNIAN, and BLACKPOLL WARBLER. A WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH was also
reported, a bird rare in Delaware below the piedmont. Abbott's Mill had
HOODED and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, BARRED OWL and BUFFLEHEAD. Johnson Branch
had BLUE-HEADED VIREO, MAGNOLIA WARBLER and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH.
17 species of warbler were found along Big Stone Beach Road on Saturday,
including BAY-BREASTED, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN,
WORM-EATING, MAGNOLIA, CHESTNUT-SIDED, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH was also reported.
DuPont Nature Center at the Mispillion Inlet had 300 RED KNOTS, AMERICAN
OYSTERCATCHER, and BLACK-NECKED STILT. TRICOLORED HERON, SEASIDE and SALT
MARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROW were found along Lighthouse Road.
PIPING PLOVER was also reported at Cape Henlopen State Park this week.
Goatsuckers there included CHUCKS-WILL-WIDOW and COMMON NIGHTHAWK. DUCKS off
the point included; SURF and BLACK SCOTER, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, and
BRANT. AMERICAN BITTERN was found at Indian River Inlet.
RED KNOTS continue to be seen at Bombay Hook along with AMERICAN GOLDEN
PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, AMERICAN AVOCET, BLACK-NECKED STILT, and
PECTORAL SANDPIPER. YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON continues to be seen at Bear
Swamp, SAVANNAH SPARROW was seen along the dike at Raymond Pool, and
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was seen at Finis Pool.
The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was again seen this week behind Tony
Florio's at Woodland Beach WMA. YELLOW-THROATED and PINE WARBLERS were found
along the Pickering Beach Road at the powerline cut through the pine trees.
There have been no further reports of the WHITE-WINGED TERN or LITTLE GULL
at the Logan Tract this week. BONAPARTE'S GULL, BLACK TERN and BLACK SKIMMER
were seen at the north pond this weekend. AMERICAN AVOCET was reported on
the south side of the Logan Tract. BELTED KINGFISHER was also seen here on
Sunday, sorry Forrest I had to throw that in!
CERULEAN WARBLER was reported this week at White Clay Creek State Park. Two
were singing along Creek Road, south of Hopkin's Bridge, before the little
wooden bridge along Creek Road. WILSON'S MAGNOLIA, CHESTNUT-SIDED,
BLACK-THROATED BLUE and GREEN, were also reported. WILLOW FLYCATCHER, VEERY,
SWAINSON'S and GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH were reported along the creek on
Wednesday.
Brandywine Creek State Park had an impressive 23 species of warbler on
Sunday. Reports included NASHVILLE, MAGNOLIA, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLACK-THROATED
BLUE, and GREEN, BLACKPOLL, PALM, WORM-EATING, HOODED, PROTHONOTARY,
YELLOW-THROATED and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH. 5 species of VIREO were also
found. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO was calling in the park this week, and a
DARK-EYED JUNCO was at the Nature Center. The later bird is very rare in
Delaware in May.
7 flyover COMMON LOONS were seen at Ashland Nature center on Thursday.
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was seen along Red Clay Creek south of the nature
center. BLUE and ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS were also reported.
Birds reported at Lums Pond State Park included BLACK-THROATED BLUE,
BLACK-AND-WHITE, and KENTUCKY WARBLER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, plus LITTLE
BLUE, and GREEN HERON
BOBOLINKS were found at the Huguenot House off Rt 9 south of Odessa. CLIFF
SWALLOWS continue to be seen at the Rt 9 Bridge. LEAST BITTERN COMMON
MOORHEN, SORA, KING and VIRGINIA RAIL were all reported at Thousand Acre
Marsh this week.
And now for this week's special feature from 1450 WILM News Radio. You can
hear Birdline Delaware on your radio on Wednesday at 5:55 and 8:55 am and
again at 6:55 pm. Here now is this week's feature:
As April warms into May, the spring migration reaches its peak. Spring
warblers are arriving daily. Wave upon wave of migrate birds are arriving,
after flying all night. Birds like the PRAIRIE WARBLER, (SFx) whose song is
an ascending trill in perfect scales, are back in Delaware. To understand
where these birds come from and when to look for them is to understand
migration and weather patterns.
Neotropical migrants nest in the arboreal forests of North America and
winter in the neotropics. There are three different strategies for their
spring migration: Trans-Caribbean migrants, like the BLACK-THROATED BLUE
WARBLER journey straight up the East Coast via the Florida peninsula after
wintering in the Caribbean Islands. Others, like the NASHVILLE WARBLER
circum-navigate the Gulf of Mexico from Central America. The most dangerous
route is the Trans-gulf migration. From the Yucatan Peninsula, birds like
the BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, flying non-stop, 500 miles to the Gulf Coast,
arriving noontime at places like High Island, Texas or the Dry Tortugas
Spring migration weather patterns are the exact opposite of those
experienced in the fall. In the fall, watch for migrants after a cold front,
as the northwest wind pushes birds eastward. Conversely, a southwest wind
with an approaching cold front is better in the spring. A warm front that
forms to the north, creates a cloud barrier that causes the birds to drop,
creating a wave of migration.
Doppler radar has demonstrated the decline of neotropical migrants. It also
clues us in to when the next wave will hit. Birders have been accused of
taping the Weather Channel to document migration.
I've been listening to a MAGNOLIA WARBLER singing outside my window here in
Claymont while typing this report. Special thanks to the Sharon Lynn, Bill
Fintel, Steve Collins and Derek Stoner for their reports. To report
sightings or add birds to this year's state year list call me at
302-792-9591 or email to ednieap@verizon.net. Thanks for calling, until next
time good birding.
-end transcript.
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