Delaware (Statewide) RBA
February 26, 2010
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:41:44 -0500
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From: Andy Ednie <ednieap@verizon.net>
Subject: [BIRDEAST] RBA: Birdline Delaware, February 26th, 2010
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RBA
* Delaware
* Statewide
* February 26, 2010
* DEST1002.26
*Birds mentioned
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Northern Shoveler
American Wigeon
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Long-tailed Duck
Common Eider
Black Scoter
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
American Kestrel
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Purple Sandpiper
Great Horned Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Snowy Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
Tree Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Hermit Thrush
Brown Thrasher
American Pipit
American tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
Hotline: Birdline Delaware
Date: February 26, 2010
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 a snowy Friday, February 26th, this is Birdline Delaware from the
Delaware Museum of Natural History in Greenville. The 2010 Unofficial
Delaware State Year List now stands at 159 species.
There was a secondhand report of a SNOWY OWL at St Georges, flying east
towards Thousand Acre Marsh. That bird was not re-seen, but several BALD
EAGLES including a pair nesting on the south side of the Reedy Point Bridge
were observed. A pair of PEREGRINE FALCON was also seen on the underside of
the Reedy Point Bridge. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was also reported in the area.
A dark phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was reported along the Broadkill Beach Road
near the impoundments on Saturday. 2 BROWN THRASHERS were seen by the Prime
Hook NWR headquarters.
Last week EASTERN PHOEBES were reported. This week 2 TREE SWALLOWS were seen
at Gunning Bedford Middle School near Delaware City. A male WOOD DUCK was
seen on Red Clay Creek north of Yorklyn. A male AMERICAN KESTREL was seen at
the entrance to Brandywine Creek State Park. Just think, spring is just 24
days away!
2 COMMON EIDERS were seen at Indian River Inlet. LONG-TAILED DUCK,
BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, SURF and BLACK SCOTER were also reported.
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER was seen on the beach north of the inlet. PURPLE
SANDPIPERS, RUDDY TURNSTONES, and SANDERLING were seen on the jetty. 2
AMERICAN PIPITS were seen walking along the entrance road to the north
marina.
Lots of CANVASBACKS are still being seen at Silver Lake in Rehoboth Beach.
Also reported were RUDDY DUCK, HOODED MERGANSER, NORTHERN SHOVELER, and
AMERICAN COOT. HORNED GREBES, COMMON LOONS and flyby LONG-TAILED DUCKS were
seen along the North Shore at Rehoboth. Bald Eagle Creek near Rehoboth Beach
Yacht and Country Club had big numbers of RUDDY DUCKS, BUFFLEHEADS, and
RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, plus a couple of HOODED MERGANSERS. 15 BACK
VULTURES were also reported.
Near Milford, COMMON and HOODED MERGANSER, AMERICAN WIGEON, and GADWALL were
seen at Abbott's Mill Pond. COMMON and HOODED MERGANSERS were also seen at
Cedar Creek Mill Pond. BELTED KINGFISHER was seen at Blair's Pond.
The Rt. 100 ponds at Winterthur had a dozen HOODED MERGANSERS, plus AMERICAN
WIGEON, and RING-NECKED DUCK. COMMON MERGANSERS and RING-NECKED DUCKS were
seen at Winterthur.
BROWN THRASHERS, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and FOX SPARROWS are still coming to
several feeders in the area. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are still being
reported coming to feeders at Abbott's Mill Nature Center and at Bay Vista
in Rehoboth.
RUSTY BLACKBIRD was reported at Pelleport in Greenville. That bird was at
the McConnell Horse Farm. At Ashland this week there were NORTHERN HARRIER,
BALD EAGLE, SCREECH and GREAT-HORNED OWL reported. Other birds seen
included, HERMIT THRUSH, BROWN CREEPER, PILEATED WOODPECKER, COMMON and
HOODED MERGANSER, and singing DARK-EYED JUNCOS- the snowbirds are ready for
spring!
And now for this week's special feature from WILM News Radio.
Snowstorms can bring hardship and sorrow to many hearts. But, for
stay-at-home birders they can be a boom. There is an exhilaration of
discovery, a rush of adrenaline when a new species appears at your personal
feeding station. One species associated with snowstorms and feeders in
Delaware is the AMERICAN TREE SPARROW.
A great misnomer is that this species rarely lives in trees. TREE SPARROWS
breed along Hudson Bay across Canada to Alaska. It nests at the edge of the
tundra, where there are few trees. It winters throughout the U.S., along
wood edges, marsh, and grasslands, not in forests.
The AMERICAN TREE SPARROW is brown with a rufous cap, yellow bill, white
wing bars and an unstreaked breast with a large central black spot. Only the
mid-western LARK SPARROW and southwestern SAGE SPARROW also have those
central spots. Don't be tricked though, immature sparrows of several species
can also have a central smudge on their breast. The TREE SPARROW'S call
(SFx) is a high pitched trill heard mostly in early spring.
Don't mistake the AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, a true sparrow, with the EUROPEAN
TREE SPARROW, which is actually a Weaver Finch, related to the HOUSE or
ENGLISH SPARROW. The only place in North American to see the EUROPEAN TREE
SPARROW is near St Louis, where they were introduced.
Once considered common in Delaware, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW numbers are
declining. As early as the 1980's, Stan Speck lamented "What has befallen
the Tree Sparrow?" Numbers went from over a thousand on the Christmas counts
in the 1960's to only 31 last year. Is it change in habitat, climate, or
less feeders that influenced the decline in this winter visitor?
Special thanks this week to Derek Stoner, Joe Sebastiani, Lynn Smith, Bill
Stewart, Jason Beale, Chris Bennett, Sally O'Byrne, Mike Smith, Matt Sarver,
and David Bridge for their reports. The Birdline needs your reports too, or
you can add to the 2010 Unofficial Delaware State Year List by calling
302-792-9591 or email ednieap@verizon.net. Until next week good birding.
-end transcript
Andy Ednie
Claymont, Delaware
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