For Saturday morning, April 22nd, this is an abridged edition of the Philadelphia Birdline, with some of the highlights of recent days. There will be another, longer version here shortly with more reports of birds recently throughout our region. The Birdline comes, as it has for many years, from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and supported by a number of bird clubs and individuals. I'm Armas Hill, as always, glad to be with you.RBA * Pennsylvania * Philadelphia * April 22, 2006 * PAPH0604.22
* Birds mentioned:
Common Loon Double-crested Cormorant ANHINGA (md) Glossy Ibis WHITE-FACED IBIS (de,nj) Osprey SWALLOW-TAILED KITE (pa) Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Bald Eagle Northern Harrier American Kestrel Merlin Northern Bobwhite Black-bellied Plover American Golden Plover (de) WILSON'S PLOVER (nj) Pectoral Sandpiper Least Sandpiper RUFF (de) Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Chimney Swift Eastern Kingbird VARIED THRUSH (pa) Red-breasted Nuthatch Ruby-crowned Kinglet Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Cliff Swallow House Wren Palm Warbler Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Fox Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow HARRIS'S SPARROW (pa) Purple Finch
pelagic trip announcement
Philadelphia Birdline Date: April 22, 2006 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: Risë Hill
A SWALLOW-TAILED KITE was seen this week in the sky over a Delaware County PA location: the hawk-watch at Rose Tree Park, near Media. A spring hawk-watch is being conducted there daily by the Bird Club of Delaware County. The SWALLOW-TAILED KITE there this week was seen at about 1:30pm on Thursday, April 20th. The bird came in low, and then was almost directly overhead, providing some very good views. It then, as it left, headed northeast. Also that day, from the hawk-watch at Rose Tree, over 550 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS were tallied. In contrast with the KITE, most of the BROAD-WINGS were rather distant. There was an adult BALD EAGLE at about 2:00pm. Thus far this season, there have been about 1,250 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, and 64 BALD EAGLES. In all over 2,000 RAPTORS, with over 100 OSPREY, over 40 HARRIERS, over 50 COOPER'S HAWKS, nearly 150 SHARP-SHINS, over 75 RED-TAILED HAWKS, and about 40 KESTRELS. RAPTORS infrequently seen have been RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS (with 8), and MERLIN (1).
Non-raptors seen flying by Rose Tree on April 20th (the day of the KITE) were: 4 COMMON LOONS, 46 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, an EASTERN KINGBIRD, and a CHIMNEY SWIFT.
Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, this week, upstate, birds visiting feeders have included a VARIED THRUSH and a HARRIS'S SPARROW. The VARIED THRUSH has been at a feeder in Boalsburg in Centre County, seen as recently as April 21st. Among other birds at that feeder there have been: FOX and CHIPPING SPARROWS, and TOWHEE. And, yes, the HARRIS'S SPARROW is the same bird that's been, since December 2005, in Juniata County, in the area of Oakland Mills. It was seen there again, today, April 22nd, at the feeders at the Lost Creek Shoe Shop. A HOUSE WREN was also seen there today.
WHITE-FACED IBISES have been reported lately in New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia. In the last of these (Virginia), 4 were found at the same place. In New Jersey, one has been at the Tuckahoe portion of the McNamara Wildlife Management Area. It was observed on April 17th & 18th, among a large flock of GLOSSY IBIS at the small impoundment on the right side of the loop road. In Delaware, a WHITE-FACED IBIS was found last weekend, with a few, about a half-dozen, GLOSSY IBIS, along Prime Hook Beach Road, about 3/4ths of the way across the marsh before the trees. The IBISES were seen on the south side of the road. Regarding the WHITE-FACED, it was noted that the legs are getting red, and that the skin around the eye & the eye itself are red, but there was no obvious white feathering on the face.
Also last weekend in Delaware, a RUFF was found at Bombay Hook Refuge, on Sunday, April 16th. It was seen at Shearness Poll from about noon to 1:30pm, feeding with PECTORAL SANDPIPERS. The RUFF was molting, with some red and black on its head and breast. Other SHOREBIRDS noted that day at Bombay Hook, in addition to the RUFF and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, were: several hundred BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 2 GOLDEN PLOVERS, many LEAST SANDPIPERS, DOWITCHERS, and one SNIPE.
A very good SHOREBIRD for southern New Jersey was a WILSON'S PLOVER found in Cape May County on April 19th, on the beach off Norbury Landing Road in the Villas.
Not far to the south of south-central Pennsylvania, in western Maryland, there's been an ANHINGA seen at a place called Lily Pons, in Frederick County. Seen a few days this week (since April 18th), it was still there at of 9:15 this morning, April 22nd, in the drizzle and rain, perched in a tree. The bird appears to be a female, or juvenile.
Back in Pennsylvania, in Bucks County, we've received reports of a single BOBWHITE and some PURPLE FINCHES on April 13th, at a feeder near New Hope. The BOBWHITE, walking on the ground. The PURPLE FINCHES had been there for a while. At another home near New Hope, a PURPLE MARTIN was seen on April 18th, by probably what will be its home, as it was sitting at a martin house.
In the area of the Peace Valley Nature Center, on Saturday, April 15th, nearly 400 (392) BROAD-WINGED HAWKS were counted. In the largest of the kettles, there were about 75. Other RAPTORS seen there that day included: 8 OSPREY, an adult BALD EAGLE migrating, 14 SHARP-SHINS, 2 COOPER'S, 1 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, 2 KESTRELS, and a MERLIN. 9 COMMON LOONS also passed by, with the hawks. And 72 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were counted. The previous day, April 14th, there were 96 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS on Lake Galena at Peace Valley. SWALLOWS at Peace Valley on April 15th included 2 CLIFF, along with BARN, ROUGH-WINGED, and TREE. SPARROWS at Peace Valley that day included continuing WHITE-CROWNED and WHITE-THROATED, as well as CHIPPING, FIELD, and SWAMP. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES continued. RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS were common in the area all last week.
Many times, here, we refer to places such as Peace Valley, and Cape May, but we also like to report sightings at places not often or ever mentioned. That's how we'll now end: At the Jenkins Arboretum, in Chester County, last week, on April 13th, a PALM WARBLER was observed. And there's been a report that in Pottstown PA, on April 15th, CHIMNEY SWIFTS were seen and heard.
From Barnegat Light, New Jersey, next month, a PELAGIC TRIP is scheduled for SEABIRDS and other MARINE-LIFE:
It's the annual pelagic trip to the Hudson Canyon, to be, this year, Saturday/Sunday May 20/21. Again, it'll be an overnight pelagic trip to be at the canyon at dawn, with chum on the water, and seabirds in close to the boat, which will be again the 100-foot "Doris Mae", a nice fast boat that's good for birding. Birds during this trip in the past have included a number of SHEARWATERS, STORM-PETRELS, JAEGERS, SKUA, FULMAR, TERNS, GULLS, and ALCIDS. This trip is now about half-filled. If you'd like to join, please contact FONT (Focus On Nature Tours) either by phone at 1-800-721-9986, or e-mail at: Info is in the website: www.focusonnature.com
That's it for now. Thank you for tuning in to the Birdline, wherever you may be.
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