July 5, 2007

- RBA

* PA, NJ, DE
* Delaware Valley
* PADV0707.05
* July 5, 2007

- Birds Mentioned

+ Western Reef-heron
+ California Gull
# Eurasian Collared-dove
+ Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
+ (Details requested by NJBRC)
# (Details requested by PORC)
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Greater Shearwater
Cory’s Shearwater
Wilson’s Storm-petrel
Northern Gannet
Brown Pelican
Least Bittern
Tricolored Heron
Snow Goose
Surf Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Northern Bobwhite
American Coot
Piping Plover
Solitary Sandpiper
Western Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Parasitic Jaeger
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Mourning Dove
Barred Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chuck-will’s-widow
Whip-poor-will
Red-headed Woodpecker
Acadian Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-winged Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Bobolink
Orchard Oriole

- Transcript

hotline: Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert
Email reports to: [email protected]
compiler: Steve Kacir, Delaware Valley Ornithological Club
URL: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/index.htm

Welcome to the first edition of the new Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert, a service provided by the joint efforts of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC). This service will cover the Delaware Valley Regions of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I’m Steve Kacir, happy yo bring this new service to you. For Thursday July 5, 2007 we highlight reports of a possible WESTERN REEF HERON, CALIFORNIA GULL, SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, GREATER SHEARWATER, CORY’S SHEARWATER and seasonal and local reports of interest.

For New Jersey:

A possible dark-morph WESTERN REEF-HERON was seen June 30 at South Amboy (Morgan access, at the creek mouth). Attempts to relocate the bird the next day were unsuccessful, and the bird was seen only by a single observer. No photographs were taken. To reach the Morgan area, head west on Route 35 toward South Amboy, going past Lawrence Harbor. Take the first right just past the bridge over Cheesequake Creek. This is Morgan Avenue; follow it to the end where you have to go right on North Street. Follow this road (which looks like a driveway but isn't) around to the left onto Cliff Avenue. Go down the hill to the cul-de-sac and park. If you walk across the tracks to access the beach at South Amboy exercise great caution as these are active NJ Transit Shore Line railroad tracks.

A SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER or possibly a hybrid Scissor-tailed was photographed this week on private land in an unspecified location in New Jersey.

A near-adult, possibly third-cycle CALIFORNIA GULL was seen and photographed on the beach at the South Cape May Meadows on June 28. The bird flew off to the northeast before 8am with no additional reports since that day. Also that day a drake Surf Scoter was spotted off South Cape May, and 22 BROWN PELICANS were seen off Cape May Point and lower numbers have been seen in the area and around Stone Harbor through the week. An injured first-summer NORTHERN GANNET was roosting on the bank of a tidal creek at Stone Harbor on the 28th and WESTERN WILLETS have been at Stone Harbor through the week with a high count of four birds. A COMMON LOON was at Great Channel on June 29. At the Cape May Meadows a NORTHERN BOBWHITE called just west of the parking lot on June 30. A WORM-EATING WARBLER marked the beginning of warbler migration: it was observed at Higbee’s Beach July 2, and continued the next day with the arrival of BOBOLINKS and ORCHARD ORIOLES at Cape May Point.

Shorebird migration began on June 29 in Cape May, with the arrival of four LEAST SANDPIPERS at Stone Harbor Point, and LEAST and SPOTTED SANDPIPERS at the Meadows. A SOLITARY SANDPIPER arrived at the meadows July 4. PIPING PLOVERS were noted through the week at Cape May Point State Park, Stone Harbor, and the beach at the Cape May Meadows. The first WESTERN SANDPIPERS arrived at Stone Harbor on July 1, where 75 ROYAL TERNS were observed at Champagne Island along with a second year SANDWICH TERN that day. A TRICOLORED HERON hunted for fish at Stone Harbor Point on 2 July. Two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were seen in Cape May county on July 1: a second summer bird roosting on Champagne Island and a first summer bird flying down Great Channel, and a second summer bird was seen on the beach of the Meadows July 4.

GREATER SHEARWATERS were seen in the rips and near the St Peter’s Jetty at Cape May Point on 2 July. A Fin Whale was also sighted at the rips, and two Fin Whales were seen on a whale-watching tour out of Delaware that day. A Cape May Whale Watcher cruise provided good vantage point to observe 30+ WILSON’S STORM-PETRELS off Cape May as well. A CORY’S SHEARWATER hunted the rips on July 4.

On June 30, a SUMMER TANAGER was singing at the corner of Hand Ave and Chestnut Oak Dr in Cape May Courthouse as were three CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOWS at Hand Ave and Oakwood Dr.

At Brigantine, notable birds included two BLUE GROSBEAKS and a SALTMARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROW.

A singing BLUE GROSBEAK was also noted at the Supawna Meadows in Salem County on 2 July.

At Harvey Cedars, a maximum count of 35-40 NORTHERN GANNETS were observed last week as well as a COMMON LOON, 20+ SURF SCOTERS, and 4 BROWN PELICANS. At least two COMMON LOONS were feeding off North Beach, Sandy Hook on July 4.

Brendan Byrne (formerly Lebanon) State Forest played host to at least two RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS, one seen and another calling, as well as both SUMMER and SCARLET TANAGERS at the Red-headed Woodpecker Habitat Enhancement Area on June 30. To reach the Enhancement Area, take Headquarters Rd off Route 72 towards Shinns Road. Turn Left on Shinns Road and take the next right after the maintenance yard, driving to the sign for the Enhancement Area.

Booming COMMON NIGHTHAWKS continue to put on a show near the Memorial Area on Carranza Rd with 10+ birds on June 30 and lower numbers observed July 2. Calling WHIP-POOR-WILLS are also in evidence there.

For Delaware:

Continuing the nightjar thread we move to Delaware, where COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were observed near the Biden Center and PIPING PLOVER were seen on the beach at Cape Henlopen on the second of July.

Earlier this week, the Thousand Acre Marsh hosted an injured SNOW GOOSE and a LEAST BITTERN on June 27th.

June 28th at Abbot’s Mill Nature Center proved rewarding for the Delaware Diversity Summer Campers who enjoyed the presence of PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, KENTUCKY WARBLER, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, BLUE GROSBEAK, SCARLET TANAGER and a pair of calling BARRED OWLS.

On 29 June, the campers also discovered a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

For Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania birders were largely focusing on breeding bird censuses as the Second PA Breeding Bird Atlas enters fourth of five years of censusing. All this hard work has paid off with some interesting breeders for this week.

A EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was found on July 4, associating with 20+ MOURNING DOVES around a pond located on Mt Pleasant Rd about 1 mile north of Route 322 in Lebanon County.

In Montgomery County, three ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS were sighted at Ithan Valley Park south of Villanova University on the first of July.

Interesting Northampton County birds noted July first included LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER and BLUE-HEADED VIREO at Bear Swamp/Lake Minsi on July 1. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS were coming to a private feeder in Northampton County on 29 June. A first summer male BLUE GROSBEAK, juvenile and adult GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, SAVANNAH SPARROWS and a pair of BOBOLINK were seen in a fallow field on Spring Hill Rd North of Northampton on 2 July.

Similarly BOBOLINK, GRASSHOPPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS were observed in Lancaster County at the intersection of Bell Rd and Street Rd on Jun 30, while at the Conojohela Flats a LEAST BITTERN made an appearance on July 4.

In Bucks County, GRASSHOPPER and SAVANNAH SPARROWS were found at Warminster Community Park on June 29 along with a SPOTTED SANDPIPER and a RUDDY DUCK. The same day, a PIED-BILLED GREBE was noted at the Churchville Nature Center.

On 29 June, SGL-106 in Berks County hosted SCARLET TANAGER, WHITE-EYED VIREO and eight species of warbler including: BLUE-WINGED, CHESTNUT-SIDED, PRAIRIE and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.

We end with the home of the Delaware Valley Birdline: Philadelphia: here in Philadelphia County, a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH and an AMERICAN COOT at Tinicum (aka John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge) were seen while one DVOC member pursued his Philadelphia Big Year.

There is a DVOC field trip to Bombay Hook scheduled for July 14 which will meet at the headquarters parking lot at 7:30am, there is no fee and members and nonmembers are welcome to attend. Please contact the trip leader if you plan on attending; details can be found on www.dvoc.org. The next meeting of the DVOC is on August 2, 2007. This is an informal meeting and will be held at Palmyra Cove Nature Center at 7:30pm. Sarah Thorp will present "The Delaware River Trail Project in Philadelphia” at this meeting. Details are on the website and guests are welcome.

See Life Pelagics will be running pelagic trips in the Delaware Valley region in the next few months. Scheduled trips include an overnight trip out of Lewes, DE on Aug 23-24; a trip Aug 11 out of Lewes, DE; a trip out of Belmar, NJ on Aug 26; and a Sep 16 trip out of Freeport, NY. Details can be found on their website.

The Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert is a weekly report on birding in the Delaware Valley Region including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. To report birds or significant upcoming birding events and planned pelagic trips, please email [email protected]. This is Steve Kacir, good birding to you all and thanks for calling, surfing and reporting.

- End Transcript