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Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert Archives
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| July 19, 2007 * PA, NJ, DE - Birds Mentioned + Western Reef-heron + (Details requested by NJBRC) Pied-billed Grebe - Transcript Hotline: Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert This is the 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), covering the Delaware Valley Regions of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I'm Steve Kacir, your oracle for all things birding. For Thursday July 19, 2007 we highlight reports of WESTERN REEF-HERON, ROSEATE SPOONBILL, BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK, CURLEW SANDPIPER, CURLEW SANDPIPER, RUFF and CORY’S SHEARWATER as well as seasonal and local reports of interest. For New Jersey: A WESTERN REEF-HERON continued to delight and frustrate birders just outside the Delaware Valley in Brooklyn, NY. The bird was at Calvert Vaux Park, formerly Drier-Offerman Park at the tidal edges of the flats on the east side of the Park, sometimes seen best from a nearby Home Depot. The bird was seen July 14-15 at Calvert Vaux Park, but is apparently moving around a lot. This is likely the same bird that had previously been seen at South Amboy, NJ and spotted as a flyby from Sandy Hook on July 9. The REEF-HERON put in a second brief appearance at South Amboy on July 14. If you try for the reef-heron, low tide at Calvert Vaux may be the better time to look for it, though it has been observed at both high and low tides. Directions and additional details on the NY side of the bird's feeding range can be found on the Metro Birding Briefs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/btblue/
On July 18, a breeding plumaged male CURLEW SANDPIPER was found at Stone Harbor Point, probably visible from the north base of the free bridge to Nummy's Island. Additional highlights from July 18 at Hereford Inlet included 2 MARBLED GODWITS; ~800 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS; hundreds of SANDERLINGS, LEAST and WESTERN SANDPIPERS; SEMIPALMATED, BLACK-BELLIED and PIPING PLOVERS; an adult PEREGRINE FALCON on the mud; 2 BROWN PELICANS and 5 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS. Champagne Island's ~200 ROYAL TERN colony now includes four chicks that hatched on July 17. Noteworthy sightings in the area of Hereford Inlet earlier in the week included BROWN PELICANS roosting on Champagne Island July 12-13 with ROYAL TERNS, a first year CASPIAN TERN and a SANDWICH TERN on the thirteenth. BLACK SKIMMERS were noted at ~1500 strong at Champagne Island on July 12th. Shorebirds in the area included PIPING PLOVERS, building numbers of WESTERN and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, good numbers of LEAST SANDPIPERS July 12-13, and a WESTERN WILLET on July 12. Swallows were massing in the area on July 13 with ~100 BARN SWALLOWS, 20 BANK SWALLOWS and 5-6 NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS roosting on the sand early that morning and staging through the day, with lesser numbers observed the previous day. At Cape May Point State Park reports included breeding-plumaged WESTERN SANDPIPERS at the second Plover Pond and PIPING PLOVERS kettling their way out of sight on July 12 as well as GULL-BILLED TERNS at the bunker pond July 18. The South Cape May Meadows and Cape May Point State Park continued to see trickles of YELLOW WARBLERS and BOBOLINKS passing through, with BANK and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS appearing in more places in Cape May County through the week. The Meadows hosted a breeding-plumaged STILT SANDPIPER on July 12. On July 17 a BROWN PELICAN was seen at Norbury's Landing, and three were seen from St Mary's Jetty on July 15. A July 14 trip on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry yielded sightings of WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, but on July 13, 3 CORY'S SHEARWATERS were reported from the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge. A National Biodiversity Parks field trip to Lakehurst Naval Air Station took place on July 14. Participants enjoyed seeing HORNED LARKS, GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, a flyover BOBOLINK, 12-15 UPLAND SANDPIPERS, a HENSLOW'S SPARROW, AMERICAN KESTREL, HOODED WARBLER, a male NORTHERN HARRIER and BLUE GROSBEAK. Thirteen COMMON NIGHTHAWKS hunted near Route 30 across from the Hammonton High School on July 16. At Holgate on July 15, a ROSEATE TERN and good numbers of BROWN PELICANS flew along the beach, and a young NORTHERN GANNET roosted on the water near the jetty. A drake SURF SCOTER was seen off Sandy Hook on July 12, while that same day Wells Mills County Park surprised birders with an adult and juvenile PINE SISKIN visiting the feeders. A BLACK TERN was seen at Sandy Hook's north beach and STILT SANDPIPER and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were noted at the salt ponds near the end of the fisherman's trail on July 15. An immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was found at South Amboy the same day. A BROWN CREEPER and a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO were seen from Quaker Bridge Rd (about 2 miles from Route 206 in Burlington County) on July 12. Hunterdon County's avian highlights this week included 2 FORSTER'S TERNS at Round Valley Reservoir on July 17, SOLITARY SANDPIPERS at Assiscong Marsh and a LEAST SANDPIPER at Spruce Run Reservoir's Mulhockaway Creek Access July 17-18, a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON at Spruce Run Reservoir. Kearny Marsh on July 15 had a lot of LEAST BITTERN activity with 3-4 individuals seen flying across the water. For Delaware: On July 18, a BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK was located at Woodland Beach Wildlife Area on the pond beside the Tony Florio house just south of Taylor's Gut. The WHISTLING-DUCK was originally sighted with a group of MALLARDS. The bird is in fresh and neat plumage and is not banded. Also present that day were 6 STILT SANDPIPERS on the back pond where the WHISTLING-DUCK was seen, and 2 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS on the first pond. The highlight of a DVOC field trip on July 14 was a post-breeding male black-and-chestnut RUFF at Taylor's Gut, where several breeding-plumaged WESTERN SANDPIPERS were also found. WESTERN SANDPIPERS and PECTORAL SANDPIPER were noted there on July 17. The RUFF was last reported on July 15. Click Here to see a picture of this bird. Shorebird diversity was low at Bombay Hook on July 14, but the impoundments held LEAST SANDPIPER, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, GREATER and LESSER YELOWLEGS, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, 40+ BLACK-NECKED STILT, CATTLE EGRET and 100+ AMERICAN AVOCETS. Other birds of note at the impoundments included GREEN-WINGED TEAL, LEAST BITTERN, CASPIAN TERNS and both BLACK and YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS. Other refuge birds included YELLOW WARBLER, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, ORCHARD ORIOLE, WHITE-EYED VIREO, a family group of EASTERN KINGBIRDS, BANK SWALLOWS, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, singing SCARLET TANAGER and singing YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. On July 15, a fall shorebird survey discovered LITTLE BLUE HERON, a STILT SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPERS and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS at Bombay Hook in addition to the species noted on field trips the day before. BLUE GROSBEAKS and a breeding plumaged were also noted on July 14-15 at or just outside the refuge. Birds on the refuge July 17 included TRICOLORED HERON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AVOCETS, STILTS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, CHAT, BALD EAGLES, WHITE-EYED VIREO, BLACK-CROWNED and YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS. On July 14 and 17, Port Mahon produced a ROYAL TERN, COMMON TERN and EASTERN WILLETS. On July 14 BANK SWALLOWS and BARN SWALLOWS were staging in the area and lying in the sand on Port Mahon Rd. A NORTHERN BOBWHITE was heard from the Southwest corner of the Intersection of Route 1 and Route 10 opposite the North Gate at Dover AFB on July 15. At Cape Henlopen, a juvenile NORTHERN GANNET cruised south about 30 yards offshore from the main beach on July 8. A female COMMON MERGANSER was found at Brandywine Park on July 18, chasing fish, preening and finally snoozing on a rock in the Creek in front of the parking lot below the Brandywine Zoo. A family of SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS are resident at Ashland Nature Center, and while the nest site area has been closed off, the birds can be seen almost anywhere on the premises. A presumed family of AMERICAN KESTRELS, four birds seen all at once, was located on Cedar Swamp Rd on July 14. The same day saw a few Cliff Swallows remaining at the second bridge as you head south on Route 9 in the Augustine Wildlife Area, their traditional breeding site. Meanwhile, just across the DE border in Cecil County, MD a singing male DICKCISSEL was still haunting Old Telegraph Rd along with BLUE GROSBEAKS and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS. For Pennsylvania: On July 17 at the Betzwood Bridge part of Valley Forge Park there were thirteen COMMON MERGANSERS as well as 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS. A juvenile BLUE GROSBEAK, a SOLITARY SANDPIPER, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and ORCHARD ORIOLE were enjoyed on a walk through Blue Marsh in Berks County on July 15. On Friday the 13th, an Osprey visited Kaercher Creek in Hamburg. At Windsor Twp, the grasslands have long been cut and bailed, but 8 SAVANNAH SPARROWS, 9 GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and 4 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS were still around on July 12. A Plegadis Sp juvenile IBIS has been at Pine Run in Bucks County from July 12-17. The bird has been frequenting the shore adjacent to the loosestrife such that observing the bird from the top of the dam may be the best strategy. This will also avoid flushing the IBIS. A SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER was seen there on July 12. Several EASTERN MEADOWLARKS were noted on July 13 as well as YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, BANK SWALLOW AND CLIFF SWALLOW. A male BOBOLINK was seen there on July 12 with 2 males and 2 females on July 13, and SPOTTED SANDPIPER was reported July 13 and July 17. Highlights from Peace Valley Park on July 12 include two immature BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, a HOODED MERGANSER, and an immature BALD EAGLE. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, WARBLING VIREO, WHITE-EYED VIREO, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, SCARLET TANAGER, ORCHARD ORIOLE, BANK and CLIFF SWALLOWS were noted on July 14. A PURPLE MARTIN was found at the west end of the park where small numbers are known to stage. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS are still being seen at the park. Churchville Nature Center reported SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, GREAT HORNED OWL, EASTERN SCREECH-OWL and PINE WARBLER this week. Near Warminster Community Park a juvenile and adult GRASSHOPPER SPARROW and SAVANNAH SPARROWS were noted from Lot 5 (Franklin Realty). Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve hosted a SCARLET TANAGER on July 12. Notable birds at Tyler State Park on July 15 included WHITE-EYED and YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS. A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was photographed at Core Creek Park on July 14. Three OSPREYS were seen at Mud Island from Torresdale Manor and 2 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS were seen at Silver Lake on July 14. Highlights from a July 15 birding trip to Dark Hollow Park and Robin Run Reservoir included ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK and WHITE-EYED VIREO, and a WARBLING VIREO was noted at Oxford Valley Park on July 16. Reports from Chester County included a HOODED WARBLER at Hibernia Park on July 13. The HOODED WARBLER was just beyond campsite #4 and moving between sites 1-4, singing in the area bordered by the road to the Lower Lake Campground and the road to the Old Fiddler Campground. A PILEATED WOODPECKER was also sighted at Hibernia Park that day. While on July 11, at least three GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were singing from farm fields on Given Rd opposite White School Rd. SAVANNAH SPARROWS were noted there also. On July 13 at the Conejohela Flats (Washington Boro) birding highlights included 3 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, an adult hendersoni SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, a LESSER SCAUP, 2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, a SOLITARY SANDPIPER, 8 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, 38 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 3 CASPIAN TERNS, a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, and a WARBLING VIREO. July 18's highlights from the flats included another hendersoni SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER in bright breeding plumage, a LESSER SCAUP and AMERICAN COOT. Notable birds from Lehigh County on July 17 included an adult PIED-BILLED GREBE diving among the lilies on the smaller pond at Johnson's Pond Wildlife Park in Schnecksville. At nearby Greenleaf St several HORNED LARK juveniles and adults were present along with GRASSHOPPER, VESPER, and SAVANNAH SPARROWS. From Skippack, Montgomery County a NORTHERN BOBWHITE was noted. At Spring Hill Rd, Allen Twp, Northampton County on July 17, dozens of GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were sighted along with 5 BOBOLINKS, ORCHARD ORIOLE and SAVANNAH SPARROWS. The same day at Graver's Hill, Moore Twp found three HORNED LARKS and VESPER SPARROW present. Lilly Hill Rd in Moore Twp hosted GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, SAVANNAH SPARROWS and a BOBOLINK. While at Green Pond on July 17, a birder noted two BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and WARBLING VIREO. The water levels at Tinicum (John Heinz NWR) remain excellent for shorebirds, and the best time to visit is at dead low tide. Highlights included 2 adult WESTERN SANDPIPERS, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, LEAST SANDPIPER and SPOTTED SANDPIPER on July 18. There was an immature LITTLE BLUE HERON present July 11-12, and a young BALD EAGLE on July 15 and 17. At times a COMMON MOORHEN and a pair of AMERICAN COOTS have been seen at the old heronry roost. *** ANNOUNCEMENTS *** There is a DVOC field trip to Brigantine (Edwin B Forsythe NWR) scheduled for August 18, which will meet at the refuge headquarters at 8:00 am, there is no field trip fee and members and non-members are welcome to attend. Please contact the trip leader if you plan on attending. Details can be found on http://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 Paulagics 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 Delmarva Ornithological Society has undertaken an ambitious project to study the American Kestrel in Delaware, estimating population size, identifying reasons for the species decline in DE, and ultimately developing strategies for stabilizing the population or reversing the decline. Please report all summer kestrel sightings to the DOS website: http://www.dosbirds.org/kestrel/submit_sighting.php The New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory recently announced the launch of its new website BirdCapeMay.org, an on-line tool for birders, nature enthusiasts, and visitors to Cape May. Visit them on the web at 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.
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