Current report - Thursday July 3, 2008
- Birds Mentioned
Click Here for species
accounts for many of these birds
Great Egret, Old World subspecies (VA)
Arctic Tern (NY)
Eurasian Collared-dove ++
Henslow's Sparrow (MD)
+ (Details requested by New
Jersey Birds Records Committee)
++ (Details requested by Pennsylvania
Ornthological Records Committee)
+++ (Details requested by Delaware
Records Committee)
Brown Pelican
Cattle Egret
Glossy Ibis
Surf Scoter
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Merlin
Northern Bobwhite
Piping Plover
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpiper
Red Knot
Western Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chuck-will's-widow
Whip-poor-will
Red-headed Woodpecker
Warbling Vireo
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Ovenbird
Kentucky Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Grasshopper Sparrow
Blue Grosbeak
Dickcissel
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Hotline: Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert
Email reports to:
Compilers: Steve Kacir and
Tony Croasdale - Delaware
Valley Ornithological Club
Phone: (215) 240-7547
URL: http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm
Welcome to 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 guide for birding in the Greater Philadelphia Region. This week, we highlight a report of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in Chester County, PA
For New Jersey:
Cape May County:
Click
Here for Cape May County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
A drake RUDDY DUCK was on the lighthouse pond at Cape May Point State Park through July 1. The Red Trail at the State Park had YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS on June 28. Three SURF SCOTERS were noted from Cape May Point that day, and a SURF SCOTER was seen offshore from The Nature Conservancy’s Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge on June 30. On June 26, the refuge had a BANK SWALLOW and a young drake HOODED MERGANSER on the large island in the main pool. The HOODED MERGANSER was seen again on July 1; that morning a LEAST BITTERN called from the refuge. A PECTORAL SANDPIPER was there on June 30. Other highlights from the refuge were PIPING PLOVERS and their chicks, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, ROYAL and GULL-BILLED TERNS. The Rea Farm had BLUE GROSBEAKS and PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS this week, and a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO called from the Rea Farm on July 1. At Reed’s Beach, a BROWN PELICAN roosted on a piling at the mouth of Bidwell Creek on July 1. CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOWS and a BARRED OWL were heard from Indian Trail Rd on July 1, and 3 YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS were at Cape May NWR’s Bayshore Tract that day. Birding Stone Harbor Point on July 1, provided views of PIPING PLOVERS, WESTERN SANDPIPERS and RED KNOT as well as an offshore LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.
Atlantic County:
Click
Here for Atlantic County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
On June 27, Atlantic County Park had 8 species of warbler including over a dozen PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS. At the Brigantine Division of Edwin B Forsythe NWR, CASPIAN TERN and NORTHERN BOBWHITE were reported.
Cumberland County:
Click
Here for Cumberland County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
No reports
Ocean County:
Click
Here for Ocean County Birding Resources including an interactive map
with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
No reports
No reports.
Burlington County:
Click
Here for Burlington County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
Brendan Byrne (formerly Lebanon) State Forest played host two pairs of RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS, SUMMER and SCARLET TANAGERS at the Red-headed Woodpecker Habitat Enhancement Area on June 28-29. To reach the Enhancement Area, take Headquarters Rd off Route 72 towards Shinns Road. Turn Left on Shinns Road and take the first dirt road on the right immediately after the maintenance yard, driving to the sign for the Enhancement Area. A parking area is on the left and a trail leads from the parking area to an open area being managed for RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS. Nearby, the circle at the railroad tracks near Wharton State Forest’s Carranza Memorial had displaying OVENBIRD, calling WHIP-POOR-WILLS and booming COMMON NIGHTHAWKS on June 28. That day, a good variety of warblers including PRAIRIE WARBLERS were near Wharton’s Friendship Bogs area. Brightview Farm had GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and BOBOLINK on July 3.
Salem County:
Click
Here for Salem County Birding Resources including an interactive map
with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
No reports
Gloucester County:
Click
Here for Gloucester County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
No reports
No reports
No reports
For Delaware:
New Castle CountyClick
Here for New Castle County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc. Veeries sang from woods around Red Clay Creek and Hoopes Reservoir. CLIFF SWALLOWS were under a bridge north of Taylor’s Gut on July 1. Brandywine Creek State Park had a BARRED OWL north of the Freshwater Marsh Preserve, and BLUE GROSBEAK and EASTERN MEADOWLARK were in the fields.
Kent County:
Click
Here for Kent County Birding Resources including an interactive map
with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
No positive reports of the Bombay Hook NWR LITTLE EGRET have been made, though negative reports were posted on June 26 and July 1. A group of 25 BLACK-NECKED STILTS foraged at Bombay Hook’s Shearness Pool on June 26. Other birds reported from Bombay Hook NWR included AMERICAN AVOCETS, a possible PECTORAL SANDPIPER, PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS and BLUE GROSBEAKS. On July 2, a CATTLE EGRET plucked horseflies from a steer at Armstrong Farm in Smyrna, and a tour of the farm also revealed BLUE GROSBEAK and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.
A DICKCISSEL was found near the dog training grounds near the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal on June 27. The bird was seen in a field along the last road on the right after going up the hill to the training grounds. Nesting GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS are also in this field.
Sussex County:
Click
Here for Sussex County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
A June 28 kayaking excursion around Cape Henlopen State Park discovered PIPING PLOVERS and a pair of SANDWICH TERNS on the bay side of the point. Fifteen BROWN PELICANS flew from the ocean side and around the tip of the cape. One or two SPOTTED SANDPIPERS were at the inner breakwater. Another kayaking trip the next day focused on the Murderkill River from Coursey’s Pond to Browns Branch. Sightings from that area included a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, a KENTUCKY WARBLER and many PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS.
For Pennsylvania:
Philadelphia
County:
Click
Here for Philadelphia County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
No reports
At least 12 GLOSSY IBIS were noted in southern Chester County on June 30. They were foraging at a field along Broad Run Rd just NE of its intersection with Newark Rd and SW of Somerset Lake. On July 1, at least 7 GLOSSY IBIS were seen at that site, and ten were seen the next day. Another GLOSSY IBIS was recently reported from Lake Kurtz. On July 2, a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE flew by the area of the intersection of Nields St and Westtown Rd in West Chester.
Montgomery
County:
Click
Here for Montgomery County Birding Resources including an interactive
map with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
Click Here for information on DVOC member Steve Kacir's Montgomery County Big year.
No reports
Bucks
County:
Click
Here for Bucks County Birding Resources including an interactive map
with locations, satellite views, driving directions, etc.
A BLUE GROSBEAK was in a field east of Chapman Rd on the south side of Lake Galena at Peace Valley Park June 26-28. This field is the one with the kestrel box pole and martin house pole. Please do not stray from the path when viewing this bird, so that bird nests in the fields do not become damaged. On June 28, reports from Churchville Nature Center included SPOTTED SANDPIPER, WARBLING VIREO and SCARLET TANAGER.
Six YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS sang from stands of American sycamore along the lower Lehigh River on June 28.
No reports
A pair of COMMON NIGHTHAWKS flew over the village of Patriotic Hill on June 26. CLIFF SWALLOWS were seen at Hidden Valley, and WHIP-POOR-WILLS called near Ketner’s Lane.
No reports
No reports
PA Extralimitals:
On July 2, a MERLIN flew through the town of Kersey, Elk County.
Extralimital Reports:
MARYLAND:
The most recent report of the HENSLOW'S SPARROW in Montgomery Co, MD came from June 30. The HENSLOW’S SPARROW is singing west of Poolesville from a grassy field, which is part of the NIH Animal Facility. The field is located across from 23021 Club Hollow Rd. If you visit this area, please do not park on private land, and keep your distance from the NIH fence. Due to the bird’s presence, the NIH has graciously postponed mowing the field.VIRGINIA:
Since late May, a black-billed subspecies of GREAT EGRET has been seen at Chincoteague NWR, Accomack County. Believed to be an Old World form, this GREAT EGRET may have come from either Central Europe or sub-Saharan Africa.NEW YORK:
As recently as June 27, ARCTIC TERNS have been seen at Cupsogue, just east of Moriches Inlet in Suffolk County.
*** ANNOUNCEMENTS ***
On July 12, Martin Selzer will lead a DVOC field trip to Bombay Hook NWR & Environs for early part of the annual shorebird migration spectacle. The trip will meet at the Headquarters Area at 7:30AM. Please contact Martin Selzer if you plan on attending. Contact information and more information about the field trip are on the DVOC website: http://www.dvoc.org
The next meeting of the DVOC is on Thursday July 10 at 7:30pm at Palmyra Cove Nature Park in Palmyra, NJ. This informal meeting will feature short presentations including Rob Hynson’s “Southeast Arizona” and Bert Filemyr’s “A Raptor ID Puzzle” and “Behind the Curtain of the DVOC Website.” Details are on the website, and guests are always welcome.
Due to a staffing shortage, John Heinz NWR at Tinicum desperately needs volunteers to help with the front desk and operate the Friends of Heinz Refuge's Tinicum Treasures store. Warm, friendly people who know Tinicum are needed to help John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge maintain and enhance its public interface. The Fish and Wildlife Service is relying more and more on volunteers to staff its visitor centers. Currently, volunteers run almost all public programs at the refuge. Who better to give advice on where to find a certain bird on the refuge than someone who actually birds the refuge? If you'd be interested in volunteering please contact Tony Croasdale at 215-301-7940 or email him at [email protected]
The second Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas has already made great strides this year. Please consider contributing to this massive citizen science project to study and map the distribution of birds breeding in Delaware. For more information contact the DE BBA Coordinator, Anthony Gonzon at [email protected] or call (302) 653-2880. More information is available at the DE BBA Website:http://www.fw.delaware.gov/BBA
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 . This is Steve Kacir, good birding to you all and thanks for calling, surfing and reporting.
On this page....
Links
- Daily Field Checklist (A handy pocket list for your daily adventures. Available to everyone courtesy of the DVOC)
- Delaware Valley Birding Checklist (A major publication covering status and distribution of Delaware Valley birds. Available to everyone courtesy of the DVOC)
General Guidelines for Submission
- Rarities
- Good concentrations (e.g. 8 sp. of shorebirds at Green Lane)
- High numbers (e.g. 2,000 Common Mergansers at Peace Valley)
- Early/late occurrences (1st Indigo Bunting, lingering Phoebe)
- Unusual breeders
- BRIEF report on out of area mega rarities(e.g. Red-footed Falcon or even a stint in MA)
- Announcements (DVOC meetings and field trips, Academy events, CBC dates and pelagics!)
The Delaware Valley is the name given to the region that lays on either side of the Delaware River, centered on Philadelphia. This consists of southeastern Pennsylvania, central and southern New Jersey and the state of Delaware.
The following counties fall within our boundaries.
(Click on a county name for information specific to the county)In Pennsylvania;
Berks County
Bucks County
Chester County
Delaware County
Lancaster County
Lebanon County
Lehigh County
Montgomery County
Northampton County
Philadelphia County
Schuykill CountyIn New Jersey;
Atlantic County
Burlington County
Camden County
Cape May County
Cumberland County
Gloucester County
Hunterdon County
Mercer County
Middlesex County
Monmouth County
Ocean County
Salem County
Somerset County
Warren CountyIn Delaware;
New Castle County
Kent County
Sussex County