RBA * Pennsylvania * Philadelphia * August 4, 2006 * PAPH0608.04For Friday, August 4th, this is the Philadelphia Birdline, from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and supported by a number of bird clubs and individuals. I'm Armas Hill, glad to be with you.* Birds mentioned:
Pied-billed Grebe Great Egret Great Blue Heron Little Blue Heron (pa) Snowy Egret (pa) Green Heron Glossy Ibis (pa) Wood Duck Ruddy Duck Osprey Bald Eagle KING RAIL (pa) American Avocet (nj) Piping Plover Semipalmated Plover Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Upland Sandpiper Red Knot CURLEW SANDPIPER Sanderling Western Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper BAIRD'S SANDPIPER (nj) Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Reeve (de) Short-billed Dowitcher Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Bonaparte's Gull LEAST TERN (pa) Common Tern Forster's Tern Black Tern Yellow-billed Cuckoo Barred Owl Red-breasted Nuthatch Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Black-and-white Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Blue-winged Warbler "Brewster's Warbler" Northern Parula Yellow-throated Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Pine Warbler Prairie Warbler Ovenbird American Redstart Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler White-throated Sparrow (near phila)
pelagic trip announcement
Philadelphia Birdline Date: August 4, 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: Ris? Hill
The CURLEW SANDPIPER noted here last time as being near Cape May, New Jersey, along the Ocean Drive, was seen in the morning (at around high tide) back on Friday, July 28th. 2 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were also there at that time. There have been no recent sightings of that CURLEW SANDPIPER, but there has been one since in Delaware, at Bombay Hook Refuge, along with a REEVE.
An interesting sighting in that area near Cape May on August 2nd was a juvenile UPLAND SANDPIPER at Two Mile Landing, standing on flattened spartina at the edge of a mudflat. It was observed standing there, at that odd location for an UPLAND SANDPIPER for about 20 minutes. Other shorebirds in that area included near a hundred (96) SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, DOWITCHERS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, and WESTERN SANDPIPER and other peeps.
The previous day, August 1st, at 2 Mile Beach there were: over 2,000 SANDERLING, easily over 700 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, only one PIPING PLOVER, and 10 RED KNOTS. At Higbee's Beach that morning a first-summer female YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was seen, as were a nice number of BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS.
At Cape May Point, at the north end of the second pond in the state park (beyond Bunker Pond), late in the day on July 30th, there was a Calidris SANDPIPER that "looked good for a BAIRD'S". Apparently, a second BAIRD'S SANDPIPER appeared there subsequently, and has continued there as of today, August 4th. At the Bunker Pond, there was a BLACK TERN still in almost complete breeding plumage on July 30th.
On August 3rd, 8 AVOCETS were seen flying around Bunker Pond, until they were observed continuing south over the Delaware Bay.
At sod farms in southern New Jersey:
Along Route 40 west of Sharptown in Salem County, on Sunday, July 30th, there was an UPLAND SANDPIPER, and 2 or 3 PECTORAL and 10 LEAST SANDPIPERS, close to the road one-quarter mile east of County Route 646.
Further east, near the Salem-Cumberland county line at the Johnson's Sod Farm that day, there were about 30 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS.
Now, some recent Pennsylvania sightings, starting with shorebirds recently at Tinicum (or the John Heinz) Refuge in Southwest Philadelphia: On July 28th: 32 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 4 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, and 3 LEAST SANDPIPERS.
At the opposite end of Philadelphia, where the Poquessing Creek flows in the Delaware River, near the Northeast Philadelphia-Bucks county line, there have been 2 fledglings from an OSPREY nest.
In Northampton County PA, a juvenile LITTLE BLUE HERON and a juvenile GLOSSY IBIS have been at one pond, known as Green Pond. Directions follow: From the intersection of Routes 22 & 33, take Route 33 north to the Hecktown exit. Turn right. Then, turn left onto Country Club Road. Follow this road back over Route 22 and make a right onto Green Pond Road. The pond is along that road, near a "T" intersection. Those two species, LITTLE BLUE HERON and GLOSSY IBIS are not commonly seen in Northamption County, PA.
Other species seen at Green Pond recently have included: GREAT EGRET and GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and PECTORAL and SOLITARY SANDPIPERS.
In Chester County PA, an immature PIED-BILLED GREBE was found on July 30th at Chambers Lake. How often has that species been recorded there in July? 7 GREAT EGRETS were also seen there (flying over).
In suburban Philadelphia, in the afternoon on July 31st, a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was in a yard in Ambler, in Montgomery County. Has there ever been another record of a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW in Ambler in July?
Also in Montgomery County, but further north, at the Green Lane Reservoir, a male RUDDY DUCK in breeding plumage was seen on August 3rd, in the morning, by Walt Road.
In Berks County PA, at a place called Stony Creek, on Sunday, July 30th, in the afternoon, an adult male "BREWSTER'S WARBLER" was found (that's of course one of the GOLDEN-WINGED/BLUE-WINGED HYBRIDS). Also, among 48 species (excluding the hybrid) found there that day was a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. WARBLER species were: BLUE-WINGED (3), PARULA (1), BLACK-THROATED GREEN (1), PINE (1), PRAIRIE (3), BLACK-AND-WHITE (6), REDSTART (2), WORM-EATING (2), OVENBIRD (2), YELLOWTHROAT (9), and HOODED (3). That's 11 species of warblers, plus the BREWSTER'S.
In south-central Pennsylvania, a KING RAIL was found on August 1st, at the State Game Lands 169 in Cumberland County. Other birds found there that day included: 15 GREAT EGRETS, 15 GREAT BLUE HERONS, 7 GREEN HERONS, 20 WOOD DUCKS, a BARRED OWL, and 2 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS.
Also in south-central PA, along the Susquehanna River, at the Conejohela Flats, Washington Boro, Lancaster County, on August 1st, a single LEAST TERN was the best of the gulls and terns. Others were: 250 RING-BILLED GULLS, a single BONAPARTE'S GULL, 5 HERRING GULLS, 2 COMMON TERNS, and 28 FORSTER'S TERNS. There were 9 species of shorebirds: 45 KILLDEER, 2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 9 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, 27 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 2 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 3 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 9 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 7 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, and 2 SANDERLINGS. Also, there was 1 SNOWY EGRET, and over a dozen BALD EAGLES: 11 immatures and 2 adults.
Now, an announcement regarding an upcoming offshore pelagic trip:
One will be going offshore from Barnegat Light NJ on Sunday, September 10th, leaving just after midnight. It'll be a good time for WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL and other seabirds. The cost will be $139 per person. Return to the dock will be in the afternoon. As of now, this trip is about 3/4ths full. If you'd like to join, either e-mail or call FONT (Focus On Nature Tours) at: or at 1-800-721-9986. Info is in the website: www.focusonnature.com
Thank you for tuning in to the Birdline, and until next time, good birding, wherever you may be.
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