Philadelphia Birdline RBA
March 9, 2007
Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 13:25:02 -0500
Reply-To: Armas Hill <armas@FOCUSONNATURE.COM>
Sender: "National Birding Hotline Cooperative (East)"
<BIRDEAST@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
From: Armas Hill <armas@FOCUSONNATURE.COM>
Subject: [BIRDEAST] Philadelphia RBA, March 09, 2007
To: BIRDEAST@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
Precedence: list
List-Help: <http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?LIST=BIRDEAST>,
<mailto:LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU?body=INFO BIRDEAST>
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:BIRDEAST-unsubscribe-request@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
List-Subscribe: <mailto:BIRDEAST-subscribe-request@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
List-Owner: <mailto:BIRDEAST-request@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
List-Archive: <http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?LIST=BIRDEAST>
X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at email.arizona.edu
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by virtualbirder.com id
l29IbRRu018517
RBA
* Pennsylvania
* Philadelphia
* March 9, 2007
* PAPH0703.09
* Birds mentioned:
Pied-billed Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Horned Grebe
Great Egret
Tundra Swan
Canada Goose
Snow Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
American Black Duck
Gadwall
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
EURASIAN TEAL
EURASIAN WIGEON
American Wigeon
Canvasback
Redhead
Bufflehead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Bald Eagle
Golden Eagle
Rough-legged Hawk
Northern Harrier
SANDHILL CRANE
American Coot
Piping Plover
American Woodcock
Wilson's Snipe
Glaucous Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Short-eared Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Tree Swallow
Horned Lark
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE
American Pipit
DICKCISSEL
Eastern Towhee
LAZULI BUNTING
Savannah Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
LARK SPARROW (still present)
White-crowned Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
SMITH'S LONGSPUR (extralimital)
SCOTT'S ORIOLE
Philadelphia Birdline
Date: March 9, 2007
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: Risė Hill
For Friday, March 9th, 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 again.
Let's start this time with some birds from the
West: LAZULI BUNTING, SCOTT'S ORIOLE, and LARK SPARROW, all in Pennsylvania.
A LAZULI BUNTING, that's been in Montgomery
County, PA, in Red Hill, near Green Lane, has
been seen, off & on, the past few days. Some who
have looked for it, since the bird was first
found about 8am on Sunday, March 4th, have put in
a lot of time and have not seen it.
But the bird was seen again - as recently as this
morning, Friday, March 9th, in the morning at
about 8am. Yesterday, March 8th, it was seen from
about 9:00am for almost an hour.
Here are directions:
From the intersection of Routes 663 & 29 in
Pennsburg PA, go south on Route 29 to the second
traffic light, that is 6th Street. Turn left
there and go a half-mile to a stop sign. Turn
left onto St Paul's Church Road. Proceed to the
bridge at Macoby Creek. Parking (for 4 vehicles)
is just past the bridge, on the right. Please
park completely off the road. The bird has been
seen across from the parking area. There is
overflow parking about an eighth of a mile beyond
- after a stop sign in an undeveloped housing
area - from where you'd walk back.
In addition to sightings on March 4th, 8th, &
9th, the LAZULI BUNTING was seen on Tuesday,
March 6th, at about 8:50am, when it was seen for
about 4 minutes. Later that day, as far as known,
it was not seen again. The next day, March 7th,
as far as we know, the LAZULI BUNTING was not
seen at all, despite searching. The day that the
bird was first found, that was Sunday, March 4th
in the morning, it was not seen later that day, despite people looking for it.
The LAZULI BUNTING in Red Hill is a male in
non-breeding plumage, appearing to be in molt. In
that area of the LAZULI BUNTING, numerous
SPARROWS of various species have been seen. Among
them: WHITE-CROWNED and AMERICAN TREE.
The LAZULI BUNTING, of course, is a bird of
western North America. In the book, "The Birds of
Pennsylvania" by Gerald McWilliams & Daniel
Brauning (published in 2000), one previous record
for the state is noted: an adult male at a feeder
from January 1 to 16, 1975 near Elverson in
Chester County. After the publishing of that
book, there was a second Pennsylvania occurrence
of the species from April 27 to 29, 2004 in
Oakland Mills, in Juniata County.
A bird that's not in the book, "The Birds of
Pennsylvania", is the SCOTT'S ORIOLE. The one
previously-reported here as being in
Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, first found
just over two weeks ago on February 19th, has
continued to be seen this week. On Wednesday,
March 7th, it was seen during the snow, eating
apples. It was seen that day in the morning, in
the yard at 413 Kent Drive. Not many apples,
we're told, remain there for the bird to eat.
You may remember reports here of a LARK SPARROW
in Bucks County PA, south of Buckingham, back in
October and November in 2006. Well, the word we
have is that the bird has still been there,
having spent, so far, nearly the entire winter.
Photographs of that bird have also continued in
the Birdline Photo Gallery, 2006 Part 2, in the website: www.focusonnature.com
with the link on the left-side of the home-page.
Birds at Peace Valley, in Bucks County, this past week, have included:
TUNDRA SWANS (7 on March 3rd), CANVASBACK (2 on
March 1st), REDHEAD (2 until at least March 3rd),
a count of 724 COMMON MERGANSERS on March 1st, 2
RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS on March 3rd, a
third-year GLAUCOUS GULL on March 3rd, and 57
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and 1 TREE SWALLOW that day as well.
In south-central Pennsylvania, there's been a
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE in Gettysburg. On March 5th, it
was seen in the vicinity of Cunningham and
Pumping Station Roads. In the morning that day,
it was first seen from Cunningham Road. Later, it
was along the south side of Pumping Station Road.
If the bird's not a fence row, check the fields,
as it perches on very thin stalks of grass in the
field notably south of Pumping Station Road.
The LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE was also seen in that area,
that afternoon, about about 3:40pm, in some dense
brush on the west side of Cunningham Road.
A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER has been in the
Gettysburg National Battlefield, along
Confederate Avenue. It was seen there on March 1st and 3rd.
Also in south-central Pennsylvania, a male
EURASIAN WIGEON was seen, with AMERICAN WIGEON,
on Sunday, March 4th, at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area.
The number of SNOW GEESE estimated as being at
Middle Creek lately has been about 150,000. About
2,600 TUNDRA SWANS have been there this week, as
have been about 3,000 CANADA GEESE.
Other WATERFOWL observed there on March 4th were:
WOOD DUCK, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, BLACK DUCK,
MALLARD, PINTAIL, SHOVELER, GADWALL, RING-NECKED
DUCK, LESSER SCAUP, COMMON GOLDENEYE, HOODED and
COMMON MERGANSERS, and RUDDY DUCK.
Other species seen at Middle Creek that day
included: SANDHILL CRANE (1), BALD EAGLES (2),
NORTHERN HARRIER (1), SHORT-EARED OWL (1),
AMERICAN COOT (4), and TREE SWALLOWS (2).
Elsewhere in Lancaster County, on March 4th, a
light-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen in Gap.
In Southwest Philadelphia, at the Tinicum (or
John Heinz) Refuge, on March 4th, a ROUGH-LEGGED
HAWK was seen. Nearby, that day, 5 RED-BREASTED
MERGANSERS were seen on the Delaware River, where
the previous day, a RED-NECKED GREBE was observed.
About 25 TREE SWALLOWS and 10 WOOD DUCKS were
noted at Tinicum Refuge, that day, Saturday,
March 3rd, as was a HORNED GREBE and a GREAT
EGRET. A WILSON'S SNIPE was flushed near Tinicum.
A couple moments ago, mention was made of a
EURASIAN WIGEON in Pennsylvania. A EURASIAN TEAL
has also been found in Pennsylvania this week, on
Thursday, March 8th, in the Delaware County
portion of the forementioned Tinicum, or John
Heinz, Refuge. From I-95, go north on Route 420.
Go to the gravel parking area about 100 yards
north of I-95. The EURASIAN TEAL on March 8th was
on the mudflat along the Darby Creek, when the
tide was low. If the bird's not there, or the
tide is higher, you might walk upstream along the
creek, going over one metal footbridge to another.
Prior to March 8, 2007, we understand that
LAPLAND LONGSPUR had never been recorded in
Carbon County PA. On that day, one was found with
in a flock of 40 or so HORNED LARKS on a manure
spread on the south side of Strohl's Valley Road,
just across Route 209 from the Country Junction Store.
Here's an extralimital LONGSPUR report: A SMITH'S
LONGSPUR has continued to be seen this week in
New York, on Long Island, at Jones Beach. It's
been seen as recently as March 8th, during the
late morning. There have been about 12 to 15
LAPLAND LONGSPURS in that area.
In Chester County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday,
March 5th, a HORNED GREBE was seen at the Marsh
Creek State Park, as were both SCAUP (that could
be seen in comparison), along with good numbers
of RING-NECKED DUCKS and COMMON MERGANSERS.
19 species of WATERFOWL were seen mid-day on
March 5th at Chambers Lake in Chester County.
WATERFOWL seen in Berks County PA, at Lake
Ontelaunee, over the weekend March 3-4, were:
18,000 SNOW GEESE (about 50 of them "BLUE GEESE"),
15,000 CANADA GEESE,
about 15 TUNDRA SWANS,
and these DUCKS: 5 WOOD DUCK, 10 GADWALL, 80
AMERICAN WIGEON, 200 AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, 300
MALLARD, about 250 PINTAIL, about 25 GREEN-WINGED
TEAL, 2 CANVASBACK, 16 REDHEAD, 230 RING-NECKED
DUCKS, 1 GREATER SCAUP, 12 LESSER SCAUP, 18
BUFFLEHEAD, 2 COMMON GOLDENEYE, 4 HOODED
MERGANSERS, and 50 COMMON MERGANSERS. Also: 2
PIED-BILLED GREBES and 2 HORNED GREBES.
Also seen in Berks County over that weekend were:
a light-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK,
a juvenile RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, now with a
mostly red head, along Kauffman Road, in Oley Township,
dozens of HORNED LARKS on fields,
and 1 female DICKCISSEL that's been wintering at a feeder.
In southern New Jersey, on March 6th, at White's
Bog, in the pines, there were no TUNDRA SWANS, but there were these birds:
an adult GOLDEN EAGLE, about 40 LESSER SCAUP,
about 20 HOODED MERGANSERS, a couple WOOD DUCKS,
and SAVANNAH SPARROWS and PIPITS on the dikes.
Elsewhere in southern New Jersey, in Salem
County, on March 7th, some 300 to 400 HORNED
LARKS were seen during a day's outing. Nearly 20
were at the DeLea Sod Farm. Nearly 80 were at the
Johnson's Sod Farm, along Hannah's - Olivet Road.
Also that day in Salem County, 16 WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROWS were seen along Corson's Landing Road,
and SAVANNAH SPARROWS were seen throughout.
Further south in New Jersey, about as far south
as one can be in the state, a PIPING PLOVER was
observed on March 8th, at Two mile beach, where,
by the way, there was another report of that species last week, on March 2nd.
An ICELAND GULL, that's been present the last
couple weeks, at the Cold Spring Jetty near Cape
May, was still seen there on March 8th.
At Reed's Beach, along the Delaware Bayshore
north of Cape May, a EURASIAN TEAL has been with
about 30 GREEN-WINGED TEAL on March 8th.
Further north along the Bayshore, later that day,
there were 4 SHORT-EARED OWLS at Jake's Landing. And a WOODCOCK.
This edition of the Birdline began with mention
of the LAZULI BUNTING in Red Hill, in the area of
Green Lane in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
We'll end now by mentioning some the other birds
that have been observed in that area lately:
WOODCOCK, TOWHEE, and various SPARROWS at the "bunting location".
And these birds at the Green Lane Reservoir:
a RED-NECKED GREBE until at least March 3rd, by Hill Road,
200 WIGEON and 200 PINTAILS on March 3rd, by Walt Road,
and BALD EAGLE by Church Road.
Some fine photographs have been received here of
the LAZULI BUNTING. They are in the Birdline 2007
Photo Gallery, as are photos of the Pennsylvania
SCOTT'S ORIOLE. In the web-site: www.focusonnature.com
Scroll down the left-side of the home-page to the link.
Until we link up again, good birding, wherever
you may be, and thank you for tuning in to the Birdline.
- end transcript
For Birdeast archives, and to join, leave, or change address, see:
http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdeast.html