From: Armas Hill To: Subject: Philadelphia RBA, October 13, 2000 Date: Friday, October 13, 2000 11:15 PM RBA * Pennsylvania * Philadelphia * October 13, 2000 * PAPH001310 *Birds mentioned Common Loon Great Egret Tricolored Heron American Bittern American White Pelican American Wigeon Eurasian Wigeon Black Scoter White-winged Scoter Common Eider Wood Duck Osprey Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Northern Goshawk Broad-winged Hawk SWAINSON'S HAWK (pa) Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Golden Eagle Bald Eagle Northern Harrier American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Sora American Coot Black-bellied Plover American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Marbled Godwit Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Dunlin Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher SABINE'S GULL (NJ) FRANKLIN'S GULL (pa) Bonaparte's Gull Ring-billed Gull Forster's Tern Caspian Tern Pileated Woodpecker Barn Swallow Sedge Wren Marsh Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet American Pipit Yellow-rumped Warbler Palm Warbler Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Field Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Chipping Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Philadelphia Birdline Date: October 13, 2000 Number: 215/567-BIRD To Report: Armas Hill, 302/529-1876 (VOICE) 302/529-1085 (FAX) Compiler: Armas Hill Coverage: Delaware Valley, Southern New Jersey Transcriber: Risė Hill (rise@wittnet.com) This is Birdline from Philadelphia for Friday, October 13th. From the Academy of Natural Sciences and supported by the DVOC (the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club) and others. I'm Armas Hill, glad to be with you again. In the Upper Delaware Valley, a juvenile SABINE'S GULL has been present this week, at least on October 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th at the Merrill Reservoir in northern New Jersey. Sometimes with RING-BILLED GULLS, often near LOONS. From Interstate 78, take exit 3, in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Go east on Route 22 - 3 traffic lights. Go north on Route 519. After the first traffic light, along that road, turn right onto Fox Farm Road. Go to the reservoir, and park at the "fishing and handicapped access" area. We're told the SABINE'S GULL tends to be closer in the afternoon. Other birds at the Merrill Reservoir lately have included: BLACK and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and an adult BALD EAGLE. In the Lower Susquehanna Valley in southern Pennsylvania, a first-winter FRANKLIN'S GULL was seen on Saturday, October 7th at the Conjehela Flats, Washington Boro, Lancaster County. Other birds there that day included: 2 immature BALD EAGLES, 4 OSPREY, 1 GREAT EGRET, 45 WOOD DUCKS, 32 WIGEON, 48 COOTS, a BONAPARTE'S GULL, a FORSTER'S TERN, and these SHOREBIRDS: 12 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 3 GOLDEN PLOVERS, 2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 33 KILLDEER, 1 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 2 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 3 SANDERLINGS, 8 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, 14 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 1 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, 1 BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, 42 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, and 7 DUNLIN. Also: 8 PIPITS and 3 BOBOLINKS. Elsewhere along the lower Susquehanna River, on Wednesday, October 11th, these birds were found on grassy islands near Bainbridge: a SORA, 3 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 3 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 7 DUNLIN, 2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a SEDGE WREN, 9 MARSH WRENS, 50 PIPITS, 6 NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS, and over 25 SWAMP SPARROWS. In New Jersey, on Saturday, October 7th, 3 NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS were found in the area of Tuckerton, at the end of Great Bay Boulevard. An AMERICAN BITTERN was also there. As was a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (the best bird for the birders there that day). Also a number of TRICOLORED HERONS, and several CASPIAN TERNS - the latter at nearby Brigantine Refuge as well. At the Rose Tree Park Hawk Watch, near Media, Delaware County, Pennsylvania: 116 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS were tallied yesterday, Thursday, October 11th. That's the highest daily total yet for SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS this year at Rose Tree. 1,050 SHARP-SHINS have been seen there, this season, to date. Last season, in it's entirety, 6,420 were counted. Thus far, this season, at Rose Tree, as of yesterday, October 11th: 16,114 RAPTORS have been counted. 13,887 of them BROAD-WINGS. The day with the most BROAD-WINGS was September 22nd, with just over 3,330 birds. Other totals so far this season: 52 HARRIERS, 40 BALD EAGLES, 1 GOLDEN EAGLE, 98 COOPER'S HAWKS, 5 GOSHAWKS, 24 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, 88 RED-TAILED HAWKS, and 354 KESTRELS. This past weekend, on Saturday, October 7th: a SWAINSON'S HAWK passed over Rose Tree The Rosetree Park Hawk Watch is operative all day, every day, during the Fall. With people from the Birding club of Delaware County. Stop by. Rose Tree Park is on the east side of Route 252, just north of Route 1. There have been more OSPREY thus far this year at Rose Tree this season (296) than all of last season (272). More MERLINS this season (43) compared to all last season (36). More PEREGRINES (16) than all last season (9). At Cape May, New Jersey, a day with a lot of PEREGRINES was Friday, October 6th - 217 that day. Also at Cape May, a EURASIAN WIGEON has been either at the Bunker Pond, the Lighthouse Pond, or at the South Cape May Meadows. Also in southern New Jersey, 2 WHITE PELICANS were seen on Monday, October 9th at Bivalve, along the Delaware Bayshore. Across the Delaware Bay, in Delaware, recently, there were 2 WHITE PELICANS in the area of Delaware City. The reports of birds in Delaware, this past week, are on Birdline Delaware, elsewhere on the internet, and on the phone at: 302-658-2747. More New Jersey bird news in a moment, but first a mention that the upcoming, annual PELAGIC BIRDING TRIP for winter-time birds off the New Jersey Coast, out of Brielle, on Saturday, December 9th, is starting to fill. It would now be a good time to reserve your place on this all-day trip, to depart at 5am, during which possibilities will include: GREAT SKUA and various ALCIDS, particularly DOVEKIE, RAZORBILL, PUFFIN, MURRES. Also possible: MANX SHEARWATER, and white-winged GULLS. Likely: GANNETS and KITTIWAKES. The cost for the trip: $80. The hand-rails of the boat are heated! Reservations are required. Contact FONT (Focus on Nature Tours) by e-mail at: font@focusonnature.com Or call: 800-362-0869. Fax: 302-529-1085. Along the New Jersey Coast, this past week, from north to south: A WESTERN TANAGER was seen at Sandy Hook on October 7th - not on October 8th - but found again on October 9th. Also at Sandy Hook recently: a LECONTE'S SPARROW, as well as CLAY-COLORED, VESPER, and LINCOLN'S SPARROWS. A COMMON EIDER was noted in Stone Harbor, along the South Jersey Shore, on Friday, October 6th - on the ocean at 106th Street. 4 MARBLED GODWITS were at the south end of Stone Harbor on October 6th. A few days earlier, 2 MARBLED GODWITS were at Bivalve, in southern New Jersey, along the Delaware Bayshore, on October 2nd. Back in Pennsylvania: These birds noted, recently, in the area of the Green Lane Reservoir, in northern Montgomery County: PILEATED WOODPECKER at the nature center on October 6th, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, along Church Road, first noted this season on October 7th, a MERLIN near Church Road, near the Goshenhoppen Church, on October 9th ( the bird's long gone, but I wanted to say that word: "Goshenhoppen"), LINCOLN'S with SAVANNAH SPARROWS also by that church on October 9th. Nearby, at Knight Lake on October 11th: PECTORAL SANDPIPER and DUNLIN (the first of the season in the area). Also that day: a BARN SWALLOW (maybe the last of the season in that area). In Chester County, PA: In the White Clay Creek Preserve (just north of the Delaware state line) 7 species of SPARROWS were seen on Wednesday, October 11th: LINCOLN'S, WHITE-CROWNED, CHIPPING, SWAMP, SONG, WHITE-THROATED, and FIELD. Also there were numerous YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, some PALM WARBLERS, and both KINGLETS. In Chester County, PA, next Monday evening, October 16th, at the meeting of the West Chester Bird Club, in West Chester, I'm looking forward to a presentation I'll be sharing about "South American Birds - in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile". I always like getting together with the West Chester Bird Club - in the meeting house at High and Marshall Streets - the meeting at 7:30pm (again on Monday evening, October 16th). See you there, or next time here, on the Birdline. Until then, good birding, wherever you may be. And thank you for tuning in to the Birdline, either on the internet or the phone. To reach us: by e-mail: armas@wittnet.com, by phone; 302-529-1876, by mail: PO Box 9021, Wilmington, Delaware, 19809. - end transcript For Birdeast archives, and to join, leave, or change address, see: http://listserv.arizona.edu/lsv/www/birdeast.html