RBA: Birdline Delaware, November 6th, 2009

[Andy Ednie]

RBA
* Delaware
* Statewide
* November 6, 2009
* DEST0911.06

*Birds mentioned
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Ringed Teal (escape)
Lesser Scaup
Greater Scaup
Ring-necked Duck
Long-tailed Duck
White-winged Scoter
Common Eider
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great White Heron
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Sandhill Crane
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Golden Eagle
Northern Goshawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
American Avocet
Western Sandpiper
Purple Sandpiper
Parasitic Jaeger
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Pileated Woodpecker
Western Kingbird
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
American Pipit
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Rusty Blackbird
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch

Hotline:       Birdline Delaware
Date:            Hotline: Birdline Delaware
Date:            November 6, 2009
Number:      302-658-2747
To Report:   Andy Ednie 302-792-9591 (VOICE)
Compiler:    Andy Ednie (ednieap@...)
Coverage:    Delaware, Delmarva Peninsula, nearby Delaware Valley, Southern
                     New Jersey, Maryland
Transcriber: Andy Ednie (ednieap@...)

For Friday, November 6th, this is Birdline Delaware from the Delaware Museum
of Natural History in Greenville. The 2009 Unofficial Delaware State Year
List now stands at 326 species, with one new addition this week.

This past week a WESTERN KINGBIRD was found at Ft Miles in Cape Henlopen
State Park. That bird was a one-day wonder, not reported again. Another
bird, equally rare in Sussex Co was a BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE reported at
Cape Henlopen. This is only the second record I know of for the county.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, FOX SPARROW and a female
BALTIMORE ORIOLE were also reported.

The best bird at the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch was a NORTHERN GOSHAWK today.
Tuesday was the big day at the watch with 223 SHARP-SHINS, 87 COOPER'S, 9
BALD and 1 GOLDEN EAGLE reported. Fly-by waterfowl this week included both
LESSER and GREATER SCAUP, 6 LONG-TAILED DUCKS, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, COMMON
EIDER, HORNED GREBE, PURPLE SANDPIPER and PARASITIC JAEGER.

A GREAT WHITE HERON was found this weekend and photographed on Monday on
Cedar Neck, between Ocean View and Indian River Inlet. That bird was found
in a pond near a new development off Fred Hudson Rd, near Fresh Pond State
Park, just before the intersection with Cedar Neck Rd.

A SANDHILL CRANE was seen near Raymond Pool in Bombay Hook NWR . Other birds
at Bombay Hook included TUNDRA SWANS, the previously reported banded RINGED
TEAL, RUDDY DUCK, PIED-BILLED GREBE, AMERICAN COOT and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULL. A flock of 77 BLACK-BELLED PLOVERS along with 55 AMERICAN AVOCETS and
a WESTERN SANDPIPER were also seen at the refuge.

An immature GOLDEN EAGLE was seen at the Ashland Nature Center Hawk Watch
today. 2 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS were seen at the hawk watch on Wednesday, along
with 4 BALD EAGLES. The big flight on Monday also reported a distant GOSHAWK
along with 62 BLACK VULTURES, 34 RED-SHOULDERS, 73 RED-TAILS, 53
SHARP-SHINS, and 19 COOPER'S HAWKS.

The hawk watch also had several fly-over COMMON LOONS. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH
and PILEATED WOODPECKERS were at the watch on Monday. The later is probably
one species that will never be reported at the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch.
Yesterday at Ashland there were 4 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, a FOX SPARROW and
a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER.

A nearby Hoopes' Reservoir, waterfowl there this week included 6
BUFFLEHEADS, 3 RING-NECKED DUCK, 2 HOODED MERGANSERS, 6 WOOD DUCKS, 5
PIED-BILLED GREBES and a DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT. Another RING-NECKED DUCK
was seen at Harry's Pond at the Brandywine Town Center on Saturday.

A flock of approximately 100 AMERICAN PIPITS were seen at the Middletown
Auto Mall of Rt 301, west of Middletown. 2 CATTLE EGRETS were also seen
there, along with COOPER'S HAWK and AMERICAN KESTREL.

12 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were reported at Dragon Run Marsh in Delaware City.
GREAT EGRET, BALD EAGLE and 12 WOOD DUCKS were also seen there.

A late SCARLET TANAGER was reported at Abbott's Mill Nature Center near
Milford. A feeder in Felton had a female PURPLE FINCH plus WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROW.

Now for this week's Birdline special feature from WILM News Radio:

As the winter month's approach, large flocks of CROWS gather along the
Delaware River. From Delaware City at sunset, you can watch thousands of
these black birds cross the river to their roost in Salem County.

Two different species of Crow are found in these flocks.  The COMMON CROW is
more abundant and vocalizes a harsh "Caw, caw, caw" (Common Crow SFX).
Occasionally, you hear the more nasal call of the Common Crow's smaller
cousin, the FISH CROW (Fish Crow SFx).

Both species are so similar that they are practically inseparable by
observation. Birders watch these flocks to find a rare visitor from the
north, the COMMON RAVEN, with its harsh croak (Raven SFX.). While reported
in Delaware, no Raven sightings have yet been confirmed.

This presents the answer to Hempel's question of the RAVEN Paradox "if
RAVENS are all black, then all non-black birds are non-RAVENS". This
hypothesis is formed by intuition, and violates inductive logic, a
cornerstone of the scientific method. If you observe a green apple, it is
non-black so must be a non-RAVEN.

The paradox is; one hypothesis does not answer all questions. If Hempel was
a birder, he would have known the Peterson identification system requires
several field marks and that nature has no absolutes. Hempel would have been
better off buying a pair of binoculars and walking through Princeton Woods.

Special thanks this week to Frank Rohrbacher, Bruce Peterjohn, John
Janowski, Rod Murray, Jason Beale, Steven Graff, Kim Steininger, Derek
Stoner, and our hawk watchers; Cyrus Moqtaderi and Forrest Rowland for their
reports. Also, Jeff and Maurice for the philosophy lesson. You can report
sightings or add to the State Year List by calling 302-792-9591 or email
ednieap@.... Until next week, good birding.

-end transcript



Andy Ednie
Claymont, Delaware

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