Today Linda and I made a circuit to determine if there is any decent
shorebird habitat around. Usually Hoover Reservoir has exposed mudflats by
August but with this year's rains the water level at Hoover looks more like
spring after the winter thaw. Other than Killdeer in a few parking lots the
place is devoid of shorebirds. We first checked Area A of the Delaware Wildlife
Area. Activity was sparse in most of the area and the water levels are
high. The most active location was along Leonarburg Road from the dike on the
east side to the rise just before Panhandle Road. The water level in the
wetland is too high for shorebirds. The only shorebirds found were Killdeer
in the fields. We did find a hot spot that ran from the dike westward to the
beginning of the open fields. This area produced a family of Common
Yellowthroats, both adults and 5 fledglings. One fledgling almost flew into us as
it made short flights between two thickets. Mixed in with the
Yellowthroats were a Yellow-throated Vireo, Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, Gray
Catbirds, 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers, and a few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. As
we drove along the road we counted 12 Common Yellowthroat, 5 Yellow
Warblers, 8 Eastern Kingbirds, 11 Indigo Buntings and a Dickcissel. As we headed
over to US 23 we spotted Wild Turkey in the fields off Panhandle Road.
At Killdeer Plains we toured the roads looking for activity in flooded farm
fields. Our luck was slightly better than at Delaware but not by much. The
most productive area was along Washburn Road. There we locates Killdeer
and a few Yellowlegs (sp), Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary
Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Stilt Sandpiper. At Pond 3 there was a
single Virginia rail at the edge of the reeds. Also at Pond 3 were a family of
Trumpeter Swans (2 adults and 4 cygnets), Pied-billed Grebes, Wood Ducks
and a Belted Kingfisher. Along TH-108 there were 3 juvenile Trumpeter Swans,
3 Bald Eagles and 5 Great Egrets. Some other birds of interest we located
include 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 24 eastern Kingbirds, 15 Horned larks, 11
Yellow Warblers, 16 Common Yellowthroats, 18 Indigo Buntings, 1 Dickcissel
and 31 Eastern Meadowlarks. There is a pond next to the egg farm that had
much activity near it but between the aroma and hoard of large flies we
decided that was a no go.
Considering all the flooded farm fields around I thought we would find more
shorebirds but we had no such luck. At least it was a pleasant day and
Linda got a good meal without the kitchen work.
Charlie Bombaci
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