A trip to the Mid-Atlantic states for the Christmas holidays presented the opportunity to chase after a few new statebirds nearby. Since I grew up in the area, I have good state lists in all the states in the region. But there are almost always at least a few possible new statebirds not too far away.
Now it was time for some research. We were based in Baltimore, so that meant no
less than 5 states plus the District of Columbia would be no more than an hour
away. I pulled up my Needs Alerts for
MD, PA, DE, VA, WV, and DC and came up with several reasonable possibilities –
PA – A Rufous Hummingbird was reliably visiting a feeder in
Landenberg just across the state line
DC- Several waterfowl including Ross’s and Snow Geese,
Goldeneye, and Long-tailed Duck had been seen recently, along with Harrier and Iceland Gull. Though none were necessarily very reliable. Plus, there was a Snowy Owl
report.
VA – Trumpeter Swans are reliable in Fauquier County right
along our route back to NC. That one
could wait till our trip home.
My first opportunity to break away was the afternoon of the
22nd which was just enough time for what would hopefully be a short visit to Landenberg,
PA in Chester County to look for the Rufous Hummingbird. Luckily multiple eBird reports included all
the necessary details – the feeder was in the back yard at the end of the
driveway, the bird visited the feeder frequently (every 10-15 minutes), and it
was not necessary to get prior permission from the homeowner.
I arrived just after 2 PM, and walked to the end of the
driveway. The hummingbird feeder was
right in front of me, along with a couple seed feeders. The yard was quite birdy with a number of
sparrows and chickadees on and below the seed feeders. But of course, I concentrated on the hummer
feeder as I waited for my target bird. After
an increasingly tense 15-minute wait the Rufous finally flew into the top of a
small tree near the feeder. And a few
seconds later it landed on the feeder for a long drink providing great
views. It was #244 for my PA list.
My statebird map for Rufous Hummingbird is inserted
below. The light blue shaded states are
those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range. The cross-hatched states are the states where
I’ve yet to see it in its regular range.
And the 8 dark blue shaded states are those where I’ve seen Rufous
Hummingbird as a rarity, now including PA.
The summary of my DC trip on the 23rd is a short one since I didn’t find any of my targets. That was despite sorting through at least 1,500 Canada Geese on the Langston Golf Course unsuccessfully looking for white geese. And checking all the waters around Hain’s Point for unusual waterfowl, Harriers, and gulls. That might be the first time I've had an extended birding trip and not found any of my multiple targets.
I also kept my eyes open for Snowy Owls as I birded in the
area. Numerous birders reported a Snowy
Owl the next day on the grounds of Washington National Airport. Interestingly, the location listed on many of
the reports was Hain’s Point in DC where the birders were standing, even though
all the airport property is in VA. My
rule is that the location needs to be where the bird is, not where the birder
is. (I didn’t need Snowy Owl on my VA list
since I’ve seen one in VA – in fact at Washington National - a few years ago.)
I may have missed my target birds in DC, but still had some
nice scenery.
My last targets were Trumpeter Swans in Fauquier County in northern VA. This species is always on my VA needs alerts, especially in this county. So this area must be a regular hotspot for them. I chose Sky Meadows State Park as our spot to try for them since they seemed to be quite reliable there recently, and it was only a few minutes off our route home on the 29th. (Afterall, it’s always important to find my target birds quickly when I was with my NBS - non-birding spouse.) As we pulled into the State Park entrance we looked to the right at small Turner Pond and instantly spotted a pair of Trumpeter Swans feeding in the middle. That was easy! Here’s a picture of Turner Pond with the Swans toward the back left.
Trumpeter Swan was #277 for my VA list. And VA was the 22nd state where I’ve seen this
species, which is being re-introduced into much of its former breeding range.
