Date: 3/13/26 4:54 pm From: Andrew Ednie <000006be14ba5998-dmarc-request...> Subject: [de-birds] RBA: Birdline Delaware, March 13th, 2026
RBA * Delaware * Statewide * March 13, 2026 * DEST 26.03.13
*Birds mentioned Brant Ross’s Goose Snow Goose BARNACLE GOOSE Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Mute Swan Wood Duck Blue-winged Teal EURASIAN WIGEON EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED “COMMON” TEAL Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup HARLEQUIN DUCK Black Scoter Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter COMMON EIDER Long-tailed Duck Common Merganser Hooded Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Wild Turkey Common Gallinule American Coot Sandhill Crane American Oystercatcher American Avocet Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover Ruddy Turnstone Greater Yellowlegs Willet Lesser Yellowlegs Long-billed Dowitcher American Woodcock Wilson’s Snipe Purple Sandpiper Razorbill Caspian Tern Forster’s Tern Black-headed Gull Bonaparte’s Gull Laughing Gull Iceland Gull Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe RED-NECKED GREBE Common Loon Red-throated Loon Great Cormorant American Bittern Black-crowned Night Heron Snowy Egret Great Egret Barn Owl Barred Owl Short-eared Owl Red-headed Woodpecker Eastern Pheobe Common Raven Purple Martin Northern Rough-winged Swallow Tree Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown-headed Nuthatch Northern House Wren Marsh Wren Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher Purple Finch American Tree Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Rusty Blackbird Orange-crowned Warbler Pine Warbler
Hotline: Birdline Delaware Date: March 13, 2026 To Report: Andy Ednie 302-792-9591 (VOICE) Compiler: Andy Ednie (<ednieap...>) Coverage: Delaware, Delmarva Peninsula, nearby Delaware Valley, Southern New Jersey, Maryland
For March, on Friday the 13th this is Birdline Delaware from the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science in Greenville. The Birdline is sponsored by the Delaware Ornithological Society (DOS). Statements made on the Birdline do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors. This is Andy Ednie, glad to be with you. The unofficial Delaware Annual List remained at 197 species this week. The beaches are now closed at Cape Henlopen and Fowlers Beach for beachnesters.
Spring arrivals are here; new this week were COMMON GALLINULE, PIPING PLOVER, CASPIAN TERN, SNOWY EGRET, PURPLE MARTIN, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, and VESPER SPARROW. Birds seen regularly this week in increasing numbers were WOOD DUCK, LAUGHING GULL, EASTERN PHOEBE, and PINE WARBLER.
The previously reported RED-HEADED WOODPECKER along with RUSTY BLACKBIRD was seen at First State National Historical Park south of Ramsey Road. A MARSH WREN was seen at the Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge at the Wilmington Waterfront. COMMON RAVEN was reported at White Clay Creek State Park in Newark. BARRED OWL was found at Lums Pond State Park. Four ROSS’S GEESE and a CACKLING GOOSE were seen in flocks of SNOW GEESE flying upriver at Battery Park in New Castle along with TUNDRA SWAN, REDHEAD, GREAT CORMORANT, RED-THROATED LOON, and all three species of MERGANSER: COMMON, HOODED, and RED-BREASTED. The previously reported BARNACLE GOOSE continues to be seen along Duck Creek Road near Smyrna.
The first COMMON GALLINULE of the season was heard calling at Dragon Run from along Cox Neck Road in Delaware City. A EURASIAN WIGEON was seen on Dragon Run along Route 9 and then later re-found on Canal Pond along Cox Neck Road. Other waterfowl reported on Canal Pond included MUTE and TUNDRA SWAN, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, REDHEAD, LESSER and GREATER SCAUP, RING-NECKED DUCK, COMMON GOLDENEYE and RUDDY DUCK. AMERICAN WOODCOCK and SANDHILL CRANE were heard from the Canal Pond dike. AMERICAN COOT, GREAT EGRET, and BLUE-WINGED TEAL were seen this week at Thousand Acre Marsh near Delaware City. SANDHILL CRANE was found at the Ashton Tract and the Augustine Creek causeway. AMERICAN WOODCOCK were reported doing courtship display, at Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area plus BARN and BARRED OWL.
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, AMERICAN AVOCET, GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, WILSON’S SNIPE, plus CASPIAN and FORSTER’S TERNS was seen at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. The previously reported EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED “COMMON” TEAL continues at Bear Swamp along with SANDHILL CRANES and AMERICAN TREE SPARROW. Other waterfowl reported included TUNDRA SWAN, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, CANVASBACK, RING-NECKED DUCK, COMMON and HOODED MERGANSER, RUDDY DUCK, AMERICAN COOT and PIED-BILLED GREBE. A RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH was reported along the entrance road. BARRED, SHORT-EARED and BARN OWL were found in the refuge at dusk.
The was a high count of 6 AMERICAN BITTERNS seen or heard at Little Creek Wildlife Area on Sunday, from Port Mahon, the Central Tower/Main Tract and Pickering Beach Road. AMERICAN AVOCET, SHORT-EARED OWL, and 300 AMERICAN COOTS were seen at Little Creek Wildlife Area–Mahon impoundment. A flock of WILD TURKEYS were seen at the Davey Crockett Tract. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was coming to a feeder near Milford again this week. BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH was seen along the Big Stone Beach Road in Milford Neck Wildlife Area.
Waterbirds on the move included a high count of 64 HORNED GREBES at Bennett’s Pier in Delaware WildLands. A big flock of 100 BONAPARTE’S GULLS contained a single BLACK-HEADED GULL at Mispillion Inlet from the duPont Nature Center. Shorebirds seen at Mispillion included AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER and AMERICAN AVOCET. WILLET with GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS continues to be seen at the Dike Trail in Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. RED-NECKED GREBE, 106 RED-THROATED and 123 COMMON LOONS were seen flying past Cape Henlopen State Park.
A couple of early arrivals at Cape Henlopen State Park were BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, NORTERN HOUSE WREN, and VESPER SPARROW. The first PIPING PLOVER of the season was seen at Cape Henlopen Point along with AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER and ICELAND GULL. RED-BREASTED and BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES were seen at the Seaside Nature Center. A RAZORBILL was seen at the Lewes Harbor Breakwaters. BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, PURPLE SANDPIPER and RUDDY TURNSTONE were seen on the harbor jetty. The first SNOWY EGRET of the year was seen at Gordon’s Pond. A COMMON RAVEN was seen north of Lewes at Canary Creek.
A flock of 50 CANVASBACKS and a COMMON GOLDENEYE were on Silver Lake in Rehoboth Beach. The previously reported pair of HARLEQUIN DUCKS, COMMON EIDERS and RAZORBIL were at the Indian River Inlet plus BRANT, GREATER and LESSER SCAUP, LONG-TAILED DUCK, SURF, BLACK and WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, HORNED GREBE and GREAT CORMORANT. BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON and AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER were seen at Burton’s Island in Delaware Seashore State Park. RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues to be seen at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club on Long Neck near Millsboro. The first PURPLE MARTIN of the year was seen off Saw Mill Road near Milton.
Thanks to all the people that make the Birdline possible, including Laura Wolf, Anna Champagne, Walt Blackwell, Andy Jenkins, Gary Griffith, Gerry Teig, Linda Houghton, Randy Vickers, Will Krohn, Eli Hevalow, David Thomas, Frank Lenik, Martin Selzer, Lynn Jackson, Jason Horn, Rod Murray, Chris Rankin, Carolyn Holland, Mary Braun, Sue Gruver, Greg Gough, Richard Julian, Kelly White, Logan Parr, Kevin Bronson, Isaiah Craft, Audrey Hughes, Kim Steininger, Chris and Karen Bennett, Melissa Lafferty, Jim and Amy White, Frank Rohrbacher, John and Andy Dunn, Karen Barker, Wendy Cesario, Sam VanHorne, Joe Francis, Mike Moore, Bruce Peterjohn, and Joe Swertinski. Special thanks to Joe Tricarico for list distribution to DOS members. Birdline needs your sightings. Please call your reports into 302-463-0113 or email <ednieap...> Until next week, this is Andy Ednie wishing you good birding!
