Date: 5/22/26 4:25 pm From: Andrew Ednie <000006be14ba5998-dmarc-request...> Subject: [de-birds] RBA: Birdline Delaware, May 22nd, 2026
RBA * Delaware * Statewide * May 22, 2026 * DEST 26.05.22
*Birds mentioned BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLNG DUCK Brant Snow Goose GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE Blue-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Surf Scoter Black Scoter WHITE-WINGED SCOTER Common Merganser Wild Turkey Northern Bobwhite Eastern Whip-poor-will Chuck-Will’s-Widow Common Nighthawk Black-billed Cuckoo Virginia Rail Sora King Rail Common Gallinule Sandhill Crane American Oystercatcher Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Black-bellied Plover American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover Hudsonian Godwit Marbled Godwit Long-billed dowitcher Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson’s Snipe Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot Least Sandpiper Western Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper RED-NECKED PHALAROPE Wilson’s Phalarope Least Tern Common Tern Caspian Tern Royal Tern Black Skimmer Bonaparte’s Gull Common Loon SOOTY SHEARWATER Brown Pelican Least Bittern Black-crowned Night Heron Yellow-Crowned Night Heron Tricolored Heron Western Cattle Egret Little Blue Heron Glossy Ibis White Ibis MISSISSIPPI KITE Broad-winged Hawk Red-headed Woodpecker Merlin Peregrine Falcon Willow Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Blue-headed Vireo Common Raven Cliff Swallow Brown-headed Nuthatch Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson’s Thrush EVENING GROSBEAK Grasshopper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Salt Marsh Sparrow Seaside Sparrow LINCOLN’S SPARROW White-crowned Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Bobolink Eastern Meadowlark Northern Waterthrush Worm-eating Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Kentucky Warbler Hooded Warbler Blue-winged Warbler Nashville Warbler Tennessee Warbler Cape May Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Palm Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Wilson’s Warbler Canada Warbler Dickcissel
Hotline: Birdline Delaware Date: May 22, 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 Friday, May 22nd 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 increased to 305 species this week.
The only new species seen this week were 3 SOOTY SHEARWATERS off Herring Point in Cape Henlopen State Park today. With a wet Memorial Day Holiday approaching, watching the ocean might be your only beach recreation. Also seen at Cape Henlopen this week was a very late occurring female EVENING GROSBEAK on Sunday, along with WILD TURKEY, BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH, plus WORM-EATING, BAY-BREASTED, MAGNOLIA, and CANDA WARBLER. A MISSISSIPPI KITE was seen Monday from the Hawkwatch and COMMON LOON, BROWN PELICAN and BLACK SCOTERS were seen offshore. PIPING PLOVER, AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, and BRANT were seen at Cape Henlopen Point. BLACK SKIMMER, LEAST, COMMON, and ROYAL TERNS were seen on the bayside beach. A late MERLIN was seen at Gordon’s Pond, along with a lingering MARBLED GODWIT. A single WHITE-WINGED SCOTER was photographed at the outer breakwater off Lewes.
There were high counts of 5000 RED KNOT and 10000 RUDDY TURNSTONES, from the Osprey Beach at Mispillion Inlet from the duPont Nature Center this week. AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, BLACK-NECKED STILT, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, and WILLET were also seen. BLACK SKIMMER, LEAST, CASPIAN and ROYAL TERNS were seen across the creek on the Back Beach. An adult YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON was seen at the Marvel Salt Marsh along with SEASIDE and SALT MARSH SPARROWS.
Spring migration has started to wane with 24 species of warbler reported. Highlights included WORM-EATING, PROTHONOTARY, HOODED, KENTUCKY, BLUE-WINGED, NASHVILLE, TENNSSEE, CAPE MAY, CHESTNUT-SIDED, MAGNOLIA, BLACKBURNIAN. BAY-BREASTED, BLACKPOLL, WILSON’S and CANADA. HOODED WARBLER was reported at Creek Road in White Clay Creek State Park, Tybout’s Tract in Blackbird State Forest, Greer’s Pond near Port Penn, and Berrytown Road near Norman Wilder Wildlife Area. A single BLUE-WINGED WARBLER was reported this week at Thompson’s Station Road in White Clay Creek, possibly on breeding territory.
The breeding plumage HUDSONIAN GODWIT was last seen in the field off Raymond Neck Road on Monday. A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE along with SNOW GOOSE was reported from Shearness Tower in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Breeding plumaged WILSON’S and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE were seen at Shearness Pool. Other shorebirds included BLACK-NECKED STILT, AMERICAN AVOCET, BLACK-BELLIED, SEMIPALMATED, and AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, RUDDDY TURNSTONE, RED KNOT, WILLET, LONG-BILLED and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, WILSON’S SNIPE, plus SPOTTED, SOLITARY, WESTERN, LEAST, WHITE-RUMPED, STILT, and PECTORAL SANDPIPER. Some more birds from Bombay Hook were SANDHILL CRANE, VIRGINIA RAIL and NORTHERN BOBWHITE. Migrant landbirds included YELLOW-BILLED and BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, SUMMER TANAGER, and RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. BOBOLINKS were seen along Whitehall Neck Road.
In northern Delaware, a MISSISSIPPI KITE was seen over Valley Garden Park off Route 82 on Wednesday. A lingering BLUE-HEADED VIREO was seen in Greenville across from the Hagley Museum today. RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continues to be found at Brandywine Creek State Park. Female COMMON MERGANSERS were seen at Brandywine Creek and at First State National Historical Park. SUMMER TANAGER was found at Brandywine Creek State Parks. PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was reported at White Clay Creek and Brandywine Creek State Parks.
A LINCOLN’S SPARROW was seen on Saturday at Hopkins Bridge Nature Center in White Clay Creek State Park. WILD TURKEY was reported along Hopkins Bridge Road. A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was photographed in a yard near Newark. A lingering WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was found at Auburn Valley State Park. SWAINSON’S THRUSH were singing in Hockessin and GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH along with BROAD-WINGED HAWK were found at Mt. Cuba Wildflower Preserve. COMMON LOON was seen along the Delaware River at Gambacorta Marsh.
RING-NECKED DUCK was seen on Dragon Run from Cox Neck Road in Delaware City. YELLOW-CROWNED and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, GLOSSY IBIS, WESTERN CATTLE EGRET, and LITTLE BLUE HERON were seen at Pea Patch Island. SORA was reported at Thousand Acre Marsh, along with BLUE-WINGED TEAL, and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. LESSER SCAUP and LEAST BITTERN were found at Greer’s Pond off Dutch Neck Road near Port Penn. SANDHILL CRANE and COMMON GALLINULE were reported at Ashton Tract in Augustine Wildlife Area. CLIFF SWALLOWS and a KING RAIL were seen at the Appoquinmink Creek Bridge along Route 9. LEAST FLYCATCHER was reported at Joy Run near Summit Bridge. A singing DICKCISSEL continues at Charles Price Park in Middletown this week along with EASTERN MEADOWLARK, SAVANNAH and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.
BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS continue to be seen at Wheatley’s Pond in Clayton off Route 300. CLIFF SWALLOWS were also seen at the Leipsic River Bridge. Some late lingering waterfowl at Port Mahon included SURF SCOTER, BUFFLEHEAD and BONAPARTE’S GULL. BLACK SCOTER was reported at Pickering Beach. SUMMER TANAGER was found at the Logan Tract in the Ted Harvey Conservation Area.
RUDDY DUCK, PIPING PLOVER, and AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER were seen at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. VIRGINIA RAIL, LEAST BITTERN, and a late WILSON’S SNIPE were reported along the Dike Trail. BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was found at Turkle’s Pond. PECTORAL SANDPIPER and WILLOW FLYCATCHER were seen along Oyster Rocks Road
COMMON NIGTHHAWKS were seen in northern migration near Newark, and at Greer’s Pond and Thousand Arce Marsh besides their usual residence at Cape Henlopen EASTERN WHIPPOORWILL were reported at Bombay Hook, Big Stone Beach and Fowlers Beach. CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW were found at Assawoman, Georgetown, The University of Delaware Marine School in Lewes, Big Stone Beach and as far north as Bennett’s Pier.
The PEREGRINE FALCONS continue to raise three chicks at the nest box on the Brandywine Building in downtown Wilmington. You can watch the nest box activity on the DOS Falcon cam found at: www.dosbirds.org/citizen-science/falcon-watch/, Fledgling Watch should begin from mid-June into July. Sign up now to help the babies!
Thanks to all the people that make the Birdline possible, including Bill Boyle, Sergio Salvino, Lana Glass, Ian Stewart, Clay Chianese, Gabe Kestlinger, Tracy Perez, Anna Champgne, Munene Kermer, Andrew Brehdel, Andrew Albright, Judith Picciotto, Jeff Smith, Joanne Howll, Chris Machulski, Gary Griffith, Evan Jarman, Sheryl Johnson, Phil Misseldine, Jeff Shenot, Randy Vickers, Shannon Molda, Megan Kasprzak, Jean-Marie Gauthier, Bodo Stern, Rod Murray, Chris Rankin, Kent Raymond, Ed Wrzniewski, Carolyn Holland, Mary Braun, Sue Gruver, Debbie Blair, Rob Blye, Richard Clifton, Richard Julian, Alice Mohrman, Steve McInnis Nancy Cunningham, Chris and Karen Bennett, Autumn Heil, Melissa Lafferty, Kris Benarcik, Frank Rohrbacher, Jim White, John and Andy Dunn, Wendy Caserio, Joe Sebastiani, 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!
