Date: 6/5/26 4:35 pm From: Andrew Ednie <000006be14ba5998-dmarc-request...> Subject: [de-birds] RBA: Birdline Delaware, June 5th, 2026
RBA * Delaware * Statewide * June 5, 2026 * DEST 26.06.05
*Birds mentioned BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLNG DUCK Green-winged Teal Black Scoter Surf Scoter Common Merganser Wild Turkey Eastern Whip-poor-will Chuck-Will’s-Widow Common Nighthawk King Rail Common Gallinule Sandhill Crane American Oystercatcher Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover Spotted Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot Dunlin Sanderling White-rumped Sandpiper WILSON’S PHALAROPE Least Tern Common Tern Caspian Tern Royal Tern Black Skimmer Bonaparte’s Gull Iceland Gull Common Loon Wilson’s Storm-Petrel Brown Pelican Least Bittern Black-crowned Night Heron Yellow-Crowned Night Heron Tricolored Heron Western Cattle Egret Little Blue Heron Glossy Ibis White Ibis Northern Harrier Red-headed Woodpecker Peregrine Falcon Willow Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Warbling Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo Cliff Swallow Brown-headed Nuthatch Grasshopper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Salt Marsh Sparrow Nelson’s Sparrow Seaside Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Bobolink Eastern Meadowlark Louisiana Waterthrush Worm-eating Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Kentucky Warbler MOURNING WARBLER American Redstart Black and white Warbler Northern Parula Northern Yellow Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Wilson’s Warbler Summer Tanager Dickcissel
Hotline: Birdline Delaware Date: June 5, 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, June 5th 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 308 species this week.
The last gasp of spring migration moved through on Monday with a MOURNING WARBLER reported at the Hopkins Nature Center in White Clay Creek State Park, along with NORTHERN PARULA, AMERICAN REDSTART and NORTHERN YELLOW WARBLER. BOBOLINKS are still on territory at Smith’s Mill Road aerodrome field. WILD TURKEY was photographed at Carpenter Recreational Area. SPOTTED SANDPIPER and WARBLING VIREO were found at Carousel Farms County Park. KENTUCKY and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER continues to sing on territory at Brandywine Creek State Park. A LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH was reported at Winterthur Museum and Gardens. A drake COMMON MERGANSER was photographed at Brandywine Park in Wilmington. A female COMMON MERGANSER with 6 young was seen on the Red Clay Creek at Auburn Valley State Park.
Shorebirds are still on the move. A flight of 1000 RED KNOT with many other sandpipers were seen dropping onto the tarmac at Wilmington Airport on Monday evening. Three WILSON’S PHALAROPE were found at Thousand Acre Marsh at the south end of the Reedy Point Bridge, along with DUNLIN, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. LEAST BITTERN, GLOSSY IBIS, LITTLE BLUE HERON, SANDHILL CRANE and PEREGRINE FALCON were also reported. An ALDER FLYCATCHER was reported singing at the Ashton Tract in Augustine Wildlife Area. LEAST BITTERN and COMMON GALLINULE were found at the Port Penn Tract.
CLIFF SWALLOWS continue at the Appoquinmink Creek Bridge and Flemming Landing Bridge along Route 9. SEASIDE SPARROW, LEAST BITTERN, and WILLOW FLYCATCHER were reported at Stave’s Landing. Multiple singing DICKCISSELS continues at Charles Price Park in Middletown this week along with EASTERN MEADOWLARK, SAVANNAH and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. SUMMER TANAGER, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER were reported at the Naudain Tract in Blackbird State Forest.
A lingering NELSON’S SPARROW was reported singing at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Shorebirds at the refuge included BLACK-NECKED STILT, AMERICAN AVOCET, BLACK-BELLIED and SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, WILLET, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, DUNLIN, and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. BLACK SKIMMER, LEAST and CASPIAN TERNS were seen on Leatherbury Flats. GREEN-WINGED TEAL, SANDHILL CRANE, LEAST BITTERN, TRICOLORED HERON, and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS were found in the refuge. Late warblers at the refuge included REDSTART, BLACKPOLL, and a WILSON’S WARBLER along with YELLOW-THROATED VIREO.
BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS continue to be seen near Lake Como in Smyrna. NORTHERN HARRIER, SEASIDE, and SALTMARSH SPARROWS were found at Port Mahon. BLACK SCOTER was seen at Bennett’s Pier. BROWN CREEPER was found at Killen’s Pond State Park. SUMMER TANAGER, WORM-EATING and KENTUCKY WARBLER were found at the Norman Wilder Wildlife Area west of Felton.
There were high counts of 800 RUDDY TURNSTONES and 35 RED KNOTS at Mispillion Harbor from the duPont Nature Center this week, along with AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, BLACK-NECKED STILT, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and SANDERLING. A flock of BLACK SKIMMER and LEAST TERNs were seen on the Back Beach. An immature SURF SCOTER was seen on the beach at Evans Ave in Slaughters Beach. YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON continues to be seen at the Marvel Salt Marsh Preserve. A lingering WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was photographed along the Dike Trail in Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. BLACK-BELLIED and SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, plus BLACK SKIMMER and LEAST TERN were seen on the mudflats. BLACK-NECKED STILT, AMERICAN AVOCET, SPOTTED and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER were seen at Oyster Rocks Road, along with SALT MARSH SPARROW.
An immature ICELAND GULL was seen at Cape Henlopen Point on Monday, along with AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, PIPING PLOVER, RUDDY TURNSTONE, RED KNOT, SANDERLING and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. BLACK SKIMMER, LEAST, COMMON and ROYAL TERNS were seen on the bayside beach at Cape Henlopen State Park. BLACK SCOTER, COMMON LOON and BROWN PELICAN were seen offshore. BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH was seen at the Seaside Nature Center and WORM-EATING WARBLER was found at the Biden Center. A WILSON’S PHALAROPE was photographed at Gordon’s Pond, along with BLACK-NECKED STILT, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, and BONAPARTE’S GULL. WESTERN CATTLE EGRET, GLOSSY and WHITE IBIS were seen flying over the pond. ALDER FLYCATCHER was found today along the North Gordon’s Pond Trail. WILSON’S STORM-PETREL was seen from the Cape May – Lewes ferry.
TRICOLORED HERON and WHITE IBIS were seen at Burton’s Island in Delaware Seashore State Park. A KING RAIL continues to be found at Assawoman Wildlife Area. A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was reported along the Big Stone Beach Road in Milford Neck Wildlife Area. Another pair of RED-HEADS are visiting a feeder on Angola Neck near Rehoboth Beach to take suet to feed young nearby. In total, there were 5 reports of RED-HEADED WOODPECKER in lower Delaware this week, from Harbison, Bethany Beach and Assawoman. Either this species is expanding in the state, or there’s more people out there looking for them. BLACK AND WHITE, WORM-EATING and KENTUCKY WARBLERS were reported at Redden State Forest.
COMMON NIGTHHAWKS were seen at Cape Henlopen. An EASTERN WHIPPOORWILL continues to be heard at Broadkill Beach. CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW were found at Cape Henlopen and Bethany Beach.
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 Brooke Cherry, Finn Ward, Gary Griffith, Tracee Fugate, Jeff Katem, Rachel Barham, Walt Blackwell, Steve Cottrell, Nate Hughes, Keely Milbourne, Chris Machulski, Frank Lenik, Sam VanHorne, Ed Patten, David Thomas, Martin Selzer, Lynn Jackson, Kassy Mattingly, Jean-Marie Gauthier, Rod Murray, Chris Rankin, Carolyn Holland, Mary Braun, Sue Gruver, Rob Blye, Richard Julian, Alice Mohrman, Wil Martens, John Cater, Bodo Stern, Andrew Albright, Terri Cuthriell, Guy Grisham, Chris and Karen Bennett, Aaron Coolman, Melissa Lafferty, Kris Benarcik, Frank Rohrbacher, Jim White, Kim Stieninger, Judy Montgomery, Paul Beckman, John and Andy Dunn, Wendy Cesario, Joe Francis, Ian Stewart, 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 wee! k, this is Andy Ednie wishing you good birding!
