Date: 10/23/26 4:38 pm From: Andrew Ednie <000006be14ba5998-dmarc-request...> Subject: [de-birds] RBA: Birdline Delaware, October 23rd, 2026
RBA * Delaware * Statewide * October 23, 2026 * DEST 26.10.23
*Birds mentioned Mute Swan Northern Pintail Ring-necked Duck Black Scoter White-winged Scoter Surf Scoter Ruddy Duck Yellow-billed Cuckoo Ruby-throated Hummingbird Virginia Rail Sora Common Gallinule Sandhill Crane American Oystercatcher American Avocet Black-bellied Plover American Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Marbled Godwit HUDSONIAN GODWIT Short-billed Dowitcher Long-billed Dowitcher American Woodcock Western Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Black Skimmer Common Tern Caspian Tern Royal Tern Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Great Cormorant Brown Pelican Northern Gannet AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN Black-crowned Night Heron Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Snowy Egret White Ibis Bald Eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper’s Hawk AMERICAN GOSHAWK Broad-winged Hawk GOLDEN EAGLE Barn Owl Barred Owl Yellow-bellied Sapsucker American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Common Raven Brown-headed Nuthatch Red-breasted Nuthatch Northern House Wren Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher Swainson’s Thrush Purple Finch Pine Siskin Vesper Sparrow Lincoln’s Sparrow Fox Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow American Redstart Black and White Warbler Nashville Warbler Tennessee Warbler Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Prairie Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blue Grosbeak Indigo Bunting
Hotline: Birdline Delaware Date: October 23, 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, October 23rd 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 325 species this week.
It was a tale of two different hawk watches. On Sunday, both AMERICAN GOSHAWK and the first GOLDEN EAGLE of the season were seen at the Ashland Nature Center. Saturday was the biggest flight of the month at Ashland with over 340 raptors including 23 BALD EAGLES, 77 SHARP-SHINNED, 37 COOPER’S HAWKS and 28 AMERICAN KESTRELS. A late BROAD-WINGED HAWK was seen yesterday. SANDHILL CRANES were seen flying over Ashland on Wednesday. Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch had rainy weather with the nor’easter on Saturday, but did see PEREGRINE FALCONS, AMERICAN KESTRELS and MERLIN for the week. SURF, BLACK and a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER was seen from the hawk watch, along with BROWN PELICAN, NORTHERN GANNET and ROYAL TERN. A total of 130 BLACK SKIMMERS were seen flying past on Sunday. BROWN-HEADED and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES were seen at Cape Henlopen and both hawk watches had PINE SISKIN and PURPLE FINCH.
Only 15 species of warbler were reported this week including AMERICAN REDSTART, BLACK AND WHITE, TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE, CAPE MAY, MAGNOLIA, BLACKPOLL, BAY-BREASTED, PINE, PRAIRIE, PALM, YELLOW-RUMPED, plus BLACK-THROATED BLUE, and GREEN WARBLER. There were several reports of VESPER SPARROWS last weekend, along with LINCOLN’S, FOX, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. A few lingering RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD continue to be seen at feeders. Other late lingering birds included RED-EYED and BLUE-HEADED VIREO, NORTHERN HOUSE WREN, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, SWAINSON’S THRUSH, INDIGO BUNTING, and BLUE GROSBEAK.
Another GOLDEN EAGLE was seen today at White Clay Creek State Park. There was a raft of 9 RING-NECKED DUCKS on Newark Reservoir today. BARRED OWL was seen in the early morning in Walnut Ridge near Centreville. There was a big flock of 13 COMMON RAVENS was reported at the Ashton Tract in Augustine Wildlife Area. SANDHILL CRANES were seen at Ashton Tract, Port Penn impoundments at the Augustine Creek causeway south of Delaware City. SORA and COMMON GALLINULE were also reported at Port Penn. An AMERICAN WOODCOCK was heard in the early morning at the C&D Canal near N. St. Georges. BARN OWL was found at Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area.
There were 4 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS seen by airplane by a waterfowl survey team at the Port Mahon Impoundments in Little Creek Wildlife Area. MUTE SWAN, NORTHERN PINTAIL, plus RING-NECKED and RUDDY DUCK were found at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, along with a single HORNED GREBE. Both MARBLED and HUDSONIAN GODWITS were seen, along with 500+ AMERICAN AVOCET, BLACK-BELLIED, SEMIPALMATED and AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, SHORT and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, DUNLIN, plus WESTERN and PECTORAL SANDPIPER. Waders included WHITE IBIS, TRICOLORED and LITTLE BLUE HERON, and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON and SANDHILL CRANES.
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, BLACK BELLIED and SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, plus ROYAL and CASPIAN TERNS were seen at Cape Henlopen Point. There was a flock of 200+ WHITE IBIS at Gordon’s Pond this week, plus SNOWY EGRET, LITTLE BUE and TRICOLORED HERON. A COMMN RAVEN was reported from the Route 1 Wawa in Lewes. GREAT CORMORANT, COMMON and ROYAL TERNS were seen at Indian River Inlet. VIRGINA RAIL was found at Burton’s Island in Delaware Seashore State Park. RUDDY DUCK was seen at Trap Pond State Park near Laurel.
Thanks to all the people that make the Birdline possible, including, Ian Teaell, Evan Speck, Frank Lenik, Cole Tiemann, Kevin Bronson, Randy Fisher, Kiara Hughes, Tom Donahue, Ashley and Quinton Durden, Maya Berger, Henry Ross, Doug Overacker, Julie Karlson, Wayne Bell, Marshall Mumford, Nancy Cunningham, Steve and Susan McInnis, Bert Filemyr, Mike Rosengarten, David Thomas, Ed Patten, John Carter, Chris Rankin, Kent Raymond, Carolyn Holland, Mary Braun, Sue Gruver, Rob Blye, Richard Julian, Alice Mohrman, Greg Gough, Phil Misseldine, Tom Stock, Chris and Karen Bennett, David Thomas, Will Krohn, Jim White, Laureen Eick-Benson, Chase Wilkinson, Kim Steininger, Lana Glass, John and Andy Dunn, Wendy Cesario, Joe Francis, Mike Moore, Bruce Peterjohn, and Joe Swertinski. Thanks to our two hawk counters David Brown and Emma Hovland. Special thanks to Joe Tricarico for list distribution to DOS members. Remember, Birdline needs your support. Please call your sightings to 302-792-9! 591. Thank you for your support. This is Andy Ednie wishing you good birding!
