Birds of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia

481 Pages·2019·55.386 MB·English

by  Bruce McP Beehler

BIRDS

of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia
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Bruce M. Beehler
Photography by
Middleton Evans

Technical Editor
Robert F. Ringler

Foreword by
Chandler S. Robbins
Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
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BIRDS
of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia
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© 2019 Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2019
Printed in Canada on acid- free paper
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Beehler, Bruce McP., author.
Title: Birds of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia / Bruce M. Beehler; photography by
Middleton Evans ; technical editor Robert F. Ringler; foreword by Chandler S. Robbins.
Description: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018023755 | ISBN 9781421427331 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 1421427338
(hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781421427348 (electronic) | ISBN 1421427346 (electronic)
Subjects: LCSH: Birds—Maryland. | Birds—Delaware. | Birds—Washington (D.C.)
Classification: LCC QL684.M3 B44 2019 | DDC 598.09751—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018023755
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Page i: A bold male Red- winged Blackbird announces his territory in the marsh. Title- page spread: American
Avocets in breeding plumage make a spring stopover at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge on the
Delaware coast. Pages iv–v: A squadron of Brown Pelicans patrols its colony near Smith Island on the lower
Chesapeake.
Maps on endpapers and on page 13 by Bill Nelson.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact
Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or [email protected].
Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper
that is composed of at least 30 percent post- consumer waste, whenever possible.
Sana and Andy Brooks, who generously supported the production of this book, wish to
acknowledge their mothers, Cassandra Stewart Naylor and Natalie Brooks Barringer, for showing
them the wonders of the natural world, especially the joy that comes from bird-watching.
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To Carol Beehler
   and Bob and Shiny Evans—
       for all they have done
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Foreword, by Chandler S. Robbins ix Part I  • Part II  •
Introduction Bird Group Accounts 88
Acknowledgments xiii
Terms, Abbreviations, and 1 Appreciating Our Birdlife and the The Waterbirds 89
Acronyms xv Gentle Art of Birding 3
9 The Waterfowl 91
2 Natural Geography and Local Bird
10 Marsh and Wading Birds 113
Provinces 9
11 Coastal Waterbirds 127
3 The Birding Seasons 23
12 Shorebirds 141
4 Birding in Urban, Suburban, and
13 Birds of the Open Ocean 159
Agricultural Landscapes 33
5 The Gift of Wild Places 43 The Landbirds 169
6 Landscaping for Birds and the 14 Birds of Prey 171
Environment 51 15 Birds of Countryside, Farm,
7 Feeding the Birds 63 and Field 185
8 Conserving Birds and Their 16 Aerial Feeders 197
Habitats 73 17 Neighborhood, Backyard, and
Feeder Birds 207
A kaleidoscopic sampler
of our Region’s birds; 18 Sparrows and Their Terrestrial
features (left to right)
Allies 221
Scarlet Tanager, Bald
Eagle, Bufflehead, Yellow 19 Warblers and Look- alikes 231
Warbler ,Short- eared
Owl, and Ring- necked 20 Orioles, Blackbirds, and Colorful
Pheasant. Fruit- and Seed- eaters 245
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Contents
Part III  • Part IV  • Contributors 447
Birding Tools Bird- Finding Guide
Photography Notes 449
21 Best Birding Apps and 26 Photographic Atlas and Finding Addendum 451
Websites 261 Guide 291 Index 453
22 Necessary Birding Gear 265 27 Birds Rarely Recorded in the
Region 359
23 Planning Your Birding Field
Trip 271 28 Coded Regional Checklist and
Seasonal Occurrence Chart 375
24 Important Institutions for Birds
and Birding 277 29 Best Birding Localities 405
25 Key Birding and Ornithological
References 283
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Foreword
When
Robert Stewart and I published our Birds of Maryland and the Dis-
trict of C olumbia in 1958, the single artistic illustration in that work was a mono-
chrome rendition of a lovely painting of two Bald Eagles hovering over a fish,
painted by Louis Agassiz Fuertes. We were pleased to be able to include that
wonderful painting by one of America’s greatest bird illustrators. Little did we
know that six decades hence, local bird books would be able to feature glorious
full- color photographs of literally hundreds of our region’s birds—the result of
a revolution in the printing process. Of course, digital cameras have also revo-
lutionized bird photography. Now, just about anybody can capture a stunning
image of a bird just by being in the right place at the right time. In reality, the
main engine of these revolutions in cameras and printing is the digital computer,
which in 1958 was only an imaginative concept being put forward by several very
smart engineers at Texas Instruments and Fairchild Semiconductor.
In 1966, when, with Bertel Bruun and Herbert S. Zim, I published A Guide
to Field Identification: Birds of North America, we were happily able to feature an
abundance of full- color bird illustrations produced by artist Arthur Singer. We
included more than fifteen hundred distinct plumages and different poses in our
book. That in itself was revolutionary for a bird book—all in a field guide that
was a mere 4.5 × 7.5 inches—a book you could slip into the back pocket of your Wintering Tundra
Swans on the
jeans while out birding. Over the decades, millions of birders of all skill levels,
Magothy River await
from students to professionals, learned from and utilized our field guide. the day’s harvest.
ix
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