Bullock's Oriole in Northampton County! ~ January 5, 2006

On the 3rd, Rick Wiltraut got a call from Steve Wolfe about a bird that was visiting his backyard feeder north of Bethlehem since New Year's Day. Yesterday, he went to check it out and was pretty sure that the bird is a first year male Bullock's Oriole. He described it this way:

"The bird has a distinct dark eye-line (lores and behind the eye) and a dark spot on the throat area. The face and upper breast are yellowish-orange including the malar area and auriculars and there is a bright yellowish stripe above the eye. The rest of the underparts are an ashy gray color contrasting strongly with the yellowish-orange breast and the undertail coverts appear grayish with a hint of yellow. The median coverts have dark pointed centers creating a toothed effect. The back is grayish and is scalloped. The entire lower mandible and edge of upper mandible is pale."

I spent this morning there and got to see the bird in the tray feeder and bathing in the backyard bird bath.

Bullock's Oriole near Bethlehem in Northampton County. If accepted by PORC, this first-year bird represents the 1st record for Northampton County and only the 3rd documented record for PA! Thanks to Steve's hospitality, another county bird is potentially on the list.

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