Anhinga at John Heinz N.W.R. ~ September 25, 2015

Jason Horn and I discussed the recent Anhinga sightings in Philadelphia and decided to give it a try. I planned on meeting him at his house at around 5 AM, but that plan was squashed when I discovered I had a flat tire. Jason told me he'd pick me up at my house instead. We got to the refuge at around 7:30 and parked ourselves in the middle of the boardwalk since it was the best vantage point away from the taller trees. At around 9:45, Adrian Binns spotted the bird over the pond by the oil refinery tanks. It slowly circled over us as it gained altitude and drifted off to the south. It was a new state bird for both of us.

I lost the bird out over the vicinity of I-95 about 10 minutes later. We walked over to the dike and were watching some warblers when, around 10:15, I spotted the bird coming back towards us. We watched it glide directly over us and back into the same pond it took off from a half hour before.

Other birds seen there included Wood Duck, Wild Turkey, Double-crested Cormorant, Green Heron, Snowy and Great Egret, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawk, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Common Gallinule, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Caspian Tern, Chimney Swift, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat, and American Redstart.

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