Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Willet in Northampton County! ~ May 3, 2016
Billy Weber and Matt Sabatine found a Willet at the retention pond by the St. Luke's Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township during dreary weather. When I got there, it was along the edge of the pond. A Willet is a great find in Pennsylvania. The "Western" subspecies is the expected one here in PA, but the bird showed many characteristics of the "Eastern" subspecies of Willet. The overall dark appearance of the bird, the light-based bill, and dark lore line was evident. The bird was all by itself, so there was nothing to compare the size and different characteristics with. There has never been a documented "Eastern" Willet in Pennsylvania and I wonder if this is one. Since I have limited field experience with the differences of the two subspecies, I would be interested in what the "experts" think about this bird. I have added all four photos that I got of the bird so that they are on record.
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