White-winged Tern in PA! ~ August 11, 2017

I did a last-minute check of my E-mail before leaving for work on Thursday afternoon and did a double-take when I saw the post about a White-winged Tern found at a lake in Tioga County! I tried to keep from thinking about it at work but couldn't wait to get home to see if it continued to be seen later in the day. I was surprised when there was no mention of its status one way or the other on PABIRDS. I made an after-midnight post to see if I could get any information on it. Thankfully, Ted Nichols replied, letting me know that it had been seen up until dark, so I set my alarm for 3 AM.

I arrived at Lake Nessmuk at around 7:00 and was relieved when I saw a small group of birders watching the bird sitting on a group of pilings just offshore.

After getting some great looks at it through my scope, I started taking photos.

During the two-plus hours I was there, the bird took two short flights out over the lake and back to the pilings.

At around 9:15, I started the 3-1/4 hour drive back home, which entailed a round-trip total of 375 miles. I took a quick look at my uploaded photos and grabbed another hour of sleep before going back into work, this time with a big smile on my face.

Congrats to Rich Hanlon for a fantastic find! If accepted, this bird would represent the first Pennsylvania record and one of not that many for North America!

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