It was a very foggy day during the Bethlehem/Easton/Hellertown Christmas Bird Count. Poor visibility made it tough to find and identify birds at the far sides of the quarry. Nevertheless, Jason Horn, Jon Mularczyk, Stephen Kloiber, and I managed to record 57 species. Highlights included Ross's Goose, Double-crested Cormorant, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Peregrine Falcon, American Kestrel, Horned Lark, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, both kinglets, Hermit Thrush, and Savannah Sparrow. One of the Hermit Thrushes cooperated enough to let me get a couple photos of it.
In the early afternoon, an American Kestrel was seen near the St. Luke's Anderson Campus retention pond.
Here's the species list for the day.
1 Snow Goose
2 Ross's Goose
3 Cackling (Richardson's) Goose
4 Canada Goose
5 Mallard
6 American Black Duck
7 Northern Shoveler
8 Redhead
9 Ring-necked Duck
10 Lesser Scaup
11 Bufflehead
12 Hooded Merganser
13 Common Merganser
14 Ruddy Duck
15 Pied-billed Grebe
16 Double-crested Cormorant
17 Great Blue Heron
18 Turkey Vulture
19 Black Vulture
20 Cooper's Hawk
21 Red-tailed Hawk
22 American Kestrel
23 Peregrine Falcon
24 American Coot
25 Ring-billed Gull
26 Herring Gull
27 Rock Pigeon
28 Mourning Dove
29 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
30 Red-bellied Woodpecker
31 Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker
32 Downy Woodpecker
33 Blue Jay
34 American Crow
35 Fish Crow
36 Horned Lark
37 Carolina/Black-capped Chickadee
38 Tufted Titmouse
39 Brown Creeper
40 Red-breasted Nuthatch
41 White-breasted Nuthatch
42 Carolina Wren
43 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
44 Golden-crowned Kinglet
45 Northern Mockingbird
46 European Starling
47 American Robin
48 Hermit Thrush
49 Cedar Waxwing
50 Savannah Sparrow
51 Song Sparrow
52 White-throated Sparrow
53 Dark-eyed Junco
54 Northern Cardinal
55 House Finch
56 American Goldfinch
57 House Sparrow
Also seen were 2 Snow x Ross's Goose hybrids (1 "Blue" and 1 White) and a Mallard x American Black Duck hybrid.
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Friday, December 30, 2022
Pileated Woodpecker Visits the Yard ~ December 30, 2022
Through the window, I got a very quick glance of a fairly large, dark bird flying towards the willow tree out back. I almost passed it off as a crow, but it seemed to swoop up to land when I ran out of window to see it any further. So, I got up and went to the back door, spotted it, and realized that it was a Pileated Woodpecker. I grabbed my camera and very slowly opened the door to eliminate the 'glass blur'. It was hanging completely upside-down when I took these photos through some thin, closer branches.
I got a few other ones before it continued on down the treeline. It was only the second time I'd seen one in my yard.
I got a few other ones before it continued on down the treeline. It was only the second time I'd seen one in my yard.
Monday, December 26, 2022
Wild Creek/Little Gap Christmas Bird Count ~ December 26, 2022
One of the highlights from the Wild Creek/Little Gap Christmas Bird Count was this Peregrine Falcon that was picking apart its prey along Valley View Drive west of the town of Klecknersville.
Adam Smith and I found 44 species on a pretty cold day. The list follows.
1) Snow Geese
2) Canada Goose
3) Mallard
4) Wild Turkey
5) Great Blue Heron
6) Turkey Vulture
7) Black Vulture
8) Cooper's Hawk
9) Red-shouldered Hawk
10) Red-tailed Hawk
11) Peregrine Falcon
12) Rock Pigeon
13) Mourning Dove
14) Great Horned Owl
15) Eastern Screech-Owl
16) Red-bellied Woodpecker
17) Northern Flicker
18) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
19) Downy Woodpecker
20) Hairy Woodpecker
21) Pileated Woodpecker
22) Blue Jay
23) American Crow
24) Common Raven
25) Horned Lark
26) Tufted Titmouse
27) Black-capped Chickadee
28) White-breasted Nuthatch
29) Red-breasted Nuthatch
30) Winter Wren
31) Carolina Wren
32) Eastern Bluebird
33) Northern Mockingbird
34) European Starling
35) American Tree Sparrow
36) Field Sparrow
37) Song Sparrow
38) Swamp Sparrow
39) White-throated Sparrow
40) Dark-eyed Junco
41) Northern Cardinal
42) House Finch
43) American Goldfinch
44) House Sparrow
1) Snow Geese
2) Canada Goose
3) Mallard
4) Wild Turkey
5) Great Blue Heron
6) Turkey Vulture
7) Black Vulture
8) Cooper's Hawk
9) Red-shouldered Hawk
10) Red-tailed Hawk
11) Peregrine Falcon
12) Rock Pigeon
13) Mourning Dove
14) Great Horned Owl
15) Eastern Screech-Owl
16) Red-bellied Woodpecker
17) Northern Flicker
18) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
19) Downy Woodpecker
20) Hairy Woodpecker
21) Pileated Woodpecker
22) Blue Jay
23) American Crow
24) Common Raven
25) Horned Lark
26) Tufted Titmouse
27) Black-capped Chickadee
28) White-breasted Nuthatch
29) Red-breasted Nuthatch
30) Winter Wren
31) Carolina Wren
32) Eastern Bluebird
33) Northern Mockingbird
34) European Starling
35) American Tree Sparrow
36) Field Sparrow
37) Song Sparrow
38) Swamp Sparrow
39) White-throated Sparrow
40) Dark-eyed Junco
41) Northern Cardinal
42) House Finch
43) American Goldfinch
44) House Sparrow
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Common Eider and Common Shelduck in PA! ~ December 20, 2022
Around 10:00 in the morning on Monday, the 19th, I got a call from Jason who told me about a bird that was seen along the causeway that crosses Pymatuning Reservoir in western PA. There were four photos on an eBird checklist labeled "White-winged Scoter" that were actually photos of a Common Eider! Since it's a sea duck normally found in the northern Atlantic Ocean, there had only been two previously-accepted records of it in Pennsylvania, neither of them documented with a photo. The reservoir is basically split in two by the Pennsylvania/Ohio border, so the western half of the causeway is in Ohio and the eastern half is in Pennsylvania. One problem is that the photos were taken on the Ohio side of the border. The other problem was Pymatuning Reservoir was 5-1/2 hours away. I was totally unprepared for such a journey. It was going to take me a while to get ready, which meant that I wouldn't get there until pretty close to sunset. Jason was pretty much ready to go, so he said he was heading up there, hoping that it might swim over into our state. I decided that the odds were pretty poor that I would get there with enough light to look for it, so I reluctantly stayed home.
Late in the day, I got a text from Jason stating that the bird had swam over into Pennsylvania waters. Around 7:00 PM, I talked to him and found out that he was going to stay there overnight and try to get some better photos of it in the morning. He said it was just off the Espyville Marina when it got too dark to see anymore. I told him that I would be there at first light.
After getting very little sleep, I left just before 1:00 AM and started the 5-1/2 hour drive to the spot. I made pretty good time and ended up getting there about a half-hour before dawn. Instead of going to the marina, I decided to park at the bridge on the causeway. It would end up being a good move. I called Jason, who was positioned at the marina, and we obviously agreed to call each other the minute one of us saw it. As it got light enough to see, I started scanning the area by the marina, which was on the north side of the causeway. I saw numbers of gulls and a few small groups of ducks, but the eider wasn't there. I could see Jason and several other birders also scanning the area from the jetty by the marina. After pretty thoroughly scanning that side, I decided to start scanning the south side. Ross Gallardy drove up, asked me if I had seen it, and briefly searched the area with me. He told me that he was going to drive over to the Ohio side and scope that area. I decided to stay where I was since I could see both sides of the Pennsylvania waters from there.
Very soon after Ross left, I spotted a dark bird with my binoculars through the limbs of a bare tree very close to the causeway and halfway between me and the state's border. I quickly got my scope on it. It swam out from behind the branches and, when the bird turned its head towards me, I could see the large, light-colored beak on it. It was the eider! I quickly called Jason and told him I had the bird in view. He called Ross and everyone swarmed in and got pretty good looks at a Common Eider in Pennsylvania! Since there had never been a photo-documented record of this species in the state, I concentrated on getting the best photos I could as the bird moved a little farther away. These are the best ones I got.
Another interesting thing was that this bird appeared to be of the West Arctic subspecies "v-nigrum", which is even more surprising than if it would have been the eastern subspecies "dresseri." The bird continued to stay just far enough away that I couldn't improve on what photos I already had. Then, Jason told me about a Common Shelduck that had been found in Lebanon County at the landfill and that he was going to try for it on the way back home. He told me that it had been seen on a public pond but was also being seen more often nearby in a private area with several other ponds. He said that Ross was working on trying to get access to the private ponds and would let him know if and when he knew more. He told me he'd call me if he heard anything from Ross. Because I had gotten very little sleep and knew I had a long drive back, I decided to leave at around 10:00 and headed home.
Right as I was passing the Milesburg exit of I-80, which is about halfway across the state, my phone rang. It was Jason. He said Ross had called him and had attained permission to the private ponds and was on his way there. It was very good timing because I was coming up on the exit that I would need to take that would be the most direct route to the site. I put in the coordinates and headed there. After about two more hours, I got to the landfill. A few other birders were there looking at the Common Shelduck in one of the ponds when I pulled up. It was with several Mallards. The big question was whether the bird was a wild bird or an escaped bird from a private collection somewhere nearby. I took many photos with that in mind. There were no bands on either of its legs and both hind toes with nails were present. Many bird collectors clip the hind toes and also the flight feathers on their birds.
The bird was very skittish and was the first to fly when it felt threatened. I got these flight photos of it showing the normal-looking flight feathers, another point towards the bird being wild.
I drove the remaining 1-1/2 hours and got home around 5:00 PM. The trip entailed 741 miles, but it was well worth the effort. It's interesting that both of these birds had the word "Common" in their name, but they are far from it. They are only common where they are 'normally' common----the eider in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Shelduck from the Old World area. It was amazing to see both of these birds in one day.
Late in the day, I got a text from Jason stating that the bird had swam over into Pennsylvania waters. Around 7:00 PM, I talked to him and found out that he was going to stay there overnight and try to get some better photos of it in the morning. He said it was just off the Espyville Marina when it got too dark to see anymore. I told him that I would be there at first light.
After getting very little sleep, I left just before 1:00 AM and started the 5-1/2 hour drive to the spot. I made pretty good time and ended up getting there about a half-hour before dawn. Instead of going to the marina, I decided to park at the bridge on the causeway. It would end up being a good move. I called Jason, who was positioned at the marina, and we obviously agreed to call each other the minute one of us saw it. As it got light enough to see, I started scanning the area by the marina, which was on the north side of the causeway. I saw numbers of gulls and a few small groups of ducks, but the eider wasn't there. I could see Jason and several other birders also scanning the area from the jetty by the marina. After pretty thoroughly scanning that side, I decided to start scanning the south side. Ross Gallardy drove up, asked me if I had seen it, and briefly searched the area with me. He told me that he was going to drive over to the Ohio side and scope that area. I decided to stay where I was since I could see both sides of the Pennsylvania waters from there.
Very soon after Ross left, I spotted a dark bird with my binoculars through the limbs of a bare tree very close to the causeway and halfway between me and the state's border. I quickly got my scope on it. It swam out from behind the branches and, when the bird turned its head towards me, I could see the large, light-colored beak on it. It was the eider! I quickly called Jason and told him I had the bird in view. He called Ross and everyone swarmed in and got pretty good looks at a Common Eider in Pennsylvania! Since there had never been a photo-documented record of this species in the state, I concentrated on getting the best photos I could as the bird moved a little farther away. These are the best ones I got.
Another interesting thing was that this bird appeared to be of the West Arctic subspecies "v-nigrum", which is even more surprising than if it would have been the eastern subspecies "dresseri." The bird continued to stay just far enough away that I couldn't improve on what photos I already had. Then, Jason told me about a Common Shelduck that had been found in Lebanon County at the landfill and that he was going to try for it on the way back home. He told me that it had been seen on a public pond but was also being seen more often nearby in a private area with several other ponds. He said that Ross was working on trying to get access to the private ponds and would let him know if and when he knew more. He told me he'd call me if he heard anything from Ross. Because I had gotten very little sleep and knew I had a long drive back, I decided to leave at around 10:00 and headed home.
Right as I was passing the Milesburg exit of I-80, which is about halfway across the state, my phone rang. It was Jason. He said Ross had called him and had attained permission to the private ponds and was on his way there. It was very good timing because I was coming up on the exit that I would need to take that would be the most direct route to the site. I put in the coordinates and headed there. After about two more hours, I got to the landfill. A few other birders were there looking at the Common Shelduck in one of the ponds when I pulled up. It was with several Mallards. The big question was whether the bird was a wild bird or an escaped bird from a private collection somewhere nearby. I took many photos with that in mind. There were no bands on either of its legs and both hind toes with nails were present. Many bird collectors clip the hind toes and also the flight feathers on their birds.
The bird was very skittish and was the first to fly when it felt threatened. I got these flight photos of it showing the normal-looking flight feathers, another point towards the bird being wild.
I drove the remaining 1-1/2 hours and got home around 5:00 PM. The trip entailed 741 miles, but it was well worth the effort. It's interesting that both of these birds had the word "Common" in their name, but they are far from it. They are only common where they are 'normally' common----the eider in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Shelduck from the Old World area. It was amazing to see both of these birds in one day.
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
An Exceptional Goose Day----Greater White-fronteds AND a Barnacle ~ December 13, 2022
I stopped at Tractor Supply to buy more bird seed around 11:00 and saw thousands of Snow Geese returning from the fields and funneling back into the Nazareth Quarry.
An immature Bald Eagle was circling over the nearby Hollo Road pines, probably making them all a little nervous.
A brief stop at the Silver Crest Road pond near Bath revealed 8 Ruddy Ducks and one Snow Goose among hundreds of Canadas.
I got to the nearby Regency Boulevard retention ponds just after noon. I scoped the north pond and found the two Greater White-fronted Geese in the southeastern corner as they were a couple days before.
A quick walk along the edge of the woods scored two Field Sparrows among the usual Songs, White-throateds, and Dark-eyed Juncos.
From there, I drove over to the Albert Road ponds and pretty quickly spotted the Barnacle Goose in the private north pond. It was swimming around and periodically sleeping on and off among the Canadas.
Two Common Mergansers were still there in the north pond, but the Ring-necked Ducks had moved over to the largest, middle pond next to the parking area.
It ended up being an exceptional goose day with 2 Greater White-fronteds, a Barnacle Goose, and thousands of Snow Geese seen. The only drawback was that I was unable to pick out a Cackling Goose among the expected Canadas.
An immature Bald Eagle was circling over the nearby Hollo Road pines, probably making them all a little nervous.
A brief stop at the Silver Crest Road pond near Bath revealed 8 Ruddy Ducks and one Snow Goose among hundreds of Canadas.
I got to the nearby Regency Boulevard retention ponds just after noon. I scoped the north pond and found the two Greater White-fronted Geese in the southeastern corner as they were a couple days before.
A quick walk along the edge of the woods scored two Field Sparrows among the usual Songs, White-throateds, and Dark-eyed Juncos.
From there, I drove over to the Albert Road ponds and pretty quickly spotted the Barnacle Goose in the private north pond. It was swimming around and periodically sleeping on and off among the Canadas.
Two Common Mergansers were still there in the north pond, but the Ring-necked Ducks had moved over to the largest, middle pond next to the parking area.
It ended up being an exceptional goose day with 2 Greater White-fronteds, a Barnacle Goose, and thousands of Snow Geese seen. The only drawback was that I was unable to pick out a Cackling Goose among the expected Canadas.
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Very Bright Spots on a Dreary Day ~ December 11, 2022
I awoke to find my feeders really active with birds. While checking all the birds flying around the feeders, I noticed a large, colorful sparrow kicking on the ground and quickly realized that it was a Fox Sparrow. I very slowly opened the window and got these photos of it.
A little before noon, I decided to go check the Nazareth Quarry, but right before I got there, I got a text from Mike Schall that he had found two Greater White-fronted Geese at the Regency Boulevard ponds! I quickly changed course and headed over there. I got there around noon, checked the north pond, and soon after found both birds among the numbers of Canada Geese. It was my 125th species at the Regency Boulevard site.
On the way home, I noticed hundreds of Snow Geese overhead and pulled off Steuben Road where it crosses the Monocacy Creek. The marshy area along the creek held 61 Mallards and the adjacent fields held several hundred Snow Geese and a couple hundred Canadas.
The Green Pond area contained around 1200 Canada Geese but nothing else notable.
A little before noon, I decided to go check the Nazareth Quarry, but right before I got there, I got a text from Mike Schall that he had found two Greater White-fronted Geese at the Regency Boulevard ponds! I quickly changed course and headed over there. I got there around noon, checked the north pond, and soon after found both birds among the numbers of Canada Geese. It was my 125th species at the Regency Boulevard site.
On the way home, I noticed hundreds of Snow Geese overhead and pulled off Steuben Road where it crosses the Monocacy Creek. The marshy area along the creek held 61 Mallards and the adjacent fields held several hundred Snow Geese and a couple hundred Canadas.
The Green Pond area contained around 1200 Canada Geese but nothing else notable.
Saturday, December 10, 2022
Snow Geese and the Barnacle Goose ~ December 10, 2022
I stopped at the Nazareth Quarry and found an estimated 12,000 Snow Geese there. Also there were a Pied-billed Grebe, 3 American Coots, 19 Ruddy Ducks, 4 Buffleheads, and 6 American Black Ducks.
I then drove up to the Albert Road ponds. Rick Wiltraut just happened to show up at the same time. We walked up to the private north pond where the Barnacle Goose had most often been seen since its discovery on the 4th. I scoped the pond and soon after found it in among a small group of Ring-necked Ducks and the Canadas. Since the bird was pretty distant and it was late in the day, I figured I'd have a poor chance to get any better photos than I had before, so I just enjoyed watching it through my scope.
I then drove up to the Albert Road ponds. Rick Wiltraut just happened to show up at the same time. We walked up to the private north pond where the Barnacle Goose had most often been seen since its discovery on the 4th. I scoped the pond and soon after found it in among a small group of Ring-necked Ducks and the Canadas. Since the bird was pretty distant and it was late in the day, I figured I'd have a poor chance to get any better photos than I had before, so I just enjoyed watching it through my scope.
Monday, December 5, 2022
Barnacle Goose in Northampton County ~ December 5, 2022
Yesterday, on the 4th, Megan Davis found a Barnacle Goose at the Albert Road ponds. A group of birders got to see the bird that afternoon before it flew off to the east. I had a tire with a slow leak in it, so after I got it plugged, I decided to drive up this afternoon and see if it would return.
I got there around 3:00 and checked the main ponds with no luck. I met Ryan Johnson, who had driven a couple hours down from the Poconos to try and see it. Together, we walked up the road to the north pond (which is all private property and can only be viewed from the road) and started searching a group of Canada Geese that were in a field on the hillside just east of the pond. It wasn't long before Bruce saw the Barnacle Goose stick its white head up among the Canadas. We watched the bird for about a half-hour or so before it flew down from the field and into the pond.
Several birders eventually showed up and we all watched it in the pond in front of the island for a while before it flew off with a few Canada Geese and headed north.
I believe this bird represents the 4th record for Northampton County----one at Green Pond in 1996, one at the Northampton Quarry in 2013, one in Hanover Township in 2017, and now this one.
I got there around 3:00 and checked the main ponds with no luck. I met Ryan Johnson, who had driven a couple hours down from the Poconos to try and see it. Together, we walked up the road to the north pond (which is all private property and can only be viewed from the road) and started searching a group of Canada Geese that were in a field on the hillside just east of the pond. It wasn't long before Bruce saw the Barnacle Goose stick its white head up among the Canadas. We watched the bird for about a half-hour or so before it flew down from the field and into the pond.
Several birders eventually showed up and we all watched it in the pond in front of the island for a while before it flew off with a few Canada Geese and headed north.
I believe this bird represents the 4th record for Northampton County----one at Green Pond in 1996, one at the Northampton Quarry in 2013, one in Hanover Township in 2017, and now this one.
Sunday, December 4, 2022
Regency Ponds and the Nazareth Quarry ~ December 4, 2022
In the early afternoon, I took a drive over to the Regency Boulevard retention ponds to check on the waterfowl there. I found four Snow Geese (two of them the darker form known as "Blue" Geese) among a few hundred Canada Geese, but other than a couple Mallards, the only duck there was a male Bufflehead in the north pond.
I then stopped at the Nazareth Quarry to see how many Snow Geese might be there. I found around 3000 in the near (western) end of the quarry with about 6000 Canada Geese spread throughout the rest of it. Next to the group of Snows were a group of gulls comprised of roughly 90 Lesser Black-backeds and 30 Herring Gulls. Scoping through the trees, I was able to pick out two first-winter Iceland Gulls. I managed to get a few very long-distance documentation photos of them.
I then stopped at the Nazareth Quarry to see how many Snow Geese might be there. I found around 3000 in the near (western) end of the quarry with about 6000 Canada Geese spread throughout the rest of it. Next to the group of Snows were a group of gulls comprised of roughly 90 Lesser Black-backeds and 30 Herring Gulls. Scoping through the trees, I was able to pick out two first-winter Iceland Gulls. I managed to get a few very long-distance documentation photos of them.
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