Eurasian Wigeon in Northampton County! ~ March 4, 2023

I was about to sit down and eat breakfast when a text from Jon Mularczyk came through that read, "June Smith found a Eurasian Wigeon at Minsi" followed by a photo of it in flight! I asked him if the photo was from today and he replied, "Yes". Breakfast was going to have to wait. I grabbed my gear and started the half-hour drive to the lake. On the way there, I called a few others to make sure they knew and found out that Adam Miller had refound the bird while scoping from the west parking lot. When I got there, several birders were already there and the bird was all the way back at the north end of the western half of the lake. In my scope was a male Eurasian Wigeon! I took these mediocre, long-distance documentation photos of the bird, which was a new Northampton County bird for me.

Male Eurasian Wigeon

The photos aren't that great but do manage to show the cream-colored head stripe, rusty head, and gray sides compared to the white head stripe and different head coloration of the American Wigeon.

Male Eurasian Wigeon with an American Wigeon

Male Eurasian Wigeon with American Wigeon and Ring-necked Ducks

I found out later that June Smith had photographed the bird at Lake Minsi and sent it to Adam Miller. Adam had birded with her for a short time earlier in the morning and June had noticed the bird in a couple photos that she took after she had left the lake. Adam was still at the lake at that time and started looking for the bird. He eventually refound it in the northwestern part of the lake and got the word out to others. To my knowledge, this bird represents the 1st photo-documented record of a total of three for Northampton County. A Long-tailed Duck was another good find near the dam.
Other birds seen there included Wood Duck, American Black Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Ring-billed and Herring Gull, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, and this Red-shouldered Hawk.

Red-shouldered Hawk

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