Monday, May 1, 2023

Glossy Ibis at Green Pond and more ~ May 1, 2023

I took a walk along Sobers Run in Jacobsburg State Park to check for migrants after the two days of rain. Overall, it was pretty quiet, but I did see my first Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Black-and-white Warbler along with Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Eastern Towhee.

As I was walking back to the car, I got a text about a Glossy Ibis found at Green Pond, so I headed down there. The bird was feeding with several Canada Geese in the flooded field area. Soon after, it took off and landed in one of the back ponds. Eventually, it flew out of there, circled around, and headed off to the southeast. I was only to get some poor flight shots of it.

Other notables there were Great Blue and Green Heron, Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted, Solitary, and Least Sandpiper, and a 'fly-by' Cliff Swallow among Barn and Tree Swallows.

Over at the Regency ponds, I found Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted, Solitary, and Least Sandpiper, plus a swarm of swallows consisting of around 200 Barns, 50 Trees, and 3 Northern Rough-wingeds.

At one point, I noticed the mass of swallows veering back and forth and realized too late that a Merlin was zooming through the group! He was unsuccessful and continued off to the north so quickly that I wasn't able to get any photos of the pursuit.

Also in the north pond were a male Ruddy Duck and a Green-winged Teal that was at the farthest corner.
A Savannah Sparrow in the tall grass along the fence was another nice surprise.

I went to check the Killdeer nest to see if she and the eggs had made it through the two days of sustained rain. As I was walking that direction, I heard the Killdeer excitedly calling and saw a Cooper's Hawk swoop in and make a pass at her. Luckily for her, it was unsuccessful and, after a few minutes, she returned to the nest. Again, thanks to Dave for marking the nest with cones. So far, so good.
A scan of the field to the west revealed one Horned Lark in the recently plowed and disced field.

On the way back, I stopped at the Nulton Avenue retention pond. There, I saw a pair of Blue-winged Teal along with Spotted and Solitary Sandpiper.

No comments:

Post a Comment