Regency Ponds and Green Pond ~ June 29, 2023

After golfing, I drove over to the Regency Boulevard retention ponds. Some young Northern Rough-winged Swallows were perched on the fence by the north pond, showing off their buffy wingbars.

Young Northern Rough-winged Swallows with their buffy wingbars.

A young Northern Rough-winged Swallow reaching for an insect.

I noticed that the adult was coming in every so often with food, so I waited and eventually got some photos of the exchanges.

A young Northern Rough-winged Swallow being fed by the parent.

Several Cedar Waxwings were also flycatching from the fence and nearby trees. The Killdeer continued on her nest with three eggs next to the one parking lot. Other notable birds included Eastern Kingbird and Tree and Barn Swallow.

On the way back home, I stopped at Green Pond. Although we had a lot of rain on Sunday and Monday, the flooded field area was still dry. The retention pond along Farmersville Road contained 5 Great Blue Herons, a Green Heron, a Spotted Sandpiper, 2 Eastern Kingbirds, and the continuing Snow Goose among the Canadas.

Three Great Blue Herons

Green Heron

A Warbling Vireo was at the intersection by Green Pond.

Warbling Vireo

Two more Great Blue Herons were in the retention pond along Green Pond Road.

Great Blue Heron

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Common Grackle Kills and Eats Young House Finch ~ June 22, 2023

My small pond with its little waterfall has consistently been busy with activity, probably due to the lack of rainfall. There's been a fairly constant parade of birds visiting it to drink and bathe. Today, I happened to notice a young Common Grackle grab a young House Finch, peck it with its beak until near death, and then rip it apart and eat it! I realize nature can be cruel and that it's survival of the fittest, but I was still surprised as I took several photos of this event. The first one was taken through the window, which is why it looks less clear than the others.

A young Common Grackle killing and eating a young House Finch.

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Green Pond and the Regency Ponds ~ June 21, 2023

Due to a project at home, I hadn't gone birding for several days. Today, I decided to check Green Pond and then the Regency Boulevard ponds. As expected at this time of year, notable birds were pretty hard to find. The occasionally flooded field area has been dry for at least a month due to the severe lack of rainfall. A group of 6 Turkey Vultures circling nearby contained an adult Bald Eagle, which eventually worked its way overhead.

Bald Eagle

The Snow Goose continued at its usual spot by the Green Pond Road retention pond.

Snow Goose

A group of nine young Tree Swallows were at Green Pond itself. Two of them perched right next to the road.

Two of the young Tree Swallows

I hadn't been over to the Regency Boulevard retention ponds since the beginning of the month, so I headed over there to see what might be there. As with many places, the pond levels were way down due to the lack of rain, and there was siginificant algae growth in the north pond. I have heard that, in the future, they plan on putting fountain-type sprayers in the ponds. While this might help with the algae growth, it will likely make the ponds less desirable to waterfowl that have been stopping there in the past. We will see what happens if this is done.

Anyway, I parked at the lot by the pool and, when I got out of the car, I was immediately scolded by a Killdeer, which began its broken wing routine to get my attention. I searched the area, expecting to see some young birds hiding among the plantings. Instead, I spotted three eggs very close to the edge of the lot! I quickly took a photo of the three eggs in a depression in the mulch and then backed off from the spot.

Three Killdeer eggs in a nest

Killdeer back on its nest

While watching her, I heard and then saw several Cedar Waxwings, which posed niely for photos in between flights down to the pond edge for food.

Cedar Waxwings

A lady that lives in the first house by the pond walked over and asked me what kind of birds they were. I told her they were Cedar Waxwings and showed her some of the photos I had on the back of my camera. She then invited me over to the back of her house to see the birds that were nesting in her birdhouse. They turned out to be Tree Swallows, which were constantly returning to feed the noisy young inside. One of the males preened itself on a fencepost after taking a bath.

Tree Swallow

Barn Swallows were also present around the ponds along with an Eastern Kingbird and two Spotted Sandpipers.

Spotted Sandpiper

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Upper and Lower Mount Bethel Townships ~ June 12, 2023

I planned to spend the morning birding near the Martins Creek PPL power plant area. On the way there, I saw a Snow Goose, three Common Mergansers, and 4 Wood Ducks at the duck-feeding area near Bushkill Park.

In Lower Mount Bethel Township, I walked the Martins Creek Nature Trail, which used to be known as the "Tekening area". I have trouble keeping up with all the name changes of the different sites over the years. In one of the fields, I heard and then eventually found two White-eyed Vireos. Luckily, the one bird was constantly calling, making it a little easier to find it in the thick brush. Acquiring photos of it was even more of a challenge, but I was able to get a few fairly good ones in the process.

White-eyed Vireo.

In the same patch, a Yellow Warbler sang partially hidden among the branches.

Yellow Warbler

A little farther along the trail, I heard a third White-eyed Vireo singing but could never get a good look at it. Cedar Waxwings were heard at several locations with some perching in the tops of trees and snags like this poorly-lit bird.

Cedar Waxwing

Other birds noted along the trail were Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Rough-winged and Tree Swallow, Brown Thrasher, Wood Thrush, American Goldfinch, Field Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Indigo Bunting, and an American Kestrel that was perched on a wire in a field across the highway from the parking lot.

The male Bufflehead continued to be seen near the power plant, this time sleeping near the back of the pond. A Double-crested Cormorant was in the pond, too. Three American Kestrels were perched on the wires along DePues Ferry Road. Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwing, Baltimore Oriole, and Common Yellowthroat were also found there.

A very poor, long distance photo of a male Bufflehead.

Since I hadn't seen any recent reports of the Common Gallinule at Lake Minsi, I went over there to see if I could refind it. I spent about 40 minutes there looking for it but with no luck. While there, I had Great Blue and Green Heron, Osprey, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-throated and Warbling Vireo, Purple Martin, Cedar Waxwing, and this Double-crested Cormorant.

Double-crested Cormorant

As I got out of the car at the nearby Bear Swamp parking lot, I was taken by surprise when I saw a Red-headed Woodpecker fly directly overhead and up over the woods to the south. Unfortunately, it happened way too quick to try for a possible photo. Also heard or seen there were Great Crested and Acadian Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Veery, Wood Thrush, Ovenbird, and Common Yellowthroat.

On the way back home, I stopped at the Hollo Road retention pond, which was half dried up. A Semipalmated Plover was there along with Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, and Willow Flycatcher.

Semipalmated Plover

I looked for the Black-crowned Night-Heron that Billy Weber had reported from Green Pond, but it was apparently well-hidden or had left when I got there. Instead, I saw 6 Great Blue Herons, a Green Heron, Eastern Kingbird, Cedar Waxwing, Baltimore Oriole, Common Yellowthroat, and the continuing Snow Goose.

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Large-billed Tern in Florida! ~ June 4-7, 2023

Jason Horn texted me a photo of a Large-billed Tern, a South American bird that had been recently found in southern Florida. There had been three previous records for the United States, the last one from New Jersey in 1988 and a bird I missed by one day. Soon after, a second one was found closer to central Florida, but it was at a "restricted access" area and required a fairly long hike to reach it. Did their appearances have to do with the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico? We decided to go for the farther one, which required a longer drive but was being seen right next to a road.

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Sunday, June 4, 2023

We rented a car at the airport, met Rick Wiltraut back at my house, left around 9:45 AM, and began the 19-hour drive to the spot south of Immokalee.

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Monday, June 5, 2023

As planned, we reached the spot at the corner of Camp Keais Road and Pope John Paul II Boulevard just before sunrise and started searching for the tern. A little while later, I spotted a tern flying over one of the ponds and created a false alarm when we realized it was a Caspian Tern. However, soon after that, Rick spotted a tern coming in from the west. This time, it was the Large-billed Tern! As Jason said, the upper wing pattern closely resembled that of a Sabine's Gull.

Large-billed Tern

It eventually flew in and landed in the construction site right near us that contained several good-sized rain puddles.

Large-billed Tern

You know that this bird is appropriately named when you see its large banana-yellow beak. It walked past the Caspian Tern that it seemed to be associating with, allowing for a great comparison between the two.

The Large-billed Tern with a Caspian Tern

After getting many photos of it, it eventually flew off to feed in a distant pond and along the channel paralleling Camp Keais Road. Other birds noted there included Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck, Common Ground Dove, White-winged Dove, Common Nighthawk, Sandhill Crane, Black-necked Stilt, Great and Cattle Egret, Little Blue, Tricolored, and Green Heron, and White Ibis. Jason and Rick heard the Antillean Nighthawk call but couldn't find it.

We drove a little bit south to the next bridge over the channel and parked there. That's when the bird appeared again right in front of us over the channel. A Black Skimmer was also flying up the channel but quickly got too far out of photo range. Jason happened to scan to the south and see a Swallow-tailed Kite in the distance over a patch of trees. We drove down there and ended up seeing a fantastic show of four Swallow-tailed Kites flying back and forth in front of us! You can never get enough of this stunning bird. I had a real hard time picking out which photos to add here because I got so many good ones.

Two Swallow-tailed Kites soaring together

Swallow-tailed Kite

I also got a few photos of the top of them as they occasionally banked, revealing the multi-shading of these birds.

The dorsal side of the Swallow-tailed Kite

A Black-bellied Whistling-Duck flew by, almost unnoticed because of all the kite activity.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

It was really tough to leave that spot as they continued to lazily float around above us, but my memory card was quickly filling up and I doubted I could get much better photos than I already had.

We returned to the spot where we originally had the Large-billed Tern. As we pulled onto Pope Paul II Boulevard, we saw two Crested Caracaras in the adjacent field.

Crested Caracara

The Large-billed Tern had returned and was being photographed by some birders that had just arrived. A Least Tern had now joined the Large-billed and a Greater Yellowlegs that had been seen earlier.

Least Tern

Greater Yellowlegs

We eventually tore ourselves away from the tern and the kites and headed northeast to Torry Island to try and get the Tricolored Munias for Jason and Rick. We had missed them on our last Florida run in April and none had been reported lately, but it was worth a try since we would be going past there anyway. Northeast of the town of Pioneer, we saw a Snail Kite at the intersection of Route 80 and County Road 833. Photos revealed that it had a band on its right leg.

Snail Kite

At Torry Island, we walked out to the observation tower to try and find the munias. It was midday and very windy, so things weren't looking too good. From the tower, we saw two Osprey nests with four young in the one of them, plus two Snail Kites that soared past.

Snail Kites

An immature Snail Kite with a band on its right leg.

Other birds of note there included Eurasian Collared-Dove, Gray-headed Swamphen, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Little Blue, Tricolored, and Green Heron, White Ibis, Loggerhead Shrike, Common and Purple Gallinule, and Limpkin. Once again, the munias were a no-show.

Purple Gallinule

Limpkin

I booked a room near St. Augustine, Florida and we started the drive up there. Along the way, I saw a Northern Bobwhite sticking its head above the long grass beside the highway. We got something to eat and stayed at the Smart Stay Inn along I-95, which was a really nice room for under $100, something that is hard to find anymore, especially when coupled with a good rating in a good area. I ended the day with a pint of chocolate ice cream, my traditional 'life bird' celebration.

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Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Since all of us didn't have much of a Georgia list due to it normally being a "drive-through" state, we agreed to spend the morning birding the Jekyll Island area of Georgia. Outside of our Florida motel, Jason happened to spot a Roseate Spoonbill fly by and drop into an area across the highway from the motel. As it turned out, there was a narrow retention pond next to the on-ramp of I-95 that held 4 Roseate Spoonbills and 2 Great Egrets. We pulled off and got some nice photos of the spoonbills as they filtered the food through their distinct-shaped bills.

Roseate Spoonbill

We left Florida, went about a quarter of the way through Georgia, and arrived at the Jekyll Island area around 8:45 AM. A group of Roseate Spoonbills were preening along the causeway.

Roseate Spoonbills

It was a little unfortunate that we were there at high tide, but we still managed to see a group of Wood Storks, a Great Egret, and a Tricolored Heron from the observation tower. A Swallow-tailed Kite and a Wood Stork circled over the visitor center.

Wood Stork

The small area of trees and brush around the visitor center held Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Wren, and Yellow-throated Warbler.

Yellow-throated Warbler

We made several stops along the causeway to check out groups of White Ibis and the shorebirds, which included Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Willet, and Whimbrel.

Whimbrel

One of the stops produced the "Worthington's" race of Marsh Wren. This version, found on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, looks nothing like the Marsh Wren seen in the Northeast. It is drab brown with very little streaking on the back and no rufous on the sides and flanks. I was lucky to get some photos of it showing these characteristics.

The "Worthington's" race of Marsh Wren

A Seaside Sparrow also briefly perched in the harsh lighting long enough to get some documentation photos of it.

Seaside Sparrow

Across the causeway, a boat in the channel was surrounded by about 30 Royal Terns and about half that many Laughing Gulls.

I searched for and found a nearby park called Blythe Island County Park that had some ponds and woodland habitat that we could bird before heading home. The woods edge along the park road yielded Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Carolina Chickadee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warbler, and the light-eyed version of Eastern Towhee that's found in the southeastern part of the country.

The southeastern light-eyed version of the Eastern Towhee

A Bald Eagle, an Osprey, and a Red-tailed Hawk were spotted overhead. Great Blue Heron and Great Egret were seen from the marina. A wooded trail next to it produced Blue Jay, Yellow-throated and White-eyed Vireo, and Northern Parula.

White-eyed Vireo

Northern Parula

Around 1:00 PM, we began the remaining 13-hour drive back home. We took a well-needed nap at one of the rest areas in Georgia and then stopped to eat at a Golden Corral near Florence, South Carolina. From there, it was an uneventful drive back to the smoke-filled skies of Pennsylvania caused by the massive wildfires in Quebec, Canada.

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Wednesday, June 7, 2023

We got home around 6:00 AM. The trip encompassed 2567 miles and produced 92 species. More photos can be found in my Florida Photo Album and my Georgia Photo Album.

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Florida Trip ~ June 4-7, 2023

1) Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (FL)
2) Mottled Duck (FL)
3) Northern Bobwhite (FL)
4) Brown Pelican (FL)
5) Anhinga (FL)(SC)
6) Double-crested Cormorant (FL)
7) Green Heron (FL)(GA)(VA)
8) Tricolored Heron (FL)(GA)
9) Little Blue Heron (FL)
10) Cattle Egret (FL)(SC)
11) Snowy Egret (GA)
12) Great Egret (FL)(GA)
13) Great Blue Heron (FL)(GA)(NC)
14) Wood Stork (FL)(GA)
15) Glossy Ibis (FL)
16) White Ibis (FL)(GA)(SC)
17) Roseate Spoonbill (FL)(GA)
18) Turkey Vulture (FL)(GA)(SC)
19) Black Vulture (FL)(GA)(SC)
20) Osprey (FL)(GA)
21) Mississippi Kite (SC)
22) Swallow-tailed Kite (FL)(GA)(SC)
23) Snail Kite (FL)
24) Bald Eagle (GA)
25) Red-shouldered Hawk (FL)
26) Red-tailed Hawk (FL)(GA)
27) Crested Caracara (FL)
28) Limpkin (FL)
29) Purple Gallinule (FL)
30) Gray-headed (Purple) Swamphen (FL)
31) Common Gallinule (FL)
32) Sandhill Crane (FL)
33) Black-bellied Plover (GA)
34) Semipalmated Plover (GA)
35) Killdeer (FL)
36) Black-necked Stilt (FL)
37) Willet (GA)
38) Greater Yellowlegs (FL)
39) Whimbrel (GA)
40) Ruddy Turnstone (GA)
41) Semipalmated Sandpiper (GA)
42) Short-billed Dowitcher (GA)
43) Laughing Gull (GA)
44) Royal Tern (GA)
45) Caspian Tern (FL)
46) Least Tern (FL)
47) Large-billed Tern (FL) ***
48) Black Skimmer (FL)
49) Rock Pigeon(SC)
50) Mourning Dove (FL)(GA)
51) Eurasian Collared-Dove (FL)
52) White-winged Dove (FL)
53) Common Ground Dove (FL)
54) Common Nighthawk (FL)
55) Chimney Swift (FL)
56) Red-headed Woodpecker (FL)
57) Red-bellied Woodpecker (FL)(GA)
58) Downy Woodpecker (GA)
59) Pileated Woodpecker (FL)(VA)
60) Eastern Wood-Pewee (GA)
61) Great Crested Flycatcher (GA)
62) Eastern Kingbird (GA)(SC)
63) Loggerhead Shrike (FL)
64) White-eyed Vireo (GA)
65) Yellow-throated Vireo (GA)
66) Blue Jay (FL)(GA)(SC)
67) American Crow (FL)
68) Fish Crow (FL)(GA)(SC)
69) Cliff Swallow (SC)
70) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (FL)
71) Barn Swallow (GA)
72) Tufted Titmouse (GA)
73) Carolina Chickadee (GA)
74) Carolina Wren (GA)
75) Marsh Wren {griseus} (GA) *
76) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (GA)
77) Eastern Bluebird (GA)
78) Northern Mockingbird (FL)(GA)(VA)
79) Brown Thrasher (GA)
80) European Starling (FL)
81) Northern Parula (GA)
82) Yellow-throated Warbler (GA)
83) Pine Warbler (GA)
84) Eastern Towhee {rileyi} (GA) *
85) Seaside Sparrow (GA)
86) Northern Cardinal (FL)(GA)
87) Eastern Meadowlark (FL)
88) Red-winged Blackbird (FL)(GA)
89) Common Grackle (FL)(GA)(SC)
90) Boat-tailed Grackle (FL)(GA)
91) House Finch (GA)
92) House Sparrow (FL)

*** denotes life bird
* denotes life subspecies

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