A Check of the Area Ponds ~ July 24, 2023

I took an early afternoon tour of the area ponds to see if any contained returning shorebirds. The Green Pond area held Great Blue Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Eastern Kingbird, Cedar Waxwing, American Goldfinch, and the continuing Snow Goose.

Snow Goose

Over at the Regency Boulevard retention ponds, both ponds continued to be very full with no shoreline exposed. Because of that, the only notable birds in and around the ponds were the female Wood Duck with her seven young in tow.

The West Gremar Road retention pond was also full and lacked a muddy shoreline, so I just continued on towards the Hollo Road pond.

A male American Kestrel was perched on a wire along Hollo Road, just east of Route 191. When I got to the Hollo Road retention pond, the water level there was low enough to produce a muddy edge for shorebirds. There, I found a Semipalmated Plover, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 7 Least Sandpipers, and 3 Killdeer.

Semipalmated Plover

One of the two Lesser Yellowlegs.

My last stop on the way home was the Newburg Road retention ponds. The Great Egret that had been sporadically dropping in there was feeding along the east end of the east pond behind the hospital.

Great Egret

I took a walk through the field between the two ponds and found four Horned Larks.

An adult Horned Lark (front) with a young bird behind.

Horned Larks

As I walked back towards the car, I just happened to notice a Peregrine Falcon diving at high speed on a Starling! It just missed nabbing it and then swooped up to one of the nearby high-tension towers.

Peregrine Falcon

Eventually, it flew off to the north. It was a great end to the route.

Peregrine Falcon

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"Blue" Birds, Raptors, and Waders Rule the Day ~ July 17, 2023

I spent the morning birding the northeastern section of the county. My first stop was the nature center area of the Grand Central landfill in Plainfield Township. There, I found and got to photograph four species of "blue" birds: Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Bluebird, and Blue Jay.

Male Blue Grosbeak

Male Indigo Bunting

Eastern Bluebird

Blue Jay

Other interesting birds found there included Eastern Kingbird, Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwing, Field Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Eastern Towhee, a singing Prairie Warbler, and a pair of American Kestrels. I got a few decent photos of the male's colorful dorsal pattern.

American Kestrel

I went over to the nearby Evergreen Cemetery and saw four immature Bald Eagles there.

Immature Bald Eagle

A group of Fish Crows were harassing the eagles as they perched in the trees. Then, I noticed one of the eagles plucking one of the Fish Crows. Apparently, that one got a little too close.

A Bald Eagle ripping apart an unfortunate Fish Crow.

Soaring around overhead were two Peregrine Falcons, an adult and an immature.

Immature Peregrine Falcon

Adult Peregrine Falcon

The immature occasionally dove on one of the Turkey Vultures.

Immature Peregrine Falcon diving on a Turkey Vulture

Bear Swamp Park was pretty quiet, so I continued on over to Lake Minsi. There, I tallied 4 Double-crested Cormorants, 3 Great Blue and 2 Green Herons, a 'fly-by' Broad-winged Hawk and Osprey, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Common Raven, one Bank Swallow among the Tree and Barn Swallows, and Purple Martins that were at the gourds at both the west and the east parking lot.

From there, I drove over to the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve and saw another Double-crested Cormorant, a Belted Kingfisher, 5 Cedar Waxwings, 3 Yellow Warblers, 2 Common Yellowthroats, and 3 Willow Flycatchers.

Two of the three Willow Flycatchers

A pair of American Kestrels were near one of the nest boxes. The female had a wing tag on its right wing and the male had a siver band on its right leg.

Female American Kestrel with a wing tag.

Male American Kestrel with a band on its right leg.

I swung back south and made a quick stop at the Hollo Road retention pond, which held a Great Egret.

Great Egret

The Regency Boulevard ponds were way too full for shorebirds. A Green Heron was walking through the vegetation.

Green Heron

The Killdeer and her two recently-hatched young had left the nest by the parking lot. They were likely hiding in the weeds along the shoreline. That's where the seven young Wood Ducks were hiding while the female swam in front of the area.

Female Wood Duck

Eastern Kingbird and Cedar Waxwing were also noted there.

The last stop was Green Pond, which produced around 50 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Chimney Swift, the continuing Snow Goose, 3 Great Blue Herons, and 3 Green Herons.

Green Heron

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