American Golden-Plover at Green Pond! ~ April 27, 2024

I led a walk for the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society at the Martins Creek Nature Trail. There were 17 participants. We found a total of 54 species thanks to help from Stephen Kloiber and Guy de Bruyn. Here's the list.

1) Canada Geese
2) Wood Duck
3) Mallard
4) Common Merganser
5) Mourning Dove
6) Chimney Swift
7) Double-crested Cormorant
8) Great Blue Heron
9) Black Vulture
10) Turkey Vulture
11) Osprey
12) Sharp-shinned Hawk
13) Bald Eagle
14) Broad-winged Hawk
15) Red-tailed Hawk
16) Red-bellied Woodpecker
17) Downy Woodpecker
18) Pileated Woodpecker
19) Northern Flicker
20) Eastern Kingbird
21) White-eyed Vireo
22) Blue-headed Vireo
23) Warbling Vireo
24) Blue Jay
25) American Crow
26) Carolina/Black-capped Chickadee
27) Tufted Titmouse
28) Tree Swallow
29) Barn Swallow
30) Ruby-crowned Kinglet
31) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
32) House Wren
33) Carolina Wren
34) European Starling
35) Gray Catbird
36) Brown Thrasher
37) Eastern Bluebird
38) Wood Thrush
39) American Robin
40) Purple Finch
41) American Goldfinch
42) Chipping Sparrow
43) Field Sparrow
44) White-throated Sparrow
45) Song Sparrow
46) Eastern Towhee
47) Baltimore Oriole
48) Red-winged Blackbird
49) Brown-headed Cowbird
50) Common Yellowthroat
51) Yellow Warbler
52) Palm Warbler
53) Yellow-rumped Warbler
54) Northern Cardinal


Notables at the nearby Martins Creek boat launch area included 17 Black Vultures, a Bald Eagle, 2 Broad-winged Hawks, 3 Eastern Phoebes, a Common Raven, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and a Northern Parula.

Broad-winged Hawk

While we were there, we found out that Adam Miller had found a possible American Golden-Plover at Green Pond, so I headed down there. We studied the bird, noting that it had a dark cap, a broad white supercilium, small areas of golden spangling on the back and the rump, and wings that extended well beyond the tail.

American Golden-Plover

In flight, the dark tail and dark gray underwings also confirmed that it was an American Golden-Plover.

American Golden-Plover in flight.

Other notables there included 4 Pectoral Sandpipers, 4 Solitary Sandpipers, 2 Wilson's Snipe, one Spotted and one Least Sandpiper, one Greater and 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, an Osprey, an Eastern Kingbird, a Brown Thrasher, and a Savannah Sparrow. A group of 5 Killdeer were also seen facing off with each other.

Killdeer

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Martins Creek - Belvidere Area and Green Pond ~ April 25, 2024

I birded the Martins Creek Nature Trail early this morning. Partway down the trail, I heard a White-eyed Vireo calling near where they were last year. I never did get a look at it through the thick brush. A little farther along, I heard a second one. After following the call, I finally did get a look at this one and was lucky to snap two quick photos of it before it went back into hiding.

White-eyed Vireo

A Brown Thrasher and a Yellow Warbler were also in the area. Eastern Towhee, White-throated Sparrow, and Common Yellowthroat were in the brush along the trail down to the river. Along the river, I saw a female Common Merganser with nine young in tow. Two of them were perched on the back of the female.

A female Common Merganser with nine young.

A Pileated Woodpecker called from a tree on the river bank. On the trail back to the parking lot, a Blue-winged Warbler popped out of the brush within six feet of me! By the time I raised my camera, it had moved behind some branches, so the photos I got only had documentation value.

A Blue-winged Warbler behind branches.

Back at the parking lot, I saw an American Kestrel on a wire and an immature Bald Eagle circling overhead.

I made the short drive over to the Martins Creek power plant area and checked the pond, which only held 6 Green-winged Teal and a Bufflehead. A Yellow Warbler sang across the road from the pond and cooperated for some nice photos.

Yellow Warbler

Down at the boat launch area, an Eastern Phoebe was next to the closed bridge, two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers called above, and two Yellow-rumped Warblers and two Northern Parulas were found in the trees next to the Oughoughton Creek. One of the Northern Parulas came down to the creek, allowing me to get some near eye level photos of this treetop dweller.

Northern Parula

I left Lower Mount Bethel Township and visited Green Pond. An Eastern Kingbird was flycatching from the fence around the Farmersville Road retention pond.

Eastern Kingbird

Shorebirds at the flooded field area included 5 Lesser Yellowlegs, 5 Killdeer, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, and 2 Wilson's Snipe.

Two Wilson's Snipe

Two Pectoral Sandpipers

A Pectoral Sandpiper behind a Solitary Sandpiper.

Other birds seen there included Great Blue Heron, Chimney Swift, and Tree and Barn Swallows.

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Along the Lehigh River and Green Pond ~ April 24, 2024

I started off today's birding at the Wilson Avenue area of the D&L Trail, also newly known as Nagy's Landing. The only notable bird there was a Warbling Vireo. My new lens came yesterday, so I was trying it out whenever I could, taking photos of any cooperative birds. Here are some photos that I took there.

Black Vulture

American Robin

White-throated Sparrow

From there, I went to the Route 33 Boat Launch area and walked those paths. A Pileated Woodpecker worked over a decaying log.

Pileated Woodpecker

I spotted my first Baltimore Oriole of the year right along the river.

Baltimore Oriole

A raptor circling over the river turned out to be an adult Peregrine Falcon!

Peregrine Falcon

A Common Merganser winged its way downriver at the boat launch.

Common Merganser

A Tufted Titmouse was another cooperative subject to practice on with the new lens.

Tufted Titmouse

Other notables seen there included Wood Duck, Osprey, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

The area around the Bethlehem Boat Club produced a Green Heron and an immature Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle

Over at Green Pond, the flooded field area held 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, and 5 Killdeer among 13 Lesser Yellowlegs.

A Pectoral Sandpiper (center) with a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Two Pectoral Sandpipers

Solitary Sandpiper

Most of the 13 Lesser Yellowlegs that were present.

A Great Blue Heron, a Cooper's Hawk, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler were also found at Green Pond.

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