Jacobsburg State Park and Several Ponds ~ April 30, 2024

In the morning, I returned to Jacobsburg State Park to once again check for migrants. The list of warblers seen totaled seven, which were Ovenbird, Yellow-rumped, Black-and-white, Black-throated Blue, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, and Louisiana Waterthrush.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Louisiana Waterthrush

Other birds found there included Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Towhee, and Baltimore Oriole.

Wood Thrush

Eastern Towhee

A Tree Swallow perched on a sign near the visitor center.

Tree Swallow

At the Hollo Road retention pond, I saw 4 Least and 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Lesser and one Greater Yellowlegs, a Killdeer, and a singing Yellow Warbler.

Yellow Warbler

At the nearby Van Buren Road retention ponds, I saw a Snow Goose with some Canadas.

Snow Goose

The Newburg Road retention pond held a Greater Yellowlegs and a Spotted Sandpiper.

The flooded field at Green Pond produced an impressive number of shorebirds. I didn't have the time to count them all, so I just marked the species seen on my checklist. The American Golden-Plover had moved on, but 4 Pectoral Sandpipers and a Wilson's Snipe were still there in addition to Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Spotted, Solitary, and Least Sandpipers. The small, marshy wood patch held Warbling Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Northern Waterthrush, which I got a crappy photo of as it snuck through the wet vegetation.

Northern Waterthrush

Green Pond itself held Great Blue and Green Heron and an Eastern Kingbird.

Eastern Kingbird

Over at the Regency Boulevard retention ponds, I found 2 Hooded Mergansers, 2 Ruddy Ducks, and a Ring-necked Duck.

Hooded Mergansers

Ruddy Ducks

Ring-necked Duck

A Cooper's Hawk flew by low and made the 4 Spotted Sandpipers, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, and 2 Killdeer nervous.

Cooper's Hawk

Also overhead was an Osprey and an immature Bald Eagle.

Osprey

Bald Eagle

Over at the woods, 4 Northern Flickers and 4 Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen along with a Red-tailed Hawk on its nest.

Red-tailed Hawk on a nest.

At the nearby Silver Crest retention pond, there was one each of Green-winged Teal, Great Blue Heron, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, and Killdeer. I got a comparison photo of all four shorebird species together.

Green-winged Teal

Four species of shorebirds including a Lesser Yellowlegs (left), a Greater Yellowlegs (top), a Solitary Sandpiper (right), and a Killdeer (bottom).

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