Other notables were 18 Ruddy Ducks, 7 Ring-necked Ducks, and a Pied-billed Grebe.
Thursday, December 4, 2025
Nazareth Quarry ~ December 4, 2025
With the unseasonably cold temperatures freezing up all of the local ponds, I made a late afternoon run up to the Nazareth Quarry to see what might be there. I spent most of my time going through the geese and gulls. I didn't find anything notable among the 6000 Snow Geese and 4000 Canada Geese, but I did pick out two Iceland Gulls among the roughly 600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 16 American Herring Gulls, and 4 Ring-billed Gulls.
Other notables were 18 Ruddy Ducks, 7 Ring-necked Ducks, and a Pied-billed Grebe.
Other notables were 18 Ruddy Ducks, 7 Ring-necked Ducks, and a Pied-billed Grebe.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Twelve(!) Greater White-fronted Geese at the Silver Crest Road Pond ~ December 3, 2025
In the morning, Adam Miller sent out a text that he had found 12(!) Greater White-fronted Geese at the Silver Crest Road pond. This impressive number became the most ever seen at one site in Northampton County. I took a ride over there in the afternoon and located all twelve, which was a little difficult since they weren't all together and some were in among the roughly 700 Canada Geese. I got photos of a group of seven and a group of five.
There were at least two immature Greater White-fronteds in with the adults. I got a pretty nice photo of one of them with one of the adults, which shows the lack of white on the face.
There was also a group of 7 Cackling Geese there.
Here's another comparison photo between a Cackling Goose and a Canada Goose.
When I got back home and went through my photos, I came across these two of a White-fronted Goose showing what appeared to be a light eye ring. This is one of the traits of a Lesser White-fronted Goose, which would be a super rarity for the United States, so it was eye-opening, but I was very skeptical that it was one because of the probability. I have never seen one, so I went on the internet to look at photos. The bill on a Lesser is usually much stubbier than what this bird was showing and it is usually more pinkish, although this bill was pink while all of the Greater White-fronteds there showed a more orange color to their bills. Here are the only two distant photos that I got of this bird.
The photos are just a bit out of focus. I wasn't sure whether this eye ring was a trick of the lighting or not. It appeared that it could be the sun reflecting the iris, but I just couldn't be sure. Anyway, I let others know just in case it would stick around and more documentation could be obtained.
A Great Blue Heron was also there, and a Common Raven circled overhead at one point.
Five Ruddy Ducks, 2 Hooded Mergansers, and a Common Merganser were also seen there.
I went down the road to the Regency Boulevard ponds. There were only a few Mallards among the many Canada Geese, but an adult female Northern Harrier was seen hunting along the edge of the south pond while I was at the north pond, so I was only able to get these distant photos of it.
On the way home, I stopped at the Green Pond area. The male Bufflehead continued in the back middle pond with about a hundred Canada Geese, and a Northern Flicker was in the treeline by the golf course. I couldn't find the lingering Killdeer, so it had apparently finally moved on.
There were at least two immature Greater White-fronteds in with the adults. I got a pretty nice photo of one of them with one of the adults, which shows the lack of white on the face.
There was also a group of 7 Cackling Geese there.
Here's another comparison photo between a Cackling Goose and a Canada Goose.
When I got back home and went through my photos, I came across these two of a White-fronted Goose showing what appeared to be a light eye ring. This is one of the traits of a Lesser White-fronted Goose, which would be a super rarity for the United States, so it was eye-opening, but I was very skeptical that it was one because of the probability. I have never seen one, so I went on the internet to look at photos. The bill on a Lesser is usually much stubbier than what this bird was showing and it is usually more pinkish, although this bill was pink while all of the Greater White-fronteds there showed a more orange color to their bills. Here are the only two distant photos that I got of this bird.
The photos are just a bit out of focus. I wasn't sure whether this eye ring was a trick of the lighting or not. It appeared that it could be the sun reflecting the iris, but I just couldn't be sure. Anyway, I let others know just in case it would stick around and more documentation could be obtained.
A Great Blue Heron was also there, and a Common Raven circled overhead at one point.
Five Ruddy Ducks, 2 Hooded Mergansers, and a Common Merganser were also seen there.
I went down the road to the Regency Boulevard ponds. There were only a few Mallards among the many Canada Geese, but an adult female Northern Harrier was seen hunting along the edge of the south pond while I was at the north pond, so I was only able to get these distant photos of it.
On the way home, I stopped at the Green Pond area. The male Bufflehead continued in the back middle pond with about a hundred Canada Geese, and a Northern Flicker was in the treeline by the golf course. I couldn't find the lingering Killdeer, so it had apparently finally moved on.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Looking For a Rarity and the Nazareth Quarry ~ December 2, 2025
I planned on running up to the Nazareth Quarry to look for storm birds, but before leaving, I found out that there was a brief, one-time sighting of a male Pine Grosbeak at the feeder of a reliable birder in Forks Township as the early snowstorm changed over to all rain. This sighting would be a potential first Northampton County record. I was able to go over to her house, hoping to refind it. I walked around her yard with her and searched the trees in the area for about an hour or so, but it had apparently moved on.
On the way to the quarry, the Hollo Road retention pond held 2 Green-winged Teal and an American Black Duck.
I then went to the Nazareth Quarry and scoped it. I counted 35 Snow Geese among the roughly 2000 Canada Geese when I got there, but as sunset approached, the numbers grew to about 4000 Snow Geese and 5000 Canadas. I took a few cell phone photos of the Snows.
Other birds seen there included 64 Ring-necked Ducks, 33 Ruddy Ducks, 9 Buffleheads, 8 American Black Ducks, 6 Mallards, 4 Common Mergansers, 11 American Coots, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Belted Kingfisher, and gulls comprised of 100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 11 American Herring Gulls, 3 Ring-billed Gulls, and a first-winter Iceland Gull.
On the way to the quarry, the Hollo Road retention pond held 2 Green-winged Teal and an American Black Duck.
I then went to the Nazareth Quarry and scoped it. I counted 35 Snow Geese among the roughly 2000 Canada Geese when I got there, but as sunset approached, the numbers grew to about 4000 Snow Geese and 5000 Canadas. I took a few cell phone photos of the Snows.
Other birds seen there included 64 Ring-necked Ducks, 33 Ruddy Ducks, 9 Buffleheads, 8 American Black Ducks, 6 Mallards, 4 Common Mergansers, 11 American Coots, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Belted Kingfisher, and gulls comprised of 100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 11 American Herring Gulls, 3 Ring-billed Gulls, and a first-winter Iceland Gull.
Monday, December 1, 2025
Rechecking the Ponds and the Nazareth Quarry ~ December 1, 2025
In the mid-afternoon, I started at the Green Pond area. At Green Pond, a Great Blue Heron was working on swallowing the fish that it caught.
I walked the paved path and found the continuing male Bufflehead in the back middle pond along with 82 Canada Geese and a couple Mallards. In the treeline next to the golf course, I found 2 Eastern Bluebirds plus a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker pecking away on a trunk.
I checked the retention pond along Green Pond Road and found the lingering Killdeer there.
Over at the Newburg Road retention pond, I picked out 3 Cackling Geese among the 250 Canada Geese. Note the small overall size (close to that of a Mallard), gray or silver back, short neck, small, flat head, and stubby bill. Also note the thin white line separating the dark neck from the creamy breast that some Cackling Geese show prominently.
Here are two photos of a Cackling Goose in front of the larger, darker Canada Goose. Again, note the thin white line on the neck that some Cackling Geese show.
Here's two more comparison photos of the two species showing the smaller size, shorter neck, smaller, flatter head, and stubbier bill.
I then headed up to the Nazareth Quarry. Waterfowl there included 31 Ruddy Ducks, 18 Ring-necked Ducks, 7 Buffleheads, 6 American Coots, and 400 Snow Geese among at least 3000 Canada Geese. As has been occurring over the past week, a large group of gulls flew in as sunset approached and landed near the center of the quarry. I found 3 Iceland Gulls among 400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 14 American Herring Gulls, and 5 Ring-billed Gulls.
I walked the paved path and found the continuing male Bufflehead in the back middle pond along with 82 Canada Geese and a couple Mallards. In the treeline next to the golf course, I found 2 Eastern Bluebirds plus a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker pecking away on a trunk.
I checked the retention pond along Green Pond Road and found the lingering Killdeer there.
Over at the Newburg Road retention pond, I picked out 3 Cackling Geese among the 250 Canada Geese. Note the small overall size (close to that of a Mallard), gray or silver back, short neck, small, flat head, and stubby bill. Also note the thin white line separating the dark neck from the creamy breast that some Cackling Geese show prominently.
Here are two photos of a Cackling Goose in front of the larger, darker Canada Goose. Again, note the thin white line on the neck that some Cackling Geese show.
Here's two more comparison photos of the two species showing the smaller size, shorter neck, smaller, flatter head, and stubbier bill.
I then headed up to the Nazareth Quarry. Waterfowl there included 31 Ruddy Ducks, 18 Ring-necked Ducks, 7 Buffleheads, 6 American Coots, and 400 Snow Geese among at least 3000 Canada Geese. As has been occurring over the past week, a large group of gulls flew in as sunset approached and landed near the center of the quarry. I found 3 Iceland Gulls among 400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 14 American Herring Gulls, and 5 Ring-billed Gulls.
Saturday, November 29, 2025
Green Pond and the Nazareth Quarry ~ November 29, 2025
I stopped at the Green Pond area in the late afternoon. All but one of the ponds still had some ice on them from last night's low temperatures. The one that didn't, the back middle retention pond, held a male Bufflehead.
The Green Pond Road retention pond held a lingering Killdeer.
I then went to the Nazareth Quarry to check it out. Waterfowl there included 18 Ruddy Ducks, 14 Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Buffleheads, 3 American Black Ducks, a Common Merganser, 2 American Coots, and 4 Snow Geese among at least 2000 Canada Geese.
Tony Bauer and his wife showed up about 15 minutes after I got there. Soon after, Tony spotted a Tundra Swan that circled around and flew up and out of the quarry. I was lucky to get some photos of it between the trees.
That's when the large group of gulls flew in and landed near the center of the quarry. Among the roughly 300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were 3 American Herring Gulls and one first-winter Iceland Gull.
The Green Pond Road retention pond held a lingering Killdeer.
I then went to the Nazareth Quarry to check it out. Waterfowl there included 18 Ruddy Ducks, 14 Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Buffleheads, 3 American Black Ducks, a Common Merganser, 2 American Coots, and 4 Snow Geese among at least 2000 Canada Geese.
Tony Bauer and his wife showed up about 15 minutes after I got there. Soon after, Tony spotted a Tundra Swan that circled around and flew up and out of the quarry. I was lucky to get some photos of it between the trees.
That's when the large group of gulls flew in and landed near the center of the quarry. Among the roughly 300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were 3 American Herring Gulls and one first-winter Iceland Gull.
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Greater White-fronted, Cackling, and Ross's Geese Today! ~ November 25, 2025
Jason Horn came to my house and we both went up to Little Gap this morning. We were hoping for Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Siskins, but none were positively found. One of the first birds we had was an immature Golden Eagle, too far to the north for photos. While there, Laurie Goodrich from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary showed up. I hadn't seen her in years and got to talk with her while we hawkwatched. It wasn't a "favorable winds" day for raptors, but we did have 13 Snow Geese, 45 Canada Geese, an immature Bald Eagle, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, a Merlin, a Pileated Woodpecker, 3 Common Ravens, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, 33 American Robins, 2 Purple Finches, 7 American Goldfinches, a White-throated Sparrow, 4 Red-winged Blackbirds, and 3 Common Grackles, in addition to the Golden Eagle.
We left Little Gap around noon, went through Bath, and stopped at the Silver Crest Road pond. There, Jason spotted a Greater White-fronted Goose as I spotted a small group of 6 Cackling Geese among about 800 Canada Geese!
The predicted rain started coming down while we were there. Other birds found there included 7 Common Mergansers, 5 Ruddy Ducks, a Green-winged Teal, and a Great Blue Heron.
Down the road at the Regency ponds, we saw 36 Buffleheads among around 400 Canada Geese.
We checked the Nazareth Quarry, hoping for the rain to put down some interesting birds. While scoping it, Jason picked out a Ross's Goose among around 200 Snow Geese and got some digiscoped photos of it! Other birds found there included 30 Ruddy Ducks, 7 Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Buffleheads, 2 Common Mergansers, and 8 American Coots among about 3000 Canada Geese. Six Eastern Bluebirds were also seen there.
Our last stop was at the Hollo Road pond where we had 4 Green-winged Teal and an American Black Duck among 65 Canada Geese. An American Kestrel and about 30 Amerian Robins were perched in the nearby trees.
We left Little Gap around noon, went through Bath, and stopped at the Silver Crest Road pond. There, Jason spotted a Greater White-fronted Goose as I spotted a small group of 6 Cackling Geese among about 800 Canada Geese!
The predicted rain started coming down while we were there. Other birds found there included 7 Common Mergansers, 5 Ruddy Ducks, a Green-winged Teal, and a Great Blue Heron.
Down the road at the Regency ponds, we saw 36 Buffleheads among around 400 Canada Geese.
We checked the Nazareth Quarry, hoping for the rain to put down some interesting birds. While scoping it, Jason picked out a Ross's Goose among around 200 Snow Geese and got some digiscoped photos of it! Other birds found there included 30 Ruddy Ducks, 7 Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Buffleheads, 2 Common Mergansers, and 8 American Coots among about 3000 Canada Geese. Six Eastern Bluebirds were also seen there.
Our last stop was at the Hollo Road pond where we had 4 Green-winged Teal and an American Black Duck among 65 Canada Geese. An American Kestrel and about 30 Amerian Robins were perched in the nearby trees.
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