White-tailed Kite in Pennsylvania! ~ June 13, 2025

Around 6:30 PM on Thursday the 12th, Brooke Goodman discovered a kite hunting at the Miller Ponds area of State Game Lands 214 in Crawford County, which is only about seven miles from the Ohio border. Using her cell phone, she took videos of the bird through her binoculars, which takes a lot of skill. After watching the bird for a while, she was sure that the bird she was seeing was a White-tailed Kite, formerly called a Black-shouldered Kite. A White-tailed Kite had never been documented in Pennsylvania before, so this was a big deal. Jason Horn called Rick Wiltraut and I and asked if we were interested in going for it, and we both said 'yes'. So around 1 AM, we left Jason's house and started the over 5-hour drive to the spot.

At around 6:15 AM, we parked at the Pymatuming Wildlife Management Area parking lot along Route 285. We were surprised that we were the only birders there as we started searching the area. Brooke had posted a photo of the bird in a corn-stubbled field, so I scanned the strip of corn stubble on the south side of the highway with my binoculars. That's when I noticed a thin white vertical spot on the ground in the corn stubble that appeared to have some black in it, but it was a long distance away. I got Jason and Rick on it and scope views confirmed that it was the bird! It eventually perched atop one of the cornstalks where it sat for a long while.

A White-tailed Kite in PA!

Finally, it took off and thankfully flew past us to the north side of the road where it began "kiting" over the field next to the ponds. "Kiting" is when kites hover in one spot while hunting.

The White-tailed Kite "kiting" nearby.

It dove down into the grass, grabbed what appeared to be a young Red-winged Blackbird, and flew back across the road to the same corn-stubbled field where it ripped apart its prey. After that, it sat and preened for another long period.

The White-tailed Kite in its favored corn-stubbled field.

It eventually took off and made another flight back to the same field next to the ponds.

The White-tailed Kite "kiting" again.

It continued north where we lost sight of it behind some trees. It apparently circled around while hunting because, after about an hour, it was refound back in the same corn-stubbled field. More birders were now showing up after Jason reported that we refound it. Among them was Brooke, who we got to talk to and hear the story about her historic discovery. It made another flight past us, circled around, revealing its black shoulder patches on the upper side of its wings, and then flew off to the northwest out of sight.

The White-tailed Kite circling, showing off its black shoulder patches and white tail.

We knew we had a long drive back home, so around 11 AM, we started heading home. I got home around 7:30 PM after traversing the state, covering around 700 miles. I've never been superstitious about Friday the 13th and, in this case, it was our lucky day.

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Steuben Road and Green Pond ~ May 22, 2025

Adam Miller found 3 Semipalmated Plovers at the Monocacy Creek crossing along Steuben Road. I went over and saw two of them. The other was probably hidden somewhere in the vegetation.

Two Semipalmated Plovers, the other one just below and to the right of the facing bird.

Semipalmated Plover

With all the rain, the plowed field on the north side of Green Pond Road is partially flooded. I stopped there to check for shorebirds but found a lingering first-year Ring-billed Gull there instead.

Ring-billed Gull

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Jacobsburg State Park and the Ponds ~ May 20, 2025

I walked Jacobsburg State Park this morning, hoping to find something good like a Gray-cheeked Thrush or a Mourning Warbler. Along the "Dangerous Trail", a Wood Thrush posed nicely.

Wood Thrush

There were several Blackpoll Warblers singing along the way. I also had two singing Canada Warblers, but as usual, I never saw either one in the thick brush. Other notables included Black Vulture, Pileated and Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Veery, Swainson's Thrush, American Goldfinch, Field Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Baltimore Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, and warblers that included Ovenbird, Yellow, Blue-winged, Blackburnian, Black-and-white, Chestnut-sided, Common Yellowthroat, and American Redstart.

There was a Great Blue Heron and a Lesser Yellowlegs at the Regency Boulevard retention ponds, but the most interesting birds there were a swirling group of swifts and swallows at the south pond. I conservatively counted 18 Chimney Swifts, 7 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 6 Tree Swallows, 3 Barn Swallows, 2 Bank Swallows, and a Cliff Swallow.

Cliff Swallow

I stopped at the Trio Farms Boulevard retention ponds and was lucky to see the red frontal shield of the continuing Common Gallinule through the cattails it often hides in. Also there were a Belted Kingfisher, an Eastern Kingbird, and 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

A quick stop at Green Pond produced 2 Green Herons, a Warbling Vireo, 4 Barn and 3 Tree Swallows, and a Blackpoll Warbler. One of the two Green Herons perched in the small, wooded pond next to the house by the intersection.

Green Heron

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Yet Another Olive-sided Flycatcher and a Late Lesser Scaup ~ May 18, 2025

Mike Schall and Adam Miller heard the Swainson's Warbler again yesterday at the spot off of National Park Drive. I had tried three times to hear or see this bird and had come up empty each time. So this morning, I headed back to the spot for a fourth attempt. I parked the car at the start of the old road and heard an Acadian Flycatcher as soon as I got out of the car. I found the bird and tried taking some photos, but it was so dark and the shutter speeds so slow, the best I got was this blurred one.

Acadian Flycatcher

While doing that, the Northern Bobwhite that had been reported there a day or two ago began calling. I recorded some audio of it. This bird is most likely an escapee since wild birds have been gone from our area for decades.

On the way to the Swainson's area, I stopped at the overgrown field where I had seen Olive-sided Flycatcher twice before. When I checked the tops of the snags, amazingly, there was another Olive-sided there! I took these photos of it, which was now my 6th Olive-sided of the year!

Olive-sided Flycatcher

I spent over an hour listening for the Swainson's and struck out again.

I left National Park Drive and stopped at the east lot at Lake Minsi. While scoping the lake, I came across a very late female Lesser Scaup. It had a very obvious white patch showing on its left side, which makes me wonder if it was missing some flight feathers.

Lesser Scaup

While photographing the Lesser Scaup, a Bald Eagle flew by and circled the lake while getting attacked by a Red-winged Blackbird.

An adult Bald Eagle bothered by a Red-winged Blackbird.

A lingering Snow Goose and an apparent Graylag x Swan Goose hybrid were there at the boat launch.

Snow Goose

An apparent Graylag x Swan Goose hybrid

Also at Lake Minsi were 2 Wood Ducks, 5 Double-crested Cormorants, a Green Heron, a Yellow-throated Vireo, 48 Purple Martins, a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, and 2 American Redstarts.

At nearby Bear Swamp, I found Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Veery, Wood Thrush, and Yellow Warbler.

Back home, I had my first female Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the feeder.

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