A Bunch of Ponds in the Afternoon ~ October 31, 2025

I made an afternoon run to several bodies of water to see what the winds might have deposited into them. The St. Luke's Anderson Campus pond only held the expected Canada Geese and Mallards. A short walk around the surrounding fields produced an American Robin and a Dark-eyed Junco plus 'fly-by's of a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a group of 18 Cedar Waxwings.

Over at Green Pond, 5 Eastern Bluebirds were dropping down into the grass from the fenceposts to feed.

Eastern Bluebirds

Along the paved path, I saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 2 White-throated Sparrows and a Song Sparrow as a Black Vulture flew overhead.

A terribly-backlit photo of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

The ponds had all filled up most of the way, so I didn't find the Lesser Yellowlegs that was there yesterday, but the back middle pond held a "Richardson's" Cackling Goose among the 40 Canadas there, allowing for some comparison photos between them, an American Black Duck, and some Mallards. Note the much smaller size, very short neck, "block-shaped" head with the steep forehead leading down to its tiny, stubby bill, and the overall lighter, grayer back than the Canada's, which appears darker and more brownish.

A Cackling Goose of the "Richardson's" subspecies in front of the much larger, darker Canada Goose.

A Cackling Goose between the much larger and longer-billed Canada Geese. Also note the similar size to the Mallards at the top left.

A Cackling Goose with a similar-sized American Black Duck behind it.

There were around 500 more Canada Geese in Green Pond itself and 2 Killdeer were along the edge of the Green Pond Road pond.

Over at the Newburg Road retention pond, there were 9 Killdeer among around 300 Canada Geese. One goose had white feathering in the neck. I'm not sure whether this was a hint of hybridization with a Snow Goose or a leucistic trait.

A strangely-marked Canada Goose.

A flock of 16 Cedar Waxwings also flew by while I was there.

Next, I decided to check the Nazareth Quarry. I scoped through at least 3000 Canada Geese and found 22 Ring-necked Ducks, 10 Ruddy Ducks, 2 American Coots, and a Mallard. Around 40 Cedar Waxwings were in the trees above.

Cedar Waxwing

The Hollo Road retention pond produced 15 Green-winged Teal among 47 Canada Geese and 37 Mallards.

On the way to my daughter's house, I stopped at the Silver Crest Road pond to see if I could find the Greater White-fronted Goose again, but I only found 3 Ruddy Ducks and 5 Mallards among the roughly 600 Canada Geese.

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