Little Gap, Regency Ponds, and Green Pond ~ October 19, 2025

I had the chance to go up to Little Gap this morning. There was an impressive flight of Purple Finches and several Pine Siskins there yesterday, so I was hoping there might be more this morning. Adam Miller was at the parking lot when I got there, so we both walked up the trail together. Two Golden-crowned Kinglets and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet were found right at the parking lot. Along the way to the lookout, we had some Yellow-rumped Warblers and Dark-eyed Juncos plus 6 Hermit Thrushes.

Hermit Thrush

At the top, a fair number of Purple Finches were flying by, but nothing near the 220 that they had yesterday. The winds were strong, but out of the south, so most of the birds were on that side of the mountain. Raptors seen while I was there included 2 Black Vultures, 8 Turkey Vultures, 36 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 2 Cooper's Hawks, 3 Northern Harriers, 6 Bald Eagles, a Red-shouldered Hawk, 11 Red-tailed Hawks, and a Peregrine Falcon.

Cooper's Hawk

Northern Harrier

Bald Eagles

Red-shouldered Hawk

Peregrine Falcon

Other birds seen there included 2 American Herring Gulls, 111 Blue Jays, 5 Common Ravens, 21 American Robins, and 4 Cedar Waxwings.

I swung by the Regency ponds and found 3 Killdeer there, but seeing a Barn Swallow this late in the season with 2 Tree Swallows was the most notable find.

Barn Swallow

I walked the paved path along the Green Pond retention ponds and found a Lesser Yellowlegs with 8 Killdeer in the Farmersville Road pond and 3 Green-winged Teal in the back middle pond.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Green-winged Teal

The female Belted Kingfisher continued to fish around the edges of Green Pond itself.

Belted Kingfisher

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