Checking a Couple Ponds ~ October 21, 2026

I went to Green Pond and found the 6 Snow Geese continuing next to the pond. Along the paved path were an Eastern Phoebe, a Carolina Wren, 3 Eastern Bluebirds, 13 Dark-eyed Juncos, 4 Savannah Sparrows, 12 Song Sparrows, and at least 60 Chipping Sparrows.

Dark-eyed Junco

Chipping Sparrow

One of them had a white patch on its face. I got some distant photos of it.

An apparent leucistic Chipping Sparrow.

An apparent leucistic Chipping Sparrow (left) and a normal Chipping Sparrow (right).

Two Common Ravens flew by while a Belted Kingfisher flew around the back middle pond.

Belted Kingfisher

Over at the wooded pond next to the house, I spotted a Cape May Warbler.

Cape May Warbler

The Newburg Road retention pond held around 180 Canada Geese, 7 Mallards, and a Killdeer. Two adult Bald Eagles were perched on one of the powerline towers while another flew nearby.

Two of the 3 Bald Eagles.

Bald Eagle

Later, the eagles and Turkey Vultures flew into a nearby field to feed on a deer carcass.

Bald Eagles

Other birds seen there included roughly 80 American Crows and 11 Fish Crows, 2 Common Ravens, and 7 Savannah Sparrows.

Savannah Sparrow

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Gray Heron in Maine! ~ October 19, 2026

On the 18th, a birder near Portland, Maine discovered a Gray Heron near Cape Elizabeth! This European heron looks similar to a Great Blue Heron, but it has a white leading edge on its wings and white shoulder patches. There is only one other record of this species in the United States, a bird that moved down the East Coast during the Fall of 2020. During the day, conversations went on between Jason Horn, Marjorie Keefe, Rick Wiltraut, and myself, and a plan was devised. We would meet at my house on Tuesday at 7:30 AM and drive the seven hours to Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

At around 2:30 PM, we arrived at the spot on Wells Road where the bird was most often seen. Unfortunately, as we were parking the car, the bird took off, flew over the car, and headed southeast into the large, adjacent marsh. We headed in that direction and pulled off at a parking area along Spurwink Avenue where the Spurwink River, which is really a deep-banked, narrow creek, crossed under the road. We were searching the marsh when the bird took off very close to us, flew a little farther away, and landed in the marsh. I was able to get these few distant, backlit photos of it before it disappeared behind some trees.

Gray Heron

We drove over to the Spurwink Church Cemetery and searched the marsh from there. We didn't find the heron but, while there, did see 3 American Black Ducks, a Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Ring-billed Gulls, a Double-crested Cormorant, 2 Great Blue Herons and a Great Egret, an Eastern Phoebe, 4 Blue Jays, 2 Tufted Titmice, a Carolina Wren, 2 Eastern Bluebirds, 2 American Robins, 2 Chipping Sparrows, a Song Sparrow, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 2 'fly-by' Pileated Woodpeckers.

Pileated Woodpecker

We then continued over to the Spurwink River Fishing Wharf and again searched the marsh. Eventually, the bird was seen flying back in the direction of the cemetery, so we returned to that spot. This time, the bird was seen flying from one spot to another, which allowed me to get these distant flight shots showing the bird's white markings on the shoulders and the leading edge of the wing.

Gray Heron

Later, the bird took off and flew back in the direction of Wells Road, so we drove back over to the original spot where I refound the bird hunting by the tall grass along the hillside on the north side of the road. That's where I got the best photos of it.

Gray Heron

It eventually took off, flew over the road, and back into the marsh at 4:29 PM.

Gray Heron

Happy with our looks at this rare bird, we headed back to Pennsylvania. The trip was around 800 miles. We got back to my house at around 1:15 AM on Wednesday.

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L.V.A.S. Bird Walk at Melchor Tract Park ~ October 18, 2026

I led a Lehigh Valley Audubon Society bird walk at the Melchor Tract Park this morning. We had a good morning with lots of sparrows. At least 25 Savannah Sparrows were seen among around 30 Song Sparrows.

One of the many Savannah Sparrows seen.

About a half-hour into the walk, an interesting bird popped up and perched in the open facing away from us. I noticed the eye ring and the thin wingbars, plus the bird appeared to have orange lores. I incorrectly passed off the orange lores as a lighting issue with the rising sun and didn't notice how short the tail was. I was not coming up with an identification. I then noticed a thin white crown stripe. Luckily, it stayed perched long enough for me to get these photos of it and finally realize that the bird's orange lores were real and that it was a Grasshopper Sparrow! It's the first one I've ever seen during our Fall migration.

Grasshopper Sparrow

An adult White-crowned Sparrow perched in the distance at the top of one of the numerous pear trees.

White-crowned Sparrow

A Northern Harrier was flying low over the fields and finally came close enough for a photo.

Northern Harrier

Near the southern end of the tract, I saw four very distant birds on a neighboring shed roof, which after heavily-cropping my photos, turned out to be American Pipits.

American Pipits

A Merlin flew in and briefly perched atop a tree in the fencerow before dropping down and pursuing an American Goldfinch unsuccessfully. In the southeastern corner, we had a Lincoln's Sparrow and a few Swamp Sparrows.

Lincoln's Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

Additional sparrows included 2 Chipping Sparrows, 4 Field Sparrows, and several White-throated Sparrows. Other notables seen during our walk were Black and Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawk, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, an Eastern Phoebe, 2 Common Ravens, chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wren, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebirds, American Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Red-winged Blackbirds, and warblers that included 3 "Eastern" Palm Warblers, a "Western" Palm Warbler, and 7 Yellow-rumped Warblers.

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