Prairie Falcon near Newburg, Cumberland County ~ November 28, 2010

Jason Horn, Stephen Kloiber, and I made a very successful run Sunday for some noteworthy birds. We headed for Cumberland County and were lucky enough to drive up and find the Prairie Falcon in one of the large trees just northwest of the intersection of Duncan and Mud Level Roads. I managed to get this horrible, long-distance photo of the falcon.

Prairie Falcon near Newburg, Cumberland County. You can barely make out the whisker mark and dark sides on this pale brown bird.

It was perched there from 8:50 to about 9:05 AM when it winged east along Mud Level Road until it was out of sight over the little substation area. If accepted, this would be the first record for Pennsylvania.

At the substation, we found a Merlin ripping apart an unfortunate Horned Lark on a nearby pole and a good number of White-crowned Sparrows directly across from there on the north side of the road.

Merlin near Newburg, Cumberland County with an unlucky Horned Lark in its talons.

After about an hour of being unable to refind the Prairie, we headed for Shartlesville to get another look, and maybe some photos, of the Anna's Hummingbird, another first for Pennsylvania! There, after a short wait, the Anna's buzzed into a crabapple tree across from trailer M-69 and then eventually over to the feeder there. To get the background story on the Anna's and see the photos I was lucky enough to get of it, continue on to the next entry.

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Anna's Hummingbird in Shartlesville, Berks County ~ November 28, 2010

Back around late October, Renee Gery noticed a hummingbird visiting her feeder. Eventually, she contacted Jack Holcomb who contacted bander Scott Weidensaul. On November 21st, Scott caught and banded the bird and verified that it was an adult female Anna's Hummingbird, the first record for Pennsylvania! I saw the bird the next morning but never got a chance to get a photo of it. On the 28th, I managed to get these three photos of it.

Anna's Hummingbird near Shartlesville, Berks County. Note the chunky appearance and the stippled gorget.

Anna's Hummingbird near Shartlesville, Berks County. Note the fairly straight bill and the grayish underparts.

Anna's Hummingbird near Shartlesville, Berks County. Again, note the chunky appearance and the fairly straight bill.

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White-tailed Kite in Connecticut ~ August 7, 2010

Last Sunday, news broke of an amazing sighting of a White-tailed Kite in Stratford, Connecticut! Far from its normal range, this striking raptor seemed very content with the area and stayed there throughout the week. Since it had been many years since I had seen my last one (in Texas) and the weather was supposed to be nice, I decided to head up there.

Within minutes of arriving at Stratford Point, the bird was spotted 'kiting', eventually nabbing a meal and devouring it atop a telephone pole. Next, it made a direct flight to nearby Short Beach Park where it perched about a hundred yards away in a snag for about an hour, allowing many happy birders all the looks and photos that they could ask for. From what I've read, this bird represents only the 2nd record for the Northeast; the first one was from Martha's Vineyard on May 30, 1910!

White-tailed Kite at South Beach in Stratford, Connecticut. Note the white tail and black markings on the shoulder of the wing.

White-tailed Kite at South Beach in Stratford, Connecticut. Here the bird is stretching a wing.

White-tailed Kite at South Beach in Stratford, Connecticut. Note the black shoulder patch for which this bird was previously named and the white tail, which generated the newer name.

While at Stratford Point, a Peregrine Falcon zipped by.

Peregrine Falcon at Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut.

Other birds noted there included Merlin, Semipalmated Plover, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Spotted and Semipalmated Sandpiper, Common and Forster's Tern, Eastern Kingbird, Fish Crow, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow Warbler, and Orchard Oriole.

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Eurasian Collared-Dove in Northampton County ~ August 3, 2010

It was just a matter of time before one of these were found in the Lehigh Valley. Yesterday, Billy Weber happened to hear a Eurasian Collared-Dove while driving down Freemansburg Avenue in Bethlehem Township. He turned around and found two birds on the wires near the intersection with Wagner Drive.

This morning, I went down there and found one of the two birds at almost the same exact spot.

Eurasian Collared-Dove in Bethlehem Township, Northampton County. Note the squared-off tail compared to that of a Mourning Dove's pointed tail.

The bird's chest puffed out while it was calling.

Eurasian Collared-Dove in Bethlehem Township, Northampton County. Note the dark line on the collar and the dark primaries contrasting with the rest of the wing.

Eventually, it flew up and circled around a few times, unlike the fast, direct flight of the Mourning Doves, which were also present in good numbers.

Eurasian Collared-Dove in Bethlehem Township, Northampton County. Note the gray undertail coverts and the white band on the outer tail feathers.

Eurasian Collared-Dove in Bethlehem Township, Northampton County. This was the only flight photo I got of the top of the bird. Although blurry, I included it to show the contrasting primaries, which are much darker than the rest of the wing.

This sighting represents the 1st record for Northampton County!

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Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush ~ July 22, 2010

On Tuesday, I got a call from Jason Horn asking me if I was interested in going along with him and Dick Colyer to see the Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush that was present in South Dakota. After checking flight availability and prices, I pulled the trigger and the chase was on.

At 2:30 AM, I drove over to Jason's house and we took his car to Harrisburg. There, we picked up Dick and headed to the Harrisburg Airport. We flew to Denver by way of Atlanta, picked up our rental car, and began the six-hour drive to Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota. Birds seen at the Glendo Reservoir along I-25 in Wyoming included American White Pelican, Great Egret, Trumpeter Swan, and Ring-billed Gull. Other birds seen along the way included Swainson's Hawk, Common Nighthawk, Western Kingbird, Lark Bunting, Western Meadowlark, and Brewer's Blackbird.

On the way up Highway 85 near Redbird, we headed into the worst thunderstorm that I had ever driven in. I was happily surprised and totally amazed that the golf-ball-sized hail didn't take out the windshield.

Luckily, by the time we reached South Dakota, a new state for me, the weather cleared. We parked the car in the lot beside Iron Creek and soon heard the bird calling. Two other birders were already on the bird and they pointed it out to us. It was singing away in one of the trees along the creek. In the failing light, I managed to get two poor, yet identifiable photos of it.

Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush near Savoy in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota.

Cliff Swallow and American Redstart were also noted at the site. We drove down to Spearfish, ate at the Shoot The Bull Steakhouse, and spent the night at a motel near the canyon entrance.

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Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush ~ July 23-24, 2010

Friday, July 23rd

We headed back to the spot to get more looks at the Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush and hopefully get better photos. The bird showed itself several times but didn't stay very long during each sighting, so I was never able to improve on the previous night's photos.

Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush site near Savoy in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota.

Other birds noted while there included Cordilleran Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow, Red-eyed Vireo, Canyon Wren, Swainson's Thrush, and American Restart.

We left there and headed up nearby Forest Road 222 where we found Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Townsend's Solitaire, MacGillivray's Warbler, Pine Siskin, and my first-ever looks at "White-winged" Juncos. These birds are noticeably bigger than our "Slate-colored" version and the white underneath the tail appears to block out all of the darker central tail feathers.

Happy with the looks that we had of the Nightingale-Thrush, we left Spearfish Canyon and headed for Mount Rushmore. We stopped there and at Crazy Horse Mountain long enough to take some photos and then continued down Highway 385.

Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota.

Crazy Horse Mountain near Custer, South Dakota.

Just south of Wind Cave National Park, we came upon a herd of Bison. While taking photos of them, we also noticed a few Prairie Dogs and several Burrowing Owls feeding young.

A herd of Bison along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park.

Bison along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park.

Burrowing Owl along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park.

Burrowing Owl along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park.

Burrowing Owl dropping in to feed its young along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park on July 23, 2010.

Burrowing Owl with its young along Highway 385 near Wind Cave National Park on July 23, 2010.

A small pond farther along the road held Northern Shovelers, a Blue-winged Teal, a Solitary Sandpiper, and several Wilson's Phalaropes.

We followed '385' into Nebraska, another new state for me, and turned east onto Highway 20. Near the town of Harrison, Jason spotted several Mountain Bluebirds at a small corral beside the highway.

Mountain Bluebird near Harrison, Nebraska.

While there, a pair of Red Crossbills briefly landed on the side of the highway and then took off to the north. Other Nebraska birds included Eastern and Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Lark Bunting, and Chestnut-collared Longspur.

The Wyoming section of Highway 20 produced Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Upland Sandpiper, Horned Lark, and Lark Sparrow.
Practically every fair-sized town that we passed through in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming held noticeable numbers of Eurasian Collared-Doves.

Finally back in Denver, we spent a short night at a Motel 6 near the Denver Airport.

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Saturday, July 24th

We headed to the airport, turned in the rental car with an extra 930 miles on it, and flew back to Harrisburg by way of Atlanta. Among the 59 species were my 'life' Nightingale-Thrush and my 'life' "White-winged" Juncos.

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Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush Trip ~ July 22-24, 2010

1) American White Pelican----(WY)
2) Great Blue Heron----(WY)
3) Great Egret----(WY)
4) Trumpeter Swan----(WY)
5) Canada Goose----(WY)
6) Mallard----(SD)(NB)
7) Blue-winged Teal----(SD)
8) Northern Shoveler----(SD)
9) Turkey Vulture----(WY)(SD)(NB)
10) Northern Harrier----(WY)
11) Swainson's Hawk----(CO)(WY)
12) Red-tailed Hawk----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
13) American Kestrel----(WY)
14) Killdeer----(CO)(WY)(SD)
15) Solitary Sandpiper----(SD)
16) Upland Sandpiper----(WY)(NB)
17) Wilson's Phalarope----(SD)
18) Ring-billed Gull----(WY)
19) Rock Dove----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
20) Mourning Dove----(WY)(SD)(NB)
21) Eurasian Collared-Dove----(WY)(SD)(NB)
22) Burrowing Owl----(SD)
23) Common Nighthawk----(WY)(SD)(NB)
24) Cordilleran Flycatcher----(SD)
25) Western Kingbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
26) Eastern Kingbird----(SD)(NB)
27) Horned Lark----(WY)(SD)(NB)
28) Violet-green Swallow----(SD)
29) Cliff Swallow----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
30) Barn Swallow----(NB)
31) Blue Jay----(SD)
32) Common Raven----(SD)
33) Black-capped Chickadee----(SD)
34) Canyon Wren----(SD)
35) Mountain Bluebird----(SD)(NB)
36) Townsend's Solitaire----(SD)
37) Swainson's Thrush----(SD)
38) American Robin----(WY)(SD)(NB)
39) Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush*----(SD)
40) Cedar Waxwing----(SD)
41) European Starling----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
42) Red-eyed Vireo----(SD)
43) American Redstart----(SD)
44) MacGillivray's Warbler----(SD)
45) Spotted Towhee----(SD)
46) Chipping Sparrow----(SD)
47) Lark Sparrow----(WY)
48) Lark Bunting----(WY)(SD)(NB)
49) Song Sparrow----(SD)
50) Dark-eyed "White-winged" Junco----(SD) 'Life' Subspecies
51) Chestnut-collared Longspur----(NB)
52) Red-winged Blackbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
53) Western Meadowlark----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
54) Brewer's Blackbird----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
55) Common Grackle----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)
56) Cassin's Finch----(SD)
57) Red Crossbill----(NB)
58) Pine Siskin----(SD)
59) House Sparrow----(CO)(WY)(SD)(NB)

* Denotes "Life Bird".

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Young Spotted Sandpipers at Green Pond ~ July 4, 2010

On my way home from my daughters', I made a stop at Green Pond's flooded fields. The area is quickly drying up. Only the area to the east of "the island" still has water. As it neared sunset, I spotted five little 'fluffballs' that turned out to be young Spotted Sandpipers. I watched them as one of the parents closely followed them around. At one point, the adult called and all five young sought protection underneath the parent bird. As it turns out, it's the male (not the female) who does the incubating and parenting as in the phalaropes. I was unaware of this until Augie Mirabella wrote and informed me about it. I was amazed that all five could just about disappear underneath 'his' partly-spread wings.

Adult Spotted Sandpiper with young at the flooded fields by Green Pond, Northampton County. The last two birds are scrambling for cover underneath the parent bird.

Also seen there were the male Blue-winged Teal, 35 Killdeer, 15 Spotted Sandpipers, a Solitary Sandpiper, and 2 Least Sandpipers.

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