Two Iceland Gulls and Two Great Black-backed Gulls in Easton ~ February 13, 2023

I made it a point to get down to the 'Forks of the Delaware' in Easton before noon today to see if there was more gull activity at the earlier time, and there was. A lot more. The far shore was lined with several hundred gulls. As expected, most of them were Ring-billed Gulls. Among them were over a hundred Herring Gulls and several Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

I scoped along the shoreline and found two distant Great Black-backed Gulls.

Great Black-backed Gulls

As I looked through the gulls on the river, I noticed a first-winter Iceland Gull. It eventually flew to the partially-exposed island just below the dam where I was able to get some pretty good photos of it.

First-winter Iceland Gull

While making another scan through the gulls on the river, I spotted another first-winter Iceland Gull. That bird eventually flew upriver.

First-winter Iceland Gull

From there, I drove up to the Nazareth Quarry. Notable birds there included 42 Ruddy Ducks, 13 Buffleheads, 9 Common Mergansers, 4 American Black Ducks, a Pied-billed Grebe, and about 2000 Snow Geese.

Four Eastern Bluebirds were feeding along the Newburg Road retention pond.

Eastern Bluebird

The flooded field by Green Pond held 9 American Black Ducks, 8 Green-winged Teal, and 2 Northern Pintails among 86 Mallards. Two Great Blue Herons were also present.

Northern Pintails

Green-winged Teal

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A 'Bagged" Bird and Some Early Returnees ~ February 11, 2023

The only interesting thing found during a stop at the 'Forks of the Delaware' in Easton was a Ring-billed Gull with a plastic bag wrapped around either its neck or its wing.

Ring-billed Gull with a plastic bag

I headed over to the Regency Boulevard retention ponds and found two Killdeer at the north pond.

Killdeer

Nearby to the north, the Silver Crest Road retention pond held a Cackling Goose, 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Ruddy Ducks, and a Great Blue Heron among around 600 Canada Geese.

Cackling Goose

Ring-necked Ducks

Great Blue Heron

My last stop was at Green Pond. The pond itself held 10 Snow Geese among around 200 Canadas. The nearby retention pond along Farmersville Road held a Great Blue Heron. When I stopped at the flooded field area, I was surprised to find that the area that had been previously filled with vegetation was now mostly open water. And at the back of the area were a good number of ducks. They were comprised of 14 American Black Ducks and 8 Green-winged Teal among 46 Mallards.

Green-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal with American Black Ducks behind

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Bald Eagles and the Continuing 'Stealth Bomber' ~ February 10, 2023

While eating breakfast, I noticed an adult Bald Eagle flying over the backyard. I grabbed my camera and got a couple photos of it as it circled.

Bald Eagles

I drove up to the Grand Central landfill and spotted one fairly distant Iceland Gull with the swirling group of gulls flying over the day's dumpings. As usual, there were also several Bald Eagles soaring over the area.

Bald Eagles

A stop along Route 611 south of Lower Mud Run Road produced 26 Common Goldeneye and 3 Common Mergansers diving in the Delaware River.

Common Goldeneye

One of the females in the group of Common Goldeneye sported an almost all-yellow bill. This field mark is one that points towards a Barrow's Goldeneye, but a few other identification points didn't match a Barrow's (stubbier bill, steeper forehead, and browner head), so this bird was likely just an odd Common.

Female Common Goldeneye with almost all-yellow bill

A little farther south down the river, I found another 28 Common Goldeneye on the river while a Bald Eagle circled closely overhead and a Common Raven flew downriver.

Bald Eagle

Common Raven

At the 'Forks of the Delaware', I saw a Turkey Vulture with no tail. There's a very good chance that this is the same bird that I photographed at the same spot back in February, November, and December of 2021.

A Turkey Vulture with no tail

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Good Ducks, Bald Eagles, and an Iceland Gull ~ February 8, 2023

A stop at the Albert Road ponds near Wind Gap yielded a male Canvasback and 2 Lesser Scaup among 46 Ring-necked Ducks.

Canvasback

Lesser Scaup

Ring-necked Duck

At the Grand Central landfill, I picked out an Iceland Gull among the hundreds of gulls flying in and out of it.

Iceland Gull

There also were several Bald Eagles stirring them up. At one point, a young bird briefly sparred with a sub-adult.

Bald Eagles

Another one of the young eagles displayed the traditional first-year underwing pattern.

Bald Eagle

Along Route 611, I spotted a pair of Bald Eagles perched next to each other on a high-tension tower.

Bald Eagles

A reservoir near the Martins Creek power plant held 44 Ring-necked Ducks, 9 Buffleheads, 4 Lesser Scaup, 3 Common Mergansers, 3 American Black Ducks, a male Canvasback, a Ruddy Duck, and an American Coot.

Lesser Scaup

Canvasback

My last stop was near sunset at Penn Pump Park. A pair of Great Horned Owls were calling back and forth to each other near where they nested last year.

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Another Visit from the Pileated Woodpecker ~ February 7, 2023

The Pileated Woodpecker flew in to check out the willow tree again early this afternoon. It spent a good 15 minutes hammering away at it, allowing me to get these photos. Unfortunately, it also spent most of its time trying to hide behind branches or the trunk.

Pileated Woodpecker

As I slowly worked my way closer, it raised its crest, giving it a 'bad hair day' appearance.

Pileated Woodpecker

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Albert Road Ponds, Nazareth Quarry, and the Forks of the Delaware ~ February 4, 2023

Yesterday, Adam Miller found a male Canvasback at the Albert Road ponds. I figured the ponds would likely be frozen after last night, but I decided to check it out this afternoon anyway. The main pond was the only one with a small opening in the ice, which contained a Ring-necked Duck and 2 Lesser Scaup. Among the Canada Geese on the ice were 6 Ring-billed Gulls and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Six Eastern Bluebirds and a Hairy Woodpecker were seen nearby.

The Canvasback had moved on, but I thought there might be a chance that it dropped into the Nazareth Quarry, which rarely freezes up, so I stopped there. I did a pretty thorough search to no avail, but I did find 52 Ruddy Ducks, 16 Buffleheads, 14 American Black Ducks, 15 Common Mergansers, 7 American Coots, a Ring-necked Duck, and a Pied-billed Grebe among around 8,000 Snow Geese, plus a calling 'fly-by' Common Raven.

My last stop was the "Forks of the Delaware" in Easton to see if there were any gulls on the icy Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. As I was driving past the toll bridge, I noticed a Bald Eagle circling over it and about 50 gulls over Scott Park, which were likely scared into flight. Near the 3rd Street Bridge, I spotted a slender bird perched on a communication tower. That turned out to be an immature Peregrine Falcon. The bird had silver bands on both legs. It did some wing, tail, and leg stretching as I took photos of it while sunset approached.

Peregrine Falcon

It scratched its head, showing off one of its bands while probably trying to identify which subspecies of human was taking its photo. The last bird of the day ended up being the best bird of the day.

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Regency Ponds and the Nazareth Quarry ~ February 2, 2023

It wasn't until mid-afternoon when I got to the Regency Boulevard retention ponds. The ponds were partly frozen. There were four Snow Geese walking along the edge of the north pond along with six Mallards, but I was surprised to find two Killdeer along the near shore.

Killdeer

Not one Canada Goose was there and the south pond was completely devoid of birds. The large field to the west was being plowed and was filled with hundreds of crows. Three Turkey Vultures, two Red-tailed Hawks, and a Cooper's Hawk were also seen there.

A quick stop at the Silver Crest Road pond produced a Great Blue Heron and one Snow Goose among a couple hundred Canada Geese.

My last stop was the Nazareth Quarry. There, I found 83 Ruddy Ducks, 13 American Black Ducks, 8 Buffleheads, 8 American Coots, 6 Common Mergansers, 2 Redheads, and one Ring-necked Duck among the roughly 3,000 Snow Geese.

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