Wilson's Snipe at Green Pond ~ March 26, 2026

Temperatures had jumped into the 70's when I stopped at Green Pond around 2:00. I saw my first two Chipping Sparrows along the macadam path by the golf course along with an Eastern Phoebe, 4 Eastern Bluebirds, 6 Dark-eyed Juncos, and numbers of American Robins.

Chipping Sparrows

Two Bald Eagles and a Red-tailed Hawk circled overhead, causing the ducks and geese to get nervous.

Bald Eagle

A scan around the edge of the Green Pond Road retention pond revealed a Wilson's Snipe, another first-of-the-year bird for me.

Wilson's Snipe

Also seen in the area were 12 Snow Geese, 33 Canada Geese, 23 Mallards, 4 Green-winged Teal, and 6 Red-winged Blackbirds.

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Sliver Crest and Regency Ponds, and Green Pond ~ March 25, 2026

After leaving my daughter's house, I stopped at the Silver Crest Road pond, which produced 5 Snow Geese among about a hundred Canada Geese, 17 Ring-necked Ducks, 9 Ruddy Ducks, and 2 Buffleheads.

Down the road at the Regency Boulevard retention ponds were 8 Green-winged Teal, 15 Ring-necked Ducks, 16 Buffleheads, and a Cooper's Hawk among the expected birds.

A male Ring-necked Duck and a male Bufflehead.

One of the female Buffleheads had a buffy breast. I don't know if this was because of stained feathers or an abnormal plumage.

Note the buff-colored breast on the female Bufflehead at right.

I made a quick stop at the flooded area along Steuben Road at Little Creek Drive and found a Killdeer, 8 Tree Swallows, and my first four Northern Rough-winged Swallows of the year. I got this terrible long-distance photo of one of them.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Today's check of Green Pond yielded 6 Snow Geese, 17 Canada Geese, 79 Mallards, 7 American Black Ducks, 6 Green-winged Teal, 2 Hooded Mergansers, 2 Killdeer, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Northern Flicker, 2 Fish Crows, and 29 American Robins.

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Nazareth Quarry, Hollo Road Pond, and Green Pond ~ March 24, 2026

After getting a haircut at my daughter's salon, I stopped at the Nazareth Quarry. As expected, the goose numbers dropped significantly. There were only about a hundred Snow Geese there and no Canadas. Notables spotted included 3 Northern Shovelers, 11 Gadwall, 3 American Black Ducks, 2 Greater Scaup, 11 Buffleheads, 14 Common Mergansers, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, 18 Ruddy Ducks, 7 American Coots, 5 Horned Grebes, and a Pied-billed Grebe.

A male Red-breasted Merganser.

I then checked the Hollo Road pond where I found 8 Green-winged Teal.

Green-winged Teal

My last stop was at Green Pond. The back middle pond continued to hold 4 Hooded Mergansers plus 2 Green-winged Teal.

Hooded Mergansers

Green-winged Teal

Birds found around Green Pond and in the flooded field area included 5 Snow Geese, 30 Canada Geese, 79 Mallards, 10 American Black Ducks, 4 more Green-winged Teal, 3 Killdeer, 44 American Robins, 3 Red-winged Blackbirds, and 3 Common Grackles.

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Green Pond in the Drizzle ~ March 23, 2026

With the overnight rain, I stopped at Green Pond around noon in the drizzle to see what might have dropped in overnight. There were a few more ducks there than previous days. Totals included 24 Snow Geese, 13 Canada Geese, 66 Mallards, 8 American Black Ducks, 7 Green-winged Teal, one Ring-necked Duck, and 7 Hooded Mergansers.

A male Hooded Merganser flaring his crest for the females.

A pair of Hooded Mergansers.

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East Bangor Dam, Lake Minsi, Martins Creek, and Green Pond ~ March 22, 2026

I made my first 2026 visit to East Bangor Dam this morning. When I parked the car, I saw Adam Miller was there, so I ended up walking the area with him. A group of around 30 Tree Swallows were zipping around, and a Rusty Blackbird took off from a tree at the east end of the site just as we identified it.

Rusty Blackbird

Two Mute Swans, 4 Wood Ducks, 5 Mallards, 4 Green-winged Teal, and 10 Ring-necked Ducks were seen on the water. Three Bald Eagles, 7 Turkey Vultures, one Black Vulture, a Common Raven, and 18 Ring-billed Gulls were seen flying around the area.

Bald Eagle

A few Eastern Bluebirds were seen near the small, wooded section with the tiny stream running through it along with some American Robins, Common Grackles, and many Red-winged Blackbirds. Just before getting back to the car, a Swamp Sparrow perched for one quick photo before dissappearing back into the cattails.

Swamp Sparrow

From there, I went over to the east side of Lake Minsi. A female Common Goldeneye and 2 Hooded Mergansers were just offshore.

Common Goldeneye

Hooded Mergansers

I counted 14 Double-crested Cormorants among the large number of Ring-necked Ducks. I made a right-to-left sweep with the scope and came up with a count of 277! An immature Bald Eagle and a Common Raven flew by. That's when I noticed a kettle of 13 Turkey Vultures and a smaller raptor with it that turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon. Unfortunately, it continued off to the north.

Peregrine Falcon

I counted 22 Tree Swallows swooping around with some of them briefly perching on the recently-installed Purple Martin units.

Tree Swallow

I then drove over to the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve, which held 4 Northern Shovelers, 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 19 Buffleheads, 2 Ruddy Ducks, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and 2 American Kestrels.

My last stop was at Green Pond where I found 11 Snow Geese, 31 Canada Geese, 49 Mallards, 2 American Black Ducks, 5 Green-winged Teal, a Ring-necked Duck, 4 Killdeer, a Cooper's Hawk, and 27 American Robins.

Ring-necked Duck

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Housenick Park, Green Pond, and the Nazareth Quarry ~ March 21, 2026

I went to Housenick Park to see if the Orange-crowned Warbler might still be around. As usual, Linda Freedman and Jim Figlar were there, and I walked the park with them. Notable birds seen there, absent the warbler, were Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Bluebird, American Goldfinch, and Field Sparrow.

Bald Eagle

Birds found at Green Pond included 22 Snow Geese, 56 Mallards, 2 American Black Ducks, and 5 Green-winged Teal.

Birds spotted at the Nazareth Quarry included 200 Snow Geese, 250 Canada Geese, 5 Northern Shovelers, 9 Gadwall, 2 American Black Ducks, 4 Ring-necked Ducks, 3 Greater Scaup, 15 Buffleheads, 11 Common Mergansers, around 40 Ruddy Ducks, 13 American Coots, and a Pied-billed Grebe.

A quick stop at the Hollo Road pond produced 2 Snow Geese, 2 Green-winged Teal, plus several Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles.

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Green Pond, the Regency Ponds, and Housenick Park ~ March 20, 2026

Today's check of Green Pond produced 8 Snow Geese, 39 Mallards, 5 American Black Ducks, 5 Green-winged Teal, 3 Hooded Mergansers, 3 Killdeer, and 2 Common Grackles, plus the usual suspects.

Notables at the Regency Boulevard retention ponds were one Snow Goose, 3 Green-winged Teal, 16 Ring-necked Ducks, 9 Buffleheads, and 2 Killdeer.

While I was there, Marilyn Hessinger sent out a text about an Orange-crowned Warbler she found at Housenick Park. I went over there and met up with Adam Miller and Megan Davis. We searched the area unsuccessfully for the bird, but other birds found there included 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 2 Field Sparrows, a Bald Eagle, a Merlin, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Merlin

Sharp-shinned Hawk

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