Common Teal at the Nazareth Quarry! ~ March 9, 2026

I returned to the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve to see if either the Eurasian Wigeon or the Pink-footed Goose might be there. They weren't, but one Ross's Goose was there among around 100 each of Snow and Canada Geese.

A tiny Ross's Goose with Snow Geese.

The basin also held 6 Northern Shovelers, 2 Gadwall, 4 American Wigeon, 16 Redheads, around 150 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 Greater Scaup, 2 Lesser Scaup, 14 Buffleheads, 3 Common Mergansers, around 125 Ring-billed Gulls, an American Herring Gull, and a Savannah Sparrow along the edge.

I headed to the Nazareth Quarry to see what might be there. I scoped along the near left edge of the quarry and found a group of 15 Green-winged Teal. I noticed that the one had a horizontal white bar along the wings, but there wasn't any vertical white bar. That's when it hit me that it was a Common Teal, the "Eurasian" form of a Green-winged Teal! It would be the 1st Northampton County record! I had looked through hundreds of Green-winged Teal looking for this bird, and it had finally happened. I had a terrible time trying to get any decent photos of it since it could only be seen when looking down through the near brush on the other side of the fence. Eventually, I got something good enough to prove the identification and then sent out a text to others, hoping that someone else would confirm it and maybe get some better photos. That's when Stephen Kloiber just happened to show up within minutes without knowing about my find. He was able to get some videos of it through his scope. I ended up with these poor, long-distance documentation photos.

A Common Teal, also known as the "Eurasian" form of Green-winged Teal.

Several other birders made it there before dark to see the bird. Other notables found there included 6000 Snow Geese, one Tundra Swan, 5 Northern Shovelers, 4 Gadwall, 2 American Wigeon, 3 American Black Ducks, 8 Redheads, 18 Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Greater Scaup, 16 Buffleheads, 6 Common Mergansers, around 50 Ruddy Ducks, 13 American Coots, 4 Horned Grebes, and 3 Pied-billed Grebes. At dusk, as we were ready to leave, Adam spotted an Eastern Phoebe in the trees above us. It was our first one of the year.

Eastern Phoebe

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Eurasian Wigeon, 6 Ross's Geese, and Lots of Tundra Swans ~ March 8, 2026

I was headed up to the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve to see if the Pink-footed Goose would be there. That's when Adam and Owen Smith reported that there were an incredible total of 54 Tundra Swans there, so I headed there as planned. Most of those had left by the time I got there, but groups of tens and twenties continued to pass by. Adam Miller was there before me and he tallied a county record 173 of them from that site.

Some of the Tundra Swans that flew over.

The pale Snow x Canada Goose hybrid continued there, but the Pink-footed was nowhere to be found.

A Snow x Canada Goose hybrid.

As a group of Snow Geese glided down into the basin, Adam spotted a Ross's Goose in with them. I was lucky to get a photo of it before it got below the top of the fence.

A Ross's Goose (center) with some Snow Geese.

Most of the same waterfowl were there as the day before. Several thousand Snow Geese and Canada Geese were seen heading north like the swans. Groups of Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds were also seen flying by. Adam and I finally left there, and I drove to the Nazareth Quarry. Adam Smith had reported another large group of Tundra Swans there, too. There were still 31 swans present when I got there. In addition to the 15,000 Snow Geese, there were 500 Canada Geese, 13 Wood Ducks, 6 Northern Shovelers, 7 Gadwall, 16 American Wigeon, 6 American Black Ducks, 11 Northern Pintails, 6 Redheads, 31 Ring-necked Ducks, 6 Greater Scaup, 9 Buffleheads, a Common Goldeneye, 9 Common and 2 Hooded Mergansers, around 40 Ruddy Ducks, 8 American Coots, and 6 Horned Grebes.

From there, I headed for Green Pond since the flooded field area had produced 2 Greater White-fronted Geese the day before. There, I found 3 Wood Ducks, 6 American Wigeon, 22 Mallards, 5 American Black Ducks, 4 Northern Pintails, and 2 Green-winged Teal among around 500 Canada Geese.

Wood Duck

Northern Pintails

A check of the Hollo Road pond produced a Snow Goose among about 100 Canada Geese, 5 Wood Ducks, 24 Mallards, an American Black Duck, 3 Redheads, 6 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 Lesser Scaup, and 2 Buffleheads.

Redheads

Ring-necked Ducks

Pink-footed Goose at the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve ~ March 7, 2026

Around 1:30, I got a message from Jennifer McBride with an attached photo asking if the bird in the photo was a Pink-footed Goose. I scrolled to the photo and realized that it was! I replied that it indeed was a Pink-footed Goose and asked where they were. They told me they were at the fenced-in basin by the Martins Creek PPL power plant. I sent out a text about it and headed up there. Bob & Jennifer McBride kept track of the bird, and it was still there among about 600 Canada Geese when I arrived. I got some fairly good photos of it through the fence.

Pink-footed Goose

When groups of Canada Geese started taking off, I trained on the Pink-footed with my camera. Eventually, when another group lifted off, the Pink-footed took off with them, allowing me to get these flight shots.

Pink-footed Goose

This was the 3rd documented record of Pink-footed for Northampton County. While searching through the geese, a Snow x Canada Goose hybrid was found. This bird was seemed like it had more Snow Geese genes than Canada genes since it was smaller, lighter, and paler overall.

A Snow x Canada Goose hybrid.

Another more often seen hybrid, one with the white head of a Snow Goose and the brown body of a Canada Goose, was also spotted in the group.

Another Snow x Canada Goose hybrid.

A Cackling Goose, noticeably smaller than the Canadas with its short neck and stubby bill, was also fairly easily to pick out.

Cackling Goose

Five female Canvasbacks were sleeping near the back of the basin. Their slightly larger size and more pale backs made them stick out a bit from the other female Redheads.

Five female Canvasbacks.

Other notables there included 300 'fly-by' Snow Geese, 2 Wood Ducks, 2 Northern Shovelers, 23 American Wigeon, an American Black Duck, 2 Northern Pintails, 20 Green-winged Teal, 28 Redheads, around 150 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 Greater Scaup, 2 Lesser Scaup, 30 Buffleheads, 4 Common Mergansers, and a Ruddy Duck.

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