Thursday, September 17, 2026

Little Gap and Several Ponds ~ September 17, 2026

I took another shot at trying to find some wanted birds at Little Gap. Adam Miller, and Mike & Corinne Schall joined me as we walked up the mountain. Found along the way up to and beyond the hawkwatch was another great count of 6 Philadelphia Vireos among at least 18 Red-eyed Vireos.


Other birds seen included 4 Northern Flickers, an Eastern Wood-Pewee, 6 Blue Jays, a Common Raven, 2 chickadees, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Northern House Wren, an American Robin, around 40 Cedar Waxwings, and warblers that included 5 Black-and-whites, a Cape May, 3 Magnolias, a Blackburnian, 2 Chestnut-sideds, a Blackpoll, 3 Black-throated Greens, 2 Ovenbirds, 2 American Redstarts, and 5 Northern Parulas.

With showers moving into the area, it wasn't a good raptor day. In the hour or so I was there, I saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 13 Turkey Vultures, 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, a Bald Eagle, and 2 Broad-winged Hawks.

I hit a few ponds on the way back home. The Regency Boulevard retention ponds produced a Wood Duck, a Green Heron, a Cooper's Hawk, 3 American Goldfinches, and a flock of around 50 Red-winged Blackbirds.

The Trio Farms Boulevard retention ponds held 4 Double-crested Cormorants among around 150 Canad Geese.
The Hollo Road retention pond 2 Wood Ducks, 7 Green-winged Teal, 3 Killdeer, one Solitary and one Pectoral Sandpiper, a Lesser Yellowlegs, one Green and one Great Blue Heron, and an Osprey that was "kiting" over the pond.

My last stop was at the Newburg Road retention pond. There was a fairly good selection of birds there that included 22 Killdeer, 4 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, one Least Sandpiper, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, 2 Green Herons, a 'fly-by' Bald Eagle, and a Savannah Sparrow.
I got some nice comparison photos of a Lesser and a Greater Yellowlegs showing the difference in overall size and bill size.

The two Pectoral Sandpipers and the Green Herons got a little nervous when a Bald Eagle flew by.


Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Little Gap and the Newburg Road Retention Pond ~ September 15, 2026

I again walked Little Gap, still hoping to find a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher or a Connecticut Warbler. I ran into Adam Miller and we both birded our way up to the top of the mountain. Two Red-breasted Nuthatches were found during the several stops.
Behind the lookout, we found 4 Philadelphia Vireos among 19 Red-eyed Vireos, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and 12 species of warblers that included a Tennessee, 3 Cape Mays, 3 Magnolias, 2 Bay-breasteds, a Blackburnian, 2 Chestnut-sideds, 3 Blackpolls, a Black-throated Blue, a Black-throated Green, 3 Ovenbirds, 2 American Redstarts, and a Northern Parula.

Birds seen during the morning at the hawkwatch included a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 2 Ospreys, 4 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 293 Broad-winged Hawks, an Eastern Phoebe, and 2 Common Ravens.
I stopped to check the Newburg Road retention pond and found 4 Killdeer, a Lesser Yellowlegs, 3 Least Sandpipers, a Green Heron, a Great Blue Heron, and an immature Red-tailed Hawk that tried unsuccessfully to grab a Mourning Dove and later settled for a caterpillar.

Sunday, September 13, 2026

A Loop of Ponds ~ September 13, 2026

The Newburg Road retention pond produced a Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, 2 Green Herons, a Great Blue Heron, a Cooper's Hawk, and a Belted Kingfisher.



Green Pond held 6 continuing Snow Geese, a Solitary Sandpiper, a Double-crested Cormorant, a Great Blue Heron, a Northern Flicker, an Eastern Wood-Pewee, 3 Bank Swallows and a Barn Swallow among at least 100 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 2 White-breasted Nuthatches, a Carolina Wren, 4 Eastern Bluebirds, and 2 American Goldfinches.


Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Newburg Road Retention Pond ~ September 9, 2026

After noticing the water level at the Newburg Road retention pond had dropped enough to create some shorebird habitat, I decided to take a quick run over there to see what might have dropped in. I was surprised to see how low the level had dropped since yesterday. That's when I noticed that the pond had developed a small sinkhole in its southwestern corner and it was draining the pond. There were also about 30 shorebirds there. Most of them were Killdeer, but scanning through them revealed 8 Least Sandpipers, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper, and a Pectoral Sandpiper. I took this photo of some of the sandpipers next to the sinkhole (in the upper left).


We're supposed to get rain tonight, but with the sinkhole there, it could remain favorable for shorebirds until it gets fixed.

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Little Gap and the Newburg Road Pond ~ September 8, 2026

I spent another morning birding Little Gap, hoping to find a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher or an early Connecticut Warbler. I stopped at several spots on the way up to the top of the mountain. The first stop produced a male Blackburnian Warbler.

At the second stop, I got photos of one of several Black-and-white Warblers and an Ovenbird.

Atop the mountain, I came across a nice count of 4 Philadelphia Vireos. I was fortunate to get photos of two of them.


Also there was a female Black-throated Blue Warbler.
At another spot behind the hawkwatch, I found a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and several Black-throated Green Warblers.


Other birds seen during the morning included a Broad-winged Hawk, a Pileated Woodpecker, at least 19 Red-eyed Vireos, 3 Blue Jays, a Common Raven, 2 chickadees, a Tufted Titmouse, 5 American Redstarts, 4 Northern Parulas, and 9 Magnolia Warblers. Two Wild Turkeys and a Scarlet Tanager were seen on the way back down to the car.

The lack of rainfall has caused all of the area's shorebird habitat to dry up, so shorebirds have been nonexistent in the county this Fall. Yesterday, I stopped at the Newburg Road retention pond and found that the pond's level had dropped low enough to expose some shorebird habitat along its edge. There were 2 Solitary Sandpipers and many Killdeer present along with a couple Green Herons. So, today I stopped again and found a Lesser Yellowlegs had joined the others.


Hopefully, some other shorebirds will drop in during the coming days.