Willow Ptarmigan in Pennsylvania! ~ June 22, 2026

As I was driving to a Father's Day party yesterday, Jason Horn called me and told me that a Willow Ptarmigan had been photographed by Roger Dunn at Presque Isle State Park near Erie and that some local birders were out searching for it. I went to the party and didn't hear anything new about it until after 7:00 PM when I got a text from Jason stating that the bird had been refound by Dave Wilton! Since it's about a 6-hour drive to Presque Isle, he and three others were heading out there at 10:30 PM so they could be there at first light. Unfortunately, their car was full, so I was going to have to drive out there myself. I got my gear, drinks, and snacks together and headed off at around 11:00 PM.

Since I didn't get any sleep, I knew I was going to have to stop at a rest area somewhere along the way. I drove four of the six hours and stopped at the Brookville rest area, took a 45-minute nap, and then drove the rest of the way there. The expected rain started as I headed up I-79 and got worse the closer I got to Erie. When I entered the park, it was a torrential downpour. Just after I parked by 'Beach 10', Ian Baldock pulled up and parked behind me, so we both started the 20-minute walk out along the beach towards "Gull Point". Luckily, that was when the rain subsided for a little while. That's also when Jason called me and told me that they had refound the bird. We hoofed it out to them where I stood amazed that I was looking at a Willow Ptarmigan in Pennsylvania! I was very happy how my photos turned out given that they were taken in the early morning light under very poor conditions.

Willow Ptarmigan

After feeding on seedheads, it eventually walked over to a slot in the grass and went to sleep.

Willow Ptarmigan

I'm constantly astounded at the interesting birds that have shown up in our state during my 50+ years of birding. This tundra species, another first record for Pennsylvania, ranks somewhere up near the top. Another photo of the bird, taken back on the 16th at 'Beach 6' by Nate Aulenbacher, has recently surfaced, so the bird has been at the park for at least a week. According to eBird, there are only six other records from the eastern United States, all in the Northeast (one in northern NY, two in VT, two in ME, and one in MA). There are several records from the Canadian side of the Great Lakes.

The rain wasn't letting up at all, so I decided to head back to the car and start the long drive back home. I made two stops, one for a quick breakfast and another at a rest area where I took a 2-hour nap. I got back home around 4:00 PM, 760 miles later.

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Four "Blue" Birds and a Late Yellowlegs ~ June 8, 2026

I started the morning off by birding the area around the Grand Central landfill. My goal was to see if the Blue Grosbeaks had returned for another summer and, as luck would have it, they were one of the first birds I saw there. I got these photos of the pair feeding in the nearby weedy field.

A male Blue Grosbeak.

A female Blue Grosbeak.

The pair of Blue Grosbeaks.

Along the fencerow, I found Indigo Bunting and Eastern Bluebird.

A male Indigo Bunting.

A male Eastern Bluebird.

Later, I saw a Blue Jay, which completed the rare 'blue' bird "grand slam".

Also found in the fencerow were Northern House Wren, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Mockingbird, Cedar Waxwing, Chipping Sparrow, and Common Yellowthroat.

Common Yellowthroat

Other birds seen in the field were Tree Swallow, House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbird, and Song and Field Sparrow.

Field Sparrows

A Cooper's Hawk, 2 Common Ravens, and Black and Turkey Vultures were also present.

A tree with Black Vultures (top and bottom) and Turkey Vultures.

This photo shows a good comparison between a Black Vulture with its dark gray head and short tail and the larger adult Turkey Vulture with its red head and longer tail.

A Black Vulture (top) and a Turkey Vulture (bottom).

Black Vulture

Turkey Vultures

I left there and stopped at the Tatamy Exit retention pond. It was almost dried up the other day, but a storm front filled part of it back up on Saturday night. The two young Spotted Sandpipers were getting a little bigger.

One of the two young Spotted Sandpipers.

A Green Heron was in the corner of the Newburg Road retention pond.

Green Heron

I went over to Green Pond and walked the paved path. In the Farmersville Road retention pond, I was surprised to see a late Greater Yellowlegs.

A rare June record of a Greater Yellowlegs!

Also present were the continuing 18 Snow Geese. It was a real productive birding day considering it was the month of June.

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More Breeding Bird Atlas Birding ~ June 4, 2026

One of my Breeding Bird Atlas blocks includes the St. Luke's Anderson Campus area and the Route 33 Boat Launch area, so I spent the morning birding those two areas. I started at the St. Luke's Anderson pond and walking path where I tallied 39 species including a couple Willow Flycatchers.

Willow Flycatcher

There were at least seven Purple Martins at the Purple Martin tower. One of them was seen taking a leaf into one of the gourds to line the nest.

Purple Martin

One of the Cedar Waxwings present was also seen carrying nesting material.

Cedar Waxwing

There were several Chipping Sparrows in and among the evergreens along the path. One of them was this juvenile.

A juvenile Chipping Sparrow.

Also found there were Killdeer, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Warbling and Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Rough-winged, Tree, and Barn Swallow, Northern House Wren, Carolina Wren, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush, American Goldfinch, Field Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, American Redstart, Northern Yellow Warbler, and Indigo Bunting.

I then crossed over Route 33 and birded down Hope Road where I found Great Crested and Willow Flycatcher, American Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Yellow Warbler, and Indigo Bunting.

Willow Flycatcher

The area around the boat launch produced Northern Flicker, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Warbling Vireo, Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern House Wren, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush, Baltimore Oriole, and American Redstart.

I went up to the Tatamy Exit retention pond. It is now almost all dried up, but it still held 3 Killdeer, and 4 Spotted Sandpipers, including the two little "puff ball" fledglings.

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Fledglings Make the Day ~ June 3, 2026

I took a run to the The Tatamy Exit retention pond and found two cute Spotted Sandpiper fledglings working the mud with a parent.

A Spotted Sandpiper fledgling.

It was interesting that, even at their young age, they were already bobbing up and down like their parent, which stayed close at all times.

A Spotted Sandpiper fledgling with its parent.

Over at Green Pond, the 18 Snow Geese were still lingering in the blocked-off road. In a bush next to the pond, I saw a Red-winged Blackbird that was freshly out of the nest.

A Red-winged Blackbird fledgling.

Other birds found there included 58 Canada Geese, a couple Killdeer, 4 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Green Herons, one Great Blue Heron, an Eastern Kingbird, 5 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 2 Barn Swallows, and a Gray Catbird.

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Breeding Bird Atlas Project Findings ~ June 2, 2026

With the migration now winding down, it's that time again when the Breeding Bird Atlas Project work takes center stage. After acquiring special permission to access a restricted area in my one breeding block near the Nazareth Quarry, I went there this morning and searched for breeding activity. I found 39 species, almost all of them probable breeders. The one interesting find that stood out among the others was a pair of Orchard Orioles finishing up a nest. Orchards are a little more unusual than the numerous Baltimore Orioles, so it's always nice to find them, but what was interesting was that the nest was hidden in a spruce branch rather than in a more expected deciduous tree. I got these photos of the male and female entering and leaving the opening to the nest.

A well-hidden nest of an Orchard Oriole pair in a spruce branch.

On the way back out to the car, I got these photos of one of several Northern Yellow Warblers found there.

A female Northern Yellow Warbler.

Other birds of note found there included Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested and Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cedar Waxwing, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, American Redstart, and Scarlet Tanager.

I stopped at the Osprey nest along the Nazareth-Tatamy road. One Osprey was sitting on the nest, but there was no sign of any young ones yet.

I continued on to the Tatamy Exit retention pond. Unfortunately, a landscape crew was mowing the banks of the impoundment, so the Semipalmated Plovers seen there yesterday were gone. The Semipalmated Plover present yesterday at the Hollo Road retention pond was also gone.

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