Both Yellowlegs at a Local Pond ~ April 29, 2026

After a morning appointment, I headed out to check some local ponds. Adam Miller had reported 13 Lesser Yellowlegs at the Christian Sprins Road pond earlier in the day, so I stopped there and found that more birds had dropped in afterwards. I counted 18 Lesser Yellowlegs, 3 Greater Yellowlegs, and a Killdeer.

Greater Yellowlegs among Lesser Yellowlegs.

The group of mostly Lesser Yellowlegs.

Over at the Trio Farms Boulevard retention ponds, two Double-crested Cormorants, a Great Blue Heron, and a Belted Kingfisher were present. The one Double-crested Cormorant was apparently molting its lighter immature plumage, causing it to look mottled.

Double-crested Cormorants

Two Killdeer chicks were running around while the parents kept watch over them at the Newburg Park pond.

Killdeer chicks.

My stop at Green Pond produced the lingering 40 Snow Geese, numbers of Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and a Merlin that zipped by heading north.

---

Jacobsburg State Park and Some Local Ponds ~ April 28, 2026

I once again walked Jacobsburg State Park this morning. There was very little activity. Even so, I managed to find a few Baltimore Orioles, a Blue-winged Warbler, a Black-throated Blue Warbler, 4 Louisiana Waterthrushes, and a pair of adult Bald Eagles.

Baltimore Oriole

Blue-winged Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Louisiana Waterthrush

Bald Eagles

Two Baltimore Orioles were apparently sparring over territory.

Sparring Baltimore Orioles.

Also among the 43 species were 4 Common Mergansers, a Great Blue Heron, a Red-shouldered Hawk, an American Kestrel, 4 Eastern Phoebes, a Red-eyed Vireo, 39 Blue Jays, a Common Raven, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 2 Northern House Wrens, 4 Gray Catbirds, a Brown Thrasher, 2 Eastern Bluebirds, 12 American Goldfinches, a Field Sparrow, 5 White-throated Sparrows, 6 Eastern Towhees, and a Common Yellowthroat.

On the way back home, I stopped at the Hollo Road retention pond, which held 2 Greater Yellowlegs, a Spotted Sandpiper, and a Killdeer.

Greater Yellowlegs

The Newburg Road retention pond also had a Greater Yellowlegs.

Greater Yellowlegs

Green Pond produced the continuing 40 Snow Geese, a Killdeer, a Green Heron, a Great Blue Heron, and 3 Chimney Swifts among a good number of Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

Chimney Swift

My last stop was at the St. Luke's Anderson Campus where I wanted to check out their Purple Martin houses. Unfortunately, there were no Purple Martins there and 6 House Sparrows were sitting by the gourd openings.

---

Jacobsburg State Park, Newburg Pond, and Green Pond ~ April 27, 2026

This morning's walk at Jacobsburg State Park was pretty dead as far as migrants went. Of the 33 species, the only new year bird was a Black-and-white Warbler.

Black-and-white Warbler

A pair of Common Mergansers were in the creek, and a Broad-winged Hawk circled with an Osprey over the visitor center.

Common Mergansers

Broad-winged Hawk

Other notables included Wild Turkey, Eastern Phoebe, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern House Wren, Gray Catbird, Eastern Bluebird, American Goldfinch, Field Sparrow, and Eastern Towhee.

I made two stops on the way back home. The Newburg Road retention pond held a Greater Yellowlegs.

Greater Yellowlegs

Green Pond produced the continuing 39 Snow Geese, a Killdeer, Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and a Northern House Wren.

---

Birding Multiple Sites Around the County ~ April 26, 2026

I hit a bunch of birding sites around Northampton County. The list of sites and the highlights at each follow:

Nazareth Quarry: A Double-crested Cormorant.

Martins Creek Environmental Preserve: 2 Green-winged Teal, 2 Buffleheads, a Double-crested Cormorant, a Common Yellowthroat, and 2 Northern Yellow Warblers.

Martins Creek PPL boat launch area: A Bald Eagle, around a hundred Northern Rough-winged Swallows, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Northern House Wren, 2 Gray Catbirds, and a Northern Parula.

Gray Catbird

Lake Minsi: A Greater Yellowlegs, a Ring-billed Gull, a Pied-billed Grebe, 12 Double-crested Cormorants, a Green Heron, a Common Raven, 7 Purple Martins, an Eastern Bluebird, 2 Northern Yellow Warblers, and a Palm Warbler.

Greater Yellowlegs

East Bangor Dam: 4 Mute Swans, a Virginia Rail, an Osprey, a Swamp Sparrow, and 2 Northern Yellow Warblers.

I then drove towards Bath. There was an Osprey on a nest near East Bangor and an adult Broad-winged Hawk over Wind Gap.

Regency Boulevard retention ponds: 2 Green-winged Teal, 2 Buffleheads, a Killdeer, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, a Great Blue Heron carrying nesting material, and a Cooper's Hawk.

Greater Yellowlegs

Trio Farm Boulevard retention ponds: A Green Heron.

Green Heron

Green Pond: 38 Snow Geese, a Great Blue Heron, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

---

Jacobsburg State Park and East Bangor Dam ~ April 24, 2026

After being away for a week, I headed out to Jacobsburg State Park to look for any arriving migrants. It was pretty quiet during most of the walk, but I still managed to tally 44 species. Highlights included a few first-of-the-year birds: Blue-headed Vireo, Eastern Warbling Vireo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Green Heron.

Blue-headed Vireo

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Green Heron

Additional notables included 6 Common Mergansers, 2 Great Blue Herons, a Belted Kingfisher, a Hairy and a Pileated Woodpecker, 5 Northern Flickers, 4 Eastern Phoebes, Tree and Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Brown Creeper, 4 Northern House Wrens, 2 Brown Thrashers, 2 Eastern Bluebirds, 11 American Goldfinches, Chipping and Field Sparrow, a Dark-eyed Junco, 38 White-throated Sparrows, 4 Eastern Towhees, and two Mourning Doves on a nest.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Mourning Doves on their nest.

I came home to mow the grass and went to East Bangor Dam after dinner to see if anything new had shown up there. When I got out of the car, I heard my first Northern Yellow Warbler of the season. It stayed low in the brush while feeding, making it tough to get a photo.

Northern Yellow Warbler

Mute Swans

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Other birds found there included 4 Mute Swans, 9 Wood Ducks, 2 Green-winged Teal, a Virginia Rail, a Wilson's Snipe, a Double-crested Cormorant, a Great Blue Heron, an Osprey with a fish, 7 Tree Swallows, a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Brown Thrasher, a White-throated Sparrow, and a Swamp Sparrow.

---