Penn's Grant Path and a Black-crowned Night-Heron! ~ July 23, 2026

I decided to walk a path I'd never been on before in one of my Breeding Bird Atlas blocks. The Penn's Grant Path branches off of the Palmer Bikeway north of Stocker Mill Road. I parked at the end of Corriere Drive and walked the trail from that end. Notables among the 30 species included Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, Wood Thrush, American Goldfinch, Baltmore and Orchard Oriole, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Hairy Woodpecker

A young Blue Jay.

Orchard Oriole

I checked out Green Pond by slowly driving along the closed-off section of the road along its east side. The water level is the lowest I've ever seen it in my 50+ years of birding. There was an obvious Great Egret at the back edge of the pond along with some Killdeer. Two Green Herons, a Great Blue Heron, and 11 continuing Snow Geese were also seen along its edge. I was turning around at the northeast corner of the pond when I noticed a Cliff Swallow flying over it. When I got out of the car to try and get a photo of it, I was surprised to find a Black-crowned Night-Heron close by underneath one of the overhanging willows. I took these two photos of it, backed off, and then sent out a text about it to other birders.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

I left the bird there, drove over to the paved path and walked it to the back middle pond, which is the only one of the three retention ponds that still has water in it. There, I found 4 Spotted Sandpipers and one Least Sandpiper while a pair of Red-tailed Hawks circled overhead. Birds along the path included an Eastern Kingbird, a Northern House Wren, a pair of American Goldfinches, and and a young Gray Catbird.

A young Gray Catbird.

I went back over to the pond and the Night-Heron was still there, but this time it had grabbed a frog, which was so big that it was having trouble swallowing it. I snapped this sequence of photos during the 15 minutes that it took for it to reposition the frog and swallow it head first.

A Black-crowned Night-Heron downing a large frog.

A Black-crowned Night-Heron with a "frog in its throat".

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Great Egret at the Valley Center Parkway Ponds ~ July 20, 2026

Great Egret sightings usually increase in late summer during what is known as the "post-breeding dispersal period". Yesterday, Dan Altif spotted one at the Valley Center Parkway ponds, so I drove over there to see if it might still be there. Before I parked the car, I noticed it in the pond next to Route 22 where I took these harshly-lit photos of it.

Great Egret

I then went to the Regency Boulevard ponds where I saw a female Wood Duck with three young, a Killdeer, and an Eastern Kingbird.

I stopped at Green Pond on the way back and found 11 continuing Snow Geese, a Killdeer, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, 4 Least Sandpipers, a Green Heron, a Great Blue Heron, 5 American Goldfinches, and 5 Chipping Sparrows. The Least Sandpipers were in the back middle pond along the paved pathway, which is now the only one that has water remaining in it.

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Bicentennial Park and Some Ponds ~ July 19, 2026

I went to Bicentennial Park in East Allen Township to check for young birds since I have that Breeding Bird Atlas block. On the way there, I saw an American Kestrel on a wire by Arrowhead Road. I first birded the wetlands area of the park, which was dried up, and then walked the adjacent section of the Nor-Bath Trail. That's where I was surprised to see a Merlin chasing down another bird over the field to the north! Unfortunately, both birds dropped behind the treeline before I could even try for a photo. Among the other 22 species seen at the park were Northern Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested and Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, and Chipping Sparrow.

Eastern Kingbird

Willow Flycatcher

A young Chipping Sparrow.

I stopped at Green Pond on the way back and found 11 continuing Snow Geese, a Killdeer, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 4 Green Herons, a Great Blue Heron, an Eastern Kingbird, 2 Eastern Warbling Vireos, 3 Tree Swallows, 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, a Baltimore Oriole, and around 30 Red-winged Blackbirds.

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Breeding Birds and Others ~ July 13, 2026

I got special permission to do a follow-up visit to look for breeding birds in the Hollo Road pines area. I found 26 species during my walk, several of them young birds like this Gray Catbird.

Gray Catbird

I made a quick stop at the Nazareth Quarry and found an immature Double-crested Cormorant there along with a Northern Yellow Warbler in the adjacent brush.

An immature Double-crested Cormorant.

Northern Yellow Warbler

Over at Green Pond were 12 continuing Snow Geese, a Spotted Sandpiper, 3 Green Herons, a recently-fledged Northern House Wren, and 7 American Goldfinches.

A Spotted Sandpiper and a Green Heron.

A recently-fledged Northern House Wren.

American Goldfinch

I checked the two Trio Farms Boulevard retention ponds and found 5 Chimney Swifts, 2 Killdeer, 3 Green Herons, 2 Great Blue Herons, an Osprey hunting over the one pond, a 'fly-by' Bald Eagle, 2 Eastern Kingbirds, and 4 Barn Swallows.

A Great Blue Heron and a Green Heron.

The Newburg Road retention pond area held a good count of 16 Killdeer, a Spotted Sandpiper, 9 Barn Swallows, 2 Eastern Bluebirds, and an American Goldfinch.

Spotted Sandpiper

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Two Pond Checks ~ July 8, 2026

After golfing, I made two pond checks. The first stop was at the Tatamy Exit retention pond, which only held 3 Killdeer and a Spotted Sandpiper.

The other stop was at Green Pond. There, I found 13 continuing Snow Geese, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, a Killdeer, 2 Green Herons, a pair of Northern Flickers, 8 Barn Swallows, a Northern House Wren, 2 Gray Catbirds, 2 American Goldfinches, and this Great Crested Flycatcher.

Great Crested Flycatcher

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Least Sandpipers Returning ~ July 5, 2026

The heat had kept me from birding for a few days. It wasn't as hot today, so I stopped at a few ponds to check for early returning shorebirds. I stopped at Green Pond and counted 14 continuing Snow Geese. It's been extremely dry for months, and two of the three retention ponds are completely dried up. In the back middle pond, I found 4 Least Sandpipers, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, and 3 Killdeer.

Least Sandpipers

Other birds noted were an Eastern Phoebe, 8 Barn Swallows and a Tree Swallow, and around 30 Red-winged Blackbirds. Two Great Blue Herons also flew by.

Great Blue Herons

The Hollo Road retention pond continued to hold a female Wood Duck with two young.

A female Wood Duck with two young.

My last stop at the Tatamy Exit retention pond produced two more Least Sandpipers with 5 Killdeer and a Spotted Sandpiper.

Least Sandpipers

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Snow Geese at Two Stops ~ June 29, 2026

On the way home after golfing, I stopped at Green Pond where 11 Snow Geese continued. Also there were 3 Killdeer, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, one each of Great Blue and Green Heron, Eastern Phoebe, Tree and Barn Swallow, Chipping Sparrow, and American Goldfinch.

American Goldfinch

After mowing my mom's grass later in the day, I stopped at the Hollo Road retention pond. I was surprised to see a Snow Goose there along with the continuing two young Wood Ducks.

Snow Goose

Two young Wood Ducks.

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