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.

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Upper Mount Bethel Township Birding ~ April 14, 2026

I spent the morning birding at sites in Upper Mount Bethel Township. My first stop was Bear Swamp where I found 2 Barred Owls, a Northern House Wren, an Eastern Bluebird, a Hermit Thrush, a Swamp Sparrow, 5 Rusty Blackbirds, a Palm Warbler, and 3 Louisiana Waterthrushes.

Barred Owl

Rusty Blackbirds

Palm Warbler

At nearby Lake Minsi, the Purple Martins have begun to show up. I counted 21 birds, only one of them a female.

Purple Martins

Also there were a Ring-billed Gull, 11 Double-crested Cormorants, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, an immature Bald Eagle, a Pileated Woodpecker, and 15 Tree Swallows.

Just up the road at the Totts Gap Conservation Area, I saw a pair of American Kestrels and a distant Eastern Meadowlark.

Eastern Meadowlark

At East Bangor Dam, there was a Wood Duck, a Wilson's Snipe, a Cooper's Hawk, one Tree Swallow, a Brown Thrasher, and a Virginia Rail that called one time.

Brown Thrasher

Next, I checked out the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve, which held 55 Buffleheads.

Two Green-winged Teal, a Killdeer, and 3 Northern Rough-winged Swallows were present at the Hollo Road retention pond; and a Great Blue Heron and a Killdeer were at the Newburg Road retention pond.

Lastly at Green Pond, I found 42 lingering Snow Geese, 67 Canada Geese, 8 Mallards, a Northern Flicker, a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, and an Eastern Bluebird.

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A Yellow-throated Warbler Returns ~ April 13, 2026

After spending yesterday morning looking for a Yellow-throated Warbler, Adam Smith found one along the Delaware Canal near Raubsville this morning, so I birded that section of the canal after getting my car inspected. Probably because it was the middle of the day and there was some light rain coming down, I birded around a half-hour there before I finally heard it singing. My hearing in my right ear is bad, so it's always tough for me to get a direction on where the singing is coming from. I finally saw the bird, as expected, in one of the tall sycamore trees and got some mediocre photos of it against the gray skies.

Yellow-throated Warbler

Other birds found there included 2 Common Mergansers, 5 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, an American Goldfinch, 3 White-throated Sparrows, and 5 Yellow-rumped Warblers.

There were 5 Hooded Mergansers in the retention pond at the corner of Northwood Avenue and Van Buren Road.

Hooded Mergansers

The Nazareth Quarry held 4 Snow Geese, 11 Northern Shovelers, 14 Buffleheads, 77 Ruddy Ducks, an American Coot, and 12 Double-crested Cormorants.

Green Pond continued to hold 43 Snow Geese.

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Lehigh River Birding ~ April 12, 2026

I birded two spots along the Lehigh Canal this morning, checking to see if any Yellow-throated Warblers had shown up. I walked the section by Nagy's Landing and saw 2 Wood Ducks, a pair of Common Mergansers, an Osprey, 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 2 Ring-billed Gulls from the nearby landfill, a Cooper's Hawk, a Common Raven, 2 Tree Swallows, an American Goldfinch, and 13 White-throated Sparrows, but no Yellow-throated.

Osprey

A pair of Common Mergansers.

The other spot was at the Bethlehem Boat Club. There, I struck out again on the warbler, but I did see one Common Merganser, a Common Raven, an American Goldfinch, a Chipping Sparrow, 7 Dark-eyed Juncos, 6 White-throated Sparrows, and 3 Brown-headed Cowbirds, plus the usual suspects.

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Another(?) American Bittern at East Bangor Dam ~ April 10, 2026

I went to Lake Minsi in the early evening and found a Green-winged Teal, 2 Ring-necked Ducks, a Bufflehead, 3 American Coots, 3 Pied-billed Grebes, 9 Double-crested Cormorants, an Osprey, and a Bald Eagle.

The main reason for the evening start was to check out East Bangor Dam around sunset. As twice before in the last week, I flushed an American Bittern! I was only able to get one poor photo of this one due to the low light and shutter speeds before it dropped down into the cattails.

American Bittern

I also heard a Virginia Rail. A Red-headed Woodpecker was seen checking out the same nest hole where Adam Miller and I saw it on the 3rd. Other notables there included 5 Wood Ducks, a Green-winged Teal, 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Hooded Mergansers, a Hairy Woodpecker, a Northern Flicker, a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, 2 Swamp Sparrows, 4 Brown-headed Cowbirds, a Palm Warbler, and a parade of around 125 Red-winged Blackbirds flying by.

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Another American Bittern at East Bangor Dam ~ April 8, 2026

I still haven't seen a Bonaparte's Gull this year. One was at Lake Minsi late yesterday, so I headed up there this morning, Around the lake, I saw 5 Wood Ducks, 32 Ring-necked Ducks, one Ring-billed Gull, 5 Pied-billed Grebes, 24 Double-crested Cormorants, a Great Blue Heron, an Osprey, a Belted Kingfisher, and an estimated 350 Tree Swallows. Near the east parking lot, I found a nice-sized group of 14 Rusty Blackbirds among 7 Red-winged Blackbirds, and around 40 Common Grackles.

Rusty Blackbird

Nearby Bear Swamp Park held 2 Tufted Titmice, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 4 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 3 Dark-eyed Juncos, 2 Swamp Sparrows, and a circling Bald Eagle.

Over at Echo Lake, there were 2 American Wigeon, 3 Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Common Mergansers, and a Pileated Woodpecker on a tree trunk.

Pileated Woodpecker

Next, I went to East Bangor Dam and walked the railroad tracks. Like on the 3rd, I accidentally flushed another American Bittern! I was only able to get one half-decent photo of it before it dropped back down into the distant cattails.

American Bittern

A Virginia Rail called from the other side of the tracks. Farther down, I came across a group of birds that contained 8 Palm Warblers, 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a Carolina Wren.

Palm Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Other notables there included 13 Wood Ducks, a Green-winged Teal, 8 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Hooded Mergansers, a Double-crested Cormorant, a Great Blue Heron, a Bald Eagle, 2 Eastern Phoebes, 4 Swamp Sparrows, and 3 Northern Rough-winged Swallows among about 30 Tree Swallows.

I then drove over to the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve, which held 57 Buffleheads, 3 Green-winged Teal, and 4 American Kestrels.

The Nazareth Quarry produced a high count of 21 Northern Shovelers plus 7 Buffleheads, 19 Ruddy Ducks, a Common Merganser, a Pied-billed Grebe, and 4 Double-crested Cormorants.

The nearby Hollo Road pond held 2 Green-winged Teal, a Greater Yellowlegs, a Killdeer, and 7 Turkey Vultures.

Greater Yellowlegs

Turkey Vulture

My next stop was at Green Pond where I found 58 Snow Geese, 52 Canada Geese, 19 Mallards, an Eastern Phoebe, an Eastern Bluebird, an American Goldfinch, and 3 Dark-eyed Juncos.

I stopped at the Newburg Road retention pond and found 2 female Hooded Mergansers and a Killdeer.

Hooded Mergansers

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