Around noon, I checked out the Nazareth Quarry. It had a nice variety of waterfowl. There were around 8000 Snow Geese and 1500 Canada Geese present. Scoping the area, I found the two continuing male Redheads plus 28 Ring-necked Ducks, 16 Buffleheads, , 8 Mallards, 7 American Black Ducks, 2 Lesser Scaup, a Gadwall, a Green-winged Teal, 9 Common Mergansers, 3 Hooded Mergansers, 31 American Coots, and a Pied-billed Grebe in among an impressive number of 94 Ruddy Ducks. A Horned Grebe had recently been reported there, but I wasn't seeing it. After about an hour-and-a-half, I finally spotted it among one of the groups of Canada Geese. I ended up with 16 species of waterbirds. I also saw 2 immature Bald Eagles and 2 Red-tailed Hawks, one of which was carrying a branch in its beak.
I stopped to see if the Hollo Road retention pond was still frozen, and it was, so there wasn't anything there. However, the corn-stubbled fields and brush along the adjacent Shoeneck Creek held a good number of sparrows. I conservatively counted 23 White-throated Sparrows, 18 Dark-eyed Juncos, 2 Song Sparrows, and one White-crowned Sparrow. Closer inspection of the White-crowned's head revealed clean, pale lores and a dull orange bill with a hint of pink, which most closely matched that of one representing the "Gambel's" race. I managed to get one decent photo before it flew off.
Sunday, February 2, 2025
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Tundra Swan near Wy-Hit-Tuk Park ~ January 28, 2024
Yesterday afternoon, Owen Smith found a Tundra Swan on the Delaware River south of Wy-Hit-Tuk Park. I went over there late this afternoon and found it about a mile south of the park. At first, it was resting on the ice with its head tucked in. Then, it preened a little, got into the river, and fed for a while before returning to the ice.
Also seen there were 11 Hooded Mergansers, 5 Hooded Mergansers, and 5 American Black Ducks.
A Pileated Woodpecker and 5 Eastern Bluebirds were seen along the canal.
Also seen there were 11 Hooded Mergansers, 5 Hooded Mergansers, and 5 American Black Ducks.
A Pileated Woodpecker and 5 Eastern Bluebirds were seen along the canal.
Sunday, January 26, 2025
Ballas Park, Field Birding, and the Nazareth Quarry ~ January 26, 2024.
In the morning, I walked around Ballas Park. An adult Red-shouldered Hawk was perched in a tree at the pond across the road. In the southwestern corner, I came across 18 American Goldfinches, 4 Eastern Bluebirds, and 2 American Tree Sparrows. On the east side of the park, there were 21 American Robins. I had been keeping an eye out for Northern Harrier, which is often seen there, but instead spotted this circling Peregrine Falcon!
I birded four different field areas and found Horned Larks at each one of them, but couldn't find a Snow Bunting or Lapland Longspur among them.
I eventually ended up seeing a male Northern Harrier, also known as a "Gray Ghost", from S. Summit Road between Moorestown and Bath, but it was too far away for photos.
My last stop was at the Nazareth Quarry. Two male Redheads continued along its northern edge. After a while, I spotted a male Greater Scaup with them. Lesser and Greater Scaup are tough to tell apart, but this bird always showed a head with its peak in front of the eye and sloping from there down the rear of the head. It also appeared about the same size or larger than the adjacent Redheads. Unfortunately, it never flew or raised its wings to allow a look at its wing stripes.
A pair of Gadwall was also present, staying very tight to the rocky shoreline in the northwest corner.
There was only one Snow Goose present and it was in among 77 Ring-billed Gulls and 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. I counted about 45 Ruddy Ducks and 16 American Coots sprinkled in among the Canada Geese. Also seen in the quarry were 9 Buffleheads, 6 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 American Black Ducks, and 3 Common Mergansers, plus a Belted Kingfisher was heard doing its loud, rattling call while a Common Raven flew by.
I birded four different field areas and found Horned Larks at each one of them, but couldn't find a Snow Bunting or Lapland Longspur among them.
I eventually ended up seeing a male Northern Harrier, also known as a "Gray Ghost", from S. Summit Road between Moorestown and Bath, but it was too far away for photos.
My last stop was at the Nazareth Quarry. Two male Redheads continued along its northern edge. After a while, I spotted a male Greater Scaup with them. Lesser and Greater Scaup are tough to tell apart, but this bird always showed a head with its peak in front of the eye and sloping from there down the rear of the head. It also appeared about the same size or larger than the adjacent Redheads. Unfortunately, it never flew or raised its wings to allow a look at its wing stripes.
A pair of Gadwall was also present, staying very tight to the rocky shoreline in the northwest corner.
There was only one Snow Goose present and it was in among 77 Ring-billed Gulls and 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. I counted about 45 Ruddy Ducks and 16 American Coots sprinkled in among the Canada Geese. Also seen in the quarry were 9 Buffleheads, 6 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 American Black Ducks, and 3 Common Mergansers, plus a Belted Kingfisher was heard doing its loud, rattling call while a Common Raven flew by.
Friday, January 24, 2025
Copulating Great Horned Owls! ~ January 24, 2024
In the mid-afternoon, I returned to the "Forks of the Delaware" in Easton to check out the gulls. There were 7 American Herring Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed among the roughly 250 Ring-billed Gulls. There were 25 Buffleheads actively diving above the dam.
At the confluence of the Lehigh and the Delaware, I saw 7 Common Mergansers, 3 Ring-necked Ducks, and a distant Common Goldeneye.
I left there, drove up the Lehigh, parked at Riverview Park, and walked to the Chain Dam. Just below the dam, there were around 350 Ring-billed Gulls with one American Herring Gull among them, plus about 125 Canada Geese. Among the geese, I spotted an aberrant-plumaged goose. It lacked the full white 'chinstrap' of a Canada Goose, had a faint line on its crown, and had some faint white markings on its neck.
There were also a total of 7 Common Mergansers there, five above the dam and two below it.
It was late afternoon, so I decided to drive over to Penn Pump Park and walk the Palmer Bikeway. There has been a pair of Great Horned Owls present in that area for years and they were being reported there again this year. I saw 7 Common Mergansers and a Snow Goose on the adjacent Bushkill Creek. I just happened to meet Amy Opitz and her husband there on the trail. A Golden-crowned Kinglet called and flew across the trail as the pair of Great Horned Owls starting calling back and forth to each other. After some searching, I found the male perched in one of the pines.
His white throat patch would expand and vibrate as he called.
Two other birders showed up and I pointed the male out to them. Soon after, the female flew in and landed closer to us.
She then flew back near the male, landed on a branch in a fairly open area, and continued calling.
That's when I saw something I'd never seen before. The male flew over, landed on her back, and they began copulating! What was even more amazing was that I managed to get some fairly decent photos of it despite them being backlit by the setting sun.
After a few seconds, the male flew off to the right and the female flew a short distance to the left.
As the light continued to fade, I walked back to the car with a big grin on my face, still not believing what I got to see.
At the confluence of the Lehigh and the Delaware, I saw 7 Common Mergansers, 3 Ring-necked Ducks, and a distant Common Goldeneye.
I left there, drove up the Lehigh, parked at Riverview Park, and walked to the Chain Dam. Just below the dam, there were around 350 Ring-billed Gulls with one American Herring Gull among them, plus about 125 Canada Geese. Among the geese, I spotted an aberrant-plumaged goose. It lacked the full white 'chinstrap' of a Canada Goose, had a faint line on its crown, and had some faint white markings on its neck.
There were also a total of 7 Common Mergansers there, five above the dam and two below it.
It was late afternoon, so I decided to drive over to Penn Pump Park and walk the Palmer Bikeway. There has been a pair of Great Horned Owls present in that area for years and they were being reported there again this year. I saw 7 Common Mergansers and a Snow Goose on the adjacent Bushkill Creek. I just happened to meet Amy Opitz and her husband there on the trail. A Golden-crowned Kinglet called and flew across the trail as the pair of Great Horned Owls starting calling back and forth to each other. After some searching, I found the male perched in one of the pines.
His white throat patch would expand and vibrate as he called.
Two other birders showed up and I pointed the male out to them. Soon after, the female flew in and landed closer to us.
She then flew back near the male, landed on a branch in a fairly open area, and continued calling.
That's when I saw something I'd never seen before. The male flew over, landed on her back, and they began copulating! What was even more amazing was that I managed to get some fairly decent photos of it despite them being backlit by the setting sun.
After a few seconds, the male flew off to the right and the female flew a short distance to the left.
As the light continued to fade, I walked back to the car with a big grin on my face, still not believing what I got to see.
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Iceland Gull at the Forks of the Delaware ~ January 22, 2024
With the continuing days of below-freezing weather, I went down to the "Forks of the Delaware" in Easton to see how iced-up the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers were. Both rivers were roughly half-frozen and there were a congregation of gulls on the ice above the dam on the Lehigh. I scanned through about 200 Ring-billed Gulls and smaller numbers of Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls and spotted an adult Iceland Gull! This one was an individual with fairly dark eyes and very extensive charcoal-gray markings on the wingtips. The eyes and wingtip pattern brought up the possibility of the involvement of some "Thayer's" genes, but it best fit the darkest form of a "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull.
I also did a double-take when I came across what seemed to be an American Herring Gull with no black in the wingtips, making it appear at first glance to be one of the "white-winged gulls".
I eventually discovered that it was indeed an American Herring Gull. The last three outer primaries were just growing in, so the dark markings were not visible at all on the left wing and there were only a few markings on the right wing.
I also did a double-take when I came across what seemed to be an American Herring Gull with no black in the wingtips, making it appear at first glance to be one of the "white-winged gulls".
I eventually discovered that it was indeed an American Herring Gull. The last three outer primaries were just growing in, so the dark markings were not visible at all on the left wing and there were only a few markings on the right wing.
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