Eared Grebe in Northampton County! ~ August 30-31, 2025

Yesterday, I had reported a Horned Grebe at the Regency ponds. I swung over there again today and found it the same place it was yesterday. I mentioned on a text that it was still there. Craig Becker, who happened to be visiting his parents there in the development went over to the pond and took some photos of it, one of which he posted on Discord. Soon after, Eric Zawatski and Ross Gallardy, who have much more experience than I do with Eared Grebes, posted that it was actually the rarer Eared Grebe! Wow!

When I got home last night, I had processed the photos and mostly ruled out Eared Grebe because this bird had a white neck, a white area at the lores, and no hint of the white notch at the back of the head behind the eye. Apparently, the juveniles can show a lot of variation at this time of year. The peaked head and the chiseled bill pointed towards Eared, but thinking that Horned was much more likely than the western U.S.-located Eared, I figured it had to be a Horned. Wrong! And even more surprising! If accepted, this would be only the third record for Northampton County and one of only a handful of records for the Lehigh Valley area, plus there is only one other August record of Eared Grebe in Pennsylvania. That one was from south-central PA in August of 2023. Regardless of which species, it was my 143rd species for the Regency site. These are the photos from yesterday.

A juvenile Eared Grebe!, not the similar-looking Horned Grebe.

The grebe was on the far side of the pond today, so the photos weren't near as good.

Eared Grebe

Other birds seen there included 2 Wood Ducks, 5 Green Herons, and a Great Blue Heron.

Wood Duck

At the Newburg Road pond, I saw the continuing Double-crested Cormorant.

Double-crested Cormorant

Also present were 5 Killdeer, a Lesser Yellowlegs, one Spotted and one Solitary Sandpiper, 11 Least Sandpipers, and a Great Blue Heron.

The Hollo Road retention pond held 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, a Solitary Sandpiper, 5 Least Sandpipers, 2 Common Ravens, and an Osprey.

Osprey

The Tatamy Exit retention pond produced 5 Lesser Yellowlegs and a Semipalmated Sandpiper among 14 Least Sandpipers.

Semipalmated Sandpiper

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A Very Early Horned Grebe(?) at the Regency Ponds ~ August 30, 2025

I was planning on going out to check the local ponds for shorebirds when I got a text from Ann Coote, one of the residents at the Regency Boulevard ponds. Her husband, Andy, spotted a grebe in the south pond that looked like the photos recently posted of the Western Grebe from Green Lane Reservoir. So, I headed over there to check it out. When I got there, it wasn't a Western, but I was surprised to see that it was a Horned Grebe, a very unusual find in the summer. They usually migrate through our area during October and November. I got some real nice photos of it showing off its red eye.

Horned Grebe

It was the first record for the Regency ponds and my 143rd species for the site. Other birds seen there included a Wood Duck, a Great Blue Heron, 2 Green Herons, and 2 Eastern Kingbirds.

Wood Duck

Two Eastern Kingbirds.

The Hollo Road retention pond held a Lesser Yellowlegs, a Least Sandpiper, a Killdeer, and 3 Tree Swallows among around 50 Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

The Tatamy Exit retention pond produced a Semipalmated Plover, a Semipalmated Sandpiper, 7 Least Sandpipers, 2 Killdeer, and 7 Lesser Yellowlegs that included the bird with the injured right leg that was at the Hollo Road pond two days ago.

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Sandpiper

A Lesser Yellowlegs with an injured right leg.

My last stop was the Newburg Road pond where the first two birds I saw were a Great Egret and a Double-crested Cormorant.

Double-crested Cormorant

The cormorant was my 113th species for that site. Also present were 4 Killdeer, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, a Solitary Sandpiper, a Great Blue Heron, 9 Least Sandpipers, and 2 Horned Larks.

Horned Lark

This photo has three species in it: The Double-crested Cormorant (left), the Great Blue Heron, and one of the Lesser Yellowlegs (right).

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White-rumped Sandpiper at the Tatamy Exit Pond ~ August 28, 2025

After golfing, I stopped at the Tatamy Exit retention pond and found a White-rumped Sandpiper. I got some nice photos of it despite the harsh lighting. Note the long wingtips extending past the tail, the white eyebrow, black legs, and the limited streaking along the sides.

White-rumped Sandpiper

The distinctive white rump is almost always hidden by the wings unless the bird is in flight or preening like in these photos.

The often-hidden white rump on the White-rumped Sandpiper.

Also present were 6 Killdeer and one Least Sandpiper.

Killdeer

Least Sandpiper

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Common Nighthawks at Green Pond ~ August 27, 2025

I walked the trails of Jacobsburg State Park in the morning to check for migrants. A Broad-winged Hawk was perched along the trail behind the visitor center.

Broad-winged Hawk

A good count of 7 Eastern Wood-Pewees were present. Other probable migrants included 2 Red-eyed Vireos, 2 Baltimore Orioles, and an American Redstart.

Other species on the list included a Green Heron, a Belted Kingfisher, a Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Barn Swallow, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, Field Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, and Common Yellowthroat.

Hairy Woodpecker

I checked the Tatamy Exit retention pond on the way back home, but it was empty.

I went to Green Pond about an hour before sunset. My main goal was to look for migrating Common Nighthawks, which tend to peak in numbers during the last week of August. I walked the paved path to check the first pond (the Farmersville Road pond) and the back middle pond. The first pond held 2 Green Herons, a Great Blue Heron, and a Great Egret. The back pond held a Great Blue Heron and a Spotted Sandpiper. While I was at the back pond, I spotted a Common Nighthawk and got some mediocre photos of it in the fading light.

Common Nighthawk

Two more Common Nighthawks were seen flying around Green Pond itself, which also held a third Great Egret.

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Horned Larks by the Newburg Road Pond ~ August 26, 2025

I did another late day run to some ponds. The Tatamy Exit retention pond only held 2 Killdeer and a Lesser Yellowlegs.

The nearby Hollo Road retention pond held 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, one of which had an injured right leg. This was the same bird that was at the Tatamy Exit pond the day before, which is about a mile away.

A Lesser Yellowlegs with an injured right leg.

The Newburg Road retention pond was empty, but the grassy field behind the hospital held 14 Killdeer and at least 25 Horned Larks.

Horned Larks

Killdeer

I stayed there until dark watching for Common Nighthawks but came up empty.

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