With the weather finally warming to more reasonable temperatures, I was planning to walk some trails early this morning. I was just about ready to head out when I got an early morning call from Jason Horn letting me know that a Common Chaffinch had been discovered in a Montgomery County backyard yesterday and that the homeowners, Pat and Tony Mastase connected with the Valley Forge Audubon Society, were allowing birders to come see it! Obviously, my plans quickly changed and I started the hour-plus drive down to Eagleville. I got there around 9:30 and joined the roughly dozen birders already in the house watching their feeders. The bird had been seen about a half-hour before I got there. It took about two hours before the
Common Chaffinch finally returned to the backyard, allowing all of us nice looks at this European bird. Of course, there has been discussions whether this is a wild bird or an escaped one. In my opinion, if the European Robin from several years ago got accepted, then I see no reason why this bird, a drab female nonetheless, shouldn't be. I took a bunch of photos through the window, so I knew they weren't going to be real sharp, but many of them still came out pretty nicely.
I thanked the homeowners for letting me in to see this first Pennsylvania record and then decided to drive 15 minutes farther to see the
Tufted Duck that had also been found yesterday along the Oaks section of the Schuylkill River. I parked and walked down the trail where I found a group of birders watching the duck along the Chester County side of the river. It was pretty far downriver, but I still managed to get a few photos showing the tuft of feathers sticking out of the back of its head.
While there, a Bald Eagle was seen flying back and forth across the river with nesting material, which I got a couple distant photos of.
Other birds seen there included 14 Hooded Mergansers, 3 Gadwall, and an adult Red-shouldered Hawk. It was an exceptional day that made the drive back home a lot more enjoyable. More photos of the Common Chaffinch can be seen at my
Pennsylvania Notables Photos Album.
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