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.

---