Ballas Park ~ January 11, 2024

I decided to go to Ballas Park late this afternoon and walk the trail loop. On the way up there, I stopped to check out the ponds at Albert Road beforehand. A Common Merganser and the expected Ring-necked Ducks were the only interesting birds found there.

I drove the short distance over to Ballas Park. Right after I got out of the car, a young Northern Harrier flew fairly close by over the field.

Northern Harrier

It was mostly quiet along the trail with the exception of some White-throated and Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. I was almost all the way back around to the parking lot when I noticed a sparrow in a tree and a few more in the brush underneath. They turned out to be American Tree Sparrows. I got some pretty good photos of one of the seven that I saw.

American Tree Sparrow

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A Tour of Northampton County ~ January 10, 2024

With the passing of the huge storm yesterday, I wanted to get out and check the area for any coastal birds that may have been blown inland. My first stop was the Nazareth Quarry. There, I found 82 Ring-billed Gulls, 24 Ruddy Ducks, 13 Buffleheads, 12 American Coots, and 2 American Black Ducks among around 6000 Snow Geese. At the Hollo Road pond, a Cackling Goose was in among the Canadas.

Cackling Goose

I then drove to the Martins Creek PPL power plant area. There, I found 17 Buffleheads, 3 Ruddy Ducks, 2 Gadwall, a Cooper's Hawk, 30 American Robins, 4 Purple Finches, and 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Purple Finch

Yellow-rumped Warbler

From there, I headed for Echo Lake. Along the way, I checked the Cedar Road ponds in Washington Township, which held 2 Mute Swans in the pond and 6 Eastern Bluebirds next to the road.

Mute Swans

Echo Lake had a nice selection of birds that included 16 Mute Swans, 88 Ring-necked Ducks, 17 American Wigeon, 5 Gadwall, 4 Buffleheads, 2 American Black Ducks, a Ruddy Duck, and 3 Ring-billed Gulls among Mallards and Canada Geese.

Mute Swans

American Wigeon

Gadwall

Bufflehead

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Valley Center Parkway Ponds and Regency Ponds ~ January 8, 2024

I drove over to the Valley Center Parkway ponds and quickly found the Greater White-fronted Goose that Lucas Foulk reported from there in the morning. It was standing on ice near the middle of the pond on the north side of the road. I got photos of it as it did a leg stretch, which made it appear like it was a contestant in an ice skating competition.

Greater White-fronted Goose

I then drove over to the Regency Boulevard retention ponds where I saw the American Wigeon reported there from a couple days ago. It was in the south pond along with 2 Buffleheads that were among the several hundred Canada Geese.

American Wigeon

I also saw a distant group of about 50 Horned Larks in the field west of the development.

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Graver's Hill, Schlegel Road, and E. Best Road ~ January 7, 2024

I wanted to get up to Graver's Hill because the snow on the ground makes the Horned Larks and other field birds much easier to find, plus it often brings them to the edges of the road. I got there in the mid-afternoon and saw Bill Etter and Billy Weber already checking out the fields. A few groups of Horned Larks were scurrying around over the snow looking for food. I estimated around 80 birds were there, but there were probably more. Along S. Oaks Road, I spotted one of the 3 Snow Buntings that they had found, but was unable to get any photos before it flew. Soon after, an American Pipit was hopping down the middle of the road, feeding as it went. I got some pretty good photos of it using the car as a blind. I did not see the Lapland Longspur that was found on our Christmas Count a couple weeks ago.

American Pipit

Nearby Schlegel Road held another 30 Horned Larks. Later, near Copella Road and E. Best Road, I saw a group of 49 Wild Turkeys with some of the males displaying.

Wild Turkeys

Housenick Park and the Silver Crest Pond ~ January 5, 2024

I went to Housenick Park this afternoon to see if the Western Kingbird and Eastern Phoebe were still there. I found the phoebe but never saw the kingbird.

Eastern Phoebe

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was tapping on a tree near where the phoebe was.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

I was just about to get into the car when I noticed a Merlin perched atop a tree in the fencerow.

Merlin

Over at the Silver Crest Road retention pond, I found 6 Ruddy Ducks, a Great Blue Heron, and one Snow x Canada Goose hybrid among 500 Canada Geese.

A Snow x Canada Goose hybrid.

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Grand Central Landfill ~ January 3, 2024

I took a ride up to the Grand Central landfill this afternoon. There was no gull activity that could be seen from the Evergreen Cemetery, so I drove up to their environmental center, parked, and walked over to the gate. From there, I could see most of the gulls, but the distance required a scope to see details on the birds. I found at least two different Iceland Gulls. There was an adult with gray markings on the primaries and at least one first-winter bird. I was able to get a few very distant photos of the first-year bird. The birds are centered in each photo. Clicking on the photo will enlarge it a bit.

First-winter Iceland Gulls

An attempt at a digiscoped photo of the bird in the 2nd photo didn't fare much better.

First-winter Iceland Gull

I also had a bird there that appears to be a "Nelson's" Gull, which is a Herring x Glaucous Gull hybrid.

Look at the light-mantled bird facing left that's just below the bird atop the hill that's facing away. Note its larger size compared to the surrounding Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls, the 'blocky' head, and the gray markings on the primaries, pointing towards this bird likely being a "Nelson's" Gull.

Look at the light-mantled bird facing left that's just below the spread white tail of the Lesser Black-backed Gull in flight. Note its larger size compared to the surrounding Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls and the 'blocky' head, pointing towards this bird likely being a "Nelson's" Gull.

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Birding New Year's Day at Housenick Park ~ January 1, 2024

I did not want my first bird of 2024 to be one of the many House Sparrows that often swamp my feeders, so I made it a point to start looking on the opposite side of the house. It was a good move. My first species was Ring-billed Gull, followed by American Robin, an adult Bald Eagle, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

I arrived at Housenick Park in the early afternoon. It was drizzling when I got out of the car. One of the first birds I noticed was the Western Kingbird! This bird was first found by Linda Freedman and Jim Figlar back on November 1st and was surprisingly still present. Unfortunately, while I was getting my camera out of the car, the bird got lost among the numbers of American Robins that were in the same area. While searching for it, I saw a Golden-crowned Kinglet, 4 Eastern Bluebirds, 5 Cedar Waxwings, a Chipping Sparrow, and 6 Field Sparrows among about 50 American Robins.

Eastern Bluebird

Chipping Sparrow

Field Sparrow

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