Semipalmated Plovers and Many Green Herons ~ August 11, 2025

I did a late-day run to several spots to look for waders and shorebirds. At Green Pond, I found a nice total of 13 Green Herons (nine around the back middle pond, two in the Farmersville Road pond, and two more in the Green Pond Road pond).

Green Heron

Two Great Egrets were also there along with a Great Blue Heron, a Killdeer, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, a Solitary Sandpiper, 3 Eastern Kingbirds, Tree and Barn Swallows, a Gray Catbird, and 5 American Goldfinches.

Great Egret

The Newburg Road retention pond held 2 Killdeer, a Solitary Sandpiper, a Least Sandpiper, a Great Blue Heron, and Tree and Barn Swallows.

The Hollo Road retention pond produced one Spotted, one Least, and 2 Solitary Sandpipers, plus a Lesser Yellowlegs.

My last stop was at the Tatamy Exit retention pond. Three Semipalmated Plovers were there.

Semipalmated Plovers

A Great Blue Heron and 4 Green Herons were also spread around the pond.

Green Herons

A careful scanning of the pond revealed 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 6 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper, 2 Killdeer, and 15 Least Sandpipers.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Least Sandpipers

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Red-necked Phalarope Still Continues ~ August 9, 2025

I made an early evening stop at the Tatamy Exit retention pond and saw that all of the birds there had left except for one Spotted and one Solitary Sandpiper, and a Green Heron.

Just before sunset, I stopped at the Hollo Road retention pond to look for the Red-necked Phalarope. It was still there, now for the fifth day, which I believe is the longest one has stayed in the area at one spot. I took some more photos of it in the failing light.

Red-necked Phalarope

Also there were 4 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Killdeer, a Great Blue Heron, and an Eastern Kingbird.

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Red-necked Phalarope and the Tatamy Exit Pond ~ August 8, 2025

Around 2:00, I stopped at the Hollo Road retention pond to check for the Red-necked Phalarope. It was still there actively feeding. I took some long-distance photos of it in the harsh sunlight.

Red-necked Phalarope

The Pied-billed Grebe was there, too, along with 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, one Solitary and one Spotted Sandpiper, and 4 Bank Swallows and 6 Tree Swallows.

I stopped at the Tatamy Exit retention pond and found 12 Killdeer, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper, 11 Least Sandpipers, and a Great Blue Heron.

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The Phalarope, Night-Heron, and Little Blue Heron Again ~ August 6, 2025

My friend and I went golfing at Sawmill Golf Course in Stockertown. Afterwards, I stopped at the Tatamy Exit retention pond, which has been one of the better local spots for shorebirds lately. There, I found 6 Killdeer, a Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, a Pectoral Sandpiper, 17 Least Sandpipers, 4 Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a Green Heron.

I headed over to the Hollo Road retention pond to see if the Red-necked Phalarope was still there, and it was.

Red-necked Phalarope

The Pied-billed Grebe was also there along with 3 Least Sandpipers, a Semipalmated Sandpiper, a Solitary Sandpiper, 3 Killdeer, and 8 Chimney Swifts.

I checked the Newburg Road retention pond for the immature Black-crowned Night-Heron and again found it at the same place it was the day before.

The immature Black-crowned Night-Heron.

A Great Blue Heron was also there, but the Great Egret was not.

The immature Little Blue Heron was perched in a tree along Green Pond when I got there.

The immature Little Blue Heron.

A total of 6 Green Herons were in the back southeast pond.

Green Herons

An Eastern Phoebe, an Eastern Kingbird, 4 American Goldfinches, and 4 Chipping Sparrows were seen along the paved path by the golf course.

Eastern Phoebe

The Great Egret was again in the small pond next to the house.

Great Egret

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Black-crowned Night-Heron AND Red-necked Phalarope! ~ August 5, 2025

I did an afternoon run to a few retention ponds, starting at Green Pond. I couldn't find the immature Little Blue Heron there, but I did see a high total of 10 Green Herons. Seven were in the back southeast pond, two were at Green Pond itself, and the other was at the retention pond along Green Pond Road. The small wooded pond by the house held the Great Egret and a Solitary Sandpiper. Also seen there were 2 Spotted Sandpipers, an Eastern Kingbird, Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 2 Eastern Bluebirds, 2 American Goldfinches, a Chipping Sparrow, and a male Baltimore Oriole.

I did a quick check of the Newburg Road retention pond and noticed that the Great Egret that had been occasionally visiting the pond was there. As I panned with my binoculars, I noticed the greenish-yellow legs of another bird. It was smaller than a Great Blue Heron. I took a photo with my camera, enlarged it on the screen, and realized that it was an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron! I sent out a text alert to other birders about it and then took several more photos.

An immature Black-crowned Night-Heron.

A few other birders showed up to see it. I left there and drove over to the Hollo Road retention pond. I was looking for the Pied-billed Grebe that had been hanging out there when I noticed a bird spinning around at the western edge of the pond. It was a Red-necked Phalarope! Once again, I sent out a text alert to other birders about it and then took a bunch of distant photos of it since you can only bird there from the road. These were my better ones.

Red-necked Phalarope

My last stop was the Tatamy Exit retention pond, which held a Greater Yellowlegs, 4 Lesser Yellowlegs, 8 Least Sandpipers, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, 7 Killdeer, and a Great Egret.

Greater Yellowlegs

Least Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Great Egret

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Another Area Pond Check ~ August 3, 2025

In the mid-afternoon, I started a run around to several retention ponds. The notable birds from each spot are mentioned. The first spot was the Regency Boulevard ponds, which held a Wood Duck, a Great Blue Heron, and 2 Bank Swallows among Tree and Barn Swallows.

Four Double-crested Cormorants, a Green Heron, and 2 Barn Swallows were noted at the Trio Farms Boulevard ponds.

Green Pond produced 2 Chimney Swifts, 2 Green Herons, a Great Egret, 2 Eastern Kingbirds, 3 Barn Swallows, and 3 American Goldfinches.

A Great Blue Heron and 4 Killdeer were at the Newburg Road retention pond behind the hospital.

The Hollo Road retention pond produced a Pied-billed Grebe, 2 Great Blue Herons, and a Bank Swallow with 4 Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

Two Ospreys were at the nest along the Nazareth-Tatamy Road, possibly raising a second brood.

A Great Egret continued at the Tatamy Exit retention pond.

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Little Stint in Pennsylvania! ~ August 1, 2025

Jason Horn called me at around 10:00 AM to let me know that a Little Stint, a Eurasian shorebird rarely seen in North American had been identified at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia by Martin Dellwo. He was already on his way. I was working on finishing eating when Mike Schall called me and asked if I was going for the Stint. When I told him I was about to leave, he said he was about 10 minutes from my house and asked if he could go along. That was fine with me, so soon after, we started the hour-and-a-half drive down there.

We found Jason and several others checking out a small flock of 'peeps' from the one deck. It wasn't there, and soon after, an immature Peregrine Falcon chased them off to the west.

An immature Peregrine Falcon.

Another birder reported a large group of 'peeps' about a mile to the west, so we walked all the way over there. As soon as we got there, another birder found the Stint among another group of 'peeps' in the southeast corner of the impoundment, so we hoofed it another mile back to the east. When we got there, it was a "Where's Waldo" situation of picking it out among at least 800 Semipalmated Sandpipers. Thankfully, it had an orange wash to the head and neck, which helped it stand out among the masses. I got several nice looks at it through the scope, but every time I tried to get a distant documentation photo of it, the group would lift off, swirl around, and drop back down. Then, we'd have to start all over trying to pick it out again from the rest. This happened a few times, but then the Peregrine Falcon came in and chased them all off to a different section of the impoundment, so I never did get a photo of it.

It was the first Pennsylvania record of Little Stint! There are only about two dozen records for the entire eastern U.S. coast. Mike and I were both happy enough with the looks we got of the bird, so we headed back, getting to my house at around 6:00 PM.

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