Lookout Point gave us our first views of the "Lower Falls of the Yellowstone", a drop of 308 feet.
We spent the second night in our bungalow near the Old Faithful Lodge.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks ~ August 26, 2004
We set out for the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" by way of Norris Canyon Road. The first stop was Inspiration Point. There were fantastic views of the 20-mile-long canyon. The canyon is up to 1,200-feet deep in spots and about 3/4-of-a-mile wide.
Looking northeast from Inspiration Point into the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Looking southwest from Inspiration Point into the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Lookout Point gave us our first views of the "Lower Falls of the Yellowstone", a drop of 308 feet.
The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone from Lookout Point at the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
The Upper Falls of the Yellowstone from Uncle Tom's Point at the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. For perspective, note the people at the top right edge of the falls.
We spent the second night in our bungalow near the Old Faithful Lodge.
Lookout Point gave us our first views of the "Lower Falls of the Yellowstone", a drop of 308 feet.
We spent the second night in our bungalow near the Old Faithful Lodge.
Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks ~ August 27-28, 2004
August 27, 2004
For the first time of the entire trip, there were actually breaks in the clouds and that rarely-seen blue sky. We went south back to Grand Teton National Park, which had been a washout a couple days before. This time, we were able to get some fairly good views of the mountains.
The Grand Tetons in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
We returned to Yellowstone and hiked to some of the other geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin.
Riverside Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Castle Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
A stop at the Norris Geyser Basin gave us looks at more geysers and pools like Emerald Spring.
Emerald Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Before dropping down into the Mammoth Hot Springs area, we took in the view of Mt. Everts and the bridge over the Gardner River.
We left Yellowstone out through the North Entrance and under the Roosevelt Arch and then followed Route 89 north to I-90. From there, we went east to Billings where we spent the night.
August 28, 2004
We turned in our car and boarded our 8 AM flight back to Allentown through Cincinnati. It was a shame that the Going-to-the-Sun Road was closed and that the weather did not cooperate for most of the week. Despite that, it was a pretty good trip.
For the first time of the entire trip, there were actually breaks in the clouds and that rarely-seen blue sky. We went south back to Grand Teton National Park, which had been a washout a couple days before. This time, we were able to get some fairly good views of the mountains.
We returned to Yellowstone and hiked to some of the other geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin.
A stop at the Norris Geyser Basin gave us looks at more geysers and pools like Emerald Spring.
Before dropping down into the Mammoth Hot Springs area, we took in the view of Mt. Everts and the bridge over the Gardner River.
We left Yellowstone out through the North Entrance and under the Roosevelt Arch and then followed Route 89 north to I-90. From there, we went east to Billings where we spent the night.
August 28, 2004
We turned in our car and boarded our 8 AM flight back to Allentown through Cincinnati. It was a shame that the Going-to-the-Sun Road was closed and that the weather did not cooperate for most of the week. Despite that, it was a pretty good trip.
Friday, August 13, 2004
Massachusetts Trip for Red-footed Falcon! ~ August 12, 2004
Rick Wiltraut and I drove to Massachusetts and took the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard. We then headed to the Katama Airport where a Red-footed Falcon, a Eurasian bird, was being seen. We watched the bird as it hunted the airport grounds and perched on one of the runway signs.
Red-footed Falcon near Katama, Massachusetts on August 12, 2004.
Here, the bird is hovering like a Kestrel while hunting over the airfield. This bird was photographed at the Katama Airport on Martha's Vineyard. It represents the 1st North American record!
Red-footed Falcon near Katama, Massachusetts. Even at this great distance, the reddish-orange legs of the perched bird are noticeable. This bird was photographed at the Katama Airport on Martha's Vineyard. It represents the 1st North American record!
Here, the bird is hovering like a Kestrel while hunting over the airfield. This bird was photographed at the Katama Airport on Martha's Vineyard. It represents the 1st North American record!
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
South Texas Trip ~ June 10-12, 2004
June 10-11, 2004
On June 10th, 2004 Jason Horn, Dave Wilton and I rented a car and drove the 28 hours down to south Texas to see the Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush that was found in the town of Pharr on May 27th. We left Thursday morning and arrived at the Williams' residence in Pharr around noon on Friday, the 11th. We spent the rest of Friday there after enjoying excellent looks at the bird, which represents a 1st United States record!
Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush in Pharr, Texas. Note the longish legs and the distinctive orange eye ring and bill on the black head.
Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush in Pharr, Texas. Note the distinctive orange eye ring and bill and the black head contrasting with the brown back.
A Clay-colored Robin was also seen there.
June 12, 2004
Saturday morning, we went to Sabal Palm Grove Audubon Sanctuary and got great looks at three Yellow-green Vireos and the Gray-crowned Yellowthroat. North of the sanctuary, we watched a pair of Tamaulipas Crows with three young and a pair of Aplomado Falcons chasing a White-tailed Hawk out of their territory.
On June 10th, 2004 Jason Horn, Dave Wilton and I rented a car and drove the 28 hours down to south Texas to see the Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush that was found in the town of Pharr on May 27th. We left Thursday morning and arrived at the Williams' residence in Pharr around noon on Friday, the 11th. We spent the rest of Friday there after enjoying excellent looks at the bird, which represents a 1st United States record!
A Clay-colored Robin was also seen there.
June 12, 2004
Saturday morning, we went to Sabal Palm Grove Audubon Sanctuary and got great looks at three Yellow-green Vireos and the Gray-crowned Yellowthroat. North of the sanctuary, we watched a pair of Tamaulipas Crows with three young and a pair of Aplomado Falcons chasing a White-tailed Hawk out of their territory.
South Texas Trip ~ June 13-14, 2004
June 13, 2004
Sunday morning, we did a 'river watch' at Salineno and found a female Muscovy Duck with ten young and another one that flew upriver. Several interesting birds were seen along the dirt road at the northwest end of the town. They included Scaled Quail, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Verdin, Cactus Wren, Pyrrhuloxia, and Greater Roadrunner.
Greater Roadrunner near Salineno, Texas. Note the fairly long bill, slender body, long legs, large feet, and very long tail.
At Chapeno, several Red-billed Pigeons and a Gray Hawk put on a show, and a stop in Zapata produced a pair of White-collared Seedeaters.
White-collared Seedeater at Zapata, Texas. Note the male's white collar, tiny bill, white wing patch, and rounded tail. This bird was photographed at the pond by the Zapata Library.
White-collared Seedeater at Zapata, Texas. Note the dark head, the tiny yet thick bill, the small white wing patch, the rounded tail, and the small area of dark smudges just below the throat. This bird was photographed at the pond by the Zapata Library.
Eurasian Collared-Dove and Black-chinned Hummingbird were also seen in Zapata. That afternoon, we headed back home, stopping along the way at San Antonio's Friedrich Park to see Golden-cheeked Warbler.
June 14, 2004
We arrived back in Pennsylvania late Monday night. I got to see four 'lifers' plus the technically-uncountable Aplomado Falcon among the 130 species found on the trip.
South Texas Trip - June 10-14, 2004
1) Least Grebe
2) Brown Pelican
3) Double-crested Cormorant
4) Neotropic Cormorant
5) Least Bittern
6) Great Blue Heron
7) Great Egret
8) Snowy Egret
9) Tricolored Heron
10) Reddish Egret
11) Cattle Egret
12) Green Heron
13) Black-crowned Night-Heron
14) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
15) Roseate Spoonbill
16) Fulvous Whistling-Duck
17) Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
18) Muscovy Duck*
19) Wood Duck
20) Mottled Duck
21) Black Vulture
22) Turkey Vulture
23) Osprey
24) White-tailed Kite
25) Harris's Hawk
26) Gray Hawk
27) Swainson's Hawk
28) White-tailed Hawk
29) Red-tailed Hawk
30) Crested Caracara
31) American Kestrel
32) Aplomado Falcon*
33) Plain Chachalaca
34) Northern Bobwhite
35) Scaled Quail
36) Common Moorhen
37) Snowy Plover
38) Wilson's Plover
39) Black-necked Stilt
40) American Avocet
41) Willet
42) Long-billed Curlew
43) Semipalmated Sandpiper
44) Western Sandpiper
45) Laughing Gull
46) Gull-billed Tern
47) Caspian Tern
48) Royal Tern
49) Sandwich Tern
50) Forster's Tern
51) Least Tern
52) Black Tern
53) Black Skimmer
54) Rock Dove
55) Band-tailed Pigeon
56) Eurasian Collared-Dove
57) White-winged Dove
58) Mourning Dove
59) Inca Dove
60) Common Ground-Dove
61) White-tipped Dove
62) Yellow-billed Cuckoo
63) Groove-billed Ani
64) Great Horned Owl
65) Common Nighthawk
66) Common Pauraque
67) Chimney Swift
68) Buff-bellied Hummingbird
69) Black-chinned Hummingbird
70) Ringed Kingfisher
71) Green Kingfisher
72) Golden-fronted Woodpecker
73) Ladder-backed Woodpecker
74) Black Phoebe
75) Great Crested Flycatcher
76) Brown-crested Flycatcher
77) Great Kiskadee
78) Couch's Kingbird
79) Western Kingbird
80) Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
81) Horned Lark
82) Purple Martin
83) Cliff Swallow
84) Cave Swallow
85) Blue Jay
86) Green Jay
87) Brown Jay
88) American Crow
89) Mexican Crow
90) Chihuahuan Raven
91) Carolina Chickadee
92) Black-crested Titmouse
93) Verdin
94) Cactus Wren
95) Carolina Wren
96) Bewick's Wren
97) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
98) Clay-colored Robin
99) Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush*
100) Northern Mockingbird
101) Long-billed Thrasher
102) Curve-billed Thrasher
103) European Starling
104) White-eyed Vireo
105) Black-capped Vireo
106) Yellow-green Vireo*
107) Golden-cheeked Warbler
108) Black-and-white Warbler
109) Common Yellowthroat
110) Gray-crowned Yellowthroat*
111) Northern Cardinal
112) Pyrrhuloxia
113) Painted Bunting
114) Dickcissel
115) Olive Sparrow
116) White-collared Seedeater
117) Botteri's Sparrow
118) Cassin's Sparrow
119) Rufous-crowned Sparrow
120) Lark Sparrow
121) Red-winged Blackbird
122) Eastern Meadowlark
123) Brewer's Blackbird
124) Great-tailed Grackle
125) Common Grackle
126) Bronzed Cowbird
127) Altamira Oriole
128) House Finch
129) Lesser Goldfinch
130) House Sparrow
Sunday morning, we did a 'river watch' at Salineno and found a female Muscovy Duck with ten young and another one that flew upriver. Several interesting birds were seen along the dirt road at the northwest end of the town. They included Scaled Quail, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Verdin, Cactus Wren, Pyrrhuloxia, and Greater Roadrunner.
At Chapeno, several Red-billed Pigeons and a Gray Hawk put on a show, and a stop in Zapata produced a pair of White-collared Seedeaters.
Eurasian Collared-Dove and Black-chinned Hummingbird were also seen in Zapata. That afternoon, we headed back home, stopping along the way at San Antonio's Friedrich Park to see Golden-cheeked Warbler.
June 14, 2004
We arrived back in Pennsylvania late Monday night. I got to see four 'lifers' plus the technically-uncountable Aplomado Falcon among the 130 species found on the trip.
South Texas Trip - June 10-14, 2004
1) Least Grebe
2) Brown Pelican
3) Double-crested Cormorant
4) Neotropic Cormorant
5) Least Bittern
6) Great Blue Heron
7) Great Egret
8) Snowy Egret
9) Tricolored Heron
10) Reddish Egret
11) Cattle Egret
12) Green Heron
13) Black-crowned Night-Heron
14) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
15) Roseate Spoonbill
16) Fulvous Whistling-Duck
17) Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
18) Muscovy Duck*
19) Wood Duck
20) Mottled Duck
21) Black Vulture
22) Turkey Vulture
23) Osprey
24) White-tailed Kite
25) Harris's Hawk
26) Gray Hawk
27) Swainson's Hawk
28) White-tailed Hawk
29) Red-tailed Hawk
30) Crested Caracara
31) American Kestrel
32) Aplomado Falcon*
33) Plain Chachalaca
34) Northern Bobwhite
35) Scaled Quail
36) Common Moorhen
37) Snowy Plover
38) Wilson's Plover
39) Black-necked Stilt
40) American Avocet
41) Willet
42) Long-billed Curlew
43) Semipalmated Sandpiper
44) Western Sandpiper
45) Laughing Gull
46) Gull-billed Tern
47) Caspian Tern
48) Royal Tern
49) Sandwich Tern
50) Forster's Tern
51) Least Tern
52) Black Tern
53) Black Skimmer
54) Rock Dove
55) Band-tailed Pigeon
56) Eurasian Collared-Dove
57) White-winged Dove
58) Mourning Dove
59) Inca Dove
60) Common Ground-Dove
61) White-tipped Dove
62) Yellow-billed Cuckoo
63) Groove-billed Ani
64) Great Horned Owl
65) Common Nighthawk
66) Common Pauraque
67) Chimney Swift
68) Buff-bellied Hummingbird
69) Black-chinned Hummingbird
70) Ringed Kingfisher
71) Green Kingfisher
72) Golden-fronted Woodpecker
73) Ladder-backed Woodpecker
74) Black Phoebe
75) Great Crested Flycatcher
76) Brown-crested Flycatcher
77) Great Kiskadee
78) Couch's Kingbird
79) Western Kingbird
80) Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
81) Horned Lark
82) Purple Martin
83) Cliff Swallow
84) Cave Swallow
85) Blue Jay
86) Green Jay
87) Brown Jay
88) American Crow
89) Mexican Crow
90) Chihuahuan Raven
91) Carolina Chickadee
92) Black-crested Titmouse
93) Verdin
94) Cactus Wren
95) Carolina Wren
96) Bewick's Wren
97) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
98) Clay-colored Robin
99) Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush*
100) Northern Mockingbird
101) Long-billed Thrasher
102) Curve-billed Thrasher
103) European Starling
104) White-eyed Vireo
105) Black-capped Vireo
106) Yellow-green Vireo*
107) Golden-cheeked Warbler
108) Black-and-white Warbler
109) Common Yellowthroat
110) Gray-crowned Yellowthroat*
111) Northern Cardinal
112) Pyrrhuloxia
113) Painted Bunting
114) Dickcissel
115) Olive Sparrow
116) White-collared Seedeater
117) Botteri's Sparrow
118) Cassin's Sparrow
119) Rufous-crowned Sparrow
120) Lark Sparrow
121) Red-winged Blackbird
122) Eastern Meadowlark
123) Brewer's Blackbird
124) Great-tailed Grackle
125) Common Grackle
126) Bronzed Cowbird
127) Altamira Oriole
128) House Finch
129) Lesser Goldfinch
130) House Sparrow
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Prothonotary Warbler in Northampton County ~ May 24, 2004
Back on the 20th, Rett & Priscilla Oren found a Prothonotary Warbler between the Route 33 boat launch and the Route 33 bridge. I was happy to see the bird and get some photos of it.
Prothonotary Warbler along the Lehigh River, Northampton County. This photo was taken along the canal near the Route 33 boat launch area. Note the male's golden-yellow head and breast, unmarked dark wings, and white tail patches.
Prothonotary Warbler along the Lehigh River, Northampton County. This photo was taken along the canal near the Route 33 boat launch area. Note the male's golden-yellow head and breast, and unmarked dark wings. This bird was singing loudly but, apparently, couldn't find a mate and moved on.
This was a new county bird for me.
This was a new county bird for me.
Sunday, February 1, 2004
Harris's Sparrow in Northampton County! ~ January 31, 2004
Rick Wiltraut found an adult winter Harris's Sparrow along Stone Church Drive near Stone Church in Upper Mount Bethel Township on January 31st. I was able to get a few photos of the bird, which was associating with a group of White-crowned Sparrows.
I last saw it on 2/27/04. This bird represents the 2nd record for the Lehigh Valley area.
I last saw it on 2/27/04. This bird represents the 2nd record for the Lehigh Valley area.
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