Philadelphia, 11 Days Birding, July 2022-August 2022. (1 Viewer)

[Evan Atkinson]

Good morning all, I'm currently on holiday seeing family in Philadelphia, hence the reason why I am typing this at 4:25 in the morning . On Monday, we checked into our flight and to our surprise, we had been upgraded from Premium economy to Business class. I'd never flown business class at the time so I was very keen to know about it. It appeared that British Airways had put too many people into Premium economy, so since my dad and his girlfriend flew business regularly and sometimes First Class, we were bumped up to business for our flight to Philly. We arrived at the airport (note this was yesterday;(Tuesday)) at 10:30 or so, and I noted Feral Pigeon, Starling and House Sparrow. Eventually the gates opened for our flight, and we wanted to be the last ones on the plane so that we weren't around lots of people. However we unfortunately experienced some delays, first with the platform not moving away from the plane, and then an issue with the radio. Once all those interludes were fixed, we moved off and prepared to take off. For the record, I can not do take offs well at all, I need an adult with me for it, but oddly it wasn't that bad; perhaps the Sparrowhawk that was hunting over the grass next to the air strip put me off and I didn't think about it as much. The flight to Philadelphia was long and quite boring so I will fast-forward to when we are on our way down to the runway. The first bird I actually saw wasn't a Feral Pigeon or House Sparrow, it was actually a gull species, which I presumed to be a Herring Gull at the time since it did look rather big. As we landed and collected our stuff, I did see the unmistakable House Sparrow and Feral Pigeons. As my dad's girlfriends parents picked us up, we exchanged greetings and hugs and got in the car. As soon as we left the airport, a small dove flew across the road, and I saw the unmissable spots on the back; Mourning Dove! First lifer of the trip, and although it's a common one, I was glad to get it under my belt. Continuing along the highway, I picked up a hirundine low over a field; alas, it was a (Barn) Swallow and a few more flew through on the right hand side of me. Up ahead, American Crows sat on the power lines, sometimes accompanied by Mourning Doves, and Collared Doves. As we passed a small lake, a bird caught my eye perched on a mass of large sticks and branches, and it amassed to be a Double-Crested Cormorant a bird I was happy to connect with. We then began to enter the neighbourhoods, and this was where the birding picked up significantly. In less than 5 minutes, I had American Robin, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Goldfinch, Blue Jay, Starling and Red-winged blackbird. We were 5 minutes from home and we passed by a golf course; expecting to see a Great Blue Heron or a Snowy Egret in the channels and around the lake's edge, but nothing. I looked above me and I was stunned. 20+ Chimney Swifts hawking over the golf courses at heights level with a bungalow. Chimney Swift was one of my goals for the trip, and to see them so quickly and closely was quite remarkable. We arrived at our house, and I was pleased to pick up House Finch on the feeders. Many of the normal garden birds put in some appearances in the garden although the light was pretty horrific, no sunlight at all and I was generally shooting at 4000 ISO and above. We decided to take the dog out, it was highly enjoyable seeing her run after us. She was on the lead and doesn't go for the birds, and it worked in my favor since the birds she inevitably flushed seemed to fly towards me into the trees. It was even more enjoyable seeing at least half a dozen more Chimney Swifts hawking over the houses. I got one usable photo although the photos will probably be uploaded once I get back to the UK. Turning back, we crossed a road and a bird with a deep undulating flight landed in a tree just ahead of us. I knew it was a woodpecker species, so I grabbed a few record shots, and I was able to confirm it as a female Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Under the feeders we had what I believe to be juvenile White-throated Sparrows which were of the tan stripe race. I set my self a goal of 100 species during the time I'm here which I believe is doable and the majority of them will be lifers for me. I'm not sure where I will go out today but I will try and improve my photos as the golden hour is coming in an hour or so. I will try to keep this as daily as I can.

Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[jmepler]

Hi Ev,

Eurasian Collared-Dove is fairly rare and localized in Pennsylvania, but certainly possible. White-throated Sparrow do not breed in the southern part of the state. The more expected sparrows this time of the year would be Song Sparrow followed by Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, and Swamp Sparrow.

I certainly think that 100 species is possible. We are getting some post-breeding dispersal now with some unusual things showing up. There were four Wood Storks being seen at Octoraro Reservoir on the Lancaster-Chester County border, just an hour west of Philadelphia. They were still being reported there yesterday.

Do you use eBird? There is also a mobile app. It would be useful for you to find target species, and to narrow down likely species if you aren't sure of the identification.

Enjoy your trip, and good luck.
Mike

 

[Evan Atkinson]

Yes I use eBird, I do look through the places that I'm looking at going to but I don't explore the wider areas since it's more of a family holiday and I don't want to drag people all over the place. Maybe it was a song sparrow instead of White-throated.

Many thanks,
Ev

 

[Evan Atkinson]

Day 2, 27th July

Yesterday was a pretty good day out, although annoyingly it was cloudy until about 10am, so no golden hour then. A few new species came to the garden including White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Carolina Wren, Northern Cardinal, Grey Catbird, and a big surprise in a Peregrine Falcon which was being harassed by a few Chimney Swifts. Speaking of the swifts, we went outside to take the dog for a walk, and I was in utter shock at a group of 45+ Chimney Swifts hawking insects at house level height, some coming very close to us overhead. I added Red-Shouldered Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk to the tally as two flew overhead. I added another species in Turkey Vulture. We did a loop of the neighbourhood, which yielded more of the same common backyard species; Song Sparrow, Chimney Swift, House Sparrow, House Finch, American Robin and so on. As we turned a corner, a bird with a slight undulating flight flew from a tree adjacent to me. It was a woodpecker species, with a long bill, but smaller than the Red-Bellied I'd seen earlier. It was a Hairy Woodpecker! I was slow to get on to it with the camera but I noted the important bill size and it looked marginally smaller than the Red-Bellied I'd seen yesterday. There were also quite a few Two-Tailed Swallowtails around which was very nice to see, some fell from the trees like leaves and landed on flowers. Continuing on, a smart male American Goldfinch landed in a tree although decided to climb higher and higher to deny me a nice picture. Not a lot happened afterwards, kept dealing with Spotted Lanternfly which are a horror to the environment as they can kill a lot of native species. We decided to go and see my dad's girlfriends brother, and I had a few hirundines overhead, but we got to an intersection and there were some hirundines with a white belly hawking over some trees. I couldn't make out the detail well enough, and they were about the same size as the Chimney Swifts next to them. Any ideas on what they might be? Not much else occurred afterwards, adult Red-Tailed Hawk flew over the road and that ended the day. Today we are heading to the Conowingo Dam for the eagles, can't get out early enough so going in the afternoon.

Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[Evan Atkinson]

Day 3, 28th July

A switch in plans was in order, as after checking Conowingo Dam on eBird, there didn't really seem to be many around, with only one being reported most recently. I was kindly informed about a place called Bombay Hook, so I managed to change the day and convince some of my family to take me there. The bad news was that we were severely undergunned in terms of clothing. We arrived at the refuge around 4:40pm, and on getting out the car, noted a lifer; Purple Martin. They were pretty nimble but occasionally one would come close enough for a decent picture. A few minutes later, I felt something on my left leg, and it was this big fly with a green head. I kid you not I got a little freaked out, and swatted the fly away, whilst screaming a bit in the process . Unfortunately we hadn't learned our lesson, so we decided to try and walk to the tower overlooking one of the pools that was close to the entrance of the refuge. I got bit 2 more times by a mosquito and the same bug that got me earlier. We soon realised that the hide wasn't indoors, it was outdoor with nothing around it, so we gave up and ran back to the car. I did add Northern Mockingbird to the list though which was nice. So from that point on we basically just sat in the hide, with the windows up and just watching from in the car. It was a good decision too since we had at least 20 of those damn bugs following us around. Eventually, we got around to the first couple of pools, and I immediately noted Snowy Egret, Mallard, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Forsters Tern and some sort of terrapin/turtle sp. We were rounding the bend to a straightaway, and I saw a small heron species fly into a tree, and I got quite excited, calling out "Least Bitterm!! Least Bittern!!" but upon reeling off a couple record shots, it turned out to be a Green Heron but still a good bird to have under our belt. The straightaway we were driving upon proved popular with the Forsters Terns who were fishing very close to us. Now this was where I was pretty conflicted, the flies were still around and I really didn't want to get bittern, so I rolled down the window and got a few pics that I was pleased with, and oddly, no flies came in to the car. Continuing on, we finally saw what we came for; and the shout came from my dad's girlfriend who enquired "Is that an eagle?" Through the bins I could make out a giant wingspan, and immediately knew it was one; we had seen a Bald Eagle. We were all pretty excited as this was the bird we wanted to see the most, but it was gliding away from us and in to the sun, but we would get better opportunities later. On the flats were we observed the eagle, stood some peeps (small sandpipers, notoriously known for being very difficult to ID), now I'm not good at ID'ing these little shorebirds, and them being directly in to the sun really didn't help. Although on comparison there were some that were smaller than the others, and I found Semipalmated Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper fairly quickly amongst a few Western Sandpiper. The sun really wasn't doing me any favours, we watched another Bald Eagle go up, and it looked like it was on good trajectory to be coming to the right of the car. Since I was on the left hand side me and my dad's girlfriend swapped positions so I could get some pictures. One or two turned out ok, but I think the heat haze was affecting it, not to mention we had the car running whilst I was taking pictures so that might've contributed to some poor IQ. We neared the end of the straightaway and upon looking back, I noticed a large bird coming overhead, it was dark, had a curved bill; Glossy Ibis! Now unfortunately everyone was talking and I knew my dad's girlfriend wanted to see one so I shouted "Glossy Ibis out your window T!" She heard me yell at her but just missed the bird as it disappeared over the trees. It would be the only one we would see that day. Throughout the rest of the trip, more of the same were prevalent, although I did add Black-necked Stilt, Canada Geese, Sand Martin (Bank Swallow), Northern-Rough Winged Swallow and Tree Swallow. We reached a crossing and decided to go to the right, which was an excellent decision. As we overlooked the pool, we had excellent views of 3 Bald Eagles stood on the ground drinking. 2 more joined them, and there were 3 juveniles and 2 adults, so it seemed that the breeding season was successful for them. As we were watching, another large raptor appeared over the trees, but it was notably smaller than the eagles, and I immediately new it was an Osprey! It was a bird I really hoped to get under my belt soon, and it did a great flypast. It looked like it was about to start hovering, but obviously saw the eagles and thought better of it. A minute later I looked out the right window and there went the Osprey just 15 feet above the car. I didn't add any warblers to the list, since the bugs were coming back, and we were worried about ticks, but I ended the day by finally picking up Red-winged blackbird and also adding Eastern Phoebe. We arrived home, and the whole time I knew it was going to be a thundery evening. And so it was, and to end it with a bang, a very powerful positive lightning strike from just 500m away exploded in front of our eyes, one of the loudest phenomenon I have heard ever. My sister also got some pictures of iridesence which turned out looking a bit like a nebula.

Edit: Forgot to mention that I saw Laughing Gull and Herring Gull.

Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[Evan Atkinson]

29th and 30th of July

On the 29th we didn't go out much, but I added Eastern Kingbird and Downy Woodpecker to the list, and we also had a cracking male Red-bellied Woodpecker come to the feeders, and a smart White-breasted Nuthatch also put in a few appearances.

30th July

We went to John Heinz Refuge yesterday, it was very very enjoyable, and I added a couple new species. We arrived at the reserve and immediately a few American Goldfinch showed down to a mere 5 metres, although the light really didn't help at all. A Turkey Vulture circled over a couple of times, and a nice juvenile Bald Eagle joined the thermals, and then got harassed by an Osprey just 2 minutes later. Oddly that was the only one we'd see that day and the only one seen in 2 days so I do wonder if the Ospreys are getting a little territorial. Continuing along the path I got confused by Eastern Kingbird calls, and saw the first Barn Swallows with 4+ Chimney Swifts. We got to the boardwalk area where the Barn Swallows showed a little too well, coming very close to hitting me and my dad on several occasions. The familiar call of Chimney Swifts alerted me to their presence and I got a few shots that were actually half decent as they cruised around at the same height that the swallows were flying at. We continued on as we entered the "warbler woods" although I never saw a warbler in there , although I did pick up Wood Thrush which was new but it decided it wanted to stay hidden in the bushes. Continuing along the track it seemed I would finally be able to pick up a warbler species, as I added either American Yellow Warbler or Prothonotary, although I am pretty certain that it was a Yellow Warbler. Unfortunately I did not see a Tree Swallow so I'm not sure I will see one but I have my fingers crossed for the meadows in Cape May as they are being reported there. We were nearing the loop of the freshmarsh, and I spent at least 20 minutes trying unsuccessfully to get a decent Northern-Rough Winged Swallow pic, but the ones I ended up saving aren't the best. We got around the halfway point and a beautiful Swallowtail species of the form polyxenes showed very well on a bush till some bikers came along and flushed it. We also had some great flypasts of a seperate Swallowtail which was of the form troilus. We rounded a bend where I picked up Semipalmated Sandpiper and finally; Greater Yellowlegs. The trail led us to a very nice lookout tower where we were greeted by the sound of 50+ juvenile Barn Swallows, all screaming for food. It appeared the adults may have had time for a second brood as there were birds going under the decking with food in their bills. After we left I met a guy who told me about some Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks which were apparently vagrants from Florida although I still wasn't sure if they were just escapes. A flyover Snowy Egret had me take a closer look at the previous bird which I assumed was a Snowy, but the lack of yellow on the lores, yellow feet and the faint yellow going up the leg led me to concluding it as a juvenile Little Blue Heron, another new bird for me. On the way to the restaurant one of our family works in, I saw a stunning male Belted Kingfisher perched on a branch above a river. We surprised our family member by booking a table there. After a delicious chicken pie, I marvelled at the sight of 80+ Chimney Swifts, just circling and calling, presumably using the last of their energy before they go to roost.

New birds for the 2 days included (also I forgot to add a few species from Bombay Hook so I will add them down here now)
Wood Thrush
Black-Bellied Whistling Duck
Little Blue Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
Eastern Kingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Lesser Yellowlegs
Belted Kingfisher


Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[MikeInPA]

The Whistling ducks are almost certainly genuine.

 

[Evan Atkinson]

31st of July and 1st August

Firstly, I am a little behind on the posts, just a few things going on where I can't find the time to get on and upload. The 31st of July was a fairly plain day, up until around 11am, where my sister saw a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (which was another trip tick outside the window). I launched myself up from the sofa and got the camera, and got a few record shots of this beautiful little bird. It unfortunately didn't come closer and didn't really stick around long enough for it to go to a better spot. Chimney Swifts are a daily sight overhead, and more on those later, although the grackles have started to come out for the feeders.

August 1st

This was an exciting day for me, as all the time I had been hoping to get some bird stuff for family, we had said no feeders at the time, but the guy who was at the desk said we could get a free seed log with the feeder. The issue was was that the logs that were part of the deal were a little busted up, but we took him up on the offer and then got a large seed log for woodpeckers. Our budget was $55, but we went over by $7 (even though the majority of it was from tax). We also got some free bark butter which the chickadees and stuff really like and a free bag of bird seed which was mainly sunflower hearts. We arrived home and the people we had got the stuff for where very happy and thanked us for our generosities. Now I was initially not going to go out with my dad and a few of our family, but I decided to join them. We got there and it looked very good, lots of tall trees and overgrown bush, but annoyingly it seemed pretty popular with the residents, and it was only till we got all the way round the trail that we actually saw some birds in the open. Of course it would be American Robins that were the first birds seen on the walk, but I hadn't managed a decent shot of one so I tried to get a decent looking shot. Now the lighting was improving significantly, and I had heard Chimney Swifts calling overhead and seen a couple in flight but when we got to the opening of the campus, I was stunned. The swifts were zooming around one of the buildings at around (this is an estimate) 50mph, and they were lit up gloriously in the golden light. I knew that this was where I'd improve on my pics, but it was very tricky since the camera was having trouble focusing on them and I was having trouble keeping them in the frame. I got an interesting picture of 5 swifts in a line, but it was just slightly out of focus, but I kept it anyways. I picked up another new bird here too; Chipping Sparrow. I was honestly a little surprised I hadn't got one yet, but they were readily coming within 15ft of me and I managed a few nice pictures of one which was illuminated in the soft lighting. We got home and I decided to put up the new feeder, and remember how I got that busted up log for free with the feeder? Turned out it was so busted up that only half had the hole for it to fit on the feeder! I'm still not sure on what to do with the rest, perhaps crush it up and use it as ground mix? Headed to Cape May tomorrow, and there's been at least 20 new bird species seen, so I think that 100 is within my reach.


Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[Evan Atkinson]

2nd August

This was an incredibly exciting day for me since it was the day we would go to South Cape May Meadows. I added Coopers Hawk to the list which was a new garden bird as it swooped for a Mourning Dove. We arrived on site around 3pm and immediately noted Purple Martins, Osprey, Northern Mockingbird, Laughing Gull and Northern Cardinal. We had a look round the map but we were caught in our tracks when my sister suddenly felt a tick on the top of her head. Thankfully it wasn’t carrying anything bad but we still needed a prescription just in case. Not much occurred along the trail up to the viewing platform, but when we got there we had pretty good views of Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper and a new bird for me in Semipalmated Plover. Arriving on the viewing platform I met a guy who worked at the lighthouse and birds readily along here. He had the plover too, but also had a Pectoral Sandpiper. Other birds that occurred that were new for the list included Least Tern, Common Tern, Black Skimmer (my favourite from the bunch from the platform) American Herring Gull, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull and Royal Tern. I walked around with the guy and he helped me add Indigo Bunting, Brown Thrasher, Field Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Pelican (Brown?), Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Sanderling, Greater-Black Backed Gull, Bank Swallow (Sand Martin) and American Oystercatcher. Whilst scoping the ocean we had good but brief views of Bottlenose Dolphins. I went back out to the reserve and went back to the viewing platform where I had flyover Glossy Ibis and Osprey and then finally I got the last bird on my wish list; Tree Swallow. This was the first one I could confirm and it appeared to be a juvenile as it lacked the blue of the male. Going back up to the viewing platform I noticed 3 birds flying north past the platform. I was fairly convinced they were Spoonbills or Roseate Spoonbills, but upon firing off a few record shots, it turned out to be what I believe to be White Ibis, a very unexpected addition to the list. There was a good amount of Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, with probably at least a dozen individuals. We stayed until around 9:30, and had pretty good roost tallies; 28 Glossy Ibis went south towards some trees, and 18 Great Egrets followed close behind. We had some great views of Chimney Swifts with at least 25 going south. Throughout this period I attempted to get a picture of a bird going across the moon which I got once when a Laughing Gull flew close to the moon and I got the bird and the moon in shot. But of course as soon as I put the camera down two Chimney Swifts flew right across the moon in an unbelievably straight line which was quite odd and was pretty frustrating to me . We had a constant soundtrack of Red-winged Blackbirds, which really sounded like fireworks when they were calling, Killdeer and insects also joined in. The highlight though was seeing hundreds of Laughing Gulls fly south to roost, I’d estimate somewhere between 300-500 birds flew past the viewpoint. I got some pretty nice Sanderling shots, one of which I have named “Symmetry” as there is a bird at the front completely sharp, and behind it I froze a second bird in exactly the same position as the front bird. I also got some in flight shots as the waves unexpectedly flooded towards the bird forcing a flight from the birds.

Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[Evan Atkinson]

3rd of August and 4th August

On the 3rd we arrived at a new house at around 6pm. Prior to this I enjoyed very good views of garden birds including Chimney Swift, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, House Finch and more. Unfortunately we have managed to attract European Starlings, an invasive species which are a pain to deal with. The light was pretty poor so pics didn’t turn out too well. We arrived at our house, along the drive noting Red-tailed Hawk and Turkey Vulture.

4th August
The first proper day in the house, and I was very excited too see what I could pick up. I went out early with a family member, and straight away picked up Dark-eyed Junco, a new species for the list. I had been told there are bears in the area so I have avoided going out by myself and not venturing too deep into the woods. On the way back, I picked up 2 Red-eyed Vireos, another list tick. I also noted Chipping Sparrow nesting in the tree right outside the front door. I went on to the back deck, and soon had another Red-eyed Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch and Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I went out on a second walk with my dad and soon found this very intriguing flycatcher. Initially I thought Acadian could be an option but the cap is completely wrong for it. I’m going to post it in the ID section as I still don’t know what it is. We have access to a lake just 5 minutes down the road, and kayaks as well, so I had a go and went round the island. On the island we watched Eastern Kingbirds catching bugs off water just 10ft from us. I finally added Norther Flicker to the list as one flew into the tree on the island then flew across and started feeding on the floor. We also had Osprey over the lake which wasn’t surprising since there was a lot of fish. I tried to catch them with my hands but failed . By now we had a very large thunderstorm approaching and there was continuous lightning occurring so we needed to get out of the water ASAP. It narrowly avoided barrelling into us, but heavy thunderstorms are forecast today so might have to get out early to avoid them.

Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[jmepler]

On the island we watched Eastern Kingbirds fishing and plunging into the water just 10ft from us.

I think you mean Belted Kingfisher. Eastern Kingbird is a type of flycatcher.

What is your species count now? Is there anything on your list that you really want to see?

 

[Evan Atkinson]

No they were definitely Eastern Kingbirds lol. I think there were bugs on the water which they would catch off the surface. Perhaps fishing was the wrong word. I think I’m in the high 80s maybe 90s in terms of species on the list.

Edit: I have changed the wording of how the kingbirds were catching the bugs, as I was not very clear on what they were actually doing.

 

[etudiant]

No they were definitely Eastern Kingbirds lol. I think there were bugs on the water which they would catch off the surface. Perhaps fishing was the wrong word. I think I’m in the high 80s maybe 90s in terms of species on the list.

Edit: I have changed the wording of how the kingbirds were catching the bugs, as I was not very clear on what they were actually doing.

Your observations are quite correct, we have Eastern Kingbirds gorging on the various insects that abound around the NYC Central Park Pool at 103rd St.
The Pool is half covered with duckweed and home to multiple dragon fly species as well as many other insects. The Kingbirds seem to prefer dragonflies, maybe because they are a more rewarding catch, whereas House Sparrows as well as Cedar Waxwings are apparently happy even with smaller prey

 

[Prestdj]

sounds like a great trip i have fond memories of the USA some great birding all down the east coast from New York to Miami then New Orleans great stuff looking forward to more

 

[Evan Atkinson]

August 5th

A fairly uneventful day, woke up early and saw a Skunk in the garden which was a new mammal species for me. Went out on a walk with some family and had fun photographing Black-capped Chickadees and a juvenile Downy Woodpecker. I walked round down the bend and heard an unfamiliar call, which turned out to be Cedar Waxwings!! A very unexpected tick for me, probably at least 10 individuals but could’ve been more. A very strong thunderstorm moved slowly over the house with thunder every 30 seconds and quite torrential rain. We watched it move in from in the car looking out over the lake which provided good views of positive and negative cloud to ground lightning. Lots of vireos around, all I have seen and heard have been red-eyed so hoping for something new. Really lacking in the warbler department and only have 2 and a half days left so hoping it picks up a little.

Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[Evan Atkinson]

6th August

An excellent days birding, visited some waterfalls just 20 miles from us, and as we left I picked up Broad-winged Hawk circling the house. We arrived at the waterfall car park and had a smart male American Goldfinch. However it went very quiet for the majority of the hike. I was hoping to pick up Dipper but had no luck, although I did hear more Cedar Waxwings. My luck changed however, and I soon got a warbler under my belt. I’m still not sure what it is, but I ruled out Magnolia and Yellow-rumped. We proceeded on , and I was sound recording a new call, which turned out to be a Blue-headed Vireo!! I listened back to the audio of the song of it and my bird sounds the same as to what Merlin was suggesting. I also saw the bird and ruled out Red-eyed due to the lack of prominent super. Further round, I picked up 2 more Blue-headed Vireos, and then 4 Red-eyed Vireos. I was hoping for a Belted but had no luck even though there was a lot of trout present. We waited at the top of the hill and I finally got Sharp-shinned Hawk, as one circled distantly over the tree line. We had to walk back round to the cars, and I kept getting distracted by Chipping Sparrow calls, but I did have good comparison views of Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers. We arrived home and a family member told me that she had seen a Red-headed Woodpecker, a bird I still haven’t gotten along with the Pileated. I’m hoping I can get it, I think I’m pretty close to 100, going to tally it up today and see where I’m at.

Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[MKinHK]

We also had Osprey over the lake which wasn’t surprising since there was a lot of fish. I tried to catch them with my hands but failed

Probably a good thing - with talons like that they'd probably rip your face off!

 

[Evan Atkinson]

Probably a good thing - with talons like that they'd probably rip your face off!

I didn’t try and catch the Osprey, I wanted to catch the fish 😂. I would never try to catch a bird on purpose unless it’s for a ringing session, which I can’t even do yet.

 

[Evan Atkinson]

7th August

I was on 98 species, and needed 2 more to complete my goal. I staked out the Red-headed Woodpecker spot for 30 minutes and no sign. We decided to try a place called along Pond IBA, somewhere I saw on eBird. When we put in the map, we got to a random trail going along a farm. We were a little confused as there was no visitor centre, and it turned out we were standing on a persons property, and they were growing cannabis . This was a unique but quite worrisome experience as you never know what people will do. We finally arrived at the right reserve, and we came across a sign saying wear bright orange luminent cloathes since people were HUNTING on the reserve. I got a new bird however, in Eastern Towhee. We couldn’t see it yet, but better views would be obtained later. I picked up another new bird in Hermit Thrush, and I HAD DONE IT. 100 species achieved!!!! I also picked up Ruby-crowned Kinglet a very cute little bird, and a Northern Flicker flushed from 10ft away. The whole wooded area was a bit spooky though, the habitat was very good for bears, so we were moving quick. It didn’t help that there was a ton of bugs, which constantly hovered right by my ear. We narrowly avoided some heavy showers, but made it home safe and sound. I walked out on to the deck and there were 2 birds chasing each other in flight. One of them landed on a branch right in front of the deck, and it was a Red-breasted Nuthatch! One I really wanted to see and photograph but unfortunately they didn’t stick around. No birding today as we have a flight from Philadelphia at 6:30 and there’s not enough time to go anywhere.

Thanks for reading,
Ev

 

[lmans66]

Way to go !..... I lived in those parts for 10 years so know the places you mentioned and the birds and mammals you saw. Glad you had a successful romp in the country! jim