On Monday morning, I was invited with a friend to see a private bird banding at Jacobsburg State Park near Wind Gap, Pennsylvania. Of course, I brought my camera and took some “cheat” photos of birds right before they were released back into the wild. The banders taught us a few things about the markings and how to age and sex some of the birds – it was overall a great experience!
The first bird we watched getting banded was a good one – a young Rose-breasted Grosbeak who would not stop biting the bander’s hand.
This young male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was very bitey
The most common species were the Catbird and Tufted Titmouse. Many of them were young and they were also the loudest.
A very young Gray Catbird who is still growing feathers
This Tufted Titmouse waited calmly to be banded and examined
The only two Warblers they caught were an Ovenbird and Chestnut-sided Warbler.
The first captured Warbler, an Ovenbird, was later recaptured and released
A male Chestnut-sided Warbler in fall plumage
We did, however, get three species of Vireo including our bird of the day – the Yellow-throated Vireo.
The Yellow-throated Vireo who stole the show
This Warbling Vireo was another good catch for the area
Adult Red-eyed Vireo with striking eye color
We also had two good insect visitors right next to the banding table – a Praying Mantis and Northern Walking Stick!
This Praying Mantis and Walking Stick hung out near the table
It’s pretty awesome to see song birds up close and personal, especially when they are typically up high in the trees. I can never get this detail “in the wild.”
If I were to describe this year’s spring migration in one word, it would be “outstanding.” Especially in my very own yard. Within a couple of months, my yard bird list went from below forty to over eighty – EIGHTY – species of birds (84 to be exact, and 80 total in 2014 so far). All of these birds were either seen or heard from my house – not from acres of land, but from either one of my decks on my [less than] .4 acres of property. This far exceeded my expectations – especially after leaving such a great hotspot in New York. As of today, I have 15 species of birds on my PA yard list that I did not have on my NY yard list and I am a little over 20 species away in matching my NY list, which had a final count of 106 over three years.
This spring marked the return of breeding birds that grace many people’s backyards such as Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and our tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The Hummingbirds continue to visit daily.
Baltimore Oriole chattering at me from my deck
Adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak
One of my female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
These were expected yard birds; the unexpected birds came in waves – very large waves. And they kept on coming. The best part is that there were no leaves on the trees, so I could actually SEE the birds. Many of them even came close enough to my deck for photo ops.
One of my most common migrant visitors were Black-throated Green Warblers. I had them singing for a few weeks before they completely moved on.
Black-throated Green Warblers were very common during migration
Yellow-rumped Warblers were my other most common migrant. I could see them at any time of the day foraging high and low, near and far. They were everywhere!
Yellow-rumped Warbler at eye level
My best Warbler surprises were Blackburnian males and tons of Northern Parulas. I even had a surprise Canada Warbler singing from further in the woods.
Blackburnian Warbler, right after he perched about 5 feet away from me (no, I did not get a photo of THAT)
Other Warblers included American Redstarts, Ovenbirds, Bay-breasted, Black-and-white, Black-throated Blue, Blackpoll, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Nashville, Palm, and Pine Warblers.
Male Black-throated Blue Warbler, after leaves came in
During this migration madness, I had an addition built onto my house – a large deck that comes off of my renovated porch (now sunroom). I was able to enjoy the birds at eye level from this deck and my (already existing) balcony.
Scarlet Tanager at eye level from my deck
In fact, some days, I did not need the extra elevation because the birds seemed to prefer to feed down low. I had at least four male Scarlet Tanagers feeding on the ground at once, along with a few females. This is a bird that is usually seen high up in the tree tops. What a treat!
One of at least four male Scarlet Tanagers foraging on the ground
Now that migration has slowed down, I have other breeders who sing every day. This includes the very first bird that I heard in my yard before I actually owned it last June – the Eastern Wood-Pewee.
The Eastern Wood-Pewee was technically my first yard bird
Another bird that I hear throughout the day is also a flycatcher who sing early with the Robins and are calling as late as 9PM! Great Crested Flycatchers are fun to watch. I often see the local pair hawking insects together.
I love hearing Great Crested Flycatchers calling all day
Red-eyed Vireo and Wood Thrushes continue to serenade me with their songs, just as they did in New York. I love hearing both of them!
Red-eyed Vireo at eye level from my deck
Some other notable migrants that I’ve had are Indigo Buntings, Willow Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, both Kinglets, Hermit and Swainson’s Thrushes (I finally heard the Swainson’s sing!), Blue-headed and Yellow-throated Vireos, Cedar Waxwings, Common Ravens, Osprey and Broad-winged Hawks. Oh! And how can I forget my most recent yard bird, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, who I heard calling multiple mornings!
This Yellow-billed Cuckoo was not my yard bird, but I wanted to show it anyway!
Migration was awesome this year. I hope that this sets the tone for what my yard will be like every spring. In New York, I only had a good fall migrations – it was nice getting the spring colors and songs. Too bad peak migration only lasts about a month – I already miss waking up to the songs of Blackburnians, Parulas, Black-throated Greens…
This Northern Parula serenaded me with his beautiful song
I have not been out birding much lately and have been very busy with some big changes in my life – I apologize for slacking with my posting! To make up for it, I will share photos of all of the nesting birds that I found locally this year. Most of the photos are not that great – this is because I observe them from a safe distance and do not want to disturb the nests!!
The only nest I found near my yard, so far, is a Red-bellied Woodpecker cavity. They made it easy to find by constantly calling from the tree. I am still waiting to see the fledglings come to my feeders.
Red-bellied Woodpecker in cavity
I found some nests while out in the field just by seeing birds fly into them.
American Goldfinch on nest
Red-eyed Vireo on nest
Blue Jay on nest
And others were pointed out to me by friends who already knew the location.
Canada Goose on nest
Wood Thrush in nest on my friends property
There is an abandoned building nearby that Cliff Swallows like to nest on every year. Unfortunately, right after we saw them this year the property owners knocked down all of their work.
Cliff Swallows building nest
While out on a trip with my local birding club, we found a female Baltimore Oriole building a nest right above the road. I re-found this nest over the weekend, but did not scout it out to see if it was active.
Baltimore Oriole building her nest
I’ve also found various birds carrying nesting materials – of course, they are very cautious when someone is watching them.
Common Yellowthroat with nesting material
Dark-eyed Junco with nesting material
American Crow with moss
To end this off on a cute note, I will share a non-avian nest – I found this Groundhog den at a local park. The young would crowd around the opening, forage and play.
Today, I took a better look at my yard bird list because I thought I hit the 100th milestone with a singing Wood Thrush. Well, it turns out that I did not hit it today – I hit it last month without realizing it! The Thrush ended up being number 103, making a Barn Swallow that I saw two days ago number 102 and an Eastern Screech-Owl that I heard number 101. Number 100 went to a good one and I wish I knew it at the time – I was outside talking to a friend about yard birds and I mentioned that I have been trying to see Bald Eagles migrate overhead so that I can get it as a yard bird. Ten minutes later, guess who came flying low over the creek while we were standing in my driveway? A Bald Eagle. I did not know it then, but that was yard bird number 100!
I will celebrate this huge milestone with a list of my yard birds and, of course, some photos taken from my yard.
I have some birds who stick around all throughout the year, my true residents and feeder birds
Northern Cardinal
Black-capped Chickadee
American Crow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Blue Jay
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Sparrow
Song Sparrow
European Starling
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Carolina Wren
Some birds are here year-round but do not show up often, or show up more in one season than another
Eastern Bluebird
Brown Creeper
Dark-eyed Junco
Ring-necked Pheasant
And Hawks who watch them or are seen flying over the house
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Some birds stay to breed and I see or hear them throughout the summer, but they migrate south in the winter
Gray Catbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Purple Finch
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Baltimore Oriole
Eastern Phoebe
Chipping Sparrow
American Robin
Field Sparrow (heard only, seen in woods)
Veery (heard only, seen in woods)
Red-eyed Vireo
Turkey Vulture (flying)
Common Yellowthroat (heard only)
Cedar Waxwing
House Wren
Others stay to breed but I only see or hear them once in a while
Indigo Bunting
Brown-headed Cowbird
Northern Flicker
Ruffed Grouse (heard only)
Ovenbird (heard only, seen in woods)
American Redstart
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Barn Swallow (flying)
Tree Swallow (flying)
Chimney Swift (flying)
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Yellow Warbler
These birds stay throughout the winter but breed further north
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
Pine Siskin
American Tree Sparrow
My yard gets a lot of migrating birds who come through in waves
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
And birds who come during migration and stay for a few days or even weeks
Fox Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Also birds who I’ve seen migrating over my house, both high and low
These birds are usually flying to or from the neighborhood creek
Mallard (flying, vocalizing)
Canada Goose (foraging across the street)
Green Heron (perched in a tree!)
Great Blue Heron (flying)
Killdeer (flying, vocalizing)
Belted Kingfisher (flying, vocalizing)
Common Merganser (flying, vocalizing)
I’ve only seen or heard these birds once, but hope they return soon
Bald Eagle (flying)
Northern Mockingbird
Osprey (flying)
Rock Pigeon (flying)
Eastern Screech-Owl (heard only)
Swainson’s Thrush
Brown Thrasher
Wood Thrush (heard only, seen in woods)
American Woodcock (heard only)
It is exciting to think about who will show up next or which birds I will see in my yard that I’ve only heard so far. Fall migration is when I get most of my new surprises but hopefully I do not have to wait that long for the next one.
Last Thursday, registration opened for the Biggest Week in American Birding. Hundreds of birders have already signed up to enjoy a 10-day week of some of the best Warbler birding in the country! It’s not just about the Warblers though…
What can you expect from going to the Biggest Week?
