I am removing this blog (probably).

hmmmmmmmmmm...

Okay, so maybe I forgot to keep my blog updated. not that anyone actually LOOKS at my blog, but anyways Canonsburg Lake was hosting at least 30 Double-crested Cormorants today.

Wow!!!!

Hey, sorry i haven't posted for a long time, but during that time, the male goldfinches are almost in full breeding plumage!!! even better, on the 18th a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD flew through my yard!!!!!!!!! I'll try to keep this more updated and I'll upload more pictures...

A Ducky Day...

I had a ducky day at Imperial Grasslands a couple days ago. I managed to spot the Long-tailed Duck, a Canvasback, a few Mallards, some Ring-necked ducks, and a Pied-billed Grebe, which is not a duck, but looks like it. But the highlight was a possible Western Meadowlark, two American Woodcocks, and two Wilson's Snipes!

Rusty!!!

On the way home today, I stopped to look at a flock of Starlings at Rees Park to see if there were any blackbirds with them. And sure enough, I spotted two Red-wings, at least FORTY Common Grackles, about twenty starlings, and six male Rusty Blackbirds!!!

Contradictory Seasons

If it's almost spring, it doesn't seem like there should be an inch of snow on the ground.

Imperial Grasslands

On my trip to Imperial yesterday, a Gadwall was seen at the pond there. Also at Moody Road there was and may still be a Snow Goose and five Hooded Mergansers.

Turkey Vultures, or TUVUs are already coming back! I've already seen ten this year.

More Springy Stuff

American Robins are now heading back up north, along with a few geese this morning. I also spotted the Red-winged Blackbird at my feeder today. Yesterday, there was a different blackbird singing with about 10 Common Grackles and 32 robins at Canonsburg Lake. Also at the same area, I saw a pair of hooded Mergansers and two Northern Pintail drakes.

At Lake Joann and Timberlake, a female American Wigeon was sighted in a mud puddel with some Mallards. The highlight was a pair of Common Mergansers and a female Ring-necked Duck.

Happy birding!

Woodpeckers and Squirrel Problems

I have noticed that Red-bellied Woodpeckers are just sitting on branches like a perching birds instead of climbing up trees. It just seems strange. Although there is finally a female red-belly in my yard, which i havn't seen since november.

another strange thing is that we have a racoon baffle on my feeder, but the squirrels have figured out how to leap 10 feet from the thinnest hemlock branch, and land right on the feeder.

Finches

 A different male, but with the same black and yellow.

This male goldfinch is molting into it's breeding plumage. Just look at the yellow shoulders and the black forehead.

Yellow=Spring

Yellow seems like the color of early spring in February rather than green. For instance, the goldfinches at my bird feeder have bright yellow feathers on their backs and black on their heads.

More Signs of Spring

More signs of spring are popping up. For example, the feathers at the base of the bill (the lores) are turning yellow on White-throated Sparrows. The bills on male starlings are also turning yellow. And, goldfinches are also turning more yellow, and the males are regaining their black foreheads.

 These robins were feeding on the sumac in my yard. There were at least 40 of them and a few starlings. 

 A female Eastern Bluebird was seen with her possible mate at Chartiers Creek. 

Even though these birds stay year-round where I live, they seem to say "spring is coming."

Cape May

 Shoveling Northern Shovelers.

 A pair (probably mated) of Gadwalls.

 A group of Northern Pintails.

 It's not a very good picture, but I didn't have one of those two-foot long lenses to take a photo of this Cave Swallow.

 Two Brants at Nummy Island, near Avalon. Many Yellow-rumped Warblers and at least 35 Great Egrets were seen also.

 After literally hours of arguing, it was decided that this was an American Golden Plover.

 This Bald Eagle flew right over our heads with a huge fish in it's talons. This was seen at Higbee Beach, along with the ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER!!! Unfortunatley, I do not have pictures of it.

 Two American Wigeons. A Eurasian Wigeon was sighted also, at the lighthouse pond.

 Herring Gulls were the Perigrine Falcon's dinner.

 A Great Cormorant perched on the shipwreck off of Sunset Beach.

Nothing exciting happened today, so I'll just talk about Cape May, New Jersey. Cape May is an awesome place to see shorebirds and pelagic birds in the fall, and migrating warblers in the spring. I went to Cape May for Thanksgiving this year; that trip brought in 21 life-birds! Above is a digiscoped picture (most of these photos were digiscoped on this post) of a Canada x Snow Goose hybrid. This bird was at the CMBO (Cape May Migratory Bird Observatory).

Plain Wierd

You usually don't see turkeys sitting in trees and gracefully fly down.

Gulls!!!

Near Trax Farms, we see all the usual suspects...
Mallards, Canada Geese, Great Blue Heron, black duck, and... gull? Yes at least NINE Ring-bills and a Herring Gull at least 40 miles from were I usually see them!

Spring? Nawwwwww...

 It dosn't seem very springy with redpolls at the feeder and 8.4 inches of snow on the ground.

The good thing, though is that the bottom one may be a HOARY Redpoll.

Signs of Spring

 Just a few days ago spring was in the air (and on land). Eastern Chipmunk. Wow. Honeybee. Wower. 70 degrees. Wowest. Red-Winged Blackbird. Wowestest (quick, call Mr. Webster. I invented a new word!).    

ALBINO DEER!!!

Wait, that's not an alpaca. That's a one-in-a-million ALBINO WHITE-TAILED DEER!!!!!!!!! Apparently, there are some alpaca farms near where this was seen (Chartiers Creek).

All of the post under today were not all seen on the same day.

Here is the Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Dashields Dam

On my first visit to Dashields Dam, I was rewarded with a 4th year Bald Eagle catching a fish, and a young Lesser Black-backed Gull.