Winter Bird Count 2017 (14-Jan)

The Winter Bird Count is an annual event held by Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. Around the same time every year, Environmental Educator Rick Wiltraut, collects data on the birds species found within a five mile radius of the education center. He and volunteers collect this data over a weeks time and on one of the days the public is invited along to join in the count. I and several others have participated in this event since its start and every year it ends up being a great day of birding! At the end of this post I have included a link to Jacobsburg's upcoming events if you too want to join Jacobsburg's staff in getting out and having some fun learning. 

At one of our first stops, within Jacobsburg State Park, this Pileated Woodpecker gave us a fairly close flyby. Pileated Woodpeckers are our largest species of Woodpecker in the United States. 

Stopping at Nazareth Park, we got a close look at this male Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. If you look closely at the tree trunk you can see the holes that the Sapsucker has drilled into the tree. They generally make a vertical line of these holes and then several lines at different levels of the tree. As you watch them they will move from line to line, hole to hole lapping up the sap that is draining from them.

A Northern Mocking Bird in Nazareth. This is a very common bird in Eastern PA. Its name comes from its ability to mimic other bird calls. I have heard some do a pretty impressive Red-Tailed Hawk call. 

This is a Chickadee species. I cannot definitively say weather this is a Black-Capped or Carolina Chickadee because they look nearly identical. In the past only Black-Capped Chickadees would have been found in this area and the Carolina's were found further south. It is hypothesized that the Carolina Chickadee range is moving further north due to global climate change. Collecting data from counts like this can help researchers in showing range movements like that of the Carolina Chickadee and other species which ranges are expanding or getting smaller.

At the same stop as the Chickadee, this White-Breasted Nuthatch struck an awesome pose for me to snap a shot. Many times you will find different bird species flocking together. This is called a mixed species flock. Often each species has a different niche or different method of feeding. So although the different species are flocking together they are not competing over the same food source. You can see examples of this at your own backyard feeders. Some birds like Juncos will tend to stick to the ground, where other birds like Downy Woodpeckers will prefer hanging suet feeders. Both occupying the same area at the same time, but feeding off of different sources. The thought is that these mixed species flocks offer these species safety in numbers, more eyes to look out for predators.

Back at Jacobsburg we got to see more than one Purple Finch feeding on red berries. Purple Finch's can be confused with an introduced species the House Finch. The above is definitely a Purple Finch. 

As we continued on to our other count stops snow started to fall. The group that was along was ready and willing to bird in the snow and cold!

At this particular stop some of use stayed close to the van while others trekked down a trail to try to add a Catbird that had been hanging out in the area for awhile. Those who made the walk were able to see it. 

Only feet from the van someone spotted two Brown Creepers working their way up a tree. This is one of them, you may have to stare at the photo a minute before you see it. For all of the photos if you would like to see them enlarged you can click on them. 

The group pressed on through the storm and headed to the Waste Management's Grand Central Sanitary Landfill in Pen Argyl. We were met by a representative from Waste Management who walked us out to the active part of the landfill. With it being a weekend there was no new trash coming in but there were definitely birds!

Gulls are a common sight at landfills, most of the time it is just Ring-Billed and Blackback Gulls. That is all that we found and Rick was really hopeful for an Iceland Gull.

This is a Fish Crow. Like the Chickadees I mentioned earlier, Fish and American Crows are nearly identical to one another. There is an easy give away between these two species though. The calls of these species a very different and both like to vocalize. We did see and hear both Fish and American Crows at the landfill, this one was a Fish. 

There was a large flock of starlings picking through the trash. This one was taking a rest on something sticking up. Starlings are an introduced species here in the US. Originally from Europe they have established large populations here. I personally find them a nuisance. 

As the rest of the group started our way back to the van, our valiant guide kept scanning for an Iceland Gull. There is often one mixed in with the thousand or so other gulls. To his credit, Rick did go back and did spot the Iceland Gull a couple days later to add to the list. 

Here Andrew Curtis (scope) and Tyler Sacks (binoculars) are scanning a flock of Horned Larks to see if they can spot any other species mixed in. This stop at a dairy farm was one of the last of the day. Horned Larks are often found in fields around dairy farms because the manure from the cows is spread over the field. You may have guessed it, the larks forage through the manure to find food. 

If it hadn't snowed we probably would only have seen a few of these larks. Their coloration allows them to blend into a field quite well. I have never seen so many in one place before and this photo is only a portion of the whole flock. It was estimated that there were about five hundred in this one field. 

This photo is cropped down and the birds are a bit fuzzy. If you look closely towards the center though you can see why I cropped it. One of the birds in flight is different from the rest. It is a Snow Bunting! The first one I have ever photographed. I still can't say I've ever seen one, but I managed to snap a shot!

The snow made us stop the count short of a full day. The road conditions were beginning to deteriorate and I don't think any of us participating minded calling it a day. 

I tried to at least pick up something at every stop. Some of the participants joined in as well and added to my pack full of trash. By the end this is what I had. I didn't sort it out like I normally do for the photo. I had a long ride home and conditions weren't getting any better, so I was in a hurry. 

Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, located in Northampton County, provides educational public programs year round. Most are free! You can find there current list of events here: Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center Programs This list is updated throughout the year.

See my most updated posts on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA

Green Lane Park (21-Feb-2016)

Took a drive south to Montgomery County to see some friends today. Since I was in the area, I spent a couple hours at Green Lane Park taking out trash. Last year in March I cleaned up the same area I first stopped at on this trip. I was happy to see that there wasn't as much trash this time around. 

One of the first bottles I picked up was this unopened Sunkist. I wish I could go back in time and just see how this ended up there. What scenario happened that caused this unused item to end up where it did? Was it dropped accidentally or was it intentionally thrown out a window. If I only knew the story behind some of these things.

This section of the park is cut off from the rest. It is only a small area, with a small gravel pull off, but it is great for watching waterfowl. It even has this nice bird blind on the bank. While I was there the only other people that visited this section were birders, both with spotting scopes in hand. 

 

For most birders, what was on this section of dammed up creek was probably nothing all that special. For me two out of the three duck species were rare sites. The one I hadn't even seen before. I know the ducks in these photos are very small, you can click the photo to see it enlarged. On the left is a Ring-Necked Duck, I have only seen Ring-Necks a few times. The one on the left is a Gadwall, this was what I had never come across before and added to my life list. 

Same old trash, always the same old trash. I picked up about half from this spot along the creekside and half along the road that parallels the creek.

I could see a lot of activity in the main portion of the park and I thought with a lot of activity would come more trash. So, I decided to drive over to the other side. 

Before driving over I sorted out what I had already collected to separate the recyclables from garbage. 

By the main office I ran into a Park Ranger out and I asked him if there were any areas in the park that needed to be cleaned. He informed me that they had a number of workers out that keep the area clean and around the office that did look true. With that in mind I went with where I knew there would be trash and started following the Perkiomen Creek downstream. Streamsides are often overlooked and almost always have trash. 

There weren't as many items as the other side, but the trash was still constant along the bank.

Take a good look at this photo. Do you see the problem I do? Styrofoam and plastics do break down into smaller pieces over time, but they don't go away. Think about the impact these small items can have on our environment. 

Not far down the trail I started noticing signs of beavers. I never did see a lodge, yet there was clear recent activity in the area. On the left is a tree that wad gnawed on not that long ago. I found it interesting that the beavers completely ignored the Poison Ivy vine and just chewed around it. On the right are a couple beaver prints and you can see the smoothed out mud that its tail dragged across.

Only one lure, several bunches of fishing line. This park even has the line drop off tubes at different places. If only people used them.

The second pile of the day. With both trash and recycling cans around the main office of the park I dropped everything off before I left. So these items, except for the cans, won't be included in my next recycling day count. That was all I had time for, I will be back to this area again this spring!

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Have any suggestions of sites in eastern PA that you would like to see cleaned? Send me an e-mail at jrb2765@gmail.com and I will try to get to it this spring!

Jacobsburg State Park: Winter Bird Count (16-Jan-2016)

On Saturday I joined Environmental Educator Rick Wiltraut and an amazing group of participants on Jacobsburg's Winter Bird Count. What is a winter bird count? Many conservation organizations hold events to identify and get a rough count of species in a designated area. This is like a bioblitz, which I have posted about before, but is particular to birds. Holding these events around the same time each year allows these organizations to compile data overtime, this data could potentially show trends in species populations. This count focuses on an area with a five mile radius surrounding the education center. 

For most of us, this was our ride. A couple participants followed in their own vehicles and I know they had to leave early, but they missed out on some of the experience. There is something magical about being packed into a van full of birders and is something you really should experience once in your life. Rick had the day jam packed full of birding locations within the defined zone and after checking some sites around the office we headed out.

Some of the first birds of the day. On the left a White-Brested Nuthatch, a common bird that likes to frequent feeders. On the right a White-Throated Sparrow, these were encountered at several locations.

The Downy Woodpecker on the left came in for a closer look at the group at one of the stops within Jacobsburg. Black-Capped Chickadees, like the one on the right are not only common, but they often come and get a close look at those walking through there territory. 

This Red Fox was crossed the road in front of us on our first stop outside of the park. At this location the other participants really shocked me. I had started picking up a couple roadside trash items and when I turned around I watched as others did the same. I thought it was awesome and it put a big smile on my face. No one was asked to help pick up trash, they were specifically there to see birds and yet they helped out anyway! I had only planned to take out a pack full and instead together throughout the day we took out a lot more than that. 

This scene was at another stop and could potentially be an illegal fill of wetlands. As far as protection goes there are very specific requirements that make a protected wetland as defined by the federal government. This fill will be reported to the appropriate agencies, it will be checked and if there is an infraction it will be taken care of. If you ever come across a potential fill of wetlands report it, you could potentially save critical habitat in your area. For Pennsylvania contacting the Fish and Boat Commission would be your best bet, a WCO can recognize an infraction and can implement the steps needed to get the problem resolved. 

After a few stops, without that many birds, we stopped at a local landfill where we were guaranteed to pick up some new species and add numbers to the count. Normally Gulls blanket the active sites at the fill. This was not the case on this visit and it was mostly starlings, vultures and crows that were picking through the trash. 

It wasn't long until someone spotted the potential reason that the gulls were not at the fill and flying a distance away. Two Bald Eagles, which will feed on gulls, were on patrol overhead. The Eagle on the top is an adult and the one on the bottom is a juvenile. 

This Great Black-Bakced Gull was the only gull daring enough to land. It may have thought that it blended in with the rock pile it was on. The Eagles showed no interest in it. 

Can you tell this is a landfill? With the exception of a couple vent pipes this portion of capped landfill looks just like a grassland. We were hoping to add a Savannah Sparrow to our list here. They have been recorded at this site, but we didn't have any luck. 

After the landfill we stopped at a couple farms. It seemed only the common birds stick around for photos for me. On the left is a Mockingbird and the right a Tree Sparrow. To me Tree Sparrows look just like Chipping Sparrows, one of the participants kindly took the time to show me the differences between the two. It is unbelievable how birders are able to identify some of these flying critters. 

From the stops, excluding the landfill, this is what the group helped me collect. It was a full garbage bag and a full backpack. I was truly impressed with everyone that went along on this birding adventure and thank you to all of the participants. 

By the end of the day it was getting cold, about half of the participants left, but there was still more birding to get done. I was glad I stuck around and I think those who stayed were too. The site we got to see through this chainlink barbed wire topped fence was spectacular. 

Thousands of Snow Geese filled nearly half of the quarry we were looking at and even lined a portion of the quarry wall. It was hard to get photos from behind the fence, so I could't get the whole scene in in a single shot. 

At one point something must have startled them and many took flight. This was such and impressive sight. You may ask, how do you count all of those birds? The answer is you really don't, but give an estimate instead. With the geese there were also some ducks including Ring Necks. A Bald Eagle was spotted at this location too, perched on the edge of the quarry. 

Can you identify these raptors by their silhouettes? I know I couldn't, but good birders can. On the left is a Sharp-Shinned Hawk and the right a Northern Harrier.

If you enjoyed this post I encourage you to visit your nearest State Park or Education Center, check out their programs, you would be amazed what the educators and volunteers can help you see even locally. Thank you once again to Rick and the participants of Jacobsburg's Winter Bird Count! I am happy whenever people are able to respectfully connect with nature and those that helped take out the trash, well, you are the best!

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash