I took some distance shots of the Red-necked Phalarope that is in a flooded field on Evansville Rd in Berks County. Pretty far away for a good picture but it was neat to watch it actively swimming around. Hopefully it will stick around for a few days for more people to see it. Check out the map below for directions.
View Red-necked Phalarope in a larger map
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Yesterday at Speedwell Forge Park in northern Lancaster County, PA I came across a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers building a nest and pulling material from the tent catepillars tent. I was able to get pretty close as they flew in and out and got some neat pictures and a video. Enjoy!
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I took a drive up into Dauphin County today to check out the Western Meadowlark and was not disappointed. As soon as I got there I heard the somewhat strange song of the Western Meadowlark and it seemed pretty close. Of course it took me a while to find it, but once I did I was able to set up the scope and get excellent views and compare it to nearby Eastern Meadowlarks.
In comparison to nearby Eastern Meadowlarks, I was able to note several differences which I think made it relatively easy to pick out. The Eastern Meadowlarks had a much darker, almost black, eyeline and facial pattern while the Western Meadowlark’s facial pattern seemed pale and indistinct. I could also pick out the difference in malar area, with the Western Meadowlark having yellow and the Eastern having white.
A third feature that helped me pick out the Western Meadowlark was the amount of black streaking on its side. The Western Meadowlark was much less heavily streaked with a spotted effect compared to the Eastern Meadowlarks.
Unfortunately these pictures don’t show off these distinguishing characteristics except for the yellow malar so you will all just have to go check it out for yourself. You can also check out this comparison page for more illustrations of the differences.
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I took some time this morning to walk around Marsh Creek’s trails in the hope of finding some warblers and other migrants. To my disappointment, the woods were very quiet with scarcely anything singing other than Gray Catbirds, White-eyed and Red-eyed Vireos. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have really thinned out and it see like the the ones still here are breeding pairs.
The only warbler that wasn’t on territory were the Yellow-rumped Warblers, which nest in northern PA. Other warblers seen were several Ovenbirds, a Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler and a Prairie Warbler.
Hopefully this weekend brings another big flight of migrants into the area.
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