Reading Northern Wheatear photos

by - October 4, 2012 - Maps and Directions, Rarities - Tagged: , , , , - 2 comments

This afternoon Michael Slater found a Northern Wheatear along the railroad tracks near Reading Area Community College in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Most recently it was best seen by going down to the end of Chestnut Street. Check the maps for the area detail.

Chuck Chalfant hightailed it up to Reading and took a couple photos which you can see below. The photos show all the distinctive features of an adult female Northern Wheatear in non-breeding plumage. Click on the photos to zoom in.

Recently there have also been several sightings of Northern Wheatears in Quebec. It is the time of year when they often show up in the eastern US,  and its almost exactly a year since Pennsylvania’s last wheatear was found on October 7, 2011 in Lebanon County. This will be the 5th record for Pennsylvania, some previous records can be seen on the PORC website.

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Drew Weber

I am a young ornithologist originally from PA but now living in central New York. I am pursuing a master's degree at Penn State University studying grassland birds and their relationships with different agricultural practices. When I am not working feverishly on my thesis, I enjoy adding new birds to my county, state and life lists, digiscoping and getting outdoors. I am active in the Pennsylvania birding community as chairman of the bird records committee, as well as a reviewer for sightings submitted to eBird. Some topics that really interest me are migration, bird distributions and vagrancy. Contact me if you have any questions about birds and birding in PA.

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