Eastern PA Birdline: 11/11/2016

• RBA
• Pennsylvania
• Lehigh / Northampton Counties and Vicinity
• November 11, 2016
• PAEA1611.11
• Birds mentioned

“Gambel’s” White-crowned Sparrow BLACK-NECKED STILT GREAT CORMORANT TRUMPETER SWAN GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE GREATER SCAUP

The next Audubon program will be held on November 11th at 7:00 PM at the Wildlands Conservancy in Emmaus. Alex Hildebrandt will do a program called “An Evening with Wildlife Photographer, Alex Hildebrandt”.

Directions to many of the sites in this report can be found in the area’s birding guidebook, “Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity”. A completely revised, 2nd edition of the book can be ordered at: http://www.lvaudubon.org/shop/ .

NOW FOR THE BIRDS!

Sightings from WILLIAMS TOWNSHIP, Northampton County: Golden Eagle – 1 on 11/6 “Gambel’s” White-crowned Sparrow – 1 to at least 11/6.

Sightings from BELTZVILLE STATE PARK, Carbon County: Pectoral Sandpiper – 1 on 11/3.

Sightings from BAKE OVEN KNOB, Lehigh County: Bald Eagles – 10 on 11/4 Northern Goshawks – 1 on 11/4, 11/5, 11/6, and 11/10 Red-tailed Hawks – 161 on 11/4; 214 on 11/6 Golden Eagles – 14 on 11/4; 7 on 11/6.

Sightings from GREEN LANE RESERVOIR, Montgomery County: At Knight Lake: BLACK-NECKED STILT – 1 from 11/2 to at least 11/10. At the Walt Road area: Ruddy Ducks – 287 on 11/6 GREAT CORMORANT – 1 on 11/10 Lesser Yellowlegs – 2 on 11/5; 1 on 11/7 Pectoral Sandpipers – 2 on 11/4 and 11/5; 3 on 11/6; 1 on 11/8 White-rumped Sandpiper – 1 on 11/4 Least Sandpipers – 2 on 11/4 Bonaparte’s Gull – 1 on 11/8.

Sightings from LAKE NOCKAMIXON, Bucks County: TRUMPETER SWAN – 1 on 11/6.

Sightings from PEACE VALLEY PARK, Bucks County: GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE – 1 on 11/6 and 11/10 GREATER SCAUP – 1 back on 11/2 Golden Eagle – 1 on 11/4 Peregrine Falcon – 1 on 11/5.

Red-breasted Nuthatches continued to be reported from several sites this past week.

• End transcript

Eastern PA Birdline: 11/4/2016 - Corrected

• RBA
• Pennsylvania
• Lehigh / Northampton Counties and Vicinity
• November 4, 2016
• PAEA1611.04
• Birds mentioned

“Gambel’s” White-crowned Sparrow BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (origin in question) GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE SNOW BUNTING BLACK-NECKED STILT TRUMPETER SWAN AMERICAN BITTERN LONG-TAILED DUCK CATTLE EGRET MARSH WREN

• Transcript

Hotline: Eastern PA Birdline Date: November 4th at 5:00 AM To Report by E-Mail: Send to becard@rcn.com with “Birdline” in subject heading. Compiler: Dave DeReamus My reporting area includes all of Lehigh and Northampton Counties with the northern edge of the area reaching Beltzville State Park and the southern edge reaching Peace Valley Park in Bucks County. Updates are typically done every Friday, more often when necessary.

You can visit the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society Website at http://www.lvaudubon.org/ .

You can visit my 'Eastern PA Birding' Website for photos and information at http://users.rcn.com/becard/home.html .

The next Audubon program will be held on November 11th at 7:00 PM at the Wildlands Conservancy in Emmaus. Alex Hildebrandt will do a program called “An Evening with Wildlife Photographer, Alex Hildebrandt”.

Directions to many of the sites in this report can be found in the area’s birding guidebook, “Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity”. A completely revised, 2nd edition of the book can be ordered at: http://www.lvaudubon.org/shop/ .

NOW FOR THE BIRDS!

Sightings from WILLIAMS TOWNSHIP, Northampton County: “Gambel’s” White-crowned Sparrow – 1 to at least 11/1.

Sightings from the FREEMANSBURG area, Northampton County: Northern Goshawk – 1 on 10/29.

Sightings from the WALNUTPORT area, Northampton County: BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK – 1 to at least 11/2 (seen along the canal both north and south of Main Street). Origin in question.

Sightings from BELTZVILLE STATE PARK, Carbon County: GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE – 1 on 10/28 Pectoral Sandpiper – 1 on 11/1 Semipalmated Sandpiper – 1 on 11/1 SNOW BUNTING – 1 on 11/1.

Sightings from BAKE OVEN KNOB, Lehigh County: Bald Eagles – 9 on 10/28 and 10/31 Northern Goshawks – 4 on 10/31 Red-shouldered Hawks – 23 on 10/31 Red-tailed Hawks – 158 on 10/28; 167 on 10/31 Golden Eagles – 15 on 10/28; 3 on 10/29; 6 on 10/31 Merlins – 4 on 10/28 Peregrine Falcons – 2 on 10/31.

Sightings from GREEN LANE RESERVOIR, Montgomery County: At Knight Lake: BLACK-NECKED STILT – 1 on 11/2 and 11/3. At the Walt Road area: Cackling Geese – 2 on 11/1 and 11/2 Pectoral Sandpipers – 4 on 11/2 Least Sandpiper – 1 on 11/2 Bonaparte’s Gull – 1 on 10/28.

Sightings from LAKE TOWHEE, Bucks County: TRUMPETER SWAN – 1 on 10/28 and 10/30 AMERICAN BITTERN – 1 on 10/28 and 10/29.

Sightings from PEACE VALLEY PARK, Bucks County: GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE – 2 on 10/28 and 10/29 Cackling Geese – 2 on 10/28 and 10/29; 1 on 10/31 LONG-TAILED DUCK – 1 on 10/31 CATTLE EGRET – 1 on 10/28 MARSH WREN – 1 on 11/1.

Red-breasted Nuthatches continued to be reported from several sites this past week.

• End transcript

Eastern PA Birdline: 10/21/2016

• RBA
• Pennsylvania
• Lehigh / Northampton Counties and Vicinity
• October 21, 2016
• PAEA1610.21
• Birds mentioned

BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (origin in question) ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK SURF SCOTER CLAY-COLORED SPARROW

• Transcript

Hotline: Eastern PA Birdline Date: October 21st at 3:00 AM To Report by E-Mail: Send to becard@rcn.com with “Birdline” in subject heading. Compiler: Dave DeReamus My reporting area includes all of Lehigh and Northampton Counties with the northern edge of the area reaching Beltzville State Park and the southern edge reaching Peace Valley Park in Bucks County. Updates are typically done every Friday, more often when necessary.

You can visit the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society Website at http://www.lvaudubon.org/ .

You can visit my 'Eastern PA Birding' Website for photos and information at http://users.rcn.com/becard/home.html .

There will be a field trip to a local hawkwatching site on October 22nd. Meet at the Tilghman Square parking lot, near the Red Robin restaurant, just west of Route 309 at 7:30 AM. Trip leader will be Mark Boyd.

Directions to many of the sites in this report can be found in the area’s birding guidebook, “Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity”. A completely revised, 2nd edition of the book can be ordered at: http://www.lvaudubon.org/shop/ .

NOW FOR THE BIRDS!

Sightings from the WALNUTPORT area, Northampton County: BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK – 1 to at least 10/17 (seen in the vicinity of the footbridge along Canal Street). Origin in question.

Sightings from LITTLE GAP, Northampton County: ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK – 1 on 10/16 (dark morph).

Sightings from BAKE OVEN KNOB, Lehigh County: Bald Eagles – 4 on 10/15; 3 on 10/16 and 10/17 Northern Goshawks – 2 on 10/15; 1 on 10/19 Golden Eagles – 1 on 10/14, 10/17, and 10/18 Merlins – 3 on 10/18 Peregrine Falcons – 3 on 10/15; 2 on 10/20 Ruffed Grouse – 1 on 10/16.

Sightings from GREEN LANE RESERVOIR, Montgomery County: At the Church Road area: Great Egret, and Lincoln’s and White-crowned Sparrow.

Sightings from LAKE NOCKAMIXON, Bucks County: SURF SCOTERS – 5 on 10/14.

Sightings from PEACE VALLEY PARK, Bucks County: CLAY-COLORED SPARROW – 1 back on 10/11 Rusty Blackbirds – 3 on 10/15.

Red-breasted Nuthatches continued to be reported from several sites this past week.

• End transcript

Eastern PA Birdline: 10/14/2016

• RBA
• Pennsylvania
• Lehigh / Northampton Counties and Vicinity
• October 14, 2016
• PAEA1610.14
• Birds mentioned

BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (origin in question) TRUMPETER SWAN SURF SCOTER BLACK SCOTER

• Transcript

Hotline: Eastern PA Birdline Date: October 14th at 2:00 AM To Report by E-Mail: Send to becard@rcn.com with “Birdline” in subject heading. Compiler: Dave DeReamus My reporting area includes all of Lehigh and Northampton Counties with the northern edge of the area reaching Beltzville State Park and the southern edge reaching Peace Valley Park in Bucks County. Updates are typically done every Friday, more often when necessary.

You can visit the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society Website at http://www.lvaudubon.org/ .

You can visit my 'Eastern PA Birding' Website for photos and information at http://users.rcn.com/becard/home.html .

The next Audubon program will be held on October 14th at 7:00 PM at the Wildlands Conservancy in Emmaus. The Delaware Valley Raptor Center will do a program with live raptors called “Close Encounters with Birds of Prey”.

There will be a field trip to a local hawkwatching site on October 22nd. Meet at the Tilghman Square parking lot, near the Red Robin restaurant, just west of Route 309 at 7:30 AM. Trip leader will be Mark Boyd.

Directions to many of the sites in this report can be found in the area’s birding guidebook, “Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity”. A completely revised, 2nd edition of the book can be ordered at: http://www.lvaudubon.org/shop/ .

NOW FOR THE BIRDS!

Sightings from the WALNUTPORT area, Northampton County: BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK – 1 to at least 10/13 (seen in the vicinity of the footbridge along Canal Street). Origin in question.

Sightings from LITTLE GAP, Carbon County: Ruffed Grouse – 1 on 10/11.

Sightings from BAKE OVEN KNOB, Lehigh County: Bald Eagles – 5 on 10/9; 6 on 10/10 Golden Eagles – 2 on 10/9; 7 on 10/10 Northern Goshawk – 1 on 10/11.

Sightings from LAKE TOWHEE, Bucks County: TRUMPETER SWAN – 1 on 10/8 and 10/10.

Sightings from LAKE NOCKAMIXON, Bucks County: SURF SCOTERS – 7 on 10/10 BLACK SCOTER – 1 on 10/10.

Sightings from PEACE VALLEY PARK, Bucks County: Golden Eagle – 1 on 10/8.

Red-breasted Nuthatches continued to be reported from several sites this past week.

• End transcript

Eastern PA Birdline: 10/7/2016

• RBA
• Pennsylvania
• Lehigh / Northampton Counties and Vicinity
• October 7, 2016
• PAEA1610.07
• Birds mentioned

PHILADELPHIA VIREO CONNECTICUT WARBLER MISSISSIPPI KITE BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK (origin in question) MARSH WREN LAUGHING GULL BLACK TERN

• Transcript

Hotline: Eastern PA Birdline Date: October 7th at 2:00 PM To Report by E-Mail: Send to becard@rcn.com with “Birdline” in subject heading. Compiler: Dave DeReamus My reporting area includes all of Lehigh and Northampton Counties with the northern edge of the area reaching Beltzville State Park and the southern edge reaching Peace Valley Park in Bucks County. Updates are typically done every Friday, more often when necessary.

You can visit the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society Website at http://www.lvaudubon.org/ .

You can visit my 'Eastern PA Birding' Website for photos and information at http://users.rcn.com/becard/home.html .

There will be a field trip to Leaser Lake for waterfowl and fall migrants on October 8th. Meet at Leaser Lake’s north boat launch, located on Ontelaunee Road, at 8:00 AM. Frank Dickman will be leading this trip.

Directions to many of the sites in this report can be found in the area’s birding guidebook, “Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity”. A completely revised, 2nd edition of the book can be ordered at: http://www.lvaudubon.org/shop/ .

NOW FOR THE BIRDS!

Sightings from BUSHKILL TOWNSHIP, Northampton County: PHILADELPHIA VIREO – 1 on 10/3.

Sightings from JACOBSBURG STATE PARK, Northampton County: CONNECTICUT WARBLER – 1 on 10/2.

Sightings from WILLIAMS TOWNSHIP, Northampton County: MISSISSIPPI KITES – 2 on 10/4.

Sightings from LAKE CATASAUQUA, Lehigh County: PHILADELPHIA VIREO – 1 on 10/4.

Sightings from the WALNUTPORT area, Northampton County: BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCK – 1 to at least 10/7 (seen in the vicinity of the footbridge along Canal Street). Origin in question.

Sightings from LITTLE GAP, Carbon County: Northern Goshawk – 1 on 10/3 (fly-by).

Sightings from BAKE OVEN KNOB, Lehigh County: Bald Eagles – 4 on 10/3 Sharp-shinned Hawks – 144 on 10/3 Northern Goshawk – 1 on 10/3 Merlins – 3 on 10/3.

Sightings from the TREXLER PARK, Lehigh County: MARSH WREN – 1 on 10/3 CONNECTICUT WARBLER – 1 on 10/3 and 10/5.

Sightings from GREEN LANE RESERVOIR, Montgomery County: At the Church Road area: Peregrine Falcon – 1 on 9/30 Sanderling – 1 on 9/30 White-rumped Sandpiper – 1 on 10/3 LAUGHING GULL – 1 on 9/30. At the Walt Road area: Merlin – 1 on 10/2 LAUGHING GULL – 1 on 10/2 BLACK TERN – 1 on 10/2.

Red-breasted Nuthatches continued to be reported from several sites this past week.

• End transcript

Chimney Swift Towers

Chris Hugosson

Originally Published in October - December 2016 Quarterly Newsletter of The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society

Chimney Swifts suffer from fewer chimneys. Scott Burnet leads Lehigh Valley Audubon Society’s effort to help.

Hang on… Chimney Swifts Photo by Scott Burnet

There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Chimney Swift Tower Nests Photo by Scott Burnet.

Even in a setting like this, Chimney Swifts have successfully reared chicks. Photo by Chris Hugosson

What is the problem

Chimney Swifts spend most of their life on the wing. But even they need to nest and, during migration, roost. Historically, large hollow trees served this function. But as large trees became rarer, chimneys replaced them. Today, even chimneys are becoming rarer as they are capped or taken down. This contributes to the Chimney Swift population falling. BirdLife International states that between 1966 to 2007 the population came down by 90% in Canada and 50% the USA. Counting survey blocks in the PA breeding bird atlas with confirmed nests, the numbers are down by more than 50% between the 1980s and 2000s.

What has been done

Existing chimneys need to be saved. Chimney Swifts do remember chimneys from year to year so keeping traditional roost sites available is important. And that has happened. LVAS has helped secure assurances that the chimney at Muhlenberg College will remain. Same thing with the 200 year old chimney at Lehigh Parkway. Both nice places to witness flocks of swifts swirl in right before sunset.

To reverse the negative trends that is not enough. New chimneys are needed. Hence we have towers that only serve Chimney Swifts.

Scott Burnet and his team of volunteers have so far built four towers in the Lehigh Valley. Starting in 2012 Scott built his first tower by his garage. In 2013 and 2014 two towers came up around Lake Muhlenberg. One tower on the island and the other on Cedar Beach. You might have seen the information kiosk around the one at Cedar Beach. This year one tower is coming up at Lehigh Gap Nature Center and another in Mertztown, Longswamp Township.

All these efforts have now started to bear fruit. The first nests have been confirmed in the Cedar Beach tower.

How to build

Building a tower takes both expertise and money. It quickly becomes apparent that without experience managing construction projects and a rich network of contacts, towers remain a dream. Challenges include getting permission to build, negotiating access to equipment, identifying price worthy material, and finding volunteers. And not least, having the grit to synchronize all the pieces. We are lucky to have such a person in Scott. Hearing Scott describe his kayak trips with ladders and swinging 60lb tower sections while balancing on a 10ft ladder in the dark just reinforces that image.

Thank you

LVAS has many to thank in addition to Scott.

• James Hardie Corporation contributed siding material

• Dries Lumber helps with material

• Dan Kunkle’s group Color of Nature has volunteered many hours of work

• Friends of Allentown Parks and Karen El Chaar has helped with funding and assistance

• Lynn Serfass has helped with funding

• And many volunteers have contributed to this success

What is next?

More towers will come up and you can help. Look for LVAS emails, facebook posts, and Meetup events where you can volunteer. You can also donate money via our website. If you prefer, you can earmark your donation to tower construction.