305. Snow Goose

Date         March 7, 2020

Location    Middle Creek Wildlife Area, Kleinfeltersville, PA

Middle Creek is a major stopover/congregation point for Snow Geese, similar to Sandhill Cranes in central Nebraska. Sometimes there are hundreds of thousands. I don't really know how to estimate huge flocks of birds, but I figure there must have been at least 10,000 on this day.

I had to leave at 3:15 AM to get there at dawn. Some geese were already heading north in their loose V formations.

The facilities are very nice there, with ample parking and an easy paved trail to the observation point.

The geese stayed in their huge raft for the most part, but sometimes the bald eagles would induce them to take flight. I counted about 5 eagles in the area.

The picture above is from the actual site, not a random shot from the internet. Credit to photographer wife.

Cornell: Snow Goose

304. Tundra Swan

Date         March 7, 2020

Location    Middle Creek Wildlife Area, Kleinfeltersville, PA

We stopped on the side of the road when we spotted some waterfowl on the lake to our right. It was about dawn, so many were resting. We would see many more at the viewing area, described in the next entry.

Cornell: Tundra Swan

303. Long-tailed Duck

Date         March 6, 2020

Location    Quemahoning Reservoir, Hollsopple, PA

This was another gift from the Audubon field guide app alerts. I proceeded down Quemahoning road slowly, scanning the reservoir to my left. I didn't see anything as I arrived at the first parking area near the hairpin turn, where that section of the reservoir terminates. That area has been a good spot before, so I parked and walked over to the shore.

At first I saw the usual Hooded Merganser, but then I spotted two white-and-gray-and-black ducks diving. They looked very much like the picture above (except facing the other way). They eventually stopped diving, preened for a bit, then rested.


Cornell: Long-tailed Duck

302. Merlin

Date         March 2, 2020

Location    Mill Creek Hollow, Upper Yoder, PA

There was a time when Merlin was on my life list. We were driving down a residential street in Hilliard and caught a quick look. I still think we were right, but I reflected on it and decided that I wasn't sure enough.

Now it's back on the list.

I was out taking my exercise walk around the neighborhood when I heard a sound I wasn't familiar with. (How many times does that precede a new bird?) It sounded like a killdeer, but it wasn't high-pitched and squeaky enough. It was coming from an area to my left that was an empty lot backed by a line of trees. I walked on, not seeing anything and not having much hope of determining what it was.

Later in the walk, I decided to take a slightly different route, exiting my neighborhood instead of just circling around. I then was able to see a large-ish bird in a tree near the road. My first impression was definitely a falcon. I knew what a Peregrine sounded like because I used to watch a nest cam all the time in Columbus, and it didn't sound like a Peregrine. Trying to not engage wishful thinking, I moved to kestrel, since they are more common. I've seen many kestrels, but it looked a touch too big, and it wasn't moving its tail.

The naked eye view I had was not great, as it was a good 30 feet up with a solid overcast sky. But I felt like I had a good enough view to call it as a Merlin if I could confirm the sound.

I called up my Audubon app on my phone, and the call notes were exactly like the calls I'd been hearing several times during my walk.

This was on March 2nd.

I was confident of my id, but I sure wanted a better look. The next day, at about the same time in the afternoon, I hear the call again. He had flown back to the same exact perch. This time, I grabbed my binoculars and walked up the road to the vacant lot. I got a good initial look, then moved closer, using the neighborhood billboard as sort of a blind. I got several excellent views and at this point there was no doubt.

He returned about the same time on March 5th. Maybe he will nest here?


Cornell: Merlin