December Marbled Godwit – Pittsburgh, PA

Yesterday morning Jack and Sue Solomon discovered a Marbled Godwit, a very unusual bird for this time of the year in PA. This is also the first sighting of this species in the state in two years! The Solomon’s found the godwit foraging on the exposed mudflat at Duck Hollow along the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh. This is a late date for PA by at least a month, and also the 1st record for Allegheny County. Ian Gardner and I drove over this morning to see the godwit, which was a state bird for both of us. We were told the bird had flown off upriver just 5 minutes before we arrived. Luckily, 15 minutes later the godwit flew in from downriver, tight to the shoreline, and landed in front of us. The godwit immediately began foraging on the mudflat for about 10 minutes, sometimes walking up under the over-hanging trees along the bank. After a few minutes, the bird flew upstream and out of view. It was very foggy and lightly raining, but I managed to get the dark and dreary photo below. Additional photos can be see on Geoff Malosh’s Flickr site.

Marbled Godwit at Duck Hollow in Pittsburgh (Photo by Alex Lamoreaux)

Marbled Godwit at Duck Hollow in Pittsburgh (Photo by Alex Lamoreaux)