Perhaps it should not be surprising that during a banner year for Rufous Hummingbirds, PA would add both the second state record of Calliope Hummingbird and now the long-awaited first state record of Black-chinned Hummingbird. Black-chinned Hummingbird has been expected for some time now as it is now regularly found wintering in the southeastern states, particularly along the Gulf Coast, … Read More
Calliope Hummingbird – PA’s 2nd State Record!
On October 21st, Joe Flood spotted a hummingbird coming to the feeders in his backyard in Devon, PA. Joe thought it may just be a late moving Ruby-throated Hummingbird but had had a Rufous Hummingbird visit his yard the year before, so he posted photos on the PA Birders Facebook page looking for another opinion. While looking at the PA … Read More
PA Fall Migration Predictions – End of Oct: Part 2
October is a very special time of the year in Pennsylvania. The first week of the month there are still a ton of neotropical migrants around, but then their numbers start to drop off drastically. Coming to the rescue are the sparrows and raptors, which really excel during the second half of the month. Waterfowl also begin to trickle through … Read More
Rufous Hummingbird – Onondaga County NY
[dc]T[/dc]his morning I got out pretty early to look for the Rufous Hummingbird that was coming to a feeder in Phoenix. It was overcast but calm as I pulled up in front of the house and walked around to the back. There were only two other birders there and they said that they hadn’t seen it yet. We didn’t have … Read More
Somerset County Big Day, Spring 2012
Somerset County Spring ’12 Big Day On Sunday May 6, Jeff Payne, his son, Chris and I decided to do a big day in Somerset County PA. We were shooting for 150, a total Jeff thought would be very hard to hit in this county. We loosly planned a route in the days leading up to our big day, but … Read More
Spring Migration Predictions – First Half of April
Finally, it’s April. March was nice, but very few spring migrants returned to PA compared to what’s in store for us birders during April and May. During April, migration really picks up, and we should see most spring migrants back in the state by the end of this month. I went through the eBird bar charts for the PA and … Read More
Broad-tailed Hummingbird – New Jersey’s First State Record!
Back in January, during a four day long rarity round-up trip throughout PA and NJ, trying to pick up as many rare birds as possible; my friends and I joined Sam Galick in visiting a ‘Selaphorus’ hummingbird at 1026 Batt’s Lane in Cape May, NJ. Prior to our visit that day, the identification of the bird was uncertain. Sam and I were able … Read More
My Top 25 Most Wanted Centre County Species for 2012
2012 is my third calendar year birding in Centre County, PA. So far I have only birded in the county during the fall semester of 2010 and the fall semester of 2011. I have never birded in Centre County during the spring or summer. During the two fall semesters that I have been in the county for, I have managed … Read More
Rarity Round-Up: A Four Day Birding Adventure
Click on links throughout this post to see our full eBird checklists and more photos for the locations mentioned! Last week I was sitting around campus with my friends Mark Mizak and Josh Lefever, thinking about the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. We knew we would have four days free and we knew we wanted to go birding. … Read More
Rufous Hummingbird – Grantville, PA
A hatch-year male Rufous Hummingbird has been coming in to feeders at the home of Tim Becker in Grantville, PA since November 11th. Josh Lefever and I finally had an opportunity to try and see the bird yesterday, and didn’t have to wait very long for the beautiful western hummer to come in and show off. Almost as soon as … Read More