Slow Summer Birding…..

The past few weeks birding has been pretty slow here in central Pennsylvania. Most of the breeding warbler species have stopped singing and are busy tending to their young and fall migration is just barely getting underway. It gets very hot by nine or ten in the morning and then activity stops altogether until around 8:30pm. Really the only thing keeping it all interesting is that a very slow but steady flow of shorebirds are beginning to pass through the area. By far the most interesting sighting I have had recently was the adult Baird’s Sandpiper that Anna and I found at Bald Eagle State Park on July 20th. Other shorebirds moving through so far have included Solitary, Spotted, Least, and Semipalmated Sandpiper plus Lesser Yellowlegs. I am hoping things pick up a bit during the last days of July and beginning of August. Luckily, trying to photograph some of the local birds has kept me busy. Below are a few photos I have taken recently.

Gray Catbird – Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Solitary Sandpiper – Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Fledgling Common Yellowthroat – Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Spotted Sandpiper – Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Viceroy – Photo by Alex Lamoreaux