Knowingly seeing an individual bird that has been previously encountered is a special treat in the world of birding. Most birders would probably agree that the fascinating life cycles of these wild creatures are among the greatest draws that keep people invested in the hobby. It is a truly remarkable privilege to witness multiple chapters in the stories of specific … Read More
Northeast Goose Finding Tactics
With the Delaware Goose-a-palooza 2016 coming up this weekend, we’ve put together a short summary of the Northeast’s common and unusual goose species and also a few helpful links for participants. Remember that if you haven’t signed up for the event, please email Alan Kneidel and he can register you for a team and goose-searching territory. The objective for each team during the Goose-a-palooza is … Read More
Ye Olde New England November
November turned out to be a pretty good month for rare birds in New England. Sure, the Buffalo Bills lost to the Patriots for about the zillionth time. And of course all of my documentation photos/videos are too soft, too blurry, or just too distant. And yes, I was the only person on the east coast to miss a Franklin’s … Read More
Pink-footed Geese – Centre County, PA
This past Friday morning, Matt Sabatine discovered not one, but two Pink-footed Geese mixed with a large flock of Canadas at Bald Eagle SP in Centre County, PA. This is the first record of Pink-footed Goose for central PA, the first time more than one has been found at once, and the western-most record for North America! The geese came … Read More
Another year of birding underway!
With the first month of the year officially behind us now, I thought I would take a look the current status of my year list. Beginning a new year is always fun – every single bird is ‘new’, it’s winter, and there are typically a bunch of winter rarities and other good birds around to chase. You never really know what the … Read More
Frustrating Goose Chase
On January 18th Justin Bosler, Chuck Berthoud, Josh Lefever, and I literally went on a wild goose chase. There were reliable reports of a Pink-footed Goose and at least 2 Barnacle Geese just over the border in New Jersey, and that’s not to mention the incredible mini-flock of 3 Northern Lapwings nearby! There were a few other notable birds in … Read More
Chasin’ on a Foggy Day
This is the second year in a row that a Pink-footed Goose has shown up in eastern Pennsylvania. Last year, I just never had a chance to chase the goose so I was really excited when another pink-foot was found this winter at Peace Valley Park in Bucks County. In addition to that bird, there are also potentially up to … Read More
Pink-footed Goose at Lake Muhlenberg
Yesterday, I finally had a chance to check Lake Muhlenberg in Allentown, Lehigh County, PA for the Pink-footed Goose discovered by Scott Burnet on January 7. The fog was extremely thick at first, making it extremely difficult to sort through the geese on the water. However, I eventually spotted the bird near the far side of the lake, but the … Read More
Pink-footed fiasco turns into a great day of birding!
This morning, Ian Gardner and I joined up and drove from Hershey out to Peace Valley Park in Bucks County, PA to try our luck at finding the Pink-footed Goose that has returned for its second winter in the area. The bird would have been a lifer for the both of us and a species I REALLY want to see, … Read More
The Pink Feet (video)
On Novemeber 29th, I met up with Tom Johnson and his girlfriend & hawk counter extraordinaire, Melissa Roach, for our pursuit of THE Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) that had been found by August Mirabella at Pine Run Reservoir, in Bucks County, PA. We arrived on-site at mid-afternoon, on a dreary day with rain coming, and we were the only birders … Read More