Lehigh Valley bird sightings for October 8

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

An extraordinary sighting of a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck was reported near the footbridge along Canal Street in Walnutport for several days through at least October 7.

The species does not routinely inhabit the Lehigh Valley or, for that matter, anywhere in the United States except Florida, Louisiana, the Texas Gulf Coast and occasionally Arizona.

The ducks make year-round homes in Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, and the eastern divide of Central America. They also are common in Mexico, either in the Yucatan Peninsula or along the Pacific Coast.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says the bird is expanding northward beyond its usual range, but no one expected to see one in Walnutport!

Cornell describes the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck as "a boisterous duck with a brilliant pink bill and an unusual long-legged silhouette." The spectacular appearance comes with a noisy, sociable call that includes a good deal of whistling. It's only one of two whistling-duck species native to North America.

Medium-sized for a waterfowl, the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck has a pale gray head with a deep brown cap. Its black belly and tail are striking, and in sharp contrast to the rich chestnut brown of the back of the body and neck. The flank is striped in white, which is especially noticeable in flight. Adult males and females look alike.

The gregarious birds form large flocks to feed on waste grain in farm fields, particularly rice fields. The often feed on underwater vegetation. Their diet also includes crustaceans, other arthropods and aquatic invertebrates. They feed at any time, but particularly at night.

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks readily adapt to human surroundings including city parks, golf courses and shallow ponds. They'll even use nesting boxes when tree cavities are unavailable. Their willingness to mingle in human-made habitats is promoting their spread northward.

The sighting of a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is among several species reported to Dave DeReamus, of the Eastern PA Birdline, during the week ended October 8. The Eastern PA Birdline is sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. 

Other locations and sightings include:

Bushkill Township, Northampton County
Philadelphia Vireo, 1 on October 3.

Jacobsburg State Park, Northampton County
Connecticut Warbler, 1 on October 2.

Mississippi Kite

Williams Township, Northampton County
Mississippi Kite, 2 on October 4.

Lake Catasauqua, Lehigh County
Philadelphia Vireo, 1 on October 4.

Walnutport, Lehigh County
(near the footbridge along Canal Street)
Black-bellied Whistling Duck, 1 to at least October 7. Origin is in question.

Little Gap, Carbon County
Northern Goshawk, 1 on October 3 (fly-by).

Bake Oven Knob, Lehigh County
Bald Eagle, 4 on October 3.
Sharp-shinned Hawk, 144 on October 3.
Northern Goshawk, 1 on October 3.
Merlin, 3 on October 3.

Trexler Park, Lehigh County
Marsh Wren, 1 on October 3.
Connecticut Warbler, 1 on October 3 and October 5.

Green Lane Reservoir, Montgomery County
(at the Church Road area)
Peregrine Falcon, 1 on September 30.
Sanderling, 1 on September 30.
White-Rumped Sandpiper, 1 on October 3.
Laughing Gull, 1 on September 30.
(at the Walt Road area)
Merlin, 1 on October 2.
Laughing Gull, 1 on October 2.
Black Tern, 1 on October 2.

Red-breasted Nuthatches continue to be reported from several sites in the past week.

To report a bird sighting to Dave DeReamus, send an e-mail to becard@rcn.com with the word "Birdline" in the subject heading.

White-winged Scoters have been seen locally

Female White-winger Scoter 

Two White-winged Scoters were among the species reported in this week's listing of Lehigh Valley bird sightings.

The dark-colored ducks, distinguished by white patches on their wings and around their eyes, were seen on February 23 and February 24 from the Portland footbridge in Portland, Northampton County.

The species is not often seen in this region, according to Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity, the definitive guidebook published by the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. 

Male White-winged Scoters are entirely black, with an inverted comma-shaped white patch surrounding his eye. Females are dark brownish and the eye patch is less distinct.

In North America, White-winged Scoters breeds from the southern coast of Hudson Bay to to Alaska. They live around large freshwater or brackish lakes and ponds, nesting in dense vegetation to protect their eggs and chicks. 

The ducks winter in coastal estuaries and bays along the east and west coasts of the United States and southern Canada, often migrating long distances over land without stopping. The reason: They can't find their usual food on land. Their diet consists mostly of mollusks, supplemented by crustaceans, aquatic insects, small fish, sea lettuce and pond weeds.

They reach their prey by diving, using their feet to propel themselves toward the bottom and their wings for navigation and thrust. They swallow smaller food underwater but bring larger mollusks to the surface for eating.

White-winged Scoters are widespread and numerous, according to the National Audubon Society. The spread of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes has created a bounty for the ducks during their migration.

Redhead ducks visit the Lehigh Valley

Male Redhead

The Redhead, a medium-sized diving duck, is an infrequent wintertime visitor to the Lehigh Valley, having been last seen in 2011. But in the past week Redheads popped up in several locations.

Dave DeReamus, who compiles bird sightings for the Eastern PA Birdline, said birders reported seeing Redheads in Northampton, Lehigh and Bucks counties during the past week. The sightings included:

Echo Lake, Northampton County
One on January 17.

Easton, Northampton County
Two on January 17 at the Forks of the Delaware.

Fogelsville Quarry, Lehigh County
Two seen through at least January 18.

Allentown, Lehigh County
One seen on January 19 at Trexler Pond.
One seen through at least January 20 at Lake Muhlenberg.

Peace Valley Park, Bucks County
One seen on January 20.

The aptly named Redhead breeds in the northern prairies of the United States and Canada and in marshes in the mountains of the West. In the winter it spends its time in the coastal lagoons from Florida to Mexico. Scientists estimate that 80 percent of the species' North American population winters in the Laguna Madre of Texas and Mexico.

The migration route for the eastern population of Redheads usually passes through the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic coast. It's unusual to find the bird this far inland.

Male and female Redhead

The male Redhead has a reddish head and upper neck. His lower neck and breast are black, and his hind back and tail are a brownish black. The female's coloration is less prominent. Brown is her color. Her head, neck and breast are reddish brown, punctuated by a buff white chin and an indistinct eye ring. The upper parts of her body are a dull grayish brown and the flanks are a warm brown. The bills in both sexes are a light blue-gray but the female's is duller.

Ducks in general will lay eggs in the nests of other ducks. The Redhead takes this parasitic behavior to the extreme. The female will lay eggs in nests belonging to such species as the American Bittern and even the predatory Northern Harrier. She counts on those species to incubate her eggs. The National Audubon Society reports that one Redhead laid 87 eggs in these "dump nests." Just in case, she lays eggs in her own nest as well.

Redheads dive to feed on seeds, rhizomes, tubers of pond weeds, wild celery, water lilies, grasses and wild rice. They also feet on mollusks, aquatic insects and small fish.

We can't say for sure what the population level of the Redhead is. The National Audubon Society reports that the species' total population is far below historical levels, and that its numbers have declined sharper than most ducks. Loss of nesting habitat is probably the main cause. However, Ducks Unlimited says the population has remained relatively steady since 1955, hovering in the 400,000 to 800,000 range. The group cites a study from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service that the species' population totaled 1 million individuals in 2009.

Although Redheads usually migrate in flocks, the ones that have been seen over the years in our region consist of small gatherings of no more than 40 birds, according to Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity, a publication of the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. When Redheads are seen locally, it's almost always during migration time.

Editor's note: The two photos for the Redhead were restored after mysteriously disappearing from the blog. Our apologies.

Lehigh Valley bird sightings for December 19

Male Black Scoter

The Black Scoter, a coastal duck that breeds in the subarctic, has made a rare appearance in the Lehigh Valley region. One was seen on December 12 at Peace Valley Park in Bucks County.

The Black Scoter is a stocky diving duck. The male is all-black, except for a yellow eyelid and a bulbous orange-yellow knob on the base of the upper bill. The female has a sooty brownish color with indistinct barring. Its dark cap contrasted with pale grayish feathers on the rest of her head. It has only a hint of yellow around the nostrils. An immature bird look similar to the female's but has a white belly.

The Black Scoter dives deep, sometimes to the bottom of a lake, to locate aquatic invertebrates. Their favorite diet is insects and mollusks. They'll eat duck weed, too.

In the summer, the North American version of the Black Scoter breeds on the tundra of Labrador and Newfoundland to the southeast of Hudson Bay. The nest is placed in a hollow near water, lined with grass and down and protected by clumps of grass. Five to seven eggs are laid.

Female Black Scoter

Black Scoters migrate south for the winter, usually staying near the Atlantic Coast and the Great Lakes. A subspecies breeds on the Siberian side of the Bering Straits and winters along the Pacific coasts of California and China.

Through common in the subarctic, the birds' population has shown a gradual decline between 1954 and 1994 but data are unreliable for determining current and future trends, according to Ducks Unlimited.

Black Scoters are rarely seen in the Lehigh Valley. When they do appear, it's usually in larger lakes and reservoirs in October through December, according to Birds of the Lehigh Valley and Vicinity, a publication of the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. The last time they were seen in numbers was in 1977 when about 500 congregated at Green Lane Reservoir in Montgomery County.

The Black Scoter was among the bird sightings reported to Dave DeReamus, of the Eastern PA Birdline, for the week ended December 19. The Eastern PA Birdline is sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. Other sightings include:

Williams Township, Northampton County
Harris's Sparrow, 1 through at least December 15.

Seemsville, Northampton County
Snow Goose, approximately 10,000 on December 12.

Brodheadsville, Monroe County
(at Weir Lake)
Barnacle Goose, 2 through at least December 17.

Beltzville State Park, Carbon County
Red-necked Grebe, 1 through at least December 15.

Allentown, Lehigh County
Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 on December 13.

Lake Nockamixon, Bucks County
Northern Goshawk, 1 on December 14.

Peace Valley Park, Bucks County
Black Scoter, 1 on December 12.
Red-breasted Merganser, 1 on December 13.
Red-necked Grebe, 1 on December 13.
Iceland Gull, 2 on December 12.
Also seen: Cackling Goose and Red-breasted Nuthatch.

To report bird sightings to Dave DeReamus, send an e-mail to becard@rcn.com with the word "Birdline" in the subject heading.