Birding News and Features
Winter Open Country Highlights
Each winter, birders have target birds that mark the winter season. Species you just don’t get outside of the cold months. The list of winter specialties is fairly short compared to the turning seasons. Many of these are visitors from the frozen north. The obvious candidates are birds with “snowy” or “northern” in their monikers. Sure, the Snowy Owl phenomenon is exciting, but what about Northern Shrikes, other open field raptors, Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs? These would be highlights of any Pennsylvania winter birding trip. Each of these species shows a different pattern of migration and occurrence every year, variations on a theme. They also offer enticing photographic opportunities because they often sit in prominent locations with uncluttered background. Charismatic winter birds abound in Pennsylvania.
Snowy Owls Visit from the North
Snowy Owls are in the news, birding and otherwise. They already had lots of charisma, but the Harry Potter phenomenon has given them an extra boost. This certainly has been a big winter for Snowy Owls in the United States. It started early with Snowy Owls reported in Pennsylvania as early as November. The good news for birders is that they are still coming. Although this may be welcomed news for birders, it may not be for the owls. They are coming here because they are hungry. This past summer was apparently a very big year for Snowy Owls on the tundra, because of the abundance of their favorite prey, the lemming. We lack lemmings, but have plenty of meadow voles and other rodents for owls to eat. Unlike other owls, Snowy Owls are no shirkers. Snowy Owls are denizens of the tundra, so they are comfortable sitting out in the open. They are not shy because where they come from arctic foxes and polar bears are more commonly seen than people. That big ball of white on top of a hillock or a building out in the open might be a Snowy Owl. They are most likely to be found along shores of lakes and rivers or in wide open spaces like open fields, airports, strip mines, fairgrounds, and highways. The unique features of eBird with its mapping and tracking allow others to find owls and for researchers to learn more about this irruption event. It is great to follow the news to a known owl, but it is even better to find new ones. Individuals have been found in Erie, Somerset, Cumberland, Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties this winter and rumored elsewhere. Considering the blank spaces between these sightings and all the open habitat, there may be others out there!
CBC Builds Birding Momentum
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is an annual birding event that is the longest running citizen science bird project in the country. It attracts thousands of birders of all kinds into the field in some of the worst weather to collect data on our winter birds. The CBC is an event not only of science but also of the social side of birding. We love to get out and find birds and then get together to share our findings. It is part of the holiday tradition and a great way to start the New Year. CBC data are valuable for tracking bird population trends and range changes. Each count circle is divided into sections and these sections are probably small enough to be regarded as locations applicable to eBird as long as the party hours can apply. The CBC data can be entered into eBird and supplemented by return trips to a count section. The interesting birds you found may persist. Are they still there? How many? The birds you missed on the CBC day might show up later in winter. Why not try again? The winter bird invasion hoped for may have just been delayed. Go out and look, and then record your results! Bring along a birding friend, especially a beginner, and add to the fun.
Olive-sided Flycatcher: Peregrine of the Flycatchers
Called the “Peregrine of the flycatchers,” the Olive-sided Flycatcher migrates through Pennsylvania and formerly nested in the state’s mountains. This large flycatcher is well-known for its loud whistled call often rendered as “Quick, three beers!” that is given from high on a snag or limb at the forest edge. The large boreal pewee has the longest migration of any North American flycatcher with some traveling as far south as Bolivia to spend the winter. It is listed as a Watch List species by IUCN as Near-Threatened because of its declining population. Olive-sided Flycatchers are now migrating through the state on their way south. This species was just featured as an American Bird Conservancy Bird of the Week. It is one of the high elevation nesting species of the Appalachian Mountains that are in decline.
Good Spruce Cone Crop – A Crossbill Year?
It looks like there is a good spruce cone crop this summer. Where there is a good cone crop, it could attract crossbills to areas in Pennsylvania they have not been reported recently. Crossbills can respond to such cone crops -- notoriously irruptive and opportunistic. These invasions can occur in late-summer and fall, well into August and September. Red Crossbill is an occasional rare nesting bird in our state but may be under-reported due to its habitat of nesting at odd times. In the recent second Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas, there were only four nesting confirmations perhaps because birders did not look for crossbills at this time of year. So, please include some spruce areas in your late summer and early fall field trips. It is worth targeting higher elevation forests and wetlands where red spruce can be found and Norway spruce plantings that can be found almost anywhere but especially in state forests, game lands, cemeteries, and old civil conservation corps camps. Many of our conifer forest specialists nest in remote locations where birders seldom visit especially this late in summer. Let’s see if they are out there now!
