Seawatch on the Susquehanna

Birds that one might expect to see wintering among the surf and in tidal waters along the Atlantic coast are currently making their way up the Susquehanna on a route that will ultimately lead most to nesting sites in Canada.  To see them as pass, one needs simply to find a good vantage point along the river from which to begin watching.  Here are some of today’s sightings from the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge (Route 462) at Columbia/Wrightsville, Pennsylvania.

Birds/Waterfowl of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Red-breasted Mergansers
Red-breasted Mergansers spend the winter primarily on saltwater bays.  They are regular springtime migrants on the lower Susquehanna in late March and early April each year.
Birds/Waterfowl of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Red-breasted Merganser
A male Red-breasted Merganser.
Double-crested Cormorants spend the winter in a variety of salt and brackish water habitats.  Some birds breed on the lower Susquehanna, but the vast majority nest to the north of the Great Lakes.
Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Ring-billed Gull
Ring-billed Gulls winter throughout the Atlantic Coastal Plain and nest as far south as the Great Lakes region.
Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Bonaparte's Gulls
Bonaparte’s Gulls winter on the Atlantic from the surf zone to several miles offshore.  In the southern states, some pass the colder months on inland lakes.
Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Bonaparte's and ring-billed Gulls
Bonaparte’s Gulls and a few Ring-billed Gulls swarm over the lower Susquehanna River at the Route 30 bridge.
Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Bonaparte's Gulls
While in flight, Bonaparte’s Gulls can resemble terns.
Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Bonaparte's Gulls.
Bonaparte’s Gulls headed upriver.
Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Bonaparte's Gulls
Bonaparte’s Gulls are regular spring migrants on the lower Susquehanna in late March and early April each year.

The Fallout Continues

Fog and mist lingered throughout the day, as did the migratory water birds on the river and lakes in the lower Susquehanna valley.  As a continuation of yesterday’s post on the fallout, here’s a photo tour of some of the sites where ducks, loons, grebes, and other birds have gathered.

American Robins may have comprised a large portion of the northbound flight appearing on last evening’s radar images.  Today, hundreds could be seen on soggy lawns where earthworms might be found near the surface.  This flock was finding sustenance at Highspire’s Reservoir Park in Dauphin County.
This drake Gadwall (Mareca strepera) and two hens had dropped in for a visit at the Highspire Reservoir Park.
Hundreds of Buffleheads were on the fogged-in Susquehanna River at Harrisburg this afternoon.  From Front Street and Maclay Street in front of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion, they seemed to be everywhere in sight on the rain-swollen current.  After passing downstream, flocks flew in a straight line formation just above the water’s surface as they made a short trip back up the river to then drift down through the channels once again.
A portion of a raft consisting of about three dozen Red-breasted Mergansers floats by the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion.  Several of the hundred or more Scaup on the river intermingled with these mergansers from time to time.
A lone Long-tailed Duck (Clanqula hyemalis) near the aforementioned raft of mergansers.  The Long-tailed Duck was formerly known as the Oldsquaw in North America.  The common name used in Britain and Europe is now preferred.
Two of at least a hundred Horned Grebes (Podiceps auritus) seen in the Susquehanna at Harrisburg this afternoon.
American Coots (Fulica americana) at Memorial Lake State Park in Lebanon County.
Buffleheads continue at Memorial Lake.
One more Common Loon than yesterday at Memorial Lake.
A mixed raft of diving ducks and grebes at Memorial Lake.
A closeup of the same raft reveals Buffleheads, Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis), a Pied-billed Grebe, and Horned Grebes.

Stormy weather certainly is a birder’s delight.

Fallout in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed

Local birders enjoy going to the Atlantic coast of New Jersey and Delmarva in the winter.  The towns and beaches host far fewer people than birds, and many of the species seen are unlikely to be found anywhere else in the region.  Unusual rarities add to the excitement.

The regular seaside attraction in winter is the variety of diving ducks and similar water birds that feed in the ocean surf and in the saltwater bays.  Most of these birds breed in Canada and many stealthily cross over the landmass of the northeastern United States during their migrations.  If an inland birder wants to see these coastal specialties, a trip to the shore in winter or a much longer journey to Canada in the summer is normally necessary—unless there is a fallout.

Migrating birds can show up in strange places when a storm interrupts their flight.  Forest songbirds like thrushes and warblers frequently take temporary refuge in a wooded backyard or even in a city park when forced down by inclement weather.  Loons have been found in shopping center parking lots after mistaking the wet asphalt for a lake.  Fortunately though, loons, ducks, and other water birds usually find suitable ponds, lakes, and rivers as places of refuge when forced down.  For inland birders, a fallout like this can provide an opportunity to observe these coastal species close to home.

Not so coincidentally, it has rained throughout much of today in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, apparently interrupting a large movement of migrating birds.  There is, at the time of this writing, a significant fallout of coastal water birds here.  Hundreds of diving ducks and other benthic feeders are on the Susquehanna River and on some of the clearer lakes and ponds in the region.  They can be expected to remain until the storm passes and visibility improves—then they’ll promptly commence their exodus.

The following photographs were taken during today’s late afternoon thundershower at Memorial Lake State Park at Fort Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County.

A one-year-old male Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus).
Red-breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator) are a familiar sight in saltwater bays, not so familiar on inland bodies of water.
A small raft of Scaup (Aythya species).
A pair of Buffleheads.
A Common Loon that lands in a parking lot is unable to take flight again.  It must be transported to a body of water large enough for it to run across the surface and get the speed it needs to take off and resume its flight.  This Common Loon at Memorial Lake has selected an ideal fallout haven.  It will have plenty of runway space when it decides to leave.
A Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) in a heavy downpour.

Migrating land birds have also been forced down by the persistent rains.

The tail-pumping Eastern Phoebe is a common sight around the lower Susquehanna valley right now.  Many will stay to breed, often building their nests under a man-made bridge, porch. or other structure.

Why not get out and take a slow quiet walk on a rainy day.  It may be the best time of all for viewing certain birds and other wildlife.

Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopovo) will often leave the cover of woodlands and forest to forage in the open during a rain shower.
During the final hours of this evening, wind-assisted flights of northbound migrating birds are indicated as blue masses around radar sites south of the Mason-Dixon Line.  These nocturnal flights may constitute yet another fallout in the area of the showers and storms shown passing west to east through Pennsylvania, adding to the existing concentration of grounded migrants in the lower Susquehanna valley.  (NOAA/National Weather Service image)