Black-and-white Warbler – LIFE IN THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER WATERSHED

May 1, 2022September 15, 2022

Early May Migration

National Weather Service radar showed a sizeable nocturnal flight of migrating birds early this morning. Let’s go for a short stroll and see what’s around.

Radar returns from State College, Pennsylvania, display several bands of light rain and a massive flight of migrating birds. (NOAA/National Weather Service image)

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Gray Catbird — After coming in on an overnight flight, Gray Catbirds were numerous at dawn this morning.

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Black-and-white Warbler — Masses of Neotropical migrants are just beginning to arrive. This Black-and-white Warbler was found feeding on insects in a Green Ash tree that, so far, has survived Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) infestation.

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Veery — The Veery is a Neotropical thrush that nests in understory vegetation on forested slopes in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Orchard Oriole — Orchard Orioles are here.

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Baltimore Oriole — And Baltimore Orioles are here too. Vibrant colors like these are what many observers find so wonderful about many of the Neotropical species.

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Double-crested Cormorants — Not all migrants move at night. While you’re out and about, keep an eye on the sky for diurnal fliers like these migrating Double-crested Cormorants, seen this morning a full ten miles east of the river.

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Carolina Wren — While many birds are still working their way north to their breeding grounds, resident species like this Carolina Wren are already feeding young. This one has collected a spider for its nestlings.

September 13, 2021September 24, 2021

Smoky Skies in the Lower Susquehanna Region

During the coming two weeks, peak numbers of migrating Neotropical birds will be passing through the northeastern United States including the lower Susquehanna valley. Hawk watches are staffed and observers are awaiting big flights of Broad-winged Hawks—hoping to see a thousand birds or more in a single day.

During its passage through the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, an adult Broad-winged Hawk sails over Second Mountain Hawk Watch in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.

A hatch-year/juvenile Broad-winged Hawk gazes toward hawk watchers on the ground.

Broad-winged hawks feed on rodents, amphibians, and a variety of large insects while on their breeding grounds in the forests of the northern United States and Canada. They depart early, journeying to wintering areas in Central and South America before frost robs them of a reliable food supply.

The Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina), this one photographed at Second Mountain Hawk Watch on September 8th, is the rarest of the lower Susquehanna region’s migratory dragonflies. Autumn Broad-winged Hawk movements coincide with southbound flights of the Carolina Saddlebags and the more numerous migratory dragonfly species: Common Green Darner, Wandering Glider, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, and Black Saddlebags. “Broad-wings” will often eat these and other dragonflies during migration and can sometimes be seen catching and feeding upon them while still soaring high overhead.

While migrating, Broad-winged Hawks climb to great altitudes on thermal updrafts and are notoriously difficult to see from ground level. Bright sunny skies with no clouds to serve as a backdrop further complicate a hawk counter’s ability to spot passing birds. Throughout the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, the coming week promises to be especially challenging for those trying to observe and census the passage of high-flying Broad-winged Hawks. The forecast of hot and humid weather is not so unusual, but the addition of smoke from fires in the western states promises to intensify the haze and create an especially irritating glare for those searching the skies for raptors.

Smoke from fires along the California coast and in central Utah can be seen streaming east this morning. (NOAA/GOES image)

Smoke from western fires and humid air creates a band of haze in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and states to the south this morning. (NOAA/GOES image)

A migrating Broad-winged Hawk in the glare of a hazy sky. In addition to visibility problems, swarms of Spotted Lanternflies above the treetops make distant hawks difficult to discern for hawk watchers scanning the horizon with binoculars.

It may seem gloomy for the mid-September flights in 2021, but hawk watchers are hardy types. They know that the birds won’t wait. So if you want to see migrating “Broad-wings” and other species, you’ve got to get out there and look up while they’re passing through.

Migrating Ospreys typically fly low enough and are large enough to be spotted even during the haziest of conditions.

Bald Eagles like this fourth-year bird can ascend to great altitude, but their size usually prevents them from sneaking past a lookout unnoticed.

Peregrines escape notice not due to hazy sky conditions, but because they pass by so quickly. They’re being seen at local hawk watches now through October.

These hawk watches in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed are currently staffed by official counters and all welcome visitors:

- Rocky Ridge County Park Hawk Watch—3699 Deininger Road off Mount Zion Road (Route 24) northeast of York, Pennsylvania.
- Second Mountain Hawk Watch—off Cold Spring Road on the grounds of Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
- Waggoner’s Gap Hawk Watch—where Route 74 crosses Blue Mountain north of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

—or you can just keep an eye on the sky from wherever you happen to be. And don’t forget to check the trees and shrubs because warbler numbers are peaking too! During recent days…

Northern Parula at Chiques Rock County Park in Lancaster County.

Black-and-white Warbler at Rocky Ridge County Park in York County.

Cape May Warbler at Chiques Rock County Park in Lancaster County.

Bay-breasted Warbler at Rocky Ridge County Park in York County.

September 5, 2021September 5, 2021

Warblers Passing Through the Lower Susquehanna River Valley

Neotropical birds are presently migrating south from breeding habitats in the United States and Canada to wintering grounds in Central and South America. Among them are more than two dozen species of warblers—colorful little passerines that can often be seen darting from branch to branch in the treetops as they feed on insects during stopovers in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.

Being nocturnal migrants, warblers are best seen first thing in the morning among sunlit foliage, often high in the forest canopy. After a night of flying, they stop to feed and rest. Warblers frequently join resident chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches to form a foraging flock that can contain dozens of songbirds. Migratory flycatchers, vireos, tanagers, and grosbeaks often accompany southbound warblers during early morning “fallouts”. Usually, the best way to find these early fall migrants is to visit a forest edge or thicket, particularly along a stream, a utility right-of-way, or on a ridge top. Then too, warblers and other Neotropical migrants are notorious for showing up in groves of mature trees in urban parks and residential neighborhoods—so look up!

A Black-and-white Warbler descends into the tangles of the forest understory to search for a morning meal of insects or creepy-crawlies.

Success! Looks like a cranefly (Tipulidae).

A Black-throated Green Warbler high in the treetops.

Warblers often travel and feed in the company of other Neotropical species like this Red-eyed Vireo.

Get out and look for those Neotropical migrants now because, like this Canada Warbler, in just a few weeks they’ll be gone.

Be sure to visit the “Birds of Conewago Falls” page by clicking the tab at the top of this page. There, you’ll find photographs of many of the lower Susquehanna valley’s bird species, including the warblers and other Neotropical migrants.

September 13, 2020October 4, 2020

A Visit to Second Mountain

If it can fly, there’s a pretty good chance it was at Second Mountain today.

What follows is a photographic chronology of some of today’s sightings at Second Mountain Hawk Watch at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. We begin with some of the hundreds of migratory songbirds found at the base of the mountain along Cold Spring Road near Indiantown Run during the early morning, then we continue to the lookout for the balance of the day.

A Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) searching the trunk of a tree for insects.

A Blackburnian Warbler high in the forest canopy.

A Black-throated Green Warbler bouncing from branch to branch as it feeds.

A Chestnut-sided Warbler lurks among the foliage.

One of a hundred or more Red-eyed Vireos found swarming the treetops, and occasionally the understory, while engaging in a wild feeding frenzy.

A male American Redstart. Judging by that gray hood, it’s probably experiencing its second fall migration.

Eyes were skyward at the Second Mountain Hawk Watch lookout as Broad-winged Hawks began streaming through during the mid-morning.

During the morning flight, Broad-winged Hawks including this adult floated by the lookout riding updrafts created by the south wind striking the face of the mountain ridge.

As the overcast became more scattered and more sunlight reached the ground, Broad-winged Hawks began riding thermal currents to gain altitude before gliding off to the southwest in continuance of their long trip to the tropics. At times, birds would disappear into the base of the clouds before ending their climb and sailing away.

Broad-winged Hawks rely principally upon amphibians and large insects like this bush katydid (Scudderia species) for sustenance. With freezing temperatures just around the corner, “broad-wings” must make their way to warmer climes early or risk starvation.

A Bald Eagle always gets observers looking.

One never quite knows what one may see when having a look around.

A Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) in the lookout hemlock.

A Black Saddlebags, one of several migratory dragonflies seen today.

An Osprey glides through in the afternoon glare.

A speedy Merlin thrilled observers with a close approach.

One must remember that Fort Indiantown Gap is an active military installation, so from time to time training and drilling exercises may interrupt bird observation activities at the Second Mountain Hawk Watch.

Today, speedy A-10 Warthog attack aircraft piloted by members of the Maryland Air National Guard based at Glenn Martin Field thrilled observers on the lookout with several close passes during their training runs.

The total number of Broad-winged Hawks observed migrating past the Second Mountain lookout today was 619. To see the daily raptor counts for Second Mountain and other hawk watches in North America, and to learn more about each site, be sure to visit hawkcount.org