Photo of the Day

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Great Egret
During the late nineteenth century, Great Egrets were nearly exterminated by hunters who shot adult birds, often at their nest sites, to collect the ornate plumes that adorn their heads and backs during breeding season.  Parentless young were left to die in the nests while the showy feathers of the adults were sold to clothiers as decorations for expensive hats.  In Pennsylvania, the Great Egret nests at just a few locations and is listed as an endangered species.  

Photo of the Day

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Yellow-crowned Night Heron
In the urban landscape, massive old trees like this Eastern Sycamore not only provide shade and beauty, but they can also be essential nesting sites for birds like these Yellow-crowned Night Herons, a species listed as endangered in Pennsylvania.  This pair is part of a small colony located in the stylish midtown section of the state’s capital city, Harrisburg.

Photo of the Day

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: American Bittern
The American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) is a member of the Ardeidae, the heron and egret family.  It is a stealthy migrant, making its flights under cover of darkness, then resting and feeding in dense stands of Common Cattails and other marsh plants during the day.  It avoids detection by raising its bill skyward to create a profile and color scheme that blends well with the contours of the vegetation.  In Pennsylvania, loss of wetland habitat used for nesting has led to the American Bittern being listed as an endangered species.

An Encore of the Susquehanna Seawatch

In late March and early April, a rainy night and fog at daybreak can lead to an ideal morning for spotting migratory waterfowl and seabirds during their layover on the lower Susquehanna.  Visibility was just good enough to spot these birds at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, most of them feeding at midriver.

Northern Shovelers are regular migrants, more often seen on ponds and in wetlands than on the river.
A pair of American Wigeons head upriver.
A Horned Grebe.
A small flock of northbound Buffleheads.
Ring-necked Ducks.
Lesser Scaup, eight of the more than 100 seen along Front Street in Harrisburg at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence.  Note how the white bar on the wing’s secondaries becomes diffused and dusky in the primaries.
Lesser Scaup spend the winter on bays and lakes to our south.
More Scaup, the lead bird with bright white extending through the secondaries into the primaries is possibly a Greater Scaup (Aythya marila).
Long-tailed Ducks, formerly known as Oldsquaw, are a diving duck that winters on the Great Lakes and on bays along the Atlantic Coast.  They nest on freshwater ponds and lakes in the tundra of Canada and Alaska.
A male Common Merganser.
This pair of Hooded Mergansers may be nesting in a tree cavity nearby.
The local Peregrine Falcon grabbed a passing Common Grackle…
…prompting the more than 100 Bonaparte’s Gulls in the vicinity to quickly depart and fly upstream.
Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Northern Flicker
It pays to keep an eye on the trees along the shoreline too.  Migrants like this Northern Flicker are beginning to come through in numbers.

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.

Photo of the Day

Birds/Waterfowl of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: American Wigeons
American Wigeons, sometimes called Baldpates because of the white foreheads and caps on the drake birds, are migrating through the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed right now.  These dabbling ducks feed mostly upon vegetative matter in the shallow waters of wetlands and ponds.  They’ll cross the border into Canada to nest. 

Photo of the Day

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Winter Wren
Winter Wrens will soon be gone for the year.  For now, they can still be found creeping around like a tiny mouse among fallen timber in moist forests and in dense thickets of brush.  To sustain themselves through the coldest months of the year, they pick invertebrates from among the wood and bark along the undersides of decaying logs, where the process of decomposition creates enough warmth to keep their prey alive in all but the most severe of weather conditions.  Along the Susquehanna near Conewago Falls, look for them among the stonework of the abandoned Pennsylvania Canal.  Listen too for their uniquely mystic song, a long jumble of fluted and chattering notes that softly floats through quiet woodlands, sometimes raising the question: Is that a bird?

A Tufted Duck at Middle Creek

With large crowds of observers stopping by at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to view the thousands of migrating Snow Geese and Tundra Swans there, you may not notice the smaller but just as enthusiastic crowd gathering at the refuge to see a single, rather inconspicuous waterfowl, a male Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula).  This extraordinarily rare visitor has been on the refuge for at least two weeks now.  The Tufted Duck, a diving benthic feeder, is native to Europe and Asia, but this vagrant individual seems to be comfortable in the company of its North American counterparts, a flock of Ring-necked Ducks.  Birders known as “listers” relish the chance to see such an unusual find.  Many are traveling from bordering states for a chance to add it to their list of species observed during their lifetime—their “life list”.

Birds/Waterfowl of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Tufted Duck
The male Tufted Duck (right) with a male Ring-necked Duck (left).
Birds/Waterfowl of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Tufted Duck
This male Tufted Duck has been seen in the company of Ring-necked Ducks and other waterfowl on this pond located opposite the small white shed along Hopeland Road in the Lebanon County section of the Middle Creek W.M.A.  It has also been seen on other nearby ponds and, when the Hopeland Road pond is frozen, on the main lake near Willow Point.
Birds/Waterfowl of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Tufted Duck
A Canada Goose, an American Wigeon, and the rare Tufted Duck.  If you want to see the Tufted Duck’s “tuft”, you’ll need to remember your binoculars or, better yet, a spotting scope.

Want to start a “life list” of bird sightings?  Just get out a piece of paper or start a document on your computer and jot down the name of the bird and the date and location where you saw it for the first time.  That’s all there is to it.  Beginning a “life list” can be the start of a lifelong passion.  And a Tufted Duck wouldn’t be too shabby as the first “lifer” on your list.

Photo of the Day

Birds of Conewago Falls in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Red-necked Grebe
The Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is a rare but regular spring migrant in the Susquehanna valley.  After wintering along the coast, they journey to breeding locations on inland ponds in Canada and Alaska.  For the past several days, this one has been feeding on minnows along the river’s west shore just downstream of the mouth of the Conodoguinet Creek near Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania.

Photo of the Day

Birds/Waterfowl of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Northern Pintail
Steady winds from southerly directions are presently propelling migratory ducks into and through the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.  Of the more than one dozen species that regularly occur, Northern Pintails (female in the center) are typically here and gone in a flash, so you’ll need to promptly check local wetlands or keep an eye on the sky if you want to catch a glimpse of them.

The Blizzard Has Arrived: Snow Geese at Middle Creek

It’s that time of year—Snow Geese on their northbound migration, more than 100,000 of them, have arrived for a stopover at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties.  Get there now to see scenes like these in person…

Snow Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
Thousands of Snow Geese gather on the main impoundment at Middle Creek.  Presently, over 100,000 are estimated to be visiting the refuge.
Tundra Swans at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
More than two thousand Tundra Swans are visiting Middle Creek right now too.
female American Kestrel
A passing American Kestrel doesn’t seem to ruffle any feathers among the multitudes of Snow Geese on the lake…
Bald Eagles at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
…but when the local pair of Bald Eagles gets close, such as when they’re escorting a third party away from their nesting territory, …
Snow Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
…Snow Geese lift off in a panic.
Snow Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
Snow Geese rise above the shoreline treetops.
Snow Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
Feeding and roosting Snow Geese take flight in the presence of a potential predator to not only make a direct escape, but also to seek a safer position toward the center of the flock, keeping away from the vulnerable areas on the periphery.
Snow Geese and Tundra Swans at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
Thousands of Snow Geese rise behind the placid group of Tundra Swans in the foreground.
Snow Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
Observers along Willow Point Trail with swarming Snow Geese just ahead.
Snow Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
In the midst of the thunderous cackle of thousands of Snow Geese.
Snow Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
Don’t forget your camera…
Snow Geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
…for an unforgettable photo op at Willow Point.

Photo of the Day

Birds of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed: Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwings are currently roaming the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed in search of ripe berries to satisfy their appetites.  If you want them to visit your garden, you need fruit-bearing shrubs, trees, and vines.  There’s a great selection available from your County Conservation District’s annual tree sale.  Preorders are due soon, so check out their website or give them a call today.  Then you’ll be ready for the flight of the waxwings!

Five Best Values for Feeding Birds

Despite being located in an urbanized downtown setting, blustery weather in recent days has inspired a wonderful variety of small birds to visit the garden here at the susquehannawildlife.net headquarters to feed and refresh.  For those among you who may enjoy an opportunity to see an interesting variety of native birds living around your place, we’ve assembled a list of our five favorite foods for wild birds.

American Goldfinches in drab winter (basic) plumage visit the trickle of water entering the headquarters pond to bathe and drink.  In addition to offering the foods animals need to survive, a source of clean water is an excellent way to attract wildlife to your property.

The selections on our list are foods that provide supplemental nutrition and/or energy for indigenous species, mostly songbirds, without sustaining your neighborhood’s non-native European Starlings and House Sparrows, mooching Eastern Gray Squirrels, or flock of ecologically destructive hand-fed waterfowl.  We’ve included foods that aren’t necessarily the cheapest but are instead those that are the best value when offered properly.

Bread, “bargain” seed mixes, and cracked corn can attract and sustain large numbers of House Sparrows and European Starlings.  Both are non-native species that compete mercilessly with indigenous birds including bluebirds for food and nesting sites.  Though found favorable for feeding Northern Cardinals without attracting squirrels, the expensive safflower seed seen here is another favorite of these aggressive House Sparrows.  Ever wasteful, they “shovel” seed out of feeders while searching for the prime morsels from which they can easily remove the hulls.  Trying not to feed them is an ongoing challenge, so we don’t offer these aforementioned foods to our avian guests.

Number 5

Raw Beef Suet

In addition to rendered beef suet, manufactured suet cakes usually contain seeds, cracked corn, peanuts, and other ingredients that attract European Starlings, House Sparrows, and squirrels to the feeder, often excluding woodpeckers and other native species from the fare.  Instead, we provide raw beef suet.

Because it is unrendered and can turn rancid, raw beef suet is strictly a food to be offered in cold weather.   It is a favorite of woodpeckers, nuthatches, and many other species.  Ask for it at your local meat counter, where it is generally inexpensive.

Raw beef suet is fat removed from areas surrounding the kidneys on a beef steer.  To avoid spoiling, offer it only in the winter months, particularly if birds are slow to consume the amount placed for them.  If temperatures are above freezing, it’s important to replace uneaten food frequently.  The piece seen here on the left was stored in the freezer for almost a year while the rancid piece to the right was stored in a refrigerator at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit for just two months.  You can render raw beef suet and make your own cakes by melting it down and pouring it into a form such as cupcake tin.  But do it outdoors or you’ll be living alone for a while.
A female Downy Woodpecker feeds on raw beef suet stuffed into holes drilled into a vertically hanging log.  Because they can’t be cleaned, log feeders should be discarded after one season.  Wire cage feeders though, can usually be scrubbed, disinfected, dried, and reused.
Pesky European Starlings might visit a raw beef suet feeder but won’t usually linger unless other foods to their liking are available nearby.
This male Downy Woodpecker has no trouble feeding on raw beef suet packed into holes drilled into the underside of this horizontally hanging log.  Starlings don’t particularly care to feed this way.
Unusual visitors like a Brown Creeper are more likely to stop by at a suet feeder when it isn’t crowded by raucous starlings, House Sparrows, and squirrels.   This one surprised us just this morning.
Below the feeders, scraps of suet that fall to the ground are readily picked up, usually by ground-feeding birds.  In this instance, a male Eastern Bluebird saw a chunk break loose and pounced on it with haste.

Number 4

Niger (“Thistle”) Seed

Niger seed, also known as nyjer or nyger, is derived from the sunflower-like plant Guizotia abyssinica, a native of Ethiopia.  By the pound, niger seed is usually the most expensive of the bird seeds regularly sold in retail outlets.  Nevertheless, it is a good value when offered in a tube or wire mesh feeder that prevents House Sparrows and other species from quickly “shoveling” it to the ground.  European starlings and squirrels don’t bother with niger seed at all.

Niger seed must be kept dry.  Mold will quickly make niger seed inedible if it gets wet, so avoid using “thistle socks” as feeders.  A dome or other protective covering above a tube or wire mesh feeder reduces the frequency with which feeders must be cleaned and moist seed discarded.  Remember, keep it fresh and keep it dry!

Niger (“thistle”) seed is very small, so it is offered in specialized feeders to prevent seed from spilling out of oversize holes as waste.
An American Goldfinch in winter plumage feeding on niger seed from a wire mesh feeder.  By April, goldfinches are molting into spectacular breeding feathers.  Niger seed can be offered year-round to keep them visiting your garden while they are at maximum magnificence.
American Goldfinches in August.  This tube feeder is designed specifically for goldfinches, birds that have no difficulty hanging upside down to grab niger seed from small feeding ports.
During invasion years, visiting Pine Siskins favor niger seed at feeding stations.
Like goldfinches, Pine Siskins are quite comfortable feeding upside down on specialized tubes with perches positioned above the seed ports.  Seeds dropped to the ground are readily picked up by ground-feeding birds including Mourning Doves and Dark-eyed Juncos.  Periodically, uneaten niger seed should be swept up and discarded.

Number 3

Striped Sunflower Seed

Striped sunflower seed, also known as grey-striped sunflower seed, is harvested from a cultivar of the Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), the same tall garden plant with a massive bloom that you grew as a kid.  The Common Sunflower is indigenous to areas west of the Mississippi River and its seeds are readily eaten by many native species of birds including jays, finches, and grosbeaks.  The husks are harder to crack than those of black oil sunflower seed, so House Sparrows consume less, particularly when it is offered in a feeder that prevents “shoveling”.   For obvious reasons, a squirrel-proof or squirrel-resistant feeder should be used for striped sunflower seed.

Striped sunflower seed.
A male House Finch and a Carolina Chickadee pluck striped sunflower seeds from a squirrel-resistant powder-coated metal-mesh tube feeder.
An American Goldfinch in winter plumage finds striped sunflower seeds irresistible, even with niger seed being offered in an adjacent feeder.
A Tufted Titmouse visits a feeder stocked with striped sunflower seeds.
Northern Cardinals readily feed on striped sunflower seeds, especially those that fall from our metal-mesh tube feeders.
An Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) has no choice but to be satisfied with striped sunflower seeds that spill from our wire-mesh tube feeders.

Number 2

Mealworms

Mealworms are the commercially produced larvae of the beetle Tenebrio molitor.  Dried or live mealworms are a marvelous supplement to the diets of numerous birds that might not otherwise visit your garden.  Woodpeckers, titmice, wrens, mockingbirds, warblers, and bluebirds are among the species savoring protein-rich mealworms.  The trick is to offer them without European Starlings noticing or having access to them because European Starlings you see, go crazy over a meal of mealworms.

Dried mealworms can be offered in a cup or on a tray feeder.  Live mealworms need to be contained in a steep-sided dish, so they don’t crawl away.  Unless you’re really lucky, you’ll probably have to place your serving vessel of mealworms inside some type of enclosure to exclude European Starlings.
A male Eastern Bluebird tossing and grabbing a dried mealworm.
A female Eastern Bluebird with a dried mealworm.
A pair of Eastern Bluebirds.  The value of mealworms is self-evident: you get to have bluebirds around.

 

To foil European Starlings, we assembled this homemade mealworm feeder from miscellaneous parts. The bluebirds took right to it.
It frustrates the starlings enough to discourage them from sticking around for long.
If you’re offering dried mealworms, a source of clean water must be available nearby so that the bluebirds and other guests at your feeder don’t become dehydrated.

Number 1

Food-producing Native Shrubs and Trees

The best value for feeding birds and other wildlife in your garden is to plant food-producing native plants, particularly shrubs and trees.  After an initial investment, they can provide food, cover, and roosting sites year after year.  In addition, you’ll have a more complete food chain on a property populated by native plants and all the associated life forms they support (insects, spiders, etc.).

In your garden, a Northern Mockingbird may defend a food supply like these Common Winterberry fruits as its sole means of sustenance for an entire winter season.  Having an abundance of plantings assures that in your cache there’s plenty to eat for this and other species.
The American Goldfinches currently spending the winter at our headquarters are visiting the feeders for niger and striped sunflower seeds, but the bulk of their diet consists of tiny seeds from the cones on our Eastern Hemlock trees.  At night, birds obtain shelter from the weather by roosting in this clump of evergreens.
While the Eastern Bluebirds visiting the susquehannawildlife.net headquarters are fond of mealworms, the bulk of their diet here consists of these Common Winterberry fruits and the berries on our American Holly trees.
Cedar Waxwings are readily attracted to red berries including Common Winterberry fruit.
Migrating American Robins visit the headquarters garden in late winter each year to devour berries before continuing their journey to the north.

Your local County Conservation District is having its annual spring tree sale soon.  They have a wide selection to choose from each year and the plants are inexpensive.  They offer everything from evergreens and oaks to grasses and flowers.  You can afford to scrap the lawn and revegetate your whole property at these prices—no kidding, we did it.  You need to preorder for pickup in the spring.  To order, check their websites now or give them a call.  These food-producing native shrubs and trees are by far the best bird feeding value that you’re likely to find, so don’t let this year’s sales pass you by!

Photo of the Day

Swamp Sparrows can be found year-round in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. They seldom occur far from water, this one spending its time in a dense stand of Common Cattails (Typha latifolia).

Photo of the Day

Weedy patches and successional growth are important feeding and shelter habitat for wintering birds including the Field Sparrow.  So, forget about the mowing, whacking, and pesticide application from now on and you just may see this and other species of native animals near your place.

Photo of the Day

Our largest sparrow, the Fox Sparrow, is an uncommon but regular late-autumn and early-spring migrant in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.  Where there is dense cover among thickets, a few may remain through the winter.

Hey, Let’s Go to Conowingo: It’s Bald Eagle Time

Why are there dozens of people with enormous lenses on complicated cameras atop sturdy tripods gathered at Fisherman’s Park below the Conowingo Dam on the lower Susquehanna River in Maryland?  It’s Bald Eagle time, that’s why.  Here are some photos from the scene, taken just two days ago.

Dozens of observers and photographers line up along the Harford County shoreline of the Susquehanna downstream of the powerhouse at the Conowingo Hydroelectric Station, the majority awaiting the opportunity to catch a shot of a Bald Eagle grabbing a fish from the river just in front of them.  Visitors travel to Conowingo from all over the continental United States to see and photograph eagles in concentrations that are often rivaled only in less accessible areas of Alaska and Canada.
Bald Eagles migrate to the lower Susquehanna near Conowingo and the upper Chesapeake Bay to spend the early winter in congregations that can, in good years, number in the hundreds of birds. There are presently at least 60 to 80 Bald Eagles present, and numbers are increasing.
If you visit, you’ll have a chance to see Bald Eagles in the various stages of plumage transition experienced during the six years needed to acquire the familiar all-white head and tail of adulthood.  This particular immature eagle is in its third year.  Birds at this age are sometimes known as “Osprey face” Bald Eagles due to the dark stripe through the eye.  Be certain to click the “Hawkwatchers Helper: Identifying Bald Eagles and other Diurnal Raptors” tab at the top of this page to see a photographic guide to aging the eagles and other birds of prey you observe.
An adult Bald Eagle snags a fish from the Susquehanna in front of photographers and gets the cameras clicking and other eagles in the area cackling and chattering.
The majority of the Bald Eagles at Conowingo are there for the early winter only; they’ll disperse to their nesting grounds later in the season.  An exception is this mated pair that is already at their nest site adjacent to the Fisherman’s Park car lot.  They can often be seen perched in the treetops directly above visitor’s vehicles.

To reach Exelon Energy’s Conowingo Fisherman’s Park from Rising Sun, Maryland, follow U.S. Route 1 south across the Conowingo Dam, then turn left onto Shuresville Road, then make a sharp left onto Shureslanding Road.  Drive down the hill to the parking area along the river.  The park’s address is 2569 Shureslanding Road, Darlington, Maryland.

Do make an excursion to the lower Susquehanna at Conowingo soon.  To avoid crowds and parking congestion, plan to visit on a weekday.  You’ll want warm clothing, binoculars, and a camera too.

The Fisherman’s Park Bald Eagles copulating.  If you don’t know what that is, ask your mother…no, wait, on second thought, look it up on the internet.

Photo of the Day

Right now, White-throated Sparrows are arriving for the winter throughout the lower Susquehanna valley.  They are common inhabitants of brushy fields and woodlot edges.  “White-throats” are a bit fussy about spending time in suburban gardens, not liking things overly “tidy”.  They are often seen feeding upon weed seeds near or on the ground and can be attracted to white millet and cracked corn scattered atop a short stump or flat boulder.  Listen for the male’s song, typically heard beginning in the spring ahead of and during migration back to the breeding grounds, a whistled “old-sam-peabody-peabody-peabody” that they sometimes can’t resist practicing on a sunny winter day.

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It’s that time again in Pennsylvania, the gasoline and gunpowder gang’s second-biggest holiday of the year.  Pious worshippers of the White-tailed Deity don brightly colored sacred ceremonial garb and depart on a pilgrimage to find the sovereign target of their passion.  For the faithful, the sacrifice ritual is accompanied by great emotion.  There can be sweating, trembling, and even hallucinations before the act commences and a tremendous sense of euphoria is savored, despite the heresy of it all.  Needless to say, you don’t want to be downrange when the trigger is pulled.  So, unless you’re cloaked in similar celebratory dress and glowing like the sun in a dark room, you had better stay out of the woods and fields for a while.

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During the coldest months of the year, Great Blue Herons linger on the lower Susquehanna, its tributaries, and on local ponds and lakes until ice forces them to move south.  Now is the time to watch for them hunting mice and other small mammals in grassy meadows and fields to supplement their diet before heading out.

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It’s Gallo the Wild Turkey reminding you how delicious, nutritious, and filling macaroni and cheese can be as your center of the plate selection this holiday.  And if macaroni and cheese isn’t filling enough for you, there’s always filling.  But, remember, food safety experts remind us to never cook filling inside a bird.  So why invite a turkey to dinner?  Just eat more mac and cheese…and filling.  Gobble it up.

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The Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata), also known as the Common Snipe, is a regular late-fall and early-spring migrant that sometimes visits spring seeps, wet meadows, vegetated brooks, and man-made stormwater basins during stopovers in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.  The long bill is used to probe moist soils for prey consisting of worms and other invertebrates.  Snipe sometimes linger into the winter, provided soft unfrozen ground is available for foraging.  And yes, the snipe is a real bird, not just folklore invented by the mischievous adolescents you knew when you were a kid.  Remember how they tried to lure you into a “snipe hunt” so they could abandon you in a dark forest?  Remember how nobody ever fell for their nonsense, but they kept trying?  Sad, isn’t it?

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The White-breasted Nuthatch is a familiar woodpecker-like songbird of deciduous forests, parks, and wooded suburbs.  It frequently descends the trunks of trees head first while searching the bark for insects.  Nuthatches visit feeding stations stocked with cracked corn, sunflower seeds, suet, or peanuts.

Photo of the Day

Nothing like a flock of nomadic Cedar Waxwings to brighten an otherwise gray and dismal November day.  To satisfy their appetites, waxwings are constantly on the move searching for berries.  In late summer, their assemblage disperses and mated pairs settle down to nest and raise young.  During the breeding cycle, the waxwing’s diet transitions to mostly flying insects, a protein-rich prey that they readily seize by darting from a perch like a flycatcher.  After the young are fledged, flocks form once again and begin roaming widely in search of a suitable supply of fruits to fuel their wanderings.