Birds of May 19th, 2014

I spent some time today birding at Leonard Harrison State Park, Darling Run on the Pine Creek Rails-to-Trails, and the west end of Cowanesque Lake. All three had something to offer.

Leonard Harrison had some great views of the Grand Canyon as well as numerous warblers. Unfortunately, many of the warblers weren't willing to expose themselves to view and I wasn't able to ID some of their songs. None of the species I did identify were new for this year.

Pine Creek Gorge (aka Grand Canyon of PA) 

from Otter Overlook Leonard Harrison SP

Black-and-White Warbler

a small, angry bird with a voice like a rusty gate

From Leonard Harrison SP I drove north to Darling Run and Pine Creek Rails-to-Trails. From the parking lot I walked south toward the CCC Camp. Again there were lots of birds but nothing new.

Two of the noisiest birds (and most abundant) were the Gray Catbird and Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Gray Catbird

Chestnut-sided Warbler

While I thought I had the trail to myself, I found out otherwise.

"Hello!"

I didn't bother to ask why the bear crossed the road.

The bear was 75-100 yards ahead of me when I spotted it feeding on what looked like skunk cabbage on the hillside. Rather than argue the right of way, I returned to the parking lot.

My last stop for the day was the west end of Cowanesque Lake near the village of Nelson. The lake was still high from the heavy rains of last week and the shore was partially flooded. I managed to get over the one bridge that wasn't underwater and enjoyed a nice walk along the north shore of the lake.

Once more there were lots of birds. I managed to add two new species to this year's list: a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and White Crowned Sparrow. Only the former remained still long enough for me to get a photo.They are very good at sitting still, too.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

I've now 100 bird species on my list for this year. A list I didn't start until mid-February and which does not include some species I know I've seen/heard. I've visited many of the "hot" birding spots in the county but there are more. And, there's also woods roads and state forest lands that aren't usually considered "THE" place to go but which could yield some species now or in the future.