Birding in Westmoreland County, southwestern Pennsylvania

~~~ Year 2008 ~~~

Some bird sightings

m=male, f=female, pr=pair (1 male + 1 female), a=adult, im=immature, f/i=female or immature, b=breeding (summer) plumage, n=non-breeding (winter or basic) plumage, h=heard, s=seen, oh=overhead. An underlined entry means the sighting is somehow special, first of season, unusual, noteworthy; locally or regionally uncommon/rare, out-of-season, out-of-range, extralimital, etc.
Use the Edit & Find command from your browser's menu bar to search for a specific species name in this page. Most recent sightings are at the top of the list. Dates are formatted as month/day (mm/dd).

• American Bittern 1 seen by all 7 people participating on a WBNC outing to Youngwood Swamp, 5/3. The Bittern was standing at a clump of grass at water's edge in good view from the trail, not that far away. No one brought a spotting scope, which would have provided a tremendous view and opportunity for digiscoping. One Sora Rail reply was heard, none were seen. No sign of Virginia Rail.
• Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Great Blue Heron, Ovenbird, Swamp Sparrow, Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird, Broad-winged Hawk, Osprey, Canada Goose (3 nests w/sitters), Killdeer at Keystone State Park, 4/27.
• Ring-billed Gull 1, Northern Oriole at Twin Lakes County Park, 4/26
• Yellow Warbler h along Derbytown Rd near Rt981. Blue-winged Warbler h, Virginia Rail heard calling, off old Slag Rd extension.
  Eastern Kingbird, Spotted Sandpiper, Yellow-throated Vireo h, Broad-winged Hawk, Swamp Sparrow singing in cattail marsh. American Toad tadpoles are emerging from recently laid eggs. Spring is happening as if on fast forward, Keystone State Park, 4/25.
• Virginia Rail 2 at very close range, and possibly a nesting location. Mockingbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (several very active and vocal), Prairie Warbler 2, Brown Thrasher 1, White-eyed Vireo 1 ending its vocalization with an (excellent) Towhee imitation call. A known behavior but not commonly noticed. Wild Turkey h, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Osprey, Field Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, other common species were heard & seen. Plants included Red Cedar with Cedar Apple Rust Gall, Slender Toothwort, Gray Birch. . A predator den, quite possibility Coyote. A rather large Pennsylvania Mound Ant mound, 40 inches across and 11 inches high, at Slag Rd off Route 981 near Keystone State Park, 4/24.
• Broad-winged Hawk, Killdeer w/4 chicks, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Accipiter Keystone State Park, 4/22.
• Red-tailed Hawk 1 first year bird swoops into a stand of old Japanese Knotweed trying to catch Rough-winged Swallow perched there, by the stone arch railroad bridge on Loyalhanna Creek, Latrobe, 4/21. Belted Kingfisher use a hole in an arch of the stone arch bridge.
• Osprey 2 continue at Twin Lakes County Park. Seen mostly at the lower lake. The Osprey could be seen taking fish several times, in front of people fishing. Also present; Rough-winged Swallow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Yellow-rumped Warbler h. Toads trilling in marshy shoreline at the lower lake board walk, 4/20.
• Swamp Sparrow 1, appropriately at the swampy patch where Marsh Marigold are in bloom. Pileated Woodpecker 1pr. In Nature Park I frequently hear Pileated, infrequently see them. The Pileated are wary. This time not only did I see them, but the pair were mating, and making sounds similar to the odd sounds Flickers can be heard making when wooing. Chimney Swift heard overhead.
  Nature Park has the nicest display of Rue Anemone I know of in my neck of the woods. Ann Rudd Saxman Nature Park, 4/18.
• Osprey 2, Great Blue Heron 1, Green-backed Heron 1, Forster's Tern 2, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Eastern Bluebird, Killdeer at Keystone State Park, 4/17.
  Everything was seen while I was sitting where the concrete path ends at the beach. The terns were perching on the swim area bouys, sometimes vocal, and working the beach shoreline diving for tiny fish.
  Lesser Scaup 8 (3 m, 5 f) Upper Lake, Twin Lakes County Park, 4/17.
• Osprey, Flicker at Ann Rudd Saxman Nature Park. Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 at Twin Lakes County Park, 4/14.
• Blue-headed Vireo Loyalhanna Gorge, 4/12.
• Song Sparrow, Field Sparrow persistent singing, Louisiana Waterthrush, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Eastern Phoebe, Great Horned Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture 4+, Crow 6+, Wood Duck 4, Canada Goose 12+, Tree Swallow 3, Red-winged Blackbird, Flicker h, Red-bellied Woodpecker h, Pileated Woodpecker h, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker h at Hutchinson, 5/4. Snow Trillium still in peak bloom (very few blossoms turning pink). Plants with flower buds soon to start blooming: Spring Beauty, Cut-leaved Toothwort, Corydalis. Pickerel Frog calling, one seen on mats of aquatic plant. A lone Sring Peeper calling.
• Rough-winged Swallow 1 over the Loyalhanna Creek downtown Latrobe, at the Lloyd Ave bridge, where the swallows nest nearby in holes in a retaining wall, 4/4.
• Accipiter 1 overhead along Monastery-Grove Rd. Gadwall 1m, American Coot 1, Hooded Merganser 1m at Saint Vincent Wetlands #2. Red-tailed Hawk 2, Osprey 1, Northern Harrier 1f/i, Kestrel 1, Turkey Vulture 1 along St Xavier Rd and Earhart Rd. The Osprey was perched and eating atop a roadside pole on Earhart Rd, 4/3.
• Sandhill Crane 1 at Lake Ethel (since mid-Dec 2007) in Derry, 4/2.
• Brown Creeper 1 at Livermore Access of West Penn Trail, 3/30.
• Bufflehead 1f, Common Loon 1b, Pied-billed Grebe 2, Osprey 1, Killdeer 1 at Keystone State Park. Kestrel 1f, Tree Swallows 12+, Bufflehead 1f, Belted Kingfisher 1m at 3rd bridge wetlands north of Latrobe, 3/29. Spring Peepers were chorusing. Alder catkins blooming. The Osprey caught a Gizzard Shad in the marsh end of the lake, beyond the end of the path to the wetland observation deck, then perched on a dead tree in the cattail marsh, where the Osprey ate the fish.
• Chickadee 1, Golden-crowned Kinglet 1, Pileated Woodpecker h in Ann Rudd Saxman Nature Park, Greensburg east, Rt30, 3/25.
• Rusty Blackbird 20~, Red-tailed Hawk 1, along Latrobe-Crabtree Rd near Roskovensky Rd and Old Crabtree Sportsman Club. The vocal RTH was seen performing a stoop into a woodlot, 3/23.
• Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 at Ann Rudd Saxman Nature Park, east Greensburg, 3/22.
• Wilson's (Common) Snipe 2, Eastern Bluebird 1pr at 3rd bridge wetlands, Latrobe, 3/21.
  An Osprey was reported seen at Donegal Lake, 3/21.
• American Kestrel 3, 1f along Derbytown Rd just north of Latrobe, 1 along Rt981 on 3/4 mile hill north of Latrobe, 1 along Bush Rd at Mannitto Golf Course, Loyalhanna Twp. Ring-billed Gulls 20+ overhead north of Latrobe. Red-tailed Hawk in nest along Rt981 north of Latrobe.
  Northern Harrier 3+, Short-eared Owl 3+, Tree Sparrow 3, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Killdeer at West Lebanon in Indiana County, 3/16.
• During a WBNC outing 3/15:
  Ruddy Duck 20, Coot 20, Hooded Mergansr 8, Horned Grebe 1, Canada Goose 19, Canvasback 10, Lesser Scaup 10, Greater Scaup 10, Bufflehead 2, Red-breasted Merganser 6, Red-throated Loon 1 winter plumage, Pied-billed Grebe 3, Common Merganser 2, American Wigeon 4, Mallard 11, Wood Duck 1 at Jacob's Creek Reservoir in Fayette County.
  Hooded Merganser 3, Bufflehead 1m, Red-breasted Merganser 2, Common Merganser 1pr, Green-winged Teal 1pr, Mallard 4 at Bridgeport Dam.
  Greater Scaup 10, Ring-necked Duck 2, American Coot 3 at Mammoth Park.
  Bufflehead 1m, Canvasback 13, Redhead 8, Hooded Merganser 10, Greater Scaup 4, American Coot 2, Red-breasted Merganser 24 (23m 1f), Common Merganser 1pr, Ring-billed Gull 50+, Black Duck 4, Canada Goose at Donegal Lake.
  
• Gadwall 1pr, Green-winged Teal 10, American Wigeon 9, Wood Duck 3 Tree Sparrow 4+, Turkey Vulture 2, Red-tailed Hawk 1 at Saint Vincent Lake & Wetlands.
  Lesser Scaup 23 (12m 11f), Ringneck Duck 3 (2m 1f), Shoveler 1pr, Black Duck 2, Sandhill Crane 1, Horned Grebe 6+ at Lake Ethel in Derry, 3/13.
  
  
  
  
• The winter weather is lingering well into March. Spring is getting off to a slow start. The Great Lakes have much ice coverage. Lake Erie is froze over completely. Lack of open shoreline water north of PA should slow or delay the migration of waterfowl. More waterfowl will set down onto southwestern PA waters, as is happening. It is turning into one of the best of spring waterfowl migrations for southwestern PA. See the ice coverage of the great lakes at:
  Great Lakes East Composite | Great Lakes West Composite | Parent Directory Great Lakes Composite
  
  Re-growth of seasonal ice in the Artic Ocean this February has been more extensive than the previous year.
  Earthweek | NSIDC - News | NSIDC - Sea Ice
  
  
• American Wigeon 10, Green-winged Teal 8 (5m 3f), Ringneck Duck 5 (4m 1f), Gadwall 1pr, Pintail 3 (2m 1f), Belted Kingfisher 1 at Saint Vincent Lake & Wetlands.
  Shoveler 1pr, Scaup 30m + (mostly Lesser, some Greater), Horned Grebe 6+, Ringneck Duck 20m +, Ruddy Duck 4, American Coot 12~, Bufflehead 5m, Common Goldeneye 1pr, Canvasback 18m 9f, Black Duck 2, Ring-billed Gull 1 fly-by, Sandhill Crane 1, Red-throated Loon 1 at Lake Ethel in Derry. A mixed raft numbering 105 of Horned Grebe, Scaup, Ringneck, Bufflehead, Canvasback. 3/12.
  
  
  
  
  
       
  
  
• Tundra Swan 18, American Wigeon 11 at Saint Vincent Lake, Latrobe, 3/11.
• Horned Grebe 1 in winter plumage, American Wigeon 8 (5m 3f), Green-winged Teal 2m, American Coot 2, Belted Kingfisher 1m at Saint Vincent Lake & Wetlands, 3/10.
• Winter Wren 1 at Ann Rudd Saxman Nature Park behind Barnes & Noble bookseller Rt30, east Greensburg, 3/9.
• Song Sparrow, Killdeer 5, Crow, Cardinal 10, Robin, Flicker 2, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Grackle, Starling, Canada Goose 50, Northern Harrier (male) 1 put on a terrific show, Blue Jay, Titmouse, White-throated Sparrow, Eastern Towhee 1, Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird - many, American Kestrel 3, Mourning Dove, Eastern Meadowlark 3, Eastern Bluebird, Mockingbird 2, Hooded Merganser 3 (2m 1f, 1m in courtship display), Mallard (copulating in the water), Red-tailed Hawk, House Finch, Ring-billed Gull 25, American Wigeon 1pr during a WBNC outing, Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at Saint Vincent College, Latrobe Airport, St. Vincent wetlands, 3/8.
• American Kestrel 1m perched atop corner of the former Mellon Bank Building downtown Latrobe. Killdeer, Red-tailed Hawk, Yellow-rumped Warbler 2, Hairy Woodpecker 1 at Keystone State Park, 3/6.
• Common Grackle begin arriving in the area, 3/3.
• Killdeer 2, Robins 15+, Red-tailed Hawk 2, Eastern Bluebird h at Keystone State Park. Ice coverage complete (late winter re-freeze), 5 - 6 inches thick, 3/3.
  Common Merganser 80~, (visible from Kiski Group Campground overlook), Hooded Merganser 14, Ringneck Duck 3 (1m 2f), Ring-billed Gull 1, Great Blue Heron 1, Loyalhanna Lake, ice coverage partial. No winter die-off of Gizzard Shad this winter at loyalhanna lake, therefore no concentration of gulls, 3/3. Mannitto Lake completely ice covered.
  Northern Harrier 1 (overhead) along Rt981 near Oasis Bar, New Alexandria, 3/3.
• Ring-billed Gull 2, Turkey Vulture 1, Rt30 Latrobe at Wildcat Commons (Lowe's, Walmart). Sandhill Crane 1 Lake Ethel in Derry, 3/2.
• Raven 1 (harassed by crow), Eastern Bluebird, Red-tailed Hawk, Mockingbird, White-crowned Sparrow, Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, 3/1. Snow Goose Blue morph 2, Saint Vincent wetlands by the gristmill, 3/1. American Kestrel 1m 1f, Rock Dove 2, Northern Harrier 1a m, Common (Wilson's ) Snipe 1 (flushed by harrier), White-crowned Sparrow 7+, Red-tailed Hawk 2+, 3rd falcon too far away to ID, along back roads around Latrobe Airport, 3/1.
• Red-tailed Hawk 6+, Rough-legged Hawk 3 (2 light, 1 dark), Kestrel 1m, Northern Harrier 1m, Short-eared Owl 6+, Eastern Bluebird, Elders Ridge and West Lebanon during a WBNC outing, Armstrong and Indiana Counties, 2/24. See photos by Mark McConaughy taken from Campbell Rd in West Lebanon.
• Sandhill Crane 1 at Lake Ethel, Derry, 2/19.
• Redhead Duck 1pr at Lake Ethel, Derry, 2/11.
• Common Merganser 3m 2f, Mallard 12+, Black Duck 2, Canada Goose 2, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 at Loyalhanna Lake Bush Recreation Area. Ruddy Duck 1 at Keystone State Park, 2/8.
• Red-tailed Hawk 2, American Kestrel 2 along Uschak, Androstic, and Panizzi Roads in Derry Twp., 2/6.
• Sandhill Crane 1, Gull (Ring-billed?) 7~ overhead, Brown Creeper 1 at Lake Ethel in Derry, 2/3.
• Blue Snow Goose 2, Sandhill Crane 1, Canada Goose 100s, Mute Swan 6, Mallard, Black Duck, Coot, Domestic Goose, Tufted Titmouse singing; Lake Ethel in Derry, 1/31.
  
    
  
    
  
       

• Belted Kingfisher, Mourning Dove, Winter Wren 1 along the Legion Keener walking path and Creekside Trail in Latrobe, 1/29.
• Horned Lark 50-100, Red-tailed Hawk 6~, American Kestrel 1m, White-crowned Sparrow 6+, Crabtree area, 1/17.
  
       

• American Kestrel 1 on wire along Rt982 at Peanut, Sandhill Crane 1 at Lake Ethel in Derry, 1/25.
• Common Redpoll 20~, Hermit Thrush, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, Chickadees (Carolina & Black-capped) at Bushy Run Battlefield Historical Park. The Redpolls were at the feeders, 1/21. Bushy Run Battlefield Historical Park | Bushy Run Battlefield - PHMC website

• Sandhill Crane 1 at Lake Ethel in Derry, 1/12.
  
    

• Bald Eagle 3, 1a 2im at Conemaugh River Lake, seen from West Penn Trail at bridge #5 (adult) & bridge #2 Bow Ridge east side (2im, flying together and interacting). Belted Kingfisher 2, Pileated Woodpecker, Canada Goose 100s, Mallard, Black Duck, Hooded Merganser 12+, 1/10. (Eagle photo is 4x optical x 4x digital zoom)
  
    

  
  

• Robin 50+ flock in Cedar St neighborhood, south Greensburg, 1/9.
• Raven 1 in flight over the Lowe's store in Wildcat Commons on Rt30, Latrobe. Sandhill Crane 1, Black Duck 20+, Mute Swan 6 resident, Coot, Mallard, Domestic Duck at Lake Ethel in Derry, 1/4.
• Sandhill Crane 1 at Lake Ethel in Derry, 1/2. The Crane has been present since mid-December 2007 and apparently is overwintering at the lake.