Ohio-Michigan Birding Trip 2022

Vaccinated and boosted, it was the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that we felt safe enough to travel abroad. However, we made that decision a little too late for our spring trip. It didn't take us long to come up with an excellent alternate plan though. Once again, we were going to visit northern Ohio, followed by a trip north to Michigan to experience the wonders of North American spring migration!!! Our trip dates were set to conincide with two major birding fesivals and we were ready to hit the road.

MAY 6, 2022 highway to hell

The drive from Brooklyn to Magee Marsh Wildlife Area in Oak Harbor, Ohio usually takes about 9 hours. We didn't want to waste a full day driving so we decided to leave Brooklyn Friday night at 5pm. Our plan was to drive to a halfway point in Pennsylvania before midnight, spend the night there, then drive in the morning to get to Ohio before noon. As usual, the traffic getting out of New York City was horrific. By the time we made it out to New Jersey, it started to pour and the rain didn't let up all night. Have you driven in the pouring rain at night without street lights? Well, I have, on that evening! Thankfully, there were just enough cars on the road so I used their tail lights as navigational guides. Consequently, the drive to Pennsylvnaia took much longer than anticipated. It was well after 1am when we finally reached at our motel in the town of Clarion.

MAY 7, 2022 the warbler capital of the world

We were planning to make a quick stop at the nearby Pennsylvania Game Lands for grassland birds but the bad weather forced us to head straight to Ohio. The rest of the drive was easy and uneventful and we made it to our destination, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, before noon. Magee is a host to argurably the most celebrated birding festival in North America, suitably called The Biggest Week in American Birding. Magee is often reffered to as 'The Warbler Capital of the World' and the name says it all. It is THE place to see migrating warblers in spring. Wood-Warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds found only in The New World. They are often referred to as the jewels of North American birds due to their colorful plummage and intricate songs. Warblers, in my opinion, are the most sought after bird family in North America. They are breathtakingly beautiful and painfully hard to find, whether they are foraging on top of the tree canopies or skulking in the thick undergrowth of shurubbery. What makes Magee a truly magical place to see warblers is their volume and proximity. On the boardwalk of Magee, they are as abundant as House Sparrows on city streets and almost as tame as your pet parakeet!

Biggest Week in American Birding Magee Marsh Boardwalk

It was a brisk cloudy day at Magee. As soon as we set foot on the famed boardwalk, we could tell that the spring migration hadn't gotten into full gear yet. The good news to us was that a slow day at Magee was still better than any day anywhere else. Yes, birding at Magee is THAT good...

Yellow Warbler Killdeer Ruby-crowned Kinglet Gray Catbird Green Heron House Wren Solitary Sandpiper Hermit Thrush

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109236505

With little sleep and long drive, we were beyond exhausted at this point. On our way to Maumee Bay State Park where we would be camping for the next 5 days, we couldn't resist the urge to make one final birding stop at Howard Marsh Metropark. A sighting of two beautiful American White Pelicans flying low over the marsh certainly made the visit worthwhile.

American White Pelicans Great Blue Heron Great Egret Sandhill Cranes

Howard Marsh Metropark eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109236505

Once we got to Maumee Bay State Park, we setup our tent in record time like any seasoned campers would. After spending a day watching birds gorge on bugs, we knew that it was time for us to feed ourselves at our favorite restaurant in Ohio called Oregon Inn on Bayshore. As expected, the restaurant was packed with locals and visiting birders and we were told that the wait would be about 40 minutes. Instead of wasting 40 minutes just sitting around waiting, we decided to bird South Shore Veterans Park just down the road from the restaurant. During our short visit, we were able to observe 18 bird species and wished we had more time to explorer the park. Happy to tell you that the long wait was worth it as the food was even better than we remembered. As you know, we are two passionate tennis players so we ended the day playing tennis at a tennis court conveniently located within the state park we were staying. It sure was our version of a "perfect" day!

South Shore Veterans Park Yellow Warbler Tree Swallow Oregon Inn Maumee Bay State Park Tent

South Shore Veterans Park eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109261797

MAY 8, 2022 thank god for Twitter

Our birding day started at 7am at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge located just a few minutes away from Magee. One of the attractions at the Ottawa Visitor Center is a nesting colony of Purple Martins. In the States, Martins almost always live in man-made dome-like nest boxes, especially in the East, and it is a treat to watch them perform aerial acrobatics to snap up flying insect. We then took a short walk on the boardwalk where we met a lone birder who quietly pointed at a tree in front of us. We immediately noticed a gorgeous Eastern Screech Owl peacefully sleeping in a tree cavity. What a way to start a day.

Purple Martins Purple Martin American Goldfinch American Robin Chipping Sparrow Eastern Screech Owl

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109300829

Off to a good start, we made our way to Magee by 9am. The boardwalk still was somewhat quiet as we were all waiting for an overnight south wind to push the birds up to us. Despite the lack of usual volume, we were thoroughly entertained by one very special species close to our hearts called White-Eyed Vireo. Just one look at this cute little guy should bring a smile to anyone's face.

White-eyed Vireo White-eyed Vireo White-eyed Vireo Red-winged Blackbird Bald Eagle American White Pelicans Baltimore Oriole Blue-gray Gnatcacher Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109323500

I have to say one of the most important reasons to visit Magee during the festival is the use of Twitter. Technology certainly makes birding a lot easier as a rare bird sighting can be shared by the interested instantly. During the festival, a number of expert volunteer birders were employed at various birding locations in the area to spot and tweet any rare bird sightings. Most of those volunteers work as professional bird tour guides. Needless to say they are all exceptional birders. When we saw a tweet of a rather friendly Yellow-headed Blackbird at Howard Marsh, we had to be there. Back in 2018, we did see the bird in Ohio but the bird was so far away that we could barely recognize it. As such, you can understand our skepticism of a *friendly* Yellow-headed Blackbird. Just as we were driving into the parking lot, a bird flew over barely missing our car. We looked at each other and went "is that a Yellow-headed Blackbird...???!!!". Yes it was, a beautiful adult male as friendly as a bird can be. In fact, he sat on a boulder to the right of the car.

Howard Marsh Metropark Yellow-headed Blackbird Yellow-headed Blackbird Female Killdeer Tree Swallow Muskrat

Howard Marsh Metropark eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109329475

After our sweet rendezvous with the Yellow-headed Blackbird, we spent the rest of the day at Magee being thoroughly entertained by more familiar faces. Time passes so fast when birding. It was already after 5pm and was time for us to leave Magee. While walking to the car, we noticed a small crowd surrounding a taped restricted area. Number one rule of birding is never to ignore a crowd of birders, especially the ones with large telephoto lenses. We peeked through and saw a killdeer sitting on the ground. A killdeer on the ground only meant one of the two things: It was gravely ill or it was with eggs/chicks. Luckily for the bird and us, it was the latter: it was sitting on four little chicks! We all enjoyed watching the adorable family of killdeer from a respectful distance. As usual, we ended another fabulous birding day playing tennis at Maumee Bay tennis courts. We were too tired to go out for dinner so opted to take out food from Chipotle. Chilly north wind was supposed to be replaced by warm south wind starting tonight which possibly meant extensive overnight bird movement. Well, I guess we would find out tomorrow morning.

Muskrat Warbling Vireo Palm Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Ruby-crowned Kinglet Killdeer Family

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109349603

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109364469

MAY 9, 2022 the enchanted forest in ohio

Before heading to Magee, we made a quick stop to check out Glossy Ibises reported on Twitter. I cannot stress how easy birding had become with the advent of social media. Back in the days, it was all word of mouth and it was hard. We quickly spotted the birds and were off to Magee just down the road. We were right about the south overnight wind bringing birds. That place was hopping. The magical world of Magee birding had arrived!!! The rest of the day passed by like a blur. We birded the Magee from 7am to 4pm non-stop.

Glossy Ibises Cape May Warbler American Redstart Warbling Vireo Black-throated Blue Warbler White-throated Sparrow White-eyed Vireo Bald Eagle Rose-breasted Grosbeak Yellow Warbler Black-capped Chickadee White-crowned Sparrow Prairie Warbler Blue-headed Vireo Eastern Kingbird Great-crested Flycatcher American White Pelicans Nashville Warbler Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Red-winged Blackbird Female Prothonotary Warbler Nothern Flicker Forster's Tern Black-throated Green Warbler Black-and-White Warbler Baltimore Oriole

Barnside Creamery eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S112831010

Magee Marsh eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109476157

We probably would have never left Magee if it wasn't for a tweet saying nearby Metzger Marsh was overflowing with migrating songbirds. When we got to Metzger, the small wooded lot was already packed with birds and birders. The main attraction there was a handsome Hooded Warbler who was driving his audience crazy with his usual peek-a-boo routine.

Metzger Marsh Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Hooded Warbler

Metzger Marsh eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109485268

This day had been absolutely spellbinding and it finally had to come to an end. I had one more exciting activity planned for me though. Did I tell you that I got into a Latin-music based dance fitness program called Zumba a few years ago? Luckily, there was a Crunch Gym in Toledo which was about 30 minutes from Maumee Bay State Park. The 60-minute class was fun and intense. You can imagine how farmished we were by then. Conveniently, the gym was close to a Mediterranean restaurant we had gone in the past so we took out delicious shawarma platters for dinner.

Crunch Fitness Toledo Shawarmaholic

MAY 10, 2022 flasher strikes

As forecasted, overnight southwind continued to blow and birds just kept comin' our way. We had another phenomenal day at Magee! Just like yesterday, we birded from dawn to dusk, exploring every inch of this extraordinary wildlife area.

Blackburnian Warbler Least Flycatcher Wood Thrush Black-and-white Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Ruby-throated Hummingbird Magnolia Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Rose-breasted Grosbeak Song Sparrow Mourning Warbler Scarlet Tanager Warbling Vireo Red-breasted Nuthatch American Goldfinch American Redstart Blackpoll Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Brown-headed Cowbird Canada Warbler Downy Woodpecker Eastern Screech-Owl Eastern Whip-poor-will House Wren Killdeer Palm Warbler Philadelphia Vireo White-eyed Vireo Yellow-rumped Warbler

Magee Marsh eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109588996

It truly was a fantastically intense day of birding. We decided to end the day taking the famous auto loop at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge followed by a good hour of tennis. The auto loop was relatively quiet but we were happy to find a furry Great Horned Owlet.

Bald Eagle Great Horned Owlet Trumpeter Swans

Ottawa Wildlife Drive eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109598334

One word of caution. Be aware of flashing Great Blue Heron on the trail.

Flasher (Great Blue Heron)

After a day like today, we had no energy left to do anything so we picked basically the closest place for dinner which was a pizza joint inside a gas station. The pizza was pretty bad but at least our stomachs were full. I suppose though it was better than gas station sushi!

MAY 11, 2022 perfect miscalculation

Our plan was to leave Ohio for Michigan tomorrow. As you could tell, we were having a grand old time in Ohio so why leave here...? Well, our main reason to go to Michigan was to increase our chance of seeing one of the most sought after warbler species called Kirtland's Warbler. It is currently estimated that less than 5,000 individuals exist. However small the current population is, Kirtland's Warblers have made a remarkable recovery under the protection of the Endangered Species Act: the species bounced back from only 20 breeding pairs to 2,300 pairs in the last 47 years. In 2019, a controversial decision was made to remove Kirtland's Warblers from the Endangered Species List. Many arugued that the species would still require continued protection but the decision was final. Let's all hope that the current population is vibrant enough to maintain the growth trend. Now going back to our first encounter with a Kirtland's Warbler, we did see it at this very location in 2016 if we could call that a sighting. The bird was frittering about 20 yards away in seriously thick tangled vines. To make matters worse, there were over 50 or more spectators desparately trying get a glimpse of this rare species. Needless to say, we never had a clear satisfying look. Fastforward 6 years, a tweet of Kirtland's Warbler sighting at Magee popped up on my phone. We rushed to the location in minutes and there it was, a fairly visible adult male. We were elated to see a Kirtland's Warbler up close while questioning our need to visit Michigan...

Kirtland's Warbler Northern Parula Nashville Warbler

Our date with the handsome Kirdland's Warbler was cut short by a dreaded tweet that our nemesis bird was being seen at Ottawa National Wildlife trail. Our only positive sighting of a Connecticut Warbler goes back 12 years in Brooklyn. Since then, we had numerous "was that a .....???" encounters with this species but never an affirmative sighting. Connecticut Warbler, in our opinion, tops of the infamous list of hard-to-spot birds in North America. Now, do we want to torture ourselves trying to find it? Of course, the answer was yes. As always is the case with this bird, we got off to a bad start by taking the wrong trail. By the time we finally arrived at the last sighted location, birders there told us that they had not seen nor heard the bird in the last 30 minutes. Knowing how obnoxious this bird can be, it probably heard our desparate foot steps and decided to take a nap in a bush right next to us, who knows! We did spot a beautiful Red-headed Woodpecker and a Mourning Warbler so screw you, Connecticut Warbler!

Red-headed Woodpecker Barn Swallow Goose Family

Ottawa National Wildlife Reduge eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109670386

With our tails between our legs, we came back to Magee. It didn't take us long to forget about the Connecticut Warbler fiasco and enjoy the beautiful ever-so-friendly birds of Magee.

White-crowned Sparrow Gray Catbird Baltimore Oriole Black-capped Chickadee American Redstart Tennessee Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Common Nighthawk Eastern Wood Pewee Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Mourning Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Red-eyed Vireo Wood Thrush Veery Brown Thrasher Swainson's Thrush Common Yellowthroat Magnolia Warbler Warbling Vireo Blackburnian Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Wilson's Warbler House Wren

Magee Marsh eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109719867

MAY 12, 2022 dream came true (earlier than expected)!

Our plan for today was to bird Magee in the morning, pack up, and then drive all afternoon to Tawas Point State Park in Michigan which was about 4 hours away. Guess who was at Magee to greet us? Yep,the same Kirtland's Warbler we had seen the day before. Perhaps, the bird was getting used to people or was just plain hungry, it paid no attention to the admiring mob of birders while hopping from branch to branch providing us with great looks. By now, we realized that we had already achieved what we had hoped to do in Michigan. Such is life, and we were still overjoyed to hopefully see it up close and personal.

Kirtland's Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow Warbler Red-breasted Nuthatch Cape May Warbler Northern Waterthrush Northern Parula Wilson's Warbler Nashville Warbler Veery

Magee Marsh eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109778958

We got to Tawas City in Michigan before 6pm. After sitting in a car for hours, we needed to get some exercise in so we quickly located a park with two tennis courts nearby called Dewey Durant Memorial Park. East Tawas didn't have too many dining options but we managed to find a decent looking pizzeria called G's Pizzeria. Unfortunately, the pizza was sub-par but we were too distracted by Nashville Warblers and Baltimore Orioles frittering right above our campsite to taste our dinner anyways.

Dewey Durant Memorial Park Dewey Durant Memorial Park Tennis Courts G's Pizzeria Tawas Point State Park

MAY 13, 2022 love at first sight

Our birding day started bright and early at 6am. One of the obvious advantage of camping at Tawas Point State Park was that we didn't have to leave the park to get to the best birding site. "The Point" was just a short walk away from our camp site. However, it took us well over an hour to get to the tip of the point as we were contantly distracted by multitude of birds all around us. Today was the first day of the Tawas Point Birding Festival hosted by the AuSable Valley Audubon. The festival did not draw massive crowds like the one at Magee but the area seemed to be sufficiently busy with local and visiting birders. Local birders were reserved but helpful and a young man, supposedly a state birding champion, told us that there had been an adult and a juvenile Little Gull sightings around the Point. We REALLY wanted to see this rare traveler from Europe but it seemed that they had already left the area. Plus the gulls were on a little island 100 yards away. We must say that our very first Michigan birding well exceeded our expectations. This thin strip of land was packed with hungry warblers and other spring migrants.

Tawas Point Birding Festival Pied-billed Grebe Bay-breasted Warbler Eastern Kingbird Northern Parula Song Sparrow Gray Catbird Green Heron Scarlet Tanager Ruby-throated Hummingbird Blackburnian Warbler Nashville Warbler Tennessee Warbler Great-crested Flycatcher Downy Woodpecker American Redstart Savannah Sparrow Baltimore Oriole Orchard Oriole Warbling Vireo Yellow Warbler Palm Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Chipping Sparrow Golden-winged Warbler Merlin White-breasted Nuthatch

Tawas Point eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109878316

We only had 2 days to bird Michigan. It was already midday so we reluntantly left the Point to check out other birding spots in the area. The first site we visited was Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport to look for an Upland Sandpiper. Although we did not spot any, we saw some other nice grassland birds around the airport area. We later found out they were a few hundred feet away behind a fense by the runways.

Bobolink Eastern Meadowlark Savannah Sparrow

Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109897652

By the time we got to the Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area, it was almost 5pm and our birding time was running out. The area was fairly quiet until we heard the distinct call of an American Bittern. Oh what a find! In fact, there were 2 bitterns calling each other on the water edge and miraculously we found them. Bitterns hide in the reeds and blend into their environment plus they do not move much. While we were watching the bitterns, we kept hearing the "karoo karoo" sound of a Sandhill Crane so we knew it was nearby. We then spotted the crane right around the corner from the bittern site. It was just an amazing birding day!

Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area American Bittern Sandhill Crane

Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S109922562

MAY 14, 2022 the tawas effect

As usual, we were up before sunrise anxious to be the first ones to greet our feathered friends. There were already a few birders on the trail and many hungry birds. We were there for over 6 hours but felt like 10 minutes. I called it "The Tawas Effect". What a superb birding spot it truly was!

Tawas Point Birding Festival Tawas Point Birding Festival Brown Thrasher Indigo Bunting Northern Parula Spotted Sandpiper Eastern Kingbird Killdeer American Pipit Northern Flicker Dunlin Kirtland's Warbler Bonapart's Gull White-winged Dove American Redstart Canada Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Common Yellowthroat Palm Warbler Red-eyed Vireo Sandhill Cranes

Tawas Point State Park eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110038261

While enjoying spectacular views of various warblers, a group of birders ran past us in a hurry. One rule of thumb for birders. If you see a group of birders running, you run after them so we did. We didn't know what bird they were after but we knew it to be a good one. The group finally stopped so we politely asked what bird they were looking for. "A Mockingbird", someone in the group said. Huh? Come again? We were quite confused at this point as Northern Mockingbird is one of the most abundant species in New York. Shortly after, we learned that the Northern Mockingbird is very local and does not usually travel this far up in Michigan. So here is our "rare" sighting of a Northern Mockingbird.

Northern Mockingbird Northern Mockingbird Northern Mockingbird

It was a real bonus to see this adorable baby fox peeking through the grass.

Fox Fox

We were then faced with a rather strange yet envied decision which was whether to go to The Kirtland's Warbler Management Area or not. Had we not been presented with quite a number of Kirtland Warbler sightings on this trip the answer to that question would have been a huge deifnite instant YES. Well, since it was such a short distance away, we decided to make a quick stop. As soon as we drove into the area, we were greeted with a beautiful male Kirtland's Warbler singing proudly on top of a tree then we saw another then heard another. They were just everywhere. By the way, the trees here were barely six feet tall. As we had been told, this was a very senstive area so we took a few shots then left there in a hurry. We were very happy to see this once nearly extinct species doing so well in this protected area.

Kirtland's Warbler Management Area Kirtland's Warbler Kirtland's Warbler

Kirtland's Warbler Management Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110161596

We decided to try our luck at the Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area again since we had such success yesterday. It was a dark gloomy day and we could feel the rain coming down any minute. Despite the omnious clouds covering the sky, we were determined to find something good. Well, this place did not disappoint. Close to where we had seen the American Bitterns yesterday, we found a Virgnia Rail skulking in the reeds. Virginia Rails are not particularly rare but seeing them definitely involves a lot of patience and luck but there it was. It was started to drizzle so we reluntantly decided to pack it for the day. Just when we were driving away, we spotted a Wilson's Snipe feeding along the ditch three feet away. How lucky can we get!? We were just about to take its photo when a pair of birders came by and flushed the bird. Would have been nice to photograph the bird but we were still happy to have seen it. By then, it was raining cats and dogs and we really had to call it a day.

Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area Golden-winged Warbler Great Crested Flycatcher Turtle Virginia Rail

Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110161482

MAY 15, 2022 one last time

Today was our last day in Michigan and we knew where we would be spending our last hours. At the crack of dawn, we headed straight to the Point to bid farewell to all our migrataing feathered friends. We were so glad that we added the Michigan portion to our annual pligrimage to Ohio. We are sure to revisit the Tawas area in the near future.

Hermit Thrush Rock Dove Orchard Oriole Northern Parula Eastern Kingbird Bobolink Red-breasted Grosbeak Female Tenneessee Warbler American Robin Chipmunk

Tawas Point State Park eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110209415

You didn't think we would leave without making one last look at Magee!? First, we made a quick stop at Howard Marsh before hitting Magee. We could not believe that the Yellow-headed Blackbird was still hanging around, friendlier than ever.

Black-necked Stilt Barn Swallow Pied-billed Grebe Yellow-headed Blackbird

Howard Marsh Metropark eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110258243

It was already 2pm when we finally got to Magee. We were a little taken aback about how quiet the area was. Since the festival was over, there were way less people but also the birds seemed to have left. Remember the catchphrase I came up for Magee? "A bad bird day at Magee is like the best day anywhere else" so we still greatly enjoyed our time there. Time passes way too fast at Magee, it was almost 7pm and we had to say good-bye to this little birders' heaven in Ohio and started our drive to a motel in Pennsylvania.

Snowy Egret Indigo Bunting Mourning Dove Canada Warbler Wilson's Warbler Magnolia Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Lincoln's Sparrow Chestnut-sided Warbler Green Heron Black-and-white Warbler Common Grackle Cape May Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Female Racoon Yellow Warbler Red-winged Blackbird Female

Magee Marsh eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110301034

MAY 16, 2022

Before headig home, we decided to make a few stops at our favorite birding spots in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the weather forecast did not look promising at all but we were going to give our best to see as many as birds as the nature allowed us. We were very excited to visit one of our favorite birding spots, State Gamelands 330. This location was personally given to us by the real-life "The Big Year" main character, Mr. Greg Miller, definitely a premier place to see rare grassland birds. We got to the sight around 8am and could already feel the rain in the air. Luckily, it didn't take us long to spot our target species, Grasshopper and Henslow's Sparrows. In less than 40 minutes, it started to pour so we planned to drive east until the rain stopped.

State Gamelands 330 Henslow's Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow

State Gamelands 330 eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110355432

After driving for about an hour, the sky cleared up so we decided to make a quick stop at S.B. Elliott State Park in Penfield, Pennsylvania. The park was rather quiet and in less than 15 minutes, thick dark clouds gathered above us and it was again pouring. We had been birding/driving non-stop and hadn't had anything to eat so we decided to take a rain break from birding at a cute little coffee house called Spanky's Courthouse Cafe where we had stopped by for breakfast in the past. While eating breakfast, a Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate, Jeff Bartos, came in to greet us and other diners. Only in Pennsylvania....

S.B. Elliot State Park Eastern Towhee Spanky's Courthouse Cafe

S.B. Elliot State Park eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110365848

Finally, the sky cleared up and we made a stop at picturesque Black Moshannon State Park in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. To our surprise, this place was hopping with birds. Not only were there a lot of them but they were all willing to pose for us for photos.

Chipping Sparrow Red-eyed Vireo Black-and-white Warbler Ovenbird Eastern Wood-Pewee Black-throated Green Warbler Eastern Towhee Chestnut-sided Warbler

Black Moshannon State Park eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110390898

We were still in denial our magical birding trip was about to end. It was almost 6pm and we were nearing the New Jersey border. We could not bear to end our magical birding trip so we made a last minutes' decision to bird the Delaware Watergap National Recreational Area. Our favorite place to bird in the area was McDade Recreational Trail. It was pretty bird-y there as well but the highlight was seeing approximately twenty Common Nighthawks catching insects on the wing. Well, it sure was late if we were seeing active nighthawks. We reluctantly left the area past 8pm to start our final drive back to Brooklyn.

Swainson's Thrush Snake Veery Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Deer Common Nighthawk

McDade Trail eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110427313

The last ten days were all but a blur, a really really good blur. We loved every minute of it and we are so lucky to live where we get to experience the natural wonders of bird migration first hand.