Bees and Springtails

During the past few days, the temperatures have reached into the 50s and even (for one day) into the 60s. With the rising temperatures, many of the early spring flowers are blooming: snowdrops, winter aconite, and crocuses. These flowers need pollinators, and over the past few days, I have seen the first bees of the year. This time of year, bees are not abundant like they are later in the year, but occasionally, one can be found curled up inside a flower or sunning on a blade of grass.

The first bee I found this year was this Lasioglossum sp. This guy was taking a rest on a Snowdrop (Galanthus) flower.

While the smaller bees are enjoying the small flowers of Snowdrops, some larger bees like this Cellophane Bee (Colletes sp.) prefer the larger flowers of the crocuses. This bee is covered in pollen from the various flowers it has visited.

This Cellophane Bee took a rest on a Snowdrop flower.


The third and final bee that I have found this year is this Cuckoo Bee (Nomada).

While the bees are enjoying the array of brightly colored flowers currently in bloom, springtails (Collembola) are enjoying the damp ground that comes with spring rains and melting snow. During a walk through the woods today, I encountered several types of these fascinating creatures.

Snow fleas (Hypogastrura nivicola) are, by far, the most common springtail during the winter. Groups of this and similar species congregate on top of the ice and snow making themselves visible. This time of year, they are harder to find as the snow has melted. However, as long as the ground stays damp, these guys will stay near the surface of the ground, often just under the leaf litter or under a fallen branch.

This small, blue springtail looks similar (in shape) to the Hypogastrura, but the abdomen is more cylindrical. This guy belongs to the group Entomobryomorpha, or elongate-bodied springtails (more specifically, Isotomidae). This group tends to be less gregarious than Poduridae and many species seem to prefer to "run" from danger than to jump.

This brightly-colored springtail (Dicyrtoma fusca) belongs to the order Symphypleona, the globular springtails. These springtails are very good jumpers and will hop out of sight if a potential predator gets too close. This individual was very cooperative and allowed me to get several decent photographs. Keep in mind that this "large" springtail is only a few millimeters in length.

Signs of Spring

This time of year, many people are searching for a sign that spring is near. In my yard, there are three easy ways to tell if spring is near: Turkey Vultures begin to fly, flowers begin to bloom, and American Woodcocks begin their territorial "singing". I witnessed all three of those today. First, the vultures. For most of the day, small groups of Turkey and Black Vultures sailed over the yard, rocking back and forth in the glorious sun. Second, the flowers. As the snow melted away, the flowers of Winter Aconite appeared. These bright yellow flowers (native to Europe) are always the first to bloom and brighten an otherwise dull landscape. And finally, the woodcocks. After the sun had set, my mom came to the door and mentioned that she may have heard a displaying woodcock. I grabbed my boots and headed outside to listen. Sure enough, a woodcock called--peent. Before long, several American Woodcocks were calling from the damp, muddy field.

Although the temperatures are supposed to dip again for the next few days, I hope that these signs are not just teasing us.

2010 -- Part I

I have been meaning to do this for a few weeks now, but I have been too busy. Now, with a break for Presidents' Day Weekend, I can finally compile a list of my favorite moments from 2010:

In February, a large snowstorm hit the region. In Kunkletown, we received around 18 inches of snow. Although fun, the large amount of snow made it difficult to get around. Revi, my dog, had no idea what to do with so much snow!

On February 17, country-singer Kathy Mattea visited Moravian College for a presentation about the impacts of coal mining on people, the environment, and music. Her presentation included songs from her album Coal. It was an incredibly powerful and inspiring presentation.

In March, I traveled to Costa Rica. The adventure began with a stop at middle elevations, where the group found this lovely Bay-headed Tanager. Although pouring rain, the birds were still around. In 2009 I visited Costa Rica and it was raining at this same spot. Unfortunately on that trip, the rain lasted for the entire week. In 2010, the returning trip members could only wish for drier weather than the year before.

From there, we went to El Zota, a biological station along the Caribbean coast. As always, this area was full of great birds as well as mud! Despite the mud, we received NO rain while in the lowlands, which was a lovely surprise.

After the lowlands, we headed to the mountains in search of the Resplendent Quetzal like the one above. We saw several which was a real treat. The birds were wonderful; the road to the birds was not.

As well as seeing quetzals, we saw numerous brilliantly-colored hummingbirds including this stunning Fiery-throated Hummingbird.


In May, many birds began returning to the yard including this Blue-winged Warbler that could be heard every morning from the house. Not long after the arrival of this bright warbler, other species began arriving including Prairie Warblers and the my first ever Mourning Warbler for the yard. The Mourning Warbler proved difficult to see, but sang all morning long and was the first thing I heard when I woke up for school.


During the second week of May, I began scouting for the World Series of Birding in New Jersey. I focused my scouting on southern New Jersey including places such as Heislerville WMA, Jake's Landing, Cape May, and Edwin B. Forsythe NWR (Brigantine). I was on the Subadult Skuaz with Luke Seitz and Ian Davies.

Brigantine was full of great birds including this White-faced Ibis. Other great birds were seen at Brig including Gull-billed Tern, White-rumped Sandpiper, and Black Skimmer. A Bar-tailed Godwit was seen at the Refuge, but apparently left before I was able to get there for scouting.


Finding Piping Plovers, like this one, is always a treat while birding Cape May County. I also found Northern Bobwhite, Dickcissel, and Common Eider in this bird-filled county while scouting.


With 188 species, the Subadult Skuaz were able to win the youth division! (We also were able to do some advertising for eBird thanks to Marshall Iliff.) We found many great birds with highlights of Golden-winged Warbler and Harlequin Duck, but missed common species like Northern Flicker, our most embarrassing miss. Overall, we had a great, fun day that we ended surrounded by a cacophony of Clapper Rails.



In June, I started and compiled the Monroe-Carbon Butterfly Count, which was part of the North American Butterfly Association butterfly counts. I surveyed the area around my yard and found, among many other species, this beautiful Striped Hairstreak on blooming Wild Hydrangea. The count was a success with several teams across the region including one at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center.

February Birds

This weekend was the Lehigh Gap Area Feederwatch. This Sunday, I counted the birds that visited the feeders in the yard. I was able to find 17 species and 71 individual birds including American Tree Sparrows, Pine Siskins, and a Carolina Wren.

American Goldfinches, a Pine Siskin, and a House Finch at the feeder

As well as watching the birds at the feeder on Sunday, my mom and I traveled to Graver's Hill, a well-known spot for wintering grassland bird species. At Graver's Hill, we found several Horned Larks as well as a Snow Bunting. The bunting was sitting along the side of the road and allowed us to get fairly close.

One of the Horned Larks at Graver's Hill

Snow Buntings, like this one, are fairly common in Pennsylvania during the winter, but are always exciting to find. They often associate with flocks of Horned Larks.

January Birding

The birding year began when I woke up on January 1 and found an American Goldfinch at the thistle feeder. This was followed by several common feeder birds including chickadees, titmice, and juncos. Even a Pine Siskin joined in the feeding frenzy. As the sun rose, my dad and I headed out to the yard to look for birds. We found several common species as well as a Great Blue Heron that flew low over our heads.

As I posted in the previous blog entry, a Harlequin Duck had been hanging out along the Delaware River near Riverton, Northampton County, PA. My dad and I had gone to see it two days before, but my mom did not get to go along. My mom and I decided to take a New Year's Day trip over the the river to search for the rare duck. When we arrived, we found the duck floating in the middle of the river with a small group of Buffleheads. The Harlequin was a lifer for my mom.

While at the Harlequin spot, we ran into a birder who had just seen the Anna's Hummingbird that had been visiting a feeder since late November. This winter visitor was the first of this species for Pennsylvania.

Excited about seeing this unusual bird, my mom, brother, and I headed to Mountain Springs Camping Resort in Berks County, PA. After a bit of searching, we found the house where the feeder was hanging and waited for the bird. After about twenty minutes of waiting, the bird visited the feeder for a quick drink before flying off. This bird was a lifer for both my mom and me.

On the way home from the hummingbird location, we stopped at the Fogelsville Quarry, a local 'hotspot' for waterfowl during the winter. Most of the birds in the quarry were Canada Geese and Mallards, but we also found American Black Duck, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, and American Coot.

On the 15th, I helped out with the Winter Bird Survey run by the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. The volunteers were split into groups and we headed out to bird northern Lehigh and southern Carbon counties. The group I was with found 33 species, including Horned Larks and Savannah Sparrow.

On the 21st, I was birding in my yard when I heard the flight calls of Common Redpolls. Sure enough, two of these winter finches were flying over the yard. This species is in a group of irruptive winter finches that do not reach Pennsylvania every year. That same day, I heard a Hermit Thrush and saw a Brown Creeper climbing up an oak.

On the 22nd, my family and I headed to Brodheadsville for my brother's soccer game. While driving home after the game, we spotted an adult Red-shouldered Hawk sitting on a power line. After seeing the hawk, we stopped at Weir Lake which is a small lake that was built for the community that surrounds the water. As my dad and I learned on the 2010 Wild Creek-Little Gap Christmas Bird Count, this lake sometimes holds interesting species, such as Hooded Mergansers, Lesser Scaup, and Ring-necked Duck, as well as gulls and more common duck species. On this day, however, much of the lake was frozen so the number of waterfowl was down. Despite the small amount of open water, we found 23 Hooded Mergansers swimming around with the more common Canada Geese, Mallards, and American Black Ducks.

This year, two members of the Pennsylvania Birding Listserv are holding a yard-listing competition. Birders from around the state will count all of the species that they can see or hear in the yard during 2011. So far I am up to 35 species. In past years, the highest yard counts have been just over 150 species. During 2010, I found 148, so my personal goal is to reach 150. If anyone reading this post is a birder, I encourage you to keep track of the bird species that you see in your yard!

Finding the Harlequin

A few days ago, I checked the Pennsylvania Birding Listserv and saw that a Harlequin Duck had been reported from northern Northampton County. After a day or two, birders began posting photos of this beautiful male Harlequin Duck which represented the first documented record for the county. Today, my dad and I traveled to the Delaware River near the Belvidere bridge in order to see this duck.

The beautiful, unique pattern and dark color of the Harlequin Duck distinguished it from the Common Goldeneyes

When we arrived at the location, we saw the bird down the river with a small group of Common Goldeneyes. We thought that a spot down the road would have a better vantage point, so we headed back the car. As we were about to leave, we ran into local birder Dave DeReamus who was also looking for the duck (although he had already seen it the day before). We talked with Dave for a while and decided to try the New Jersey side, since the Harlequin had been hanging out primarily on that side of the river.

We drove across the bridge and walked down the railroad bed until we got a clearing where we spotted the group of ducks. As we watched and photographed the rare bird, the group flew off. We walked back to the car, which was also the direction that ducks flew. When we got to where the ducks were, we were able to take several photographs before the birds swam towards the middle of the river.

The Harlequin Duck with a group of Common Goldeneyes

This beautiful bird was a lifer for my dad and only the second that I had ever seen (the first was during the World Series of Birding).

Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Early during the morning of Tuesday, December 21, I witnessed a lunar eclipse. The combination of the eclipse and the solstice is a very rare coincidence and was a beautiful sight.