In addition to the loon, my visit to Nescopeck State Park this past spring included encounters with several other bird species, including a new addition to my life list!
In order of appearance in the gallery above:
The Black & White warbler includes Pennsylvania in its extensive breeding range, but in my experience it is somewhat elusive. I’ve only encountered them a handful of times, and this is definitely one of my top 3. This little guy hopped from tree to tree, feeding on insects and mostly ignoring me for several minutes.
The Baltimore oriole is one of those birds that even non-birders often know, by name if not my sight. Their bright orange coloring and relatively large size makes it difficult to mistake them for anything else. In my experience, they tend to be a bit skittish around people, but here in the heart of mating season the small flock of them around Lake Frances was far more interested in each other than in anything I was doing.
The Yellow-throated vireo is likewise common across the whole eastern US during breeding season.
The American Redstart was a new species to me, which is always exciting (if you consider yourself a naturalist)! Given the number of Baltimore orioles around that day, I initially misidentified it, and it wasn’t until later, reviewing the photos at the computer, that I realized who I’d met.