Captain Katie Andersen

This was my third year of participating in the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology’s Breeding Bird Blitz for Conservation and my second year of captaining our team. Every year, I learn a little more about the birds that can be found in our county and discover new places to go birding.

Our big day began well before June 15th rolled around. Drawing on the last two years, I compiled a massive spreadsheet of expected species, how hard they would be to find, and a list of potential spots the various birds could be found. Spots were scouted by myself, Ripley, and Victoria, and the spreadsheet was updated as new information came in. I also reached out to several area birders regarding recent sightings.

As we got closer to the week where we would make the attempt, the weather forecast started coming into play. We finally settled on Saturday, June 15th, as it looked like it would be a cool and calm day - important because birds tend to keep singing later into the mid-morning hours in cooler temperatures and are easier to hear when the wind isn’t howling in your ears. A county map was stickered up with a route of stops and I met with Ripley and Victoria on the evening of June 14th to go over our strategy. Then, it was off to bed for several hours of power napping.

Our big day started well before dawn, as our initial group of four met up at the TREC and transferred gear and bodies to Brian's vehicle, which we plastered in car magnets showcasing the PA Breeding Bird Atlas, Erie Bird Observatory, and the Piping Hot Plovers logos. With cups full of caffeine, spirits full of enthusiasm, and a binder full of maps, timetables, and targets, we set off for the northwestern part of the county. Our hope was to best our official total of 122 species last year. There were species we had last year that we didn't turn up with our scouting this year, but others we knew we had a chance at getting that had previously eluded us; I was hopeful that with a little luck we could swing a nice even 125 species.

Our first stop involved a small hike in the dark to reach the mouth of Elk Creek. Ripley had made a fortuitous discovery here a few days prior while in the area for unrelated work and we planned to start off the day with a bird we had not recorded during previous blitzes. As dark gave way to dawn, the morning chorus began to swell, with American Robins and Gray Catbirds dominating the soundscape. The minutes began to tick down for the time we had allotted to this first stop when a demanding "Quick! Chips and-a bee-eer!" rang out from across the creek - the unique song of the White-eyed Vireo! This is the only vireo species expected in the county that we had not recorded during our past big days and a great way to kick off our blitz.

Elated, we headed back to the south end of the ravine for our second target of the day and another semi-tough one for the county, a Winter Wren. We had a couple other possible spots for this species, but picking it up in the morning meant we would have more time to look for other species in other spots later. It was here that we received one of our best surprises of the day with the high-pitched song of a Golden-crowned Kinglet. We had written off this species from potential finds this year as scouting trips failed to turn up this bird in its previous haunts.

All expected targets in hand, we popped over to Erie Bluffs to make a targeted strike for a known Brown Thrasher on territory. While this species is fairly common across the county, past blitz attempts have only recorded one or two individuals, so we wanted to be sure it didn't slip through the cracks this year. We were also holding out hope that the Orchard Oriole we used to get here would pop up, despite not being found on previous scouting trips; in fact, it had also been dropped from our list of likely targets for the day. Indeed, we left the area without it, but we were still in great shape with the start we had made.

Our next stop was a quick trip to the Battles Estate walking trail for a Yellow-throated Vireo and what would be our only Cerulean Warbler of the day, which Victoria had found when she had scouted the place previously. From there, it was down to the southwest part of the county to see if State Game Lands 101 was hosting a Black-and-white Warbler this year (it wasn't) and see if an Alder Flycatcher was on territory (it was).

We then cruised east to the Edinboro area. Jamie Hill has been thoroughly atlasing the area and graciously provided us with tips and locations for a number of targets. We worked fairly quickly through them, and had a bit of a laugh when we found a Least Flycatcher, a species we had trouble nailing down during our scouting phase, singing behind a Sheetz where we had stopped for a quick break. The highlight of this area was, without a doubt, pair of Barred Owls on a private farm lane where we were also treated to the sight of a beautiful Red Fox.

From here, we made our annual stop at Jamie's property. Shortly before we arrived, he sent a text saying there was an Orchard Oriole on hand - fantastic news since we had written off getting one this year! We managed to get all but one of our target species here, and were especially thrilled to get both Sora and Virginia Rails this year. We were lagging behind schedule enough at this point that we didn't try waiting out the Northern Waterthrush or even go up to check the house for hummingbirds.

We zipped north, now at the point of the day where traffic was becoming an issue. A quick pause by 12th and Greengarden yielded our county’s least common mimic, the Northern Mockingbird. It had reached the time of day where bird song falls off dramatically, making it much harder to detect birds. Fortunately, we planned for this by targeting a different group of birds. After dropping off Victoria at the TREC, our crew of now three dropped down onto Presque Isle to focus on species that could only be found here.

Red-headed Woodpecker by Ripley Kindervater

Red-headed Woodpecker and Common Gallinule were easy grabs at the head of the bay. Sadly, Prothonotary Warblers were not nesting in this stretch this year, likely because too much of the habitat they used here had been destroyed. Still, we crossed the 100 species mark by Noon, and had plenty of targets to go!

The crown of the park, at least from a birding standpoint, is Gull Point and that was our next destination. Here, we filled out our list with gulls and terns, waterfowl, and shorebirds - including PA's only breeding population of federally-endangered Piping Plovers. We spent a little extra time here hoping that a Laughing Gull that we knew was hiding somewhere on the point would hitch up into the air and give us a look, but eventually we had to give up and move on to keep on track.

After leaving the park, we made a brief stop to see if any Peregrines were hanging around downtown (they weren't) before we headed to the northeastern section of Erie County. Our first stop was a community park with fields hosting Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Savannah Sparrows. From there, it was a short jaunt over to Howard Eaton Reservoir. We hoped to pick up a Northern Harrier that Ripley had previously spotted there, a species we had not gotten in prior blitzes. While we did not find the hawk, a flyover Cliff Swallow from a nearby breeding colony was a great addition, and meant we had one less stop to make. This is the first year we’ve picked up all the expected swallows in the county, as Cliff Swallows had eluded us the last two years.

Blue-winged Warbler by Ripley Kindervater

Having gotten a little ahead of schedule allowed us to spend the time needed to hike through various spots in the Wattsburg Fen. We got several target species, including Blue-winged Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Blackburnian Warbler. Unfortunately, the Black-throated Blue Warbler that Ripley had previously found here was nowhere to be seen or heard. Still, this spot took us past our previous record of 122 birds and we were now sitting at my morning target of 125 species!

State Game Lands 102 netted us Hermit Thrush and Northern Waterthrush. At this point, it was time to make some choices. There was another spot to try for Black-throated Blue, but we were racing against the clock as we needed to be back at Presque Isle for some evening birds. However, there were only a couple definite "gimme" birds left and with a potential 130 species in sight, we went ahead to Ewing Family Woods to pick up the Black-throated Blue Warbler, a species our 2022 team confirmed as a breeder for the county for the first time ever.

Back at Presque Isle, we picked up Brian's daughter Olive and headed out to get our last couple species. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and then hiked out along B Trail under the darkening skies. The trail was dotted with fireflies and Ripley found a tiny Spring Peeper frog. As the last daylight filtered away along the horizon, species 129 piped up with its distinctive song - the Eastern Whip-poor-will. Our final species of the night popped onto our trail shortly after, with two American Woodcock bringing us to 130 for the day!

We could've tried listening for Least Bittern and Eastern Screech-Owls at several spots on the park, but decided to wrap it up at this point, especially since Brian still had an hour drive back home ahead of him.

Happy with our results, the Piping Hot Plovers headed off for their well deserved rest!

You can view all our stops and species seen here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/250927

A county big day takes a lot of planning and help. I would like to extend special thanks to Mary Birdsong, John M. Campbell, Joan Galli, Jamie Hill, Laura-Marie Koitsch, Chris Lundberg, Jerry McWilliams, Sarah Sargent, Tee Scarlett, John Tautin, and Presque Isle State Park for support, advice, and access to various properties. Thank you to my fellow teammates for their scouting efforts prior to our run, and to Brian for gamely driving us hither and yon for the entire day. A special shoutout to Olive Miller for providing the lucky duck drawing to start our day and joining us for our final hurrah at the end.

Thank you, as well, to everyone who donated to the blitz fundraiser, whether it was through our team's link or another's.

Lead Blitz Detective: Ripley Kindervater

With this being my second year participating in PSO's Breeding Bird Blitz, I was eager to get the show on the road as our team gathered around 4 in the morning at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center. My best hope for the day would be to beat our current record set last year of 122 species. Starting the day off strong, our initial team of 4 embarked to our first destination, the Elk Creek Boat Launch.

On the days before the blitz, our team desperately searched far and wide to find any bird on territory we missed last year or knew weren't present this year. Katie put in the miles searching for a White-eyed Vireo, with no luck as it was a bird we also missed last year. The day before the blitz, I was helping my school, Penn State Behrend, sample round gobies at the Elk Creek Boat Launch when I suddenly heard “quick-with-a-beer-check!” Birds have the oddest ways of showing up when you least expect it, yet this one was a welcome surprise. We patiently waited in the predawn hours for the White-Eyed Vireo to start calling. After what seemed like infinity amongst the singing robins, the WEVI finally called and sang. Back at the parking lot, another surprise awaited us while we listened for a Winter Wren. Before reaching the corner with the WIWR, an unexpected song rang through: a Golden-crowned Kinglet. Katie and I cheered as we had no locations pinned for this scarce bird (during the breeding season). As soon as the WIWR sang, we finished our tour of Elk Creek's Boat Launch and headed for some various locations with hit-or-miss birds, with the large part of them being misses.

Luckily, Victoria pinned down Cerulean Warblers and Yellow-throated Vireos at the beautiful Battle Estate at the Hagen History Center. I always appreciate Cerulean Warblers, as I rarely encounter them, let alone see them. After the blitz, I returned to get a glimpse of these warblers, and was greeted with surprise as they were foraging low in the trees, allowing me to snag a few decent photos.

We then worked our way to Jamie Hill's beautiful property to collect a plethora of species. Again, he had our first Osprey of the day on his platform, and luckily he had heard an Orchard Oriole singing the morning of the blitz, which was a bird we didn't have pinned down. Thankfully for the Breeding Bird Atalas's reincarnation, Jamie had also prepared Virginia Rail and Sora for us, along with many, many other birds. Jamie also had a Magnolia Warbler for us, a bird that I was determined to find, yet was glad Jamie found one.

Approaching noon, we departed the Edinboro area for our first run on Presque Isle. Unfortunately, the Prothonotary Warblers did not breed in the park this year, and were not pinned down for us in any other location, so we didn't count on them being at the head of the bay. Luckily, we found a Common Gallinule hiding among the cattail islands again and saw a handful of Red-headed Woodpeckers flying about. Getting to Gull Point, we found our state's breeding Piping Plover with Mary's help as well as a Black-bellied Plover and other shorebirds. Luckily, the park also had breeding Common Terns, which were yet another bird missed last year. Not long after the shorebird excitement, our crew consisting of Katie, Brian, and me, left the park for Greenfield Community Park.

At Greenfield Community, we picked up our blitz Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, and Bobolink. Last year during the blitz, our stay at Greenfield Community Park was less joyful as the sad Bobolink wandered around the mown field. Bobolinks go brrrrr… Anyways, our next destination had exciting prospects!

Arriving at Howard Eaton Reservoir, we hoped to see a Northern Harrier which I spotted a day or two before the blitz acting like it was on territory. Unfortunately, no harriers were found flying like kites in the meadow. We didn't pick up many other birds, unfortunately. Back at the car after our short walk for the Harrier, we noticed a bird's odd chatter above us. Looking up, we saw another one of our targets flitting above us which happened to be a Cliff Swallow. The nesting site, which was down the road, happened to be my first Cliff Swallows in Erie, which made me very excited when I scouted for them previously.

After Howard Eaton Reservoir, we left to pick up Mourning Warbler in a game lands south on Ashton Road. After grabbing the Mourning Warblers, we departed for Wattsburg, one of my personal favorite birding locations! At Wattsburg Fen, we set off into the woods for the only Blackburnian Warbler I turned out while scouting. However, our first quick step at Wattsburg Fen allowed us to find Blue-winged Warblers and Alder Flycatchers. Along the way into the woods, we picked up Louisiana Waterthrush in the quietly babbling stream. We further charged into the woods while listening to the songs of Acadian Flycatchers and Black-throated Green Warblers. While scouting the location, I also had Black-throated Blue Warblers, and was hopeful we'd find them there during the blitz. Unfortunately, we didn't pick up Black-throated Blue Warblers, we did luckily find our beautiful Blackburnian Warblers. While scouting I found and got photos of a gorgeous male, however, during the blitz we managed to find an eloquent female. Without finding the Black-throated Blue Warblers at Wattsburg Fen, we went to Ewing Family Forest to find our unofficial mascots.

Black-throated Blue Warbler (male) by Ripley Kindervater

After picking up a few other birds along the way, we arrived at the restful Ewing Forest. Trekking back into the woods, we eventually uncovered the beautiful Black-throated Blue Warblers. While scouting previously, I also uncovered Mourning Warblers, Black-throated Green Warblers, and Pine Warblers singing among the quiet woods. With the day nearing dusk, we worked our way back to Presque Isle for our final run.

Before heading onto the park, we met with Brian’s wife and brought his daughter, Olive, along with us. We left TREC with optimism as well realized we were nearing a successful end. Near dusk, we left to find the park’s Eastern Whip-Poor-Wills and American Woodcocks. As dusk set, a shadowy figure landed in the trail and let out a mighty “peent,” our American Woodcock. Our final bird of the night finally appeared with a sudden series of songs, the Eastern Whip-Poor-Will. Enchanted by their song, we left the park with our heads held high.

Leaving the park, we realized our final number, 130. Our successful day was truly rewarding, having beat our old record. Without the help of many local birds, atlasers, and others, we wouldn't have been able to complete such a successful day. I very much look forward to future blitzes, whether or not our new record is beat.

The Rookie: Victoria Walton

2024 was the first year I participated in the #Blitz4Birds. It was definitely an interesting experience, to say the least! My team consisted of Katie, Brian, Ripley and I. I was the new person on the team and came on not knowing (nor expecting!) how serious this team was. Before the official day, my job was to scout out a few places.

My first stop was Battle Estate. My job was to look for the Grasshopper sparrows spotted at the museum. While I didn’t spot/hear any Grasshopper sparrows, I got to explore the woods. These beautiful woods hid some interesting birds for the blitz. In there I saw a Hooded Warbler and heard a Cerulean Warbler not too far from the entrance. I also heard a Yellow-throated vireo, which ended up being the only place we could find them at. I had one other stop at Erie Bluffs, but that ended up being a bust. I didn’t hear anything new.

The day of the event was June 15th. I woke up super early and met my team. We started off strong with a White-eyed vireo though my favorite bird encounter that day had to be when Katie did a playback of a Barred owl at a place they’ve been spotted. At first we didn’t get any calls back, but after a few minutes one flew down at us! Not just one, but 2 owls! They started to call back to each other and some of us ended up getting some really cool photos.

The 4th Annual Breeding Bird Blitz for Conservation (#Blitz4Birds)

Hosted by Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO), this friendly birding competition generates valuable information on the abundance & distribution of PA’s breeding birds as well as raises money for avian conservation organizations across the state. Teams compete in different categories - from raising the most money to conserving the most carbon - and checklists can be submitted once a day between June 7th and June 17th.