Always Time for Middle Creek

The same day we took the butterfly tour at Fort Indiantown Gap, we decided to swing through Middle Creek on the way home.  I like going there on random summer days - it's always beautiful and the crowds are gone.  Plus you just never know what you're going to see!

I love the look of the summery meadows that take over so much of the open ground at Middle Creek in the warm months.  In truth, I was hoping for more butterflies, but they were sparse.  It was a pretty hot day, so maybe that had an effect.  The birds weren't out much, either.

There was a dragonfly, posing semi-nicely on a Common Mullein stalk near Stop #3.  I say semi-nicely because he stayed put for a long time, but never turned his butt away from the camera.  The internet tells me this is probably a Halloween Pennant, which I can see, given the black and orange color scheme.

Another treat to going in summer is that there's a spur road off of the Wildlife Drive that seems to be open only at this time of year.  Back this road, we found a Grasshopper Sparrow with some grub sitting on a fence post.

The spur road ends in a cup-de-sac by a pond and wetlands. Bird activity here was stronger, and there were also two White-Tailed Deer.  They amused me by wading out into the shallows of the pond.  In the meantime, Orioles, Catbirds, Goldfinches, Robins, and more were poking around and flying from bush to reed to tree.  All in all, one of my favorite spots in the Management Area!

The Annual Geese-splosion

I think I have been to Middle Creek during spring migration almost every year since I moved back to Pennsylvania.  It's something of a tradition, but one that you definitely can't do on the same day every year.  Because of the harsh winter, the height of the goose migration was some three to four weeks later than some years.

Dad and I left while it was still dark and made it out to Willow Point in time for the sunrise.  Along with probably a hundred other people!  The birds were a little late leaving, it seemed.  Most waited till well after sunrise to take off.  There were times where it seemed like the world had a lid on it made out of birds.  Made the early alarm clock well worth it.

This shot is not fantastic, but I do like that the lone tundra swan is catching the glow of the rising sun, while the snow geese in the background are darker.

While waiting for the big take-off, I had plenty of time to scope the flocks, looking for the elusive Ross's Goose, or one of the Eurasian Wigeons that had been reported there.  I found neither, but I did come across an unusual looking Snow Goose.  It has a fully dark head.  I imagine this is a result of it feeding in a muddy area, though.  Still interesting to see!

Mocking

Sometimes regular birds don't get enough credit.  For example, we visited Middle Creek right around New Year's.  The snow geese and other waterfowl are the main draw this time of year, but plenty of other birds are around to catch the eye.

Exhibit One:  a curious mockingbird hanging out near the beginning of the Willow Point Trail. Most of the other perching birds - sparrows, titmice, chickadees, etc - were staying low to the ground that day. But not this guy :)

Finally, time for Middle Creek

The last two or three years, it seems like the big push of snow goose migration has arrived right around the end of February.  After this emphatic winter, the largest numbers were at Middle Creek over the last week to ten days.  Only three weeks behind!

My husband and I went to Middle Creek on the 15th.  99% of the surface water was frozen, but 60,000 snow geese and at least 5,000 tundra swans didn't seem to care.  Their biological urge is to move north, ice or no ice.  

One of the best parts of going to Middle Creek is getting to see a lift-off.  Tens of thousands of geese rising at once is like nothing else; it is a sonic experience as much as anything.  In the video, the flock was frightened by a bald eagle making a pass.

One week later, we went back with my parents.  The amount of ice that had thawed in seven days was incredible.  The number of birds was down, though.  Probably around 10,000 snows and 2,000 tundras.  We still managed to track down a flock grazing. 

These tundra swans were striking a pose, and I'm not sure if there is a reason behind what they're doing or not.  When we moved to this area, tundra swans flew over our house pretty regularly in late winter, going from the river to farm fields and vice versa.  Then, for the last few years, we didn't really see them.  One of the few benefits of this wacky winter is that the tundra swans used the river again, probably because parts of it were open almost all winter.

 The nice part about the thaw was that migrating ducks could finally use the small ponds in the park.  One of the most common this last Sunday was ring-necked ducks.  I am sure there were over 100 present, which is great for a duck that isn't all that common.

The pond by the visitor's center had a good two dozen ring-neckeds, a pair of shovelers, four hooded mergansers, six bufflehead, a couple of wigeon, and a dozen or so gadwall.  Not to mention a handful of Canada geese and three great-blue herons visiting from their nearby rookery.  Not a bad mix!