There was a first winter FRANKLIN'S GULL on the Deer Creek State Park beach this morning. I checked it again around mid-day as I was leaving and did not see the bird although it could still be in the reservoir somewhere. Franklin's Gulls are annual visitors there, but they never seem to longer long. The Laughing Gull was not seen.

I spent a little bit of time poking around the southern part of the wetlands at New Holland, but wind made birding for sparrows difficult. There has been a significant influx of Savannah Sparrows over the past week. The only Ammodramus species seen today was a single LeCONTE'S SPARROW. I didn't see any Nelson's today, but it was very windy in the cattails, and I didn't check every spot where I've seen them. Nelson's were present there last year through to the end of the third week of October.

The reservoir is still completely full with no signs of mudflats appearing anywhere. The only shorebird habitat in the Deer Creek area is at the northern part of the wetlands south of Dick Rd. which today hosted an impressive ~30 Greater Yellowlegs with about a dozen each of Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers.

In the more sheltered wooded areas near the group camping area in the state park at least one Dark-eyed Junco was noted at that latitude, my first for the season.

Bob Royse


Robert Royse
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www.roysephotos.com


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