Year Report - 2016
Lycoming County 2016 Summary
Although 2016 started off slowly, it ended up being a very strong year for Lycoming County birding. The total species count of 228 is an increase of 1 compared to 2015, which had the flood of gull rarities in late March to help pad the numbers. Checklist totals on eBird showed a significant increase, with around 6,500 checklists compared to less than 4,500 in 2015.
Several species were added to the all-time Lycoming County list as first county records during 2016. The additions included Parasitic Jaeger, Laughing Gull, Cave Swallow, Black-chinned Hummingbird and King Eider. Summer Tanager was also officially added, although it seems possible that there may be lost prior records of that species (Update: we have obtained photos of a bird from May 2011 that was not widely reported). That makes for 6 5 apparent first county records found in 2016.
Observer abbreviations include: Bobby Brown (BB), David Brown (DB), Deb Brown (DeB), Bob Brown (BoB) (BB, DB, DeB, BoB collectively as Browns), Eric Hartshaw (EH), Steve Pinkerton (SP), Norwood Frederick (NF), Andy Keister (AK), Evan Houston (EvH), Tom Forwood Jr. (TF), Wes Egli (WE), Dave Ferry (DF), Gary Metzger (GM), Darryl Rebuck (DR), Fred Stiner (FS), Joe Yoder (JY)
Rare Birds
It is difficult to draw a specific line on what constitutes a rare bird, but this list attempts to include only the birds that are truly scarce in the Lycoming County. Many of these birds were refound by several observers, but only the initial observers are listed here.
January
No rare birds were found in Lycoming County during January 2016.
February
During a Winter Raptor Survey on 2/6, a Northern Shrike was found on Post Rd. in Cogan House (WE, DF), which was also seen the following day by numerous others.
13 Greater White-fronted Geese were discovered on 2/20 near the Arch St. Bridge in Williamsport (Browns). The flock continued to be seen at various locations along the river up through 2/24. This sighting was part of an invasion of many flocks of western Greater White-fronted Geese that were seen across Pennsylvania around the same time.
The rare gull invasion of March 2015 unfortunately did not repeat itself this year. There were, however, two sightings of Great Black-backed Gull during February, both at the Williamsport Dam. The first was 2/22 (DB, DeB, BoB), and the second was two birds on 2/28. (Browns, EH, et al.)
March
No rare birds were found in Lycoming County during March 2016.
April
The rare bird drought in March continued into April, but was broken on 4/24, when an American Bittern and a Common Gallinule were found at SGL 252 (DB, BB). The only other rarity for April was a pair of White-winged Scoters at Rose Valley Lake on 4/30 (NF, SP)
May
May started the flood of rarities in Lycoming County during 2016. It didn't take long for the month to get the rare birds flowing. Barely after dawn on a somewhat stormy 5/1, the first county record of Parasitic Jaeger was spotted at Rose Valley Lake (SP, DB, BB, and DeB). 10 White-winged Scoters were also seen at Rose Valley that day, and 8 the next.
The only record of Semipalmated Plovers in Lycoming County this year was a group of 7 at Mill St. on 5/2 (DB), which had dwidled to 2 by the next day, with none seen after.
Additional American Bittern records were also added, with 2 at SGL 252 on 5/4 (AK) and a single bird on 5/8 in the same area, along with a Common Gallinule (Browns).
A Sora was found in a small patch of cattails at Mill St. on 5/5 (BB, SP, DeB, BoB) and continued the next day.
A singing Orange-crowned Warbler was observed at SGL 252 on 5/8 (Browns) and another was reported outside of Montoursville on 5/18 (EH).
Another 5/8 record was the first county record of Laughing Gull at the Williamsport Dam with a flock of Ring-billed Gulls (Browns).
The fifth (and final) rare bird of 5/8 was the apparent first county record of Summer Tanager at Canfield Island (BB, DeB, BoB). A different Summer Tanager was seen on 5/11 at Mill St. (Browns).
As a consolation prize for the failed attempt to relocate the previous day's Summer Tanager, a Clay-colored Sparrow was found on 5/9 at Canfield Island (BB, AK).
On 5/16, a Yellow-breasted Chat was heard at Mill St. in the morning (BB) and visually confirmed later in the day. The bird continued throughout the rest of the month.
June
A female Black Scoter at Rose Valley Lake on 6/5 provided what is possibly the first summer record of that species in Pennsylvania (DB, BB, DeB).
The Yellow-breasted Chat continued to be observed at Mill St. up through 6/10.
An apparent nesting pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers were found in Slate Run on 6/12, and were observed on many subsequent occasions (TF).
July
The Red-headed Woodpeckers in Slate Run were confirmed to still be present on 7/10 (BB, SP, DeB, BoB). A Red-headed Woodpecker was also seen outside of Montoursville on 7/29 (NF, EH).
August
A fallout of Black Terns occurred on 8/21, with 7 being seen flying by the Williamsport Dam (BB, DeB, SP) and a group of 23 discovered downstream foraging over the river along Commerce Park Drive (BB, DeB).
September
An Eared Grebe was found at Rose Valley Lake on 9/11 (SP), and was also seen the next day by many other observers. It was possibly the same bird seen at Montour Preserve (Montour County) on 9/10, which may have relocated overnight, as there was no conclusive evidence of the grebe at that location the next day. This was the second Lycoming County record of the species, with the prior record coming in 1988, also at Rose Valley Lake.
October
On 10/25, a report came in of a hummingbird at a home not far from SGL 252. This bird was photographed and confirmed as either a Rufous or Allen's Hummingbird the following day (DB). The bird was later banded and confirmed as an adult female Rufous Hummingbird in November.
The first county record of Cave Swallow was found near the Williamsport Dam on 10/27 (Browns).
A Marsh Wren was discovered at Rose Valley Lake on 10/29 (SP).
November
A Surf Scoter was found at Rose Valley Lake on 11/3 and continued the next day (EvH). That sighting made 2016 the first time since 2013 that Black, White-winged and Surf Scoter were all recorded in Lycoming County during the same year.
The first county record of Black-chinned Hummingbird, an adult female, was seen in Montoursville during 11/11-11/15 (DeB, BoB, BB). The bird regularly visited feeders during her stay and was seen by many observers who travelled from all over the state to see her. She was banded on 11/12 and was last seen the morning of 11/15. That bird represents the third Pennsylvania record, with the previous ones coming in 2012 and 2013.
The only known Northern Goshawk sighting for the year was an immature migrating past North White Deer Ridge on 11/12 (JY).
An Evening Grosbeak was photographed on a feeder in Ralston on 11/12 (NF).
Several Red Crossbills were observed at the Williamsport Water Authority on 11/17, including Type 2s, eastern Type 10s and a Type 1 (DB).
The Rufous Hummingbird near Elimsport continued throughout the month, and was banded on 11/25.
A Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow (western subspecies that is rare in PA) was seen at SGL 252 on 11/27 (BB, DB).
December
The first county record of King Eider, a first-year male, was found at Rose Valley Lake on 12/4 (BB, DB, SP), where it remained for a few hours. That sighting was the first for that species in Pennsylvania away from Erie since 2002.
The Rufous Hummingbird near Elimsport continued throughout most of the month, and was recorded for the Williamsport Christmas Bird Count on 12/27, which was the last day the bird was seen.
Another CBC sighting on 12/27 was a male Evening Grosbeak seen along a side road off of Route 87 a little north of the Slabtown Bridge/973 (FS, DR, GM).
Notable Misses
After being lucky enough to host Trumpeter Swans in consecutive years, none were found in the county in 2016. Red-throated Loon and Red-necked Grebe both went unrecorded in 2016, after numerous consecutive years of being found. Little Gull, which had been seen in 2014 and 2015, also went unrecorded this year, and no other rare gulls were found in the county other than Great Black-backed and Laughing.
Hotspots
Not surprisingly, Mill St. and Rose Valley Lake were the top hotspots in the county during 2016, with 177 and 171 species, respectively. Those species totals were respectable at the state level as well. Mill St. finished the year with the 13th most species for a hotspot in Pennsylvania, and Rose Valley tied for 16th. Both locations also achieved the 200 all-time species mark during 2016.
New additions for Mill St. included Cerulean Warbler, Sora, Caspian Tern, Golden-winged Warbler, Summer Tanager, Yellow-breasted Chat and Philadelphia Vireo, with 16 total new additions during the year bringing the current all-time count to 200 species.
New additions for Rose Valley Lake included Parasitic Jaeger, Golden Eagle and King Eider, with 7 total new additions during the year bringing the current all-time count to 202.
In addition to those 2 locations, 6 other eBird hotspots in Lycoming County recorded more than 100 species in 2016, including the Williamsport Dam (139), SGL 252 (137), Canfield Island (133), Williamsport Water Authority (117), Route 15 Overlook (101) and South Williamsport Park (101).
Individual Results
For individual results, 6 birders each recorded more than 200 species in Lycoming County in 2016: BB (224), DB (222), DeB (219), BoB (214), EH (206) and SP (205). The 224 and 222 totals both surpassed the previous single-year record of 220 set by DB in 2015. 2016 was also the first time an individual submitted over 1,000 eBird checklists for the county, which was achieved by three birders: BB (1,761), DeB (1,305) and DB (1,010). Adding BoB, they claimed 4 of the top 10 spots in Pennsylvania for number of checklists submitted, and BB and DeB were both in the top 100 in the United States for number of checklists, at 27th and 65th, respectively. 5 of the Lycoming-based birders were in the top 35 in PA for total number of species seen in 2016: EH, DB, BB, BoB, DeB.
Conclusion
You know it was a good year of birding when you are having a tough time making a case for Parasitic Jaeger or Cave Swallow as the best bird of the year. Those are remarkable records, but then again, probably less so than Black-chinned Hummingbird and King Eider. There are some great records from 2016 that wouldn't even make the cut for top 10 of the year! 2016 was an absolutely fantasic year for rare birds, and if 2017 is anything like it, birders are in for a fun year. Onward to 2017!
The 2016 report was compiled and written by Bobby Brown. For detailed summaries of all sightings instead of just rarities, check out our Seasonal Reports.
Note: This report has been modified from it's original form to reflect a previously unreported prior record of Summer Tanager.
