A good day of birding

Male Painted Bunting

After getting a tip yesterday, I drove out to Lancaster in search of a Painted Bunting coming to a feeder. When I arrived the feeders were empty and stayed that way for about 10 minutes. Then the activity started picking up with Juncos, Cardinals and even Eastern Bluebirds appearing. I looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back the Painted Bunting was eating at the feeder. It was a male bird in gorgeous plumage. I had a special invite to visit, but unfortunately at this time, the property owner is not permitting visitors to the house.

After viewing this gem I decided to head to Woods Edge Park on Centerville Rd. A Pink-footed Goose has been hanging around on the pond there for three days now. On my arrival, I met up with Chuck Berthoud who told me the goose left the pond around 7:30 this morning. That was when I was watching the bunting. So I decided to drive around the farmlands in search of the flock. I came across a flock of 5-10 thousand Snow Geese and starting searching through them for the Pink-footed. After forty-five minutes I still hadn't found the bird. 

So I decided to get something to eat and come back later in the morning. According to eBird reports the goose usually returns to the pond in the park in the late morning hours. So when I returned it was about 11:15AM and I walked over to the pond which was now filled with Snow Geese. After a quick scan, the Pink-footed Goose was spotted and photographed. Although it was fairly easy to spot the Pink-footed Goose, it was amazing how much they resembled the gray-colored immature Snows.

Anyway, I added two new Lancaster County birds today.

Pink-footed Goose