Summary of Lycoming County birds in 2015
1/10/16
By David Brown
2015 was a high-point of birding activity in Lycoming County. With more people out birding and several very active birders, a record number of species was found. The Lycoming Audubon Society ran more field trips and bird walks than ever before in an effort to introduce new people to birds and teach them about birds.
The numbers I use here come from eBird, which is a citizen-science website run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that collects and organizes user-submitted data about bird sightings. Since most of the very active birders in the area submit all sightings to eBird, the data is a close representation of what was found.
227 species of birds were reported in Lycoming County in 2015, which is eleven more than in 2014. A total of 256 species have now been recorded all-time in the county.
Five people saw more than 200 species of birds in Lycoming County in 2015. I personally recorded 220 species which is almost certainly a new county “big year” record. Digital photography has made it easier to document and identify birds, while cell phones and social media make it easy to instantly communicate rare sightings so others can come see the bird. This leads to higher personal totals than were possible in the past.
The county's top birding spot was Mill Street in Montoursville with 180 species reported, making it the eleventh place hotspot in Pennsylvania for the year. Mill Street provides an excellent variety of habitat with river, creek, wooded areas, grassland, farm fields, etc. Also, many of the county's most active birders live in the Montoursville area and are able to bird it on a regular basis. A number of rare shorebird species were found at Mill Street this year including willet, black-bellied plover, and red-necked phalarope.
The route 15 overlook near South Williamsport was discovered to be an excellent site for fall hawk watching, with highlights including over 2000 broad-winged hawks and around 30 golden eagles as the result of part-time watching on a handful of days.
Early in the year, large numbers of ducks were congregated in the available open water near the Williamsport dam. Pine siskins were found in very large numbers throughout the region from January through May. A greater white-fronted goose was found in a flock of snow geese in Pennsdale in March.
Though we only regularly get three species of gulls, an additional five rare gull species were found, primarily by carefully looking through large gull flocks that landed at the Williamsport dam at dusk in late March.
Black vultures continue to increase in number as their range expands into our area. This winter black and turkey vultures are in the county, and throughout the state, in unusually high numbers, probably due to the mild weather.
A trumpeter swan was seen from August through October in the area of the Williamsport dam. A brant was seen from the Maynard Street bridge in Williamsport in early October.
2015 was an exciting year for birding in Lycoming County and showed us that there is still much to learn about what birds can be found in our area and where to find them. In 2016 I hope that more people discover the enjoyment of birding and that together we can expand our knowledge of the birds in the region. Happy new year and good birding!
