Checklist: Birding at Heinz NWR

At our last bird walk, Penn Birding visited John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and area. The water in the impoundment was so high that there were bufflehead in the shallow side of the impoundment. What a treat to see these stunning sea ducks so close! We also got especially great looks at Bald eagle, Red-shouldered hawk, Great blue heron, Brown creeper & Golden-crowned kinglet. It was a beautiful day for winter birding!

We birded all the way around the impoundment, which was a 3.3 mile walk -- a first for Penn Birding! We saw 30 different species of birds & over 400 individual birds. Our checklist is posted below.

Canada Goose	68
Mute Swan	3
Northern Shoveler	60
Gadwall	5
American Wigeon	2
Mallard	40
Ring-necked Duck	3
Lesser Scaup	1
Bufflehead	6
Common Merganser	6
Ruddy Duck	73
American Coot	6
gull sp.	34
Great Blue Heron	2
Turkey Vulture	6
Bald Eagle	2
Red-shouldered Hawk	2
Red-bellied Woodpecker	2
Downy Woodpecker	4
woodpecker sp.	1
Blue Jay	2
Carolina Chickadee	6
Brown Creeper	3
Carolina Wren	2
Golden-crowned Kinglet	2
American Robin	8
Northern Mockingbird	1
European Starling	10
White-throated Sparrow	5
Song Sparrow	6
Red-winged Blackbird	7
Northern Cardinal	5
passerine sp.	20

Christmas bird count

Last month Penn birders joined the annual Christmas bird count to help collect data for conservation efforts. 



The CBC is an annual bird count that's been going on for over a century -- it started in 1901! This citizen science effort in data collection helps researchers understand how different bird species are adapting to changing conditions due to climate change and other causes. The CBC helps researchers see how populations are changing in all kinds of bird species, whether rare or common.

It was a chilly rainy day at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge At Tinicum but we observed & counted many birds thanks to volunteers from Friends of Heinz Refuge at Tinicum. If you don't want to brave the outdoors, you can participate in the annual bird count by looking from your window!