On Tuesday, the Bird Group visited the Tekening Trail at the PPL property near Riverton. This area was a mixture of woods and old fields. We heard/saw 36 species during the morning. We were hearing lots of American Redstarts and Bill spotted a first year male (yellow markings instead of orange) that was singing in the foliage. We also heard Chestnut-sided Warblers singing. (Photo by Carole Mebus.)
This was my first visit to Tekening, although I have driven by it many times and thought I should stop for a walk. I really enjoyed the varied terrain and habitats. We walked out on the upper trail, and then came back along the River. (Last year, I paddled this section (Foul Rift) for the first time with some good friends and had a great time.) Along the river we saw a pair of Wood Ducks and a Solitary Sandpiper.
As we neared the end of the trail, we heard a new warbler song. While it was somewhat familiar, I thought it might be one of two possibilities. Fortunately Dawn has bird songs as an app on her Iphone. We were able to catch up to her on the trail and decide that we had heard a Cerulean Warbler. This is a great find, as Cerulean populations have been declining in recent years. We had a great hike and I got to explore a new area that I will revisit in the future.
