1997-1998 - Bird sightings in Westmoreland County, southwestern Pennsylvania
Screaminghawk's
Bird sightings in Westmoreland County, southwestern Pennsylvania
~~~ Years 1997 & 1998 ~~~
Some bird sightings
m=male, f=female, pr=pair (1 male + 1 female), a=adult, im=immature, f/i=female or immature, b=breeding (summer) plumage, n=non-breeding (winter or basic) plumage, h=heard, s=seen, oh=overhead. An underlined entry means the sighting is somehow special, first of season, unusual, noteworthy; locally or regionally uncommon/rare, out-of-season, out-of-range, extralimital, etc.
Use the Edit & Find command from your browser's menu bar to search for a specific species name in this page. Most recent sightings are at the top of the list. Dates are formatted as month/day (mm/dd).
~ 1998 ~
Red-tailed Hawk, Eastern Bluebird 6, Mockingbird, Tree Sparrows 50+, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Red-bellied Woddpecker, Killdeer, 3rd bridge area north of Latrobe, 12/27.
Group of Robins on Chestnut Ridge, also Pileated, Hairy & Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Golden-Crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nuthatch, 12/14.
Golden-crowned Kinglet in our back yard within the Latrobe City limits, 12/1.
Kestrel in downtown Latrobe, flying from the railroad station pass the Mellon Bank Building, 11/30.
Brown Creeper on Laurel Summit, 11/29.
Coopers Hawk perched atop a powerline pole, for 15-30 minutes, across from the David Weiss Furniture store, 11/28.
Winter Wren at cliffs along Loyalhanna Creek near Saltsburg, a Hummingbird nest from this past summer on branch of a young Sycamore tree at corner of land where Loyalhanna Creek flows into the Conemaugh River, Saltsburg, 11/16.
Bufflehead 2m 5f, Yellow-shafted Flicker 1m, Red-bellied Woodpecker, E. Bluebird 2, Great Blue Heron 1, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Loyalhanna Lake 11/14.
Green-winged Teal 15, Bufflehead 4, Loyalhanna Lake Bush Rec. area, 11/3.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1f, White-crowned Sparrow 2 imm, White-throated Sparrow, Graig's Mill bridge on Loyalhanna Creek (near Oasis Bar on Rt982 south of New Alexandria), 11/3.
White-crowned 1, Swamp 1, & Song Sparrows; 8 Crows mobbing a Great Horned Owl, St. Vincent Lake, 11/2.
At dusk in the woods I watched a Pileated Woodpecker enter a hole in a tree - going to roost for the nite, Chestnut Ridge, 11/1.
A formation of Snow Geese passed high overhead, sunlit against a clear blue afternoon sky, Ligonier township, 10/31.
Great Horned Owls hooting at Loyalhanna Lake, male (high pitched) & female (low pitched), 10/25.
Water Pipit 5, Common Snipe 2, Lesser Yellowleg 1, Killdeer, Green-winged Teal 8, Horned Grebe 1, at Latrobe Reservoir. Dunlin 2, Greater Yellowlegs 3, Ruddy Duck 2, Coot 2, Pied-billed Grebe 5, Great Blue Heron 2, at Donegal Lake. 10/15. Both lakes have low water level with exposed mud flats. Donegal Lake is partially drawn down for maintenance.
A Raven harrassing a Turkey Vulture on Laurel Mountain 10/14.
Green-winged Teal 6, Ruddy Duck 4, Yellowlegs (Lesser?) 1, Killdeer, Great Blue Heron 1 at Latrobe Res. 10/11.
One Ring-billed Gull at Keystone State Park 9/28.
Semipalmated Plover, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowleg, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Belted Kingfisher, Killdeers at Mill Run Res. Fayette County 9/3.
Two Eastern Kingbird perched on dead branches of a tree behind the Southwest Bank across from the Giant Eagle on Rt30 in Latrobe. Also a Turkey Vulture overhead. I saw these while waiting on Rt30, at the redlight, to make a lefthand turn into the shopping plaza. 8/23.
At Keystone State Park a Double-crested Cormorant 8/23. On the 16th a cormorant at Keystone S.P. was perched atop one of the cubic water depth markers on the bouy line at the swimming area. When that section of the swimming area opened for swimming a group of swimmers formed in an approach to the bird. One man got to within a few feet of the cormorant before the bird took off.
Counted over 60 Cliff Swallow mud jug nests beneath the Rt119 bridge over the Youghiogheny River in Connellsville, mostly on the upriver side of the bridge, 8/8.
On Chestnut Ridge Rd heard 2 Black-throated Green Warblers, Indigo Buntings, Red-eyed Vireos, 1 Raven, 7/18 while bicycling.
Spotted Sandpiper 1 (winter coloration), Solitary Sandpiper 1, Great-blue Heron 2, at Loyalhanna Lake 7/17 while kayaking.
Ring-billed Gulls, three perched atop a light pole in the parking lot of Giant Eagle on Rt30 at Latrobe, 7/15.
Hooded Mergansers, two at Keystone State Park July 14, immatures or female. Caspian Terns, two at Twins Lakes County Park during the Arts & Heritage Festival July 4th. Had seen them also the day before at Keystone State Park, presumably the same two. Two Golden-crowned Kinglets at Twin Lakes in spruces by the upper lake. 7/4.
Brown Creepers, 3 on Laurel Summit. Also Canada, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Least Flycatchers. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at Spruce Flats Bog, 7/2.
No less than four singing Least Flycatchers along Hickory Flat Rd & Weaver Rd on Laurel Summit. Also singing Purple Finch, Veery, Hermit Thrush. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at Spruce Flats Bog, 6/29.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at Spruce Flats Bog, 6/22. First heard on 6/18.
Mourning Warbler at Spruce Flats Bog, 6/22.
Some of the places Rough-winged Swallows nest in Latrobe: in spaces between stones in the stone wall of the railroad tracks that run thru downtown, in the drain holes of concrete retaining walls at Petrosky's Hardware Store on Alexandra Street (this year the second top hole from right looking from the road), the double-arch railroad bridge over Loyalhanna Creek, drain holes in the concrete retaining wall at the Lloyd Avenue bridge over Loyalhanna Creek. Grasshopper, Savannah, Field, & Song Sparrows; Eastern Kingbirds, Brown Thrasher, Barn Swallows, Northern Harrier in field above the coke ovens at Mammoth County Park. Turkey Vultures were landing in the trees & in fields, the weather was not conducive to their soaring type of flight, little to no wind, overcast sky with some rain, there were no updrafts & no thermals to power their flight. Spotted Sandpiper, Cliff Swallows, Canada Geese at Mammoth Lake. 6/9.
In Latrobe a Red-tailed Hawk soaring over Standard Steel, Kestrel at train station, Warbling Vireo at Legion Keener Park, Belted Kingfishers busy feeding young at burrow in creekbank along Creekside Trail (Rough-winged Swallows show interest in the burrow, they probably will use old Kingfisher burrows for nests of their own), Rough-winged Swallows nesting in holes in arches of stone railroad bridge over Loyalhanna Creek, Barn Swallows nesting in rafters of outdoor storage area at Action Home Center, Hooded Warbler & Ovenbird in woods west of town, 6/8.
Two Great Egret seen at Keystone State Park 6/6.
A Swainson's Warbler present along Koontz Rd at Loyalhanna Lake was last heard & seen on June 2nd. The bird was first noticed on May 9th.
Belted Kingfisher, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Broad-winged Hawk at Linn Run on Laurel Mountain. 5/28.
Slate-colored Junco, Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Kentucky, Hooded, Cerulean, American Redstart, Ovenbird Warblers, a young Louisiana Waterthrush off the nest & scrurrying about, & an adult. All these breed where seen on Chestnut Ridge. Also Black-throated Green Warbler, Swainson's Thrush. 5/25.
Cedar Waxwings in large Slippery Elm & Sycamore trees at 3rd bridge on Loyalhanna Creek downstream of Latrobe. A pair of Indigo Buntings mating in shrubs along road. 5/23
I release a Barred Owl at night along four mile road, in an area where the owl had previously been hit & stunned by a car. The owl was in the care of a wildlife rehabilitator after it had been struck. 5/20.
A Swainson's Warbler is being heard & seen, since May 9, in Westmoreland County. The habitat consists of thick brush, some trees, & wet seeps on the ground. Trees are Red Maple, Sassafras, Bigtooth Aspen, Chokecherry, Staghorn Sumac, Crabapple, some young Ash & Hickory trees. Brush & vine includes Wild Rose, Alder, Wild Grapevine, Poison Ivy. The summer pool elevation of nearby Loyalhanna Lake is 918 feet (279.8m) above sea level, the maximum pool elevation is 975 feet (297.2m). That puts the Swainson's Warbler site at about 1000 feet (304.8m) elevation. Got to watch, at close range, a male Scarlet Tanager bathing in the stream of a mountain ravine on Chestnut Ridge. Then, a few steps further along, came upon two Louisiana Waterthrush & their nest, with 4 young, built into the roots of a leaning sapling Beech tree on the steep bank. Also Black & White, Cerulean, & American Redstart warblers. Turkey Vultures (birds-of-the-sun) soaring overhead. 5/19.
Grasshopper, Savannah, & Vesper Sparrows, Bobolink at fields between Pandora & Superior, along township roads 845, 843, & 930. 5/18.
Hermit Thrush singing at Spruce Flats Bog on Laurel Summit off Linn Run Park Road, 5/16.
Least Flycatcher, Acadian Flycatcher, Great-crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler, Parula Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, American Redstart, Pileated Woodpecker at Loyalhanna Lake gamelands, 5/15.
Cliff Swallows, at the Rt381 bridge spanning the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle, busy collecting mud for their mud jug structures that are attached to the steel beams beneath the bridge deck, 5/13.
Double-crested Cormorant 3, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Warbling Vireo, Spotted Sandpiper, Common Loon (seen & heard call) at Loyalhanna Lake, 5/12.
Yellow Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Common Yellowthroat, White-eyed Vireo, Field Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Kingbird, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Bluebird, Red-tailed Hawk, Wild Turkey, Ring-necked Pheasant, Rufous-sided Towhee at 3rd Bridge (Sanderson Access) on McFarland Rd & reclaimed stripmine two miles northwest of Latrobe, 5/8.
Least Flycatcher two seen & heard at Livermore approach to abandoned railroad bridge spanning Conemaugh River, Kentucky Warbler heard. Also Brown Thrashers along abandoned railroad right-of-way, Bobwhite heard. Broad-winged Hawk, Blue-winged Warbler, Eastern Kingbird Keystone State Park, 5/7.
Pine Siskin at thistle seed in yard in Latrobe, Yellow-throated Warblers along Rt30 from Kingston Dam to Ligonier, 21 Double-crested Cormorants in one tree at Conemaugh River, 5/6.
White-crowned Sparrow at feed in yard in Latrobe, 5/5, 5/9-12.
Common Nighthawk downtown Latrobe, 5/3.
Ovenbirds, Wood Trushes, Blue-winged Warbler, Osprey around the beaver ponds at Keystone State Park, 4/30.
Pair of Broad-winged Hawks mating in a Sycamore tree by the Rt30/Rt982 cloverleaf, 4/29.
Sharp-shinned Hawk nest in woods adjacent to Latrobe. Also White-eyed Vireo, 4/27.
Common Loon, Ruddy Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, House Wren at Mammoth County Park. Upland Sandpiper 2 at Kecksburg fields, one doing the flight call high in the air while remaining motionless into the wind, then folding its wings & diving to the ground, flashing its wings upon landing, where the two sandpipers met. A sandpiper also sang once from atop a corn stubble. A Crow harassing a Raven along the turnpike at the Brush Creek Rd underpass, also a male Kestrel w/rodent in claws, & Red-tailed Hawk in nest. 4/23.
Osprey at Mammoth Lake, Mammoth County Park, 4/20.
Double-crested Cormorant, 27 on Conemaugh River (25 in one tree), 4/17.
Brown Thrasher, Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher, 2 Hairy Woodpecker at Conemaugh Dam, 4/17.
Yellow-rumped Warbler at suet feeder in Latrobe, 4/9.
At Beam Rocks on Laurel Mountain Summit, April 3, three Crows harassing a Raven. The Raven had something in its bill, and was being harassed with vehemence. A Winter Wren singing at beam Rocks. (territorial) A pair of Mallards at the Laurel Summit Spruce Flats Bog. Osprey two seen in westmoreland county, 4/2.
Louisiana Waterthrush along Laurel Run near Indian Head in Fayette County, 3/30 & 3/31.
Fox Sparrow, Winter Wren on Ferncliff Peninsula at Ohiopyle 3/31.
Turkey Vultures 20 soaring over Loyalhanna Gorge, 3/28.
Eastern Phoebe heard at the Rt30/Rt217 Kingston bridge 3/26.
Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 (a small one, about the size of a Blue Jay) over St. Mary's Hill in Latrobe, 3/23.
Ring-billed Gulls 22, Pintail 1m 2f, Ethel Springs Lake in Derry, 3/22.
The morning of 3/19 saw a flock of 14 Wild Turkey in a farm field, twelve hen & two gobbler. One of the gobblers was displaying & mating with a hen. This along the Donohoe Rd, between Latrobe & Greensburg, near the old Northern Area School. A pair of adult Great-horned Owls are beginning to spend time off the nest, leaving the young owls by themselves, though the parent owls are never far away (& neither are the rascal crows), 3/19/98.
Flock of 50 Wild Turkey along Rt259 one mile north of Rt30, 3/18.
Horned Lark, two (one singing) in field NE of intersection of Quick Rd & Hill Rd, just west of Clarksburg Rd in southern Indiana County, 3/16/98.
Fox Sparrows, 4 at feed in yard, Indianhead-Normalville area, 3/15/98.
Turkey Vulture, one overhead near Latrobe Res Ligonier Valley, 3/11/98.
Great Blue Heron in low-lying field along Beatty Flats Road 3/4/98.
Horned Larks a flock of 100+/- in field along Baker Road (TR567) between Westmoreland County Fair ground & Mammoth County Park, just east of Rt981 between Trauger & United, 3/2/98.
11/11/97: this is the best autumn migration of waterfowl for westmoreland county in some years. Tundra Swan 100, Surf Scoter 6 (2 adult male, 4 female/1st yr), Black Scoter 3 female/1st yr, Common Goldeneye 5 (3m 2f), Bufflehead, Green-winged Teal 2, Common Loon 2, Hooded Merganser 30-40.
10/03/97: Pectoral Sandpiper 2, Killdeer, Keystone State Park lake will be drained for the month of October so there may be some lingering shorebirds to be seen on the exposed muddy areas.
Laurel Summit at Rt30:
10/16/97: Raven 2, Turkey Vultures perched on the transmission towers, Red-tailed Hawk, Brown Creeper, Solitary (Blue-headed) Vireo, Veery.
Linn Run:
01/07/98: Raven, 5 at Laurel Summit Spruce Flats Bog
09/10/97: Black Tern 4 in winter plumage, Great Blue Heron 3, Osprey 1.
Conemaugh Reservoir:
02/04/98: Wild Turkeys, flock of 100+ in farm field.
Chestnut Ridge at Kingston:
10/11/97: Turkey Vulture kettle of 50-60.
At feeders in our yard in Latrobe:
Male Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, American Goldfinches, 2/26/98.
A lone Yellow-rumped Warbler, 2/9, 2/10, 2/15/98.
Red-breasted Nuthatch, 2 in Norway Maple & Spruce trees in our yard, 1/6/98.
Red-breasted Nuthatch, one at our suet feeder 11/21/97.
Blue Budgerigar parakeet coming to feeder starting 11/15/97, thru 1/1/98. Seen again 2/8/98, 2/24/98.
Elsewhere around Latrobe:
American Woodcock, four performing mating flights in flood plain fields along Loyalhanna Creek, behind the Loyalhanna Care Center, northwest of Latrobe off the Ligonier Street extension (McFarland Rd), 2/27/98.
Eastern Bluebirds, two in fields northwest of Crabtree, 2/25/98.
Flock of Robins. Red-bellied, Yellow-shafted & Pileated Woodpeckers, Carolina Wren, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Belted Kingfisher, in Latrobe 5th ward along Loyalhanna Creek, 1/26/98.
Kestrel (1 male) & Belted Kingfisher downtown Latrobe @ Legion Keener Park, perched on wires over creek 1/21/98.
Red-tailed Hawk, 3 over fields by the St Vincent traffic light at Rt981/Mission Rd, 12/26/97.
Gray Screech Owl perched in cavity in Cherry tree, Latrobe-Derry Rd & Rt981 intersection, 12/19/97.
Flock of Horned Larks Rt982 New Derry, 12/19/97.
Female Sharp-shinned Hawk perched in tree along Lincoln Ave across from McDonald's, 12/11/97.
Screech Owl & Great Horned Owl heard, west of Latrobe 11/29/97.
Northern Harrier, one adult male hunting over the fields northwest of Crabtree, around the Lone Oak Farm, 11/17/97.
A formation of Tundra Swans flying at night over Latrobe, 11/5/97.
Lincoln's Sparrow in grasses & rushes along Loyalhanna Creek at Legion Keener Park in Latrobe, 10/30/97.
Hairy Woodpecker, Redtailed Hawk, Kestrel along Loyalhanna Creek in Latrobe, 10/30/97.
Kestrel at the railroad station downtown Latrobe, 10/4/97.
Crows, 8 atop the Mellon Bank building downtown Latrobe, 9/27/97.
Screech Owl heard, W. Latrobe, 8/28, 9/25/97.
Great Blue Heron, Loyalhanna Creek, Latrobe, 8/31/97.
Henslow's Sparrow singing in a hay field atop chestnut ridge in the quiet of a moonlit night, Jul 16 & 20 1997.
Fayette County
Great Blue Heron in field along Rt711/381 near Indianhead, 12/17/97.
Bufflehead, 24 on small pond in Normalville, 11/09/97.
A pair of green herons, a pair of kingfishers and a spotted sandpiper
on a pond the last couple of days, Normalville, 09/01/97.
Some birding highlights for the area in 1997
Trumeter Swans six at Latrobe Reservoir 1/26/98 (from a release program in Wisconsin?)
Female Rufous Hummingbird coming to feeder in Delmont, Sept to Jan 1998.
Pair of Ravens fledged four young at site on Laurel Mtn.
Pair of Osprey again raised young at a site in Westmoreland County.
Pair of Sedge Wrens near Latrobe, one nest found (dummy nest built by male?).
Upland Sandpipers at the Hutter Dairy Farm, Kecksburg.
Purple Martins nesting at village of Loyalhanna & at Zeglin's Dairy Farm, Mammoth.
Whip-poor-will singing on Chestnut Ridge near Baggaley.
Snowy Egret at Latrobe Reservior.
Sandhill Crane at Big Sewickly Creek.
Bald Eagle seen from Keystone State Park.
Willets at Trees Mills.
Brewster's Warbler at Mammoth Park & Nature Park.
Harris' Sparrow in Washington County.
In Westmoreland County I know of two colonies of Purple Martin that have been using martin houses consistently for many years - at a farm between the villages of Mammoth & Kecksburg, and at the village of Loyalhanna near Latrobe. The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania shows eleven places for Martins in the county.