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Mariton: Birding In Bethlehem

May 16, 2018

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager.  Photos by Carole Mebus

The Mariton Birders visited a new location this year. We went the Janet Johnston Housenick and William D. Housenick Memorial Park in Bethlehem Township on Tuesday.  Not only is this a pretty park, we saw and heard a lot of birds.  As usual, some of the warblers remained elusive.  Probably the highlight of the morning was seeing a Bay -breasted Warbler.  It didn’t stay still for long and it was pretty shaded in the leaves, but most people got enough glimpses to recognize it.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Another highlight of the morning was seeing a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Cuckoos are often secretive, but this one perched on a branch for everyone to see.

Female Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanagers are spectacular in their breeding plumage. The males get all of the press, but the females have their own charm.  They are the ones going back and forth building the nest, sitting on eggs and then feeding young.  They need to be a little more camouflaged so they don’t attract the attention of predators.  While they blend in among sun-dappled green leaves, they are really pretty when they fly out into the open.

Immature male Baltimore Oriole

You can sympathize with this young male Baltimore Oriole, if you remember those adolescent years when you grew faster than your clothes, your voice changed and your face broke out. This teenager doesn’t look quite right, but in another season he will mature into a beautiful adult.

Bluebird couple

Carole loves bluebird (who doesn’t?).  I love this photo of a pair in one of the meadows.