White-winged Tern Day 4

Our visiting white-winged tern apparently decided to stay another day, and he/she seems to be doing well. Numerous flights were made over the water over the course of the day in obvious attempts to catch insects and small fish, and after each flight the bird very carefully preened his/her feathers before making the next sortie. The tern continues to be rather tolerant of the birders watching, and consistently returns to the pilings near the parking area, although occasionally some nearby snags are used as a roosting spot.

The visitors' logbook now shows about 250 entries, and we estimate that at least another 75 did not sign, probably because they did not know it was there. It is interesting, though, how many visitors headed directly to the pavilion with the logbook before walking out to the viewing area.  Log entries and license plates show visitors from Arizona, Kansas, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Connecticut, Michigan, Washington DC, Indiana, and Illinois in addition to Pennsylvania and nearby New York and New Jersey. Everyone has had excellent opportunities to see the tern at rest and in flight, and I don't think anyone has gone away disappointed. In addition to the white-winged tern, a number of other interesting birds are being seen at the lake, including some out-of-season or hard-to-see birds such as American bitterns, redheads, and ring-necked ducks.