A Big Day with Inherited Loonacy
By Susie Moffett
May 6, 2026
Saturday, April 25th was PMN’s first PA Big Day of Birding which officially was an event to encourage people to explore the natural beauty of Pennsylvania while recording data on as many species of birds as possible. In all truth, it was more of an excuse for me to spend a day birding with my brother Bill and daughter Felicity, but luckily lots of other people appreciated the excuse to get outside as well. Here’s a quick recap of our Big Day:
5:49am – Our first birds of the day! A chorus of robins greeted us as we got in the car along with a lone song sparrow. We packed up our binoculars, field guides and lots of snacks then headed to Sewickley Heights Borough Park
6:23am – We were greeted near the parking lot by the call of a barred owl and proceeded to have an excellent morning of birding including 6 different warbler species and my first indigo bunting of the year. By 7:54 we were up to 33 species identified and that’s when the rain really started in earnest.
8:19am – We headed into town to get some coffee and try to find some of our more urban birds. We found a common grackle, European starlings, mourning doves and a chimney swift perched on the top of a chimney at my church where they roost. I hate to imagine what people thought as we kept circling around the church with binoculars trying to confirm the ID of the swift in the rain!
9:26am – After a quick change into some dry clothing and a list of birds at my feeder that morning, we headed to Morrow-Pontefract Park for a chance at some water fowl. A great blue heron flew over us and we found several herring gulls and a double crested cormorant, but the ducks were no where to be seen. We did get a great look at a Baltimore Oriole and several northern rough-winged swallows and were treated to the beautiful song of the eastern warbling vireo. By the time we got back to the car, we were up to 51 species and decided it was time to head north and get an early lunch while we waited out the next round of heavy rain.
12:17pm – Moraine State Park’s Waterfowl Observation Area lived up to it’s name, giving us a great look at 2 wood ducks, several mallards and a spotted sandpiper. A green heron, my daughter’s spark bird, flew from the reeds just feet away from us. By the time we left, we were up to 65 species for the day, surpassing all of our previous one day totals. And that’s when the real work began of looking for new things to add to the list.
2:03pm – We headed to the boat launch off Rt 528 as there were multiple sightings of cliff swallows reported in eBird. We studied along the way to make sure we knew all the field marks to distinguish it from other swallows and were ready to put in some effort to find this bird. As soon as we got out of the car, we were swarmed with cliff swallows flying all around us! Turns out, they nest along the underside of the bridge so there was no mistaking them.
2:34pm – In an effort to get out of the freezing wind at the boat launch, we hiked out a forested trail along the lake. We found our first loon of the day (#68) and I had a hermit thrush (#69) graciously land on a bare branch right in front of me. What a treat to see this beautiful bird as well as hear it sing!
4:09pm – As we drove through the fields of Butler county, we had a lot of success birding by car. We added a killdeer, northern mockingbird (somehow the first of the day!), several buffleheads and even a rose breasted grosbeak on a feeder in someone’s yard. By 5:30, we were up to 78 species!
6:17pm – With a little daylight left, we headed to State Game Lands 284 in the hopes of chancing on another species or two. While we didn’t find the common gallinule or sora we were hoping for, we did get to hear the unmistakable call of a sandhill crane and saw our final new species for the day, 3 swamp sparrows hanging out in the glamorous swamp. Shrek would have loved it!
9:37pm – After an unsuccessful stop at a park near my house where we hoped to hear an owl, we finally called it a day. Nearly 14 hours of birding and 20 different eBird checklists later, we had logged an amazing 80 species of birds! We were cold and tired, but we loved every minute of it!
The results from the PA Big Day are still being finalized, but as of May 6th, we have 111 checklists included representing 117 species of birds (including a ring-necked pheasant) across Pennsylvania. Thanks to everyone who participated and I’m looking forward to another PA Big Day next year!
