30 March 2026
Five of us gathered at Duck Hollow yesterday morning when it was cold and cloudy. Waterfowl activity was low because the river was so high. The mud bar (not a sandbar) was still submerged.
We hoped to find the blue-winged teal that was there on Saturday but no luck. Instead we saw the usual suspects, mallards and Canada geese, and a beautiful male wood duck and three common mergansers.
Thankfully the clouds broke up, the sun came out, and songbird activity picked up. A single northern rough-winged swallow gave us a Rare Bird Alert though it was “too early” by only a few days.
Red-winged blackbird males competed for the best territories before the females arrive.
One red-wing kept the area safe from raptors by chasing off an immature red-tailed hawk.
What bird did we spend the most time on? This drab brown female. Couldn’t see her back. The light was so weird that it made her face look yellow and her beak thin. Eventually we walked close enough to cancel the effects of odd light. Her drabness, conical beak, and beady eye = female brown-headed cowbird. We saw two male cowbirds displaying elsewhere.
Most surprising observation: We saw more cardinals than robins.
See our checklist at https://ebird.org/checklist/S314555426 and printed below.
Duck Hollow, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Mar 29, 2026 8:30 AM – 10:45 AM, 27 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 20. More than 10 in the distance, but seen only via scope
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 1 Male
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 13
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 3. Pair, but not in suitable habitat
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 5
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) 2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 7
Cooper’s Hawk (Astur cooperii) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 4. One immature was attacked by a red-winged blackbird
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 3
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 4
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 1. (Rare Bird Alert)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 11
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 1
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 3
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 12. Some males were molting into bright yellow
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 5. One attacked red-tailed hawk as it flew
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 3. Two males, 1 puzzling female
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 20. Males chasing each other & females. Females also chasing each other.