# Name Habitat J F M A M J J A S O N D # Name Habitat J F M A M J J A S O N D The Fire Tower is a nice spot for fall migratory raptors. Take advantage of seeing many birds from their level. Parula warblers like to hang out in the Thrushes Cardinals & Allies emergent pines here. Eastern Bluebird Northern Cardinal Parula warblers should easily be found at the park office, as well as Veery Rose-breasted Grosbeak Gray-cheeked Thrush Blue Grosbeak – Baltimore orioles and American goldfinch. Rose-breasted grosbeaks Birds Swainson’s Thrush Indigo Bunting sometimes show up for free seed. Hermit Thrush Dickcissel Don’t forget winter at Cook Forest. White-winged and red crossbills have Wood Thrush Blackbirds been known to make an appearance in the pine forests. Pine siskins American Robin Bobolink – sometimes drop in at the park office feeder.
Mockingbirds & Thrashers Red-winged Blackbird Cook Forest Gray Catbird Eastern Meadowlark Northern Mockingbird Rusty Blackbird Brown Thrasher Common Grackle
Starlings Brown-headed Cowbird –
European Starling Orchard Oriole State Park Pipits Baltimore Oriole American Pipit Finches & Allies Waxwings Pine Grosbeak Cedar Waxwing Purple Finch – Warblers & Chats House Finch Blue-winged Warbler Red Crossbill Golden-winged Warbler White-winged Crossbill Tennessee Warbler Common Redpoll Orange-crowned Warbler Pine Siskin – Nashville Warbler American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Old World Sparrows Chestnut-sided Warbler House Sparrow Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Probably will find Might find Lucky to find Never seen Black-throated Blue * Irruptive Visitor Breeding Water Forest Scrub – Field Anywhere Yellow- rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Wbr Unusual Birds with a Few Sightings in the Park Blackburnian Warbler Double crested cormorants - 4/15/02 Yellow-throated Warbler White winged crossbills - Winter of 2009 Pine Warbler Prairie Warbler Key Birding Areas and Information Palm Warbler "Birding by Ear" is key when among the tall, ancient pines and hemlocks Bay-breasted Warbler of Cook Forest State Park. The park is listed as an Important Bird Area by Blackpoll Warbler Cerulean Warbler the National Audubon Society with many key species located within 2,000 Black-and-white Warbler acres of old growth forest. American Redstart Birders should find Blackburnian warblers along the Longfellow Trail Prothonotary Warbler within the Forest Cathedral, a registered National Natural Landmark, along Worm-eating Warbler with scarlet tanagers, chestnut-sided and black-throated green warblers. The Ovenbird threatened Swainson’s thrush has also been noted here as well as the old Northern Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush growth forest surrounding Ridge Camp and along Fire Tower Rd. Kentucky Warbler See chimney swifts in the Forest Cathedral utilize their natural habitat, Connecticut Warbler dead standing trees, not your neighbor’s chimney. If you still can’t find them Mourning Warbler in the woods, it’s guaranteed to see them using the Ranger Station’s Common Yellowthroat chimney. Hooded Warbler Woodpeckers thrive in the park. On an exceptional day a birder can see Date ______Time______Wilson’s Warbler Canada Warbler downy, hairy, red-bellied, and pileated woodpeckers, as well as common Yellow-breasted Chat flickers, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers. Weather ______Tanagers Black-throated blue warblers are often found near the Seneca Point Summer Tanager Overlook and Fire Tower #9. Observer ______Scarlet Tanager Louisiana waterthrush have been noted along Toms Run on the Liggett
Emberizids Trail and on Browns Run just upstream from Toms Run Road. Eastern Towhee Access for People with Disabilities The Toms Run Valley is excellent for wood and hermit thrushes. American Tree Sparrow If you need an accommodation to participate in park activities due to a Chipping Sparrow – Veerys can sometimes be heard along the Clarion River at dusk and dawn. disability, please contact the park you plan to visit. Clay-colored Sparrow – Screech-owls and sometimes saw-whet owls take over the river watch at Field Sparrow night. Great horned and barred owls have been known to keep folks up all Cook Forest State Park Vesper Sparrow – night at Ridge Camp. 113 River Road Savannah Sparrow Watch for rare spring migratory waterfowl along the Clarion River. Grasshopper Sparrow Cooksburg, PA 16217-0120 Henslow’s Sparrow Double-crested cormorants, common terns, and common loons have been 814-744-8407 Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sprw known to make a rare appearance in late March and early April. Common Fox Sparrow mergansers are truly “common” along the river, but watching them drive email: [email protected] Song Sparrow – minnows to the shallows in echelon is quite a site. Keep an eye out for wood www.visitPAparks.com Lincoln’s Sparrow ducks and nest boxes along the south bank. Listen for the chatter of the Swamp Sparrow belted kingfisher as they hunt from short perches along the river bank. White-throated Sparrow – Bufflehead show up like clockwork every spring on the river in the exact White-crowned Sparrow – Dark-eyed Junco – same eddies as in years past. Lapland Longspur – Cliff and barn swallows nest under the PA 36 Cooksburg Bridge. Some Snow Bunting – have noted rough-winged swallows here as well.
J F M A M J J A S O N D Bald eagles are becoming more common along the river. Osprey are much more difficult to find. Keep an eye out for nests!
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How to Use This Checklist # Name Habitat J F M A M J J A S O N D # Name Habitat J F M A M J J A S O N D # Name Habitat J F M A M J J A S O N D
Carry this list when birding and write down the number of Ducks, Geese & Swans Hawks & Eagles (cont’d) Typical Owls (cont'd) Greatr White-fronted Goose O Broad-winged Hawk Long-eared Owl birds you see. The birds are arranged in the same order as Snow Goose O Red-tailed Hawk B Short-eared Owl B most modern bird field guides. Ross’s Goose O Rough-legged Hawk B Northern Saw-whet Owl Brant O Golden Eagle B Goatsuckers The Ease of Finding Code Cackling Goose O Falcons Common Nighthawk The ease-of-finding codes consider each species’ Canada Goose O American Kestrel B Whip-poor-will Mute Swan O Merlin B Swifts abundance, frequency and conspicuousness (size, color, habits, Tundra Swan O Peregrine Falcon B Chimney Swift habitats). For example, although warblers may be more Wood Duck O Rails & Coots Hummingbirds Gadwall O Virginia Rail O Ruby-throated Humming B numerous than hawks, the hawk is given the higher code Eurasian Wigeon O Sora O Rufous Hummingbird B because of its size and soaring flight. Because the warbler is American Wigeon O Common Moorhen O Kingfishers American Black Duck O American Coot O Belted Kingfisher O small, quiet and lives in the dense treetops, it has a low code. Mallard O Cranes Woodpeckers & Allies Blue-winged Teal O Sandhill Crane O Red-headed Woodpecker B Northern Shoveler O Probably will find Plovers Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Pintail O Might find Black-bellied Plover O Yellow-bellied Sapsucker O Green-winged Teal American Golden-Plover O Downy Woodpecker Lucky to find O Canvasback Semipalmated Plover O Hairy Woodpecker Redhead O Never seen in this park Killdeer O– Northern Flicker Ring-necked Duck O Avocets Pileated Woodpecker * Irruptive Greater Scaup O American Avocet O Tyrant Flycatchers Lesser Scaup O Sandpipers & Phalaropes Olive-sided Flycatcher * Irruptive - These visitors can be seen in large numbers or be White-winged Scoter O Greater Yellowlegs O Eastern Wood-Pewee Surf Scoter O absent. Their presence varies from year to year and depends Lesser Yellowlegs O Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Black Scoter O Solitary Sandpiper O Acadian Flycatcher greatly on the weather in very distant parts of the continent. Long-tailed Duck O Willet O Alder Flycatcher OB Bufflehead O Spotted Sandpiper O Willow Flycatcher OB Habitat Codes Common Goldeneye O Whimbrel O Least Flycatcher Hooded Merganser O Many birds will rarely be found outside of their habitat. Use Ruddy Turnstone O Eastern Phoebe Common Merganser O Red Knot O Great Crested Flycatcher the code to help you identify where the bird will likely be Red-breasted Merganser O Sanderling O Eastern Kingbird B found. Ruddy Duck O Semipalmated Sandpiper O Shrikes Grouse, Turkeys & Quail Western Sandpiper O Northern Shrike B Forest - areas dominated by trees Ring-necked Pheasant B Least Sandpiper O Ruffed Grouse Vireos O Water - areas like lakes, ponds and wetlands White-rumped Sandpiper O White-eyed Vireo B Wild Turkey B– Baird’s Sandpiper O Yellow-throated Vireo B Scrub - overgrown fields, scrub growth, edge New World Quail Pectoral Sandpiper O Blue-headed Vireo Northern Bobwhite B – Field - crops or mown playfields Dunlin O Warbling Vireo
+ Anywhere - any habitat Loons Stilt Sandpiper O Philadelphia Vireo Red-throated Loon O Buff-breasted Sandpiper O Red-eyed Vireo Common Loon O Short-billed Dowitcher O Jays & Crows Bold birds are known nesters in the park. Grebes Long-billed Dowitcher O Blue Jay Pied-billed Grebe O Wilson’s Snipe B American Crow About This List O Horned Grebe American Woodcock B– Fish Crow Red-necked Grebe O This list includes birds likely to be found in Pennsylvania, as Wilson’s Phalarope O Common Raven Eared Grebe O Red-necked Phalarope O Larks compiled by the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Pelicans Gulls & Terns Horned Lark – Committee. The only birds not on this list are casual and American White Pelican O Laughing Gull O Swallows provisional birds that are rare visitors to Pennsylvania. Cormorants Franklin’s Gull O Purple Martin OB Double-crested Cormorant O Little Gull O Tree Swallow OB Great Cormorant O Bonaparte’s Gull O Thanks N. Rough-winged Swallow OB Ring-billed Gull O– Bitterns, Herons & Allies Bank Swallow OB Special thanks goes out to Margaret Buckwalter and the Herring Gull O American Bittern O – Cliff Swallow OB Thayer’s Gull O Seneca Rocks Audubon Society and Doug Gross, PA Game Least Bittern O Barn Swallow OB Iceland Gull O Great Blue Heron O Chickadees & Titmice Commission biologist, for their many years of dedicated Lesser Black-backed Gull O Great Egret O Carolina Chickadee Snowy Egret O Glaucous Gull O service for this project. Their work through the PSO Special Black-capped Chickadee Little Blue Heron O Great Black-backed Gull O Areas Project was instrumental in putting this checklist Tufted Titmouse Tricolored Heron O Caspian Tern O Nuthatches together resulting in Cook Forest State Park being designated Cattle Egret O Common Tern O Red-breasted Nuthatch Green Heron O Forster’s Tern O as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society. White-breasted Nuthatch Black-crowned Night-Heron O Black Tern O
Thanks to the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology for their Yellow-crowned Night-Heron O Pigeons & Doves Creepers Brown Creeper Special Areas Project data. Ibises Rock Pigeon B
Glossy Ibis O Mourning Dove B Wrens How You Can Help Carolina Wren B New World Vultures Cuckoos House Wren • Report to the park office sightings of rare birds or unusual Black Vulture B Black-billed Cuckoo B Winter Wren Turkey Vulture B Yellow-billed Cuckoo B dates of birds. Marsh Wren O Hawks & Eagles Barn Owls Kinglets • Do not disturb birds or harass wildlife. Osprey O Barn Owl B Golden-crowned Kinglet Bald Eagle O Typical Owls • Stay on hiking trails to reduce habitat destruction. Ruby-crowned Kinglet Northern Harrier B Eastern Screech-Owl Gnatcatchers • Sharp-shinned Hawk Great Horned Owl Do not litter. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Cooper’s Hawk Snowy Owl B • Respect the property rights of adjacent landowners and Northern Goshawk Barred Owl J F M A M J J A S O N D the privacy of others. Red-shouldered Hawk B J F M A M J J A S O N D • Share the joy of birding with others. J F M A M J J A S O N D