FOR THE BIRDS
Birds didn’t make Super Bowl, but you can seem them at Heinz Wildlife Refuge
PHILADELPHIA >> The birds didn’t make it to the Super Bowl this weekend, but there are plenty of them at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge on the border between the city and Delaware County. It’s a good place to get out and see nature. On Friday a number of birders were out searching for their winged friends.
In addition to ducks and geese, 300 plus avian species have been identified visiting the refuge on their migration, with more than 80 species calling the refuge home including two Bald Eagles.
Visitors to the refuge can borrow binoculars and there is a 9 a.m. bird walk with expert birders on the weekends.
“A lot of people come through here for walks and they have no clue how much wildlife is out here,” said Diane Heines of Philadelphia, who was bird-watching with her husband, John Heines. “I always tell people do you want to come and take a look, there are so many casual walkers, they are amazed.”
“I love it out here, it’s wonderful, I come out here often,” said Geoff Veith of Drexel Hill. Veith is a serious birder. He has spotted 98 different species of birds in the city in the month of January. On Friday he was looking for two more to get to 100 before the month ended. Veith said he also enjoys birding at Ridley Creek State Park, Haverford College and down along the Delaware River.
One highlight the group spotted was two redheaded ducks on the lake.
“He just came up, to the right of that goose, his head looks brown because the light is so bad, but if the light where to improve you would see an incredible bright brownish. And he has a beautiful golden eye. Almost all these ducks out here right now, they’ve gone from their winter non-breeding plumage into their breed plumage or their transitioning to it. The ducks that we see here coming through here for the rest of the year will be in their breeding peak and they’ll look very handsome. This is the time of year when the ducks start coming through, February and March.
“I come out here on the weekends, I like to take photos of the birds,” said Ulnas Mayekar of Chadds Ford. “I put them on Instagram and Flicker. “I spend about two or three hours, a lot of people are out here. The boardwalk is popular.”
Perhaps the most surprising bird spotted was in the parking lot where a big Tom turkey was puffing up his feathers. Refuge officials he has been been reacting to his reflection on the side of a chrome storage trailer.
“They aren’t the smartest birds,” said the official.