Gull Pt. and Back Again

Dateline: 21 May 2022

Danaus plexippus (Monarch butterfly), edge of Gull Point flats

A rainy Friday morning aside, great conditions now for hiking out to Gull Point. You’ve got the beach, the ‘inland’ old trail, the back bay, the mud flats/point/dunes, etc. Hoping the holiday weekend weather cooperates to dispatch another BirdingPI.com expedition or two.

In the meantime, some ‘there and back again’ pics from last weekend.

First up, a lovely Warbling Vireo. Always happy to see any vireo, this one being no exception.

Warbling Vireo, Presque Isle State Park
Backlit

On the lookout for House Wrens? If so, there’s a pair nested in this dead tree off the back bay beach where the outer old trail makes a relatively sharp turn from generally N/S to more SW/NE. Note the male and female (presumably) at the two corners of each shot.

Nest approach
And… in the nest…

Spotted Sandpiper coming in for a landing on the mud flat:

Landing

Lots of Barn Swallow and Tree Swallow activity out by the observation deck. Here, the former:

Back of a Yellow Warbler with wild grape vines:

In vino veritas

Last up, more mysterious birds with yellow-orange/yellow chest patches and yellow/yellow-orange side tail feathers. Not to bury the lede, these are probably American Redstart. First a juvenile, and then three shots of what appear to be a female:

American Redstart, juvenile
Pensive
Curious
Reflective

Next time, getting back to warblers! Lots of warblers.