Big bird event this past weekend in Erie County, Pennsylvania was surely the sighting of two American White Pelicans at Presque Isle State Park on Easter Sunday. Due to the holiday, no BirdingPI.com staff were on hand. Come Monday, the pelicans had moved to outer Gull Point, where they were barely visible across the bay from East Ave Boat Launch:
Other than hiring a boat, the only option for a better view* was heading east slightly to the bluffs by Lakeside Cemetery and Cranch Park, both as close as one can get to outer Gull Point from the ‘mainland’ with a view of the south-side Gull Point beach:
Overall, a very unsatisfying way to enjoy such beautiful birds, but at least they were seen and identifiable, e.g., as here in an enlarged version of the shot above:
Not aware of any sightings after Monday, so presumably this pair moved on, perhaps heading south/east towards the ocean (?)
[* Editor’s note: with unrestricted access to outer Gull Point closed as of April 1st, it would not be possible to legally access the beach above by hiking out to Gull Point, + uncertain view from observation platforms.]
[Editor’s note: after April 6th, no reported sightings on eBird of 2 American White Pelicans in any of Ohio, New York, West Virginia, elsewhere in Pennsylvania, etc., so current location or path unknown.]
Fantastic shots of the pelicants. Can’t see ’em.
Good job, Team Leader. (how about a 1,000 mm lens next time??
Very sarcastic comment from this ‘team member!’
But you did see them, and that was very good!
They were the “white birds of Easter….”
I suppose we could have outfitted the camera with a 2x teleconverter w/ 600mm lens = 1200mm, but the blurriness and heat shimmer effects and so on just get worse and worse the more you crank up the enlargement factor. Even with a 1.4 TC it’s more for bird ID purposes at long distances, where the quality is likely ‘out the window.’ So 1.4x TC is generally, maybe, the right balance for ‘more range’ w/o too bad a hit on quality.
In any event, just glad to see the White Pelicans even at long distance! Who knows when we’ll next get down to the Gulf Coast for more?