Birds Of The Week/Etc.

Dateline: 8 November 2002′

Wishing everyone in the US a happy election day, and for those in relevant areas, a happy lunar eclipse! Here in Erie, partially thwarted (as usual) by morning lake-effect clouds + wind. (Tough doing long exposure shots in windy conditions.) But enough of an early window at 5:30AM for some slapdash photography:

@ Bonnie Tyler

Moving on to more important matters, amazing to see Snow Bunting and Lapland Longspur out at Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park, on Sunday, 6 November 2022. Many thanks to the kind passersby/birders who pointed them out.

Snow Bunting (non-breeding male?)

Small birds at a distance against dry mudflat/vegetation = hard to spot:

Yes, there are birds in this picture

Cloudy weather + long distance + small birds, etc. = mostly bad photos. Still, fun to see! (#more_bird!)

Medium shot of Snow Bunting
Bunting (left), Longspur (right)(non-breeding)
Rear views – Longspur (left), Bunting (right)
2 each in a line
More Bunting (left) and Longspur (right)

Following is front view of the Longspur (top bird). Note the fairly substantial black smudging below the throat (‘bib’) and on the top of the head – these patches would be more solid black in a breeding male:

Longspur (top) front coloration
More Snow Bunting
Longspur (right), top/wing coloration; Bunting on left
More Bunting
Another view of Bunting and Longspur
More views of coloration
2x Bunting

Tomorrow, a surprise visit from BirdingPI.com’s favorite shorebird!