Fairly slow weekend at Presque Isle State Park for bird activity. But no one expects the Spanish Inquisition (!) – in this case an amazing Rusty Blackbird (nonbreeding male) spotted along the Graveyard Pond Trail (“Lagoon” trail). Cross one off the BirdingPI.com “top 10 birds we want to see at Presque Isle” list! Bonus points for nice photographs.
Thought this was a Grackle at first, then a Starling. But note the eye color, rusty highlights, dark beak, white eyebrow, and dark under-eye. Beautiful bird!
Bonus Graveyard Pond Trail content:
Red-goldEuropean StarlingRed-bellied WoodpeckerGolden-crowned KingletGoing to seedView of Ridge Trail from boat landing #6Lagoon overpass in B&W with geese
Dateline: 23 October 2022, Presque Isle State Park
View towards Gull Point
With the arrival of 1 November, ‘nesting season’ is over = all of Gull Point once again open for nature/hiking/birding. “Rope corridor” to the observation platform is already ‘down for the winter’ as of a couple weeks ago:
Gull Point sans ropesView east
Sunday before last, relatively little bird activity other than amazing numbers of Double-crested Cormorant – hanging out on the east beach, with flocks periodically heading in from the north and out either south over the bay/mainland or west along the water line.
On the beach
Nikon video clips:
Shots from along the beach:
iPhone video clips:
Stay tuned: tomorrow, Canada Geese? Warblers? Definitely birds of some sort. More bird!
Beautiful fall day Saturday at Presque Isle State Park. Cool, sunny, light/minimal wind. Bird activity relatively subdued: mostly Golden-crowned Kinglet, gulls, GBH, Canada Geese, & Black-capped Chickadee. Pictures to follow in the ‘weekend update.’
More A Trail
In the meantime, a special report from BirdingPI.com’s Bird Vocalization Department, from Saturday along the Dead Pond Trail. (Specifically, east of the B Trail junction before the woods transition to sand/pine/meadow.) Plus bonus foliage shots for environmental context.
Very little bird activity from the A Trail then east on the Dead Pond Trail – kinglet and Blue Jay. Suddenly, surprised to hear, rather than see (at least initially), a Cooper’s Hawk. Recorded calls, with Blue Jay (and other misc bird) in background:
It seemed to be moving about the woods; these calls recorded at different locations near the trail. Finally, a kerfuffle with a Blue Jay, and then the Cooper’s Hawk emerged to fly east through the trees. Moving too fast for photos, but a confirmed sighting based on overall appearance, coloration, and flared white coverlets.
Always great to see a Cooper’s Hawk, but rather special to hear one so clearly/distinctly. Lugging around the boom mic and reel-to-reel recorder pays off!
Foliage on Dead Pond TrailMore colour on Dead Pond Trail
All BirdingPI.com staff dispatched to Presque Isle State Park to take advantage of a nice fall Saturday. #nature. Time enough for a black coffee and a quick post of square-format White-throated Sparrow from last Sunday along the Gull Point outer old trail. Lots of sparrows, lots of Yellow-rumped Warbler! (Stay tuned for the latter.)
Somewhat unusual to see a Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging on the ground for so long (5+ minutes). A bit shady, but still a good chance for relatively close shots – at times, even too close to focus. All shots along the Long Pond Trail, Presque Isle State Park. Bonus pics #fall_colour
Off golden Long PondGolden crowned
In Erie, colder temps overnight into Friday; perhaps a bit of frost. Some sun/haze – should be an ok day. Weekend forecast: Saturday – mild, mostly sunny; Sunday – mild, somewhat cloudy; no rain either day. It’s “go time” for nature!
Finally, BirdingPI.com’s shots of Black-capped Chickadee and Red-breasted Nuthatch from this past Saturday at Presque Isle State Park, on the east end of the Dead Pond Trail. Amazing amount of activity for both, plus sparrows, jays, even a thrush or two.
Chickadee flight IHangin’ in thereChickadee flight IIHang timeMy little chickadeeFeathersChickadee flight IIIFall perchNuthatch flightI heart pine conesRight side up?PortraitureNeedles INeedles II
Next time: more Kinglet! More bird! Also, fall colour.
Special guest contributor shots from occasional BirdingPI.com commenter “Paul + Remark.” Amazing Long-billed Curlew on Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California, from earlier this month. Not quite as exciting as Ring-billed Gull on Lake Erie :), but still very cool!
Looks like Erie’s spell of nice weather is over for now, with rain moving in Wednesday. … Waiting on editorial review of the chickadee/nuthatch shots. In the meantime, some reasonably ok, recent shots of Blue Jay/BIF with acorn!
Beautiful weekend at Presque Isle State Park. Saturday, light wind, sunny, warm (high temps of around 20 deg C?); Sunday, light wind, sunny, slightly cooler but still very pleasant. Beautiful fall colour. Lake level surprising low; all BirdingPI.com teams report trails in good/dry condition.
Foliage, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”)
Birds: lots of birds. Lots of Yellow-rumped Warbler (flocks of them), Dark-eyed Junco; Golden-crowned Kinglet, European Starling, sparrows, gulls, nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, and Double-crested Cormorant. Very little goose or duck activity.
Following shots mostly from Long Pond, boat landing #4, on Saturday:
European StarlingI’m a starStar flightA gullGolden-crowned Kinglet
Belted Kingfisher:
Landing ILanding II
More lovely Golden-crowned Kinglet:
On the branchOff the branch
Tomorrow, nuthatch and chickadee along the Dead Pond Trail!
