Nothing major to report today, just misc shots in the “Erie summer birds/critters” category.

Red-tailed Hawk and male House Finch:

House Finch was on a separate branch and is in the foreground slightly; still, funny to see.

Next up, another duo, this time Eastern Kingbird and Baltimore Oriole:

The most “summery” of summer birds (as in ubiquitous), the Gray Catbird!

“Green Heron Summer” continues apace. Lots of activity this year, for whatever reason. In flight above the Long Pond Trail at Presque Isle State Park:

Looks like a Song Sparrow again (?):

Lovely Cedar Waxwing x blue sky:

More obligatory Yellow Warbler:

Always nice to end a post with a cute, tick-free mammal. More cute chipmunk on the Sidewalk Trail:

Have a nice day!

Dateline: 26 June 2022, Presque Isle State Park

Always fun to see Red-winged Blackbird (here, a female) cavorting about the Water Lilies for hunting insects. This was in the large section of Thompson Bay along the beach portion of the Gull Point Trail, just to the east of Budny Beach.

Dateline: 26 June 2022

Sadly, BirdingPI.com has had to institute a moratorium on rabbit pictures, after numerous shots revealed an endemic tick infestation. Comments and photos were briefly posted and then taken down after the editorial board objected to “too much unpleasant tick content, science notwithstanding.” Anyway, instead of a rabbit, here’s a cute chipmunk:

Aesthetically pleasing invertebrates are still fair game, apparently, e.g., Silver-spotted Skipper by Budny Beach:

Obligatory Yellow Warbler content:

And why not? Yellow Warblers are great. And hungry.

Above shots by the Gull Point trailhead. Following shot along the old outer Gull Point Trail:

Bald Eagle over Thompson Bay:

Out at Gull Point, what appears to be a Song Sparrow:

Also out at Gull Point, a Northern Map Turtle along the trail:

On turtle ID, a Painted Turtle (which looks similar) would probably have some red on the legs or around the face. See also the following enhanced shell snippet from the picture above – the orange/lighter demarcations are indicative of Map Turtle:

Back along the Gull Point Trail by the beach, a male Downy Woodpecker:

In plant news, Dogwood’s currently blooming (e.g., visit Scott Park). Out at Presque Isle, see lovely Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) in bloom at the swampy area on the far east end of Budny Beach, along the Gull Point trail:

Also Common Eastern Bumble Bee:

Lovely but invasive Flowering Rush, in that same spot:

(“Invasive” as in non-native, not “evasive.” Thankfully, the plants are fairly stationary.)

Northern Flicker at Budny Beach:

Wrapping up the nature content with a Northern Cardinal (female), along the Sidewalk Trail:

Trail update: Having a bit of a warm/dry spell here in Erie. Swamp water levels lowest in a while, and most trails are in good/dry condition, except where previously reported. (Duck Pond Trail east end flooded. Long Pond Trail west end very wet and muddy and not recommended absent waterproof boots.)

[Editor’s note: For pictures of tick-ridden rabbits, contact us as per the “About Us” page.]

Dateline: 25 June 2022, Presque Isle State Park

It’s “new equipment weekend” here at BirdingPI.com – report to follow eventually. What better spot for a robust test run than the Pine Tree Trail? (Actually, there’s better spots, but Saturday was hot and dry = a busy beach day at Presque Isle; interior trails mostly/entirely empty.)

Sunny with highs in the 80’s deg F at Presque Isle; moderate/low humidity.

With warm and dry conditions, the Pine Tree Trail was remarkably pine-fragrant; nothing quite like a warm pine forest smell.

Bird activity about as expected: Crow, Robin, Catbird, flycatchers, Red-winged Blackbird, Turkey Vulture, Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, etc. Only surprise was a very large Pileated Woodpecker (on the Dead Pond Trail); too elusive, however, for even a bad photograph.

Kind of hard to ID the bird above. No eye ring, so not a Least Flycatcher. Main issue was a lack of obvious wingbars. This suggests Eastern Phoebe, but the breast overall seems too dark/vested.

A few more Robin and Flycatcher shots:

Tied for shot of the day (with the Great Crested Flycatcher photo above):

Despite lacking bunnies, turtles, or flowers, results look ok so far.

Coming up next time: “A Post Which Includes Bunnies, Turtles, and Flowers.” Plus more Gull Point!

Dateline: 24 June 2022

Turkey Vultures seem like a metaphorically apt way to start off the weekend. This pair were enjoying the morning sun out at Scott Park, Erie, PA. (Scott Park is a lovely parcel of old-growth woods, etc. on the ‘mainland’ bluff just across the back bay where Presque Isle connects. See https://millcreektownship.com/facilities/facility/details/Scott-Park-4.)

Closing with a bonus mammal:

Dateline: 21 June 2022, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”)

Has it really come down to posts with nothing but bad iPhone video and audio? On the bright side, Black-capped Chickadee!

Some mixed calls in this audio clip, but the Chickadee is predominant:

Have an excellent weekend! Get out in nature if possible – you’ll feel better.

Another early morning, beat-the-heat trek out to Gull Point at Presque Isle State Park.

First, not at Presque Isle, but a female House Finch in the grass, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

From a previous time, a female Common Grackle near Budny Beach:

Here’s a solitary sandpiper, probably a Spotted Sandpiper (<– it’s a bird joke):

Next, a couple of nice ‘profile’ shots of Red-winged Blackbird, out at the point mudflats:

Closer shot of a Spotted Sandpiper, for the record:

Nothing unusual out at the point. Blackbird, Starling, Spotted Sandpiper, gulls, sparrows, Mallard, Canada Geese, Killdeer, GBH, Green Heron, Baltimore Oriole, Gray Catbird, Downy Woodpecker, and so on. However, in plant news, the lovely Common Yucca is starting to bloom:

See Common Yucca in the sandy area close to the entrance to the Gull Point mud flats roped-off corridor (follow the old trail fifty feet or so to the west to the first Gull Point marker sign).

Closing it out with a series of cute shots of a lovely Yellow Warbler (male), along the Gull Point outer old trail:

Who doesn’t love a little Hairy Puccoon? Such a lovely plant and pretty flower.

Per the Internet (which is never wrong), Hairy Puccoon is considered endangered in Pennsylvania and only found (in Pennsylvania) at Presque Isle State Park.

Short, squat plants located in grassy areas, with hairy leaves (see above) and lovely yellow flowers in late spring/early summer.

See Hairy Puccoon (in bloom now – mid/late June 2022) on the south side of the road between Pine Tree Beach and Presque Isle Lighthouse, behind the habitat restoration line. Many of the plants are marked nearby with red flags.

A related plant is Lithospermum canescens aka Hoary Puccoon, which looks similar but would be shorter and have smaller (1/2″ vs. 1″) flowers. 

Tomorrow, back to birds! Or rabbits! Or both birds and rabbits.

Back with the Green Heron from Sunday, along the Duck Pond Trail at Presque Isle State Park.

After flying in, it set up shop on a log above the duckweed swamp:

Not much action at that point, so back to watching the House Wren. In passing this spot again, however, lucked out in seeing it with a fresh catch. Some sort of fish, and a relatively sizable one at that. Let’s enjoy the food chain (#nature):

Nikon D850 with 500mm PF f5.6 lens. Rather challenging exposure conditions due to fairly deep shade.

Dateline: 19 June 2022

A long time since the last official BirdingPI.com survey of the Canoe Portage Trail area (including Duck Pond Trail and Gas Well Trail). Weather was nice Sunday, so dispatched a team for a couple quality hours in the woods. Beautiful spot, plenty of interesting bird, mammal, insect, and plant activity.

In trail news, the Duck Pond Trail east end (where it ends at the road by Duck Pond) remains flooded and impassible (see below). Other trails locally lightly muddy, but generally in good shape.

Iris season’s starting to wind down. In homage, here’s a nice shot of iris x hornet, along the Duck Pond Trail:

Common Grackle in the sun, along the Duck Pond Trail:

Lots of wren activity; looks like House Wren. This female (?) was busy procuring caterpillars for feeding the brood in a nearby nest box.

Happy to see a Little Wood Satyr butterfly (again, off the Duck Pond Trail):

“Green Heron Summer” continues. This individual flew in while on stakeout watching the nearby House Wren nest box. (It’s an area of duckweed swamp bordering the trail – see photo towards bottom.) More exciting content on this heron tomorrow! Preview: “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”

Also saw Baltimore Oriole (juvenile), Red-bellied Woodpecker (adult and juvenile), Robin, Gray Catbird, Mallard (female), etc. (Pics generally too shady or obscured by vegetation.) Here’s a Great Crested Flycatcher in stealth mode:

Another excellent butterfly sighting, a Red Admiral:

Here’s a shot of the swamp (off Duck Pond Trail), to (i) give a better sense of environment, and (ii) illustrate why the iPhone isn’t your first choice for bird photography:

Finally, in site news, proud to share the cover art for BirdingPI.com’s forthcoming LP (180 gm half-speed pressing vinyl only) entitled Nature: Sounds of the Earth at Love and Play. Release date 27 August 2022 on Deutsche Grammophon.