Dateline: 18 June 2022

With the impending solstice, BirdingPI.com has switched to its ‘summer schedule’ for going further afield. Today, reporting on a recent fieldtrip to Bentley Nature Preserve outside Jamestown, New York, near Lake Chautauqua. https://chautauquawatershed.org/2019/02/28/bentley-preserve/

Directions: I86 to the Strunk Rd exit, then south towards the lake/Jamestown. Right onto Route 430, then a quick right onto Bentley Road. Look for the sign and parking area on the right just before the dead end.

From the parking area, follow the path past the metal bridge that crosses the creek, to the interpretive sign, then follow the Pamela A. Westrom Wildflower Trail, which makes a long, meandering loop that ends back at the metal bridge. Or go the other direction by crossing the bridge and following the loop trail to its end at the interpretive sign. Trail conditions: mostly flat, locally muddy; allocate an hour or so.

The preserve is a lovely spot, centered around the slow-moving, serpentine stream that passes through mature, mixed eastern woodland.

Difficult photography conditions (shady with dense forest), but a fair amount of bird activity: Downy Woodpecker, Red-winged Blackbird, Starling, Eastern Wood-pewee, Robin, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Cardinal, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, American Goldfinch, sparrows, Great-crested Flycatcher, Gray Catbird, etc., and plenty of interesting insects and flowers and other plants.

Highlights of the day: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly.

Landscape shots: iPhone. Nature shots: mostly Nikon D7500 with Nikon 200-500 f5.6 lens.

Dateline: 16-17 June 2022, Presque Isle State Park

Wishing everyone an excellent weekend, wherever your travels/ adventures may lead.

With the extra-warm/humid weather in Erie this week, it only made sense to hit Gull Point in the very early AM. (On a side note, the biting flies are out. Seriously, take insect repellant.) Nothing unusual to report other than turtles (see the turtles post); birds at Gull Point included gulls, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Starling, sparrows, swallows, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Canada Goose, Yellow Warbler, Double-breasted Cormorant, Red-winged Blackbird, Crow, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, GBH, and so on.

No rain; trail conditions remain good. Rip current warnings in effect recently, so more surf than usual.

Most of the BirdingPI.com team’s on post-migration season ‘summer break,’ but the core staff’s on duty (as always) for keeping track of whatever can be kept track of. Hopefully some great birds and other nature!

Kicking off the weekend with birds! Following shot is Turkey Vulture with air-born cottonwood fuzz:

Killdeer on Gull Point:

Wrapping it up with some nice shots of Barn Swallow. Such a lovely bird. All out at Gull Point.

Dateline: May-June 2022, Presque Isle State Park

Always fun to see turtles; plenty of them at Presque Isle. Skipping “turtles on logs” for this post. Instead, in keeping with the recent beach theme, it’s turtles on sand!

Usually plenty of turtles around any of the interior ponds. For a bit more diversity and close-up action (who doesn’t want close-up turtle action?), recommend the Gull Point outer old trail, and Gull Point itself. Be on the lookout for turtles on or right off the trail, in sandy areas, especially late spring. (Shots immediately above and below were both on the trail, at different locations.)

Once out at Gull Point, at the start of the roped-off corridor, the first pond immediately to the right – “Turtle Pond” – has lots and lots of turtles. Especially Spiny Softshell Turtle. See shots immediately below and at the top of the post. Usually these guys are sunning on the edge of the pond, but are skittish and retreat underwater quickly – be on the lookout.

Following turtles could be Painted Turtles or Northern Map Turtles. (There’s a reason this site isn’t TutlePI.com…) These were all along the Gull Point rope corridor, early in the morning (around 7AM). In the dunes for, presumably, burying eggs in the sand.

The fourth rule of nature journalism is “close [your story] with impact.” Kind of out of turtle shots, so going with a bunny at the Budny Beach east parking area. Makes total sense – turtles lay eggs, and the Easter bunny delivers chocolate eggs.

Dateline: 12 June 2022

Quite surprised to see a dark-colored, oddly-shaped, chicken-sized bird walking through the cattails on the Thompson Bay beach by where the Gull Point outer old trail turns from more-or-less north-south to more-or-less east-west. Not a chicken, but rather an amazing Green Heron.

Able to maneuver behind some shrubbery for some photography before it departed for a more private spot.

For the full photo-essay special report, see https://birdingpi.com/on-the-beach/.

Dateline: 12 June 2022, etc.

Nothing better than bad bird video except bad bird audio! All audio via the ChirpOMatic app on iPhone.

On the way out to Gull Point Sunday afternoon, the BirdingPI.com team noticed a Downy Woodpecker nest hole high up in a dead tree off Budny Beach, near where the inner old trail meets the beach. Noisy even at a distance – lots of hungry hatchlings!

Close-up of nest hole:

Photos of the female on the return trek to the parking lot:

Notice the grubs towards the base of the beak:

Spotted two Brown Thrashers in the overgrown section towards the start of the Gull Point outer old trail (just past the swamp section). They hung around long enough in the thick vegetation for getting an audio sample – note the ‘clicking’ chirps and two-note call towards the end of the clip.

Baltimore Oriole song from earlier in the spring, in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

Finally, Pileated Woodpecker pecking/etc. sound, also in Millcreek Twp:

Dateline: 11-12 June 2022

Don’t worry, just the BirdingPI.com weekend update featuring birds and a bee or two. Weather Saturday: humid, moderate/warm, clouds changing to sun by the afternoon. Sunday, rain in the morning, windy and mostly clear in the afternoon; humid and moderate (highs in the 70’s deg F). Beautiful weather Sunday afternoon for getting the crew out to Gull Point – nice enough it felt like being in Hawaii on a not-so-warm day. Very few folks out at Budny Beach; no one out along the Gull Point Trail.

First, birds! Several Eastern Bluebird (drab adult/female) spotted both Saturday and Sunday, by Pine Tree Beach and out at Gull Point:

Vegetation-wise, the honeysuckle and Black Locust are done blooming. Multiflora Rose is in full bloom = quite fragrant.

In trail news, the Marsh Trail is finally dry enough for easy passage without special gear. Though still quite muddy in spots. B-Trail remains too muddy for casual passage. Other trails locally muddy but generally in good shape.

Now, onto the bees! Flowering plant featured here = Desert False Indigo. (Thanks to the nice folks at the Natural History Museum at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center for help with this plant ID.) A lot of it currently in bloom along the Gull Point outer old trail, and on the point itself. This specimen near the NOAA weather station in the dunes at Pine Tree Meadows.

Certainly the bees were enjoying it. (Presumably Common Eastern Bumble Bee – Bombus impatiens.)

Coming up later this week, bird noises! Also, heron on the beach! And turtles! Wow.

Dateline: Spring 2022, Presque Isle State Park

Periodic clouds and light overcast Saturday (11 June 2022), humid but mild; overall a lovely day for being out at Presque Isle in the forest or on the beach. Rain Sunday morning.

While on ‘weather delay,’ catching up on some straightforward but lovely shots of Baltimore Oriole:

Dateline: Spring 2022

While the BirdingPI.com team’s getting caffeinated in prep for hitting the trails today (Saturday, 11 June 2022: AM weather in Erie – rain overnight, light overcast), time for a quick, seasonally-appropriate post featuring spring flowers, birds with spring flowers, and a bonus bad bunny video. (Still working on getting shots of rabbits with flowers.)

Above and below, forgot to include these quite nice shots of Ruby-throated Hummingbird x Yellow Iris in the last weekend update. From the Gull Point inner old trail, by the head of Thompson Bay.

From a bit earlier in the spring, BirdingPI.com’s favorite yellow-orange bird, the Baltimore Oriole. Enjoying crabapple (?)/apple blossoms along the Gull Point outer old trail:

Officially wild iris season. See Yellow Iris above. Blue Iris in the following shots, first from the Pine Tree Trail swamp/pond, and second along the Sidewalk Trail (east end by the swamp/pond crossing).

Beautiful Lupinus perennis – Wild Lupine. Fairly uncommon at Presque Isle State Park and (per the Internet = never wrong) relatively rare in Pennsylvania generally. One spot to see Wild Lupine at PI is Pine Tree Meadows. (Fields across the road from the Pine Tree Trail west trailhead.)

Many, many trees currently in blossom with fragrant, white flowers, e.g., around Budny Beach area and elsewhere = probably Black Locust aka False Acacia. Native to North America, perhaps invasive to Presque Isle. Lovely nevertheless.

Finally, nothing more spring-ish than bunnies, with a birdsong soundtrack no less. From the Pine Tree Trail. (Best place to see rabbits at PI – Budny Beach east parking area in the very early AM.)

[Photo Editor’s note: shots above of hummingbird with yellow iris were in the shade. Increasing the brightness and exposure in basic post-production (for the hummingbird to be better lit) resulted in overexposure of the iris. Need to get this over to the Photoshop department for a bit more work…]

Dateline: 4-5 June 2022

A belated weekend update, just in time to usher in the new weekend.

Rain Thursday and earlier in the week, otherwise generally mild and sunny. Trail conditions at Presque Isle State Park are generally good, but may be locally muddy. Of note, as of Sunday the Sidewalk Trail east end was finally mostly dry. Gull Point outer old trail locally muddy but generally still easily passable.

Lots of nesting activity happening at Gull Point, but difficult to see from the trail or observation platform due to vegetation. Easily-viewed bird activity included Barn Swallow and Tree Swallow, Spotted Sandpiper, Red-winged Blackbird, Starling, Killdeer, various sparrows and gulls, Canada Geese, Dunlin, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Plover.

So focused (literally) on getting shots of the Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpiper, somehow missed any good shots of a Semipalmated Plover:

Note the Plover has one black neck/chest band vs. a Killdeer’s two, plus a shorter, stubbier bill.

Bird ID tip: Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers have black legs, vs. a Least Sandpiper’s yellow legs. Western Sandpiper would have a longer bill and would probably be rounder and larger.

Lucky all three species were wading/foraging in the turtle pond along the roped-off trail corridor = closer shots than usual.

More Dunlin:

In flight, probably a flock of Semipalmated Sandpiper:

Heading back along the outer old trail, first a Yellow Warbler:

A common trio scavenging on dead fish:

Finally, more lovely Cedar Waxwing. Bird ID tip: Bohemian Waxwing are similar, but would likely have a brown instead of yellow hind-belly, plus white cross-patches on the wings.

Reminder there’s a Presque Isle Audubon outing to Gull Point on 11 June 2022, gathering at 7:45AM: https://www.presqueisleaudubon.org/uploads/2/5/0/0/25009090/junejulytoe2022.pdf?mc_cid=b717b40237&mc_eid=d5b0db7e32

Dateline: June 2022

Introducing Wrent – The Musical!

For our first number, bad wren video #1. Out of focus, but the sound is ok:

For our second number, bad wren video #2. In focus but the audio file is partially corrupted. At least to start, keep the volume down.

Thus concludes Wrent – The Musical. Quite an extravaganza.

Now that’s out of the way, here’s some decent shots of the same House Wren. All at the east side of Budny Beach, along the Gull Point trail.

Still lacking a videography department at BirdingPI.com, so it’s make do with in-camera mics and handheld @ 500-600mm. Not a recommended method.