After multiple, extensive surveys along the Gull Point Trail (Presque Isle State Park), the BirdingPI.com team logged its first sighting of Marsh Wren this season on Sunday.
Flight
Difficult photography conditions due to shade and heavy underbrush.
Perched
But in the open long enough for several shots before returning to nearby cattails.
Singing
Location: Gull Point Trail, on the east edge of the marsh, along the section of beach/Thompson Bay between the middle and outer portions of the old trail.
Wren tail
Distinctive features: white eyebrow, mostly clean breast, tail frequently held vertically.
More singingBack in the brush
Decent Marsh Wren calls on iPhone audio via ChirpOMatic:
Absolutely beautiful day Saturday out at Presque Isle State Park. Also extremely windy; surf on Lake Erie was up to ocean level.
Turkey Vulture?
Seems like everyone was enjoying the wind. Or at least properly skilled/equipped humans and large-wingspan birds.
In particular, Turkey Vultures. Right away in the morning at Budny Beach, six vultures were swooping/gliding in the wind, for quite a long time. Don’t like to anthropomorphize, but they seemed to be having a great time:
Taking a break on Budny Beach:
More on this with the upcoming weekend update, plus exciting Presque Isle trail news! Stay tuned!
Video from the BirdingPI.com HQ Hawk Cam(TM), featuring Red-tailed Hawk! (Background noise due to nearby ventilation shaft – sorry.)
Wow!
For whatever reason, lots of Red-tailed Hawk activity in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”) recently; at least three individuals regularly present near HQ. Recent stills:
Either a late weekend update or an early weekend preview, take your pick. Great weather over the past holiday weekend; light rain Tuesday morning. Supposed to be dry into the upcoming weekend.
Sparrow/arch/Gull Point
In Presque Isle trail news, the B-Trail, though still muddy, is now easily passable. Other than the copious biting flies.
Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)
View of sailboats from Gull Point, from spring:
Erie/boatsEastern KingbirdBusy day at Beach No. 11Song Sparrow/Gull PointMember of the bandSpotted at Gull PointReachingWinner, 2022 Presque Isle chipmunk photography contest
Observing a family of Canada Geese at the Thompson Circle swamp/pond crossover when a female Wood Duck waddled out of the pond vegetation. (Pond’s relatively low due to dry conditions.)
Duck/profile
They normally spook easily. This one seemed confused or at least unconcerned, perhaps because of the nearby Geese and/or because the BirdingPI.com team was already present when it came into view.
Muddy/duck
After some foraging, it moved back to the water for preening:
Pond/preenDuck/pond
And then the moment of realization:
!
Detected human presence = time to leave.
Following shots are not super sharp (more lens/camera testing), but still pretty to see:
Exciting news! BirdingPI.com has confirmed at least one nesting pair of Spotted Sandpiper in the northern dunes area of Presque Isle State Park (e.g., generally between Presque Isle Light House and Budny Beach), including sightings of two lovely, very active chicks.
In the grass
These shots are less than ideally sharp; picked a bad day for testing new camera/lens configurations.
Still in the grass
Complicated by the heavy cover of dune grass (see above).
On the sand
Also difficult to get steady results when chasing sandpipers through the dunes.
Ostrich in training
Resident adult populations have been noticed in this area and at Gull Point. This is the first BirdingPI.com confirmation of successful breeding activity in either area.
Jogging on the beach
Per the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s popular http://www.allaboutbirds.org website, “[Spotted Sandpiper] have intriguing social lives in which females take the lead and males raise the young.” Hence the lead photo: probably the male.
Back to the grass
Following shots of Spotted Sandpiper adults from a different day, along/near the beach:
Morning lightBack on the beach
[Editor’s note: BirdingPI.com’s ‘prime directive’ is to minimize disruption or interference with bird behavior and habitat: “Take the shot and move on.” (With apologies to skittish herons and Wood Ducks…) “[C]hasing sandpipers through the dunes” appears intended as a ‘funny,’ but regardless, does not accurately reflect actual circumstances. Namely, soon after these sandpiper chicks were spotted during a routine survey, BirdingPI.com personnel left the area after quick shots for the record.]
Surprise, surprise – not Gull Point, but rather Tom’s Point, out at lovely Lake Chautauqua! Photos from a special team expedition this past Saturday.
Tom’s Point
A beautiful spot right off the I86 W Lake Rd exit for Lakewood/Stow. Great short hike along a mowed trail combining forest, field edge, and lake views.
Typical trail
Insect with Common Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva):
Fly on the windscreen
Representative field view:
Field
Fair amount of bird activity even mid-day. Here’s lovely American Goldfinch (m):
Bird in a field
These are probably the Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album), but could be Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis):
Comma?
Unable to get a shot of the front of the wings, and the distinctive marking (see bottom middle white spot in following shot) is unclear due to the angle:
Or question mark?
Lots of House Wren activity:
In a shrubView of Veterans Memorial Bridge (I86 bridge) from Tom’s PointMore wren!View of north end of Lake Chautauqua from near Tom’s PointThe wrent is dueWrent is due, part 2
More warbler activity along this trail than expected this time of year. First, an amazing Chestnut-sided Warbler:
More warbler!
Mandatory Yellow Warbler content:
More warbler!
Big news, and a BirdingPI.com first, a surprise sighting of Blue-winged Warbler! Note the dark eyeline, overall dark-ish wings with two wing bars, and white undertail coverts. (Per the Internet: “Undertail coverts are the feathers that smooth the transition between belly and tail.”) Should be noted that New York state is in the Blue-winged Warbler’s expected summer range.
Wishing everyone in the US a Happy Independence Day!
Looks like a beautiful day in Erie – hope everyone can get outside to enjoy nature.
Exciting bird news to report from yesterday (more warblers!), but it has to wait for tomorrow’s rather epic post. In the meantime, some shots from winter/early spring of amazing Brown Creeper, out at Presque Isle State Park. (Would have called this post “Jeepers Creepers” but it’s been done before.)
Blending in
Quick note on bird anatomy. Notice the foot structure as shown in the following shot. The three phalanges (fore toes) appear fairly typical, but the hallux or hind toe is relatively extremely elongate and with an elongate claw. Amazingly adapted for adeptly climbing trees, in line with this bird’s feeding behavior.
AdaptationBlending in IICreepy mealBlending in IIICreepy profile