Famous artist/ornithologist John Audubon was born on this day in 1785. A modern-day reckoning casts him in a deservedly negative light, but the occasion is noted here for its historical significance: John Audubon had a huge influence on avian science and popularization.
So, time for a BirdingPI.com bird ID moment, featuring the extremely cute Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Photos out at Presque Isle State Park this past week.
A small bird, very flighty; moves around very quickly. Small, dark beak, grey breast, light olive body, short tail, hints of yellow on the wings, white wing bar with a black patch next to it, white eyering.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Tree Trail
As in the picture above, the head usually appears plain, with the red-colored feathers remaining hidden. (Contrast with the similar-looking Golden-crowned Kinglet, which has a black crown patch with a stripe of yellow/gold.)
On Saturday off the A-Trail, lucky enough to get a few shots slightly showing the red crown:
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, A TrailRed crownAnother view
Solid rain Saturday morning, followed by cool-but-pleasant temps and ‘mostly sunny’ in the afternoon. Sunny and very warm Sunday, perhaps a high approaching 80 deg F, although 10-15 degrees cooler by the Lake Erie shoreline.
Presque Isle State Park trail update:
A-Trail: muddy across the swampy part, but easily passable.
B-Trail: flooded. Not recommended.
Dead Pond Trail: localized flooding between the A Trail and the Sidewalk Trail; not recommended. Muddy in spots and localized flooding between the A Trail and B Trail. Good condition between the B Trail and Thompson Circle.
Pine Tree Trail: good condition.
Marsh Trail: passable with waterproof footwear, but overall still extremely muddy and flooded in spots. Not recommended.
Sidewalk Trail: flooded but passable on the east trailhead end, otherwise in good condition. (Update: as of 1 May 2022, muddy but easily passable.)
Ridge Trail: good condition east of Marsh Trail. West of Marsh Trail, muddy in spots.
Long Pond Trail: east end – good condition; west end – very wet and muddy.
Based on BirdingPI.com staff reports at key woodland/interior locations, the songbird migration seems off to a good start. Tons of bird activity especially Saturday afternoon after the rain: sparrows (multiple species), Golden-crowned Kinglets and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, warblers (multiple sightings mostly of Yellow-rumped Warbler and Palm Warbler – hang out on the Ridge Trail near where it intersects the Sidewalk Trail at their east ends to see both), chickadee, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, and an unusual amount of thrush activity, e.g., Hermit Thrush.
So much activity this weekend, for now we’re focusing just on the co-winners for BirdingPI.com’s “best bird of the weekend.” First up, a Black-and-white Warbler spotted off the Dead Pond Trail, to the east of its junction with the A Trail. Might have seen a grand total of one of these at Presque Isle in 2021.
Partially blocked by branches, but still the shot of the weekend:
Seeing a Black-and-white Warbler was amazing. Even more amazing was a ‘not close’ encounter with a Great Horned Owl, if you can believe it. Fortunately, there’s proof!
As mentioned briefly in previous posts, there’s a swampy section of the A-Trail close to the main road, in a dip between adjacent sand ridges. Old growth woods (i.e., very tall trees) in this area, quite shady. While surveying the nearby birds (kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers, plus a pair of Mallards), a huge bird, apparently being chased by another bird, suddenly swooped down to land high up in a nearby treetop:
In for a landing
Lots of frantic jostling and repositioning of the camera equipment at this point.
It’s big, really big. It’s an owl, has horizontal striping on its breast, and big, tufted ears. There’s only one option at this point: a Great Horned Owl. A crazy “Wow!” moment.
Ear tuft, side viewYes, it’s a Great Horned OwlAnother front view
Whatever was doing the chasing (couldn’t ever see it well, but it might have been the size of a small hawk or falcon) was still around, so the owl took off almost immediately, flying through the trees to the south towards Dead Pond and out of sight.
Tail feathers and talonsLook at that wingspan!More wingspan – wowHeading out
All these shots are partially obscured and a bit fuzzy, but there aren’t many situations more challenging than shooting more-or-less straight up into a dense thicket of tall trees in the shade. All Nikon D850 with the Tamron 150-600mm lens; all things considered, this kit did a decent job. (These shots have the brightness notched up and the shadow level turned way down, but otherwise are unmodified other than cropping.)
After a rainy start to the day, Saturday turned sunny and rather beautiful by mid afternoon. Nice to have a break in the cold weather.
As if to celebrate, the BirdingPI.com team spotted a lovely Black-and-white Warbler off the Dead Pond Trail, just to the east of the junction with the A Trail. This is one you might see at Presque Isle State Park once or twice a season if you’re lucky! Be on the lookout.
More pictures to follow with the weekend update. Also an owl! Really.
Despite the generally bad weather recently in the greater Erie, PA area (e.g., wind, rain, cold, snow), the tide of spring marches on. Does spring have a tide? Anyway, doesn’t matter. The point is, with spring comes nest building, and nest building requires nest-building materials. Always fun to see our fellow earthly inhabitants, here, birds, gathering roots, twigs, etc., for secreting away in nearby shrubbery (or wherever) for doing the needful.
Here’s some very nice shots of a pair of Blue Jays taking advantage of a patch of disturbed soil to gather up some structurally sound and easily manipulable root fragments. Plus, credit where credit’s due – Blue Jays are absolutely lovely.
Moving on, here’s a male House Sparrow lending a helping hand. Or maybe taking the lead. Don’t want to stereotype.
This may be a female House Finch:
Guess it helps to have at least one image of the final product, here, a Mourning Dove nest against a building:
The male and female were very busy gathering the materials for this nest over several+ days.
To wrap it up, we’ll move to some more general shots from recent days in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle State Park”). First, the first sighting of American Goldfinch this season! Very exciting.
American Goldfinch (f) with willow, Millcreek Twp
Next, a lovely American Robin:
Robin, Millcreek Twp
Couple nice shots of male Northern Cardinal:
Northern Cardinal, Millcreek Twp INorthern Cardinal, Millcreek Twp II
And finally, the picture below is sadly partially blocked, but (if we say so ourselves), what a great shot of a pair of Northern Flicker! Amazing to see the displayed/fanned wings with that lovely yellow shaft color!
Nymphalis antiopa (aka Mourning Cloak butterfly), Gull Point
Let’s see. First the weather, everyone’s favorite subject. On Friday, alternating sun and clouds, with highly localized rain. Substantial rain Saturday AM, but mostly clear by 1PM; cool, windy. Sunday, unseasonably cold and windy, with a dusting of snow; partially sunny in the afternoon.
Moving on to more important topics. First up, by the Thompson Circle swamp/ponds on Friday, the Tree Swallows are back! First sighting this season.
Tree Swallow, Presque Isle State ParkIn flight
Here’s a few nice duck shots, also at the Thompson Bay swamp/ponds:
Female MallardMallards and Blue-winged TealBlue-winged Teals (m & f) and male Northern Shoveler
It’s been a bit, but the Golden-crowned Kinglets are still out-and-about:
Golden-crowned Kinglet, Dead Pond Trail
From Saturday, here’s a fun picture looking up at a male Northern Shoveler in flight:
Northern Shoveler (m)
Saturday, as mentioned, it was mostly clear at Presque Isle by early afternoon. Previous recent attempts to get the team out to Gull Point had been thwarted by foul weather. As such, even with the unsettled conditions (cold, windy), high time to saddle up (metaphorically speaking) and head out down the beach.
Of note, even with all the recent rain, the outer old Gull Point trail is in great shape – only a couple significantly muddy spots, and those easily traversable. (A loop of the outer old trail and returning via the beach, or vice versa, is a great hike.) Probably due less to precipitation and more to the overall lake level being down slightly.
Looking towards Gull Point, from Budny BeachRed-breasted Mergansers, Lake ErieGull Point, path to observation platform
Not much activity along the beach, other than scattered Mergansers (see above) and Ring-necked Ducks on the lake. Once out to the where the point opens up (by the entrance to the roped-off path to the observation platform), noticed a commotion out by Gull Point itself. Hmmm, first a juvenile Bald Eagle:
This resulted in quite a bit of gull consternation:
Swiftly swooping in were several Caspian Terns, making quite the fuss. No one messes with Caspian Terns (apparently), because that Bald Eagle wasn’t hanging around for long:
Somewhere, there was a second juvenile Bald Eagle, which was similarly chased off:
The shots above aren’t great (500mm @ very long distance), but it was amazing to see = happy to share.
Moving on, also of note, the first sighting this season of Cormorants (presumably Double-breasted Cormorants):
Here’s where the Terns were hanging out, at the far end of Gull Point:
Soon thereafter, on the walk back, some Ring-necked Ducks in flight, looking north:
And a backlit gull, perhaps a Herring Gull:
At the edge of the Gull Point mud flats, one of a pair of Wild Turkeys foraging in the brush:
On the outer old trail, one of the outcast Eagles in a tree:
The following might be Ruby-crowned Kinglets, also on the Gull Point outer old trail:
See the “Happy Easter” post for more shots of this lovely Yellow-rumped Warbler:
A final few shots from Easter Sunday. First, by Long Pond, what may be an immature or female Common Grackle:
See the recent BirdingPI.com Bird Alert(TM) for more shots of this lovely Mute Swan, on Long Pond:
Finally, male and female Brown-headed Cowbirds in the grassy parking area by Beach 11:
Stay tuned for our forthcoming post on the Pine Tree Trail from Sunday, and also a special report with some decent close-up shots of Caspian Tern! Plus, a special post with plenty of recent “We’re building a nest!” shots in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle State Park”).
Easter Sunday dawned cloudy and very cold, with a dusting of snow on roofs and lawns. Hints of blue sky between the clouds, though, and enough time between the human-oriented activities of the day to squeeze in a brief outing to Presque Isle State Park. And good thing, or might have missed this amazing Mute Swan!
What’s that white blob?
Lots of goose, gull, and blackbird activity out at Long Pond. Plus a Bald Eagle or two, and Caspian Terns. On the far shore, noticed something large and white – very intriguing!
Hard to ID at this point, and still cloudy, so hung around with hopes of sun and more activity. Thankfully, both were soon to come.
Signs of life
Thought it might have been a late or lost Tundra Swan, but note the bill color – orange/pink, with that particular, black pattern. Also key, the relatively long, expressive tail. Both indicators of Mute Swan.
Full sail aheadWider viewIce sculpture
It’s a busy season out at Presque Isle State Park this year – can hardly keep up with the fun and unusual sightings!
Also happy to announce the BirdingPI.com Official Start to Warbler Season(TM), 2022!
Warbler season kicks off with the first BirdingPI.com confirmed warbler sighting of the year at Presque Isle State Park. This year, the honours go to the lovely Yellow-rumped Warbler, spotted 16 April 2022 along the outer old Gull Point Trail! Such a lovely bird – such a great way to kick off spring!
The following are all male Yellow-rumped Warbler along the Gull Point trail. (Male = yellow crown stripe, among other identifying features.)
The BirdingPI.com team was stationed at Thompson Bay (Presque Isle State Park) long enough finally to get some better pictures of the mystery Grebe. Everything at long distance, so these aren’t the greatest shots, but enough to officially call it as a molting Horned Grebe! And high time, too – the tension was getting unbearable.
Horned Grebe
About the identification, bill shape (e.g., relatively short and rounded, instead of long and pointy) eliminates things like Western Grebe and Clark’s Grebe. Red eye color eliminates Red-necked Grebe. Zeroing in on Horned Grebe or Eared Grebe, the following features indicate the former: brown neck, blond tuft (perhaps what would be technically called the supercilium – side of head above eye), and brown lore (small feathers between eye and bill).
Detail
Eventually, also spotted a second “mystery Grebe:”
On a rainy Saturday morning (16 April 2022), sending out a quick BirdingPI.com Bird Alert(TM) to be on the lookout, when the weather’s better, for Common Loon. This one was spotted at the north end of Thompson Bay at Presque Isle State Park, in the last couple days.
Pictures were taken from the west-shore beach at a very long distance, but there’s enough detail when cropped to get the idea:
Common Loon, cropped/detailAnnotated
Per the annotated, cropped view above, be on the lookout for a dark/black head and bill, checkerboard black-and-white back, white breast, and double collar (second ‘collar’ is very slight).
Just a quick update from last Saturday, ahead of Easter weekend, mainly for mentioning recent sightings of Bonaparte’s Gulls at Presque Isle State Park. Considering the number of gulls at Presque Isle generally, seeing anything other than Ring-billed and Herring Gulls is relatively uncommon and rather exciting – might be BirdingPI.com’s first sighting of Bonaparte’s Gulls since 2020.
Identification-wise, be on the lookout for the black head. Beyond that, the black bill, white eye arcs, black wing tips, and orange/pink feet distinguishes it from similar-looking gulls like the Black-headed Gull (reddish bill, less-extensive head coloring with perhaps a bit of brown, etc.)
Here’s another Bonaparte’s Gull but with a mottled grey head, presumably molting/in transition:
Moving on, other “first this season” sightings on Sunday included Caspian Tern (Graveyard Pond) and Killdeer (grassy parking area by Beach 11).
Caspian Tern, Graveyard Pond
Still a number of Great Egrets on Graveyard Pond, but far fewer than Saturday:
Red-breasted Mergansers, Graveyard Pond:
Belted Kingfisher, edge of Thompson Bay:
Regarding birding conditions generally, right now it’s all about the water – lots of activity on the bay and ponds, very little on the interior, e.g., the Pine Tree Trail on Sunday was a nice walk, but yielded up just one bird sighting (Blue Jay).
This BirdingPI.com post brought to you by Ring-billed Gulls:
