Dateline: 20-21 November 2021

Saturday, despite decent weather, the Birding, PI.com staff attended state-mandated annual ‘workplace sensitivity’ training at the Holiday Inn Express in Grove City, Pennsylvania. At least lunch was included, e.g., the spinach Mediterranean wrap with hummus and roasted red peppers: pretty good.

Sunday dawned light overcast and chilly. Turned to heavy overcast and full-on rain by noon. Despite a fair amount of localized avian activity inland, the team was dispatched early to scour Presque Isle State Park for any and all birding/wildlife activity. Overall it was quite quiet, but confirmed sightings included: Crow, Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, Mallard, GBH, Canadian Geese, Red-winged Blackbird, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, various Gulls, light Sparrow activity, Northern Flicker, Red-tailed Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Pileated Woodpecker. Maybe Tufted Titmouse.

Trail condition varied widely, with many muddy/wet/flooded, and many in ok shape. No snow on the ground.

Sidewalk Trail (lighthouse trailhead): good condition

Sidewalk Trail (bay trailhead): flooded but passable

A-Trail: ok except for low spot with fallen log ‘bridge’

Dead Pond Trail (west, from B-Trail to Sidewalk Trail): passable but very flooded and wet/muddy in spots

Dead Pond Trail (east): muddy in spots, generally good condition

B-Trail: completely flooded and impassable

Pine Tree Trail: good condition

Thompson Bay trails: good condition

Ridge Trail (eastern end): good condition

Long Pond fishing access trails: good condition

With the trail update out of the way, and despite the poor lighting conditions generally, let us now enjoy a few bird/etc. pictures:

Dateline: 13-14 November 2021

In Erie, a week of good weather falls into the “too good to last” category. Saturday dawned overcast, with a few surprise snowflakes. By early afternoon, it had devolved to squalls of hail and frozen rain, with periodic light rain. Still, later, periods of ‘dry’ with a bit of sun towards the evening. Presque Isle State Park was a mess, but there were plenty of ducks hiding from the hunters on the back bay. Photography conditions were challenging.

Trail update: all trails wet and muddy.

Picture above – male and female Scaups to the left and right. (Lesser? Greater?) Male and female Buffleheads in the middle.

Sunday dawned overcast, but with hints of blue sky through the clouds. Not to last: light rain by afternoon, and out-and-out snow by late afternoon. (Yay snow!) Also very windy. Conditions at Presque Isle State Park were correspondingly poor. Nevertheless, more “might be birding folks” were seen than usual this time of year – perhaps a coincidence, perhaps due to the bad weather on Saturday.

The Long Pond Trail (SE trailhead) was flooded out but passable. Sparrows, GBH, Kinglets, misc. waterfowl. Light rain made for poor photography/equipment conditions.

Identity of the ducks above is a tough call. One seemed to have a yellow bill, the other olive. Perhaps American Black Ducks, or female/immature Mallards.

Another tough call with the Grebe above, especially considering the lighting conditions. The (apparently) dark eye color eliminates many species. Perhaps an immature Pied-billed Grebe?

Looks like unsettled weather this weekend here in Erie, Pennsylvania, so catching up on a few photos from last Sunday out at Presque Isle State Park. Weather was sunny but windy; light avian activity.

Of special note, a Carolina Wren was spotted/heard off the access trails near Thompson Bay. Unfortunately, its flitting about the shrubbery was too much for Nikon’s autofocus system to handle = no pictures. However, iPhone to the rescue with the ChirpOMatic app (http://www.chirpomatic.com/ – no affiliation with BirdingPI.com, but it’s a pretty good app) = reasonably nice sound clip.

Along the Sidewalk Trail (SE end) and Ridge Trail (SE end), lots of Titmouse and Kinglet activity, also Canadian Geese on the pond. A few Mallards in the swamp off the Dead Pond Trail extension.

Thank you to everyone who ever served in the armed forces in service of this great country, including my dear father (go Air Force)!

Today was an official BirdingPI.com holiday. Staff did what they usually do on a holiday, however, which is go birding. BirdingPI.com unofficial motto: “underpaid and underworked.”

Conditions at Presque Isle State Park were less than ideal – windy and hazy turning to overcast. Still, Canadian Geese, light Sparrow activity, Brown Creepers, White-breasted Nuthatch, etc. Generally in the area (including Millcreek Township), lots of Blue Jay, Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, and Tufted Titmouse activity. Very little in the way of Gulls or Ducks. Of special note, however, were a pair of mature Bald Eagles along the Long Pond Trail. They flew away immediately, hence minimal photos, but it was great to see them far up in the sky on a day like this, even if only between the trees/branches.

Weekend Update. Dateline 6-7 November 2021.

After seeming weeks of rain and clouds, Erie was blessed with a weekend of sunny, cool, dry weather – yay! Beautiful weather for getting outside to Presque Isle State Park for a bit of birding/hiking/photography, + enjoying the fall color.

Bird activity was moderate, but what was lacking in quantity was made up for in quality. Saturday, the Birding, PI.com team trekked the A Trail, the Dead Pond trail to Thompson Circle, the park road to the Pine Tree Trail, the Pine Tree Trail (east to west), and the dirt road that parallels the beach back to the A Trail trailhead picnic area.

First up, along the Dead Pond Trail between the A Trail and the B Trail, was a surprise group of Wild Turkeys, maybe 5-6 birds in total. Either these Turkeys weren’t paying much attention, or didn’t care, because unusually, they hung out near the trail for a good 5-10 minutes, poking around in the detritus. Fun to get a close look while they foraged.

In the marshy, sort-of open area between just before the B Trail, we almost missed seeing the ‘bird of the weekend,’ a lovely Barred Owl (!) Frankly, owl sightings are rare enough to be a cause for celebration, but this one was quite the modeling subject, e.g., didn’t immediately fly away.

As can be seen in the picture above, even at 500mm this owl is hard to see. Even harder at different angles, with plain eyesight. (Goes to show, it pays to continually scan nearby trees for “bird shapes,” just in case.)

Since its face was obscured, our intrepid photographer crawled into the grass, just as far as needed for a lower angle view. Fortunately, it seemed unconcerned and undisturbed. After a few snapshots, we slunk back to the trail, leaving this lovely fellow or lady to its daytime nap.

Further east along the Dead Pond Trail, a pair of Red-tail Hawks.

A-Trail: Passable; wet spot treacherous over log “bridge”

Dead Pond Trail, between A Trail and B Trail: very flooded in spots but passable

Dead Pond Trail, east: good condition

Pine Tree Trail: good condition

Thompson Bay trails: muddy but passable

Sidewalk Trail, west end: good condition

Sidewalk Trail, east end: muddy but passable

Ridge Trail (east portion): good condition

Marsh Trail: flooded, muddy. Passable from Sidewalk Trail to the culvert/open low spot that connects the two sections of marsh, which is flooded and impassible without getting wet or wearing rubber boots

Too much rain. Can’t remember the last day without rain. Starting to feel bad for our bird friends. No more rain, please.

This Turkey Vulture was on the same branch, on the same tree, outside BirdingPI.com HQ, all day long in the rain. Finally, just wanted to buy it a North Face fleece and hot cup of coffee.

Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm f5.6 pf lens. Exposure compensation +3.0 to compensate for backlit/overcast skies.

Dateline: 30-31 October 2021

It was a rough weekend at Presque Isle State Park, for birding, bird photography, or anything else for that matter. Blustery and overcast Saturday, rainy Sunday AM followed by windy and partially cloudy conditions in the afternoon. Despite the poor conditions, BirdingPI.com launched targeted, limited expeditions to keep you informed (!)

Marsh Trail (intersection with Sidewalk Trail): flooded, impassible without rubber boots or the like

Sidewalk Trail: good condition; muddy in spots, easily passible

Dead Pond Trail (west/north section): very muddy, passible

“A” Trail: passible, although dodgy over the slick downed branch ‘bridge’ over the swampy portion

Pine Tree Trail: good condition

Thompson Bay trails: good condition, muddy in spots

Long Pond Trail (north/west section): flooded, impassible

Long Pond Trail (south/east section): flooded, muddy, but passible with care

Saturday, the initial intent was to survey the Marsh Trail. Turned out it was overtly flooded on the Sidewalk Trail side; lacking proper equipment, we pivoted to the nearby Dead Pond Trail. This section of the Dead Pond Trail was muddy and flooded, but easily passible overall without too much effort. Very little bird activity. From the A Trail, we transitioned to the nearby beach, following the tree line and dunes towards the Presque Isle lighthouse. (Watch out for ticks!) Plenty of activity with Sparrows, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Nuthatches, Jays, etc. Later, brief excursions along the Pine Tree Trail, etc.

BirdingPI.com’s staff photographers spring into action regardless of subject matter. The following are recent sightings at Presque Isle State Park in the “not a wild bird” category.

The following are from the Duck Pond (appropriately enough) of what appears to be an escaped American Pekin, probably male, and a female Mallard. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Presque Isle State Park, despite the signs, is not a hotbed of tick activity (at least not in our experience despite many hours in the brush). Cavorting about the grass and shrubbery this past weekend, however = numerous close encounters. Keep an eye out!

Dateline: 23 Oct 2021

Mostly another soggy weekend in the greater Erie, PA area, including Presque Isle State Park. Saturday it rained and rained again. Our intrepid reporters ventured forth regardless, but more to combat cabin fever than in hopes of spotting the next Elegant Trogon. (Admittedly, this is unlikely in Erie County even in the best of times.) Photography conditions were rainy and gloomy, with correspondingly uneven results.

As a preview, Sunday dawned wet but clear. With the short break in the weather, a Birding, PI.com expeditionary force was launched to hike out to Gull Point, in full ‘wet foot’ regalia (e.g., rubber boots). Conditions were mixed; full report to follow. Until then, a trail condition update:

Pine Tree Trail: muddy in spots but easily passable

Sidewalk Trail: good condition

Gull Point beach trail: good condition

Gull Point mud flat trail to Observation Platform: muddy but easily passable

Gull Point ‘old trail,’ inner section: flooded; passable with rubber boots; overall, overgrown and not recommended

Gull Point ‘old trail,’ middle section: impassible, as usual

Gull Point ‘old trail,’ outer section: flooded; passable with rubber boots

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The following are from around Millcreek Township: