Maybe One Snake (NSFW)

Bonus post of recent shots of the first snake of the year at Presque Isle State Park, the beautiful Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)! By the water crossover at Thompson Bay swamp/ponds. Snakes are great!

Killdeer (II)

KIF (Killdeer in flight) with “sparkly background,'” from this past Sunday at North Pier, Presque Isle State Park:

Erie, PA weather Thursday: sunny, cold. Friday: warmer but gloomy/overcast; forecast for Saturday: high likelihood of afternoon rain; Sunday forecast: sunny with highs barely above freezing. Not expecting much migratory activity yet, but wishing everyone a nice weekend nevertheless! #enjoy_nature #more_bird

Bonus Loon/Etc.

Winter weather Wednesday, with wind, wet snow, etc. (3+ cm snow, high temps Wed-Thurs a bit above 0 deg C.) Nevertheless, plenty of ‘seasonal’ bird activity – European Starling, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, etc.

Icicles over Lake Erie/Thursday

Of note, unusual amount of Common Loon activity both on Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay. Following shots are poorly lit (long distance + fog/gloomy conditions), but fun to see breeding adult plumage:

More icicles

Back to ‘spring,’ first Great Egret of the year spotted at Presque Isle State Park today! (Marsh by the road across from Long Pond.) Lots of heat shimmer due to the sunshine = blurry photo, but still nice to see these beautiful birds back in town. Video clips to follow.

The greatest Egret

Coming up soon, snakes! Really! Well, maybe one snake.

[Editor’s note: 6x alliteration for the win!]

Time Warp

Never know what you’ll find doing SSD cleanup on the ol’ desktop. Ahem. Here, in anticipation of warmer temps and greener pastures, pretty nice shots of lovely Baltimore Oriole from May 2021, Presque Isle State Park.

Weekend Update

Dateline: 25-26 March 2023

It was the BirdingPI.com “official start of spring” Sunday with the first butterfly of the year – a beautiful Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) spotted along the Pine Tree Trail, Presque Isle State Park!

Mourning Cloak I
Mourning Cloak II
Hint of green @ Pine Tree Trail

Saturday weather: cold, with steady rain and wind in the morning; very unpleasant. Afternoon, periodic thunderstorms and torrential rain. Very windy overnight. Sunday, cool, sunny, light wind – lovely day to enjoy nature. Conditions at Presque Isle: wet, e.g., shot below – this was a dry/grassy field last summer:

Pond adjacent Pine Tree Trail

Lots of bird activity, but nothing in the “new migrant” category other than a positive audio/call ID of American Woodcock.

Beautiful backlit Bald Eagle (juvenile) over the Thompson Bay swamp/pond:

Bald Eagle I
Bald Eagle II
Red-winged Blackbird (f), Thompson Bay
Song Sparrow, Thompson Bay

On Thompson Bay, a Blue-winged Teal (far left) and Ring-necked Ducks (right):

Ducks!
Horned Grebe

By North Pier, couple nice shots of Red-winged Blackbird (m):

Blackbird I
Blackbird II
Canada Goose

On Niagara Pond (by the road), the amazing Northern Shoveler (m):

Northern Shoveler I
Northern Shoveler II

At that same location, a Turkey Vulture:

Turkey Vulture I
Turkey Vulture II

Generally, an amazing amount of Turkey Vulture activity – unable to get good shots, but counted 8-10+ by the Thompson Bay swamp/pond at one point.

Black-capped Chickadee

Wrapping it up for today with a cute Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger):

I heart pine trees

Stay tuned this week for more “great” content – gulls, ducks, American Robin, and a special report on amazing Killdeer activity on North Pier!

Goose Vid

Bonus goose vid from earlier in the week – 2x Snow Goose, 1x Ross’s Goose:

[Editor’s Note: original sound removed due to wind and road noise.]

Spring Into Doves

Erie County weather: mostly sunny but cool temps/windy on Friday, rain and heavy wind Saturday morning. BirdingPI.com weekend field activities on temporary weather hold.

After the recent goose excitement, catching up on some calmer subject matter, with shots of the always pretty Mourning Dove:

Oh, boy, another dove post!