Meanwhile, we’re back in Erie, Pennsylvania for the Great Backyard Bird Count! //www.birdcount.org/ Wishing everyone a great weekend – hope you see (and count!) lots of great birds!

Following a ‘warm’ Wednesday and a rainy Thursday, it turned icy and snowy overnight with temps Friday in the lower 20’s (deg F). Regular, light snow throughout the day. Conditions were less than ideal for being outside. Nevertheless, counted ten species here in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle State Park”):

• Northern Cardinal (m & f)
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Robin
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Crow
• Canadian Goose – large formation flying far overhead, heading west
• Tufted Titmouse
• Mourning Dove
• House Sparrow

Not a bad showing of representative “all winter long” species!

Time to kick off the weekend with some mostly mediocre bird photos from today’s action!

The BirdingPI.com Regional Desert Southwest (BiRDS) field station outside Tucson, Arizona has been largely shuttered, unfortunately, since the start of the COVID pandemic. The discomfort of air travel notwithstanding, however, it was time to pay a brief visit for clearing out the packrat nests and other yearly maintenance. (Conditions in Tucson: sunny with highs in the mid-70s deg F; no snow.)

Due to budget constraints, the field station’s co-located with an HVAC scrap yard. Not much to look at, but all you need is a workspace for the ol’ laptop and a place to hang a hummingbird feeder or two. Most of the time it’s hitting the outdoors for scoping out what exotics the desert SW has to offer. Like jets and doves:

In all seriousness, Arizona is wonderful for birding. No better way to start off a few posts of interesting snapshots than with the state bird of Arizona, the Cactus Wren:

This is from an earlier trip, but easier to see when de-enmeshed from the cactus aspect:

Meanwhile, on a nearby sidewalk…

Stay tuned for more great birds! And jets!

Dateline: 3 February 2022

Snowy in Erie, Pennsylvania. Very little bird activity, or at least no one’s going outside to check. In light of the bad weather, it was time to catch up on some miscellaneous shots from the last couple months – late fall 2021 stretching into winter 2022 – just for fun.

First up, from a pleasant fall day in Millcreek Township (“Gateway to Presque Isle State Park”) – coincidental but fascinating raptor activity, all fairly localized both geographically and in terms of time-of-day:

Next up, extremely long shots of a mature Bald Eagle landing in a tree off Long Pond (Presque Isle State Park):

Also near Long Pond, a White-throated Sparrow:

On another day, on Lake Erie off Pine Tree Beach (or thereabouts), our Pekin friend from earlier with additional Mallard friends:

Later, in winter proper, in Millcreek Twp:

On another day, back at Presque Isle State Park, off Thompson Circle, three Northern Cardinal females and a Dark-eyed Junco were enjoying a patch of disturbed snow:

Also off Thompson Circle:

Dateline: 30 January 2022

This post is dedicated to Marlin Perkins (b. 1905 – d. 1986).

Disclaimer: if Marlin Perkins is ever revealed as having engaged in ‘dodgy’ behavior against any vulnerable populations, this dedication is hereby unequivocally retracted retroactively. Disclaimer 2: as of the date of this post, the management has absolutely no indication or sense that Marlin Perkins ever engaged in dodgy behavior against any vulnerable populations, and generally considers him, based on present evidence, an upstanding citizen and excellent individual. Disclaimer 3: any visual images of Marlin Perkins in this post are lawful under the “fair use” doctrine of US Copyright Law, as being (i) non-commercial, (ii) relating to social commentary and/or satire, and (ii) comprising a miniscule and minimized portion of the original video content in question.

Folks of a certain age (i.e., old folks) might remember the original television program Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom (1963-1988), co-hosted by naturalist Marlin Perkins. The takeaways from Wild Kingdom were that lots of crazy stuff happens in nature, that nature is rather great, and that Marlin Perkins was a badass. With all due respect.

Fast forward to Presque Isle State Park, circa 2022. Saturday (29 January 2022): clear and sunny in the afternoon, brutally cold all day; staff spent the day in a workshop with the photo editor going over old, un-reviewed files. (Post forthcoming.) Sunday (30 January 2022): not quite as cold; still pretty cold. Lake-effect clouds/snow; sun barely managed to poke through occasionally. Presque Isle road conditions: snowy/icy, but overall plowed and ok; localized drifts. Trail conditions: snow on top of a thick layer of uneven ice and snow, with localized, deep drifts. Rather awful both for photography and hiking. Ok for snow shoeing.

With road-side parking plowed at Presque Isle Light House, seemed like a good place to start the day. Moderate/early ice dunes along the lake, snow/ice along the beach proper. Light lake-effect snow.

Unlike Wild Kingdom, unlikely you’ll be beset upon by constrictors, alligators/crocodiles, sharks, leaches, etc. at Presque Isle State Park. Not impossible, but unlikely. But that’s not to say there isn’t occasional excitement. Take Sunday. The beach was rather cold and barren, like something out of the arctic. A lone Merganser flew by, looking confused. Perhaps a bad day for bird activity – considering the conditions and time of year, it wouldn’t be unexpected.

Getting the lay of the land, however, spotted a sizeable raft of ducks taking advantage of the unfrozen water close to shore. Mostly Common Goldeneye and Scaups. Things were looking up.

Suddenly, a juvenile Bald Eagle emerged from the misty clouds, far overhead:

Even more suddenly, talons extended, it headed downwards towards the lake surface:

[Editor’s note: not the world’s best bird picture, but pretty darned cool.]

After a successful catch, this Bald Eagle was briefly harassed by two gulls. Perhaps trying to initiate a fish fumble. No luck.

Admittedly, “Bald Eagle catches fish-followed-by-gull-harassment” would not make the cut for Wild Kingdom. But it’s in that same spirit: even on a ‘low expectations’ winter day, when birds are involved, you might just see something amazing.

Dateline: 22-23 January 2022

Sunday, snowed all day; not a good day for the outdoors. Saturday, cold (of course), but mostly sunny. All roads open at Presque Isle State Park and in good condition. Roadside parking limited due to the snow, as expected.

Spotted a few birds by the west Pine Tree Trail trailhead. Parking was manageable, seemed as good a bet as any for the day’s expedition.

Tough to get around with a 12″ snow pack, but nothing wrong with a bit of aimless, short-distance walkabout in the winter woods. Ended up a great day. Bonus points for decent lighting; more bonus points for more woodpeckers. Woodpeckers are great.

Bird tip: notice the Hairy Woodpecker has a longer beak, and little or no tuft at the base. Downy Woodpecker has a shorter beak, with a protruding tuft at the base. Pun intended.

Let’s close out the day with special thanks to the Pine Tree Trail (for existing), and some lovely shots of a lovely Red-bellied Woodpecker. Woodpeckers are great.

Dateline: 16 January 2022

Sunday the 16th, conditions were a “go” — moderately cold but sunny — for heading back out to Presque Isle State Park for more winter birding.

Surprisingly, recent storm damage (downed trees, etc.) had already been cleared on the Pine Tree Trail. Many thanks to the PA DCNR crew! Not a lot of activity, but sightings included White-breasted Nuthatch and Downy Woodpecker.

With the back bay (Thompson Bay and Presque Isle Bay) being mostly frozen over, Lake Erie (still mostly unfrozen) seemed like a better bet for bird activity. Plus, Gull Point!

Parked at Budny Beach and headed east along the beach. Frozen conditions (baby ice dunes) along the shore, but easily passable.

Can’t be a bad day if your Gull Point hike starts with Bald Eagles. This mature pair was initially circling (more or less) very high above the lake just to the north of Budny Beach. After a while, they flew east along the shore line towards Gull Point. (Stay tuned for a return appearance of the eagles once we get to Gull Point.)

Definitely ice/slush out on the lake, but it was open and unfrozen by the lake shore. A tremendous amount of duck activity from just past the end of Budny Beach all the way to Gull Point.

First up, Common Goldeneye:

That’s not a particularly noteworthy photo, but including it for ID purposes. Note the white back, black head, eye color, and, especially, the round, white cheek patch – all indicative of breeding male Common Goldeneye:

Meanwhile, the eagles were slowly flying east:

Further along the beach, some unobstructed long views of Gull Point, just to give a sense of scale/perspective:

Soon came across a perched immature Bald Eagle along the beach:

Which took flight almost immediately:

And then alighted in a distant tree. Note the second immature Bald Eagle in the tree to the right:

While peering at ducks, very surprised to suddenly hear a loud ‘whirring’ sound overhead, like a prop plane or noisy kite (the flying device, not the bird). Turns out it was the sound of an overhead flock of ducks decelerating for a water landing. Totally amazing – never experienced anything like it before, but heard it several times throughout the day. Really gives you a sense of the air-braking aerodynamics.

[This is the end of Duckmania!, but James Bond will return in Duckmania 2!]

Dateline: 21 January 2022

Major excitement in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania (“Gateway to Presque Isle”) on Friday, as two amazing Pileated Woodpeckers were spotted taking advantage of the sunny, albeit cold, weather. Concurrently, lots of other winter bird activity – confirmed sightings of Crow, Blue Jay, Dark-eyed Junco, Robin, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal (m & f), even a few mystery birds.

Reasonably good photography conditions. Most pictures Nikon D850 with Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 lens.

Now, let us enjoy a Pileated Woodpecker:

More Pileated Woodpecker:

Dateline: 14-17 January 2022

Leading up to the weekend, access to Presque Isle State Park remained limited, with the loop road closed for construction just past the Perry Monument area (heading counter-clockwise). Generally cold and overcast.

Quite surprised to see a lovely Belted Kingfisher out-and-about, taking advantage of a spot of open water on the Lagoon (aka Graveyard Pond) for a bit of fishing. All shots at a considerable distance from the Graveyard Pond Trail, but you get the idea.

Elsewhere, herons on ice:

Moving on to the weekend. Saturday. Saturday at Presque Isle State Park was an unmitigated birding disaster. It happens. First clue: high temperature of 15 deg F or thereabouts. Just not pleasant. Second clue: “trails in your mirror are less frozen than they appear.” (Reader advisory: despite appearances, the Marsh Trail is not frozen over. Reader advisory, part 2: damp socks in 15 deg F weather are not pleasant.) Third clue: snow-covered surfaces may obscure slippery surfaces.

Ah, yes, the “Ye ol’ Presque Isle slip-and-fall.” Fortunately, no injuries, other than the demise of a mid-level B&W UV filter and a Nikon lens hood. The takeaway: lens hood + protective filter = crumple zone.

Moving back to happier topics, Sunday dawned clear and very cold, but with a forecast of sunny skies and reasonable temps into the afternoon (ahead of the big storm) — time to break out the backup equipment (Nikon D7500, etc.) As it happens, in the category of “Presque Isle giveth and Presque Isle taketh away,” after a bad Saturday, Sunday, frankly, was rather amazing. Stay tuned for a detailed report in the next post! (Preview: Ducks. Lots of ducks. Plus lots of other Birds. Plus Gull Point. Wow!)

As NW Pennsylvania transitions to “real winter,” New Year’s Eve day (2021) seems like a dream. Just a magical day at Presque Isle State Park and Gull Point in particular, the kind of day that makes one happy to be alive, in Erie, and “into” birding/the outdoors. No hyperbole.

The day started partially cloudy but “warm,” i.e., above freezing. Keeping an eye on the lighting, and realizing another opportunity to expand the “annual BirdingPI.com New Year’s if conditions permit Gull Point informal survey,” the team was dispatched to arrive at Budny Beach just before noon. A few folks were out for a walk or picnicking, but once headed east along the beach, Gull Point was empty of humans. At least initially. (No offense to humans, but it’s good for birding.) Temps in the 40’s (deg F), and then the sun came out, fully. Even if only for an hour – wow. Mild, sunny, bright! Just like Florida, less invasive pythons and over-sized lizards. (Zing.)

First up, the lake was calm as glass. Tundra Swans spotted far offshore. (See above.) Then ducks, here and there:

Very little other bird activity until arriving at Gull Point proper. Immediately, noticed what appeared to be a small raptor flying from the beach, south towards the back bay. Trying to keep an eye on it, noticed it quickly returned back towards the beach:

It soon alighted on a driftwood branch, at which point it was clear it was last week’s Peregrine Falcon, or at least a friend or relative. But with better lighting!

Slowly, the BirdingPI.com team “snuck” across the dunes and grass, hoping for closer observation. (Snuck in quotes because no one’s fooling a Peregrine Falcon. Still, you hope for the best.)

It seemed unconcerned about the human presence, so after getting within 20-25 feet (6-8 meters) or so, it was time to just stop and enjoy. Plus take a few pictures, of course. What a lovely, amazing bird.

[Editor’s note: not sure the blog post does these photos justice, so we’ll call it quits here and post additional falcon shots via a ‘special report’ on the main page. See “Falcon Crest.”]

After some hikers arrived, the falcon flew to another spot on the beach, then further along to another spot, then off back towards the interior. Conditions were clouding up slightly anyway, so time to slowly head back to Budny Beach, mission accomplished.

Raft. (n.) Group of ducks floating on the water.

And with the geese bringing it on home, time for the official unofficial count:

Crow

Peregrine Falcon

Greater Scaup

Redhead

Downy Woodpecker (m & f)

Common Merganser

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Song Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Northern Cardinal (m & f)

White-throated Sparrow

Tundra Swan

Canadian Geese

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Buffleheads

Red-winged Blackbird (f)

Did we forget any? In any event, looks like 17 species!

Dateline: 6-9 January 2022

First, some context with the Erie, PA weather: snow overnight Thursday and all day Friday. Saturday, clear initially, passing high clouds late AM, then clear in the afternoon; cold, in the 20’s. Beautiful day, but with a light breeze, brutally chilly for bird photography, at least in the morning. (“BirdingPI.com is here to suffer for you.”) Sunday, temps in the 30’s, rain and freezing rain. Some ice on the ponds and back bay.

It’s now cold enough for the camera equipment to act up. Nikon does not respond well to sub-freezing temps. (“Nikon!!!!” – In the Jerry Seinfeld “Newman!” voice.) Lens auto-focus seems to work ok when it’s active, but there’s typically a focus and/or shooting delay, especially in terms of multiple successive shots. Thus, you can expect one shot and then after that, it’s ‘hope for the best,’ or just wait a few seconds.

Anyway. … Highly localized but wonderful bird activity on Saturday – report to follow. In the meantime, here are some snapshots from the last week generally, all at Presque Isle State Park.

Picture above: American Widgeon in the middle/bottom, to the left is a Canadian Goose or two, Mallard (m) to the far left, Ring-necked Ducks to the right and upper.

Mostly the ducks are skittish and take flight quickly. We don’t like to disturb any birds unnecessarily, but it’s either that or don’t bother birding. (The “I come in peace” sign does not work.)

Following are two versions of the same shot on Long Pond, just after the shots above:

Finally (!), Tundra Swans on ice: