More late summer/early fall birds at Leo’s Landing at Presque Isle State Park. Why so much Leo’s Landing? Very close to park entrance (< 2- to 3-minute drive) + great mix of habitat (swamp, sand bar, back bay/lake, brush, & mature trees) = best spot at PI for “quick birding outing.”
ID note: all Palm Warblers @ immature or non-breeding (i.e., fall) plumage.
Bit of a weekend washout in Erie, PA (weather-wise and otherwise), so it’s a return to Arizona with part 1 of an August visit to Tucson’s premier botanical garden/park, Tohono Chul. Always worth a visit for lots of wildlife and not-so-wild life.
Unless otherwise noted, hummingbirds are mature Purple Shooting Star (a.k.a. Costa’s hummingbird) (as above) or immature Purple Shooting Star, as here:
BirdingPI.com doesn’t regularly feature captive (i.e., zoo) animals, but it was great to see one of Tohono Chul’s Sonoran Desert Tortoises (Gopherus morafkai) out-and-about (as opposed to hiding in its cave) = so darned cute!
Coming up soon, more Arizona hummingbirds, and more Erie fall bird! #more_bird
Recent Presque Isle State Park photographs of a Great Egret foraging (+ flying) at Leo’s Landing, in chronological order:
Plus bonus juvenile Spotted Sandpiper:
The Duck Pond Trail at Presque Isle State Park might be the most poorly named trail there. Only one end is anywhere near a “duck pond,” and even that portion’s lacking much of a view + mostly muddy/impassible. However, it’s a nice walk in the woods and sometimes good for birds, as shown here from a recent afternoon in late summer:
Really nice sighting of Lincoln’s Sparrow, soon to be re-named Buff-breasted Sparrow (or something like that, hopefully):
Hard to capture the magnitude photographically, but lots (!) of Robin activity on this date (several dozen+ = migratory activity):
Although American football season, this is not a sports post. Instead, it’s a juvenile Caspian Tern off Leo’s Landing, having fishsues (a portmanteau of ‘fish’ & ‘issues’ – ha ha):
Plus “bonus” Great Egret content at this same date/location (happy Friday!):
“Unforced Fumble:” When the ball carrier bird loses possession of prey or something else carried in its beak without direct contact (or other harassment) from a defender another bird:
Looks like unsettled weather for the weekend here in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Happy nature nevertheless! #more_bird
[Editor’s note: A two-point conversion for using “portmanteau” in a post!]
This post brought to you by Air Jordan 11 CMFT LowTM sneakers (shown here in ‘white/gym red’): “The footwear choice of discerning Least Sandpiper the world over!”TM
Moving on, it’s Part II of Gull Point coverage from this last Sunday afternoon (@ Presque Isle State Park, naturally), w/ both good and less-good bird photographs.
This just about sums up Gull Point on Sunday – “small birds at a distance.” Here’s Killdeer + perhaps a Semipalmated Sandpiper:
The yellow bird in the following shots = an “unusual for the time of year” female Yellow Warbler:
Just left/right of middle, a Lesser Yellowlegs (l) + sandpiper of some sort:
Somewhere there’s a Semipalmated Plover:
Not much happening at outer Gull Point Sunday afternoon – cormorants, gulls, Turkey Vultures, and a few distant Black-bellied Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer, etc.
OTOH, some great activity at the ‘big bend’ bay-side beach access, including at least five Greater Yellowlegs:
And surprisingly (for this time of year), a Short-billed Dowitcher:
Series of Greater Yellowlegs (left) + Short-billed Dowitcher (right):
Dowitcher taking flight:
Dowitcher landing:
Here’s a shot of 5 Yellowlegs (5th is center left foreground/blurry) + 1 Dowitcher (center right):
Finally for “Part I,” two juvenile plumage Bald Eagles in a tree adjacent the lagoon/lake of the above shots (past east side of Thompson Bay):
[Editor’s note: ID on Greater Yellowlegs – overall size, slight barring on flanks, slightly upturned bill, + Merlin voice ID. (The Yellowlegs with its beak shown open above was unusually vocal.)]
BirdingPI.com’s insect coverage has been somewhat sporadic since the Sr. Editor for Insect Photography ‘retired’/went missing. As such, happy to get the following shots Sunday near outer Gull Point, even if with the ‘wrong’ lens. (600mm prime telephoto = unusual choice for this application.) All Orange Sulphur butterfly (Colias eurytheme) on goldenrod:
And now for something completely different, the “BirdingPI.com weekend award for intrepid nature exploration” goes to this (redacted) individual apparently attempting to walk directly from outer Gull Point to Beach No. 11 across Thompson Bay! The photographer did not remain on site long enough to verify whether this is physically possible, but it is a bold idea. #in_too_deep? #time_for_a_swim
Other than a surprise, passing thunderstorm Saturday morning, it was a beautiful/warm/dry equinox weekend at Presque Isle State Park. The interesting warbler activity continued, including fairly unusual multiple sightings of Yellow Warbler. (Based on yearly records, most Yellow Warblers would have departed Presque Isle in August, with just one or two northern breeders typically recorded passing through in late September.) There’s lots of “yellow-ish” birds in fall with non-breeding or juvenile plumage, making identification tricky, but here’s a ‘control sample’ of female (juvenile?) Yellow Warbler at the tree line at outer Gull Point Sunday afternoon:
Spotted at least several Yellow Warbler at Leo’s Landing, all dingier juveniles, like this one foraging in blooming goldenrod:
Another juvenile Yellow Warbler at Leo’s Landing:
Here’s a shady Wilson’s Warbler (note the dark cap):
Another common yellow bird, a female or juvenile American Goldfinch:
Backlit Palm Warbler. Not ‘super yellow,’ but has a yellow-ish rump and lower underside:
Two ‘not the best shots but still fun to see’ of Nashville Warbler. Note the gray head, bold white eyering, yellow underside, & hint of russet cap:
Except where noted, following shots are all juvenile Yellow Warbler:
Dateline: 3 August 2024
Happy “autumnal equinox day!” While waiting on photo editing for more recent content from Presque Isle State Park, it’s a return to Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest outside Pinetop/Lakeside, AZ in the White Mountains. This is a view from the Mogollon Rim in Pinetop, looking south-ish:
Moving on to birds in a different but nearby location. Have to love Acorn Woodpeckers!
Nice sequence of female Western Tanager “bug catching:”
In the field, thought these were Summer Tanager, but a closer look = nice sighting of Hepatic Tanager. Female is overall yellow, & male is overall red + gray, but note the distinctive gray cheek patches/colouring:
