General reminder that Saturday, 10 September 2022 is the annual Barber “Beast on the Bay” obstacle race at Presque Isle State Park, starting at 8:30AM. Expect congested traffic conditions and delays until mid-afternoon.
In the recent post entitled “Point/Peeps,” a yellow-legged sandpiper was identified as Least Sandpiper. Upon further analysis, it is believed that this might instead be Pectoral Sandpiper. As evidenced, for example, by a streaky breast neatly bordering a white belly. Relatively small size could be attributed to juvenile status. BirdingPI.com apologizes for any inconvenience.
The western Pennsylvania Wild Turkey migration is off to a strong start – huge flocks taking to the sky:
Wild Turkey
Ha! A bird funny. Obviously those are Canada Geese.
Appears the squirrels might be meddling again.
Obey the squirrel
More seriously, on the entomological side, lots of Monarch Butterfly at Presque Isle State Park this past weekend:
Flutterby example
Active waterfowl/shorebird migration: see yesterday’s post re. swans; also (not shown) Canada Goose, Double-breasted Cormorant, & Blue-winged Teal. … Following perhaps juvenile or female Mallard Duck:
Focus on one duck
Also female/immature Common Merganser, off Budny Beach:
Uncommonly lovely
Please enjoy peaceful surf floating:
Duck surf
As usual, plenty of Wood Duck on the Thompson Circle swamp/pond (southern side):
Wooden decoy
Some misc bird, first – male Downy Woodpecker:
Upside down you’re turning me
Found a snack:
Spidey sense
Gray Catbird!
Bears repeating: Gray Catbird!
Probably an Eastern Wood-pewee:
Pewee/perch
The very yellow American Goldfinch (m) @ Headwaters Park, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):
Lemon tree
Everyone’s favorite red-headed woodpecker, a duo of Red-headed Woodpecker:
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Millcreek Twp
Back to Pine Tree Trail with a mystery bird. Could be immature Common Yellowthroat?
Does not compute
Tomorrow, back to Bentley Nature Preserve in western New York State – there will be birds!
[Editor’s Note: bad bird humor is against BirdingPI.com policy. The management apologies for the leading content above, which is obviously European Starling. Example of real Wild Turkey:
Next up, the irrepressible Acorn Woodpecker/utility pole:
Plenty of Black-headed Grosbeak (f) in Ramsey Canyon, at least by feeders:
Awful picture. Nevertheless, highlight of any outing is Scott’s Oriole:
Similar species Audubon Oriole and the rare (in US) Black-vented Oriole = fully black tail. Probably.
Highlight of Ramsey Canyon: Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. And lots of them.
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher call: “squeaky toy.” Thanks to the kind folks at the Nature Conservancy Ramsey Canyon Preserve visitors’ center for the apt characterization. Example from on-site:
More Acorn Woodpecker. Very social, very busy, very beautiful.
[Photo Editor’s Note: Those are some nice shots of Acorn Woodpecker. Just sayin’.]
[Editor’s Note: No affiliation with The Nature Conservancy. Please consider donating to this very worthy cause #nature]
Back on the Pine Tree Trail, Presque Isle State Park, on a rainy Labor Day Monday. On-and-off rain in the morning, heavy rain by mid-afternoon. (Nearby Budny Beach shown above.) About a 45 minute ‘dry window’ for cloudy/shady photography; lots of bird activity – woodpecker, nuthatch, flycatcher, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Gray Catbird!, etc. Plenty of warblers, but difficult to see in the tree tops.
Red-eyed Vireo
A bit shady, but still an excellent shot of Common Yellowthroat:
Nuthatch house, that is, swimming pools, movie stars… . Beautiful Red-breasted Nuthatch along the Pine Tree Trail, Presque Isle State Park, on Monday between “less rain” and “more rain.” Bonus = fun video clip.
In this clip, easy to see how dark it was with the clouds/rain. (Shots above: brightness turned up.)
Dateline: 4 September 2022 – Weekend Update, Part I
Mixed bag this weekend for Erie weather. Mostly sunny and warm on Friday. Partially cloudy, mild/warm, humid Saturday. Sunday, cloudy, mild/warm, and extremely humid. Light rain in the afternoon, then light-to-moderate rain overnight. Cloudy, mild, very humid, and unsettled Monday, with on-and-off rain – enough of a dry window for bird photography before heavy rain moved in over Presque Isle State Park by 2:30PM or thereabouts.
Bird activity fairly subdued on Sunday and with the heavy rain Monday afternoon, otherwise reasonably active. Thick end-of-summer foliage = tough conditions for warbler viewing.
Some shots of Northern Flicker on Sunday, along the Long Pond fishing access trail. Usually skittish, so lucky here to get a close-up view.
Stay tuned this week for lots more greater western Pennsylvania bird content from the long weekend! More bird!
In breaking news, several Canada Geese were spotted yesterday in a park outside Jamestown, New York. When queried about this unusual event, an anonymous passerby stated, “Well, they’re here pretty often.” BirdingPI.com assessment: unlikely story (!)
Only BirdingPI.com brings you the hard-hitting nature photojournalism!
In other bird news, what appears to be a migrating Red Knot was recently spotted on the mudflats at Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park, Millcreek Twp, PA (“Gateway to Presque Isle”). Following shots are relatively mediocre due to the long distance, but good enough to get the idea. This individual not as red (e.g., in the face/feathers) as a full breeding adult, so could be in plumage transition.
Not a holiday weekend here at BirdingPI.com – it’s all hands on deck Sat-Mon for nature photojournalism in the greater Erie area. Kicking it off with “bird of the day” – Common Yellowthroat @ Presque Isle State Park, Gull Point Trail.
Highlighting immature male Common Yellowthroat. Note the bright yellow throat, but splotchy black cheeks interspersed with hints of gray. (Fully mature male: fully-delineated black face with upper, gray bordering band.)
Following shots have a more even brown/gray face, so could be female Common Yellowthroat.
Back to a final shot of what’s clearly an immature male, but the gray upper face band is better formed than above.
Wishing everyone a great weekend! Be sure to nature!
