Return/PI 4

Attentive readers may recall the ‘mystery shorebird‘ seen flying along the edge of Presque Isle Bay towards Leo’s Landing:

(Although blurry, in the shot above the boxy-looking thing in the lower left is a duck blind, and the vegetation, etc. next to it is the far end of Leo’s Landing.) It seemed to maybe land somewhere along the narrow strip of rough beach just east of ‘Vista 3 Parking Lot,’ past the little (and snowed in) boat ramp, but first, more American Pipit activity:


Slowly/carefully continuing around the bend, very surprised to finally fully see the bird in question, a beautiful (and rare for this time of year) Wilson’s Snipe. Wow. Lucky to get a few decent photographs before it flew off again.

Proposed new non-honorific name: American Russet-tailed Snipe. Sorry, Wilson.


Pipit, Wilson’s Snipe, & copious ducks was already a ‘big win,’ but Leo’s Landing beckoned, heavy snow notwithstanding:

And the reason, Tundra Swans, seen here at a distance just at the edge of the snow field:

(In the shot above, the black structure + tree at the far-left side of the horizon is South Pier.) Here’s another view of a snowed-in main access to Leo’s Landing, with Feather Platform (the viewing platform) on the left:

Another long-distance shot of Tundra Swan & Canada Geese off the Leo’s Landing sandbar:


Finally for today, lots of ducks. On this particular day, an unusual number of Northern Shoveler, including the three in this shot – it’s the three ducks across the middle of the photo starting w/ a male Northern Shoveler (white breast) on the far right. (There are two males and a female on the left.)

Misc. waterfowl including American Coot, American Widgeon, Redhead, Mallard, Gadwall, and Northern Shoveler:

Coots on the right, plus a pair of Lesser Scaup in flight mode:

Another view of Northern Shoveler, including one of the males (far right) in profile showing the ‘shovel’-shaped bill:

More Scaup in ‘takeoff mode’ + Coots + Canada Geese:


Coming soon, more Tundra Swan! More Wilson’s Snipe! #more_bird

Return/PI 3

Today on BirdingPI.com, it’s a pleasant interlude of recent bird photographs from Presque Isle State Park. Starting with Bufflehead:


And very cute Tufted Titmouse:


And lots of Mallards:


Following shots continue with diving Bufflehead, more cute Titmouse, & more cute Mallard:

Return/PI 2

Continuing on with very recent content from Presque Isle State Park under cloudy/snowy conditions. Following is Presque Isle Bay looking towards North Pier (+ United States Coast Guard Station), w/ landing Lesser Scaup:


Lots more Bald Eagle activity this time of year, e.g., seven individuals spotted more-or-less concurrently in the same area, including this pair in flight:


Mixed waterfowl off Leo’s Landing, sans duck hunters. These include Canada Geese, Horned Grebe, Redhead, Gadwall, American Coot, & Mallard:


Mallards (male – l; female – r) in light snow

It was at a bit of a distance, but still great to see American Pipit foraging on the beach:


White-throated Sparrow I

Another view of landing Lesser Scaup. Hard to see, but note the incoming flock in the distance at the top of the shot. Ducks in the water include Scaup (Greater/Lesser?), Ruddy Duck, & Bufflehead:


Hoppin’ sparrow
More Bald Eagles
White-throated Sparrow II
American Pipit w/ snow
White-throated Sparrow III
Mixed waterfowl II
White-throated Sparrow IV
American Pipit III
White-throated Sparrow V
American Pipit IV
White-throated Sparrow VI
American Pipit V
White-throated Sparrow VII
Waterfowl off Leo’s Landing

Uh, what’s this?!?

?!?

Coming up soon, more on a mystery shorebird!

Return/PI

With warmer temperatures and partially sunny skies Sunday, safe to call Snowpocalypse 2024 to a close. (Hopefully no more snow disasters this year.) To celebrate, it’s BirdingPI.com’s first “post-Snowpocalypse” content from Presque Isle State Park, starting with this lovely/dramatic shot of heavy lake-effect snow rolling into eastern Presque Isle:

Lake-effect snow over Presque Isle
Northern Cardinal (m) at park entrance
Ring-billed Gull

In the top shot above, North Pier/South Pier is at the far-right horizon. Following is that same spot – sunny – a bit earlier = rapidly changing conditions Friday.

Entrance to Presque Isle Bay

This time of year, lots of very cute Tufted Titmouse activity:


Scaup over Erie Bayfront
Canada Geese, etc. on ice
Bald Eagle

Friday after the park opened, loads of waterfowl on the back bay, way more than usual on a weekday (or Saturday) during duck season, due to the park being closed for a week:

Ducks on Presque Isle Bay
Titmouse II
Belted Kingfisher
Snowed-over Leo’s Landing
Titmouse III

Following is more ducks on Presque Isle Bay; the black line on the right under the trees is the pilings for East Pier, and adjacent to that on the left is West Pier:


Kingfisher landing
Titmouse IV

Coming up soon, lots more Presque Isle State Park, including way too many Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, & misc. sparrows, plus a special guest bird or two!

Más Pavos!

First up, a PSA that Presque Isle State Park was re-opened to vehicular traffic Friday/yesterday just around 12:20PM, for the first time since being closed last Friday due to the snowstorm/blizzard:

Re-opening Presque Isle

Main roads are plowed and in good condition:

Most trails are covered in thick snow, but portions of the multipurpose trail have been cleared:

Trail by Leo’s Landing

Lots of great bird activity Friday. While waiting on photo editing, it’s back to Thanksgiving morning with part 2 of Wild Turkey shots. “Pavo” = Spanish for “turkey,” w/ perhaps a Latin root considering the scientific name Meleagris gallopavo.

Not the best perspective since the Turkeys flew away down the road (startled by something, unclear exactly what), but still great to see this many in flight at once:

Snow/birds II

After a slight break in the weather Wednesday, Erie Snowpocalypse 2024 continued apace today (Thursday) with blizzard conditions. Difference between normal “lake-effect snow” and “blizzard conditions” = lower temps + heavy wind gusts w/ blowing snow. Yay!

All shots American Robin (as above), European Starling @ Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)(as immediately below), & female Northern Cardinal (as second below).

Happy Fall II

It’s day 5 of Snowpocalypse 2024 here in north Erie County, Pennsylvania. Travel restrictions remain in effect in the City of Erie due to ongoing plowing; all schools closed. In good news, temps seem relatively mild today + periodic sunshine.

Falling snowflakes I
Snow crystals
Falling snowflakes II

Here’s part 2 of recent, pre-snow fall birds in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

American Robin I
Dark-eyed Junco
Robins II
Robin III
Blue Jay
House Finches (f)
Northern Cardinal (m) I
Tufted Titmouse
Robin IV
Junco II
Robin V
Junco III
Robin VI
Titmouse II
Robin launch w/ berry
Junco IV
Junco on ground
Cardinal II
House Finch (m)
Northern Cardinal (f) w/ fall colour

In The Rain

More photos from a rainy Thanksgiving morning at Presque Isle State Park.

Ducks (Common Merganser & Bufflehead) on Presque Isle Bay
Mallards (m – foreground, f – background)

A Merganser (Red-breasted female?) scooches off in the rain:


2 Mallards
European Starling, profile, on power line
Common Merganser in rain
Mute Swan on Horseshoe Bay
Common Merganser (foreground) + Buffleheads in flight (background)
Mallards III
Mergansers in rain II
Mute Swan II
Buffleheads landing on Presque Isle Bay

In the following shot of South Pier as seen from North Pier, note East Ave boat launch in the background:

Gulls on South Pier
Buffleheads landing II, w/ Mergansers
South Pier, east end
Mixed ducks
Gulls on South Pier III
American Coots @ entrance channel to PI Bay
Gulls at Beach No. 11
Outer Lake Erie