Miscellaneous content from a week or so ago, late afternoon at East Ave Boat Launch in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Be sure to tune in Christmas Day for ‘part 2’ of this post, with a very special ‘nature gift’ from BirdingPI.com!
A Peek Under the Tree
Counting: 1, 2, 3…
More from the Christmas Bird Count this past Saturday at Presque Isle State Park. Weather: initially clear turning to light overcast, extremely cold, windy on the bay and lake. This post features three great winter birds seen in close proximity to where the Old Oil Well Trail terminates at Presque Isle Marina: Red-tailed Hawk, Ring-billed Gull, and Dark-eyed Junco.
Christmas Squirrel Count
Celebrating today’s winter solstice the best way possible, with pictures from yesterday’s Christmas Squirrel Count at Presque Isle State Park. Total count: 2. A very cute and very red Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) at the Beach 8 parking lot.
Buffleheads/2
Part 2/2 of Bufflehead ducks at Presque Isle State Park, from the archive:
The Penultimate
On this penultimate day of fall 2025, let’s go back several months to the penultimate day of summer, with warmer/sunnier bird content at Leo’s Landing at Presque Isle State Park. Also, more Cooper’s Hawk!
Reminder that tomorrow (Saturday) is the Erie County Christmas Bird Count – convene by 7:45AM at shelter 2 at Presque Isle State Park, @ The Waterworks. Here’s hoping for better weather!
Hawk Shots, Fall Ed.
Today, it’s recent shots of a beautiful Cooper’s Hawk in Millcreek Twp, Pennsylvania (“Since 1800”):
Weather update: temperatures increased significantly the last couple days in Erie County, Pennsylvania, slightly above freezing + dry/windy. As of yesterday, while portions of Presque Isle Bay were lightly frozen over, it looked insufficient for ice fishing. Both the entrance channel (between North Pier and South Pier) and outer Lake Erie remained unfrozen. Conditions generally good for viewing gulls and migratory waterfowl.
1 Nuthatch
Today’s post on BirdingPI.com features recent digital photographs of a great year-round bird: White-breasted Nuthatch in Millcreek Twp, Pennsylvania (“Since 1800”).
Coming up soon, a pre-Christmas nature miracle!
Buffleheads/Archive
With field operations cancelled this past weekend due to snow and unsafe temperatures, today’s post features Bufflehead ducks from the archive, back in 2024 at Presque Isle State Park. This is springtime mating behavior, with several males (large white patch on sides/back of head) vying for the attention of a female (black head with small white patch behind eye). Lots of flapping and chasing around.
Final “Lunch” (NSFW)
Yup, it’s the 3rd and final part of content from last Sunday at Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park, featuring a Peregrine Falcon eating a Mourning Dove carcass.
Falcon eventually took flight to the south, and with that it was time for the hike back to Budny Beach:
Saturday Diversions
Before returning to Gull Point, today it’s “misc. bird” from a recent Saturday at Presque Isle State Park.
This is a very distant Bald Eagle flying over outer Lake Erie, heading west, in fairly stiff wind:
Here’s a family of Tundra Swans on Presque Isle Bay, w/ two adults (white) and two immatures (both gray, one with dark bill one with orange bill):
Swamp Sparrow ID (this one seen in the marshy area by Sunset Point/Pine Tree Trail): russet on wings w/ black streaking, white throat, black eye line, bit of yellow at base of beak.