More Yellow-rumped Warblers from this past weekend at Presque Isle State Park. Yay!

---

While waiting on tardy photo editing of more recent Presque Isle content, here’s a random draft post with digital photographs from earlier in the year. Late spring maybe? In any event, it’s mostly a gorgeous male Yellow Warbler, a Caspian Tern exhibiting fishing behaviour, and a Red-breasted Merganser or two.

---

BirdingPI.com: So much great content, some of it may never get posted.^TM

Today’s post features beautiful Yellow-rumped Warblers in the brush along the edge of Thompson Bay at Presque Isle State Park, from this past Sunday, under cloudy/shady conditions.

---

Seems like the most reliable species of shorebird this time of year in Erie County, PA is surely Greater Yellowlegs. (“Reliable” = seen fairly often.) For example, 4-5 were spotted yesterday around the periphery of Thompson Bay at Presque Isle State Park, including this lovely individual that flew in briefly near BirdingPI.com’s on-site staff photographer:

Weather was unseasonably warm yesterday (23 deg C) + windy, w/ mixed sun/clouds turning to heavy rain by mid/late afternoon. Overall, despite the rain, lovely fall conditions:

---

Absolutely beautiful fall day yesterday at Presque Isle State Park after the clouds departed. Bird activity much lower along the Pine Tree Trail, especially a significant drop off of Yellow-rumped Warbler sightings. Following shots are from that location, last Saturday, featuring two great fall migrants (i.e., birds passing through that will continue southwards eventually) Golden-crowned Kinglet x Red-breasted Nuthatch:

---

Dateline: 4 October 2025

Going back two weeks to digital photographs at Leo’s Landing @ Presque Isle State Park, w/ some interesting migratory and non-migratory bird activity.

Unusual sighting (at any time of year) of Orange-crowned Warbler (immature); note the gray head, yellow body, faint broken eye-ring w/ line:

Also unusual for October, a Yellow Warbler:

And plenty of Yellow-rumped Warbler activity:

---

As forecast, rain early this morning in Erie County, Pennsylvania, transitioning now to mixed clouds/sun. Should be a nice day for birding/nature. Tomorrow: rain.

[Editor’s note: on the duck box above is Belted Kingfisher. (Duck box is probably intended as a ‘birdhouse’ for Wood Ducks.)]

With Red-winged Blackbirds heading south for the season, nice to get these shots recently at South Pier, Erie, Pennsylvania:

---

In today’s post on BirdingPI.com, it’s back into the woods this past Sunday afternoon along the Pine Tree Trail at Presque Isle State Park, featuring the “co-birds of the weekend,” Yellow-rumped Warbler and Red-breasted Nuthatch, + special guests:

Amazing amount of Yellow-rumped Warbler activity both Saturday and Sunday as these late migrants head south. Same for Red-breasted Nuthatch – more activity (by a large margin) at Presque Isle than anyone on staff recalls experiencing previously in Erie County, or anywhere else for that matter. (Usually it’s one or two Red-breasted Nuthatches in a given area; Saturday it could have been a dozen+.)

Following all Yellow-rumped Warbler unless noted otherwise:

---

Coming up soon, more ‘big day’ weekend, and squirrels having lunch!

Nice day this past Sunday afternoon for hitting the beach – Beach 11, that is – at Presque Isle State Park, especially for late season butterflies:

---

Back to a lovely weekend at Presque Isle State Park and more from October Big Day, featuring the “uncommon bird of the (big) day,” a beautiful, seldom seen Blue-headed Vireo high in the trees along the Pine Tree Trail:

Also, from Sunday (generally the same location), a much more common and very cute Chipping Sparrow:

---