We interrupt BirdingPI.com’s ongoing Waltham, MA stump coverage with breaking news coverage of a Dark-eyed Junco exhibiting grooming/preening behaviour yesterday at Presque Isle State Park adjacent Thompson Bay:

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Today on BirdingPI.com, it’s continuing coverage of a stump in Waltham, Massachusetts!

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For species listing, see yesterday’s post.

[Editor’s note: the stump was a ‘found object’ in the sense of some unknown passerby having strewn it with birdseed.]

Dateline: 24 October 2025

Today on BirdingPI.com, part 1 of special fall stump coverage in Waltham, Massachusetts, featuring Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), and female Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).

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Coming up soon, more stump! Also a fence.

Today’s post on BirdingPI.com features recent shots of a “1st winter”/immature Great Black-backed Gull off Beach 11 at Presque Isle State Park. Field markings may include large size, pink legs, stout/dark bill, streaking on breast, and – most notably – a checkered or scaled-looking black back:

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

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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:

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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:

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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.)]