Watching Water Drip…

Before Erie birding news/content, it’s the next three episodes of Jimmy McMillan, Bird Detective!

Chilly enough yesterday (Saturday) in Erie County, Pennsylvania for 15-20 minutes of noticeable snowfall starting around 8AM. Once the sun came out in the afternoon, bird activity at Presque Isle was “ok,” but (anecdotally) any warbler/vireo activity seemed very muted – over the course of 2 hours at several different locations, 3 Yellow Warblers were spotted and that was it.

Yellow Warbler (m)

Today’s post features Red-breasted Merganser off Leo’s Landing; quite active this spring foraging in the lagoon and along the beach:

Stay tuned for more Yellow Warbler content! And Jimmy McMillan, Bird Detective, returns next Sunday, when things heat up!

Happy 2 May

Weather at Presque Isle State Park this week: mostly cold and rainy. Bleh. Nevertheless, lots of great Palm Warbler activity (also Yellow and Yellow-rumped), plus the first BirdingPI.com sighting this year of Warbling Vireo. All the following at Leo’s Landing under rainy/dark conditions.

Warbling Vireo
Palm Warbler

Erie Co. weather forecast for the morning: partially cloudy, cold, transitioning to partially sunny and cold in the afternoon. #Happy_birding

Fun w/ GBH

Another cold, rainy day today in Erie County, Pennsylvania, so might as well get back to the Falkland Islands in cartoon form:

Moving on to bird photography, closing out April 2026 the best way possible, with beautiful Great Blue Heron(s) on different days at Leo’s Landing at Presque Isle State Park:

Have a nice day!

More @ FBP

Rain just started here in Erie County, Pennsylvania. With field operations on hold, it’s more nice birds from the other day at Fairview Business Park. But first, parts 2-3 of “The Penguin Saga!”

Eastern Meadowlark

Fairview Business Park is a great spot for Eastern Meadowlark, due to its mix of lawn grass at Flag Park and brushy, long grass fields in the various unused building plots around the area:

Female Red-winged Blackbird in flight
Canada Geese

First of year sighting of very cute Spotted Sandpiper:

Big bird/little bird
2x Spotted Sandpiper (left and right at edge of grass by water)

A Few Sunday Birds

From yesterday (Sunday) at Presque Isle State Park, under cold/foggy conditions transitioning to partial sunshine, along the Lond Pond Trail. As the famous bird photography maxim says, “If all else fails, there’s American Robin.” Like this sequence in chronological order, of fascinating “dig in the dirt to get a grub” foraging behaviour:

Next up, the first good sighting this year of Northern House Wren, near the west trailhead. (Multiple wrens sighted, including two chasing each other.)

Finally, the first BirdingPI.com sighting this year of a very uncooperative but still very pretty Nashville Warbler:

Jimmy McMillan, Bird Detective!

A special supplement today on BirdingPI.com, featuring the first three ‘episodes’ of a comic series recently unearthed in a banker box of mostly old newspaper clippings in the basement of one of the local Erie libraries. No attribution and no conclusive evidence of publication or date. Possibly circa late 1950s.

Stayed tuned for more Jimmy McMillan, Bird Detective! in upcoming weeks!

[Editor’s note: KLEENEX is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Corporation.]

[Editor’s note: The BirdingPI.com editorial staff apologizes in advance for any “non-politically correct” depictions of gender, ethnicity, social status, country of origin status, etc.; this series is a ‘strange artifact’ of mid-20th century sensibilities, presented for contemplative comparison relative to modern standards of print journalism.]

Happy Bird Day

Today on BirdingPI.com, it’s several birds at South Pier, Erie, Pennsylvania, featuring an American Kestrel flying towards North Pier @ Presque Isle State Park:

Underside view of Kestrel in flight over South Pier

Also female or immature Red-breasted Merganser in channel swell/surf:

Kestrel flying towards North Pier
Kestrel landing in tree by Coast Guard Station

These are really long distance shots of small birds, but this is where it gets interesting, when a Barn Swallow makes an appearance:

Barn Swallow (l) and Kestrel (center)
Swoopin’ in

At this point, the Barn Swallow proceeded to repeatedly swoop and dive, harassing the Kestrel with very close approaches. The Kestrel would occasionally duck or adjust position slightly, but overall didn’t seem too concerned. We’ve seen American Crow and Red-winged Blackbirds harassing nearby raptors, but never a Barn Swallow. Fascinating.

Barn Swallow harassing Kestrel

Weather today (so far) in Erie County: chilly, foggy, wet. Happy nature!

Rainy Saturday

Well, all field operations on ‘hold’ today due to rainy weather. (Meaning significant rainfall more than ‘merely drizzling’/light rain.) Which harkens back to rainy conditions last Saturday at Presque Isle State Park, featuring an American Robin in a rain puddle x a gorgeous Savannah Sparrow pre-rain:

Forecast for tomorrow/Sunday in Erie County, Pennsylvania: no rain. “Fingers crossed!” Happy birding!