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.
Erie Co. weather forecast for the morning: partially cloudy, cold, transitioning to partially sunny and cold in the afternoon. #Happy_birding
Meanwhile, back at the cartoon Falkland Islands…
Today, we celebrate the start of May with what might be a very skinny penguin at Leo’s Landing at Presque Isle State Park. Or maybe it’s a Great Egret. Who can possibly tell?
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!
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!”
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:
First of year sighting of very cute Spotted Sandpiper:
Quick post today of yet another “new for spring” bird species, the beautiful Northern Rough-winged Swallow, shown here in flight at Fairview Business Park, Fairview, Pennsylvania, under dark/cloudy conditions:
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:
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.]
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:
Also female or immature Red-breasted Merganser in channel swell/surf:
These are really long distance shots of small birds, but this is where it gets interesting, when a Barn Swallow makes an appearance:
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.
Weather today (so far) in Erie County: chilly, foggy, wet. Happy nature!
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!
It’s a Common Grackle in the rain at Leo’s Landing! Happy Friday!
[Editor’s note: for readers in time zones 13+ hours ahead of U.S. EDT, we wish you a happy Saturday.]