[Editor’s note: following content was received overnight in the ‘dropbox’ from BirdingPI.com’s national affairs correspondent. Only comment: “More/better phalarope.” Date stamps indicate Wednesday afternoon, location appears to be the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Bird IDs appended as per below.]

Following all Red Phalarope including preening behaviour:

Fun fact: per kindly eBird folks, this is only the 5th ever reported occurrence of this species in the District of Columbia.

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Coming up soon: squirrels invade the nation’s capital, National Guard deployed!

Please enjoy more shots of an extremely cute juvenile/immature Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) at Asbury Woods:

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Coming up ‘soon,’ exotic squirrels from exotic locations!

Late summer shots of beautiful Red-bellied Woodpeckers (adult and immature) + other common summer birds:

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A long-overdue report from BirdingPI.com’s national affairs correspondent in Washington, D.C., with ‘breaking news’ of a beautiful (and rarely seen at this location) Red Phalarope spotted in the Capitol Reflecting Pool yesterday afternoon:

Unfortunately, these are bad iPhone pictures. Fortunately, this bird was very tolerant of human presence = the iPhone pictures could have been worse.

ID: immature/non-breeding plumage, rather gray overall (this species called Grey Phalarope in Europe), fairly large for a phalarope, black bill wider at base than tip, eye/ear patch w/ ‘eyebrow,’ etc. (Other possibility is Red-necked Phalarope, but the kindly eBird folks weighed in for the Red Phalarope identification – thanks.)

Normally these are ocean-going birds, but migratory activity could occur down the U.S. eastern seaboard, hence this bird’s appearance here.

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[Editor’s note: Not sure what the ‘national affairs correspondent’ has been doing all these years to only file a report today. Management will be reviewing employment records.]

[Editor’s note to staff: ‘capitol’ (with an ‘o’) is the building, ‘capital’ (with an ‘a’) is the seat of government generally, e.g., “People enjoy visiting the U.S. Capitol building in the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C.”]

Lots of exciting things in the world of nature/bird photography – animals fighting, flying, eating, being eaten, etc. Just as nice, perhaps, are simple/happy bird portraits like this lovely female Common Yellowthroat at Asbury Woods:

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A beautiful ‘last full day of summer’ yesterday in Erie County, Pennsylvania – very warm, humid, + evening thunderstorms. (First substantial rain in over two weeks.) Today, celebrating the autumnal equinox 2025 with lots of late summer birds at Asbury Woods. (“Fall” = throw in an apple or two, maybe a few yellow leaves.)

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Lots of feedback from viewership this summer about the relative lack of squirrel content on BirdingPI.com. Management’s rather desperate solution? Hire a ‘squirrel model’ for an afternoon of glamour shots at Asbury Woods in Millcreek Twp (“Since 1800”).

All photographs immature Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger).

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So nice to see American Golden-Plover last Sunday at Gull Point, but the lighting/etc. conditions were awful – long distance, backlit subjects, and heat shimmer galore. As such, please enjoy mostly mediocre photography:

Heat shimmer is no joke, e.g., note the ‘wavy appearance’ of the air in this video clip:

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[Photo Editor’s note: normally best to photograph subjects facing away from the sun, i.e., thereby the subject is front lit. Access at Gull Point is limited with the ‘rope trail,’ however, making re-positioning (of the camera relative to the subject) mostly impractical.]

Unusually enough, the weather in Erie County, Pennsylvania has been suitably clear overnight the last couple weeks for a nice series of ‘moon cycle’ photographs, mostly before dawn, starting with a full moon on 8 September 2025 through a crescent moon (almost new moon) 18 September 2025:

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Still at Presque Isle State Park, continuing on with Gull Point from this past Sunday afternoon. First up, ‘big news:’ behold the giant gravel pile at the end of the Budny Beach parking lot (@ Gull Point Trail trailhead):

All along the inland/’official’ trail, just within the tree line at outer Gull Point, starting with shady but beautiful Northern Parula:

ID tip: note the hint of umber breast band, e.g., shown reasonably well in the picture above = fall plumage/immature male or female.

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Not a Yellow Warbler, but instead a great sighting of a Wilson’s Warbler, e.g., note the black cap:

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Shady shots of what’s probably Bicknell’s Thrush. Note the buffy eye ring, noticeable breast spotting, and lack of contrasting tail (e.g., Hermit Thrush would have a rufous tail contrasting w/ brown back):

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Lovely Chestnut-sided Warbler in fall plumage, e.g., female or immature male. Note hint of brown sides, yellow-ish wing bars, and yellow-green back/cap:

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Mystery thrush, perhaps Hermit Thrush:

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Coming up soon, out of the shade and into the frying pan!

[Editor’s note: the giant gravel pile is for beach reinforcement and/or parking lot ‘paving’ to avoid excessive flooding.]