Wow, from last week, it’s a rare BirdingPI.com ‘early start’ (just after sunrise = 6:15AM). Maybe a staff member had trouble sleeping, e.g., too much black coffee the night before?
After sunrise @ Leo’s Landing, Presque Isle State ParkMale Yellow Warbler @ vocalizing behaviourBrown Thrasher @ Feather PlatformMale Yellow Warbler IIBrown Thrasher IIAmerican Robin @ nest by trailLeo’s Landing, looking landward
(4x alliteration for the win!)
Best reason for an early start = Wild Turkey activity. It was bad lighting, but these are still fun shots along the main park road just down from Presque Isle Lighthouse. [Editor’s note: Please enjoy Wild Turkey responsibly.]
Coming up soon, bonus Wild Turkey video! Also, a moderately epic Gull Point adventure!
Today, it’s both “more spring warblers” and “more spring shorebirds,” with female Black-throated Blue Warbler along the Canoe Portage Trail x Ruddy Turnstone (a sandpiper relative) at Leo’s Landing, both at Presque Isle State Park. All shots under overcast conditions.
Never know what to expect at Gull Point. Like a pirate invasion the other Sunday. Beware their fearsome leader!
Pirate ship off Gull Point
Wait for it. …
Wait for it…
Captain Jack Song Sparrow“Avast, ye landlubbers!”
In other Presque Isle news, it was a great May! Lots of warblers, lots of birds more generally. And since birding season is over, it’s time to head to the beach. For more birding, of course. E.g., it’s been a good year for Ruddy Turnstone, as per these long-distance (+ heat shimmery) shots from the old observation platform:
Ruddy Turnstone x2 (center)A distant Ruddy Turnstone at Gull PointRuddy Turnstone x2 in flight (long distance), on right
More Ruddy Turnstone content coming up soon!
Happy to report the Piping Plovers are back in town, e.g., as per this long-distance shot:
The other P.P. pictures on this day were too blurry from heat shimmer for posting. (Sunlight = good for brightness, but bad for long distance photography.) However, more P.P. content coming up soon, + better pictures!
Other recent shorebird sightings include Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, etc. Plus lots of Spotted Sandpiper:
Recently at Presque Isle State Park at Leo’s Landing, digital photographs of a Ring-billed Gull exhibiting “chase the other bird so maybe it drops its fish” behaviour. In this case, the other bird was a much faster/more agile Common Tern.
At the end, after much chasing, the Common Tern successfully returned to the beach to kindly give the fish to its friend/mate:
Today on BirdingPI.com, on a gloomy/cold Saturday, a bit on “mostly lesser seen warblers” + bird photography field methodology, starting with great, if brief, sightings of male Hooded Warbler:
Hooded Warbler (m) @ Presque Isle State Park
Shot above was happenstance near the main park road. A bit more involved is ‘tracking’ a vocalizing bird by sound, even if off trail in the woods, as here in nearby Crawford County (next county south of Erie):
Off trail in random public woods
This instance, following a different male Hooded Warbler until a brief sighting high up in the trees:
Yellow Warbler interlude
Similar methods work even in more well-traveled areas, such as here off the Pine Tree Trail at Presque Isle. On this occasion, Wilson’s Warblers (soon to be re-named ‘Black-capped Warbler’) were heard off the main trail, vocalizing deep in the underbrush. Following the sound, and with a bit of luck, a nice sighting:
Wilson’s Warbler deep in a shrubOff the Pine Tree TrailYellow Warbler interlude II
On the same day as the Wilson’s Warbler, also heard Canada Warbler. Just kept pushing through the underbrush until another nice sighting:
Canada Warbler (m)Canada Warbler habitat
Downsides to off trail birding are (i) mud, (ii) getting lost, (iii) hunting accidents, and (iv) ticks. Mud is manageable with good footwear, and getting lost is unlikely considering modern phone technology. (Also easy to manage w/o technology by sensibly keeping track of landmarks.) Accidental gun death can be avoided by wearing properly-coloured clothing and avoiding hunting season. Ticks, though, are inevitable and no joke. (Not recommended, but see yesterday’s post for the hard truth.) Protect.Check.Remove.
“In Pennsylvania, many ticks are carrying a disease.” With that important message out of the way, BirdingPI.com is foregoing its yearly “macro tick photography” PSA in favour of a cute, furry bunny recently seen along the Gull Point Trail:
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus)
What a cute, furry bunny!
Look, a cute, furry bunny!
A cute, furry bunny covered in engorged ticks!
Mammalian tick hostDetail of engorged ticks (species unknown) on mammalian host
Yuck. (Warned you not to open this post.)
Wishing everyone a pleasant, parasite-free weekend. #more_bird
Happy to recently see a beautiful male Cape May Warbler at ‘eye level’ along the Pine Tree Trail. (This is one is easy: soon to be re-named “May Warbler.” 🙂
Cape May Warbler (m)
But first, several ok/shady shots of Tennessee Warbler:
Marsh adjacent Pine Tree Trail
Also fun to see an Eastern Raccoon (Procyon lotor lotor) in the nearby marshy area (see above):
Eastern Raccoon
Following are all Cape May Warbler x Raccoon exiting human presence:
Next up on the BirdingPI.com “spring warbler hit parade,” whatever they’re calling Blackburnian Warbler these days. Actually, it’s still Blackburnian Warbler because the AOS (American Ornithological Society) is taking a really, really long time on its project to re-name honorific bird names. (Just now working on a pilot since the November 2023 announcement!?! Wow – even slower than BirdingPI.com photo editing.)
Considering names like Yellow Warbler, Red-headed Woodpecker, Song Sparrow, etc., maybe don’t think about it so hard? Anyway, this is distracting from the much, much more important subject at hand, which (of course) is beautiful birds in nature (all Orange Flame Warbler):
