Like Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Kingbird are apt to ‘hover’ in place, meaning flapping busily to generally stay stationary in the air. Except instead of dive fishing, it appears to be for flycatching, either in the air or by landing on lily pads (or pond vegetation) for insects. These recent shots at Presque Isle State Park, on Long Pond:
It’s a baby bunny (and parents) – Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) – on the Gull Point Trail!
Lest anyone think BirdingPI.com has resorted to a “cute bunny on Gull Point Trail” generative AI tool, fear not, it’s real bunnies! Just there’s lots of rabbits @ inner Gull Point, presumably due to the nice grassy/brushy habitat. As proof, AI-generated content would actually be well composed and well lit, if slightly less realistic:
Original image above generated using Fotor (no affiliation).
Safe to say flies aren’t the most beloved of insect orders, but no denying their importance as pollinators, bird food, etc. And close up, they do look amazing-ish. (Just ask David Hedison, RIP.) These shots at Presque Isle State Park, by Long Pond, on what is probably Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense).
Following is probably Common Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata):
An unknown species of Cluster Fly in the genus Pollenia:
Lots more shots of Bottle Fly on thistle:
Coming up soon, more cuddly bunnies! And maybe some birds.
Always great to see Belted Kingfisher “hover-fishing.” (Flapping to stay in place for observing fish, then dive fishing.) These recent shots (+ video!) from Presque Isle State Park.
Some still shots of “hover flapping:”
Kingfisher getting harassed by a Red-winged Blackbird:
Unsuccessful fishing attempt at Leo’s Landing:
Back with a giant post of more along the Gull Point Trail in early June 2024:
Here’s lovely Barn Swallow under the old observation platform:
Back to the Budny Beach area:
Adult and juvenile Killdeer:
Long-distance shots from the new observation platform:
Hard to see, but in the following shot there’s a Semipalmated Plover on the far left, then a gull, then a Black-bellied Plover, then a Dunlin, & then a second Black-bellied Plover on the far right:
Back by the trailhead, it’s Baltimore Oriole (m), a bathing American Robin, & Grey Catbird!
Looks like a nice day this Saturday in Erie County, PA. Forecast for next week: sunny with highs around 32 deg C (in the low 90’s deg F) – very unusual for Erie! Happy nature/birding!
With spring bird migration at Presque Isle State Park in the “rearview mirror,” time to break out the specialized equipment for insect photography. Which is mostly the same as the bird equipment. Ahem. Anyway, following’s a rather special ‘photo report’ of recent misc. insects on a blooming Desert False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) shrub, by the beach to the east of Stull Interpretive Center.
Desert False Indigo varies in terms of sprawl, but is generally a waist- to chest-high shrub with numerous conical elongate purple and orange flowers:
[Photo Editor’s note: some of the insect photographs on the website use the exact same equipment as for birds, e.g., dragonflies @ 400mm. These shots are with a 105mm lens (not very useful for birds) in macro mode.]
Morning photography @ Leo’s Landing, from last week at Presque Isle State Park:
Two shots of an Osprey being chased, apparently, by an Eastern Kingbird:
Beautiful male (black cap) & female (w/o black cap) American Goldfinch:
[Editor’s note: “YWIF” = Yellow Warbler in flight.]
Lots & lots of male and female Red-winged Blackbird at different locations in Erie County, PA:
Yup, it’s recent Canada Goose @ Presque Isle State Park, Erie County, PA.
Shot above – adult Canada Goose exhibiting ‘hissing’/warning behavior. Shots below – landing at outer Gull Point:
Canada Geese (adults & juveniles) at Long Pond boat landing no. 3:
Canada Geese on outer Lake Erie off Budny Beach in the morning:
Finally, a few more shots by Long Pond:
Lots of photographs from an early morning trek to Gull Point last week, @ Presque Isle State Park. (Shot above is looking east towards North Pier & South Pier.)
In the shot above, it’s North Pier on the left and South Pier on the right. … Following shots are juvenile Killdeer in the Budny Beach parking lot:
Not much shorebird activity other than Spotted Sandpiper:
Nice sequence of Bald Eagle flying from outer Gull Point towards Thompson Bay:
As usual this time of year, lots of Red-winged Blackbird activity:
Been a good year for Common Tern @ outer Gull Point:
ID tips: smaller than Caspian Tern w/ much smaller, pointier bill + forked tail; distinguished from Forster’s Tern by (i) location/time of year; (ii) gray-ish belly; and (iii) black banding on the outer upper-wing primaries (see the black colour on the ends of the wings in the shot above).
GBH taking off from interior pond + flight over Lake Erie w/ clouds:
Next, it’s the yearly BirdingPI.com mention of beautiful Hairy Puccoon (Lithospermum caroliniense), uncommon/endangered at Presque Isle but currently in bloom along the main park road to the east of Presque Isle Lighthouse (look for the roped-off ‘habitat restoration’ area on the south side of the road, i.e., the side opposite the lake/beach):
Finally, bonus Eastern Cottontail video!