Awful weather Tuesday in Erie County, PA: light snow, overcast, bitterly cold wind, etc. But with the arrival of spring, BirdingPI.com is celebrating with lovely shots of beautiful Black-capped Chickadee from this past Sunday at Asbury Woods, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

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[Photo Editor’s note: conditions were cold & overcast w/ on-and-off light snow Sunday at Asbury Woods, i.e., generally gloomy, but lucky to get a brief, almost break in the clouds for decent lighting on these shots. In the pine trees close to the edge of the ‘meadow’ by the Nature Center.]

Happy “almost spring” 2024! Vernal equinox tonight at 9:06PM EDT. Meanwhile, Tuesday morning conditions in Erie County, PA: overcast, cold, light snow. While waiting on the return of nice weather, more January photographs at Presque Isle State Park, this time of American Pixie Gulls (formerly Bonaparte’s Gulls) on Presque Isle Bay:

ASIH Warning: This post contains mild images of a cute snake. Viewer discretion is advised.

After a gorgeous, spring-like Saturday, the Erie County, PA weather took an abrupt, if not unexpected, U-turn back to winter Sunday/Monday. Here, a Crow in snow in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

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Even with a ‘return to cold,’ no denying the recent signs of spring. Please enjoy a ‘mashup’ of sunny Eastern Bluebird x misc. nature:

Spectacular day yesterday (Saturday) at Presque Isle State Park with some exciting sightings along the Gull Point Trail. While waiting on photo editing, and just a few days ahead of spring, time to revisit earlier in the winter. (“Revisit” = finally going through whatever’s on this memory card.) These shots all 1st-2nd week January 2024.

Here’s an eclectic mix of American Crow (w/ impressionistic Crow-in-flight), Ring-billed Gull portraits, and Herring Gulls on and off rocks:

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After some nice weather in Erie County, PA mid-week this week, conditions turned cooler/rainy on Friday, with uncertain prospects for the weekend. (As of Saturday morning, looks chilly but partially sunny – ‘fingers crossed.’) No major ‘pre-spring’ bird sightings to mention, but definitely an uptick in Common Grackle, Killdeer, Turkey Vulture, etc., & ‘regular’ activity – American Robin, Red-winged Blackbird, European Starling, Mourning Dove, etc. – remains high. Plus plenty of Song Sparrow & Northern Cardinal (f), these mostly at Leo’s Landing:

On a recent rainy day in Millcreek Twp, PA (“Gateway to Presque Isle”), this Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) was apparently taking advantage for some grooming/bathing:

Less than a week to spring! To celebrate, it’s misc. “pre-spring” birds, mostly at Presque Isle State Park:

Currently lots of Song Sparrow activity in many locations on Presque Isle and Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”) more generally. Also lots of Red-winged Blackbird activity:

Following is all Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, & the most ‘springy’ of pre-spring birds, beautiful American Robin:

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Bonus Herring Gull @ Lake Erie:

Coming up soon, wet squirrels & amazing Red-tailed Hawks! (Not together, but separately.)

No season is complete without a photo series of beautiful Canada Goose exhibiting preening behavior:

Less than a month until The Big Event! The Big Event = first total solar eclipse in Erie County, PA in over 150 years! (Last ‘ring of fire’/partial solar eclipse was in 1994.) Here at BirdingPI.com, we’re stocking up on essential gear, in no particular order: (i) eclipse glasses [WARNING: do not look at the sun!]; (ii) orange Gorilla^TM tape or duct tape for quick fabrication of telescope light filter boxes, etc.; & (iii) lens filters, e.g., a ‘solar filter’ a.k.a. neutral density filter:

Preview, a nice shot yesterday on a sunny Monday of… the sun @ 1200mm handheld w/ sunspots:

More sun w/ sunspots on Tuesday:

Same pixel dimensions, but @ 600mm handheld:

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It being Erie, always a potential for bad weather. With that in mind, to avoid complete disappointment, here are BirdingPI.com’s ‘helpful’ instructions for “Do It Yourself Solar Eclipse Photograph:”

1) On a sunny day, take a picture of the sun. To avoid blindness, utilize safe methodology!

2) Copy the picture to desktop, then open with Microsoft Paint or another drawing program, e.g., right click on the file and “Open with” Paint.

3) Expand the work area to 2x size:

4) Using the circle tool, draw a circle slightly larger than the sun and move to the ‘blank’ part of the work area:

5) Fill the circle with black:

6) Using the rectangular selection tool, move the circle to artistically partially cover the sun, then resize to remove the unneeded workspace. Voila! Eclipse photos!

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On tomorrow’s post, the only thing more amazing than ‘forthcoming total solar eclipse:” Canada Geese!

More crazy weekend weather here in Erie County, PA: rain Saturday (all BirdingPI.com field activities cancelled), & snow/wind/cold Sunday – temps around freezing, so maybe only 5 cm accumulation in interior/southern Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”). Fascinating conditions Sunday at Presque Isle State Park: overcast with an occasional ‘almost break of sun,’ windy, no accumulation but localized on/off snow squalls. In summary:

OTOH, a hint of spring:

Plenty of nice duck activity on Presque Isle Bay:

Conditions on the outer beaches were brutal w/ the windchill and blowing/icy snow. Nevertheless, great to see an amazing Great Black-backed Gull enjoying the wind:

Following are more Lesser Scaup x Great Black-backed Gull:

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And Bufflehead x more GB-bG:

[Photo Editor’s note: in the shot above, that’s blowing snow, not fog.]

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Presque Isle trail conditions: locally muddy.

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Stayed tuned for BirdingPI.com’s next post, featuring a very special astronomical update!