More GBH, more Thompson Bay, more fish! Part II of recent shots at Presque Isle State Park featuring predation/foraging behavior.
GBH/Gone Fishin’ (II)
#2
From a “human aesthetic” standpoint, the Erie County, PA “top 3 winter birds” might include: (i) Bald Eagle (cool/badass/majestic), (ii) Northern Cardinal (a welcome splash of colour), & (iii) Black-capped Chickadee (cute). (Substitute Tufted Titmouse, Mallard, Blue Jay, Red-tailed Hawk, etc. at your preference.) The ‘real’ list is more like: (i) Ring-billed Gull (literally everywhere), (ii) Canada Goose (literally everywhere), & (iii) American Crow (literally everywhere).
Here’s #2. Appropriate for so many reasons.
Several Canada Geese in for a backlit/overcast landing:
One Goose landing:
All shots @ South Pier.
[Editor’s note: BirdingPI.com management apologies for the use of ‘badass’ in this post.]
GBH/Gone Fishin’ (I)
Day 3 of the GBBC, with cloudy/cold/windy conditions in Erie County, PA. Despite bad weather (cold + on/off lake-effect snow squalls), lots of bird activity at Presque Isle State Park yesterday, esp. on Presque Isle Bay. While waiting on photo editing, had a great time last weekend watching this lovely GBH in ‘foraging/predation mode’ behavior (i.e., fishing) @ Thompson Bay:
When actively fishing, as here, GBH seem much less likely to startle/depart. Hence the lengthy set of reasonably-close photos.
Feb. Gullmania
Towards the end of the week, a return to overtly wintery conditions here in Erie County, PA, with cold temps and snow (4 cm?) overnight. As of Thursday, though, the lake/bay around Erie remained ice free = minimal bird activity at places like North Pier/South Pier. Nevertheless, you can always count on gulls, here, mostly Ring-billed Gull at Presque Isle State Park, starting with Leo’s Landing:
Ring-billed Gulls seem fairly successful at ‘dive fishing,’ but guessing maybe a 50% hit rate. Backup strategy = attempt to ‘harass & snatch:’
(Difficult to tell, but shot above includes Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Great Black-backed Gulls at the ‘pointy part’ of Gull Point, as seen from Beach No. 11,)
Wishing everyone a happy GBBC!
Yellowjackets (NSFW)
Time for an Erie, PA ‘winter reprieve‘ with a random, previously-unpublished post found in the ‘Drafts’ folder.
Cuddly bunnies near Edinboro Lake! Specifically, Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), early morning:
And a cuddly Eastern Yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) along the Marsh Trail @ Presque Isle State Park:
E./Starling x Bluebird
“European” and “Eastern,” respectively, of course. More recent shots of non-waterfowl/gull ‘winter birds’ in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):
We Heart R-bG
At Presque Isle State Park, always plenty of Ring-billed Gulls to love, on Valentine’s Day or any other day. Sometimes they even do interesting/ fun-to-watch things, like the several instances of dive fishing shown here:
Mission: Unsuccessful.
Mission: Unsuccessful II.
Success, finally! Yum.
Robin x Dove
Despite a return to cooler seasonal temperatures, the forecast Monday-night snow failed to materialize in Erie County, PA; looks like another nice-ish, chilly day. (Regional weather maps show the ‘big storm’ tracking well east of western Pennsylvania.) Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay currently completely unfrozen.
Anecdotally, lots of seasonal bird activity in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”) yesterday – American Crow, European Starling, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-tailed Hawk, Eastern Bluebird, etc. These recent shots of American Robin x Mourning Dove:
Coming up soon, Eastern Bluebird! (Finally!)
Feb./On Point
Dateline: 4 February 2024
If there’s a Gull Point ‘off season’ at Presque Isle State Park, it’s probably February. Nevertheless, on a recent, sunny, surprisingly mild (for February) Sunday, a great hike + always something interesting to see!
First up (bird-wise), two bad photographs of a still ‘very cool to see’ Northern Harrier:
On the outer mud flats, maybe 4-5 Herring Gulls, and that was pretty much it!
Back in the tree line:
Lots of Yellow-rumped Warbler:
Previously seen at this location (‘big bend’) end-2023. Probably an overwintering population, w/ mixed American Tree Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, etc.
Mallard Repositioning
Dateline: 10 February 2024
Sometimes a duck flies away. Other times, it repositions nearby to a more duck-comfortable distance. These shots of the latter, taken yesterday at Presque Isle State Park, featuring beautiful Mallard by Long Pond.
