A very cold and snowy Saturday in Erie County, PA. Nevertheless, great content from Presque Isle State Park forthcoming, including a special guest owl! Meanwhile, here’s a recent, wintery PFIF (Peregrine Falcon in flight) @ South Pier:

Last Sunday, Presque Isle State Park remained closed at the main gate due to downed power lines, etc. Conditions: hazy/partial sunshine, extremely windy and amazingly cold (e.g., windchill @ -18 deg C). These shots looking mostly east/north from a very brief stop at “Beach Zero” (beach access before the park entrance) = much “photography staff suffering & complaining:”

A beautiful Great Black-backed Gull enjoying the wind:

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More gulls also enjoying the wind and surf conditions, mostly Herring Gull:

More winter content from Presque Isle State Park, this past Monday morning under sunny but extremely cold conditions (e.g., -12 deg C). Great to catch a beautiful male Northern Cardinal in the open, x lovely Tundra Swans, + icicles. (ID tip: the Cardinal is red.)

With the recent bad/cold weather and ice forming on Presque Isle Bay, lots of duck/waterfowl activity on the lake around Presque Isle State Park: Gadwall, Mallard, American Black Duck, Redhead, Canvasback, Greater/Lesser Scaup, American Wigeon, Ruddy Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, the Merganser ‘trio,’ Canada Geese, Tundra Swan, American Coot, etc., even a few tardy Green-winged Teal and Northern Shoveler. Lots of content to come, but the following shots alternate between (i) a beautiful male Common Merganser by South Pier & (ii) misc. duck:

Recent raptors in trees under overcast/wintry conditions, in Millcreek Twp, PA (“Gateway to Presque Isle”). First up, Red-tailed Hawk. Kind of hard to see, but exhibiting feeding behavior, namely, this beautiful bird was successful in hunting some sort of unlucky critter:

Alternating with probably lovely Cooper’s Hawk:

And a different Red-tailed Hawk perched treetop:

Coming up next, ducks!

Happy to report Presque Isle State Park was back open for business as of Monday morning. Thanks to all the work crews for getting things back in good shape!

Saturday, cold and snowy in Erie County, PA. Sunday, very windy and very cold with alternating clouds and hazy sunshine. Monday, beautiful, sunny day, but extremely cold (-12 deg C / 10 deg F) + windchill. (Photo immediately above: iced-in picnic table at West Pier.) Following shots, American Robin and European Starling in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”) on Monday:

NSFW = nice snake for winter. Here, temps in Erie County, PA were overall high enough end-December for an active mature Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) off the Canoe Portage Trail:

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And now, ‘bonus’ reptile, etc. content from Arizona! Here, beautiful Spiny Lizards in the Sceloporus genus, probably either Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magisteror) or Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus):

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Finally, a Sonoran desert trio:

Another winter reprieve, with early morning bird shots from in/around the Tucson, AZ metro area back in August.

Lots of Gambel’s Quail, including a kerfuffle:

First two, then three males:

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More beautiful Cactus Wren:

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Update: 14 January 2024

As of around noon on Sunday, Presque Isle State Park is totally closed (at the main gate) due to storm damage and downed power lines, for both vehicle and pedestrian access.

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Dateline: 12 January 2024

Presque Isle State Park remained mostly closed Friday, due to storm damage from the recent high winds. All vehicle and pedestrian access was closed past Stull Interpretive Center, although the beach was open. (Presumably one could walk east along the beach further into the park proper.)

The ‘excitement’ continues with more winter gulls from in and near Presque Isle State Park!

In line with these shots (ice, overcast, snow, etc.), the Erie County forecast calls for bad weather pretty much the rest of January. Stay tuned to BirdingPI.com for plenty more gloomy winter content!