“Fundamentally, the key to a proper deer-related title for any print work is to replace ‘dear’ (the adjective) with its homophone ‘deer,’ referring of course to the animal.” Smythe, Arthur. A Giant Book of Animal Pun Titles. 3rd ed, A. Knopf, 1978.

This is a brief but fascinating video clip, taken in Millcreek Twp (“Since 1800”), of the female White-tailed Deer shown above/below, exhibiting (i) “hoof stomping” warning/defensive behavior, then (ii), as it runs away, a warning “deer screech:”

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Same location earlier in the spring, a fawn has been temporarily left alone to hide in the grass:

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Finally, on a different date at Presque Isle State Park, two young, male White-tailed Deer along the Duck Pond Trail:

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Coming up soon, probably birds. Maybe flowers.

As the spring 2025 migration season winds down, here’s some nice, mostly warbler activity along the Gull Point Trail @ Presque Isle State Park.

This is male (immature male?) Bay-breasted Warbler:

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Two of female Blackpoll Warbler:

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Lots more shots of beautiful female Orange Flame (a.k.a. Blackburnian) Warbler:

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Very nice sighting of female Common Yellowthroat:

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Finally, back at the Budny Beach parking lot, a male Eastern Bluebird bids us adieu!

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Before continuing coverage of Gull Point, we’re back in the ‘deep south’ of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, on June 1st, with nice portraiture of “birds not seen every day.” First up, beautiful Acadian Flycatcher in random woods:

‘Random woods’ = state game lands, i.e., multi-use public property mostly used for (i) nature and (ii) seasonal hunting:

Following the “follow the bird sounds” tracking method, a great, high-up-in-a-tree sighting of Ovenbird:

More Acadian Flycatcher x Ovenbird:

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Elsewhere, in another section of dense woodlands, a brief but nice sighting of Wood Thrush. Note the rufous crown and back + distinctive dark spots down the entire torso:

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Finally, in yet another section of woodlands, this is either Eastern Wood-Pewee or Willow Flycatcher. (Really close in terms of ID, and both were heard at this location. More on this ID later…)

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Before heading into part 3 of last week’s early AM outing to Gull Point, it’s bonus Wild Turkey video from that same morning. Despite being blocked a bit (eventually), this clip is still fun w/ a nice turkey vocalization:

This next clip is fascinating (especially at the beginning) for showing this turkey moving its snood. (What is a Wild Turkey snood?)

Fun times. Now, back to outer Gull Point:

Finally, back along the Gull Point Trail in the woods, some nice shots of House Wren:

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Part 2 of an early day last week at Presque Isle State Park, heading out to Gull Point. When we last left off, you’ll recall sunrise at Leo’s Landing + Wild Turkeys.

Now it’s over to Budny Beach w/ Sanderling (l) and Killdeer (r):

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Very happy the Piping Plovers are back. All long distance shots from the old observation platform:

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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?

(4x alliteration for the win!)

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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.]

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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.

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Never know what to expect at Gull Point. Like a pirate invasion the other Sunday. Beware their fearsome leader!

Wait for it. …

Wait for it…

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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:

More Ruddy Turnstone content coming up soon!

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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!

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Other recent shorebird sightings include Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, etc. Plus lots of Spotted Sandpiper:

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More along the Gull Point Trail:

Near the Gull Point Trail, this Ovenbird was partially obscured, but don’t worry, more Ovenbird content coming up soon!

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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:

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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:

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):

This instance, following a different male Hooded Warbler until a brief sighting high up in the trees:

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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:

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On the same day as the Wilson’s Warbler, also heard Canada Warbler. Just kept pushing through the underbrush until another nice sighting:

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.

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