Out at beautiful Catalina State Park, Oro Valley, Arizona, back in August again, with lots of bird portraiture. Mix of Sonoran desert (think Saguaro/cacti), grasslands, and here, mesquite bosque. (This is the ‘flatlands’ area around the main park entrance, campgrounds, + group picnic areas = great spot for birding.)
While waiting for duck photos from this past weekend at Presque Isle (spoiler alert: Mallards!), time for another diversion back to Arizona in early August. Here, the wonderful Tohono Chul park/botanical gardens in Tucson.
Other than copious gunfire & motorboat noise on the back bay (duck hunters), it was a very quiet mid-day at Gull Point on Saturday. A few unidentified sparrows, GBH, woodpeckers, some Ring-billed Gulls, etc. Still, nice conditions for a hike at Presque Isle State Park, regardless of bird activity.
Black-capped Chickadee @ Gull Point tree line
There’s a fairly pronounced demarcation of open field/mud flat at outer Gull Point and the regular Presque Isle woodlands of inner Gull Point. Hence references to the “tree line:”
Tree line view west towards inner Gull PointTree line view east towards outer Gull PointMore ChickadeeDunlinRed-breasted Merganser to north of Gull Point
Saw one flock of 6+ Snow Bunting flying overhead:
Gull Point outer beach view northHairy Woodpecker (m)
Everyone loves Budny Beach, even the GBH:
GBH on Budny BeachGBHIF – view east/north
(View above is looking northeast-ish past Gull Point; land on far left probably in New York state.)
European Starling
Trail conditions: despite the rain Friday, dry enough recently for minimal impact. Most trails in good condition except for localized mud.
Coming up soon: Presque Isle duck update, plus more from Arizona! Also, leaping squirrels 🙂 and malformed Wild Turkeys 🙁
BirdingPI.com’s ‘exciting’ gull coverage continues with more Ring-billed Gull. This time it’s morning at East Ave boat launch, Erie, Pennsylvania. Wow.
Moderate/heavy rain all day yesterday (Friday) in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Sunny today – looks like a nice day for nature! #more_bird. These shots from Gull Point, etc. @ Presque Isle State Park last Sunday.
Well, it’s back to the mountains of east-central Arizona, with some nice birds from August in Apache–Sitgreaves National Forest outside Pinetop/Lakeside. First up, the ‘bird of the day’ (or the bird of any day, really), a BirdingPI.com ‘first sighting ever’ of the literally amazing Red Crossbill:
The offset beak facilitates seed extraction and maybe even shearing through immature/green pinecones = really cool adaptation.
Three shots of beautiful Mountain Chickadee:
Dark-eyed Junco (red-backed)
For variety, three birds “at a distance” (hint – each bird is at the center of the shot):
Western BluebirdAcorn WoodpeckerLazuli BuntingWestern Bluebird (juvenile)
Two of lovely Northern Flicker (red-shaft):
In eastern North America, of course, it would have a yellow feather colouration. Hence ‘yellow shaft’ (feather shaft) in the east and ‘red shaft’ in the west.
More Acorn WoodpeckerAWIFCommon Raven, rear view in flightSome sort of flycatcherHepatic Tanager (m) in ‘hop mode’House Wren @ pine treePlumbeous VireoDark-eyed Junco (red-backed) on post
Back to Gull Point, with ‘part 2’ from last Friday – in which a post contains way too many Dunlin & Snow Bunting!
Dunlin in sunshineGull Point mudflats, view generally northGull Point mudflats, view generally eastSnow Bunting trioQuadruple DunlinLine of Snow BuntingMore 4x DunlinSBIFDunlin duoMore SBIFAnother Dunlin duoEven more SBIFMore Dunlin in sunshineNever enough SBIFReturn of Dunlin duoToo much SBIFDucks over Gull Point (probably Red-breasted Merganser)SBIF backlitLots of ducks (species unknown)Yes, another shot of SBIFMixed flock – Snow Bunting, etc.Horned Lark (r)At last, the last SBIF
Finally, a very long distance and unsatisfying shot of Lapland Longspur (on far right and left of middle; Horned Lark on far left). Still, very cool to see!
Photographing birds at Pymatuning Reservoir spillway (Crawford County, PA) is the birding equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. Except the birds aren’t captive. And there’s no violence or bloodshed. Ok, maybe not so similar. … Anyway, it’s a popular spot for ‘feeding the ducks’ = local Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls, & Mallards, all used to human presence. Rather nice, actually, to enjoy things up close for a change.
Partially cloudy/gloomy conditions not conducive to photos. Thank you, Nikon spot metering mode. … Except where noted, following shots are all Ring-billed Gulls (the white ones), male Mallard (green/blue head), and female Mallard (mottled brown):
House Sparrow (f or juvenile)
Coming up soon, more Gull Point! More Pymatuning Reservoir! #more_bird
Despite partially cloudy conditions, a rather epic day Friday at Gull Point – Presque Isle State Park – with ducks, Dunlin, and an amazing trifecta of Snow Bunting, Horned Lark, & Lapland Longspur!
View towards Gull PointOrange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)Snow Bunting over Lake Erie2x SBIFRed-breasted MerganserHorned Lark (!)More Horned LarkDunlinHorned Lark @ groundSnow Bunting w/ dirty beak3x DunlinSnow Bunting duoMore DunlinAnother view of Snow Bunting4x Dunlin @ Gull PointMore duoBreak in the cloudsForagingIn flightMore Red-breasted MerganserSymmetryHoppin’
