Despite a bit of wind/chill, beautiful sunny day yesterday in Erie County, PA. Turned rainy/windy/thunderstorms overnight, remaining unsettled this morning; good luck to everyone heading out for birds/nature. Recent sightings of note: Common Raven (!) @ South Pier; & Palm Warbler @ interior Gull Point Trail, Pine Warbler @ Pine Tree Beach picnic area & Pine Tree Trail, & Piping Plover @ outer Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park. More on all that later. In the meantime, nice recent shots of American Coot, etc. at South Pier:
American CootRed-winged Blackbird w/ North Pier LightMallardGBH, lower rightJuvenile Black-crowned Night HeronAmerican Robin
Another year gone, & once again the birthday anniversary of “He Who Must Not Be Named,” pro-slavery advocate & generally awful human. Glad to see they finally changed the name, as suggested, to National Birding & Bird Conservation Society. [<– irony]
And with that out of the way, time for something even more amazing than a total solar eclipse: a classic Canada Goose kerfuffle! (“Kerfuffle” = exhibiting seasonal mating aggressiveness/territoriality behavior.) These recent shots on a cloudy day @ Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve, Mentor, OH. Please enjoy responsibly.
Despite cloudy/cold conditions (+ hint snow) last Sunday, it’s reasonably nice ‘Swallow trifecta’ content from State Game Lands Number 109 outside Waterford Twp, PA, in southern Erie County. Swallow trifecta: Northern Rough-winged (brown), Tree (blue/white), & Barn (blue/russet).
Lots of controversy at BirdingPI.com over characterizing Mallard as the “world’s most beautiful duck.” In the spirit of avoiding intractable staff conflict, time for a hint of nuance: (i) Mallard: “the most beautiful duck regularly seen relatively close at Presque Isle State Park all year long;” (ii) Wood Duck: “the most beautiful duck occasionally seen relatively close, even if only briefly, at Presque Isle State Park part of the year;” (iii) Northern Shoveler: “the most beautiful duck occasionally seen at a distance at Presque Isle State Park part of the year;” & (vi) Harlequin Duck: “the most beautiful duck almost never seen at Presque Isle State Park, but still possible.” Anyway, after all that tortured exposition, some rather amazing* shots of Wood Duck, taken recently close to the head of Presque Isle Bay. [*Editor’s note: these ducks much less skittish than usual, perhaps due to proximity of road traffic.]
MaleFemale
Bonus shots of “rarely seen out of water” Lesser Scaup (probably):
Very interesting/amusing to see this European Starling, perched on the side of a building in Lawrence Park Twp, PA (“Since 1926”), suddenly start vocalizing + flapping its wings in a circular motion a la “the windmill.” (Would have been better w/ video, but flew off just after switching to video mode.)
Highly erratic weather yesterday at Presque Isle State Park as a low pressure system moved through Erie County, PA: clouds, sun, heavy wind, hail, rain, etc. Bad day for Gull Point due to the wind; report forthcoming nevertheless. … In the meantime, more-or-less wrapping it up from last Sunday:
Nice sequence of Chipping Sparrow @ Pine Tree Meadows x Yellow-rumped Warbler @ Gull Point Trail:
More along the Gull Point Trail + outer Gull Point. Unless otherwise noted, Greater Yellowlegs.
Probably Lesser YellowlegsGreater YellowlegsDunlin2 Lesser Yellowlegs + misc. gullsProbably Lesser YellowlegsYellowlegs in flightPectoral SandpiperAnother view of Pectoral SandpiperRear view, Pectoral SandpiperAmerican Kestrel in flightMore AKIFStill more AKIFKestrel perched @ roped-off trailCaspian Tern w/ snackRuby-crowned Kinglet @ outer Gull PointCaspian Tern + Gull Point beachMore Tern
Interesting to see several Northern Flicker @ outer Gull Point. In the following shot, Northern Flicker in flight upper right, + four probably Purple Sandpiper:
No better way to get an early start on the weekend than with lots and lots of well-lit photos of the world’s most beautiful duck, the Mallard, in the swamp at Presque Isle State Park, on the beach and in the surf at East Ave boat launch, & in the air at South Pier:
Heading into the woods at Presque Isle State Park from last Sunday, @ Fox Trail, across the road from Presque Isle Lighthouse. Starting off with a great “first time 2024” sighting of lovely Brown Thrasher:
(Also lots of Brown Thrasher, relatively speaking – e.g., x4 – along the Gull Point Trail.)
Alternating with beautiful Hermit Thrush; note the rufous tail, slight eye-ring, and fairly heavy spotting:
Field Sparrow
Finishing up with a nice sequence of Hermit Thrush bathing @ rain/runoff pond in the woods:
Coming up eventually, Pileated Woodpecker, and lots of ’em!
