A reminder that tomorrow (Saturday) is the Christmas Bird Count starting at 7:30AM (or thereabouts) @ picnic shelter 2 at Presque Isle State Park, at the Waterworks location. (Shelter 2 is the one in the middle.) Forecast is sun with a high of 35 deg F! Happy counting!

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Here, it’s back to the other weekend with somewhat gloomy shots at Leo’s Landing:

All shots Song Sparrow in snow unless otherwise noted:

Misc. gulls and waterfowl including Lesser Black-backed Gull (in the foreground, to the left of the American Crow on the right):

And Tundra Swans:

After all those fairly monochromatic shots, ending it up with a splash of colour from another, sunnier day, with beautiful male Northern Cardinal taking flight:

Rhyming ‘food’ with ‘interlude.’ Genius. Even better, recent ‘snowy’ hawk shots in Erie County, PA. Starting with Red-tailed Hawk + carcass (some sort of bird) @ Presque Isle State Park, on a snow-covered dune with outer Lake Erie in the background:

And elsewhere, an immature Cooper’s Hawk + carcass (again, some sort of bird), after the recent partial melt off:

Yes, hawks do hunt other birds for food. #nature

Attentive readers may recall the ‘mystery shorebird‘ seen flying along the edge of Presque Isle Bay towards Leo’s Landing:

(Although blurry, in the shot above the boxy-looking thing in the lower left is a duck blind, and the vegetation, etc. next to it is the far end of Leo’s Landing.) It seemed to maybe land somewhere along the narrow strip of rough beach just east of ‘Vista 3 Parking Lot,’ past the little (and snowed in) boat ramp, but first, more American Pipit activity:

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Slowly/carefully continuing around the bend, very surprised to finally fully see the bird in question, a beautiful (and rare for this time of year) Wilson’s Snipe. Wow. Lucky to get a few decent photographs before it flew off again.

Proposed new non-honorific name: American Russet-tailed Snipe. Sorry, Wilson.

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Pipit, Wilson’s Snipe, & copious ducks was already a ‘big win,’ but Leo’s Landing beckoned, heavy snow notwithstanding:

And the reason, Tundra Swans, seen here at a distance just at the edge of the snow field:

(In the shot above, the black structure + tree at the far-left side of the horizon is South Pier.) Here’s another view of a snowed-in main access to Leo’s Landing, with Feather Platform (the viewing platform) on the left:

Another long-distance shot of Tundra Swan & Canada Geese off the Leo’s Landing sandbar:

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Finally for today, lots of ducks. On this particular day, an unusual number of Northern Shoveler, including the three in this shot – it’s the three ducks across the middle of the photo starting w/ a male Northern Shoveler (white breast) on the far right. (There are two males and a female on the left.)

Misc. waterfowl including American Coot, American Widgeon, Redhead, Mallard, Gadwall, and Northern Shoveler:

Coots on the right, plus a pair of Lesser Scaup in flight mode:

Another view of Northern Shoveler, including one of the males (far right) in profile showing the ‘shovel’-shaped bill:

More Scaup in ‘takeoff mode’ + Coots + Canada Geese:

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Coming soon, more Tundra Swan! More Wilson’s Snipe! #more_bird

Today on BirdingPI.com, it’s a pleasant interlude of recent bird photographs from Presque Isle State Park. Starting with Bufflehead:

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And very cute Tufted Titmouse:

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And lots of Mallards:

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Following shots continue with diving Bufflehead, more cute Titmouse, & more cute Mallard:

Continuing on with very recent content from Presque Isle State Park under cloudy/snowy conditions. Following is Presque Isle Bay looking towards North Pier (+ United States Coast Guard Station), w/ landing Lesser Scaup:

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Lots more Bald Eagle activity this time of year, e.g., seven individuals spotted more-or-less concurrently in the same area, including this pair in flight:

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Mixed waterfowl off Leo’s Landing, sans duck hunters. These include Canada Geese, Horned Grebe, Redhead, Gadwall, American Coot, & Mallard:

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It was at a bit of a distance, but still great to see American Pipit foraging on the beach:

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Another view of landing Lesser Scaup. Hard to see, but note the incoming flock in the distance at the top of the shot. Ducks in the water include Scaup (Greater/Lesser?), Ruddy Duck, & Bufflehead:

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Uh, what’s this?!?

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Coming up soon, more on a mystery shorebird!

With warmer temperatures and partially sunny skies Sunday, safe to call Snowpocalypse 2024 to a close. (Hopefully no more snow disasters this year.) To celebrate, it’s BirdingPI.com’s first “post-Snowpocalypse” content from Presque Isle State Park, starting with this lovely/dramatic shot of heavy lake-effect snow rolling into eastern Presque Isle:

In the top shot above, North Pier/South Pier is at the far-right horizon. Following is that same spot – sunny – a bit earlier = rapidly changing conditions Friday.

This time of year, lots of very cute Tufted Titmouse activity:

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Friday after the park opened, loads of waterfowl on the back bay, way more than usual on a weekday (or Saturday) during duck season, due to the park being closed for a week:

Following is more ducks on Presque Isle Bay; the black line on the right under the trees is the pilings for East Pier, and adjacent to that on the left is West Pier:

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Coming up soon, lots more Presque Isle State Park, including way too many Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, & misc. sparrows, plus a special guest bird or two!

First up, a PSA that Presque Isle State Park was re-opened to vehicular traffic Friday/yesterday just around 12:20PM, for the first time since being closed last Friday due to the snowstorm/blizzard:

Main roads are plowed and in good condition:

Most trails are covered in thick snow, but portions of the multipurpose trail have been cleared:

Lots of great bird activity Friday. While waiting on photo editing, it’s back to Thanksgiving morning with part 2 of Wild Turkey shots. “Pavo” = Spanish for “turkey,” w/ perhaps a Latin root considering the scientific name Meleagris gallopavo.

Not the best perspective since the Turkeys flew away down the road (startled by something, unclear exactly what), but still great to see this many in flight at once:

Back again to celebrate the wonderful junction of matter phase change, gravity, & surface tension. #nature #physics

After a slight break in the weather Wednesday, Erie Snowpocalypse 2024 continued apace today (Thursday) with blizzard conditions. Difference between normal “lake-effect snow” and “blizzard conditions” = lower temps + heavy wind gusts w/ blowing snow. Yay!

All shots American Robin (as above), European Starling @ Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)(as immediately below), & female Northern Cardinal (as second below).

As BirdingPI.com staff continues to dig out, the Snowpocalypse 2024 content is finally trickling in. These shots from yesterday in Erie County, Pennsylvania, of European Starling in heavy lake-effect snowfall: