Always exciting to await the BirdingPI.com “first warbler of the year that isn’t a Yellow-rumped Warbler at Gull Point.” Most years, it’s a Yellow-rumped Warbler seen somewhere other than Gull Point. This year, however, a surprise and rather great/early sighting yesterday of a warbler-adjacent Blue-headed Vireo at Presque Isle State Park:
Looks like spring migration season’s off to a good start! Yay!
Bonus post today featuring recent digital photographs of Fox Squirrels (Sciurus niger) at McClelland Park, Erie, PA:
No post yesterday due to torrential rain and localized flooding; that’s the story, and we’re sticking with it. For today’s post, a spring regular in Erie County, Pennsylvania, the ubiquitous and beautiful American Robin:
Golden-crowned Kinglets overwintered this year in Erie County, Pennsylvania, but the numbers were far fewer than with the current influx of spring migrants, like these two recently seen at Leo’s Landing, Presque Isle State Park:
Welcome to spring, Erie County, Pennsylvania style! First up, “Beware the bite!” Warmer weather = ticks, and, locally, lots of them, like this awful, tiny, male Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis) recently captured in Millcreek Twp (“Since 1800”). Ticks like this are about the size of a small pinhead, so be on the lookout! Avoid awful diseases!
Next up, ongoing bad weather! Unpleasantly cold this last Friday and Saturday, with a few snowflakes. Rain last night and today, but at least it was warmer.
Next up, today (31 March) marks the last day of the season for unrestricted access to Gull Point. 1 April – 31 October = nesting season, with most of the outer point closed except for observation platform access. Here’s a picture from Sunday of the bay-side beach just west of the Gull Point outer/mudflat area; access to this location will be closed as of tomorrow.
Next up, and most importantly, a slow but steady uptick in “new for spring” bird species to Erie Co., like these Caspian Terns:
Also Blue-winged Teal (male on right, female on left):
And Bonaparte’s Gulls (a.k.a. American Pixie Gulls):
The Turkey Vultures have been around for a bit, but there’s currently lots and lots of them all over the place, as they migrate east/north:
Nice sighting of Greater Yellowlegs on Sunday, along the Gull Point Trail:
The Ospreys are back, too:
Finally, slightly earlier than usual, a beautiful Brown Thrasher, “The only thrasher east of the MississippiTM.”
Still at the Coyote Point Yacht Club, it’s long distance (i.e., blurry) shots of 2x Belted Kingfisher! Emphasis!
This post dedicated to JAM.
From near/around the Coyote Point Yacht Club in San Mateo, CA, it’s grebes and things, from a couple weeks ago:
The lighting was less than ideal on the following shots (e.g., back/side lit), but still a really great sighting of a pair of beautiful Clark’s Grebes in San Francisco Bay. ID: long, thin, yellow bill; black cap; eyes surrounded by white; and red line between eye and bill. (In the similar looking Western Grebe, the dark cap would extend below the eye.)
Weather today in Erie Co., PA: overcast and cold enough for a few snowflakes. Bleh. So, for today’s post, it’s back to the beautiful coastal headlands at Venice Beach, in Half Moon Bay, California, from a couple weeks ago:
Still in northern California from a couple weeks ago, it’s over to the lovely, hilltop campus of the College of San Mateo, on a quiet Sunday morning. Quiet except for birds, of which there were plenty due to the copious trees/brush around the campus perimeter.
First up, a great western North America species, lovely Golden-crowned Sparrow, which overwinters in the Bay Area:
Yay, hummingbirds in March (!), specifically, Anna’s Hummingbird (female):
Yet another great western species, beautiful Townsend’s Warbler (male):
Heading over to the beautiful Pacific Ocean near the town of Half Moon Bay, California, at Venice Beach and the mouth of Frenchman’s Creek, from a couple weeks ago:
Next, lots of gulls @ takeoff from the beach:
The reason for gull agitation – a passing Bald Eagle:
Good opportunity for gull spotting. In addition to Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls, here’s a Glaucous-winged Gull. Note the medium-gray wings, lack of black wing tips, pink legs, and white wing-end ‘dotting:’
Here’s some rather dark-winged gulls. First up, the gull @ bottom center left with yellow legs. Based on leg color and medium gray wings, this is a California Gull. (Back east, Lesser Black-backed Gull would be an option, but that’s a rare species out west.) The gull up and to the right w/ pink legs and very dark wings = Western Gull. Note in particular the spot of white on the outer primaries by the wing tip:
With a mottled brown-gray appearance and lack of dark wing tips, the gull at center is probably an immature Iceland Gull. (Iceland Gulls much more common @ Pacific coast than Great Lakes area.)
Finally, a male Surf Scoter in the surf. (Many more Surf Scoter pictures to follow soon!)
