As always, it’s all about the weather in Erie, Pennsylvania. Cloudy, cold, & windy Thanksgiving day, the same on Friday but even colder = a few snowflakes. Saturday morning, though, looks like a bit of sunshine; time to head out to Presque Isle State Park for nature. #more_bird

Some gloomy shots from Thanksgiving with representative Presque Isle fall bird activity:

Lots of Horned Grebe activity currently at Presque Isle; 11+ counted at North Pier yesterday/Friday. Individual above was one of 3 on Thompson Bay on Thanksgiving.

Finally, Red-breasted Merganser in the Lake Erie surf off Budny Beach + bonus video:

Hope everyone in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving. This year at BirdingPI.com HQ, it was giant tuna loin (roasted well done in the oven) + Stove Top^TM ‘traditional sage’ stuffing. “Yum.” #save_a_turkey

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Plenty of time for Presque Isle State Park while the tuna cooked. (Cloudy, windy, and cold conditions.) Slow bird activity overall, but still some interesting raptors, grebes, ducks, etc. While waiting on photo editing, here’s more Presque Isle ducks from the last week or two. This is Hooded Merganser (m & f) @ take-off, Long Pond:

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Ring-necked Ducks (m & f) @ takeoff:

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Several of Canada Goose in flight:

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MMIF (male Mallard in flight) @ Horseshoe Bay:

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Finally, getting the weekend off to a good start with a ‘bonus’ non-waterfowl “birds 1/2/3” @ Pine Tree Trail:

2x Downy Woodpecker (f):

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3x beautiful White-breasted Nuthatch:

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Today we gather across America in thanks for what matters most: squirrels! Especially the enigmatic and dashing Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger), the world’s most handsome or beautiful (depending on sex) squirrel! Fun fact: Fox Squirrel is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America! Fun fact 2: Fox Squirrel is the smartest and most agile tree squirrel in the entire world! Fun fact 3: all squirrel species are great, but Fox Squirrel is the best!

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This post brought to you by ASoFoSA – the American Society for Fox Squirrel Advancement!

[Disclaimer: BirdingPI.com management neither endorses the content of this post nor vouches for the veracity/accuracy of any statements or characterizations made herein. Some of which seem dubious at best. Thank you.]

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.)

Edge of the bosque/woodlands = ridges (sand/rock) transitioning to drier vegetation:

Sequential ridge-views of the bosque (foreground) + Santa Catalina Mountains (background), first S/SE, then south-ish, then S/SW:

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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.

Trio of White-winged Dove (background), Cactus Wren (bottom), and probably female House Finch (or other female finch species):

More female finch w/ prickly pear (exact species unknown, but perhaps Engelmann prickly pear (Opuntia engelmannii)):

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Male Northern Cardinal (w/ insect prey/food) + juvenile:

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Arrays of beautiful Lesser Goldfinch:

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Following probably female Broad-billed Hummingbird. Note the white curve down behind the eye.

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More Lesser Goldfinch (m) w/ snack:

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More (probably) female Broad-billed Hummingbird:

Dateline: 18 November 2023

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.

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:”

Saw one flock of 6+ Snow Bunting flying overhead:

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Everyone loves Budny Beach, even the GBH:

(View above is looking northeast-ish past Gull Point; land on far left probably in New York state.)

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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.

Following all Snow Bunting @ outer Gull Point enjoying the water:

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Wrapping up this post with Dunlin on the main pond where the roped-off trail to the observation platform(s) (when seasonally present) starts:

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Bonus mediocre Dunlin video from the preceding Friday! Wow. (Caution – audio track = wind noise.)

More Ring-billed Gulls! More Mallards! #more_bird. Back at Pymatuning Reservoir spillway last Saturday.

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.

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Three shots of beautiful Mountain Chickadee:

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For variety, three birds “at a distance” (hint – each bird is at the center of the shot):

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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.

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