Second and final part of mostly American Tree Sparrow x White-tailed Deer in the area between Long Pond & Marina Lake, from last Saturday at Presque Isle State Park:

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Recent shots of beautiful House Sparrow @ Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”), w/ a hint of falling snow:

Males (as above) have distinctive black chin & breast w/ gray crown and brown behind the eyes. Females/immature, as below, overall more brownish/beige:

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More from a sunny, cold Saturday at Presque Isle State Park, w/ American Tree Sparrow x White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the former by Marina Lake across the road from the access to Boat Landing #4 on Long Pond, the latter on the NE side of Long Pond as seen from B.L. #4:

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What better to do in Erie County, Pennsylvania on a sunny Saturday than go to the beach at Presque Isle State Park? These shots from yesterday at Saw Mill Beach & Budny Beach; @ -7 deg C (19 deg F) + substantial windchill = beautiful day, but really rather awful to be outside. Relevant shots White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) foraging for grass in the dunes:

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[Editor’s note: “Doe Ice.” Next level punnery genius.]

After a rainy Friday yesterday, temps plummeted overnight in Erie County, Pennsylvania; weather Saturday morning: partially cloudy, light snow, very cold/icy. BirdingPI.com field operations on “TBD;” maybe after more coffee. Anyway, closing out Gull Point from last Saturday; unless otherwise indicated, all shots foraging Snow Bunting @ outer Gull Point:

Trio of Red-bellied Woodpecker:

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Rainy Friday today here in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Weather forecast tomorrow, cold & partially cloudy. Weather Sunday, warmer w/ light rain. Kicking off the weekend with recent, sunny ducks at South Pier, e.g., mixed ducks in the following shot Redhead, Common Goldeneye, Lesser Scaup, American Coot, + a male Canvasback @ center:

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Finally, didn’t get the ‘splashdown’ portion, but still a nice sequence of landing male Mallard:

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More from Gull Point @ Presque Isle State Park this past Saturday. Weather conditions: mostly cloudy, cold; awful wind chill @ outer Gull Point, where the star (and pretty much only) attraction was beautiful Snow Bunting:

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Meanwhile, a bit more pleasant (if cold/snowy) inside the tree line, w/ great Black-capped Chickadee activity:

Not unexpectedly, the main activity was foraging for food, e.g., the Snow Buntings taking advantage the copious stalks of dried weed/flowers (w/ seed pods, presumably) @ outer Gull Point.

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Happy to finally see winter warblers at Presque Isle State Park last Saturday, namely, overwintering Yellow-rumped Warbler along the Gull Point Trail:

Large thickets of Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) within the Gull Point tree line, which seems to be a favourite winter food source:

Seems like the warblers move from location to location for foraging, so took 3 trips to Gull Point this January for this successful sighting. But be patient & stay on the lookout for mixed flock activity along the inland/’outer official’ trail.

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More cute staff pet photographs of domesticated Dog (Canis familiaris). Easier than hiking out to Gull Point.

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It’s the rest from Sunday at Presque Isle State Park, mostly at Beach 11 & off Budny Beach:

Following shot, foreground is outer Thompson Bay (frozen), then outer Gull Point, then outer PI Bay entrance channel (unfrozen), then ‘mainland’ (e.g., east Lawrence Park, PA):

Fairly iconic, Bald Eagle @ North Pier Light:

Outer PI Bay entrance channel (i.e., east of North Pier/South Pier) w/ Great Black-backed Gull (@ center):

Here’s an enlargement of that same gull; note the pink legs = Great Black-backed Gull (not Lesser):

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Unknown objects on the horizon (although they were moving west-to-east); perhaps a ship:

This Herring Gull (@ center) was splashing in and out of the water for fishing; the Lesser Scaups on either side seemed quite offended:

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