Second and final part of “special guest content” from Indian Mound Metropark in Conneaut, OH:

Lots of American Goldfinch activity:

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After a hard time getting any Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies to photographically cooperate at Presque Isle State Park, it was time to bring on BirdingPI.com’s occasional associate in Conneaut, OH, where the butterflies are generally more docile.

This is Part I of some very nice shots taken recently at Indian Mound Metropark on Conneaut Creek.

Mission accomplished with this beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus):

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Finally, a very cool sighting (and nice picture) of Feather-edged Petrophila (Petrophila fulicalis) moth:

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Coming up in Part 2, birds, plants, flowers, insects! #more_nature

Hmmm… Here’s a picture of Gull Point from the bluff at Chautauqua Park, Erie, PA, taken last Thursday. The outer beach is closed for the season, so either it’s the Bird Observatory or DCNR folks out on a survey, or someone’s being very bad. Shame!

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More nature from this past weekend at Presque Isle State Park:

Much excitement seeing a deer baby on the Pine Tree Trail (these shots taken at a long distance):

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Wild Turkeys enjoying a hike:

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Two nice shots of what’s probably juvenile Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) dragonfly:

And, on Thompson Bay, the beautiful America White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata):

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The Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) are currently in bloom:

Very cool to see a Grayish Zanclognatha (Zanclognatha pedipilalis) moth:

More/better shots of this fascinating moth on the way!

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Heavy rain again this Wednesday morning in Erie County. A return to sunny weather forecast for Saturday, so “fingers crossed” for a nice birding weekend.

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Back to last weekend, a nice surprise to see a pair of lovely Eastern Bluebird enjoying the substantial insect population at the east end of the Pine Tree Trail on Saturday, Presque Isle State Park. Didn’t see much of the female (third photograph below), so mostly shots of the male:

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Next time, deer babies! Or maybe one deer baby.

Dateline: 10-11 June 2023

Pleasant weekend weather at Presque Isle State Park. Rain started Sunday evening and continued into Monday for a good 18+ hours – first substantial rain in a while. Great for the grass/other plants/birds.

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On the subject of American Woodcock. Typical scenario involves a bird startling from the underbrush and flying away AFAP (as fast as possible). Maybe there’s enough time for an ID.

Saw two like this the other weekend along the Gull Point ‘inner old trail.’ Dispatched a BirdingPI.com team this week in a coordinated effort for obtaining photo evidence. The result – world’s worst American Woodcock photographs:

Note the very short tail, and on the second shot, curved/long beak. These shots taken by the Thompson Bay swamp/pond.

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Time for BirdingPI.com’s annual Hairy Puccoon (Lithospermum caroliniense) coverage. Currently blooming at Presque Isle in the ‘habitat restoration’ area on the south side of the main park road between Beach No. 8 (by the lighthouse) and Beach No. 9 (Pine Tree):

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Always happy to see cute Field Sparrow, near the Pine Tree Trail west trailhead:

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Amazing amount of Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela) activity (e.g., dozens) on the Pine Tree Trail and nearby areas like ‘Pine Tree Meadows:’

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More on the Pine Tree Trail, probably Zabulon skipper (Lon zabulon):

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Ending it here with the beautiful Cedar Waxwing; 4-5 individuals spotted Saturday on the Pine Tree Trail:

Almost as exciting as spring migration, it’s turtle season at Presque Isle State Park! All these shots at Gull Point or along the Gull Point ‘outer old trail,’ on 29 May 2023.

First up, what looks like a beautiful Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) in the sand at Gull Point:

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Spiny Softshell Turtles (Apalone spinifera) + friend out-and-about at ‘turtle pond’ (lagoon at entrance of roped-off trail to observation platform):  

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Finally, what might be a Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica) along the Gull Point Trail. Note the top shell “contour lines,” + serrated shell rear:

Still getting caught up with May content. #more_bird. These shots from along the Long Pond Trail, Pine Tree Trail, etc., Presque Isle State Park.

Nice bokeh on this shot of a lovely Common Yellowthroat (m):

More nice bokeh, this time Least Flycatcher:

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Finally (!), decently-lit shots of beautiful Red-eyed Vireo:

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Song Sparrow w/ snack:

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Northern Flicker @ nest hole:

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Even more lovely Common Yellowthroat (m):

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More misc. nature from last Saturday at Presque Isle State Park. All shots from along the Dead Pond Trail east of B Trail.

Can’t resist Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) x Lupine. These shots extra interesting for showing orange-coloured pollen sacs (a.k.a. pollen basket or corbicula):

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Possibly female or juvenile Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) dragonfly:

Lovely Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela) butterfly:

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Couple shots of Zabulon Skipper (Lon zabulon) butterfly:

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This is probably White Spring Moth (Lomographa vestaliata):

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Finally, a very interesting sighting of a well-camouflaged moth, probably Kent’s Geometer (Selenia kentaria):

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Coming up soon, more birds! More insects! #more_nature

Plenty of House Wren at Presque Isle State Park; these recent shots from different times along the Long Pond Trail:

Misc. nature from last Saturday morning at Presque Isle State Park. (Birds covered in previous post.)

Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) enjoying the traffic-free road. Or something.

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Took a long time to deploy these deer decoys on the Pine Tree Trail:

Invasive/beautiful Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) along the Gull Point Trail:

Probably Northern Blue Flag Iris (Iris veriscolor) near Thompson Circle:

Plenty of beautiful Lupine (Lupinus perennis) along the Dead Pond Trail, in the sandy/open area between B Trail and Thompson Circle. More Lupine shots in the next post.

Invasive Yellow Hawkweed (Hieracium caespitosum) (+ unknown insect) along the Dead Pond Trail:

And, invasive Orange Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum) also along the Dead Pond Trail:

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Next time, more Lupine, and lots of butterflies!