Everyone at BirdingPI.com loves the Pine Tree Trail: flat, pretty, well- drained, good parking, etc. And sometimes there’s birds, like these from the other weekend. #more_bird
Probably Eastern Wood-pewee:
Probably more Swainson’s Thrush:
Lovely Black-throated Green Warbler:
Finally, two ok shots of female Ruby-throated Hummingbird:
From the other weekend at Presque Isle State Park, an unusual and ill-advised outing to what’s listed on the park map as “Pond of the Woods.”
With the park “maintenance area” being off limits, the main land route to Pond of the Woods is heading southwest, overland, from the junction of Ridge Trail and Marsh Trail:
Not a “hidden birding trail.” There are no trails. There is also swamp, although navigable in dry conditions by hopping between grass tufts:
Pond of the Woods, view southeast; very interesting/unusual south view of the Long Pond Trail sand ridge/forest (line of trees approx. at center of shot):
Pond of the Woods, view soutwest; Long Pond is beyond the line of trees:
Pond of the Woods, view northwest, towards maintenance area:
Besides Yellow Warbler and a couple departing Bald Eagles, the “bird of the outing” was one or two Eastern Wood-pewee, seen around this swampy area just north of Pond of the Woods:
View of woods on north border of Pond of the Woods:
Another view of woods north of Pond of the Woods:
ID tips: “dusky vest” (see above); overall gray color; scant or no eyering; two wing bars; long tails/wing:
[Editor’s Note: woodpecker above could be Downy Woodpecker. Beak seems long enough for Hairy Woodpecker, but hard to tell for sure.]
Dateline: 27 May 2023
Not the world’s best photos, but still fun to see female Blackpoll Warbler along the Long Pond Trail on Saturday, Presque Isle State Park.
ID tips (from All About Birds): yellowish wash on breast and head, “finely streaked cap, broken eyering, dark eyeline, and orangish legs.”
Dateline: 26-27 May 2023
It’s apparently the biggest birding event at Presque Isle State Park since, well, maybe ever! A steady stream of folks flocked roadside near Beach No. 8 to enjoy a Pileated Woodpecker nest, and specifically, Pileated Woodpecker babies. You know it’s a big deal when there’s giant cameras on tripods!
Apparently several chicks in this nest. BirdingPI.com personnel witnessed just the one in these shots, and no adults. (Per policy, stayed on site just long enough to take a few pictures; adult Pileated Woodpeckers are generally skittish around humans = concerns about untoward disturbance.)
Bonus video clip (resolution ‘turned down’ due to file size limitations):
Day 3 of more warbler content! #more_bird
Lucky for this beautiful Common Yellowthroat (m) to emerge from the shrubbery last Saturday off the Pine Tree Trail, Presque Isle State Park.
At a nearby location a bit later, this is probably a female Common Yellowthroat:
[Photo Editor’s note: appearances of ‘green/yellow’ fog in any of the shots above is out-of-focus leaves in the foreground. Windy conditions with lots of branches moving around.]
A literal flurry of Bay-breasted Warbler activity last Saturday after the rain, off the Pine Tree Trail at Presque Isle State Park. (3 or 4 individuals total, at least.) Photography conditions = shady/forest; still, great to get more ‘quality time’ with these lovely birds.
Really a lot of Yellow Warbler activity at Presque Isle State Park this year. Seen up to 6-7 individuals in one location, and multiple instances of 2 or 3 in flight/chase mode.
These shots at various locations over the past week or so. And yes, more Yellow Warbler content’s on the way!
It’s a lovely Blue Jay working on a nest in Chautauqua Park, Erie, PA:
[Edit: an iPhone shot of the nest in question, taken quickly after the Jay flew off to gather more twigs or whatever:
Volunteer/wild Purple Columbine (possibly Aquilegia vulgaris):
Dateline: 21 May 2023
From this past Sunday at Presque Isle State Park, fun shots of a Northern Flicker @ nest hole:
Site location: way high up in a tree by the main park road between Niagara Pond and Misery Bay:
