Been a while since reporting out on Gull Point. Here’s a lengthy ‘mashup’ of the last two BirdingPI.com expeditions out to the best spot @ Presque Isle State Park, on 4 July 2023 and 19 June 2023. In approximate interleaved chronological order along the ‘inner old,’ beach, and ‘outer old’ trails + mud flats.

Trail conditions: (i) ‘inner old’ – wet/muddy but passable; (ii) ‘middle old’ – impassible; (iii) ‘outer old’ – good condition; (iv) beach – good condition other than erosion spots.

Lots of Canada Goose activity out at the mud flats, e.g.:

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“Gull Point news” item 1. Thought someone was inappropriately enjoying the outer beach until seeing the placard below:

The fox cutout seems a little cartoon-like, but no one ever accused BirdingPI.com management of being expert in bird population remediation. Or anything else for that matter.

Shot of a Piping Plover protective enclosure:

Either a Piping Plover or a Piping Plover decoy:

Lots of beautiful Bank Swallow activity:

ID tip relative to Northern Rough-winged Swallow (‘the other brown swallow’): Bank Swallow = very dark/brown breast band; Rough-winged Swallow = no dark breast band.

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Aerial Tree Swallow duo:

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Recent Gull Point bird activity‘s mostly included Canada Geese, Red-winged Blackbird, various swallows, Song Sparrow, Killdeer, Caspian Tern, Double-crested Cormorant, gulls, and Spotted Sandpiper. Anecdotally, seemingly an unusual lack of shorebirds. For example, on July 4th it was only two Spotted Sandpiper (other than the “maybe a Piping Plover”). Also seems like there’s less vegetation than this time previous years – see, e.g., bare foregrounds in the shot immediately above + scarecrow shot further above. Can’t help thinking the two are connected; further investigation needed.

Another example – much less Common Yucca (Yucca filamentosa) in bloom currently than the last few years, e.g., 2 plants vs. dozen+:

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Northern Flicker exhibiting “doing something on the ground before flying away” behavior:

Great series of Brown-headed Cowbird @ Gull Point ‘outer old’ trail:

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And a few of the always lovely Great Crested Flycatcher:

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Finally, lots of Killdeer activity pretty much everywhere:

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Coming up soon: “great” photography from this past/spectacular weekend at Presque Isle State Park! Spoiler alert: more Eastern Racoon x2 (really) + baby Wild Turkey (really). #more_nature

Dateline: 1 July 2023

Checking in with BirdingPI.com’s western NY field team, reporting from Tom’s Point on Lake Chautauqua, NY:

Great sighting of male Indigo Bunting:

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Lots of wet Song Sparrow:

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“Glass half empty:” out-of-focus deer

“Glass half full:” pretty meadow flowers with artistic deer leaping effect bokeh

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Wrapping it up w/ more Red-winged Blackbird:

The age-old debate – American Robin v. Gray Catbird! – is finally settled. All shots 2 July 2023, Sidewalk Trail @ Presque Isle State Park.

50mm macro lens = dodgy prospect for live/stinging insects. Worked out ok for these shots of beautiful Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) x Butterfly Bush (probably Buddleia davidii), Williamsburg, VA.

Recent shots of a beautiful male American Redstart at Scott Park, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

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Scott Park – with its canopy of tall trees/mature forest, always a good spot for American Redstart through the summer.

Bonus beetle post of an excellent recent sighting of Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus) on a dead tree at Budny Beach, Presque Isle State Park. Fairly large insect @ 4.5 cm (approx).

Dateline: 4 July 2023

A rare daylight, “not road kill” sighting of Eastern Raccoon (Procyon lotor lotor) on July 4th along the Gull Point ‘outer old trail,’ Presque Isle State Park.

How these things usually turn out:

Fortuitously, this beautiful female re-crossed the trail in plain sight (yay!):

American Crow (or possibly Fish Crow*) carrion scavenging behavior x CIF (crow in flight), Colonial Nat’l Historic Parkway, VA:

*ID Note: both American Crow and Fish Crow positively identified on the recent BirdingPI.com ‘road trip’ in Virginia, via the great Merlin app:

Two powerline corridors deliver electrical power from Surry Power Plant to Richmond, VA, etc. Both cross the Carlisle Tract (interior) portion of Hog Island WMA = a great space of open brush/shrubbery for birding.

These shots from the recent BirdingPI.com ‘road trip.’ First up, lovely Indigo Bunting, both male and female:

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Lucky to see this beautiful Yellow-breasted Chat:

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More male & female Indigo Bunting:

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Flurry of activity w/ multiple species. Here, Carolina Wren (left), Blue Grosbeak (female – middle), Indigo Bunting (female – right):

+ Yellow-breasted Chat (bottom right):

Carolina Wren (right) + Yellow-breasted Chat (left):

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Male Blue Grosbeak made a quick appearance:

More Indigo Bunting (m):

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ID tip: Male Blue Grosbeak = chestnut wingbars + larger bill; male Indigo Bunting = black accents + smaller bill.

Location note: these shots taken at the designated parking area here (blue circle/arrow). Accessing this location does not require security check-in.

Dateline: 4 July 2023

Celebrating US Independence Day with a bit of ‘americana,’ namely American Sand Wasps (Bembix americana spinolae). These recent shots at Presque Isle State Park @ ‘Pine Tree Meadows.’

Plant note: several species of Milkweed in the eastern US look similar. This location (‘Pine Tree Meadows’) is sandy/dry/open = suggests Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) as opposed to, e.g., Sulivant’s Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii) or Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), which prefer wetter conditions.