From a recent visit to Erie Bluffs State Park and nearby locations.
Nice/backlit shots of Tree Swallow. (Lots of swallow activity at Erie Bluffs.)
Nice/fore-lit shots of more Tree Sparrow:
No Bluffing
Summer/Ducks
Marsh/Bugs (I)
Great for insects, etc. along the Marsh Trail @ Presque Isle State Park. These shots from earlier in June.
Finally, a cooperative swallowtail butterfly – the lovely Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus):
And the always fascinating Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis):
More swallowtail x dragonfly:
Looks like a beautiful Hobomok Skipper (Lon hobomok):
No one’s a huge fan of flies (other than birds = food), but still a nice shot of some sort of hover fly (species uncertain):
A beautiful flycatcher, probably Least Flycatcher:
Asbury Woods
Shots from a recent outing to Asbury Woods, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”). Beautiful spot for nature! #more_nature
Several different colours of non-native Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus):
The beautiful, native Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata):
Another native, Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis):
The beautiful Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis):
Great sighting of Broad-shouldered Hawk:
Finally, some sort of lupine, perhaps Large-leaved Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus):
Float Like A Butterfly
Celebrating the start of summer 2023 with a bonus post of beautiful Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) from last Sunday at Erie Bluffs State Park, Lake City, PA:
[Photo Editor’s note: Hard to shoot BIF (butterflies in flight) due to small size & erratic movement relative to camera autofocus limitations. But never discount the role of luck in photography. “Luck” = increased probability of eventual good shots over time.]
Weekend Update
Dateline: 16-19 June 2023
Beautiful almost-summer weather in Erie County, PA this past weekend. Bit of rain Friday, warm/mild/sunny/humid Sat-Mon, bit of rain Tuesday.
Other than a lack of shorebirds at Gull Point, bird activity’s mostly fallen into ‘summer mode’ – Canada Goose, Red-winged Blackbird, Gray Catbird!, American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, GBH, gulls, swallows, Green Heron, GBH, Wood Duck, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, etc.
Trail conditions at Presque Isle State Park: generally good. Problem spots: Duck Pond Trail, Long Pond Trail west end, B Trail, Marsh Trail (muddy but passable), Gull Point ‘inner old trail’ (muddy but passable).
Lots of lovely/invasive Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) along the east end of Long Pond Trail:
Probably a lovely Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta) butterfly @ Sidewalk Trail:
More on Gull Point and other interesting western PA areas coming soon! Plus insects and bunnies.
GBH @ N. Pier
It’s a GBH @ N. Pier, Presque Isle State Park.
Back At 314
It’s the annual spring BirdingPI.com outing to State Game Lands No. 314 & vicinity, in the PA NW corner hinterlands. Bird activity was ‘light’/unremarkable – Eastern Kingbird, American Robin, Song Sparrow, + Green Heron. These shots of other flora/fauna.
Starting with a ‘mash up’ of Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela) x a great sighting of Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos):
Not quite sure, but this might be Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura):
As promised, a couple more views of Grayish Zanclognatha (Zanclognatha pedipilalis) moth:
@ Indian Mound (Pt. 2)
Second and final part of “special guest content” from Indian Mound Metropark in Conneaut, OH:
Lots of American Goldfinch activity:
@ Indian Mound (Pt. 1)
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):
Finally, a very cool sighting (and nice picture) of Feather-edged Petrophila (Petrophila fulicalis) moth:
Coming up in Part 2, birds, plants, flowers, insects! #more_nature