Blog - Page 62 of 124

Sweetwater/H3/I

Back at Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, AZ, with lovely Anna’s Hummingbird x reed/cattail flower (?):

Weekend plover? Plover update? Whatever the case, a beautiful weekend at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA. Partly sunny, warm, humid on Saturday, windy and cooler Sunday. Very subdued bird activity inland (e.g., Pine Tree Trail). With the wind, activity on Gull Point mid-morning Sunday rather sporadic – things flying in and out, relatively few shorebirds.

On the other hand, after what’s been a slow season, finally (!) had some good shorebird activity along the outer beach. Thank you, surf/wind. (“Outer beach” = beach to the east of Budny Beach up to the Gull Point ‘closed for the season’ sign/fence.) Plover, Sanderling, sandpipers, etc. – more on that later in the week. Here, a beautiful/cute/solitary Semipalmated Plover + surf/sand.

Etymological note: sem·i·pal·mat·ed. ADJECTIVE. Used in names of wading birds that have toes webbed for part of their length.

Coming up soon, bathing Osprey, a fishing Tern, hairy spider macros, and lots and lots of shorebirds! Plus more exciting hummingbird content from the team in Arizona.

Say’s What?

After days and days of driving around Arizona, finally found the beautiful Say’s Phoebe outside Scott Reservoir, Pinetop/Lakeside, AZ. Please enjoy:

And with that, there’s nothing more to say.

Hawk/Tree (II)

It’s another hawk in a mesquite tree outside Tucson, AZ! Species TBD. BirdingPI.com’s crack team of ornithologists currently working on an ID. Perhaps Narrow-billed American Swamp Hawk.

Great Scott

Not Scott’s Orioles or Scott Park, rather Scott Reservoir outside Pinetop/Lakeside, AZ. Great, medium-elevation (2100 meters) spot with scrub oak, juniper, pines, open field, lake, etc.

Interesting article on the current state of Scrub Jay species delineation.

Beautiful Flame Skimmer (Libellula saturata) dragonfly:

ID note on Cassin’s Kingbird: very dark gray chest and head, yellow belly, and strongly-contrasting narrow white throat.

Weekend Preview

What better way to celebrate the forthcoming Erie weekend than with bad bird photos from last weekend? OTOH, it’s Ruddy Turnstone at Gull Point from Saturday! Not necessarily uncommon, but still a BirdingPI.com first at that location! Very nice.

ID tips: medium shorebird (smaller than Killdeer); orange legs (visible in 5th shot below); short but slightly upturned bill; wide black ‘bib;’ unique white top wing stripes/pattern visible on flying birds (e.g., see bottom shot below).

[Note: smaller BIF in shots above probably Least Sandpiper. “BIF” = birds in flight.]

Erie County weather forecast: Saturday and Sunday, moderate temps and partly sunny, should be nice.

Presque Isle State Park trail conditions: with recent rain, locally very muddy. Gull Point “inner old” trail potentially muddy/flooded. Long Pond Trail (west end) very muddy.

Bird migration forecast: radar activity and AI models suggest ‘medium’ Erie migration activity this weekend.

#More_Insect (PI)

BirdingPI.com’s entomological team is back from August holiday with this fine set of recent shots along the Gull Point Trail, Presque Isle State Park. #more_insect. Also seen: lots and lots of biting flies. Bleh.

First up, a great sighting of lovely Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella), close to the Gull Point mud flats tree line: