Dateline: 29 May 2023

Piping Plover and Killdeer covered in other posts, so this is Part III of holiday Gull Point coverage from Monday.

Just a beautiful morning out at the point – sunny/mild/balmy. Plenty of bird activity including all the regulars: Canada Goose, gulls, Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, Killdeer, Barn Swallow, etc.

So great to see the Dunlin (maybe 5 individuals) fairly up close:

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From the earlier post:

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Bonus picture – at a different location that same morning, decent shot of juvenile American Robin:

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Part IV of Gull Point coverage coming soon!

Dateline: 29 May 2023

After the nest at Gull Point a couple weeks ago, it was great to see more Killdeer babies, this time on the back side of one of the outer beaches (east of Budny Beach) along the Gull Point Trail. Specifically, where the ‘outer old’ trail deviates from the beach, with a vantage of swamp/pond/beach/lake:

Bad photography conditions due to the distance + backlighting, but still fun to see:

Two chicks and two adults; one adult in the following shots and both in the final shot below:

Happy to have the insects back in action at Presque Isle State Park. Except mosquitos. And most flies. And ticks, which yes, are arachnids. Anyway, after a cold early spring and a slow start, it’s back to normal (at least anecdotally) with the warmer weather.

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Took a while to ID the yellow/orange-flowering groundcover all over the sunny/open areas of Presque Isle State Park: invasive Cypress Spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias). This is along the ‘outer old’ Gull Point Trail:

Three closeups of unknown ant species + Cypress Spurge, Dead Pond Trail:

Cypress Spurge from earlier in the spring:

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Following might be Fragile Forktail damselfly (Ischnura posita):

Very cool sighting of Hobomok Skipper butterfly (Lon hobomok) along the Dead Pond Trail:

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Fun shots of Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) on the Long Pond Trail:

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Finally, the beautiful Lupine (Lupinus perennis) is in bloom, and plenty of it in the ‘habitat restoration area’ on the south side of the main park road between Leslie Beach (by the lighthouse) and Beach No. 9 (Pine Tree):

Dateline: 28 May 2023

Spectacular holiday weekend at Presque Isle State Park – lovely weather and lots of nature activity. Plenty of content forthcoming: insects, turtles, Gull Point, more cute baby woodpeckers, more cute baby Killdeer, etc.

In the meantime, a quick/casual report from Dead Pond Trail (east end) on Sunday.

This looks like it might be some sort of domestic Clematis (flowering vine), but growing wild by the Dead Pond trailhead at Thompson Circle:

Great to see another (or the same?) Wilson’s Warbler:

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More female Common Yellowthroat:

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Nice to get a couple ok shots of male Blackpoll Warbler:

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A couple fun/surrealist shots of “bird in motion,” both American Redstart (f). WARNING: may cause eye watering and headache.

Dateline: 29 May 2023

Spectacular Monday morning at Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park; perfect weather, no one around other than BirdingPI.com’s holiday volunteer contingent.

Been out to Gull Point too many times to count, but this is the first ever BirdingPI.com sighting of Piping Plover at this location!

Photography here was very long distance from the observation platform; aesthetically very unsatisfying, but still cool to see this bird. This shot @ 800mm, cropped to 16×9 but not ‘enlarged’/zoomed in:

Taking flight (just to the right of center):

Exploring the dunes; uncropped view (bird is just off center):

Cropped (bird approximately at center):

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Bird is right of center:

Back to the beach:

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:

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Probably more Swainson’s Thrush:

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Lovely Black-throated Green Warbler:

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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.)

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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.

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At a nearby location a bit later, this is probably a female Common Yellowthroat:

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[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.]