Dateline: 21 March 2023

First full day of Spring 2023. Mostly sunny, cool but above freezing, occasional light breeze. With the warmer weather, Eastern Bluebirds are back!

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Pleasant evening at South Pier. With the warmer weather, lots of medical patients out fishing. (#lingering_cannabis_smoke)[*] Duck, gull, goose, Red-winged Blackbird, etc. activity – more on this later in the week.

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With the warmer weather, much more Turkey Vulture activity. As the old saying goes, “First spring, then vultures.” (Apparently reflecting that the food’s run out by springtime.) Following shots Presque Isle State Park from last Saturday:

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[* Editor’s note: BirdingPI.com does not endorse drug use other than black coffee and maybe a whisky with the haggis on Burns Night.]

By popular demand, back with Canada Goose coverage, e.g., thank you occasional reader MMG for the ‘goose positive’ feedback.

“Canada Goose, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” – Anonymous.

All shots Thompson Bay swamp/pond, Presque Isle State Park, Saturday 18 March 2023.

Vernal equinox today at 5:24PM EDT. Wishing everyone in the northern hemisphere a happy spring!

Cold/windy/snowy weekend in the greater Erie, PA area. Monday: cold but sunny.

First up, Wild Turkey tracks in frozen snow. Long dimension is at least 13 cm, i.e., large:

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Following shots all Presque Isle State Park. Very windy Saturday. Here, whitecaps on Presque Isle Bay:

Juvenile or female Long-tailed Duck at North Pier:

Mature Bald Eagle near Beach No. 11:

Bufflehead Ducks at Beach No. 11:

Gull (probably Herring Gull) with fish:

Bufflehead in flight and landing off Beach No. 11:

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Red-breasted Merganser in the Lake Erie surf, off Budny Beach:

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Stay tuned later this week for more Canada Goose! And more gulls! #more_bird

Dateline: 18 March 2023

Sun was out for a while Saturday at Presque Isle State Park, but still brutally cold with the wind chill. As predicted, snow started around 1:30PM with heavy wind/snow squalls/periodic whiteout the rest of the day (see below).

With the rain and melting snow, trails flooded where applicable (B Trail, Long Pond Trail west end, Duck Pond Trail, etc.) Lake level is up, eliminating recent ‘extra beach,’ e.g., here at Thompson Bay around the Osprey platform (normally dry):

A hint of spring with lovely Song Sparrow @ Thompson Bay:

ID tip: coarse streaks with center spot on breast; rounded tail.

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Later in the day, crow in the snow:

Last weekend of winter 2023. Mostly rainy and windy on Friday. Saturday morning: partially cloudy. Winter weather advisory in effect Saturday afternoon into Sunday:

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS
AFTERNOON TO 2 PM EDT SUNDAY...

* WHAT...Lake effect snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches along and near the Lake Erie shoreline with 3 to 6 inches in the higher terrain of Lake County and Erie County, PA. Wind gusts up to 40 mph possible in snow squalls.

* WHERE...In Ohio, Lake and Ashtabula Lakeshore counties. In
  Pennsylvania, Northern Erie and Southern Erie counties.

* WHEN...From 2 PM this afternoon to 2 PM EDT Sunday.

All BirdingPI.com team members dispatched to Presque Isle State Park – getting out for birding while the getting’s good!

Meanwhile, recent bird activity as generally expected: Robin, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Starling, Junco, Dove, Blackbird, Canada Goose, GBH, ducks, and gulls, the occasional woodpecker, hawk, and Turkey Vulture. Looking forward to migration season kicking off! Here, some EOW (end of winter) gulls.

Ring-billed Gull taking off into a stiff headwind @ South Pier:

Gull chase for fish @ Beach No. 11 (probably juvenile/young Ring-billed Gull):

Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend – stay warm!

Well, from a bird photography standpoint we’re on the highway to heck with more Red-winged Blackbird shots, but so be it. Only so much to be done in late winter, Erie, PA. (Friday morning weather: wind and heavy rain.) These shots from South Pier earlier in the week.

With a sunny Wednesday, it was back to watching water drip in Erie County, PA. Behold the magic of fast shutter speeds, burst shooting, & large memory cards! [Edit: also, gravity.] [Edit: also, surface tension.]

Wednesday bonus snowbirds – Northern Cardinal (f & m)!

Return to clear weather Wednesday in Erie, PA, albeit cold @ approx. -3.5 deg C. And with the weather out of the way, time for oddly-exposed GIF (Goose in flight) coverage @ Thompson Bay, Presque Isle State Park, from this past Sunday:

More poorly lit duck/etc. shots from this past Sunday afternoon at Presque Isle State Park. Starting with beautiful American Black Duck @ Niagara Pond – always a pleasure:

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Following shots on Misery Bay. Nice to see a few Ruddy Ducks again!

Pair of Horned Grebe (non-breeding plumage):

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Always pays to check Lake Erie by Budny Beach. Here, interesting sighting of juvenile Long-tailed Duck:

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Bonus video – Ruddy Duck!