“Weekend” Update

With all the bad-ish weather in Erie, PA (Monday weather: on-and-off heavy rain), hard to keep track of “what’s what.” Following’s a mixed bag of recent shots of birds + mammals from Presque Isle State Park + environs.

Great Egret + snack @ Thompson Bay swamp/pond
Mallard escape I @ South Pier
Mallard escape II
Balancing act (Canada Goose)

Red-winged Blackbird (m) @ South Pier:


Not a great shot, but #beautiful_Purple_Martin – somewhere over Presque Isle or vicinity. Great to see these lovely birds back in the area!


Barn Swallow
Blue-winged Teal (f, m). Thompson Bay swamp/pond
Alvin redux, Pine Tree Trail
American Pekin @ Picnic Shelter 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher @ Leo’s Landing
European Starling @ Leo’s Landing
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher @ Long Pond Trail
Red-bellied Woodpecker @ Long Pond Trail
Great Egrets @ Long Pond

Eight Turkey Vulture @ the beach on Thompson Bay:

On The Sidewalk

Invasive Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

Unsettled weather this past weekend in western Pennsylvania – periodic overcast, rain, temperature swings, etc. Bird activity at Presque Isle State Park somewhat subdued; plenty of things to see nevertheless. These shots from Saturday along the Sidewalk Trail, east end, before the rain moved in.

Banded American Robin

Bit of Palm Warbler activity along where the Ridge Trail parallels the Sidewalk Trail at the east end:


Good luck so far this year with Eastern Towhee, here, really nice shots of a beautiful female (brown head instead of black):


Probably Song Sparrow
Eastern Phoebe

Moon Landing

Dateline: 29 April 2023

Cloudy, humid, moderately warm Saturday in Erie, PA. On-and-off light drizzle at Presque Isle State Park, turning to widespread rain by 1:30PM. Bird activity fairly subdued, but as always, lots of Canada Geese! These shots @ Long Pond.

Yellow/Friends

Happy times are here again, with the return of BirdingPI.com’s mascot/favorite warbler, the always amazing, and curiously yellow, Yellow Warbler! All shots under rainy conditions last Saturday at Leo’s Landing/Feather Platform, Presque Isle State Park.

Yellow Warbler (m)
Red-winged Blackbird (f)
Red-winged Blackbird (m) in rain
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Song Sparrow gathering nesting material:


Wet Yellow-rumped Warbler
More Song Sparrow
Osprey

Three of lovely Palm Warbler:


Weekend Update (III)

A ‘grab bag’ of bird content from this past weekend at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA.

RwBIF (Red-winged Blackbird in flight) @ Niagara Pond
American Robin I
Song Sparrow
American Robin II
MIF (Mallard in flight)

Very uncommon occurrence of three Wood Duck (2x male @ top/bottom, 1x female in middle) on Presque Isle Bay, off Leo’s Landing:

3x Wood Duck

Following on Duck Pond as viewed from the road, Great Egret x Canada Goose:

Great Egret @ Duck Pond
Egret/fish + Canada Goose
Egrets x Geese

GEIF (Great Egret in flight) far over Niagara Pond
Red-winged Blackbird/Niagara Pond II

Following all at Gull Point on Sunday:

Mostly Caspian Tern I
Mostly Caspian Tern II
Gulls, flight & fight
CTIF (Caspian Tern in flight)

Closing it out with more amazing, if poorly lit, Tricolored Heron:

P2/Milford

Finally, the final “guest roving correspondent” content from Milford Point – the “Presque Isle of Connecticut.” As promised, Piping Plover, and lots of it! Even under foggy lighting conditions, wow.

Weekend Update (II)

More overcast/gloomy photography from this past weekend at Presque Isle State Park. First up, a very nice shot of beautiful Palm Warbler in the woods adjacent Thompson Bay:

Palm Warbler
GBH @ Feather Platform

Mixed Mallard and Wood Ducks in the clearing off Marina Lake, sort of across from the access trail to Boat Landing #4 on Long Pond. This spot far enough away from the road to avoid spooking.

Duck soup
Mixed ducks

Crappy picture of Savannah Sparrow
Canada Goose @ log, off Sidewalk Trail

For whatever reason, a bit more display this season of the eponymous crown of cute Ruby-crowned Kinglet, off Thompson Bay:

Ruby crown 1
Ruby crown 2
Ruby crown 3

Brown Thrasher

More Palm Warbler:

Palm Warbler I
Palm Warbler II

Duo Chipping Sparrow @ Budny Beach:

Chips I
Chips II

Brown-headed Cowbird @ Feather Platform

Pros/Cons

Dateline: 26 April 2023

 Long Haired Squirrel, c. 1841, by John James Audubon – Private collection, public domain

Another year come and gone, with today the 238th anniversary of the birth of famous ornithologist and generally bad human being John James Audubon. Time for pros/cons:

John James Audubon:

  • Pros:
    • Important contributions to ornithology and popularizing the birds/nature of North America
    • Liked squirrels
  • Cons:
    • Owned slaves and was anti-abolitionist
    • “Audubon developed his own methods for drawing birds. First, he killed them using fine shot. …” (Wikipedia.)

Bird photography:

  • Pros:
    • Fun and rewarding; easier than painting
    • Easier to ID birds than ‘real birding’
  • Cons:
    • Expensive/heavy equipment
    • Giant cameras somewhat pretentious

Swallow photography;

  • Pros:
    • Beautiful birds
    • Fly around a lot in the same area
  • Cons:
    • Small
    • Fly erratically

And with that out of the way, happy to see BirdingPI.com’s favorite swallow, the lovely Northern Rough-winged Swallow, back in Erie at Presque Isle State Park. (Also seen at this spot: Barn Swallow.) These shots adjacent the main park road by Niagara Pond, 23 April 2023.

[Nikon Z9 + Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 lens, cloudy conditions]