A lot of debate in the BirdingPI.com break room about how best to present this recent happenstance at South Pier, Erie, PA (“Erie’s favorite pier!”) Perhaps the story of Elmo the Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger), who despite the other squirrels’ warnings just had to see South Pier for himself. Or maybe not. Anyway, considering the lack of cover + local hawk population (e.g., Red-tailed Hawk seen regularly at this location – see below), not a safe place for rodents.

A happy ending, however – “Elmo” made it back safely into the underbrush:

[Editor’s note: a Red-tailed Hawk would have a very different sense of a ‘happy ending’ to this tail (pun intended). Just sayin’.]

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Edit: A Red-tailed Hawk @ South Pier, the next day or thereabouts.

By popular demand, a couple quickly-edited photographs of beautiful Yellow Warbler (m) early yesterday morning @ Leo’s Landing, Presque Isle State Park:

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Plenty more Yellow Warbler to come, but for now, back to last Saturday at Presque Isle State Park, starting with more shots of Spotted Sandpiper @ Leo’s Landing:

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Following also at Leo’s Landing:

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Checking in on nests by Long Pond:

Finally, along the Sidewalk Trail:

Happy May Day! Early reports from BirdingPI.com field staff this morning indicate a substantial increase in Yellow Warbler activity at Presque Isle State Park = happy times. More on this in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, more shots of spring migration, etc. from this past Saturday, mostly at Leo’s Landing:

Great to see the first Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the year:

Alternating with Caspian Tern:

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Nice gull size comparison, Ring-billed (right), American Pixie (middle left), & Herring (left):

Great to see Spotted Sandpiper, also “new for 2024:”

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Another ‘first of 2024’ sighting @ Baltimore Oriole (m):

Relatively rare to run across an active nest; not sure where all those amazing shots (e.g., of baby birds) originate on teh internets. (Generally assuming folks are climbing trees, or running drones, or in helicopters, or giant ladders, or shrub diving, perhaps trained monkeys + GoPro^TM cameras.) Here, @ Presque Isle State Park, happenstance proximity this last Sunday to American Robin + very young chicks. Per BirdingPI.com policy, “Upon encountering an active nest, quickly take a few shots if safely possible then calmly and speedily evacuate the area.”

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Dateline: 26-28 April 2024

Despite periods of considerable rain, looks like spring “high season” kicked into gear over the weekend, with warm/humid conditions and a substantial uptick (anecdotally) in warbler, etc. activity. “New for 2024” sightings at Presque Isle State Park included Gray Catbird, Yellow Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper, Baltimore Oriole, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, even an early Veery. Here’s a nice sequence of alternating Pine Warbler (appropriately enough @ Pine Tree Beach picnic area) & Palm Warbler @ Long Pond Trail:

Pine Warbler usually not seen this low to the ground for this long (10-15 minutes) = good for bird photography.

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Recent misc. shots at Asbury Woods x female Northern Cardinal @ Presque Isle State Park:

Despite a bit of wind/chill, beautiful sunny day yesterday in Erie County, PA. Turned rainy/windy/thunderstorms overnight, remaining unsettled this morning; good luck to everyone heading out for birds/nature. Recent sightings of note: Common Raven (!) @ South Pier; & Palm Warbler @ interior Gull Point Trail, Pine Warbler @ Pine Tree Beach picnic area & Pine Tree Trail, & Piping Plover @ outer Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park. More on all that later. In the meantime, nice recent shots of American Coot, etc. at South Pier:

Another year gone, & once again the birthday anniversary of “He Who Must Not Be Named,” pro-slavery advocate & generally awful human. Glad to see they finally changed the name, as suggested, to National Birding & Bird Conservation Society. [<– irony]

And with that out of the way, time for something even more amazing than a total solar eclipse: a classic Canada Goose kerfuffle! (“Kerfuffle” = exhibiting seasonal mating aggressiveness/territoriality behavior.) These recent shots on a cloudy day @ Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve, Mentor, OH. Please enjoy responsibly.

Despite cloudy/cold conditions (+ hint snow) last Sunday, it’s reasonably nice ‘Swallow trifecta’ content from State Game Lands Number 109 outside Waterford Twp, PA, in southern Erie County. Swallow trifecta: Northern Rough-winged (brown), Tree (blue/white), & Barn (blue/russet).

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Stay tuned for tomorrow’s special post of amazing bird photos! (Really. Well, maybe.)

Lots of controversy at BirdingPI.com over characterizing Mallard as the “world’s most beautiful duck.” In the spirit of avoiding intractable staff conflict, time for a hint of nuance: (i) Mallard: “the most beautiful duck regularly seen relatively close at Presque Isle State Park all year long;” (ii) Wood Duck: “the most beautiful duck occasionally seen relatively close, even if only briefly, at Presque Isle State Park part of the year;” (iii) Northern Shoveler: “the most beautiful duck occasionally seen at a distance at Presque Isle State Park part of the year;” & (vi) Harlequin Duck: “the most beautiful duck almost never seen at Presque Isle State Park, but still possible.” Anyway, after all that tortured exposition, some rather amazing* shots of Wood Duck, taken recently close to the head of Presque Isle Bay. [*Editor’s note: these ducks much less skittish than usual, perhaps due to proximity of road traffic.]

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Bonus shots of “rarely seen out of water” Lesser Scaup (probably):

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