Special post of a recent BirdingPI.com “guest roving correspondent” visit to Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY! Beautiful building, interesting facilities/exhibits/art, + plenty of birds in the surrounding Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary.

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Out in the Sanctuary:

Recommend a visit when in the Ithaca, NY area!

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Please consider joining the Lab to support bird education, bird conservation, and great apps like eBird and Merlin. Includes Living Bird magazine, 10% gift shop discount, etc. (No affiliation with BirdingPI.com.)

More beautiful/elegant Bonaparte’s Gull on Lake Erie in the general vicinity of Presque Isle State Park.

Inquiring minds want to know: named after Charles Lucien Bonaparte, French naturalist/ornithologist & nephew of Napoleon I.

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On Lake Erie off Chautauqua Park:

Breeding adult plumage (e.g., black head):

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Between South Pier and North Pier:

Dateline: 16 April 2023

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Surprise spring snow aside, it’s Trout Lilly season, and there’s no place better than Bentley Nature Preserve outside Jamestown, NY.

Trout Lilly with an unknown species of False Blister Beetle:

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More Black-capped Chickadee:

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Couple nice shots of Mourning Cloak butterfly along the Tom’s Point trail:

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Dateline: 18 April 2023

Light frozen rain and snow flurries Monday evening in Erie County, PA, turning to light snow Tuesday morning – enough for 2-3+ cm accumulation on the grass. Making for unhappy spring flowers!

Somewhat abbreviated activities at Presque Isle State Park this weekend due to staff scheduling conflicts. But stay tuned this week for posts with great ex-Erie content from BirdingPI.com’s occasional guest roving correspondents on special assignment. (Spoiler alert: Piping Plover!) Until then, from Presque Isle, some shots last week of the always amazing Wild Turkey:

Lots of American Robin and European Starling this time of year. Mashup of both, on grass:

It’s a lot of Golden-crowned Kinglet at Presque Isle State Park!

A mini-celebration of the beautiful Northern Cardinal. All shots Millcreek Twp, PA (“Gateway to Presque Isle”).

Another ‘epic’ post from various days this past weekend or thereabouts. First up, a flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls in a flooded field off French Creek Rd, south of Waterford, PA:

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Meanwhile, back at Presque Isle State Park:

Swallows are back, here the beautiful Tree Swallow:

Long distance shot that’s somewhat blurry due to heat shimmer, but lots of Great Egret (8+) on Big Pond, as viewed from the main park road:

Another ‘spring first,’ a lovely Wood Duck (male), in the pond by Sidewalk Trail east trailhead:

Not an everyday occurrence:

Long distance/blurry shots, but posting anyway to show Green-winged Teal colouration:

Osprey over Thompson Bay swamp/pond with nesting material:

And here’s the Osprey playing quidditch. Or maybe more nest gathering.

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Finally, the first Caspian Tern of the year spotted flying over the lake from the bluff at Cranch Park:

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Coming up soon, more Kinglet, more Cardinal, more Bonaparte’s Gull, more Robin x Starling! #more_bird

Hanging around Penelec Substation No. 8180 outside Union City, PA finally paid off Saturday with a beautiful ‘interior’ Osprey:

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[Editor’s note: BirdingPI.com does not endorse “hanging around” public utility facilities.]