Beautiful, sunny Saturday at Presque Isle State Park, followed by an overcast, rainy Sunday.
In the “bird news” department, should mention multiple sightings of Tundra Swan – on the back bay (above) earlier last week, and on Long Pond (below) the last couple days.
Quite a bit of Black-capped Chickadee activity. Shots from the last couple days along the Pine Tree Trail and Long Pond Trail:
Recent shots of high-flying ducks (Hooded Merganser, + maybe Mallard) above Long Pond, Presque Isle State Park. Rule 40(a): “When all else fails, an acceptable substitute (for properly lit subjects) is backlighting/outline” (North American Association of Bird Photographers’ Handbook of Bird Photography, pg. 201; 2nd Ed. Knopf, 1997).
Cold, windy, and mostly cloudy on Friday. Not a lot of bird activity at Presque Isle, and not a nice day to be outside. As of Saturday morning, clear with a hard frost overnight. Looks like a good day for birding! #nature
Dateline: 24 November 2022
Thanksgiving day, decent weather out at Presque Isle State Park. Very little bird activity at Gull Point, but a nice day for a hike – beach trail in good shape, outer old trail icy in spots but overall ok. Out at the Point, one confirmed sighting – no pictures – of multiple Snow Bunting, flying from the north-side beach to south of the observation platform. Otherwise, nada.
Main excitement was back at Budny Beach. Pair of lovely Horned Grebe (non-breeding plumage):
Also at that same location, a pair of amazing Common Loon (non-breeding plumage):
Never know with Gull Point, but always something cool to see somewhere along the way.
Q: Why did the Wild Turkey cross the road? A: Yes, it really was to get to the other side.
Following shots, startled a turkey along the Long Pond Trail, which then flew across the water to the other side (!) Amazing to see the wing feathers during landing = gorgeous!
Looks like mostly clear weather today in the Erie area so far. No holidays for BirdingPI.com – all teams heading out at daybreak. Tomorrow, more duck!
Recent shots of lovely mixed ducks in the sun, Presque Isle State Park, mostly at Long Pond:
Warmer and mostly sunny the last few days in Erie – a reprieve from the early winter weather. Weather appears unsettled over the long weekend, but wishing everyone in the US a Happy Thanksgiving! (As usual, beef on the BirdingPI.com menu – sorry cow friends.)
Recent, snowy shots of Dark-eyed Junco and friends at Presque Isle State Park.
Beautiful female Northern Cardinal in the shrubbery near Sunset Point, on Saturday at Presque Isle State Park.
[Photo Editor’s note: Too bad that last shot is partially blocked, but still fun to see.]
Dateline: 19 November 2022
Another significant snowfall in Erie overnight (Saturday into Sunday); overcast, cold, and windy as of the morning. Brutal, February-like conditions out at Presque Isle State Park on Saturday. With windchill, temps must have been below -7 deg C. Shallower ponds/swamp starting to freeze over.
Overall, reasonable bird activity – Northern Cardinal, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadee, gulls, and waterfowl. Rough photography conditions with overcast, wind, cold, and numb extremities, but some shots from Long Pond:
Three of (poorly exposed) ducks in flight @ Hooded Merganser:
Mallards in rough water by West Pier:
Stay tuned this week for Cardinal and Junco – more bird!
When you sign up to work at BirdingPI.com, it’s not a walk in the park. Well, ok, let’s back up. It’s almost always walking in parks, literally, but not in a flowers/sunshine/rainbows way. It’s opting in for long reasonable hours at high intensity. But shots of snow-covered geese aren’t going to take themselves, and if you don’t like it, go do weddings or baby portraits.
Yes, Erie’s already transitioned to full on winter, and that’s the way we like it. Lake-effect snow mini-blizzard? Doesn’t matter – BirdingPI.com’s operating at 110% intensity for more bird!
Ducks landing, heavy wind/snow @ Long Pond:
Weather forecast for the weekend? Snow, cold, clouds, whatever – doesn’t matter. #nature #birding_intensity
Couple bonus shots of additional wintery conditions:
