East Ave Bird Alert

Dateline: 10 January 2023.

Beach at East Ave
Ruddy Duck by East Ave boat ramp

Tuesday, cool but mostly sunny; nice to see the sun for once. Time for a quick lunchtime stop at the East Avenue boat ramp and beach (Erie, PA), which yielded a sizeable flock of amazing Ruddy Duck!

Not a common sighting, hence the amazement. BirdingPI.com’s last official sighting was a couple years ago, with several spotted flying over Presque Isle Bay.

Female or immature male

As night feeders, most were resting/asleep (see shots above), but several were actively foraging (diving).

Male, non-breeding plumage
Diving

Directions to East Ave boat ramp: navigate to East Avenue and head north until the pavement ends at the lake.

[Editor’s Note: edited on 17 Jan 2023 to add picture of East Avenue beach, to provide context. Hammermill Paper Co. smoke stacks in background.]

Gulls @ Conneaut/Winter

Dateline: 7 January 2023

View towards Conneaut Harbour from Conneaut Township Park

Something of a tradition [*] in Erie, PA to visit the beach in Conneaut, Ohio on a cold, windy, overcast winter day to see the famous [**] Ring-billed Gulls. Overcast/dark conditions on these “just ok” shots:

View west

Light at Conneaut breakwater with gulls and scaup ducks:

Sand bar
Gull activity on sand bar
View of Conneaut Creek from Route 7, looking upstream

[* Editor’s note: may not reflect an actual tradition.]

[** Editor’s note: may not reflect actual notoriety status.]

LECP/Eagle

Dateline: 7 January 2023

View of Presque Isle (west) from LECP

Very gloomy weekend in the greater Erie, PA area in terms of available light; tough conditions for bird photography. Nevertheless, time for BirdingPI.com coverage of the the “west bluffs” area (Erie lakeshore between Presque Isle and the Ohio border) for ‘hopefully eagles.’ Mission: Successful – mature Bald Eagle spotted flying over Lake Erie Community Park (LECP), renowned for its lake views, picnicking facilities, eagle watching, and dangerous, unfenced cliffs.

All these shots rather poorly exposed, but still, Bald Eagle!







Bonus Pileated Woodpecker at Lake Erie Community Park:

Dangerous cliff

Russet-breasted Indigo Thrush

More Eastern Bluebird in January! Finally, some decent shots of this beautiful, blue bird. Or, as we like to call it at BirdingPI.com, somewhat more creatively, the Russet-breasted Indigo Thrush.

Overcast with drizzly snow/rain Friday and Saturday. All shots Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”) in light snow Saturday morning.

[Editor’s note: Eastern Bluebird being in the thrush family. #birding_humour]


Later in the week, coming to you from lovely Conneaut, Ohio! Featuring (wait for it…) Ring-billed Gull!

Sparrow In The House!

Don’t see enough House Sparrow content, but rectifying that here with these recent, nice shots taken near Swan Cove parking lot, Presque Isle State Park.

On a branch
Photobombed!
What was that?
Hmmm…

This male had been bathing in the little streamlet that connects the ranger station pond to the back bay:

Shaky photography
Shaken, not stirred
Air dry cycle

Long view

Branch perch portraiture:


A return to seasonal conditions Friday with overcast, cold, and light snow in the Erie area. Wishing everyone a great weekend! BirdingPI.com weekend teams standing by to deploy. #more_bird

Happy NBD

Dateline: 5 January 2023

Happy US National Bird Day! After heavy rain all day Wednesday, mostly dry today, but cooler. Very little bird activity. Besides hawks, celebrating NBD with new shots on the BirdingPI.com main page, plus random ‘exotics’ in the form of Blue Grosbeak from this past summer at San Pedro House in Arizona.

Male
Female
Male again

Weekend Update

Dateline: 30 December 2022-3 January 2023.

Presque Isle Bay, view west

Right now in Erie, PA it’s all about the weather. Friday: nice day, very warm (see previous post); Saturday: moderate/heavy on-and-off rain; Sunday: overcast with almost a hint of sun, turning to generalized overcast and widespread drizzle/light rain by mid-afternoon; Monday: partially sunny and mild in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”), 9 degree C cooler and heavy fog at Presque Isle State Park – almost zero visibility on the back bay; Tuesday: rain and lots of it. Snow has melted, and Presque Isle Bay, etc. have returned to “mostly unfrozen” state. Lake Erie remains unfrozen with little float ice. Presque Isle trail conditions: generally wet and muddy.

Presque Isle Bay, view towards Erie bayfront
Long Pond
North Pier/East Light/Gull Point

Species spotted New Year’s Day: Northern Cardinal; Downy Woodpecker; Pileated Woodpecker; Eastern Bluebird; Black-capped Chickadee; Canada Goose; crow; House Sparrow; Ring-billed Gull; Mallard; Ring-necked Duck; Bufflehead; Belted Kingfisher; European Starling; domestic Mallard (American Pekin); GBH; Bald Eagle; Common Loon; Horned Grebe; Red-tailed Hawk; Rock Pigeon (i.e., common pigeon); Double-crested Cormorant; American Coot; etc. Photography conditions generally poor; a few ok examples:

Belted Kingfisher/landing
Ring-necked Duck/Long Pond

Ring-billed Gull w/ fish @ Long Pond:

Lunch
In-flight snack
Happy gull
Horned Grebe @ North Pier

Two shots of beautiful Common Loon near North Pier:

Common Loon I
More Common Loon

Monday, a bit of blue sky south of Presque Isle. Fair amount of American Robin activity, apparently heading south:

Robin duo
Mourning Dove

Meanwhile, extremely foggy at Presque Isle State Park:

Aside from rare geese, the ‘bird of the weekend’ was this amazing Barred Owl near the corner of Canoe Portage Trail and Duck Pond Trail:

Distance rear view

Winter advantage: easy to scan the treetops for ‘bird profiles.’

Rear view, feather detail

Tough conditions shooting high up into a tree in the fog against an overcast sky. These shots adjusted for contrast and brightness.

Yes, the owl knows you’re there
Barred Owl for the win!
Enlargement
Brush @ Duck Pond Trail
Black-capped Chickadee

End portion of Duck Pond Trail closest to Duck Pond was passable but extremely muddy and wet – not recommended until things freeze again or dry out.

Duck Pond Trail/muddy
Duck Pond – GBH and Kingfisher (sitting on the branch)
Duck Pond Trail, east trailhead

Next time, a special report from Sunday! #more_bird!

Mallards/Flight

Seems ducks are always spooking in the wrong direction, so nice to get a decent view of these Mallard males and females along the flight path, @ Long Pond, Presque Isle State Park. Less than a week of regular duck hunting season left – hang in there, guys!


[Photo Editor’s note: These photos a bit overexposed originally, adjusted in Photoshop before posting here. Hence a bit uneven.]