Wishing everyone a happy Valentine’s Day 2023!
Happy Valentine’s Day
Back To Blue(birds)
With the relatively warm weather Wednesday (sunny) and Thursday (rainy AM, sunny PM) in Erie, PA, the lovely Eastern Bluebirds were out in force.
Two shots of a female:
Following shots – male Eastern Bluebird:
PI Bird Alert
Beautiful weekend out at Presque Isle State Park – cool (2+ deg C) but sunny in the afternoon on Saturday, slightly warmer and sunny on Sunday. Plenty of eagle, duck, gull, and GBH activity, but in a BirdingPI.com first, here’s an amazing female Long-tailed Duck spotted Saturday at North Pier. Brown body, white face, dark cheek ‘smudge,’ etc. (Females lack the long tail.)
Right here the weekend’s a ‘win,’ but stay turned for Bald Eagle, and lots of it, later in the week!
Where Is That $#&@%! Green Comet???
Nothing spells “fail” better than bird photographers + “astral photography.” But such is the lure of the recent “green comet” media reports in conjunction with a clear-ish night in Erie.
Huh, well, this is interesting. Appears to be Jupiter and four of its moons @ 800mm. Which is pretty cool. #not_a_total_loss
Next time, more green comet! Or maybe Bald Eagle! Or Bluebird! Who can know for sure?
Weekend Update/Part II.b
More dead fish! More Great Black-backed Gull! More fun!
Erie, PA weather forecast calls for cool temps and mixed sun/clouds over the weekend. Looks like ok conditions for winter birding! Wishing everyone a nice weekend. #more_bird!
Morning Mourning Doves (etc.)
Beautiful morning Wednesday in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”). Sunny, w/ temps maybe around 4 deg C, no snow = lots of non-gull/waterfowl/GBH bird activity.
Plenty of European Starling out and about:
Beautiful male House Finch:
Bonus House Finch video:
This is at a long distance through a screen of trees/branches = bad photos, but doesn’t matter – still an amazing Cooper’s Hawk! First BirdingPI.com sighting in 2023 and a happy occurrence generally. ID tip: note the red eyes, and very dark top-of-head that confers a capped look.
Would have been very hard to spot in this location at this distance, but this bird had been in flight just previously – and clearly too small to be a Red-tailed Hawk.
Wrapping it up with White-breasted Nuthatch!
Coming up soon, Eastern Bluebird from this same morning, plus Coots at lunch, plus more gull, plus more GBH! Also ducks! #more_bird!
A Dream Come True?
GBH together with Ring-billed Gull on an icy Long Pond!?! Poor lighting conditions/exposure aside, it’s still BirdingPI.com gold. All shots 5 February 2023, Presque Isle State Park.
Coming up soon, a special, sunny break from wintery coverage of gulls, GBH, and ducks! Featuring a ‘guest appearance’ from an amazing, if distant, Cooper’s Hawk! Hello!
Weekend Update/Part II.a
For BirdingPI.com, it appears “something unexpected” includes reasonably good photography of gulls fighting over dead fish (?)
All shots Great Black-backed Gull @ Presque Isle State Park, Beach No. 11 looking (generally) towards Gull Point. (Shot immediately below: + Tundra Swan.)
Bonus video of mixed gulls:
Weekend Update/Part I
Dateline: 4-5 February 2023
Despite cancelling Saturday BirdingPI.com field operations for safety reasons (excessive cold), it’s another epic-ish weekend update!
Weather Saturday: very cold/windy. Sunny in the morning, transitioning to lake effect overcast, transitioning back to hazy sun. Shot above – looking north, with lake effect clouds moving in from the west/northwest. Shot below: high clouds to the south.
Wintery Erie denizens:
Sunday, partially overcast turning to very overcast, but warmer; windchill still somewhat brutal in exposed spots (e.g., Perry Monument). Lots of duck, other waterfowl, GBH, and gull activity. Skipping over Long Pond and Presque Isle Bay for now, starting with North Pier and then Thompson Bay.
Following shot, view west from North Pier w/ slightly frozen back bay (Presque Isle Bay). Hard to tell the details due to backlit exposure, but Canada Goose, American Coot, Mallard, and Redhead:
A Double-crested Cormorant drying off in the cold wind, on South Pier:
Meanwhile, over at Thompson Bay, an unfrozen spot = ducks. Scaups, Redhead, Canvasback, Mallard, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Gadwall, etc.
Bonus duck video:
Tundra Swan + guano:
Foreground: Tundra Swan; background left: juvenile Bald Eagle:
Presque Isle State Park trail conditions: mostly good with minimal snow and some frozen/icy patches; localized flooding depending on location and weather conditions.
Duck ID tip:
- Redhead duck (male): red head, gray back, gray bill with black tip
- Canvasback duck (male): red head, off-white back, black bill; head has more of a sloped shape
Next time: there will be gulls!
Gull/Fish II
Lots of great bird activity at Presque Isle State Park yesterday – ducks, geese, swans, GBH, gulls, etc.! While waiting for editorial review, here’s more Ringed-bill Gull @ Marina Lake from the other Saturday:
