Bonus post of Eastern Bluebird @ Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”) + friends. #Happy_2023

Two of Pileated Woodpecker:

And two of Northern Cardinal (m):

Dateline: 30 December 2022

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a great 2023!

It was time once again for the yearly BirdingPI.com “around New Year’s trek to Gull Point if conditions permit,” in this instance time-shifted to Friday afternoon due to the forecast weekend bad weather. (Weather Saturday: rain, rain, and more rain.) Last year: beautiful weather and an amazing Peregrine Falcon. This year, it was looking like Downy Woodpecker and gulls. Which are great, but no need for the Gull Point hike to see gulls.

As previously reported, weather was abnormally warm – nice to be out without hats/gloves. Trail conditions along the beach: icy and tangled with downed trees, but manageable. (Warm enough for the ice dunes to be soft enough for traction.) Trail conditions on the outer old trail: passable but very icy; not recommended.

Almost nothing at Gull Point – Mallard ducks in a melt spot on the back bay, and occasional overhead passing gulls.

Then, Gull Point/”expect the unexpected:” a pair of Greater White-fronted Geese flying over the lake generally from northeast to southwest. Officially something in the ‘rather amazing’/rare category = Presque Isle State Park not along the usual migratory path. ID tips: brownish overall colour, distinctive white face patch, and black splotches on the belly. Per All About Birds, orange legs and beaks = subspecies flavirostris, Greenland-breeding.

From a Presque Isle birding perspective, no better way to end 2022!

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Later today, bonus post with Eastern Bluebird!

Significantly overcast and rainy this Saturday morning in the greater Erie, PA area. OTOH, beautiful Friday yesterday, partially sunny with abnormally high temps of around 17 deg C (63 deg F) and a warm breeze from the south = like a nice spring day.

Not unexpectedly, birds were out in force enjoying the weather: Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Eastern Bluebird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pileated Woodpecker, crow, Downy Woodpecker, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-breasted Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, House Sparrow, etc.

Been tough getting good Tufted Titmouse shots this season. Thankfully, the streak of bad luck is over with this series of rather nice photos that ends on a hoppin’ high note.

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More on the Friday activity – especially Eastern Bluebird – next time!

Thought “Gullmania” was over? Enough gull shots in the hopper to last until the Roman numerals get too confusing to figure out. #gull_filler All photos at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA.

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As forecast, the weather in Erie turned substantially warmer this week; much of the snow has melted. Forecast for the weekend: rainy and relatively mild. Conditions sound bad for birding/photography, but hoping for the best as always.

From Monday at North Pier, Presque Isle State Park, this American Coot was bathing/preening, followed by gesticulating in the frigid air for apparently removing excess water from ‘places that American Coot don’t want excess water.’ Then returning to the waters of Thompson Bay.

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Bonus shots: American Coot + Greater Scaup (f):

More digital photographs from Monday at Presque Isle State Park. First up, American Tree Sparrow by Long Pond:

The following all off Budny Beach. American Robin:

Lovely Red-bellied Woodpecker:

American Tree Sparrow @ feeding behavior:

Song Sparrow foraging in the snow:

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Looks like maybe a sunny day Wednesday in the greater Erie area, plus a forecast of warmer temps for the rest of the week. Fingers crossed! #more_bird

Dateline: 26 December 2022

Friday-Sunday in the greater Erie area: light/moderate snow, mostly overcast (some sun Saturday afternoon), windy, and extremely cold. No BirdingPI.com field operations due to unsafe conditions. Monday, overcast and cold, but warm enough (-7 deg C) to muster a small team for a chilly outing to Presque Isle State Park.

In park news, with the cold snap the back bay made an abrupt turn from ‘mostly unfrozen’ to ‘mostly frozen.’ Also, as of Monday afternoon, outer loop main park road was closed from East Pier to the main turnoff for the Coast Guard station. Presumably due to icy road conditions along the bay. (Extreme cold + high wind = blowing freezing water.) Access to West Pier also closed, for the same reason.

Reasonably good bird activity Monday. Lots of Tundra Swan activity (especially in an unfrozen area of the back bay by Feather Platform – more on this later in the week), plus sparrows, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, various ducks and gulls, and various woodpeckers. Here, Tundra Swan far out on Lake Erie, taken from Budny Beach. For a bit of colour therapy, interspersed with Northern Cardinal (m) also along Budny Beach:

Bad shots of swans in flight:

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All trail conditions generally poor: 13 cm snow on top of ice/frozen rain. Windblown areas close to the water not safely traversable due to slippery conditions. Paved trails in reasonably good shape.

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Bonus bad swan video:

A nice gift from Santa: backlogged shots of lovely female Black-and-white Warbler, from this past April at Presque Isle State Park. (Female: note the buffy wash/flanks.)

Dreaming of a White-breasted Nuthatch Christmas. All shots recently near Long Pond @ Presque Isle State Park.

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Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! Here in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”), overcast, cold, light wind, and actively snowing. (Temp @ 9:21AM: -10 deg C.) Not quite blizzard conditions, but not a good day for the outdoors.

Dateline: 24 December 2022

The awful weather continues in Erie: overcast, windy, current temp of -16 deg C with a windchill down as low as -38 deg C, in the “dangerous” category. BirdingPI.com field operations remain on hiatus until conditions improve.

So, not a post on the fabled final George R.R. Martin novel that’ll never see the light of day. Instead, time for a ray of virtual sunshine in the form of backlogged shots from spring migration this past April, at Presque Isle State Park.

First up, BirdingPI.com’s second favorite warbler, the amazingly lovely Black-throated Blue Warbler:

The equally lovely Magnolia Warbler (m):

Following shot probably a Swainson’s Thrush. Note the bold, buffy eyering, plus the tail isn’t reddish/doesn’t contrast with the back (like a Hermit Thrush):

The irascible, beautiful Brown Thrasher:

Looks like a lovely Veery:

Some type of thrush (Hermit or Swainson’s):

Lovely American Robin: