Dateline: late August-early September, 2022

The western Pennsylvania Wild Turkey migration is off to a strong start – huge flocks taking to the sky:

Ha! A bird funny. Obviously those are Canada Geese.

Appears the squirrels might be meddling again.

More seriously, on the entomological side, lots of Monarch Butterfly at Presque Isle State Park this past weekend:

Active waterfowl/shorebird migration: see yesterday’s post re. swans; also (not shown) Canada Goose, Double-breasted Cormorant, & Blue-winged Teal. … Following perhaps juvenile or female Mallard Duck:

Also female/immature Common Merganser, off Budny Beach:

Please enjoy peaceful surf floating:

As usual, plenty of Wood Duck on the Thompson Circle swamp/pond (southern side):

Some misc bird, first – male Downy Woodpecker:

Found a snack:

Gray Catbird!

Probably an Eastern Wood-pewee:

The very yellow American Goldfinch (m) @ Headwaters Park, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

Everyone’s favorite red-headed woodpecker, a duo of Red-headed Woodpecker:

Back to Pine Tree Trail with a mystery bird. Could be immature Common Yellowthroat?

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Tomorrow, back to Bentley Nature Preserve in western New York State – there will be birds!

[Editor’s Note: bad bird humor is against BirdingPI.com policy. The management apologies for the leading content above, which is obviously European Starling. Example of real Wild Turkey:

Dateline: August 2022

Bonus post – catching up on field reports with some misc bird from the Ramsey Canyon, Arizona area!

First up, Mexican Jay at Carr Canyon:

Next up, the irrepressible Acorn Woodpecker/utility pole:

Plenty of Black-headed Grosbeak (f) in Ramsey Canyon, at least by feeders:

Awful picture. Nevertheless, highlight of any outing is Scott’s Oriole:

Similar species Audubon Oriole and the rare (in US) Black-vented Oriole = fully black tail. Probably.

Highlight of Ramsey Canyon: Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. And lots of them.

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher call: “squeaky toy.” Thanks to the kind folks at the Nature Conservancy Ramsey Canyon Preserve visitors’ center for the apt characterization. Example from on-site:

More Acorn Woodpecker. Very social, very busy, very beautiful.

[Photo Editor’s Note: Those are some nice shots of Acorn Woodpecker. Just sayin’.]

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[Editor’s Note: No affiliation with The Nature Conservancy. Please consider donating to this very worthy cause #nature]

Dateline: 5 September 2022

Back on the Pine Tree Trail, Presque Isle State Park, on a rainy Labor Day Monday. On-and-off rain in the morning, heavy rain by mid-afternoon. (Nearby Budny Beach shown above.) About a 45 minute ‘dry window’ for cloudy/shady photography; lots of bird activity – woodpecker, nuthatch, flycatcher, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Gray Catbird!, etc. Plenty of warblers, but difficult to see in the tree tops.

A bit shady, but still an excellent shot of Common Yellowthroat:

Awful picture, but still illustrative of a male Redstart:

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Next time, back to the Weekend Update with a fall migration report!

Special preview – two Swans spotted Saturday in the French Creek swamp at the junction of Interstate 86 and Ashton Rd:

Couldn’t verify if Tundra Swan or Trumpeter Swan, but still very interesting to see this time of year.

Dateline: 5 September 2022

Nuthatch house, that is, swimming pools, movie stars… . Beautiful Red-breasted Nuthatch along the Pine Tree Trail, Presque Isle State Park, on Monday between “less rain” and “more rain.” Bonus = fun video clip.

In this clip, easy to see how dark it was with the clouds/rain. (Shots above: brightness turned up.)

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Tomorrow, more on the Pine Tree Trail!

Dateline: 4 September 2022 – Weekend Update, Part I

Mixed bag this weekend for Erie weather. Mostly sunny and warm on Friday. Partially cloudy, mild/warm, humid Saturday. Sunday, cloudy, mild/warm, and extremely humid. Light rain in the afternoon, then light-to-moderate rain overnight. Cloudy, mild, very humid, and unsettled Monday, with on-and-off rain – enough of a dry window for bird photography before heavy rain moved in over Presque Isle State Park by 2:30PM or thereabouts.

Bird activity fairly subdued on Sunday and with the heavy rain Monday afternoon, otherwise reasonably active. Thick end-of-summer foliage = tough conditions for warbler viewing.

Some shots of Northern Flicker on Sunday, along the Long Pond fishing access trail. Usually skittish, so lucky here to get a close-up view.

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Stay tuned this week for lots more greater western Pennsylvania bird content from the long weekend! More bird!

Dateline: Early September 2022

Back to Gull Point with some lovely sandpipers out on the mud flat – although more grassy than muddy due to dry conditions.

Based on yellow-green legs and small size, Least Sandpiper:

Front view – plenty of breast streaking on this individual:

Dark legs = not a Least Sandpiper. Coloration appears wrong for Western Sandpiper, so based on similar size, probably Semipalmated Sandpiper:

“Scaly” look due to white feather fringes suggests juvenile.

Group shot – note the overall color tone difference: brown/rufous vs. brown/black:

Two Semipalmated in the back/midground, Least in foreground:

Final shot – beak seems long for Semipalmated Sandpiper, so ?

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[Edit: bonus video:

[Editor’s Note: music = tired of listening to wind noise #crappy_in_camera_mics]

Dateline: 3 September 2022

In breaking news, several Canada Geese were spotted yesterday in a park outside Jamestown, New York. When queried about this unusual event, an anonymous passerby stated, “Well, they’re here pretty often.” BirdingPI.com assessment: unlikely story (!)

Only BirdingPI.com brings you the hard-hitting nature photojournalism!

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In other bird news, what appears to be a migrating Red Knot was recently spotted on the mudflats at Gull Point, Presque Isle State Park, Millcreek Twp, PA (“Gateway to Presque Isle”). Following shots are relatively mediocre due to the long distance, but good enough to get the idea. This individual not as red (e.g., in the face/feathers) as a full breeding adult, so could be in plumage transition.

Dateline: Labor Day Weekend, 2022

Not a holiday weekend here at BirdingPI.com – it’s all hands on deck Sat-Mon for nature photojournalism in the greater Erie area. Kicking it off with “bird of the day” – Common Yellowthroat @ Presque Isle State Park, Gull Point Trail.

Highlighting immature male Common Yellowthroat. Note the bright yellow throat, but splotchy black cheeks interspersed with hints of gray. (Fully mature male: fully-delineated black face with upper, gray bordering band.)

Following shots have a more even brown/gray face, so could be female Common Yellowthroat.

Back to a final shot of what’s clearly an immature male, but the gray upper face band is better formed than above.

Wishing everyone a great weekend! Be sure to nature!

Dateline: August 2022, Arizona.

Black-tailed Rattlesnake. In a tree @ Ramsey Canyon Preserve, AZ. So beautiful, just want to give it a big hug!

One more thing to worry about – snakes in trees.

[Editor’s Note: BirdingPI.com does not endorse physically interacting with rattlesnakes.]

So much content from Arizona, so much content from Presque Isle, can’t keep track of it all.

Today, a special report from Scott Reservoir outside Pinetop/Lakeside, AZ. Volcanic, high-alt pine and alligator juniper territory. With water. Excellent spot for birds.

First up. With water, expect an Osprey:

Here, might be female Vermillion Flycatcher (!):

Worth a visit just for this amazingly beautiful male Western Tanager. Part of the cardinal family – who knew? (Obviously folks more well informed than here.)

Female Vermillion Flycatcher on a stick:

Backlit/Turkey Vulture:

Flight outline, Osprey style:

Lots of great birds so far, but then it got crazy. What appeared to be three juvenile or female American Kestrel in a dead pine tree, playing tag with a couple Steller’s Jay. Non-ironic “wow” on that one.

These shots at a very long distance and challenging conditions against an overcast/backlit sky, but amazing to see nevertheless.

Back to a closer distance with great shots of lovely Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. An Erie favorite, so great to see it here.

Finally, a modest denouement – might be Solitary Sandpiper:

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