Dateline: 27 August 2022
Weekend update part II/Saturday morning out to Gull Point. Humid, moderately warm, partially cloudy. On the shorebird side, four Semipalmated Plover spotted on Budny Beach; Dowitcher and juvenile Sanderling out at the point.
Fairly calm, but enough surf for a little wave action with the plover and Ring-billed Gull.
Not the surf, but might as well enjoy the Dowitcher, too:
Dateline: 28 August 2022
It’s hard to pry folks away from Presque Isle. Finally motivated a BirdingPI.com team member into “NW Corner” duty with a couple Jacksons from petty cash and a shopping list for the rather wonderful Peggy Gray Candies and Gifts in N. Springfield, PA – yum! Also, Bald Eagles!
First up, took all summer, but finally some decent shots of the beautiful Tiger Swallowtail. Probably Eastern (Papilio glaucus), possibly Canadian (Papilio canadensis). #Better_late_than_never.
Bonus shots from this same location (corner of Childs Rd and State Line Rd) of Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele):
Not a lot of bird activity in the dense underbrush. Did spot what appears to be a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak:
Yes, Bald Eagle, at least five at one point.
Following sequence at a very long distance (moderate crop @ 500mm), but still fun to see a successful fishing maneuver:
No trip to the NW’s complete without a stop at Erie Bluffs State Park/Elk Creek.
Green Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Gray Catbird!, Killdeer, and a surprise Spotted Sandpiper in non-spotted mode:
Up next: gulls? Hummingbirds? Plovers? So many birds, so little time.
Dateline: 26-28 August 2022
Fairly excellent weekend in Erie County for bird activity and other activity, e.g., Tall Ships Weekend. Hope everyone enjoyed a tall ship or two. (“Tall ship:” 2 parts dark rum, 5 parts club soda, 1 part fruit juice of choice, floater of overproof, e.g., 151 proof, rum.)
Friday: mild, humid, partially cloudy with intermittent/localized t-storms; Saturday: mild-to-warm, humid, partially cloudy in the morning, mostly clear by afternoon; Sunday: clear, warm, humid, very summer-like, highs 27-29 deg C.
As previously reported, big news over the weekend: increased warbler activity – going from a one (“Yellow-only”) to a seven or eight on the species hit count. Still very sporadic/localized.
Starting off with a BirdingPI.com first – always a happy occasion! – an amazing female Prothonotary Warbler. In the woods between east Budny Beach parking and the beach/lake.
Next up, obligatory/lovely Yellow Warbler:
Followed by female Common Redstart:
Rather awful shot of a female Common Yellowthroat, for the record:
This looks like a Yellow-rumped Warbler:
Probably female/immature Magnolia Warbler:
Following two shots probably also immature/molting Magnolia Warbler:
Following two rather are difficult to ID. Black streaking suggests not Palm Warbler. First could be Magnolia Warbler and the second Yellow-rumped Warbler? Or?
Wrapping it up with a special section on what could very well be a female/immature Cape May Warbler! Yellow throat and neck line, gray cheek patch, olive/gray cap, black streaking, white under-tail coverts, yellow/dark wings with a fairly large white patch/bar. If so, puts the count at eight warbler species over the weekend – really great for late August.
Next up: checking in from “The Corner” – a special BirdingPI.com report.
[Editor’s note: BirdingPI.com does not endorse the consumption of alcoholic beverages. #caffeinated_coffee.]
Reporting from the world-famous (Regionally famous? Maybe not that famous?) trestle bridge along the Apache railroad multi-use trail, in the beautiful Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona, earlier in August. @ 2800 meters elevation (approx).
Mystery bird on the bridge. Conspicuous blue feathers suggest either jay or bluebird. Bill seems much to fine for jay (e.g., Scrub Jay), so we’re going with bluebird. Overall coloration is juvenile. Could be juvenile Western or Mountain Bluebird. Heavy streaking/spotting down entirety of breast/chest suggests Western Bluebird.
Tomorrow’s post: Presque Isle weekend update, part I. Yes, there will be warbler.
Dateline: August 2022
With the Erie team out scouring Presque Isle State Park for more warbler, time for an epic roundup of recently sighted birds in the White Mtns near Pinetop/Lakeside, Arizona. (Note: no birds actually rounded up.)
Could this be an Olive-sided Flycatcher?!? Gray “vest” is very delineated with a strong/contrasted white center-breast = more like Olive-sided than Western Wood-Pewee.
In a BirdingPI.com first, a really bad shot of a really amazing Lewis’s Woodpecker:
Following crop is augmented to show detail – dark back, pink belly, red face, black head, and white/gray collar:
Following three shots all Dark-eyed Junco (Red-backed form), a local favorite:
Following shots probably all Western Bluebird:
Dateline: 25-26 August 2022, Presque Isle State Park
Urgent field report from the BirdingPI.com team in Erie. Anecdotally, sharp uptick late this week of warbler activity. Confirmed sightings along Pine Tree Trail, Marsh Trail, Budny Beach, etc. included Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Prothonotary Warbler. Possibly Magnolia Warbler and other TBD.
Black-and-white Warbler along the Pine Tree Trail (east end) shown here.
Looks like fall migration is kicking into gear!
Stay tuned – more warbler!
No one brings you compelling birding/nature journalism like BirdingPI.com! Case in point, today’s post – Quail on a Fence!
All lovely Gambel’s Quail in Tucson, all on a fence! Good opportunity here to see both adult and juvenile – usually ensconced in shrubbery/vegetation.
Per our friends at All About Birds, “The male’s prominent black belly patch distinguishes it from the similar California Quail.” (See shots above and immediately below.)
[Disclaimer: BirdingPI.com is a supporter of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but no affiliation otherwise. Please consider supporting.]
Dateline: August 2022
Female Broad-tailed Hummingbird in the national forest outside Pinetop/Lakeside, White Mountains, Arizona.
The lovely Lucy’s Warbler! Not a common sighting in the Tucson metro area; very surprised with this ‘backyard’ visit. Perhaps due to recent rainfall. Male: blue/gray, white-ish underside, rufous stripe on head and rufous rump. Definitely a “wow!”
Dateline: 20-21 August 2022
Warm and dry Saturday in Erie, moderate thunderstorms overnight. Partially clear but unsettled Sunday morning, thunderstorms moving in with fairly heavy rain over Presque Isle State Park just before 2:30pm (see below). Pre-rain, all Presque Isle State Park trails dry except where previously reported. Partial clearing by early Sunday evening, followed by severe t-storms overnight.
Presque Isle public service announcement: be on the lookout for crazy/summer/out-of-town drivers, e.g., folks with NYS plates driving the wrong way on 1-way road (true story).
Bird-wise, lots of great activity as usual. Canada Geese and Double-breasted Cormorant migration off to a strong/busy start.
Gull Point Saturday AM: geese, cormorant, gulls, plover (probably Semipalmated Plover), yellowlegs (probably Lesser Yellowlegs), dowitcher (probably Short-billed Dowitcher), Killdeer, Caspian Tern, Bald Eagle, Starling, etc. No shorebird activity along the beach; a sandpiper or two on the back bay.
Following are juvenile (left) and adult (right) flycatcher. Perhaps Least Flycatcher, but coloration not an exact match.
Green Heron summer continues along the Sidewalk Trail. Spotted a Red-tailed Hawk in the distance, otherwise very quiet.
Sunday PM, better conditions for dramatic landscape shots than birds. At Thompson Bay:
Woodpecker, Gray Catbird, flycatcher, sparrow, Yellow Warbler, etc. activity along the Pine Tree Trail, as the rain started:
Sparrow of some sort:
Later this week, back to Arizona with hummingbird and more warbler!