The weather’s so bad in Pennsylvania today they did the unspeakable – preemptively close every state wine/liquor store! Happily, the BirdingPI.com supplies cabinet is well stocked with something way more important: black coffee and lots of it.
Golden-crowned Kinglet
In today’s post, taking a break (temporarily) from ducks/South Pier with a beautiful Golden-crowned Kinglet yesterday in the pine woods at Presque Isle State Park. (Weather yesterday: sunny, temps around 9-10 deg F.) This individual perhaps the largest/fluffiest Kinglet we’ve ever seen.
Greetings this fine Saturday morning from Millcreek Twp, Pennsylvania (“Since 1800”), where the current air temperature is approximately -20 deg C (-5 deg F). But at least it’s mostly sunny, like more of these nice duck pictures from the other day at a cold/windy South Pier:
View of South Pier from behind the “South Pier tree”Perry Monument w/ blowing ice/snowLong-tailed Duck
Here’s a nice shot of male Lesser Scaup. Note the 1/2 white wing stripes and iridescent purple head (typically visible only in good lighting):
Lesser Scaup (m)Long-tailed Duck IIMale Red-breasted Merganser in flightLong-tailed Duck IIIRed-breasted MerganserRedhead (m – left) & Lesser Scaup (f – middle, m – right)Immature Red-breasted Merganser in flightFemale Lesser ScaupMale Redhead in flightSunny male RedheadMale Redhead in flight IIRedheads (f – left, m – right)Lesser Scaup in flightRed-breasted Merganser (f) in flight
Not unexpectedly, more bad weather today in Erie County, Pennsylvania: cold, snowing, windy, with a high temperature of no more than -7 deg C (19 deg F) at 4AM falling throughout the day to a forecast low temp of -18 deg C (zero deg F) this evening. High temp tomorrow? Maybe 8 deg F.
View of North Pier, Misery Bay, & Perry Monument from behind “South Pier tree”
No better (worst?) place to enjoy the bad weather in Erie than South Pier. Something about the exposed location proximate both to Presque Isle Bay and outer Lake Erie creates an almost wind tunnel effect, typically west to east in line with the orientation of the pier. “Pro” tip for birding/photography @ South Pier in windy weather: as above, hunker downwind against the (thankfully sturdy) “South Pier tree,” conveniently located fairly close to the parking lot but also with a good view of the channel across from the Coast Guard Station.
Guide to finding the “South Pier tree”
The shot immediately above is from Leo’s Landing the other week. Rest of today’s content is from a few days ago at South Pier under very windy but nicely partially sunny conditions.
Presque Isle Bay w/ gulls on ice
Finally, a first sighting of Long-tailed Duck for 2026:
Long-tailed DuckRed-breasted MerganserMale Red-breasted Merganser in flightLong-tailed Duck IIImmature Red-breasted MerganserLong-tailed Duck IIIMale Redhead (left) + female Lesser Scaup (right)Buffleheads in sunshine (female – left; male – right)RedheadsMore Redheads – female (left) + male (right)Male Scaup, perhaps Greater ScaupMale Redhead in flightScaups in flightMixed ducksFemale Lesser Scaup
Coming up soon, lots more from South Pier! #more_duck
Having made it back successfully from Gull Point over the weekend, it was time to decompress with further unpleasantly cold temperatures, wind, snow, etc., all made worthwhile by fun bird sightings like this Black-capped Chickadee @ Millcreek Twp (“Since 1800”):
“Decompress:” it’s an ‘Open the pod bay door, HAL’ joke; BirdingPI.com -the dodgy nature content website that just keeps giving and giving!
Still trapped in the Gull Point time vortex this past Saturday at Presque Isle State Park. (And nothing better to do when trapped in a time vortex than photo editing!)
View from outer Gull Point of outer Thompson Bay and Erie, PA
More Peregrine Falcon, sequence 1:
NE tip of Gull Point looking easterly towards New YorkRed-breasted MerganserRedhead and Lesser Scaup ducksRed-breasted Mergansers heading towards Gull PointRed-breasted Mergansers III
More Peregrine Falcon, sequence 2:
American Tree Sparrow (ATS) I at Gull Point tree lineRear view of Snow Bunting in flightATS IIATS IIIATS IVRear view of Snow Bunting in flight IIATS V!ATS VIRed-breasted Mergansers IVView north from Gull Point inland trail w/ outer Lake Erie at horizon
Finally, close to Budny Beach, a sequence of front-lit Red-breasted Merganser w/ dark sky (approaching snow squalls) background:
Outer Lake Erie w/ Red-breasted Mergansers, ice-covered breakwater in foreground
Hiking out to Gull Point in the winter is like the star portal in 2001: A Space Odyssey – transported involuntarily to places you don’t understand, where time has no meaning, after which you are ambiguously reborn as something beyond human comprehension. But first, it’s the long trip to JupiterBudny Beach, starting with birds on Presque Isle Bay this past Saturday:
Gulls @ Leo’s LandingPoorly lit immature Bald Eagle in flightGulls & Red-breasted Merganser w/ Erie Bayfront in backgroundBald Eagle IILower left – 3 Bald Eagles on iceEagle IIISplashing gullsMore eagleGulls take flightBEIF VBald Eagles on iceFinal BEIFEastern Screech-Owl in tree near Presque Isle LighthouseView east from Budny Beach towards Gull PointIcy takeoffGull Point “inland trail”Herring Gull (1st winter plumage)Two Great Black-backed Gulls (center)View south from inner Gull Point, across outer Thompson BayFirst (Yellow-rumped) warbler of 2026!Outer Gull Point looking back towards tree lineJuvenile Bald Eagle (and gull) over Gull PointBald Eagle (juvenile) II w/ old observation platformRed-breasted MergansersAdult Bald Eagle over Gull PointAdult Eagle IIAdult Eagle IIISouthern tip of Gull Point w/ Lakeside Cemetery upper leftPeregrine FalconFalcon takes flight
Sunny yesterday in Erie County, Pennsylvania, but also very, very cold. Sun = good for well-lit exposures, bad for atmospheric heat shimmer, e.g., as at the horizon of this shot of Presque Isle Bay looking east towards North Pier (left) and South Pier (right):
In addition to cold temps, also at Presque Isle State Park yesterday, birds! Like these nice sightings of Red-shouldered Hawk & Red-breasted Merganser:
Red-shouldered Hawk (perched)Red-shouldered Hawk in flightRed-breasted Merganser (female – left, middle right; male – top/bottom right)Presque Isle Bay w/ float ice and gulls
Beautiful day yesterday at Presque Isle State Park, up until 1:30PM when surprise snow squalls moved in with force. (Enough for a National Weather Service ’emergency broadcast’ over the cell network.) The following two shots were taken at Budny Beach (Beach No. 10) at approximately 1:17PM. The first is looking generally east – it’s turned into a nice, sunny day!
The second is looking generally west at a very dark line of approaching cold/snow – looks like the ‘nice, sunny’ day’s days are numbered:
After that, it was pretty much white-out. But earlier in the day, at outer Gull Point, it was time for always fun and always cute Snow Buntings! To give curious readers a sense of how hard they are to spot on the ground:
Three Snow Buntings @ center of shotView from outer Gull Point towards North Pier Light and Erie
Following are all Snow Bunting (non-breeding plumage) on the ground and in the air, under cloudy conditions:
Best bet for Snow Bunting at Presque Isle: hike out Gull Point to the observation platforms (followed by walking the perimeter beach if needed), keeping an ear out for “peeping” and an eye out for groups of small birds in flight. (Other candidate for small winter flocks @ outer Gull Point = American Tree Sparrow.)
In today’s post, digital photographs from a few days ago at East Ave Boat Launch (Erie, Pennsylvania), featuring the first decent sighting this year of beautiful Song Sparrow on the boat launch breakwater:
Song SparrowMale Mallard in flightMale Mallard IIMale and female Mallards in flightRing-billed Gulls Gulls IIGulls IIIGulls IV“Cormorant Island”
Lots of snow in Erie County, Pennsylvania yesterday. Lots and lot of snow. And cold. Also wind. And cold wind with snow. Maybe 30+ cm (12+ inches) of fresh powder, if not more. These shots of American Tree Sparrows foraging on snow-covered phragmites (common reed) – taken under very dark/overcast conditions – from a very brief and rather ill-advised stop at South Pier:
