Dateline: 23 October 2022, Presque Isle State Park

With the arrival of 1 November, ‘nesting season’ is over = all of Gull Point once again open for nature/hiking/birding. “Rope corridor” to the observation platform is already ‘down for the winter’ as of a couple weeks ago:

Sunday before last, relatively little bird activity other than amazing numbers of Double-crested Cormorant – hanging out on the east beach, with flocks periodically heading in from the north and out either south over the bay/mainland or west along the water line.

Nikon video clips:

Shots from along the beach:

iPhone video clips:

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Stay tuned: tomorrow, Canada Geese? Warblers? Definitely birds of some sort. More bird!

the Presque Isle chupacabra!

[Editor’s Note: Happy Halloween!]

Dateline: 29 October 2022

Beautiful fall day Saturday at Presque Isle State Park. Cool, sunny, light/minimal wind. Bird activity relatively subdued: mostly Golden-crowned Kinglet, gulls, GBH, Canada Geese, & Black-capped Chickadee. Pictures to follow in the ‘weekend update.’

In the meantime, a special report from BirdingPI.com’s Bird Vocalization Department, from Saturday along the Dead Pond Trail. (Specifically, east of the B Trail junction before the woods transition to sand/pine/meadow.) Plus bonus foliage shots for environmental context.

Very little bird activity from the A Trail then east on the Dead Pond Trail – kinglet and Blue Jay. Suddenly, surprised to hear, rather than see (at least initially), a Cooper’s Hawk. Recorded calls, with Blue Jay (and other misc bird) in background:

It seemed to be moving about the woods; these calls recorded at different locations near the trail. Finally, a kerfuffle with a Blue Jay, and then the Cooper’s Hawk emerged to fly east through the trees. Moving too fast for photos, but a confirmed sighting based on overall appearance, coloration, and flared white coverlets.

Always great to see a Cooper’s Hawk, but rather special to hear one so clearly/distinctly. Lugging around the boom mic and reel-to-reel recorder pays off!

All BirdingPI.com staff dispatched to Presque Isle State Park to take advantage of a nice fall Saturday. #nature. Time enough for a black coffee and a quick post of square-format White-throated Sparrow from last Sunday along the Gull Point outer old trail. Lots of sparrows, lots of Yellow-rumped Warbler! (Stay tuned for the latter.)

Wishing everyone a nice weekend!

Somewhat unusual to see a Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging on the ground for so long (5+ minutes). A bit shady, but still a good chance for relatively close shots – at times, even too close to focus. All shots along the Long Pond Trail, Presque Isle State Park. Bonus pics #fall_colour

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In Erie, colder temps overnight into Friday; perhaps a bit of frost. Some sun/haze – should be an ok day. Weekend forecast: Saturday – mild, mostly sunny; Sunday – mild, somewhat cloudy; no rain either day. It’s “go time” for nature!

Dateline: 22 October 2022

Finally, BirdingPI.com’s shots of Black-capped Chickadee and Red-breasted Nuthatch from this past Saturday at Presque Isle State Park, on the east end of the Dead Pond Trail. Amazing amount of activity for both, plus sparrows, jays, even a thrush or two.

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Next time: more Kinglet! More bird! Also, fall colour.

Special guest contributor shots from occasional BirdingPI.com commenter “Paul + Remark.” Amazing Long-billed Curlew on Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California, from earlier this month. Not quite as exciting as Ring-billed Gull on Lake Erie :), but still very cool!

A crop from the above shot, note the super-long bill and ‘cinnamon-washed’ underparts:

Great to see these amazing birds, even if not in person.

Looks like Erie’s spell of nice weather is over for now, with rain moving in Wednesday. … Waiting on editorial review of the chickadee/nuthatch shots. In the meantime, some reasonably ok, recent shots of Blue Jay/BIF with acorn!

Dateline: 22-23 October 2022

Beautiful weekend at Presque Isle State Park. Saturday, light wind, sunny, warm (high temps of around 20 deg C?); Sunday, light wind, sunny, slightly cooler but still very pleasant. Beautiful fall colour. Lake level surprising low; all BirdingPI.com teams report trails in good/dry condition.

Birds: lots of birds. Lots of Yellow-rumped Warbler (flocks of them), Dark-eyed Junco; Golden-crowned Kinglet, European Starling, sparrows, gulls, nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, and Double-crested Cormorant. Very little goose or duck activity.

Following shots mostly from Long Pond, boat landing #4, on Saturday:

Belted Kingfisher:

More lovely Golden-crowned Kinglet:

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Tomorrow, nuthatch and chickadee along the Dead Pond Trail!

Dateline: 22 October 2022

No, not everyone’s favorite TV mechanic. Rather, from Saturday, beautiful American Coot at Thompson Circle swamp/pond north, Presque Isle State Park.

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Another beautiful fall day Sunday. Stay tuned for an update on Gull Point; spoiler alert: cormorants, cormorants, and more cormorants! And gulls.