Dateline: 15-17 July 2022

BirdingPI.com team spent the usable part of the weekend scouring Presque Isle State Park for any and all nature activity. As usual.

Saturday: sunny, warm, humid, dry; light wind. Beautiful weather for Gull Point. Sunday: morning – warm/moderate, light overcast, quite humid, very sub-tropical. (Seemed ok weather for the Presque Isle 1/2 marathon, although perhaps overly humid.) Decent thunderstorms by 1:30pm; much needed rain on-and-off through the evening and night.

Before the rain at least, all trails dry and in good condition except where previously reported; lots of biting flies along some of the interior trails (Pine Tree, Dead Pond…)

Plenty of bird activity; see previous posts for other content. First up, Black-capped Chickadee along the Marsh Trail. (Marsh Trail in very good shape.)

Gray Catbird! “double vision:”

Also along the Marsh Trail. (One Catbird! in front of the other in shrubbery.)

On the trek out to Gull Point, GBH with White Pond Lilies:

In the woods bordering the Gull Point mud flats, Common Yellowthroat (male):

Spotted Sandpiper @ Gull Point:

Sparrow (Song Sparrow?) @ Gull Point:

Flock of (definitely) Mallards, perhaps some American Black Ducks, in for a landing @ Gull Point:

More bee/flower:

Next up, the BirdingPI.com Insect Moment(TM), finally an ok shot of a Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). Note the white markings (curve and separate dot) in the second shot, i.e., forming the eponymous question mark.

Comparing to the Comma butterfly, the Question Mark has a row of four dots on its wings, one at an angle, as shown in this annotated excerpt:

Comma butterfly: three in-line dots but not the fourth, angled dot (arrow).

Finally, BirdingPI.com is happy to announce the rollout of its new refreshment station located off the Dead Pond Trail. All hot and tired birders, be on the lookout!

Stay tuned this week for more turtles, BIF, and some rather nice photographs of birds sitting on plants.

Dateline: July 2022

More Eastern Kingbird! More amazing bird behavioral activity!

At the edge of Thompson Bay, by “Thompson Bay Access Trail #1” (see https://birdingpi.com/872-2/), Presque Isle State Park.

Two juveniles (presumably) in a tree. Adult arrives with berries for feeding time. Reasonably nice photography ensues, framing issues notwithstanding.

Dateline: 16 July 2022

Beautiful day Saturday at Presque Isle State Park. Light wind, warm (highs in the upper 70s deg F), humid. Lots of boaters and beach-goers. Gull Point empty mid-day except birds and BirdingPI.com staff; maybe an errant hiker.

Birds: swallow, kingbird, blackbird, Yellow Warbler, gulls, Canada Geese, Killdeer, GBH, Common Yellowthroat (in the treeline), a single Dunlin, sparrows, Spotted Sandpiper, etc. The star here, happy (as always) to see a Dowitcher, probably Short-billed Dowitcher.

First up, some long-distance video. Not totally awful. Guest starring a Killdeer.

Next, some stills. All at long distance (mediocre lighting), but fun to see.

Repeated BirdingPI.com surveys of the Pine Tree Trail (Presque Isle State Park) paid off recently with an exciting, first-of-the-season sighting of lovely Carolina Wren.

ID-wise, the distinct white eyebrow indicates ‘not House Wren.’ Not as buffy a breast/underside as some examples, but the coloration’s at least present. Considering the habitat (i.e., not marsh) and the overall size/shape of the eyebrow (e.g., very long and blending finally into the shoulder), eliminating Marsh Wren in favor of Carolina Wren.

Finally, vocalizations indicated Carolina Wren.

Later, elsewhere on the Pine Tree Trail, looks like a House Wren:

[Editor’s Note: Possible to have too many wren puns? Apparently not.]

Amazing Yellow Warbler behavioral activity this past weekend at Presque Isle State Park.

A male and two juveniles along the Gull Point Trail, in a tree right on the beach (just east of Budny Beach proper).

After landing near the male, the juveniles engaged in what looked like “chicks in nest” feeding behavior: flapping/hopping about, beaks wide open for food.

The prompted the male to catch an insect for feeding one of the juveniles.

Process repeated multiple times; also viewed similar activity with other Yellow Warblers off the Pine Tree Trail on this same day.

The juveniles/fledglings seemed fully grown (?) and capable of flying about.

Unsure if this was hunting training, or just transitional behavior until the juveniles are older and fully independent. Either way, amazing to witness.

Wishing everyone a nice weekend!

[Photo Editor’s note: Tough lighting conditions early morning backlit against a white sky. Exposure was less than ideal; shots above have the brightness turned up for seeing detail.]

Prolific American Goldfinch activity in Erie this year. Especially enjoying the abundant, recently gone-to-seed thistles.

All pictures from different spots around Thompson Bay, Presque Isle State Park (mostly by Thompson Circle and along the Gull Point outer old trail).

A ‘bonus’ post with some misc shots from the last few weeks, mostly at Presque Isle State Park.

Dateline: 9-10 July 2022

Per previous reports, Saturday at Presque Isle State Park was extremely windy with significant surf on Lake Erie. Sunday, lightly breezy, humid, dry, and warm. Lovely weekend for birding.

In other Presque Isle trail news, the Gull Point inner old trail (from the trailhead at Budny Beach east parking to the beach) is mostly dry enough for passage without special footwear; still very muddy in spots – boots recommended. Also extremely overgrown. Recent sightings: Wood Duck, blackbirds, robin, warblers, American Woodcock (confirmed sighting on Sunday!), Eastern Kingbird, etc.

Immature/juvenile Yellow Warbler may present an eyering. Based on that and the yellow throat and belly, following believed to be Yellow Warbler:

Head of Thompson Bay, from the Gull Point inner old trail:

Saturday early AM, amazing number of Eastern Kingbird around Thompson Bay (e.g., the area in the shot immediately above). These were sitting/flying about the old power lines:

And, an ‘up close’ example from off the Sidewalk Trail later, for reference:

Always gulls:

Busy year for American Goldfinch. This male along the Gull Point outer old trail, by Thompson Bay. More goldfinch to come later in the week.

Out to the Gull Point mud flats finally. Brief GBH appearance:

No major sightings of shore birds, other than Spotted Sandpiper. Plus the usual Killdeer, geese, gulls, sparrows, swallows, blackbirds, etc. Of note, however, Mute Swan and Caspian Tern, in this long shot from the observation platform:

Also of note, mixed flock of Mallard and American Black Duck (as confirmed via forensic enlargement):

Better shot of a Caspian Tern, from the observation platform:

Heading back to Budny Beach, more Turkey Vulture:

The big sighting, of course, was Marsh Wren by the marsh. See https://birdingpi.com/pi-bird-alert-4/

Quick stop by the Sidewalk Trail east end swamp. Brown Thrasher in preen mode:

With what appears to be a juvenile Brown Thrasher (on the left):

Finally, another dragonfly by the swamp. Probably juvenile Blue Dasher:

Tomorrow, more yellow birds!

Dateline: 8-10 July 2022

So much nature going on out at Presque Isle State Park over the weekend, can’t be contained in just one (reasonably sized) post. Following are mostly along the Long Pond Trail.

In Presque Isle trail news, looks like the PA DCNR (state park) folks have been busy clearing the Long Pond Trail. Looks awful, but better that than “bushwacking required”/overgrown mode like last summer. Plus easier for birding.

The baby deer were enjoying it – two were spotted frolicking running up and down the trail. (BirdingPI.com staff caught by surprise taking iPhone shots, so the pics at the top above and following were rather rushed = not super sharp, but still super cute.)

Lots of Baltimore Oriole activity this year; way more than 2021. Juveniles and/or molting individuals seen numerous times. Example:

Mourning Doves are pretty much everywhere; here’s a nice shot just for fun:

Lots of rose blooming currently, here, probably invasive Japanese Rose (Rosa rugosa), with a bee:

More Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans), close to Long Pond, on the trail:

In the woodland shade, probably Song Sparrow:

Another (slightly out of focus) example of molting or juvenile Baltimore Oriole:

Obligatory but fun Yellow Warbler content:

Lovely Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) dragonfly:

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, featuring Gull Point and a cast of thousands (of Eastern Kingbirds, literally)! Really, lots of Eastern Kingbirds.

Breaking News: Marsh Wren Spotted Near Marsh

Dateline: 10 July 2022

After multiple, extensive surveys along the Gull Point Trail (Presque Isle State Park), the BirdingPI.com team logged its first sighting of Marsh Wren this season on Sunday.

Difficult photography conditions due to shade and heavy underbrush.

But in the open long enough for several shots before returning to nearby cattails.

Location: Gull Point Trail, on the east edge of the marsh, along the section of beach/Thompson Bay between the middle and outer portions of the old trail.

Distinctive features: white eyebrow, mostly clean breast, tail frequently held vertically.

Decent Marsh Wren calls on iPhone audio via ChirpOMatic:

(Background noise is wind and surf.)