Wishing everyone in the US a happy Independence Day and great July 4th weekend!

Some long-distance, morning shots of Great Blue Heron across Thompson Bay, Presque Isle State Park:

Back to BirdingPI.com’s occasional series on “best birds of Presque Isle.” (‘Best’ = most common.) Here, every right-thinking person’s favorite gull, the beautiful Ring-billed Gull!

Pretty much see Ring-billed Gulls all year long. More activity, and lots of it, winter into early spring.

Seasonally, all the ‘piers’ (East, West, North, and South) are great for seeing gulls. Also, if you can believe it, out at Gull Point (!)

Nothing major to report today, just misc shots in the “Erie summer birds/critters” category.

Red-tailed Hawk and male House Finch:

House Finch was on a separate branch and is in the foreground slightly; still, funny to see.

Next up, another duo, this time Eastern Kingbird and Baltimore Oriole:

The most “summery” of summer birds (as in ubiquitous), the Gray Catbird!

“Green Heron Summer” continues apace. Lots of activity this year, for whatever reason. In flight above the Long Pond Trail at Presque Isle State Park:

Looks like a Song Sparrow again (?):

Lovely Cedar Waxwing x blue sky:

More obligatory Yellow Warbler:

Always nice to end a post with a cute, tick-free mammal. More cute chipmunk on the Sidewalk Trail:

Have a nice day!

Dateline: 26 June 2022, Presque Isle State Park

Always fun to see Red-winged Blackbird (here, a female) cavorting about the Water Lilies for hunting insects. This was in the large section of Thompson Bay along the beach portion of the Gull Point Trail, just to the east of Budny Beach.

Dateline: 26 June 2022

Sadly, BirdingPI.com has had to institute a moratorium on rabbit pictures, after numerous shots revealed an endemic tick infestation. Comments and photos were briefly posted and then taken down after the editorial board objected to “too much unpleasant tick content, science notwithstanding.” Anyway, instead of a rabbit, here’s a cute chipmunk:

Aesthetically pleasing invertebrates are still fair game, apparently, e.g., Silver-spotted Skipper by Budny Beach:

Obligatory Yellow Warbler content:

And why not? Yellow Warblers are great. And hungry.

Above shots by the Gull Point trailhead. Following shot along the old outer Gull Point Trail:

Bald Eagle over Thompson Bay:

Out at Gull Point, what appears to be a Song Sparrow:

Also out at Gull Point, a Northern Map Turtle along the trail:

On turtle ID, a Painted Turtle (which looks similar) would probably have some red on the legs or around the face. See also the following enhanced shell snippet from the picture above – the orange/lighter demarcations are indicative of Map Turtle:

Back along the Gull Point Trail by the beach, a male Downy Woodpecker:

In plant news, Dogwood’s currently blooming (e.g., visit Scott Park). Out at Presque Isle, see lovely Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) in bloom at the swampy area on the far east end of Budny Beach, along the Gull Point trail:

Also Common Eastern Bumble Bee:

Lovely but invasive Flowering Rush, in that same spot:

(“Invasive” as in non-native, not “evasive.” Thankfully, the plants are fairly stationary.)

Northern Flicker at Budny Beach:

Wrapping up the nature content with a Northern Cardinal (female), along the Sidewalk Trail:

Trail update: Having a bit of a warm/dry spell here in Erie. Swamp water levels lowest in a while, and most trails are in good/dry condition, except where previously reported. (Duck Pond Trail east end flooded. Long Pond Trail west end very wet and muddy and not recommended absent waterproof boots.)

[Editor’s note: For pictures of tick-ridden rabbits, contact us as per the “About Us” page.]

Dateline: 25 June 2022, Presque Isle State Park

It’s “new equipment weekend” here at BirdingPI.com – report to follow eventually. What better spot for a robust test run than the Pine Tree Trail? (Actually, there’s better spots, but Saturday was hot and dry = a busy beach day at Presque Isle; interior trails mostly/entirely empty.)

Sunny with highs in the 80’s deg F at Presque Isle; moderate/low humidity.

With warm and dry conditions, the Pine Tree Trail was remarkably pine-fragrant; nothing quite like a warm pine forest smell.

Bird activity about as expected: Crow, Robin, Catbird, flycatchers, Red-winged Blackbird, Turkey Vulture, Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, etc. Only surprise was a very large Pileated Woodpecker (on the Dead Pond Trail); too elusive, however, for even a bad photograph.

Kind of hard to ID the bird above. No eye ring, so not a Least Flycatcher. Main issue was a lack of obvious wingbars. This suggests Eastern Phoebe, but the breast overall seems too dark/vested.

A few more Robin and Flycatcher shots:

Tied for shot of the day (with the Great Crested Flycatcher photo above):

Despite lacking bunnies, turtles, or flowers, results look ok so far.

Coming up next time: “A Post Which Includes Bunnies, Turtles, and Flowers.” Plus more Gull Point!

Dateline: 24 June 2022

Turkey Vultures seem like a metaphorically apt way to start off the weekend. This pair were enjoying the morning sun out at Scott Park, Erie, PA. (Scott Park is a lovely parcel of old-growth woods, etc. on the ‘mainland’ bluff just across the back bay where Presque Isle connects. See https://millcreektownship.com/facilities/facility/details/Scott-Park-4.)

Closing with a bonus mammal:

Dateline: 21 June 2022, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”)

Has it really come down to posts with nothing but bad iPhone video and audio? On the bright side, Black-capped Chickadee!

Some mixed calls in this audio clip, but the Chickadee is predominant:

Have an excellent weekend! Get out in nature if possible – you’ll feel better.

Another early morning, beat-the-heat trek out to Gull Point at Presque Isle State Park.

First, not at Presque Isle, but a female House Finch in the grass, Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

From a previous time, a female Common Grackle near Budny Beach:

Here’s a solitary sandpiper, probably a Spotted Sandpiper (<– it’s a bird joke):

Next, a couple of nice ‘profile’ shots of Red-winged Blackbird, out at the point mudflats:

Closer shot of a Spotted Sandpiper, for the record:

Nothing unusual out at the point. Blackbird, Starling, Spotted Sandpiper, gulls, sparrows, Mallard, Canada Geese, Killdeer, GBH, Green Heron, Baltimore Oriole, Gray Catbird, Downy Woodpecker, and so on. However, in plant news, the lovely Common Yucca is starting to bloom:

See Common Yucca in the sandy area close to the entrance to the Gull Point mud flats roped-off corridor (follow the old trail fifty feet or so to the west to the first Gull Point marker sign).

Closing it out with a series of cute shots of a lovely Yellow Warbler (male), along the Gull Point outer old trail:

Who doesn’t love a little Hairy Puccoon? Such a lovely plant and pretty flower.

Per the Internet (which is never wrong), Hairy Puccoon is considered endangered in Pennsylvania and only found (in Pennsylvania) at Presque Isle State Park.

Short, squat plants located in grassy areas, with hairy leaves (see above) and lovely yellow flowers in late spring/early summer.

See Hairy Puccoon (in bloom now – mid/late June 2022) on the south side of the road between Pine Tree Beach and Presque Isle Lighthouse, behind the habitat restoration line. Many of the plants are marked nearby with red flags.

A related plant is Lithospermum canescens aka Hoary Puccoon, which looks similar but would be shorter and have smaller (1/2″ vs. 1″) flowers. 

Tomorrow, back to birds! Or rabbits! Or both birds and rabbits.