It was a rather amazing Sunday at Presque Isle State Park – sunny, warm/humid, the smell of Multiflora Rose in the air, then ocean-like ground fog along the outer beach. Bird-wise, things got off to the best start possible for a hike out to Gull Point with exceedingly cute Killdeer chicks in the Budny Beach east parking lot:
Later, an amazing American White Pelican trio over outer Gull Point. (Ho-hum, just another day at the Point… 😉 Reported occasionally on eBird, still a rare occurrence for Erie County and the east coast generally – this is the first BirdingPI.com local sighting ever:
Here’s an alternating medley of more Killdeer and Pelican:
These Pelicans came in the from the west/northwest maybe, then made a looping turn over outer Gull Point to head pretty much due south:
Pure conjecture, but considering the abrupt turn south from the lake, wonder if they were using Gull Point as a navigation landmark. (“Bird things that make you go ‘hmmmm….'”)
Finally, same day at Gull Point, the perils of field mis-identification. Following bird spotted flying overhead – obvious shorebird, decent sized, with long straight-ish beak – immediate thought is Yellowlegs. “Why does that Yellowlegs have a rusty belly?” Good question. The answer: not a Yellowlegs, but an unusual-for-Presque Isle Hudsonian Godwit:
To be fair, hard to see well under these lighting conditions, but still a good example of being cognizant of field marking inconsistencies (e.g., no species of Yellowlegs has a streaked, rusty belly, regardless of age).
Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican! His beak holds more than his belican. He takes in his beak Food enough for a week. But I’ll be darned if I know how the helican. —-Ogden Nash
Nice to see them. And the Killdeer is so cute!
Great shots. Pelicans remind me of WW2 bombers for some reason.
Yes! We’ll have to finally post shots from Miami last year with Brown Pelicans dive bombing for fish.