Finally, after years of birding in Erie County, Pennsylvania, a great sighting of the #1 bird on BirdingPI.com’s “birds you might see in Erie County that we’ve never seen but would really like to see” list. All it took was yet another close encounter with the amazingly stinky chemical toilets at South Pier:
[Editor’s note: to be clear, the toilets at South Pier aren’t “unclean stinky.” Instead, they emit a surprisingly wide area, sharp, rather unpleasant chemical acridity – the germs don’t stand a chance.]
Anyway, just a quick stop for photos, and out of the reeds on the enclosed pond flies a reclusive and seldom seen Least Bittern, the smallest heron in the Americas (perhaps smallest anywhere). These shots in chronological order:
Even more recently, another surprise sighting of perhaps the same Least Bittern, this time at the swampy corner of the enclosed pond by Lampe Campground:
Shot above is of the enclosed pond with the campground on the right. The bird is in the shrubbery just right and up from middle; a view @ 600mm:
