Another rainy/gloomy day here in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, celebrating the last weekend in April with exciting nature content “not at Presque Isle State Park.” First up, a great sighting of beautiful Brown Thrasher at Chatauqua Park (at the very northeast corner of the City of Erie) in a flowering apple tree:
Even more exciting, after weeks [*] of forest surveillance in McKean, PA, Millcreek Twp, PA (“Gateway to Presque Isle”), Summit, PA, etc., finally spotted a legendary black-variant Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), or “Devil Squirrel” as the locals call it [**], at LERC West Road Property:
Per Wikipedia, “The black coloration is caused by an incomplete dominant mutation of MC1R, where E+/E+ is a wild type squirrel, E+/EB is brown-black, and EB/EB is black.”
Please enjoy a happy weekend and also more Brown Thrasher x mutant squirrel:
[*Editor’s note: perhaps more like twenty minutes.]
[** Editor’s note: may not reflect an actual term that locals use.]