Dateline: 23-24 July 2022
Another epic BirdingPI.com weekend update. And this just the misc stuff — stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 later this week, especially exciting videography from Gull Point on Sunday! (Really.)
Weather in Erie: Saturday – warm, humid, alternating clouds and sun, couple drops of rain. Sunday – rain early AM/overnight; very warm and humid, partly sunny by mid-morning, but obvious T-storms towards the north/Canada. Heavy rain over Presque Isle by 11:30am, otherwise very localized. Dry in south Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”) until 6pm or so, followed by brief-but-severe wind/rain/t-storms. Periodic rain/thunder/lightning overnight, still very warm/humid. Milder by Monday morning.
Trails locally wet/muddy due to recent rain. Gull Point inner old trail re-flooded and impassible without wet feet.
Moving on to nature content. First, Millcreek Twp. Very cool sighting of a Viceroy butterfly:
Similar to a Monarch, but lacks significant white spots on the top of the head/thorax. Note also the cross-stripe indicated in the excerpt below, lacking in Monarch:
Next up, cute/noisy Chipping Sparrow:
Probably juvenile male House Sparrow:
Next up, Presque Isle, Dead Pond Trail. A deer in the brush:
[Editor’s note: A picture of a deer at Presque Isle… Wow.]
Beautiful Common Yellowthroat (female or immature):
Matthew McConaughey’s favorite bird (?):
Great to see a Pickerel Frog, right along the trail:
Gull Point on Sunday. Enough of a ‘sun/dry window’ to tempt the foolhardy. Almost made it back to Bundy Beach before the rain hit, but not quite; good thing for warm temps and waterproof-ish gear.
Song Sparrow along the Gull Point Trail:
Red-winged Blackbird (f):
Eastern Kingbird:
Lovely out at Gull Point itself; devoid of other birders/humans. Gulls, geese, Caspian Tern, swallows, Mute Swan, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, blackbirds, Eastern Kingbird, etc. Tall Pond Lilies are in bloom; always nice to see:
Big “first BirdingPI.com sighting this season” news was Bank Swallow:
These shots dashed off and rather poor quality; good enough for ‘get the idea.’ Note the brown upper side, white lower side, and most distinctively (vs. female Tree Swallow, or Northern Rough-winged Swallow), a sharp dark band around the lower neck. See arrow here:
Surprise appearance of Common Merganser:
Juvenile or non-breeding Spotted Sandpiper:
Other big news at Gull Point: an amazing flock of 10+ Dowitcher, in the wet area right by the roped-off trail to the observation platform. Pics and video tomorrow!
On the quick/pre-rain hike back to Budny Beach, Spotted Sandpiper x surf:
[Photo Editor’s note: Photo at top of Viceroy butterfly was ‘shopped to remove extraneous/objectionable content.]