Dateline: 23 July 2023
Yet another beautiful weekend in Erie County, PA: high temps around 27 deg C, mostly sunny; very humid with a slight breeze Saturday, warmer/dryer Sunday, moderate rain overnight into Monday.
Presque Isle State Park trail conditions remain good; typical ‘problem spots’ vary based on recent rain, e.g., Gull Point ‘inner old’ trail at one point flooded/impassable, later muddy/traversable.
Plenty of summer bird activity. With the recent/unusual shorebird activity, BirdingPI.com personnel dispatched to Gull Point multiple days. These shots from Sunday late morning:
Very excited about this BirdingPI.com “first time at Presque Isle” sighting of a beautiful male Indigo Bunting, along the Gull Point ‘outer old’ trail:
Very happy to finally see a Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) butterfly this season (see “ID Tip” below):
One of the sunflowers in the Helianthus genus, perhaps Stiff Sunflower (Helianthus pauciflorus):
Great Egrets: reasonably common at Presque Isle generally, less so at Gull Point specifically. Total of five individuals in the pond/lagoon:
ID Tip: Viceroy butterfly has a cross-stripe (see red arrow) along the hindwing, which Monarch lacks; Viceroy forewing (green arrow) has different pattern vs. Monarch; Viceroy body lacks most of the Monarch’s white speckling.
Coming up soon: more Gull Point, more Gull Point Trail, more Great Egret, more Piping Plover! Also bonus Egret video #more_bird