Welcome to spring, Erie County, Pennsylvania style! First up, “Beware the bite!” Warmer weather = ticks, and, locally, lots of them, like this awful, tiny, male Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis) recently captured in Millcreek Twp (“Since 1800”). Ticks like this are about the size of a small pinhead, so be on the lookout! Avoid awful diseases!
Next up, ongoing bad weather! Unpleasantly cold this last Friday and Saturday, with a few snowflakes. Rain last night and today, but at least it was warmer.
Next up, today (31 March) marks the last day of the season for unrestricted access to Gull Point. 1 April – 31 October = nesting season, with most of the outer point closed except for observation platform access. Here’s a picture from Sunday of the bay-side beach just west of the Gull Point outer/mudflat area; access to this location will be closed as of tomorrow.
Next up, and most importantly, a slow but steady uptick in “new for spring” bird species to Erie Co., like these Caspian Terns:
Also Blue-winged Teal (male on right, female on left):
And Bonaparte’s Gulls (a.k.a. American Pixie Gulls):
The Turkey Vultures have been around for a bit, but there’s currently lots and lots of them all over the place, as they migrate east/north:
Nice sighting of Greater Yellowlegs on Sunday, along the Gull Point Trail:
The Ospreys are back, too:
Finally, slightly earlier than usual, a beautiful Brown Thrasher, “The only thrasher east of the MississippiTM.”
Nice to have the old favorites back for the summer! Do the Ospreys have a nest near by? Good shot of Mom’s favorite bird: the vulture!
Seasonally, Ospreys are numerous, and there are numerous nesting sites all over Erie Co., e.g., in various tall trees, on the top of communication/lighting towers, and of course the Osprey platform at the edge of Thompson Bay. Will post some examples as some point soon.