Dateline: 1-3 April 2022
The Erie winter weather whiplash continued apace this past spring weekend, with a cold and snowy Friday, a cool but sunny Saturday, and a cold and snowy Sunday. Enough snow for a dusting to stick to lawns.
[Editor’s note: bonus points for triple alliteration.]
First up in the news category: lovely Brown-headed Cowbirds spotted in Millcreek Twp. https://birdingpi.com/millcreek-bird-alert-3/
Even more notable was a confirmed sighting of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (likely a female), again in Millcreek Twp! Would have warranted a Bird Alert(TM) if staff, distracted as usual with giant cameras and “birds, birds, and more birds,” had timely reviewed the memory cards in question.
Anyway, the following pictures are rather awful (long-distance shots in overcast conditions), but Sapsuckers are an uncommon sighting = still a win. Note the distinctive red crown – Red-headed Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Pileated Woodpeckers all have red crowns, but are easily distinguished from Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, which look more like a Hairy Woodpecker with a red crown.
Next up in Millcreek Twp, some of the locals:
Three lovely photos of a lovely male House Sparrow:
Weekend Update/Part 2, Saturday at Presque Isle State Park, is coming up soon!