Presque Isle Bay on 1/8/2012
Saturday morning, my girlfriend and I set out for a weekend at Presque Isle State Park. I knew there were decent birds being seen there, but I had different intentions. I ended up carelessly scanning through large flocks of gulls, because I was extremely nervous. So, as we made our way to the beaches, I asked my girlfriend to marry me. Luckily, she said yes and is now my fiancee!
I spent a couple hours both Saturday and Sunday birding the park and got my year list up to 60 species. Over the two days, I found 22 species, while only three of those were passerine species. I was extremely surprised at the lack of bird activity throughout the park. I was hoping to find a few white-winged gulls mixed in with the massive flocks of Ring-billed Gulls, but had no luck. Although, I was able to find a few Great Black-backed Gulls each day. There were also decent numbers of Herring Gulls mixed in as well.
Great Black-backed Gull at Presque Isle SP on 1/8/2012 (Photo by Shawn Collins)
Ring-billed Gull at Presque Isle SP on 1/7/2012
Herring Gull at Presque Isle SP on 1/7/2012
Waterfowl was very abundant throughout the park each day. American Coots, although they are considered a rail, outnumbered every other species by far, but yesterday I had a flock of 180 Common Goldeneyes! Also, the highlight, birding wise, of my weekend was observing a beautiful White-winged Scoter near Breakwater 32 on the lake side of the park. The bird was too far out for photos, but was still exciting to see. I observed both Lesser and Greater Scaup throughout the park on both days and observed 17 Red-breasted Mergansers yesterday on the lake side!
Scaup at Presque Isle SP on 1/8/2012
Other birds that made their way onto my year list include Mute Swan, Tundra Swan, Redhead, and Double-crested Cormorant. I did get a call from Shawn Collins on my way home who had found a beautiful Harlequin Duck near Breakwater 57. I also missed Canvasback, Common Merganser, and Horned Grebe among others.
Harlequin Duck at Presque Isle SP on 1/8/2012 (Photo by Shawn Collins)