August 3, 2023

#PAPlovers 2023 Breeding Bird Blitz

August 3, 2023

From June 9th—19th, 21 teams across Pennsylvania competed in The 3rd Annual Breeding Bird Blitz for Conservation. Hosted by Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO), this friendly birding competition generates valuable information on the abundance & distribution of PA’s breeding birds as well as raises money for avian conservation organizations across the state. Erie Bird Observatory was one of the Blitz beneficiaries in 2022 and this year, the Partners are Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, Foundation for Sustainable Forests, & South Middleton Township.

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2023 #Blitz4Birds Results

176 species identified overall, setting a new standard for the event!
Full eBird List: https://ebird.org/pa/tripreport/135841

With **123** species (!!) tallied on June 16th, The #PAPlovers hold on to the coveted “PA Peerless” title for the 2nd year in a row!! Big shout out to: Katie Andersen (team captain), Ruth Swaney, Ron Mumme, & Ripley Kindervater.

More 2023 Blitz Results here: https://www.breedingbirdblitz.org/post/2023-results

#PAPlovers & The 2023 Breeding Bird Blitz

by Ripley Kindervater, 2023 EBO Intern

As they say, “the early bird gets the worm!” The PA Plovers team sought to be just that: the early bird. To start the day, I recall the excitement I felt when rushing out of my house, just to meet everyone on time. We planned to meet at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at 4:30 in the morning and I didn’t want to be late with my one hour commute. In my rush out of the house, I did not realize that I overshot by thirty minutes until I arrived at the rendezvous spot at 4 o’clock! Whilst waiting for everyone else, I eagerly listened for owls in the parking lot, but was only greeted by an early American Robin. As the proper time neared, headlights appeared in the parking lot and the morning team of Katie Andersen, Ron Mumme, and I were ready to catch the morning chorus. Our first stop would be Erie Bluff State Park to bag ourselves a Orchard Oriole male who had been singing on territory, however, we decided to stop at Elk Creek Access to listen for any owls that might be in the area. As we arrived, the morning chorus had just started with Veery, Eastern Wood-pewee, and Eastern Phoebe greeting us. As we listened, we heard a familiar sound up in the sky, an American Woodcock displaying! Shortly after, we drove up the hill to Erie Bluffs State Park and managed to hear portions of the Orchard Oriole’s song. We decided to head back in the fields for a little bit since Katie believed she heard a Least Flycatcher whilst scouting. When we neared the corner of woods she heard it in, we listened intently for its classic “chip-beck” song. It didn’t take long before we all heard the Least Flycatcher calling and only singing once.

With all targets in the Bluffs acquired, we shoved off and rushed towards State Game Lands 101 in hopes of finding Cerulean Warblers. While Ceruleans had not been heard in the Erie County portion of the gamelands, Katie had heard them singing on a road nearby where we managed to knab them! One short stop at Game Lands 101 did grant us an Alder Flycatcher, the only one we found, and another Cerulean Warbler. I was very excited to hear the Cerulean Warblers singing their buzzy song for the first time ever and only wish we had managed to see one. However, time was of the essence and we moved on to find many other unique birds. Another road that passed through State Gamelands 101 benefited us Acadian Flycatchers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and a Black-and-White Warbler. With much of the western portion of the county covered, we began to head east and stopped at Moore Road and Jamie Hill’s property. Moore Road had my trusty Horned Larks as well as a surprising posse of cute fox kits playing at the back of the field. With this short stop over we went to Jamie’s beautiful property where we found our first Osprey of the day on its platform and heard singing Pine Warblers. We dug around in the weeds a little more looking for his Northern Waterthrush with little luck. Regardless, we did find a nesting Wood Thrush, our second confirmation of a breeding bird during the blitz. Thanks Jamie!

The morning went by unbelievably quick as we moved on to our first Presque Isle run to fetch many of its unique birds. Ruth Swaney joined us at this point and we tried to find the stunning Prothonotary Warblers… but with no luck. Ron did manage to see one, but the rest of us missed it. We stuck around for a little bit longer at the head of the bay in hopes of hearing one sing, but to no avail. Whilst looking out to the reeds in the head of the bay, I noticed a small black bird swimming in the water with a bright red bill, a Common Gallinule! It was an exciting find since the team missed out on many of the unique marsh birds last year. I scanned the cattails for other birds with hopes of finding a Least Bittern, but turned up nothing new. Still, with no Prothonotary Warbler having sung, we set out for Gull Point in high hopes of finding resting and breeding shorebirds. The trek out to the point was mundane with most of it being sand. At Gull Point, we immediately spotted our breeding Piping Plovers, a precious bird to many folks here.

As we continued to scan the many ponds and dunes for shorebirds seen just hours before, we counted many, many gulls. The wind was quite strong and not really in our favor for hearing or seeing shorebirds. With much frustration, we began to head off of Gull Point since no shorebirds were showing themselves. On the way out, we decided to scan Gull Point from another perspective. Lo and behold, our shorebirds were tucked up in a protected cove resting near the end of the point, out of view from the observation deck. The great distance gave us trouble identifying the birds, even with a spotting scope. However, with a little ingenuity, I used my phone to zoom in even further with the spotting scope’s help to get clearer details. Of the nine shorebirds seen, all that could be made out were Semipalmated Sandpipers and one Least Sandpiper. Invigorated from finding the shorebirds, the team left Gull Point with Ruth taking an animated lead. On the way out of the park, we made another shortstop to catch the Prothonotary Warblers. I zoomed ahead of the group and signaled with a big thumbs-up as a Prothonotary Warbler finally sang. Ron parted ways shortly after finding the bright yellow warblers, with the afternoon group being Katie, Ruth, and I. Ruth took over Ron’s spot as driver and thankfully so, as Katie and I were whooped.

By the time we had made it off of Gull Point, it was already one o’ clock. How does time just keep slipping between our fingers!? After a short conference with the remaining group, we decided to head to Greenfield Community Park and then south toward Corry Junction Greenway Trail. I was eager to show the group my finds at Greenfield Community Park since it had a nice collection of meadow dwelling birds. However, when we arrived, we were met with a sad sight. The former lucious, flowering field had been cut down for hay, leaving sad bobolinks, meadowlarks, and savannah sparrows wandering around. Moving forward, we headed for Corry to find a Merlin that has been nesting at the Pine Grove Cemetery for many years. Arriving at the cemetary, we eagerly scanned the tall pines for the Merlin. I had found at least one stick nest at the top of one white pine, but it was hard to confirm it as the Merlin's nest. Unfortunately, it was beginning to seem that finding our Merlin wouldn’t happen, so we headed up the road to the Corry Junction Greenway Trail to find our Red-breasted Nuthatch and Blackburnian Warbler. Walking down the trail, we began to hear a familiar “knuck-knuck-knuck,” belonging to our Red-breasted Nuthatch. The other target bird, the Blackburnian Warbler also revealed itself in its high-pitched song. Heading back to the car, we saw a larger bird fly into the top of a pine tree across the road. Using my binoculars, I looked at the bird and shouted with much relief, “Merlin!” Finally, our Merlin made an appearance and then took its leave.

Black-throated Blue Warbler (male), R. Kindervater

The next destination in the area was the Ewing Foundation for Sustainable Forests. When I had visited during one of my scouting trips, I encountered an unexpected amount of Black-throated Blue Warblers, a bird that was first documented breeding in Erie County in 2022 by our very own team! During the blitz, it didn’t take long to locate the nearest breeding pair I had found. It was so much fun to watch the male and female continually transport caterpillars into a rose bush, and reappear with no caterpillars. Squatting down, we were able to make out a small, cup-shaped nest made of dead and live leaves at the center of the rose bush where hungry babies were likely waiting for their next meal. In the distance we heard the fun song of a Mourning Warbler, another bird that I found had a healthy population in the Ewing FSF. We hoped to hear a Barred Owl calling since it was getting dark, but no luck. I had found a Barred Owl nearby in State Game Lands 154 on the New York border, but that location was not on our list for a very intriguing reason.

During scouting, I had stopped at Pennsylvania State Game Lands 154 in hopes of finding some unique birds to add to the list. Looking at the stream on Buffalo Road, I decided to park and walk downstream since I could immediately see hemlock trees. Target birds I was looking for included Barred Owl and Golden-crowned Kinglet, but who knows what is around the bend. As I wandered down the stream, I flipped rocks looking for snakes and salamanders whilst I listened for possible target birds. I had rounded a small bend in the stream when I heard many leaves rustling where I was previously flipping rocks not two minutes prior. Immediately, I assumed it was a raccoon or squirrel making lots of noise in the leaf litter until I saw a large animal stumble down into the creek, and my initial, awestruck thought was, “Oh, a bear!” I stood out in the open as the bear sniffed the ground and rocks I had stood on, and it intermittently glanced at me only a mere 25 feet away. Suddenly, I glimpsed the movement of a small cub stumbling on the bank near the mother, adrenaline coursed through my body instantaneously as I uttered, “Oh God…,” in response to the scary situation I was now faced with. I quickly and quietly hid myself behind a tree, opened my camera, reached around the tree, and snapped a few photos. I finally worked up the courage to peek at the bear from behind the tree and watched it lumber up the steep bank and then crawl into its den. It is a miracle she didn’t charge me when I was right below her den earlier flipping rocks. I looked downstream looking for a getaway, but was blocked by a log jam. The steep banks suddenly turned into a temporary prison, but I worked up the courage to climb the steep banks as quietly as possible. I stepped forward towards the log jam and saw a Barred Owl flush and fly away. Yippee! I guess… Luckily, I made it back to my car with ease, but jumped at every fern waving along the way.

Jumping back to the Breeding Bird Blitz, we decided in the end, that an encounter with a momma bear and her cubs, was not worth finding a Barred Owl. Since the sky was beginning t0 darken, we decided to cut our losses and head back to Presque Isle. By the time we arrived at Presque Isle, it was already dark and to our dismay we realized we missed some easy birds like Carolina and Marsh Wrens. We drove around the park to Pine Tree trail and listened for our ever faithful Eastern Whip-poor-wills with great success. We then headed out towards any marshes to listen for any secretive marsh birds. I got out of the vehicle at Niagara Pond and let out a tremendous clap, causing a Virginia Rail to call into the night, adding the 122nd species to our list. Our final destination was at Katie’s house where she had heard an Eastern Screech Owl the night before. Luckily, the diminutive owl was still in the area and was whistling down the street, adding our final and 123rd bird to the list! With the big day over, we all crawled home in the dark of night excited that we beat our previous score, and slept with birds singing in our dreams.

Laura-Marie Koitsch

July 14, 2022

Pennsylvania is for Plovers’ 2022 Breeding Bird Blitz (part 2 of 2)

Laura-Marie Koitsch

July 14, 2022

Pennsylvania is for Plovers’ 2022 Breeding Bird Blitz

Over the weekend of June 17th - 20th, 2022, the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology held its second annual PA Breeding Bird Blitz for Conservation. During the blitz (B4C), teams of birders across the state compete to find the most bird species in the county of their choosing during any given 24-hour period. In addition to being a fun competition, the B4C generates valuable information on the abundance and distribution of Pennsylvanian breeding birds as well as raises money for avian conservation organizations across the state. This year’s donations will be evenly divided between the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, the Willistown Conservation Trust, and our very own Erie Bird Observatory!
Donations will be accepted through July 15th, 2022. For more information, please go to: https://www.breedingbirdblitz.org/donate-teams

Due to his experience competing in New Jersey Audubon’s World Series of Birding as well as his all-around birding prowess, Erie Bird Observatory (EBO) asked Joshua Heiser to lead our team to victory in this year’s blitz. His team, which he named “Pennsylvania is for Plovers” (and insists “plovers” be pronounced like “lovers” 😉) birded Crawford County on Saturday, June 18th, 2022 and Erie County on Sunday, June 19th, 2022. The following is part 2 of a two part series detailing EBO’s experience competing in this year’s blitz. We hope that you enjoy!

Pennsylvania is for Plovers’ 2022 Breeding Bird Blitz

DAY 2: Erie Edition

by Joshua Heiser, 2022 EBO Intern

Following a highly successful day of birding in Crawford County, I was a little worried about our big day in Erie. My schedule had only allowed me to scout out a few spots in the county and there were several species for which I had no reliable locations. Joining me for the second day of the blitz was local birding guru and fellow Erie Bird Observatory (EBO) employee, Katie Andersen. While the Crawford Contingent had been busy blitzing the day prior, Katie had been busy scouting Erie County. Unfortunately, we had not had the time to compare notes or to create an informed route before meeting up that morning, which admittedly was cause for concern. I knew that not having a comprehensive plan, particularly for the early morning hours, was a risk and one that could potentially tank a big day.

The plan was for Katie and I to meet at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC) at 4:45 am to snag some nocturnal Presque Isle birds when the park’s gates opened at 5:00 am. Our other two team members, Ruth Swaney and Sarah Sargent, would be joining up with us later. I arrived at 4:50 am and misreading her text in my sleep-deprived state, drove to the second lot on the peninsula instead of the second TREC lot where Katie was parked. My confusion not only cost us a Barred Owl calling at the TREC, it delayed our meet-up time to 5:15 am, right when first light began to hit and our nocturnal friends ceased to call. We hurried to Beach 9 to intercept a calling Eastern Whip-poor-will, but arrived too late.

Marsh Wren at Presque Isle State Park ©️ Brian Berchtold

We were able to add a few songbirds along the way though including a Marsh Wren at Thompson’s Circle and a Golden-crowned Kinglet that we were surprised to find singing on Pine Tree Trail. I heard an interesting call as we were driving around Fry’s Landing and proceeded to get out of the car. While I was listening to what ultimately turned out to be a Gray Catbird (those crazy mimids!), Katie suddenly shouted from the passenger seat, “Woodcock! Woodcock!” I whipped my head around to just miss the forest-dwelling shorebird as it flew behind the trees. Presque Isle yielded no more new species for us after that and I was feeling pretty bummed about our team missing two tricky birds this early on in the blitz. We begrudgingly headed back to the TREC parking lot where we had planned to meet up with fellow blitz team leader, Ruth Swaney, who would be joining the #PA4Plovers team for the day.

While we waited for Ruth to arrive, Katie and I took some time to determine where we were going next. The initial idea had been to hit Erie Bluffs after Presque Isle, but without a clear game plan, I was worried we might waste too much time driving around. Looking at one of the maps that Katie had created the night prior, I suggested that we head south first. “We could try for ravens and the Winter Wren, and then hit Jamie’s place.” This was a big risk, as neither of us had scouted that area, but Katie agreed. By now, it was 6:15am— we had our game plan, but Ruth was running late. As time was of the essence, we thought it best to just have Ruth catch up with us later. We piled into Katie’s car and off we went!

A Bobolink’s happy place.
©️ Katie Andersen

Our decision to head south paid off in spades. We started down some backroads about five miles west of Waterford to an area where a family of ravens were known to frequent. While we didn’t find the ravens, driving along with the windows down netted us a ton of new species: Brown Thrasher, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, and Field Sparrow to name a few. We pulled over at an overgrown farm field and immediately picked up Savannah Sparrow, Bobolink, and Eastern Meadowlark - the trifecta of expected grassland birds. A Magnolia Warbler that sang right as we drove past it was perhaps the best surprise as it’s a species more common in the eastern end of the county. We then turned onto Leacock Road, where a Winter Wren was known to be on territory. The road cuts through a sizeable grove of hemlocks— so even though we had to wait 25 minutes for the Winter Wren to sing, we also added several quality coniferous species, including Blue-headed Vireo, Dark-eyed Junco, and Purple Finch. It was now 7:45 am and we were already at 64 species!

Jamie’s beautiful property is also a wonderful bird haven.
©️ James R Hill III

Our next location was Jamie Hill’s property in Waterford. Jamie is a well-known birder and his property, with its large lake and several acres of forested shrub habitat surrounding it, is one of the premium birding sites in the area. I had emailed him the week prior, asking for permission to visit. He had responded affirmatively with a tantalizing list of breeding birds at his property that included Northern Waterthrush and Alder Flycatcher. As we headed up the long driveway, Jamie provided us live text updates from his back deck. “Listen for Field Sparrow in that first stretch. . . Osprey eating Goldfish at railroad tracks to the left . . . All 5 Osprey in nest now . . .” We added Osprey as we passed the lake, as well as a Hairy Woodpecker and yesterday’s nemesis Belted Kingfisher, and then joined Jamie on his back porch. We talked a bit and learned that, while the Alder Flycatchers and Northern Waterthrushes were likely still around, they had gone completely silent in the last few days. “The Pine Warbler’s still singing though.” Jamie said, “Ruth and her team heard it Friday.” We still needed Pine Warbler, so after thanking Jamie and picking up a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (another common bird we had missed the day before) at his feeder, we headed in the warbler’s direction. Pine Warbler was an easy tick, and since we were in the right habitat for waterthrushes and Alders, we stuck around a little bit to try for those species, with no luck.

It was now 8:30 am, and with all of our southern targets in the bag, we were doing great on time. Katie had a Cerulean Warbler spot about an hour east that I suggested we go to next, given how quiet yesterday’s Ceruleans had been later in the day. Back on the road, our two missing teammates made contact, inquiring as to when and where we would like to meet up. Humorously, right as Sarah texted us and Katie, who had just turned on the voice-to-text feature on her phone, was about to respond, an accipiter flew across the road. “Cooper’s Hawk! Cooper’s Hawk!” we simultaneously shouted, which as you can imagine, made for a very interesting text message reply! Our drive produced a few more new species including a soaring Red-tailed Hawk and a serendipitous Ring-necked Pheasant— a hard-to-find gamebird that also elicited spontaneous shouts as we passed it on the highway.

Blue-winged Warbler at Erie Bluffs State Park
©️ Katie Andersen

We reached McKee Road by 9:30 am and immediately heard two Cerulean Warblers singing. That was easy! Now off to Erie Bluffs State Park, where we hoped to add Bank Swallow, Orchard Oriole and Least Flycatcher. We parked and stepped out of the car and were immediately greeted with a surprise Yellow-throated Vireo singing right above us. We ventured out into the meadow by the park entrance where we had a Bank Swallow gliding low above the grass and an Orchard Oriole soon after. A Least Flycatcher had been singing incessantly at the end of the Black Oak Savanna trail on Friday, but when we reached the location, it wasn’t calling. Foraging in its place, though, was a male Blue-winged Warbler, a nice species to add to our list. This was our only spot for Least Flycatcher, so we stuck around for another 10 minutes to see if it would start up again. Having no luck, we started walking back, when I heard a liquidy “churry churry churry wortle” across the field. “That’s a Mourning Warbler!” I said. I had no idea this elusive warbler occurred at the bluffs. Almost as soon as we identified the Mourning, we heard an insect-like “chebek chebek chebek” off to our right. Our Least Flycatcher had finally decided to sing. We were leaving the bluffs with all three of our targets plus three bonus species— a really good haul!

It was now time for our mid-morning gas and refreshment break at the Girard Sheetz, where we would also meet up with Sarah. Katie had stopped there for a similar refueling break the day prior and whilst doing so, had stumbled across a singing Northern Mockingbird. As discussed in the previous post, mockingbirds are not common in NW PA and this Sheetz was our only known spot for one in the county. After waiting a few minutes for the bird to appear, I decided to try my luck at the Tim Hortons across the street. And there, perched in a tiny bush behind the Tim Hortons drive-thru was our fabled Northern Mockingbird! He immediately started singing loudly enough for Sarah and Katie to hear him over in the Sheetz parking lot. I bought myself a Tim Horton’s donut as a reward, while Katie and Sarah enjoyed the Sheetz facilities. With two blitz species having now been found at a Sheetz location this weekend, Sarah and I joked around that we should ask them to sponsor us.

Red-headed Woodpecker at Presque Isle State Park
©️ James R Hill III

Back on the road, we now headed east to meet up with Ruth at Presque Isle. On the way, we stopped at Fairview Business Park for Least Sandpiper (didn’t get it) and Struchen Flats Park for Pileated Woodpecker (did get it). Now back at the TREC, Katie and I hopped into Ruth’s car (both of us were a little too sleep-derived to drive at this point) while Sarah went off to do some falcon scouting downtown. Our first stop on the peninsula was just past the entrance to the park, where a swampy area right next to the road makes for a nice habitat for nesting Red-headed Woodpeckers and Prothonotary Warblers. We picked up a Red-headed Woodpecker right away, but the Prothonotaries were being difficult. Despite an abundance of nest boxes with at least a few known pairs and us walking up and down the narrow strip of habitat, we couldn’t find a Prothonotary anywhere. As if to rub it in our faces, some birders we ran into on the sidewalk told us mom and dad Prothonotary had been seen feeding nestlings just 30 minutes before we arrived. (What!? If they had young to feed, the parents should be out and about like there was no tomorrow!). We spent another good 15 minutes looking, but with no luck, we decided to cut our losses and move on. We would try to get the warblers on our way back out of the park.

“The walk [to Gull Point] was brutal, but the birds were great!” ©️ Katie Andersen

It was Father’s Day and Presque Isle was packed with people. As we drove to Beach 10, there was a noticeable absence of the normally ubiquitous “roadside” Wild Turkeys, which we presumed to be just as eager to avoid the crowds as we were. Reaching the Beach 10 parking lot, we set off along the shoreline towards Gull Point. Thankfully, the day wasn’t super hot, but the shifting sand under our feet and the direct noon sun made it a strenuous 45-minute hike to the platform. It was well-worth the effort! The regular specialties, Piping Plover, Common and Caspian Tern, Herring and Ring-billed Gull, and Double-crested Cormorant, were complemented by a nice collection of over-summering birds - Dunlins, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a Ruddy Turnstone running around on the east beach, a male Lesser Scaup floating just beyond the south point, and a close Semipalmated Plover foraging on a mudflat just before the platform. The gulls flushed up near the end of our visit, and we were able to locate the Bald Eagle that spooked them as it soared overhead. I tallied our list as we walked out and discovered we were already at 103 species! We had broken 100 and were only 3 away from yesterday’s record— all before 2:30 in the afternoon!

Green Heron feeding its chicks ©️ Brian Berchtold

We continued our drive around the peninsula, hoping to collect a few more species of interest. At Thompson Circle, we heard the loud, rollicking song of a Carolina Wren before we even had time to park. The Green Herons at Beach 11 were a little trickier, but with some maneuvering into the right viewing angle, we were able to find a Green Heron sitting on its nest. Back at the entrance to the park, the Prothonotary Warblers were being as frustrating as ever. Katie caught a promising glimpse of a small, yellow bird darting into the reeds, but after 10 minutes, it still hadn’t resurfaced and we needed to move on. There was still a chance we could still get the warblers that evening, if we returned early enough, but given how skittish they’d been acting that day, it was definitely more of a slim chance.

On behalf of the nwPA chapter of falcons, this Peregrine Falcon would like to apologize to Sarah for his brethren’s rude behavior earlier. ©️ Connor Vara

Back at the TREC, Sarah had more bad news for us. Despite searching all the usual spots, she had been unable to locate the Peregrine Falcon pair that had been nesting along the waterfront the past several years. Ruth and I were a little more optimistic. I had observed a falcon a couple weeks ago on the chimney in front of the Blasco library and Ruth’s team had seen them on their Friday big day. “It was just perched on the UPMC building when we stopped at the intersection of State St. and the Bayfront Parkway,” she told us. “Might as well keep an eye out as we drive by.” We pulled up to the stated intersection and I scoped the Blasco smokestack from the passenger seat. There was a suspicious-looking blob perched on the top railing of the chimney. “Holy guacamole, that’s the Peregrine Falcon!” I shouted. Sarah grumbled a few choice words under her breath in regards to the bird’s blatant insult to her scouting efforts, but it was all in good humor. No one was complaining. In fact, we were excited— that bird, rude as it might be, put us at 106 species, tying the June state record we had set yesterday!!

With many potential species still ahead of us and several hours of daylight left, we were now in uncharted territory. We knew that 115 species was possible, 120 a credible dream scenario, but none of us dared say what we were all thinking aloud, lest we risk jinxing it.

Our team’s observation of a female Black-throated Blue Warbler carrying food to a nest on 6/19/22 set a new county record!

Our next stop was SGL 102, a tract of forest supporting several “northerly” species particular to eastern Erie County. Getting out of the car, we heard an odd sound almost like a dog barking. I would have called it a dog, except the sound was moving and getting closer— Just then, we looked up to see a Common Raven come bursting through the tree canopy. A nice species to add and a new vocalization to learn too!

A male Black-throated Blue Warbler was singing exactly where I had him during scouting and as we were watching him, a female Black-throated Blue flew in with a bill full of bugs. She dropped down into some nearby ferns and took off empty-billed, the bugs presumably in the bellies of some hungry nestlings. We didn’t think much of it at the time, but we were later informed this sighting represented the very first record of a Black-throated Blue Warbler breeding anywhere in Erie County! A jaunt into the hemlocks down the road quickly nabbed us a singing Black-throated Green Warbler, and then we hiked down a trail where a few Hermit Thrushes had been vocalizing the Wednesday prior. The Hermit Thrushes were playing hard to get, but while listening for them at a particular spot, a Northern Waterthrush suddenly burst into an unprompted, full song! Walking back, Katie and I finally heard the ethereal, fluty song of Hermit Thrush way off in the distance. We left SGL102 quite satisfied, having nabbed all our targets as well as a couple of bonuses. Our total was now 111 species!

We continued east to the Corry Junction Greenway Trail, where we could potentially pick up four new species - American Kestrel, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Blackburnian Warbler, and Merlin. I spotted an American Kestrel on the drive over, narrowing our target birds to three. The Merlins were supposedly nesting in the cemetery before the trailhead, but I thought it unlikely we’d find one as I hadn’t been able to locate them during scouting. The presumed nest tree was devoid of falcons on first scan, but the team thought it would be worth it to drive further into the cemetery to check the other pines. We parked at the end of the circle and surveyed the area. “Oh, I see it,” Sarah said. The Merlin was perched in a White Pine a few trees left of the described nest site, and with that, we had swept the falcons! With kestrel already under our belt, we only needed to visit one other location on the trail to get Blackburnian Warbler and a possible Red-breasted Nuthatch. We walked in and immediately heard the nasal “yank yank yank” of a Red-breasted Nuthatch. And just a few feet further down, a Blackburnian Warbler was singing his high-pitched warble from the tops of the hemlocks. Two targets in less than two minutes, and 115 species on the list!

It was now 6:15 pm, and we had secured all our eastern county targets. With some time on our hands, we decided to pay a visit to the property of another Erie County birder we know, our friend, Michele Franz, who had informed us she had seen Louisiana Waterthrushes and an Alder Flycatcher at her 6-mile Creek home that morning. Along the way, we discussed our strategy for when we got back to Presque Isle that evening.

It appeared as if we’d be arriving in time for another shot at the Prothonotaries and we hoped the turkeys might return to the roadside with the diminishing crowds. I still felt bad about missing the woodcock earlier that morning and suggested maybe we run into Fry’s Landing to try and flush one. I had barely finished speaking when a brown, football-sized bird with a long bill flew right over the windshield. We stared at each other in gleeful shock. That was an American Woodcock! We were rapidly making a case for this being the luckiest big day ever. Michele’s house didn’t produce any waterthrushes nor Alder Flycatchers, but we did pick up an odd female Common Merganser just chilling 20 feet upstream, bringing our species total to 117. With a little luck (still didn’t want to jinx it), it was appearing as though we had a very real shot at 120!

Our lucky streak continued as we arrived back in Erie proper around 7:40 pm. Waiting at a stoplight just outside the water treatment plant, I heard a buzzy “peernt” from outside my window. “Hold on, that’s a Common Nighthawk!” I said. We knew these nightjars likely bred in the city, but had no reliable spot for them, making this chance encounter all the more serendipitous. We were almost to the state park when Ruth had a revelation. “Hey, there’s that residential Wild Turkey flock that hangs out on South Shore Dr,” she said. “Why don’t we check on the way?” We made a quick right turn onto Pittsburgh Ave. and drove slowly down South Shore Dr., scanning the well-manicured lawns. “Turkey! Turkey!” I cried, rapping the window so hard my finger hurt. We came to a screeching halt and saw three tom Wild Turkeys strutting about in someone’s driveway. Great recommendation, Ruth! We were now only one away from 120!

The PA4Plovers team listening to the record-breaking species #121 call!

It was once again time to face those golden-yellow birds that had been avoiding us all afternoon. We parked in the same spot for the third time that day, and I immediately saw a small, yellow bird with white, outer-tail spots dart into the grass just outside the car. “Prothonotary!” I yelled. The bird reappeared on a dead snag and we all got stellar views of a female Prothonotary Warbler. At last!
We joked that the Prothonotaries weren’t satisfied with being species #83 and just had to be number 120.

We continued into the park and tried for Least Bittern at a spot recommended to us by EBO’s resident marsh bird expert, Chris Lundberg, but the wind was too loud to hear anything. Dusk was quickly approaching, which was fine by us as the rest of our needed birds were mostly nocturnal. We headed back to Pine Tree Trail where Katie and I had begun our day. Whip-poor-wills were almost guaranteed there after dark, but we had arrived a few minutes early. While we waited, I practiced my whip-poor-will whistle (and brought in a catbird, who had his own whip-poor-will whistle), and then at 9:00pm, the first Eastern Whip-poor-will called. We stood there for a bit— watching the fireflies dance, listening to the call of species #121, savoring every joy of that special moment.

There were still a few more nocturnal species that we had hoped to get, but after searching a bit longer with no success, we decided to call it a day. Our heads may have been hanging as we left the peninsula, but if so, it was only from sheer exhaustion. There was absolutely no cause for disappointment. We had found 121 species in Erie county in just under 20 hours— setting what might be the highest June big day score EVER in Pennsylvania!

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The full eBird trip report for Day 2 can be found here:
https://ebird.org/tripreport/64594

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With 121 species on June 19th, the Erie Edition of Pennsylvania is for Plovers became the team with the highest number of species on a daily list in the state, earning us this year’s coveted “PA Peerless” blitz title. Our team’s Crawford Contingent, with a comparatively meager 106 species on June 18th, tied for the second highest total in the blitz. In under 40 hours, the combined Pennsylvania is for Plovers found an incredible 133 species between Crawford and Erie Counties. Our team recorded 16 unique species for the blitz and was the only team to report a new county breeding record, indicating the conservational value of birding northwestern Pennsylvania. Overall, our blitz days were a smashing success and we hope to do it again next year! As a reminder, if you’d like to support Erie Bird Observatory and other conservation organizations, online donations are still being accepted through July 15th. Go here https://www.breedingbirdblitz.org/donate-teams for more information.