A Kentucky warbler that is unusual for this region has been giving birders additional reason to visit Presque Isle State Park over the past week.

The warbler has reliably been at the Budny Beach parking lot for days. Monday night around 7 it was feeding on insects that were making themselves at home in a gull carcass.

A Kentucky warbler at Presque Isle State Park on April 29, 2013. Contributed photo/LINDA MARTIN

Kentucky warblers typically remain south of Erie in the spring and summer.

Presque Isle State Park and S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie will offer a free day of fishing for children April 13 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the floating platform in the East Basin near Waterworks Pavilion.

Bait and equipment will be provided by the DCNR, S.O.N.S. and BAC Bait & Tackle for the event taking place on the opening day of the statewide trout season

The platform will be available only to children, their non-fishing adult supervisors and individuals with handicaps. Children 16 and older must have a valid fishing license.

Registration is not required. Call the park office at 833-7424 for information.

A week after sightings of a Eurasian wigeon and gull rarities at Presque Isle State Park, more unusual birds have been verified there.

A black-legged kittiwake, which nests along cliffs in the north Atlantic and north Pacific and winters at sea, was reported Sunday in Thompson Bay, along with a black vulture, whose territory typically is well south of Erie.

Other sightings reported to ebird.org include a Eurasian wigeon off Fry’s Landing, black-headed gull, little gull, Franklin’s gull and Iceland gull.

A Eurasian wigeon also has been sighted over the past week in Mercer County, and sandhill cranes are turning up in Crawford County.

Find an outdoors-oriented event taking place at Presque Isle State Park in April:

April 13, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.: First day of trout fishing. The state park and S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie will offer a free day of fishing for children at the floating platform in the East Basin at Waterworks. Bait and equipment will be provided by the DCNR, S.O.N.S. and BAC Bait & Tackle. The platform will be available only to children, their non-fishing adult supervisors and individuals with handicaps. Children 16 and older must have a valid fishing license. Registration is not required. Call the park office at 833-7424 for information.

April 13, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Hawk Watch Day. Learn about hawks and other birds of prey during the free presentation at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center. There will be table displays, hands-on activities and talks. Tamarack Wildlife Rehabiliation will be on hand with live birds. Registration is not required. For information, call 833-7424.

April 20, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 57th annual Presque Isle spring clean-up. Meet at the Rotary Pavilion between 9 and 11 to register and receive materials. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Prizes will be awared for most unusual trash found. Groups larger than 20 may preregister by April 5 by e-mailing Brian Gula at bgula@pa.gov or calling him at 833-7424.

April 26, 7:30-9 p.m., Presque Isle After Dark: Long Pond Trail. Join a park naturalist for 1.5-mile night hike. Meet at the East Pier parking lot; flashlights are not necessary. No fees or registration. For information, call 833-7424.

For a full event calendar, click here.

Birders flocked to Presque Isle State Park this weekend to get a look at a few rarities that dropped in to the now open waters of Presque Isle Bay.

The big draw was a drake Eurasian wigeon, likely visiting from Siberia or Iceland. Suffice it to say, they’re not common around Erie. It was seen off West Pier Saturday, and Sunday from Fry’s Landing and near and north of the channel from the South Pier.

Little gulls, an Icelandic gull, Bonaparte’s gulls and a black-headed gull also were reported. And the bay water off Beach 11 was choked with ducks — buffleheads, common goldeneyes, lesser scaup, red-breasted mergansers, hooded mergansers, American coots, mallards and, off Beach 11, a single pair of common mergansers and four ring-necked ducks. Tundra swans, at least one trumpeter swan and plentiful Canada geese also were evident, along with circling turkey vultures and roadside American robins and American tree sparrows.

Northern shovelers reigned on Horseshoe Pond. At least 15 were on patrol late Saturday, and even after skim ice formed overnight, five were feeding Sunday afternoon. Saturday’s sighting made my life list.

Northern shoveler at Horseshoe Pond on March 17, 2013.

Evidence of the massive gizzard shad die-off in Presque Isle Bay is front and center after our recent ice-out.

Dead gizzard shad line the shoreline of Horseshoe Pond at Presque Isle State Park on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. MATT MARTIN/Contributed photo

A rind of dead shad 12-feet wide hugs the east shore of Horsehose Pond, with more dead fish washed up on shore.

Dead gizzard shad line the eastern shore of Horseshoe Pond. MATT MARTIN/Contributed photo

Dead gizzard shad line the eastern shore of Horseshoe Pond. MATT MARTIN/Contributed photo

Department of Environmental Protection officials said in early March that at least 1 million shad likely had perished in the die-off, with more to come. A kill of this magnitude might happen once in 10 or 15 years, officials said.

“They likely began dying under the ice several weeks ago,” Gary Clark, a DEP community relations coordinator based in Meadville, said in a March 1 Erie Times-News article. “Warmer temperatures melted the ice and exposed them.”

The DEP also said there would not be a cleanup effort.

“They will rot and recycle into the environment,” Jim Grazio, DEP’s Great Lakes biologist in Erie, told the Times-News. “It’s a nuisance in terms of people who go out there should expect a stinky spring.”

The seventh in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Mary Birdsong

Mary Birdsong and her husband, Mike Plyler. HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News file photo

Age: 54

Family: Married to Mike Plyler, auxiliary mom to two wonderful daughters. Owned by two cats, Izadora and Sam.

Lives in: Erie

College degree: BA in History, MA in Art History

Profession: Freelance writer, artist and development professional.

Originally from: Erie (left, explored the world, came back).

I got into birding …: My husband started birding when we were dating.

Spark bird: Cedar waxwing.

Favorite birds: All the shorebirds.

Nemesis bird: Right now, purple sandpiper. There will be others!

Favorite places to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Presque Isle State Park, Scott Park, my backyard or anywhere there are a few good birds.

Strangest place I’ve gone birding: I saw my first Laughing Gull on top of the pile at the landfill, while on a tour.

Rarest bird I’ve seen: Here, a Kirtland’s Warbler. In Costa Rica, a three-wattled bell bird.

Usual birding partners: My husband, Michele Franz, Shawn Collins, or anybody who wants to go!

Birding gear and equipment I take everywhere: My binoculars, scope and iPhone.

Favorite birding field guide or app: Sibley and Peterson in the field. At home, The Shorebird Guide and other specialty guides for research and learning.

What I like most about birding: Seeing a new bird and just being out there.

The best birdwatching day I’ve ever had: Sitting at the mouth of the Kenai River in Alaska watching thousands of shore birds. I want to go back to that very spot again someday, now that I have better optics and more experience.

The worst birding day I’ve ever had: Well, there really aren’t any really bad birding days, but recently Mike and I went looking for the purple sandpiper at Gull Point twice and didn’t see it. And I lost my best gloves.

Dream birding destination: Too many to name here. Anywhere there are cool birds, and that is just about anywhere.

Best birding advice you ever got: Look at the bird while its there, you can look at your field guide later. And, describe out loud or to yourself what field marks on the bird you are seeing.

Your advice to beginning birders: Enjoy yourself and don’t worry about lists.

Should a sighting be counted if you’ve only heard an identifiable bird call but not seen the bird itself? Yes. But it’s always a more fulfilling experience to see the bird as well.

Do you keep a life list? Yes, but I don’t keep a running total in my head. About once a year Mike and I count just to see how many we have.

Do you approve of competitions such as a Big Year or Big Day? Sure, why not?

Previous entries in the NWPA Outdoors Birder Bio series:

No. 1: Shawn Collins

No. 2: Bonnie Ginader

No. 3: Michele Rundquist-Franz

No. 4: Lee Ann Reiners

No. 5: Julie Dell

No. 6: Lisa Danko

Interested in participating in the Birder Bio profiles series? It’s easy and free. Just e-mail matt.martin@timesnews.com for details.

Audubon Pennsylvania and the Presque Isle Audubon Society are accepting volunteers to help with a work day March 23 at Gull Point on Presque Isle State Park.

Volunteers must preregister by e-mail to Sarah Sargent at ssargent@audubon.org. Plan to meet at the Beach 10 parking lot, near the Gull Point trailhead, at 9 a.m., and to work until noon. Dress for the weather, and wear footwear suitable for the hike to the point.

New access trails to the relocated observation platform are being established. Posts and signs will be installled and rope strung between them from the boundary trail to the platform. “Area closed” posts will be placed around the point, facing Lake Erie, to alert boaters not to land. The Pennsylvania Game Commission also will provide signage.

Gull Point access is restricted each year between April 1 and Nov. 30 because of the area’s importance to birds during migration and nesting seasons.

The fifth in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Julie Dell

Age: 61

Julie Dell.

Family: Husband and three grown sons; three grandchildren

Lives in: Franklin Township

Profession: Reference assistant at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania library

Originally from: Erie

I got into birding ..: We moved to the country 34 years ago and there were birds here that I had never seen before. I was curious as to their names, so I bought a bird guide and resurrected an old set of binoculars. It grew from there to buying better binocs … putting up bluebird houses … feeding 600 pounds of seed all winter … taking the binocs when we would travel … taking trips JUST to bird … paying for birding classes … joining Audubon, etc. My latest venture is becoming a Purple Martin “landlord” this spring.

Spark bird: Bluebird

Favorite bird: Snowy Owl

Favorite place to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Presque Isle State Park

Strangest place I’ve gone birding: In Germany, while hiking up a hillside to view a historic grave site. I was not even thinking about “birding” but saw a “water dipper” working a stream. I had never seen this type of bird and was amazed. I had no idea what it was and tried to get an idea from a German couple. Needless to say, because I didn’t speak German and they didn’t speak English it was not too successful. We all had fun trying. They seemed pleased that I was excited about “their” bird.

Rarest birds I’ve seen: Snowy plover and piping plover

Birding gear and equipment I take everywhere: Binocs, spotting scope, birding guide (book and most recently birding app with calls). Insect repellent. 

Favorite birding field guide or app: Peterson field guide. Got a mini iPad for Christmas and am looking forward to using the Sibley birding book I downloaded for it this spring. It has the bird calls on it so you can check them when you are in the field!

What I like most about birding: The beauty of the birds! Time spent outdoors.   Meeting people that love the birds as much as I do.

The best bird watching day I’ve ever had: I went to Arizona expressly to see hummingbirds. Southeastern Arizona is the “hummingbird flyway” for almost all species of hummingbirds found in the United States. I planned a trip with my sister-in-law, who lives in Scottsdale, to drive to Miller Canyon. We stayed at Beatty’s Miller Canyon Guest Ranch and had an amazing time! Hummingbirds like fairies in the trees, everywhere! So many different species at one time that people were calling out the ones they saw and it was hard to keep track or now where to look first! In one day I saw 12 different species of hummingbirds ! 

The worst birding day I’ve ever had: No such thing.

Dream birding destination: The Monterey California Audubon birding festival. Four days of guided hikes and boat tours! 

Best birding advice you ever got: Don’t always reach for the binocs first. Watch the behavior, flight pattern, body shape. Sometimes the bird is gone before you can get the binocs to your eyes!

Your advice to beginning birders: Get out there! Meet other people who are birding too! You will meet some great people and learn a lot. Take a field class if you can. There is nothing better than having someone who knows for sure what bird you are seeing.

Should a sighting be counted if you’ve only heard an identifiable bird call but not seen the bird itself?: That is an individual thing. Personally I won’t count a life bird for myself unless I see it. If you were participating a “big year” competition I would think that it would depend on the rules for that competition.

Do you keep a life list? Yes, I keep a life list … sort of. I am not obsessive about it, and probably have not recorded everything. Best count is 276. 

Do you approve of the idea of competitions such as a Big Year or Big Day?     Sure … people can bird and have fun any way they want!

Previous entries in the NWPA Outdoors Birder Bio series:

No. 1: Shawn Collins

No. 2: Bonnie Ginader

No. 3: Michele Rundquist-Franz

No. 4: Lee Ann Reiners

Interested in participating in the Birder Bio profiles series? E-mail matt.martin@timesnews.com for details.

Help Presque Isle State Park turn the corner toward spring and summer by taking part in the 57th annual Spring Clean-Up April 20 from 9 a.m. t0 1 p.m.

Volunteers will register at the Rotary Pavilion from 9-11 a.m. They’ll join volunteers from the Presque Isle Environmental Education staff, the United Way of Erie, S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie and the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup to clean up stormswept beaches.

Lunch will be served for all registered participants from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the most unusual piece of trash found.

This event is appropriate for all ages and organizations. Service hours are available.

Groups with 20 or more participants only may preregister by April 5 by e-mailing Brian Gula at bgula@pa.gov. No phone calls, please.

For information about this or other programs, contact the park office on the second floor of Tom Ridge Environmental Center at (814) 833-7424.