Warblers started arriving in numbers in the Erie area this past weekend, especially Yellow-Rumped Warbler and Palm Warblers, suggesting the migration will be at peak when the Festival of the Birds takes place May 11-13. But warblers aren’t all that’s flitting about. Here’s a rundown of notable species spotted during a few hours spent birding Saturday and Sunday on Presque Isle State Park and along the bayfront.

• Great White Egret
• Ruddy Duck
• Common Goldeneye
• Red-Breasted Merganser
• Green-Winged Teal
• Blue-Winged Teal
• Wood Duck
• Horned Grebe
• Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
• Black and White Warbler
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Downy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
• Great Blue Heron
• Bufflehead
• Eastern Towhee

Yelp to your heart’s content March 17 at the Gander Mountain Turkey Classic, a National Wild Turkey Federation-sanctioned contest at the Erie store at 2088 Interchange Road.

The contest is a Grand National qualifier for open and friction winners, sponsored by Tamarack Turkey Talkers, Mossy Oak and Zink Calls. Cash or prizes will be given to the top three place-winners in each division, including $300 guaranteed to the open winner. All entry fees, minus $50, will be returned as prize money.

Registration fee is $25 for open and friction divisions and $15 for amateur and youth divisions. Open entrants must be 21 to qualify for the Grand National.

Only current NWTF members can call. Memberships can be purchased during on-site registration. Registration starts at 10 a.m. and calling at noon.

For information, contact Daniel Bump at (724) 290-0311 or deucebump@hotmail.com

On the topic of turkeys: Tamarack Turkey Talkers’ Hunting Heritage Banquet is March 23 at VFW Post 264, 1151 Mead Ave., Corry. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 each, $65 for a couple or $285 for a sponsor couple. Call Brent Reynolds, (814) 450-4138.

Ever wonder what happened to the ballyhooed coyote of Erie Cemetery? Nothing, apparently. She was sighted Tuesday looking fit and fast.

Frank Lasky’s ducks are all in a row again thanks to his father’s eye for details and the work of Erie police.

The Erie PA Sport Fishing Association’s tackle swap and meet is scheduled for Jan. 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holy Trinity Social Center, 2220 Reed St.

Tickets at the door are $3 for adults, $10 for ages 13-18 and free to those 12 and younger.

There will be activities, vendors and seminars including trolling tips and techniques from pro, plus new and used tackle, manufacturer reps on hand, kids casting techniques and casting contest, a dart-throwing game, fishing safety and etiquette and more.

Proceeds benefit the EPSFA Kids Only, Fishing is for Fun Day, brown trout stocking program and fish testing program

Vendor tables are available for $15. Call Shawn Jones at 452-0648.

This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

Off-and-on rain Monday and an all-day soaker Tuesday brought the the Lake Erie tributary levels up to fast and muddy conditions There is  rain and possible snow in the forecast which may help to which may spawn additional steelhead movement and help keep water levels up and flowing. Catches have been good with anglers doing very well at the mouth of Trout and Godfrey runs and throughout most of the trib areas. The rain triggered some action at the Walnut Creek Marina basin with a good number taken over the past week on shiners, paste baits and tipped jigs. With the on-and-off rainfall, Crooked Creek has been productive and less crowded than the lower sections of Walnut and Elk. Current Lake Erie water temperature is 48 degrees. Area tribs were flowing and muddy as of late Tuesday afternoon.

Perch must be a minimum of 7 inches beginning Dec. 1 through March 31, 2012, for Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay. The creel limit remains at 30 fish.

We again want to emphasize that it is wise to wear at least some orange in the outlying areas of the tribs, especially on Elk, Crooked and Conneaut creeks. With the rainy weather we had for opening day and the kill possibly down, many deer hunters will be out over the next two weeks as the colder weather and possible snow reaches our area. Don’t put your self in their sights, wear some orange. If you are on State Game lands, wearing orange is a requirement during hunting season.

So Rob Kupniewski, of Erie, got into a steelhead Sunday morning at Dobbins Landing.

“It was running pretty hard, and it went past the guy next to me and around the corner,” Kupniewski said.

And right into the grip of what apparently was a very hungry peregrine falcon, perhaps one of those that were spotted numerous times this year at the Blasco Library smokestack. Soon Kupniewski was fighting the falcon and the fish.

Ron Leonardi had the story in today’s Erie Times-News.

Contributed photo/Rob Kupniewski

This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

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Driving north on Cherry Street Sunday evening, Linda and I were thrilled to see a large Cooper’s Hawk perched directly under the Roosevelt Middle School sign at Central Tech.

We circled the block and parked, and walked within 10 yards of the hawk, discovering that it had a rabbit in a death grip. The bird flew into the school’s front lawn, rabbit in tow, then decided to fly to the flagpole at the Central entrance to wait us out. American Robins and crows didn’t like that idea much and pestered the hawk relentlessly.

After a good 15 minutes, the hawk flew over the school, and we followed through the drive on the north end of the property. No bird was visible on the backside of the school — not near the track, and the rooftops or in the sky. Sure enough, the hawk had circled back around and dropped on the rabbit for an overdue meal.