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 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.

Find an event to take part in at Presque Isle State Park in March:

March 9, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Presque Isle Light House climb. Join park staff for a chance to climb the 78 spiral iron steps to the top of the tower. There’s no fee, but registration is required and space is limited. Participants must be at least 44 inches tall to climb the stairs. For information and registration, call Brian Gula at (814) 217-9632.

March 10, 2-5 p.m.: Presque Isle trolley tour. Board a Bayliner Trolley and take a tour of Presque Isle to learn about the peninsula’s history and its importance during the War of 1812. Registration is required for the free event. Call Emily Hauser at (814) 217-9638.

March 13, 6:30 p.m., and March 16, 1 p.m.: Adopt a Beach. The park is looking for volunteers to participate in monthly 3-hour data collection clean-ups of beaches from April through September. Attend one of these training sessions to get involved. Materials and service hours will be provided. Registration is required. For information, call John Laskos at (814) 838-2454.

March 20, 7-8:30 p.m.: PI After Dark, Graveyard Pond Trail. Hike this interior trail and look for owls, coyotes and nighttime activity by beavers. There is no fee or registration required, and all ages are invited. Meet at the Perry Monument. Flashlights are not necessary.

March 27, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: DiscoverE Beach Bash. Children ages 6-12 are invited to learn about the unique features of the beaches in a free event. Hands-on, outdoor sessions include beach plants, animals and beachcombing finds. Registration is required by March 25. Call Emily Hauser at (814) 217-9638.

Here’s a full calendar of events.

Volunteers are invited to join Presque Isle State Park naturalists March 16 to explore and clean up Gull Point Natural Area before seasonal access closes April 1.

The work crew will clean the shoreline and trails from 9 a.m. to noon so migratory shorebirds have a pristine habitat to rest and feed during their migration season.

Registration is required; call Stacey Marendt at (814) 833-7424. Service hours are available.

The Gull Point observation deck at Presque Isle State Park has been moved from its previous site farther inland and now stands closer to the water on a part of Gull Point that has had invasive plant species removed. According to the park’s plans, the bare sandy ground surrounding the tower will regrow with native species that were overgrown with the invasive species. ANDY COLWELL/Erie Times-News file photo