Birding Report (March 2003-December 2003)

 

Wow, how time flies!   I can’t believe the last time I noted our birding adventures was 8 months ago!   We’ve seen a beautiful spring, a mild summer, a lovely fall, and now a relatively mild winter has begun….and it seems that is about where I left off in my last report!! 

 

Tom, Lindsay and I headed to Texas for Spring Break.  During our week there, Tom, his mom and I went to the coast for a couple of days.  We spent some time in Port Aransas and enjoyed the beach, and some of the area bird sanctuaries.  Of the more than 800 species of birds in North America, over 500 are located in this area of the Texas coast!  Cormorants, grebes, herons, egrets, teals and others were seen in many numbers during our visit.  One day we went out to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.   The refuge, approximately 55,000 acres, was established in 1937 to protect the vanishing wildlife of coastal Texas.   It is an ever-changing land and is still being shaped by the waters and storms of the Gulf of Mexico.  This habitat attracts thousands of migratory birds.  One of the most interesting birds to make it’s winter home at the refuge, is the endangered whooping crane.  Tom and I have a love for the sandhill cranes here in Michigan, so we were of course very interested in their cousin, the whooping crane.  Unfortunately, we arrived a week too late.  Though there were probably one or two cranes left in the refuge, the others had already migrated north by the time of our visit.  The whooping crane is considered one of the rarest creatures in North America and is currently making a comeback in numbers.  Besides the lovely birds we saw in the refuge, Ginny, Tom and I found the other wildlife just as exciting….alligators and javelina, just to mention a few things…besides snakes….of which….I was less than excited!!  What a great trip we had!

 

In April, Tom and I took a trip out to Gull Lake, located outside of Battle Creek, Michigan.  During that visit we observed the following birds:  canvasback duck, mallards, Canada goose, ring neck duck, wood duck, wigeon, tundra swan, trumpeter swan, mute swan, whooper swan, greater and lesser scaup, golden eye, green winged teal, black swan, snow goose, hairy woodpecker, osprey, cardinal, black vulture, dark eyed junco, bluejay, crow, blackcapped chickadee and crested titmouse.  (04/11/03)

 

During May, Tom and I traveled down to Hillsdale County and found some county and state preserves that we wandered back into.  At one point, we saw a snake, and I think Tom worried that I was going to have a heart attack, and he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to get help to us!  I DON’T like snakes…but that’s another issue.  During this visit we observed:  rosebreasted grosbeak, redwing blackbirds, common yellowthroat, ring-neck pheasant, robins, Canada geese, mourning doves, rock doves, purple martins and bluegray gnatcatchers.  (05/17/03)

 

On May 31st, Tom and I traveled up to Flushing for a “midnight squaredance”.  As always, we try to get some birding in as well!  On our way back home from Flushing, we found several nature preserves and were able to observe the following:  cedar waxwing, eastern kingbird, tree swallow, redwing blackbird, goldfinch, common yellowthroat, robin, killdeer, starling, crow, blackcapped chickadee, mourning dove, great egret, Canada goose, ringneck pheasant.  (06/01/03)

 

During a trip to Napoleon on 06/05/03 we observed:  green heron, redwing blackbirds and sandhill cranes.  On this same date we went down to Walter Hayes State Park and saw:  crows, northern flickers, robins, vultures, swans with signets, Canada geese.

 

One of our favorite places to go and do some birding is Dahlem Center here in Jackson.  We were out there on 06/06/03 and saw a brownheaded cowbird. 

 

My birthday was June 9th….and besides all of the lovely gifts they gave me, Tom and Lindsay gave me a great pair of binoculars, and a bird sound thingy that helps identify the birds by their calls.

 

During June, we took Lindsay and a friend out to the Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio.  We dropped the girls off and Tom and I headed over to the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.  We observed the following:  Canada geese, egret, blue swallows, ringnecked pheasant, great blue herons, common tern, robin, redwing blackbird, yellow warbler, cardinal, eastern kingbird, mute and tundra swans, red tail hawk, bald eagles and scarlet tanager.  After hiking about a mile back into the refuge, we went around a bend and you could see an island off of the inlet with trees full of bald eagles!  Pretty amazing!  On our hike out of the refuge, I had the very unpleasant moment of almost stepping on a snake….dead or not…I don’t really care….I see or hear snake….and I’m outta there!!  Tom said he looked up and all he saw was me shooting past him.  I bet he had no idea my short little legs would move that fast!!  As we were approaching the park headquarters, we noticed a very shy bird….brilliant in color, that we were able to identify as a scarlet tanager….absolutely beautiful!  And yes, we saw another snake after that….live….and I went nuts again!!  (06/10/03)

 

During the summer we found a place out in the very southeastern edge of the county….Thorn Lake.  It has become my very favorite place to bird…and during the summer and fall, we made daily trips out there.  Belted kingfishers were plentiful and on one trip they were having some territorial challenges that were quite interesting to watch.  Also plentiful were:  great blue herons, great egrets, flocks of redwing blackbirds, herring gull, cormorant, Canada goose,  sandhill crane and wild turkeys.  Though it is now winter, and our trips to Thorn Lake aren’t daily….we do try to make it out there weekly.  Most of the birds have migrated, and mostly all that is seen are huge numbers of Canada geese.  The frogs and the turtles are gone…as are most of the birds.  We were out there yesterday (12/12/03) and we saw only one blue heron…it was almost depressing!    With this being my very favorite birding place, I look forward to the spring for that area to become alive again with the wildlife.

 

One of our visits to Hillsdale County took us to Lewis Emery County Park just on the edge of town.  We sat and observed the lake area…looking for birds.  We noticed an osprey and watched it “scoping out” the food situation.  As we were watching the osprey, I noticed a great blue heron….sitting up in a tree!  That was wild!  We also observed kingfishers, flycatchers, swans and ducks.  (08/30/03)

In September, we went out to Lake Erie Metropark and watched some of the hawk migration.  During the fall, the skies over southeast Michigan are alive with tens of thousands of hawks, eagles, falcons, and other birds of prey.   It is one of the largest hawk migration corridors in the western hemisphere.  These powerful birds are very impressive to observe. 

Seymour Road and Haehnle Sanctuary, home to the sandhill cranes, remains one of our favorite places.  It was actually at the Hahnle Sanctuary during my first visit to Michigan, that Tom and I decided that we really wanted to spend some time learning about the habitats of birds, and observing their wondrous beauty.  This fall we made several trips out to the Haehnle and observed large numbers of the cranes.  During our birding trips, wherever we go, and actually, anytime we are in the car, we always on the lookout for birds, particularly cranes.  We recently went out to the Haehnle, late in the evening, just as the sun was setting, December 1st , and there were thousands (2 – 3 thousand!!)  of cranes still out there.  I was surprised that they had not made their migration to Florida yet and were still hanging around.  The sandhill crane is just one of two species of cranes native to North America.  It’s cousin, the whooping crane, is an endangered species.  The sandhill crane, was at one time becoming endangered to Michigan, but has made a startling comeback in abundant numbers.  The sandhill crane is a large stately bird, approximately 5 – 6 feet in height, and a wingspan of  about 80 inches.  They are Michigan’s largest bird.  One of the most interesting characteristics of the sandhill crane, is it’s call.  It is a trumpeting call that is almost prehistoric in sound, can be heard for over a mile, and will make the hairs on your head stand up!    Cranes are famous for their courtship dance.  The dance consists of a series of bowing, jumping and stick-tossing movements. When it occurs in a flock, it often begins slowly with one bird, then increasing in tempo, the excitement of the dance soon spreads to others until many are dancing at the same time. It certainly is one of the most interesting of animal behaviors to observe.   The courtship dance can be observed by a photo on our birding homepage. 

Tom, Lindsay and I are getting ready for a ten day visit to Texas for the holidays and I’m sure that during that time, we will find some time to get away and do some birding.  I will close the year with this report, and hope that I’ll have an addendum to add after our trip.  I’m looking forward to 2004 and all the adventures that it will bring for Tom and I.   Happy birding y’all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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