Last Weekend of the Month 09/27/09

Headed up north on Friday (last days for fishing on the Ausable River) to give ourselves an extra day for fishing. Saturday was overcast with no rain and Sunday was the best out of all three days. Friday out on the river gave me nothing but Saturday I did get a rainbow which makes this year (after eleven years) the first time I didn't get skinked on the last day.

I decided to move a bench out to the area of my blind. Every now and then while sitting in my blind I always hear sounds and noises on the roof and even though I do go out and look around and walk a little it always seems like I'm missing something. With the bench in place I can go out now and keep an eye on all feeders and also watch the trees tops.

The feeders were full of Chickadees and Nuthatches, a couple Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, but the tree tops had some activity of its own and without the bench in place I would have missed: a Cape May Warbler, a female American Redstart, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. A Brown Creeper has been spotted a couple of times but not close enough to get a shot and certainly not while the sun was out. From the blind in the thicket just under the window appeared an immature White-crowned Sparrow.

The bench serves another purpose - see while I'm sitting on it the squirrels stay away - my little scavenger (a chipmunk) feels free to run around gathering what the birds drop from the feeders and the Blue Jays keep their distance.

Six white tails ran through my little wildlife refuge I've created for myself, but too fast to snap a picture. Over this weekend I decided to do a little planting as well (in hopes to add to my little spot). I planted some trumpet pods, some sumac and some crab apples. Not sure if they'll take - it is sandy ground - but it's worth trying. Til my next post.