A Quiet Weekend - 09/12/2009

With the Waterfowl Festival going on over the weekend on Campau Road I headed on over to Roberts Road. Not a soul parked on the road, not a bird flying back and forth across the street. I headed all the way down to the end ofthe road and parked near the small boat launch. There was alot of singing and some flying back and forth. With the sun not quite up over the fragmites any shot taken was dark and not viewable. Behind me there was alittle racket going on so I stopped to turn and watch what my appear. In the depths of the growth a Common Yellow-throat made its way to the front and then in view where I could get a good shot of him.

Across from that area a Gray Catbird is making himself heard and seen, in fact the trip down Roberts Road on Saturday and Sunday produced quite a few views of the Catbird. The Cedar Waxwings are still in numbers in the area. The Black-capped Chickadee can be heard but is keeping itself hidden in the thicket. A Great-crested Flycatcher sits atop a tree while a Downy Woodpecker plays hide and seek where I can't get a photo. A Dragonfly in a thicket patch gives me a challenge but I manage to focus on the stem of the flower just below him and get my shot.

After leaving Roberts Road I headed over to Lake Erie Metro Park to see if any is happening over there. A quick trek down to the picnic area gives me the opportunity to get a shot of a Hawk sitting on the bat house on the little road to the right - just before you get to the bridge.

On Sunday I make my way back down to Roberts Road to see if I can get some more photos - while standing down at the edge of the boat launch I see something flying towards. As it passes me I notice that it's a Hummingbird. What were my chances? By the time I could get a focus on him he was gone. Feeling like I missed my chance I decided to leave only to turn back and park. No one was there and where was I going to go. Standing back down at the edge of the boat launch that little bugger came back and hovered over the rock that he disappeared behind early. Not the best picture but I did get one.

A quick stop on the way home to LEMP to take a walk around the trail to the boat launch gave me no photos. Headed on home.

Next weekend the Hawkfest but I'll be up north. Good luck to all who will be out there counting the hawks. Til my next post.

Wrens, Warblers and more...8/29/2009

Inspite of the gloomy start to Saturday morning I decided to take a ride out to Pte. Mouillee. First I traveled down Campau Road to look and listen for activity. If you've ever been down this road you know that there are a couple bridges that cross inlets. The first one to the right has a lot of greenery growing and nothing was there. The second bridge however had an Egret standing in front of the log that sits in the center where three young Wood Ducks are just biding their time. About midway between the road and the log there are about six just doing nothing. I tried to get a photo of these guys but because of the gray skies I just couldn't get them in focus. The last bridge is just before you reach the gate to the HQ and on the left side there are a couple of adults and quite a few young Wood Ducks. They were in the shadows so no real good photo there either.

The tree to the right of the gate has a lot of activity so I drove through to the waters edge and then parked just before passing back through the gate. "Patience is definitely a virtue" for birding and it seems these days I have more for the birds than I do for people. I sat and watched every movement of the branches - not just in the tree but in the bushes that are in that little horse-shoe shaped driveway. The Black-capped Chickadees are just "chicka-dee-dee -dee" their way back and forth. There's a Warbling Vireo jumping around in the branches "come on baby just a little closer to the edge". Well he didn't get all the way to the edge but he tried.

In the bushes to my right while looking a the tree there's a lot of movement. It pays to watch that jagged movement of the bushes - you never know what's going to pop out of it. The first movement I watched produced a squirrel - not far from that one popped a House Wren who was very cooperative. He looked this way and that - looked at me - then turned around so I could get the back view - then he was gone. In the bushes over just a little more was a Common Yellow-throat making it's way through the branches. After spending a couple hours there I decided to take a ride down to Roberts Road to see if there was any activity there.

Roberts Road was a very productive. The Great-crested Flycatchers were in abundance, just as the Cedar Waxwings were months before. The area was full of Baltimore Orioles, Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, Goldfinch, Tanagers, Catbirds and more.

On Sunday I made the same trip - same route and had the opportunity to get some more photos of some of the birds I saw on Saturday and a few new ones. My time on Sunday was only two hours but in that time I took about 627 pictures (600 on Saturday).

My final shot for the day and my very first decent shot was this of an Osprey having breakfast in an old tree that sat off of Jefferson Road between Roberts Road and Campau Road.

Coming up next Labor day weekend and I'm heading north. Til my next post.

A Very Active Weekend - Mio - 08/16/2009

I have mentioned a couple of times that my birding has become a little limited, this is due to the fact that I need knee surgery and walking isn’t very pleasant at times. My weekends up north are my salvation to do my birding and in the past couple of months I can say “it’s been crappy”. I was beginning to think that all the birds went on vacation – even the Black-capped Chickadees who I thought were always around no matter what. This past weekend however was great. The first birds to hit the feeder behind the house was a Black-capped Chickadee, then came a White-breasted Nuthatch and sitting in a tree at the side of the house in the shade of the trees was an immature Eastern Phoebe.

I continued to fill all my feeders and then wait around for a while to see if I can here that “yank, yank, yank” from the White-breasted Nuthatch. Once he’s heard everybody comes a flying in. Feeders are all filled and now I’m off to go fishing – when I get back I’ll check the feeders to see if there’s been any activity while I was gone. Its 9 p.m. by the time we get back from fishing - so checking the feeders will have to wait til the morning.

Sunday morning with bag and camera and scope (if things are slow) and after making coffee I head out to my blind where there is more movement than I have seen in along time. The Black-capped Chickadees are everywhere, a Red-breasted Nuthatch flies in to the tree to my right and finds its way down to the feeder where I have black oiled sunflower seeds. In flies a White-breasted Nuthatch chasing the Red-breasted Nuthatch away. A little striped bird keeps bouncing through the thicket just below the window of my blind; finally he lands in a spot where I can get a look at it and then where I can actually get a picture. The bird is moving around so much that I’m taken by surprise when it lands on a branch an arm lengths reach out my window – a very pretty Black and White Warbler. This little one will come and go several times before he calls it quits.

As fast as the birds come in and entertain me they suddenly disappear and for a brief 20 minutes all is quiet except for a little bit of stirring in the thicket below my window. As I look down I catch the glimpse of something small moving around. I thought it might be a chipmunk checking around for seeds that I occasionally drop for him so he doesn’t get beat up by the squirrels. As I keep watching I see this little yellow face peek through – then the body and now he’s making his way to the top of branches – a Canada Warbler (a first for me). Since 9 a.m. and some 700 pictures later it is now 12:15 and time for lunch. I have taken photos of the Black-capped Chickadees, White and Red-breasted Nuthatches, an immature Eastern Phoebe, a young Chipped Sparrow and an adult, Black and White Warbler, Canada Warbler, the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Grackles and a Willow Flycatcher.

At lunch I mention to my better half that it’s been a year since I last saw the Pileated Woodpecker in our woods and to see him or her today would really top off my weekend. So after lunch I went back out to the blind and he went to take a nap before we head home. As I sit out there I watch a Hairy Woodpecker chase off a Downy Woodpecker. The Downy sits patiently waiting its turn to feed on the suet when the Hairy is done. In the meantime while sitting and watching I feel a nudge at the bottom of my chair, as I look down I see a chipmunk has come to visit. Since I really don’t want him in there for now I open the door and scurry him out the – as I step back in I look over to the left and notice my wish. There chipping away is a Pileated Woodpecker, a young one is my guess, and she didn’t seem to be bothered by my movements as I tried to get closer to get some photos. In fact, instead of flying away she kept coming closer to my blind with every short flight. She did land on a short stump that is just outside my blind which stands every bit of 24” and I would say that she came up ~6” short of that stump.

Approximately 200 shots later she flew away and I grabbed all of my toys, locked up my blind and headed for the house. This weekend truly did make up for what I haven’t been able to get in the past couple of months. Til my next post.

Birding By Car - 07/31/2009

With my birding being limited these days- I decided to take Friday off from work to do a little birding from my vehicle. Usually when I do this I travel down Compau Road but this morning I decided to head down Roberts Rd just to see - maybe even get lucky. As I travel I can see the birds flying back and forth across the road and with the morning sun on my left I can guarantee that's the side the birds are. A Song Sparrow sits on a wire with an Indigo Bunting sitting not too far from him.

When I got to the end of the road (and since there were cars there) I decided to park and take a short walk. I have never ventured that part and was amazed at how pretty the view was. I walked up to where there were some guys fishing and then turned around to go back to my vehicle. I stopped just outside the gate to watch the activity in a tree. When all was quiet I got into my vehicle and started my (very) slow drive back down Roberts Road.

I managed photos of a juvenile European Starling which worked it's way through the branches to the top of the tree - a couple of Goldfinches and a Yellow Warbler that sat very pretty while I snapped away. An Indigo Bunting flew up from the grasses and clung to the stalk long enough for me to get my first good shot of one. Several shots of a Cabbage White, a Common Sulfur and a Viceroy. While driving through I spotted a Black-billed Cuckoo with the hopes of him landing in a spot that would give me a decent shot. He did. My favorite out of all the birds I saw and photographed is the Cedar Waxwing. Last year was the first time I had ever seen one and this year I have seen them in abundance, such an elegant bird.

That was my outing - and it wasn't a disappointment.

Til my next post.

Oh Baby! Baby! - 7/19/2009

For the past couple of weeks I have done most of my birding from my backyard. While doing this I have noticed a lot of noisey little birds (babies) chirping and throwing tantrums for mom's attention. With all the babies here I was hoping to see some littles up north. Thursday morning I and my better half headed up to St Ignace where it was cold and wet. My intentions were to go to Mackinac Island one day and hopefully Seney Wildlife Refuge on another. The weather definitely controlled where we went and Saturday being the better of the two Seney won and Mackinac Island lost.

Overcast and wind made it difficult to get some good shots but remembering what I saw was great. Yellow-rump Warblers were numerous and flying everywhere and landing in impossible spots to photograph. As we drove the the trail there was a Mallard with 5 ducklings and another one swimming close to the shore with 4 ducklings hiding in the grasses. Two Trumpeter Swans in the tall grasses to the right with 2 little ones staying close and a lone Trumpeter with 4 swimming and eating close to their mom. A young doe came out of the grasses and watched us, while taking pictures and talking to her she moved closer and closer to the truck while she ate. A little way down the road we came upon two speckled back fawns that ran for cover behind some bushes. The one ran for cover and I think the other just ran because its sibling ran. The one watched very intently as I got out of the truck and tried to maneuver my way down the road to get a clear shot of both of them - of course I couldn't. Mom wasn't too far up the road eating. There was also a Wood Duck swimming the pond with her 5 little ducklings.

The highlight of this trip was seeing a Loon with her baby on her back. I have seen pictures in magazines but have never actually seen this and I wasn't disappointed. There she was - baby on her back and another floating along side them - beautiful. I tried to get a good shot of this wonderful sight and with the help of my friend Jerry (for cleaning this one up for me) I can add it to this post. As we left the park I couldn't get that picture out of my head this one really did move me.

Back at the hotel I decided to take a look out over the lake to see if there was anything out there - swimming very calmly until I moved closer to the water was a Merganser and her 5 little darlings. As I moved closer to try and get a better shot coming from the grasses in a little pond close by came a lot of chirping. As I moved closer to see if I could find who was making all the noise I was stopped by a very upset female Red-winged Blackbird. I can assure you I did not linger, especially since she had dinner hanging out of her beak I knew someone had to be hungry.

Sunday morning came quickly and our long weekend was over. Traveling home we were still talking about the speckeld back fawns that we saw, the doe that we couldn't get over how close she kept moving towards us and the babies - especially the Loon with baby in tow and in float. My only hope next year is that I can pick a weekend that will give me more sun and less rain.

Til my next post.

Morning After - 06/20/2009

Recently, alot of my birding has been done in my own backyard. This weekend past weekend wasn't any different. Friday, as the weather started to make its changes throughout the day I watched the birds in my yard hang on to the feeders as the winds picked up and the rain began to fall. After awhile I got distracted by my son telling me that water was coming into the basement - thankfully it wasn't the sewer and it was a small amount. I did however, pray that it would stop raining soon. The next morning with latte in hand and camera I decided to sit out in the backyard and just watch the activity after the storm.


I still have a backyard of at least a dozen pigeons that seem to take flight at every sound and/or movement. There are about five mourning doves that stay to the back of my yard and one that likes to be with the smaller birds. Six House Finches still frequent my black oiled sunflower feeder (four male and two female) and there's still a Goldfinch couple that likes the thistle feeders. Two Downy Woodpeckers scale my back fence waiting for the activity to stop at the suet feeder. House Sparrows fly in at out making their way through the Grackles, Pigeons, Doves and Starlings on the other feeder.


There are three squirrels that live in my maple tree at the back of the my yard as well and they're out there too, chasing each other around the tree. It takes a peanut butter sandwich to keep one of them out of the feeders, the other two go off to other places.

I started a small flower garden in the northeast corner of my yard. There are orange, pink, and bright yellow lilies, a lilac bush which has started to take off, other plants that bush and give kind of a ground cover and a few rose bushes with trellises behind for the birds to perch on. This is where a majority of the birds that come to my yard hang out. I guess if they visit my yard it's not a bad place to be. Til my next post.


"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhiliarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an eening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life." ~ John Burroughs

Backyard Photographing - 05/31/2009

Tonight while I was redoing a park bench in my backyard I happened to glance up at my lilac bush (which is a late bloomer) and caught the fluttering wings of a Black Swallowtail. When I came in for the night I suddenly remembered the photos that I took last weekend. Last weekend was a weekend of no birding - a funeral on Saturday and a day spent with my sister on Sunday took up pretty much of my time. But Sunday - late afternoon as I walked out into the backyard to get the lawnmower out of the shed a yellow flutter caught my eye, I ran into the house to grab my camera and take a few hundred shots of a very pretty Tiger Swallowtail.

While I sit here writing about what happened a week ago and this evening I am watching two Goldfinch eat out of the thistle feeder. My kittens Bailey and Peanut sit in the window and watch the birds - every now and then they cry a little because they can't have them but they are content to just sit and watch.

It's beginning to get late and time to catch up on a few more things before I go to sleep. So I say "goodnight" til my next post.