Birding the Thumb

Karl Overman and I birded the Thumb yesterday and we saw quite a few good breeding birds. We started off with stopping by the lakeside cemetery in Port Huron where a pair of Merlins has nested. We saw and heard the male Merlin before we went on. I think this might be the first time Merlins have nested in the southeastern Lower Peninsula. After a quick stop for Pine Warblers in Southern Sanilac County we continued to Minden SGA in northern Sanilac County. On the way we made several stops to check the fields. Bobolink numbers were quite good, I think there were almost as many Bobolinks as Eastern Meadowlarks. Five Brown Thrashers (one group of three and two other single birds) seemed a bit on the high side as well. Minden SGA was quite interesting, I had never seen anything like it before. Almost the whole area is part of a bog (see above picture). Because of this species that are typically found further north can be found here. Brewers Blackbirds were plentiful and I managed a few poor shots of them.

There were also several Lincoln's Sparrows.

For both of the above birds while they are quite common in and around Minden SGA, they are completely absent as breeders from the rest of the SELP. We also found a few other birds that are tough to find breeding in southeast Michigan such as Clay-colored Sparrow and Alder Flycatcher. We also found a Pink-edged Sulphur in the bog, it was a lifer for both of us. To see Karl's pictures of it click here. At the woods at the edge of the bog we heard a singing Mourning Warbler and I was finally able to see it after walking through a bunch of raspberries and getting all scratched up. Our next stop was in Huron county at Wagner County Park. We heard several more Mourning Warblers and there were lots of Northern Waterthrushes.

We were also able to find a singing Black-and-white Warbler and a singing Winter Wren south of the trail. It was upsetting to see all of the cut down trees in the park. It literally looked like they decided the forest was too thick and went through cutting every other tree down. Apparently they did this to the whole park, even when we drove a back road at the edge of the park we found trees that had been cut down. It appears that this has driven the breeding Canada Warblers out of the park. There were a few times when we thought we might hear one in the distance but we weren't sure, at any rate, the Canada warbler population has been greatly reduced. After this we headed for the town of Bad Axe and the airport there to look for Upland Sandpipers. As we were scanning the mowed grass along the runways in the hope that an Upland Sandpiper would come out of the tall grass, Karl thought he heard one on the other side of the road. We looked across the road and there, on top of a telephone poll at the edge of a cornfield, was an Upland Sandpiper (lifer #315)!

I had heard they perched on fence posts but never expected to see one thirty feet in the air on a telephone poll. After wandering around on back roads for a while, we headed down to Port Huron SGA in St. Clair County. Since it was the middle of the afternoon it was pretty quiet but we did find an Acadian Flycatcher. I was able to get a nice photo of a Viceroy there.

We ended the day with 88 species, ten species of warblers and all 8 breeding flycatchers. It was one of the best days I have had in Michigan in June and definitely the highest species total I have had in June in southeastern Michigan.

Oak Openings Metropark & More

Yesterday Karl Overman, Cathy Carroll, my dad, and I went down to Oak Openings Metropark west of Toledo. As we pulled up at about seven along Sager Rd. we quickly heard and then saw a Grasshopper Sparrow singing at the top of a small bush. Almost immediately after this we heard two Yellow-breasted Chats singing in the bushes. Surprisingly, one of them was actually singing about three fourths of the way up a taller tree and we were able to get some very good views of it. The chats were lifers for me (#311) so I was happy I got good looks at one. After this we headed down Girdham Road. Almost as soon as we got out of the car I heard a Prairie Warbler buzzing in the dunes just south of the Wabash-Cannonball trail. After quite a bit of searching we were finally able to see it. It was beautifully lit and allowed a fairly close approach, this was lifer #312 for me. Karl Overman was happy to see them here as well, he said he hadn't seen a Prairie Warbler at Oak Openings in about twenty years. We then hiked down the Wabash-Cannonball trail for a little ways where we saw our only Red-headed Woodpecker of the day and thought we heard a Summer Tanager. When we returned to the road we found a large Box Turtle right by the side of the road I was able to get several good pictures of this turtle which is never seen near where I live.

A bit further down the road we heard a Yellow-throated Vireo and Black billed Cuckoo and were able to see a male Summer Tanager. There were several Lark Sparrows in the field as well. Surprisingly, we also heard another Prairie Warbler. We then headed down on Jeffers Rd. toward the horse staging area. While we were still driving we heard Hooded Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher singing in the woods. As soon as we got out of the car we heard a Blue Grosbeak singing in a large Oak in the middle of the field. It took us almost fifteen minutes to actually see it, however, and when I finally spotted it it flew across the road into another tree. I was finally able to get some good looks at the bird and see its chestnut wing bars and black 'mask'. This was lifer #313 for me. After this we stopped briefly at the visitor center and the lodge but we did not find much at either spot. We then stopped at the eastern entrance to the Wabash-Cannonball trail. We added Wood Thrush to our list here and we also saw a Hackberry Butterfly. The butterfly ended up landing on Karl and I was able to get some good pictures of it.

We were done birding at Oak Openings and now Karl Overman directed us to the county in the northwest corner in Ohio. After an unsuccessful detour to try for shorebirds in some flooded fields (we did see a Brown Thrasher right next to the road, though), we finally ended up on county road S just a few miles south of the Michigan border. By now it was threatening to rain and we heard thunder in the distance but we were still able to find several Henslow's Sparrows and Bobolinks in the first field we stopped at. After stopping at another field and finding some more Henslow's we continued down county rd. S. We had just found several American Redstarts when Karl heard a Yellow-throated Warbler in the distance. I really wanted to see this one since it would be a lifer (#314) for me so I stood there in the rain, hoping that it would finally come closer to the road. After apparently moving farther away, the Yellow-throated Warbler began to move closer and at last Karl spotted it in a Sycamore a little ways up the stream. I was only able to get a few unsatisfactory glimpses of it until it flew into a large Sycamore right nest to the road. Now I was finally able to get some good looks at its yellow throat and the black 'triangle' on its face and the black streaking on its flanks. At our next stop we heard a Carolina Wren singing but it seemed that some of the birds had quieted down as the rain got harder. We waited for the rain to subside before we hiked out along Lake La Su An to look for Prothonotary warblers. We did not see any of these but we did find a male Summer Tanager and I was able to get a picture of a Red-spotted Purple.

By now the rain had stopped and we decided to check some of the places we had visited while it was raining again. At the bridge we heard a Black-throated Green and two Cerulean Warblers which we had not found the first time. A little farther along county road S Karl called a quick stop at a place we had not checked earlier, he said Prothonotary Warbler might be possible there. Sure enough, a brilliant male Prothonotary Warbler was singing in one of the dead snags by the pond. At the field off of County Rd. 8 we found a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Sedge Wren along with the Henslow's Sparrows. After we checked a sewage lagoon we headed toward the Michigan border. Before we had arrived in Michigan, I spotted a family of Sandhill Cranes at the edge of a field. After we had entered Michigan in Hillsdale County we stopped at another river crossing along Territorial Rd. There we found a Cerulean Warbler and heard a song that was probably a Kentucky Warbler. Suddenly we hear a loud chip note and saw a brown bird fly across the road. We were able to relocate it on the other side where we identified it as a Louisiana Waterthrush. After this we headed north towards a spot where a Kentucky Warbler had been seen. On the way we made a few stops and added Vesper Sparrow, Least Flycatcher, and Osprey to our list. The Ospreys were quite a surprise, we found them nesting on a platform in the middle of a farm field, almost a mile from the nearest lake. When we finally reached Milnes Rd. in northern Hillsdale we soon heard the Kentucky Warbler singing, seeing it was another matter, however. I was able to get a decent look at it after about ten minutes but it took Karl Overman and Cathy Carroll a while longer before it finally came out on a leafless branch and we were all able to see it well. We decided to call it a day after this and headed home. We added a few more species on the way back such as Wild Turkey, Ring-billed Gull, and Great Egret which brought our total for the day to 98 species in 12 hours. We saw fourteen species of warblers (all breeders) which included basically all of the possible southern warblers. It was definitely one of the best days for birding I have had.

Clay-colored Sparrow

Early this morning I went over to Heritage park to do a little birding. I had rather low expectations as it seems that migration has been virtually over for the last week. This view seemed confirmed as I found no migrants for the first forty-five minutes I was birding. When I came to the intersection of the meadow and windbreak trails, however, I was in for a big surprise. I heard something buzzing in the field to the north. My first impression was that the bird was a Golden-winged Warbler as I had seen one nearby last year and the buzzing was generally repeated in groups of three or more. It didn't strike me as quite right, though, and it seemed to me that I had heard the song recently but I hadn't heard a Golden-winged Warbler since last spring. At last I was able to locate the bird singing in a small tree. When it flew down into another bush I was surprised to see that it looked like a sparrow. When I got my binoculars on the bird its unique face pattern made me quickly realize that I was looking at a Clay-colored Sparrow! While they can be found regularly in Macomb and Wayne counties, Clay-colored Sparrows are almost never found in Oakland County (ebird lists only five records and one of these is questionable). I quickly called Mike Mencotti and he was there in twenty minutes. The bird was still singing when he came and he was able to hear it but he only got a brief glimpse of it before it fell silent and disappeared. I was not able to get a picture of this one so here is a photo of a Clay-colored Sparrow that I took last week in Macomb county. This was certainly a bird I never expected to find at Heritage.

Birdathon

My Birdathon team (Leonard Weber, Stella Kosharian, Chris Goulart, and I) saw one hundred species for the Birdathon yesterday. We started at Metrobeach where we heard a calling Least Bittern but found none of the warblers we were counting on seeing there. We think that the lack of warblers may have been connected to the heavy fog which remained until after nine. We then headed to Wetzel State park which was much better. There were several Sedge Wrens ticking in the grass. One actually popped up out of the grass for a second and I was able to get a poor picture through the fog.

There was a pheasant calling as well as several Bobolinks and a Veery. In the fields south of the parking lot we heard and saw several Clay-colored Sparrows and Blue-winged Warblers. There was also a Black-billed Cuckoo calling in the distance. A male Orchard Oriole near the parking lot was nice to see as well.

Clay-colored Sparrow

Blue-winged Warbler

After a brief stop in Mount Clemens to see the nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons, we headed down to Pointe Mouillee SGA. On the road to the headquarters we were surprised to find an American Woodcock sitting in the middle of the road. When we got to the Sigler Rd. parking lot, we found out that the Cinnamon Teal (fifth State record) that had been seen earlier in the day had just disappeared, we were not able to refind it. We didn't really find anything exceptional at Pointe Mouillee but we did have quite a few late ducks. Red-breasted Merganser, Common Merganser, and Canvasback were the biggest surprises in that department. Several Ruddy Turnstones, fifty or sixty Whimbrels, and several hundred Dunlin were the shorebird highlights.

Whimbrels

There were Several Common Terns, as well as Forster's and Black Terns.

We also saw a whole bunch of Long-nosed Gars near the shore.

Back at the parking lot I saw a male Yellow-headed Blackbird fly over, which was cool. We left Pointe Mouillee with 91 species for the day. We then chased and found the Dickcissel that had been found a few days before in a farm field near Pointe Mouillee. We also added Eastern Meadowlark, American Kestrel, and Purple martin to our list, bringing our total to 95 species.

Dickcissel

We then went to Lake Erie Metropark where we found our only migrant warblers of the day, Magnolia Warbler and American Redstart. We also added Cedar Waxwing, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Eastern Phoebe to our list, bringing out total to 100. I saw another Orchard Oriole, this time a first spring male. There were lots of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers around as well.

After this, I wanted to go to Oakwoods Metropark to try for Henslow's Sparrow and then head to Crosswinds to hopefully hear an American Bittern and some rails but the other guys on my team were tired after the ten mile walk at Pointe Mouillee and decided to call it a day. Overall, it wasn't a bad day, especially considering that we were only able to find five species of warblers and three thrushes.

Weekend Birding

I have been birding a lot this weekend and I have seen several good birds. On Thursday my lifer Black-billed Cuckoo popped out of a bush at Carpenter Lake allowing good views for about a minute. I have now seen both cuckoos there. On Friday I found my first Marsh Wren and Black-crowned Night-heron of the year at the American Center Marsh as well as a Lincoln's Sparrow. On Saturday I went to the bird count at Kensington. I birded with the Spring Hill picnic area group and we identified 75 species although I only had 72. We found some very unusual birds for the count, the best of which were a Henslow's Sparrow and two Bobolinks. We saw nineteen species of warblers with the highlights being Blue-winged, Northern Parula, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, and Canada warblers. Here is a picture I took of one of the Bobolinks.

Today I went to Woodland Hills and Heritage Park early this morning. Woodland Hills had a few warblers, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green and Blackpoll were the best. I also saw a Swainson's Thrush and there were lots of Wood Thrushes singing although I didn't see any. I was rather disappointed with the warbler variety at Heritage Park, I only saw five species. A Veery was a park first as was an Orange-crowned Warbler (year bird #200) singing in the thicket at the intersection of the Estate and River trails. This was completely unexpected as I had only found Orange-crowned Warblers in the fall before. After this I went home. When I came out of church a few hours later I saw I had a message from Mike Mencotti so I quickly called him back. He had found a Northern Mockingbird (Michigan is on the very edge of its normal range) near the sledding hill at Heritage Park, about the only place in the park I hadn't checked in the morning. Since my mom had the van I quickly jumped on my bike and raced off. When I got there about fifteen minutes later I quickly found the Mockingbird foraging in the grass near the parking lot. I was able to get a few pictures before it flew back into the bushes and started singing. It was interesting to note the similarities to the song of the Brown Thrasher which I had heard just the day before. The phrases were slightly more musical and all were repeated three times in a row as opposed to two for the thrasher. For the rest of the time I was there it alternated between singing and eating Sumac berries. It was a great state lifer.

Ohio Purple Gallinule

When a Purple Gallinule showed up at a park just east of Cleveland last week I was a bit disappointed. I was sure that it would have left by the time my family was planning on going to Magee Marsh the next week and I was sure that Mom would not want to drive to Ohio two weeks in a row. I began to get more and more excited, however, as the Gallinule showed no signs of leaving and was still there on Sunday, the day before we left. I was able to convince my Mom that the extra three hour drive to see the Gallinule was worth it and we left at six thirty the next morning. When we got there we were told that the Purple Gallinule had been seen that morning but it was in the east pond, which was the larger of the two ponds. As soon as I approached the pond I saw a man there taking pictures and after a few seconds I was able to see the Gallinule walking around on the lilly pads. While I was able to get some nice looks at the bird it was rather backlit and all of my pictures turned out terribly. After a while the Gallinule disappeared into some vegetation near the trail. I was almost ready to leave when all of a sudden, my younger brother said, "Look! The Gallinule is right by the trail!" I turned around and the Gallinule was just coming out of the tall grass at the edge of the trail. It ran into the middle of the trail before it flew into the smaller west pond. After this it came quite close and I was able to get some very good pictures. It was definitely worth the drive.

Oakland County Birding

I have been birding a lot the last few days but haven't had time to post. Migration is in full swing now and several unusual birds showed up. On Friday Karl Overman found an Orchard Oriole at Heritage Park. As I did not have one on my Heritage park list I tried chasing it later in the afternoon but didn't see it. I did see a Wild Turkey though which was a first for Farmington Hills for me. Then on Saturday Mike Mencotti found a Prairie Warbler up at Pontiac Lake SRA. He called me at about 11:45 and I quickly wolfed down my lunch and drove off. I was there an hour later but of course the Prairie Warbler which had been singing almost constantly an hour before had disappeared. My luck started to change on Sunday when I found Black-throated Blue, Blue-winged and Hooded Warblers at Heritage Park. Yesterday I found my first Magnolia and Nashville Warblers of the year in my backyard as well as my first Chimney Swift. Today I found what is one of the rarest birds in Oakland County that I have found myself. I saw a Prothonotary Warbler at Robert Long Park. I was just heading back down the trail when I heard a warbler song that I did not recognize. At first I did not think that this was that big of a deal as I am still a bit rusty on my warbler calls but all of a sudden, a brilliant Prothonotary Warbler popped out of the bushes. This is definitely one of the coolest warblers I have seen but sadly my camera has been acting up lately and I was not able to get a good picture. Here is one of the pictures I took.

I also found a Snapping Turtle on one of the trails.

I have a lot more birding planned for the next few weeks so hopefully I will find many more cool migrants.