Antrim Co. Hilites - 25 Mar 2005
1000 Hrs. Sunny, 35-40F. Still about a foot of snow on the ground, but roads and edges are thawed and starting to show dirt/grass. Most all inland lakes are still frozen solid.
I took a walk down to the canal connecting Hanley Lake (frozen) with Intermediate Lake (frozen). I saw 2 pair of Bufflehead, 2 pair of Common Mergansers, and 2 pair of Common Goldeneye in the canal. A pair of Mute Swans rested at the edge of the ice in Hanley Lake. All birds were far enough away to not bother trying to digiscope. As I watched them I heard then saw a pair of Pine Siskins in the trees overhead. Also saw several Blue Jays and a single Tufted Titmouse.
I then walked down to the bridge over Intermediate Lake and sat along the shoreline watching 6 additional Common Goldeneye and another pair of Bufflehead. As I rested a pair of ducks (a male Mallard and a female all-white domestic duck) swam by and proceeded to copulate. They then approached me looking for handouts. I took several pics with the D70. The male aggresively chased away three new males that approached his girl! A pair of Mute Swans then swam under the bridge and toward me allowing great portrait shots of them feeding in their own reflections. A last second picture of flyover Goldeneye gave me a chance for practicing flight pics.
Central Lake, MI, Antrim, Michigan, US
Mar 25, 2005 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
11 species (+1 other taxa)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 4
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 4
Mallard (Domestic type) (Anas platyrhynchos (Domestic type)) 1
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 6
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 10
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 4
Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) 25
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) 2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 2
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 1
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
