Grass River Natural Area - 27 Apr 2007
27 April 2007
Central Lake/Grass River NA, Antrim Co.
0730 Hrs. Overcast, raining, cool, 45ºF. Robin and I drove up last night in the dark, fog and rain that is predicted for the entire weekend. We have been invited to give a talk at the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory Spring Fling ’07. I’ve prepared a presentation: Digiscoping: From Start to Print and am looking forward to presenting it twice on Saturday the 28th at 11am and again at 2pm. We will drive up to WP later this morning. Meanwhile, I’m off to Grass River to take a walk - rain or shine. As I open the garage door and step out into the the steady rain I hear a Red-bellied Woodpecker across the street. As I look for it I see a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers hopping up and down a street pole. I try to grab the scope to digiscope a pic but they’re gone as soon as I get the scope out. Both Hanley and Intermediate Lakes are quiet save for a pair of Double-crested Cormorants. Several Juncos are trilling in the early morning rain.
0800 Hrs. As I arrive at Grass River NA there are four Wild Turkeys in the open field just as I enter the natural area. I try to get a couple of pics from the car window w/ the 400mm, but its dark, and I don’t get very good exposures. At the parking area and entrance to the Tamarack Trail things are very quiet. The only sound I hear in the steady rain is a Winter Wren somewhere in the woods along the trail. I figure it’s a good time to try the iBirdPod out, and play the Winter Wren’s song. No sooner do I play one sequence, that the little bird is at my feet singing away. I attempt to photograph it, but its still too dark. The tiny wren is very cute and seems unafraid as it hops from branch to branch, pausing to sing. The best I can do is a somewhat fuzzy image. Along the trail things are quiet, but the rain begins to slow. As I reach the Clam River portion of the trail, I can hear a single Eastern Kingbird singing along with about a half dozen Swamp Sparrows. The sparrows can be heard across the stream, but I can’t see any perched on the cedars that line the marshy bank. Out comes the iPod w/ the hopes of bringing some out into the open for some digiscoped images. After I play a sequence a single male (presumed) appears nearby and is ‘mad’ as hell! He flies in and begins to chatter, hiss and spit at me. Lucky for me it couldn’t pick up any rocks…. I’m only able to get a single photo, and don’t want to harass him any longer so I move along. A flock of Common Mergansers flush, along with a single Wood Duck and several Mallard. Out in Clam Lake I can see a pair of Common Loons. Three Caspian Terns are flying overhead looking for minnows in the river. A single Song Sparrow is also nearby. Red-winged Blackbirds also are flying about and singing. As I reach the small platform lookout a pair of Swamp Sparrows reappear, and I manage to digiscope an image of one from about 20 yards. The rain begins to pick up again, so I head back to the car and head back to the condo. On my way out, however, I spotted a single Hermit Thrush in the trees near the exit.
1100 Hrs. Robin and I head out of Central Lake toward Boyne City for lunch at The Red Mesa and then northward for the bridge. As we drive through East Jordan the mouth of the Jordan River is playing host to a small flock of 7-10 Caspian Terns.
Central Lake/Grass River NA, Antrim Co.
0730 Hrs. Overcast, raining, cool, 45ºF. Robin and I drove up last night in the dark, fog and rain that is predicted for the entire weekend. We have been invited to give a talk at the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory Spring Fling ’07. I’ve prepared a presentation: Digiscoping: From Start to Print and am looking forward to presenting it twice on Saturday the 28th at 11am and again at 2pm. We will drive up to WP later this morning. Meanwhile, I’m off to Grass River to take a walk - rain or shine. As I open the garage door and step out into the the steady rain I hear a Red-bellied Woodpecker across the street. As I look for it I see a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers hopping up and down a street pole. I try to grab the scope to digiscope a pic but they’re gone as soon as I get the scope out. Both Hanley and Intermediate Lakes are quiet save for a pair of Double-crested Cormorants. Several Juncos are trilling in the early morning rain.
0800 Hrs. As I arrive at Grass River NA there are four Wild Turkeys in the open field just as I enter the natural area. I try to get a couple of pics from the car window w/ the 400mm, but its dark, and I don’t get very good exposures. At the parking area and entrance to the Tamarack Trail things are very quiet. The only sound I hear in the steady rain is a Winter Wren somewhere in the woods along the trail. I figure it’s a good time to try the iBirdPod out, and play the Winter Wren’s song. No sooner do I play one sequence, that the little bird is at my feet singing away. I attempt to photograph it, but its still too dark. The tiny wren is very cute and seems unafraid as it hops from branch to branch, pausing to sing. The best I can do is a somewhat fuzzy image. Along the trail things are quiet, but the rain begins to slow. As I reach the Clam River portion of the trail, I can hear a single Eastern Kingbird singing along with about a half dozen Swamp Sparrows. The sparrows can be heard across the stream, but I can’t see any perched on the cedars that line the marshy bank. Out comes the iPod w/ the hopes of bringing some out into the open for some digiscoped images. After I play a sequence a single male (presumed) appears nearby and is ‘mad’ as hell! He flies in and begins to chatter, hiss and spit at me. Lucky for me it couldn’t pick up any rocks…. I’m only able to get a single photo, and don’t want to harass him any longer so I move along. A flock of Common Mergansers flush, along with a single Wood Duck and several Mallard. Out in Clam Lake I can see a pair of Common Loons. Three Caspian Terns are flying overhead looking for minnows in the river. A single Song Sparrow is also nearby. Red-winged Blackbirds also are flying about and singing. As I reach the small platform lookout a pair of Swamp Sparrows reappear, and I manage to digiscope an image of one from about 20 yards. The rain begins to pick up again, so I head back to the car and head back to the condo. On my way out, however, I spotted a single Hermit Thrush in the trees near the exit.
1100 Hrs. Robin and I head out of Central Lake toward Boyne City for lunch at The Red Mesa and then northward for the bridge. As we drive through East Jordan the mouth of the Jordan River is playing host to a small flock of 7-10 Caspian Terns.
