Grass River Natural Area - 22 Aug 2008

It was cloudy but warm this morning as I arrived at Grass River NA just off the Alden Highway in Antrim Co. The place was quiet except for a small flock of Blue Jays and a single Red-bellied Woodpecker. Grabbing my gear I hiked down to the water's edge where Finch Creek flows through a sedge meadow into Clam River.

As the raindrops begin to fall a small flock of four Solitary Sandpipers landed in the creek at the mouth and begin to feed and chase each other. Despite the steadily increasing rainfall and decreasing light I managed several keeper digiscoped images.

After a half-hour of rain the skies cleared a bit and allowed me at least a dry walk back to the car. A pair of Common Yellowthroats inspected me from the cover of a Tamarack Tree while somewhere in the distance an Alder Flycatcher called its 'fee-bI!' song. A pair of Osprey flew overhead but lighting was poor for photography so I didn't bother.

Returning to the car I drove back to the condo, stopping just long enough to watch a Common Loon swim out in the middle of Intermediate Lake just south of Central Lake.

Grass River Natural Area, Antrim, Michigan, US
Aug 22, 2008 9:00 AM - 10:20 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
7 species

Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)  4
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum)  1     singing "Fi-BI" in tamarack near edge of grass river stream in sedge marsh. Expected over Willow's "Fitz-bew".
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S42120362

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)