Spring Fling 2019 - 26-27 Apr 2019
By 6 am Friday morning I was on the road and heading north to Whitefish Point in Paradise, MI for the weekend Spring Fling Festival. It was cloudy and raining, but traffic was light. By the time I reached the Mackinac Bridge the skies had cleared and things were looking promising for a great weekend.
I made a swing through Rudyard and managed to find three Rough-legged Hawks still hanging around. I dipped on Snowy Owls. But, the flooded fields held a nice flock of Tundra Swans that prompted a quick stop for digiscoping.
Just outside of Paradise I spotted a Merlin perched in a snag across the road. I spent some time photographing and digiscoping the bird before it took off for the point.
Heading back toward the gift shop we stopped by the woods to look for owls. Though we'd find no roosting owls we did come across small flocks of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creepers, Purple Finches, and even a Winter Wren.
Saturday morning and afternoon were then spent giving talks about the Detroit River Hawk Watch in the Shipwreck Museum's Boathouse Classroom. Despite craving an afternoon nap I took a final walk to the point to see if I could grab a few more photos of the migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks. But, somehow I managed to do two things to my camera that caused much consternation: I somehow kept hitting the shutter button on the extended grip while walking and put 5000 frames of the ground on the memory card. I then somehow managed to switch my ISO to 16,000 and shot another couple hundred overexposed photos. Luckily, none of the photos produced regret when I deleted them. I would settle for a single digiscoped image of an American Kestrel.
The Saturday evening banquet dinner was very enjoyable. I sat with Bob Pettit, Andy Parsons, and Larry Ludwicki, Richard Naber and Jeff Buecking. Dinner was great, and the keynote address was made by Dr. Lisa Williams, US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dr. Williams serves as the leader of the team of contaminants specialists in the Michigan Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She has worked for USFWS since completing her Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology – Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University in 1993. In that time, much of her work has centered around the Great Lakes and freshwater river systems contaminated by PCBs and other persistent contaminants, but she has also worked on significant oil spills and a variety of contaminant issues related to National Wildlife Refuges, threatened and endangered species, and migratory birds.
In her talk, Dr. Williams described some of the long-term work she and others have been doing to assess the health of Herring Gulls and Caspian Tern in contaminated areas in the Great Lakes and also provide a glimpse into the work that went into rescuing and rehabilitating birds that were oiled in the Kalamazoo River when Enbridge’s pipeline ruptured near Marshall, Michigan, in 2010. She then finished by showing how information from these and other efforts have resulted in conservation efforts that are paid for by the parties responsible for releasing pollutants into the environment.
I could not resist the opportunity to then head to the Hawk Watch Tower for the evening's owl watch. Winds had dropped enough that an evening flight of (mostly) Long-eared Owls was possible. As the sun set on the horizon Elliott encouraged everyone to train their binoculars on the horizon, focus, and not readjust after dark so that owls could be seen if flying. Just before all visibility was lost he pointed to a Long-eared Owl flying high overhead. We had stunning looks at the bird as it flapped against the winds, then hovered directly over the tower, before disappearing into the woods. I tried to grab a few flight shots, but light was extremely low and exposures were too long (I should've kept the ISO on 16,000...).
Not to be outdone, Elliot Nelson then shouted out that a large owl had flown into view in the opening out front of the tower. After getting the scope on it he announced, "Great Gray Owl!". I managed to get my bins on the bird as it sat in a deciduous tree and fluff up just before flying out of view. Several people would see the Great Gray Owl along the road within the hour. It would not be re-found (as far as I know). What a great way to end the (official) festival! I bundled up and headed back to the hotel for a well-earned nap. Tomorrow morning (6:30 am) I'd be back at the point for a Spruce Grouse Tour before heading home.
I made a swing through Rudyard and managed to find three Rough-legged Hawks still hanging around. I dipped on Snowy Owls. But, the flooded fields held a nice flock of Tundra Swans that prompted a quick stop for digiscoping.
Rudyard Loop--Northeast, Chippewa, Michigan, US
Apr 26, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
2 species
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) 8
Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) 3
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Apr 26, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
2 species
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) 8
Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) 3
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Just outside of Paradise I spotted a Merlin perched in a snag across the road. I spent some time photographing and digiscoping the bird before it took off for the point.
Paradise, Chippewa, Michigan, US
Apr 26, 2019 3:00 PM - 3:09 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
1 species
Merlin (Falco columbarius) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Apr 26, 2019 3:00 PM - 3:09 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
1 species
Merlin (Falco columbarius) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I checked into the Paradise Inn, then headed off to Whitefish Point to check out the feeders and the waterbirds. Overhead Sharp-shinned Hawks were fighting the rising winds while flocks of Sandhill Cranes were moving south.
Whitefish Point, Chippewa, Michigan, US
Apr 26, 2019 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
2 species
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) 12
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 6
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Apr 26, 2019 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
2 species
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) 12
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 6
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
By 2pm a wall of clouds had moved to the point and winds had picked up. Gusts of up to 40 mph were hitting the point, and leaves and sand were blowing everywhere. At 5:30, when I took off for the Taquamenon Brewery for dinner, the power went out at the hotel. Luckily, I was already on the road and stopping to photograph a pair of Sandhill Cranes foraging in the ditch to my right.
While having dinner w/ the folks from Michigan Audubon the power would go out 3 times, but quickly return. Luckily, power was back on at the hotel when I returned at 8:30pm. It was time to call it a night as I'd be co-leading a tour on Saturday morning with Elliott Nelson and Lynnea Raust.
Saturday morning arrived with ice and snow on the windshield and winds still blowing. Our 7 am tour to the point was small. It was just the 3 of us, and Frank and Elaine from Ann Arbor. The walk to the point yielded teary eyes, blowing sand and big waves. We did manage to see a pair of Common Loons fly off the lake, and several small flocks of Red-breasted and Common Mergansers.
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| Alison Vilag, Waterbird Counter |
Whitefish Point, Chippewa, Michigan, US
Apr 27, 2019 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Cold, windy, icy
8 species
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 18
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) 20
Common Loon (Gavia immer) 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 2
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 2
Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 1
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 4
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Apr 27, 2019 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Cold, windy, icy
8 species
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 18
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) 20
Common Loon (Gavia immer) 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 2
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 2
Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 1
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 4
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Saturday morning and afternoon were then spent giving talks about the Detroit River Hawk Watch in the Shipwreck Museum's Boathouse Classroom. Despite craving an afternoon nap I took a final walk to the point to see if I could grab a few more photos of the migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks. But, somehow I managed to do two things to my camera that caused much consternation: I somehow kept hitting the shutter button on the extended grip while walking and put 5000 frames of the ground on the memory card. I then somehow managed to switch my ISO to 16,000 and shot another couple hundred overexposed photos. Luckily, none of the photos produced regret when I deleted them. I would settle for a single digiscoped image of an American Kestrel.
Whitefish Point, Chippewa, Michigan, US
Apr 27, 2019 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
2 species
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 6
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
Apr 27, 2019 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
2 species
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 6
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Dr. Williams serves as the leader of the team of contaminants specialists in the Michigan Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She has worked for USFWS since completing her Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology – Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University in 1993. In that time, much of her work has centered around the Great Lakes and freshwater river systems contaminated by PCBs and other persistent contaminants, but she has also worked on significant oil spills and a variety of contaminant issues related to National Wildlife Refuges, threatened and endangered species, and migratory birds.I could not resist the opportunity to then head to the Hawk Watch Tower for the evening's owl watch. Winds had dropped enough that an evening flight of (mostly) Long-eared Owls was possible. As the sun set on the horizon Elliott encouraged everyone to train their binoculars on the horizon, focus, and not readjust after dark so that owls could be seen if flying. Just before all visibility was lost he pointed to a Long-eared Owl flying high overhead. We had stunning looks at the bird as it flapped against the winds, then hovered directly over the tower, before disappearing into the woods. I tried to grab a few flight shots, but light was extremely low and exposures were too long (I should've kept the ISO on 16,000...).
Not to be outdone, Elliot Nelson then shouted out that a large owl had flown into view in the opening out front of the tower. After getting the scope on it he announced, "Great Gray Owl!". I managed to get my bins on the bird as it sat in a deciduous tree and fluff up just before flying out of view. Several people would see the Great Gray Owl along the road within the hour. It would not be re-found (as far as I know). What a great way to end the (official) festival! I bundled up and headed back to the hotel for a well-earned nap. Tomorrow morning (6:30 am) I'd be back at the point for a Spruce Grouse Tour before heading home.
Whitefish Point, Chippewa, Michigan, US
Apr 27, 2019 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Owl prowl
2 species
Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) 1 After seeing the Long-eared Owl flying over the observation platform Elliot Nelson then shouted out that a large owl had flown into view in the opening out front of the tower. After getting the scope on it he announced, "Great Gray Owl!". I managed to get my bins on the bird as it sat in a deciduous tree and fluff up just before flying out of view. Several people would see the Great Gray Owl along the road within the hour. Large-headed owl w/ no ear tufts.
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
Apr 27, 2019 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Owl prowl
2 species
Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) 1 After seeing the Long-eared Owl flying over the observation platform Elliot Nelson then shouted out that a large owl had flown into view in the opening out front of the tower. After getting the scope on it he announced, "Great Gray Owl!". I managed to get my bins on the bird as it sat in a deciduous tree and fluff up just before flying out of view. Several people would see the Great Gray Owl along the road within the hour. Large-headed owl w/ no ear tufts.
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
