Dog Days of Summer, Van Buren County Style, Part II

Checking for more turtles!

Today Storm joined me for a walk on the trails at Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery. Storm is our ten year old male Landseer Newfoundland. As he left answers to the p-mail he read on the bushes and posts, I remembered that it really is a lot more fun to walk Shine, most of the time. But after a few minutes, I reminded him that all those obedience titles before and after his name should be good for something in everyday life. Being the good-natured dog he is, he settled in to walk with me.

The big soft-shelled turtle was sunning itself again today. It uses one of the big logs in the small pond immediately south of the viewing platform. If you walk up quietly, as I did today, it might not spook. We ran across another big turtle on the back side of the big pond. Storm was highly intrigued by the big snapper we found sunning itself on the shoulder of the trail. I was relieved to find that I'm younger than I thought, or maybe we're both just equally old, because I was able to drag Storm back before the snapper latched on to him. It had a couple of good chances to get him, but was actually pretty mellow for a snapper. It didn't even hiss much.

After a refreshing stop to soak his paws in the pond, we made our way back to the car. Storm gathered in a few new fans around the visitor's center and parking lot. He loves people and it shows. After we shared a bottle of water, he surprised me by being able to leap lightly back into the car, since often after a walk he needs a boost.We headed home happy that we made the most of this beautiful day, in this amazing place.

Dog Days of Summer, Van Buren County Style

The rain the other morning left this field of asparagus plants looking like a family reunion for Cousin It and his relatives.

Shine, the Whippetish girl, and I spent a pleasant hour wandering the trails at Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery today.

The birds were definitely in late summer mode, meaning they were pretty quiet, but there were still interesting things to see. A couple dozen Cedar Waxwings were pretending to be swallows, zipping around over the ponds flycatching. Actual swallow numbers were sparse, with only Tree Swallow and Barn Swallow represented. I counted at least 5 Pied-billed Grebes with striped faces, meaning they were young of the year. I saw at least three Belted Kingfishers, a Great Blue Heron, a Green Heron, and two Double-crested Cormorants out on the big pond. Waterfowl were represented by one Canada Goose, one Trumpeter Swan, and one Wood Duck. Towhees, Catbirds, Cardinals, Song Sparrows, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow Warbler were skulking in the willows.

Lots of turtles were around. A Painted Turtle was walking one of the trails with us. I spotted a few other Painted and an enormous Blanding's Turtle, but they were all pretty skittish and hard to photograph. I did get this picture of an absolutely huge softshell turtle. I think it was the first one I have seen at the hatchery. You can get an idea of size by comparing to the adult Painted Turtle on the log in front of the softshell.

 

And another shot.

 

I will be resuming regular walks at the Hatchery next week. If you'd like to join me, meet at the WLFH parking lot at 9AM on next Wednesday. Restrooms on site should be available. We'll walk the trails and meet for refreshments at That Coffee Place in Paw Paw afterward, if anyone is interested. Note the day change. I have another commitment on Mondays now that makes it necessary to make this switch. Hope to see you there!

Hard Core Birding

Somewhere there must be a rule written down that it must snow on Mondays at Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery! Today the snow wasn't much to speak of, but the wind briskly kept us company throughout our visit. Duck-wise, most of the mergansers were gone, but Canvasback numbers were up. There were only a few geese and we didn't see a single swan of any species. The ponds past the observation platform have been drained down since last week, and some Killdeer were foraging in the mud, along with some Mallards and a Green-winged Teal. In the second pond past the observation platform, a pair of Sandhill Cranes tolerated a fairly close approach as they fed, preened, and fended off some other cranes that thought to join them.

 

The wind followed us to Maple Lake, where I have come to expect it. By the bridge to Maple Isle, a bunch of coots were joined by a couple of  Horned Grebes in close to full breeding plumage. Duck numbers were way down around the island but we did see our first Ruddy Ducks, including a nice breeding plumaged male. The Ruddy Ducks flushed suddenly when a Common Loon came up from underneath them! We were almost as surprised, because that was our first clue there was a loon there at all.

There were still quite a few ducks on the lake on the east side of the road, including redhead, goldeneye, and a few red-breasted mergs. We didn't see any Hooded or Common Mergs today.
      Once again, the tea at the end of the outing hit the spot. I'd like to thank everyone who has been taking the time to come out and share the Van Buren County birding experience, including first timer Jean Ketchum today. The only thing better than being lucky enough to live in this amazing place is being able to share it with friends! We are planning to do it again next Monday. Eventually, I just know it is going to warm up! Check with me for details on time and meeting place. Until next time, bird on!

Gifts of the Earth

Sometimes the first few days of Spring feel like a series of presents from the Earth. Even though I am often just doing errands and not really birding, my mother taught me that it is rude to ignore an offered gift. So, this morning while I stood waiting for Shine the Whippet mix girl to finish her business, I got goosebumps watching a group of three Red-tailed Hawks soar over head, followed shortly by a Sandhill Crane. Then I was roaring down 38th Avenue on my way to Kalamazoo, when out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed something white out in the corn stubble. Some quick action on the brakes and the letter R on the gear shift got me into position to see these guys. You can't really see the yellow spot on the bill in the photo, but it was obvious through binocs. 

Tundra Swans, Van Buren County

I did make it to Kalamazoo eventually, and on the way home decided to make a quick stop at Briggs' Pond in Paw Paw. Lucky for me, it is on the way! : ) In addition to a few coots, I saw a few of these guys - this one looked like he was just climbing out of his winter bed in the bottom of the pond.

Painted Turtle, Briggs' Pond

Earlier in the week conditions were definitely more winter like. We saw this Sandhill Crane at Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery on Monday. You can barely see our first Green-winged Teal of the season facing away from the camera a little to the right of the crane.

Sandhill Crane, Green-winged Teal and Gadwall, Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery

And these Northern Shovelers standing on the ice at Three Oaks Ponds on Saturday were wondering what happened to the water.

Northern Shovelers and Ring-billed Gull, Three Oaks

Come to think of it, it feels like this week I had a front-row seat to the show I have been looking forward to all winter - The Coming of Spring. Don't change the channel now, folks. The show is just getting started!

Signs of Spring

One of the local sign of impending spring is the appearance of the blue barrels on 45th Street. The old maples here have been harvested for their sap for many years.

 

Waiting for the sap to rise

Diving Duck Bonanza at Maple Lake

Oodles of diving ducks were concentrated at the north end of Maple Lake in Paw Paw today. This is the area where the boat launch ramp is located. The ice situation presently steers the birds close enough to shore for some excellent viewing opportunities. Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Lesser Scaup, and Redhead are all present, numbering in the dozens for each species. Common Goldeneye are also numerous, although less so than the others. There is still a single Ring-necked Duck hanging out here, as well as the ever present semi-domesticated Mallards, etc. I'd suggest that if you want to see these birds, you go soon. The next few days are forecasted to be warm, and the ice that is concentrating the birds will soon be gone.

Hooded Mergansers

Common, Goldeneye and Merganser

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Some of the many Mergs and Goldeneye

For directions on birding Maple Lake, see the post previous to this one. Good luck, all!

Maple Lake Ring-necked Duck and friend

I was able to get some pictures recently of a male Ring-necked Duck at Maple Lake in Paw Paw, Michigan, hanging out with what I am pretty sure is a female Lesser Scaup. It makes me wonder what set of circumstances led these two individuals to be so isolated from members of their own species that they have been "forced" to be exiles together. 

Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery New Years Day

New Year's Day we trekked to Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery, which is on the south side of M43 in Van Buren County, about five miles east of M40.  Waterfowl diversity is down, but there were still some nice birds to be seen, including eleven Trumpeter Swans, the most I have ever seen there in twelve years. For five or six years there was only one Trumpeter out here, but numbers and nesting success have gone up since Mute Swan control began.

Trumpeter Swan - no that isn't a yellow spot - it's some ice

Trumpeter family circles

 

                                                                 This nice male Pintail was very cooperative. 

 

American Wigeon, Gadwall, and Mallard - hunters sometimes call Mallards "Greenheads!"

 

Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery - go there if you are in the area. It is a great way to start a New Year of birding!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                     

Traditions

When I was a teenage birder in Northern California, too many years ago, the thrill of the chase and competitive listing were major drivers in keeping me out in the field and birding. It was only after the life birds started to get few and far between that I started to appreciate the wealth of other reasons to watch birds. As I grow older the list figures less and less prominently as a reason for me to get out and enjoy the birds. I am thrilled and honored when I get a chance to watch birds going about their usual business for a few minutes, as though I am looking through a window into their lives for a while. Birding gets me out of the house and outdoors, something most of my other interests fail to do. Through birding I have made wonderful friends and gotten to visit some incredibly beautiful places that, otherwise, I doubt I would ever have seen.
     I admit, however, that, with the New Year, the listing bug comes out of remission for a few weeks. Even my husband succumbs - he may not go birding any other day of the year, but New Year's Day finds him out in the field with me. You see, I do keep an annual list of birds that I see, and for a few weeks at the beginning of the year, I am back in my teenage mode again, when I came back from every day in the field with fifteen or twenty lifers.  My journal goes with me everywhere, so that I can keep up with my list of species that I am seeing for the first time this year. These days, I also make a little narrative entry about the sightings - I note the American Kestrel was sitting on a wire eating a long-tailed mouse - I saw the Pileated Woodpecker from my recliner in my living room, when he landed on a sugar maple just beyond the deck railing. As I get older,  I treasure these experiences more and more, and they seem to me to be worth writing about, so that at a future time my journal will act as a key to the jewelry box that is my memory, and I can take my treasures out, one by one, and marvel at their beauty all over again.

Woman watches dog watch squirrels

Another Kind of Blossoming

This time of year it takes me forever to get anywhere. I am distracted by the color, the harvest, birds, farm stands, and just the beautiful light that it seems only happens in the fall. This morning was typical. I was on my way to the library for some research. It's about a fifteen minute drive. I left home at 10:00 AM. About a mile down the street I had to stop and take this picture.

The earth rests after the harvest.

I'll spare you the other four pictures I took. Then I made pretty good time for another 3 miles or so until I came upon these characters. I was able to roll down the window, get the camera out of the case, boot it up, zoom in and still catch them before they quite got away.

Sandhill crane family

And another look

Then I made it all the way to the bank, where I spent about five minutes. Now I was about .2 miles from the library, but somehow my car didn't turn in there - Briggs' Pond and Maple Lake are right down the road. Why not? 

Briggs' Pond from Red Arrow Highway

This female Peking Duck disturbed the serenity of the pond by quacking loudly at me until she realized I really DIDN'T have any bread for her! Her two following males just looked embarrrassed.

After this, I finally headed to the library - total elapsed time since I left home - one hour. I'm not sorry!

Wedding flight - Bug alert

I caught this termite flight in the woods behind our house the other day. So fascinating! Of course, I hope they don't wind up starting up a new colony under my porch!

This shower almost caught Shine and me during our morning walk. I love the cloudscapes this time of year.

 

The sun is never too far away, though. 

 

But what's this I see peeking out from amongst the trees? 

 

Yes, folks, I think it's autumn I see in the distance over the ripening bean fields. The blackbirds know all about it. They are gathering in their fall flocks already. Most years a few thousand of them do this in the trees around our house. It's like being a in a stadium full of bird baseball fans! They chatter and swear and argue for a couple of days. Then suddenly we realize what the ringing quiet means. They are gone. 

 

 

They Are Everywhere!

I checked out the lakeshore at South Haven yesterday afternoon. There were a few Barn Swallows moving through, but that was pretty much it for birds, except for the expected gulls and hybrid mallards. It was still a great day to be outside, however.

South Haven Lighthouse 9-3-2012

There were a couple of young Northern Cardinals in the shrubbery, and I found a beautiful pokeweed plant.  I love pokeweed. It looks like it is from another planet. The fruiting stems look like the tentacles of a monster from a 50's Hollywood B movie, and I am not sure what is going to grow out of those fruiting bodies! : ) 

Happy Fall to all!

A Goose Birder-ing?

 

I was startled to find this Canada Goose grazing at my feet when I tore myself away from the view through my scope at Briggs' Pond today!

The Box Turtle

The sun felt good on his back. He did not understand the passage of time as humans count it, but he knew when it was time to sleep and time to wake up. He knew every stick and plant and rock in the small area he had lived all of his long life. Generally, he managed to stay out of the notice of humans. Today was different, however. As the sun warmed him, a loud noise rushed by him and made him draw in his head a little. The noise faded in the distance, then reversed itself and grew louder again. A sharp banging noise made him draw his head in farther. The gravel crunched, crunched, crunched. A human crouched over him and made clickety click noises, all the while making some kind of mouth noise. He watched her curiously. Then she picked him up from his sunny spot and put him in the grass off the road, all the while making mouth noises. Then she left him. He felt a moment of faint annoyance and then forgot her.

The Gracefulness of Swans

The water is still quite shallow in portions of Briggs' Pond, forcing these Mute Swans to abandon their gracefulness as they cross the sand bar into the deeper portion of the pond. They remind me of a toy that I had as a child - I pulled it behind me on a string and the head and feet bobbed up and down as it rolled. I guess I am dating myself here! : ) See if you can tell when the mosquito landed in my eye!

And maybe someone out there would be willing to help me with my tree cataloging project in my yard. Most of the references I have are pretty confusing. When it comes to tree knowledge, I am about 5 years old. Today my question is, do these trees look like shagbark hickory.  They are so tall, I can't get a decent picture of the leaves, unfortunately. 

tree a

tree b

another view of tree b higher on the trunk

Any and all help gratefully received!

Ok, one last picture - this one is leaves. 

Thanks, again!

This Old Tree

This is one of my favorite trees in Van Buren County. It stands on the East side of 48th St. just a little bit north of 48th Ave. It always makes me think of the Tree of Life, and when I think of the Tree of Life, I think of this tree.It stands defiantly on the edge of this cornfield and creates its own crop circle because it shades the corn from the sun. I imagine its tough roots diving deep for the center of the Earth and its branches reaching up to touch the sky, and it feels like it will always be here, immune to time.

Van Buren County Roller Coaster

Looking north on 60th Street from 48th Avenue in Van Buren County.

     My mom used to shudder when the Midwest was mentioned. "I can't stand it there. I need mountains, it's so flat!" I grew up with mountains myself, and when we were contemplating moving to Michigan, I thought about what she said, a little uneasy. What if I needed mountains, too?
     Well, luckily for me, the perfectly flat topography I was imagining turned out to be nonexistent in real life.  Actually, Van Buren County turned out to be quite rolling in spots. While they aren't mountains, the Webster Hills are tall enough generate quite a thrill for low level risk takers such as myself. Periodically, I drive to the top, roll down the windows, 'push off', and let the wheels turn as they will until I get to the bottom. Sometimes, I might go as fast as fifty or sixty miles per hour!  And sometimes, I just coast down with my foot on the brake so I can enjoy the view.

48th Avenue at 60th Street in Van Buren County, looking west

I am not sure why I took this picture.  I love the rusted old gate that goes nowhere, the fact that there are three padlocks of various ages, but the only one that is locked is the one on the end of the chain, not accomplishing much.  What does it make you think of?

    

Until next time.

The Eye of the Beholder

Although I try very hard not to take the beauty of the world around me for granted, sometimes things just get away from me.  Life happens, the volume of the noise in my head turns up to MAX, and I miss what I call 'special moments.'  These are moments of such intense beauty that time slows down, and I get an ache in my chest as I realize that I can hear the heart beat of the earth and of the life around me and it is my heartbeat, as well. We are all one.

A special moment was delivered my way this morning in the incarnation of this mullein plant covered in morning dew.

May your life be filled with special moments!

Can you find the Great Blue Heron?

Great Blue Heron, Maple Lake, Paw Paw

Well, maybe he isn't that hard to find, but I love the way his legs look like branches and the curve of his neck follows those of the branches in front of him.

This Cedar Waxwing was playing flycatcher using the same perch that hosted a Belted Kingfisher the other day.

                                                        

This spot is getting drier and drier. What was good shorebird habitat is turning into grassland.  Farmers in Van Buren County are starting to plow under some crops that have died in the drought, both corn and soy beans, and even some young blueberry patches. These are the kinds of times that remind us that we do not exist independently from the natural world.