July 26 Little Black Lake

Blue Vervain

Halloween Pennant

Black Swallowtail

.
I spent about 2 1/2 hours hiking at Little Black Lake before I got rained out.  It is amazing what you can find if you take the time to look.
.
Flowers:  Blue Vervain, Joe-Pye Weed, White Water Lily, Pickerelweed and Black-eyed Susan.  Others I couldn't identify.
.
Dragonflies:  Halloween Pennant, Blue Dasher, Eastern Pondhawk, Common Green Darner, Widow Sr, Spangled Skimmer and Twelve-spotted Skimmer.
Butterflies:  Black Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Least Skipper, Common Buckeye, Viceroy, Monarch, Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, and Orange Sulphur.
.
Birds:  Red-tailed Hawk, American Crow, Blue Jay, Barn Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, Yellow Warbler, American Robin and Song Sparrow.
.
It was a fun walk.

Charlie DeWitt
.

Wastewater Shorebird Surveys, July 16 and 26

.
On July 16 and on July 26, Carolyn Weng and I completed the first two Shorebird Surveys for the fall 2012 season at the Muskegon Wastewater. The seven species encountered on July 16 comprised 84 Killdeer, 84 Spotted Sandpiper, 5 Lesser Yellowlegs, 8 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 73 Least Sandpiper, 1 Pectoral Sandpiper, and 1 Short-billed Dowitcher. We also saw two Northern Mockingbirds.

Diversity was higher on July 26, when we recorded 13 species of shorebirds: 2 Semipalmated Plover, 62 Killdeer, 93 Spotted Sandpiper, 1 Solitary Sandpiper, 22 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Sanderling, 10 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 36 Least Sandpiper, 2 Baird's Sandpiper, 20 Pectoral Sandpiper, 2 Stilt Sandpiper, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher, and 1 Wilson's Phalarope. Notable non-shorebird tallies included 2 Common Ravens, 3 immature Orchard Orioles and 37 adult Sandhill Cranes.

This past spring we counted 896 shorebirds of 17 species during eight surveys from April 3 to June 15. Compared to the previous six years, diversity was slightly above average (15.7 species), and the individual total surpassed our previous high of 878 from 2006. High or above average figures were obtained for all but a few species. Below are the spring 2012 totals, with past averages.

Black-bellied Plover - 6 (average 1.4)
Semipalmated Plover - 36 (average 3.7), new record
Killdeer - 182 (average 140)
Spotted Sandpiper - 207 (average 107), new record
Solitary Sandpiper - 5 (average 0.3), new record
Greater Yellowlegs - 1 (average 3.9
Lesser Yellowlegs - 72 (average 33)
Upland Sandpiper - 13 (average 17)
Ruddy Turnstone - 8 (average 1.6), new record
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 105 (average 81)
Least Sandpiper - 32 (average 26)
White-rumped Sandpiper - 18 (average 13)
Pectoral Sandpiper - 56 (average 3.1), new record
Dunlin - 143 (average 80), new record
Short-billed Dowitcher - 10 (average 1.4), new record
Wilson's Snipe - 1 (average 1.1)
Red-necked Phalarope - 1 (average 0.3)

Cumulatively, we have seen seen 24 shorebird species at the Wastewater during the spring. Our fall total is 27 species.
.
- Brian Johnson
.

7 People 34 Species on Montague Trip

.
Dayle Vanderwier led a group of seven people through three Montague area birding spots this morning tallying 34 species along the way.  eBird lists below.
.
Henderson Preserve, NE of Montague, US-MI
Jul 21, 2012 8:35 AM - 9:50 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Comments:    Dayle's MCNC Montague Area Field Trip
17 species
.
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  4
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  1
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  2
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  3
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  5

Clear Springs Preserve, NE of Montague, US-MI
Jul 21, 2012 9:55 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Comments:    Dayle's MCNC Montague Area Field Trip
13 species
.
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  1
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  2
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  3
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  1
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)  1
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  1
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)  1

Whitehall Lions Park, Whitehall, US-MI
Jul 21, 2012 11:25 AM - 12:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
Comments:    Dayle's MCNC Montague Area Field Trip
16 species
.
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  15
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  1
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  3
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
.

Field Trip Dry Runs

This morning I accompanied Dayle Vanderwier on his dry run for this Saturday's club field trip.  We found 26 species at the two locations.  Click for field trip details.  Ebird lists below.
.
- Ric
.
Henderson Preserve, NE of Montague, US-MI
Jul 18, 2012 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Comments:    Dry Run for Saturday Field Trip with Dayle Vanderwier
14 species
.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  6
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  2
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  1
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  5
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  3
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  6
.
This report was generated automatically by eBird

.

Whitehall Lions Park to Municipal Marina, Whitehall, US-MI

Jul 18, 2012 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Protocol: Traveling

0.5 mile(s)

Comments:    Dry Run for Saturday Field Trip with Dayle Vanderwier

16 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  30

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  21

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  30

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  10

Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  3

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1

swallow sp. (Hirundinidae sp.)  4

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2

European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1

Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  1

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  1

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  4

This report was generated automatically by eBird

.

Breakwall Birds and Boat

.
July 11 Email:
.
My wife and I went to Pere Marquette Park this morning to try to get some photos of the boat that sank off the beach at the park.  While we were there, we took a walk out on the pier.  We ran into a very accommodating Double-crested Cormorant and what I believe may be a couple of Spotted Sandpipers.  I am not certain of the ID on the one bird that has the light colored breast, without spots.
.
I hope that everyone is having a safe summer,
.
Rick Hamlin
.
P.S.  I will throw in a photo of the sunken boat as well.  
.

.

.

Red-headed Woodpeckers Kind of Rare

.
Except for Big Day in May when Charlie DeWitt took us to a territory on the Wastewater property, I hadn't seen a Red-headed Woodpecker this year until this afternoon on Summit east of Brooks Road.
.
- Ric
.

Dowitchers, Yellowlegs and Swallows

.
July 1 Email:
.
Shirley and I did not find much at Lane's Landing this morning, but we did much better at the Wastewater. There were four different Short-billed Dowitchers.  I've attached a picture of one sharing the limelight with a Least Sandpiper (one of many). There were at least a dozen Lesser Yellowlegs, many more Spotted Sandpipers and even more Killdeer.  I've attached a picture of one of the yellowlegs. The Bank Swallows were very active.  The two babies in the picture were waiting for breakfast to be served.  

Please correct me if I've got any of the shorebirds wrong. I think that is the Short-billed and not the Long-billed, but I could be wrong.

Thanks!

Rich Schadle
.

.