Lane's Landing Long Ago

July 31 Email:

Ric, this is a picture of the east side of Lanes..  I think it is from the late 1980's.  - Charlie DeWitt

Charlie, thanks!  That is very interesting.  

Charlie's picture looks basically north on the eastern half of the Lane's Landing marsh.  The entrance road westward from the outer gate at Maple Island Road and Mosquito Creek are below the airplane and not in this image.  Notice the inner gate parking lot at the lower left, the walking trail along the left side of the image heading north to the "Prothonotary Woods" (and eventually to the river, but not visible).  The line of trees along the bottom of the photo grows atop the north ridge of the plateau that borders the north side of the entrance road.     

By the late 1980's I'd been with the club about ten years so would have walked Lane's Landing a number of times, but I have no recollection of the little east-west loop road in the lower left corner.  Notice also that the DNR had not yet built the four "U-Ponds" on the marsh (two left of the trail, two right of the trail).

- Ric
  

The Continuing Adventures of Rambi

Thursday:

This adult Mourning Dove sat on a branch for at least 45 minutes watching Rambi on my lap and foraging around the deck at my feet. Finally, when Rambi popped up on the deck rail to eat some gravel and get a drink, the adult came down, and they both took about two minutes to eat, then both flew off together. I am just assuming that the adult was a female, as it never made a sound the whole time it was visiting and waiting on the branch. Momma?

Saturday:

The adult, which I am loosely assuming is Momma, came and walked back and forth on the rail of the deck this morning while Rambi was on my lap. After a few minutes, she went down to the deck floor and kept wandering closer and closer to me, then flew up, and almost (within one foot) landed on my knee, then suddenly turned and went back to the deck rail, where she patiently watched for almost half an hour. I assume after that she thought Rambi was okay, and flew off. 

- Mike VanderStelt

Macatawa Birds, Leaves & Frogs Frogs Frogs!

Liz Notman led Ken and Roger Sherburn and me around the eastern portion of the Upper Macatawa Natural Area this morning.  This was a "dry run" for one of our MCNC field trips next season.  Some of these eastern areas are very different from the western areas where we've had trips before.

One of three bridges over the impressive ravines.

Gigantic leaves of a plant beside the bridge.  Please let us know if you can identify the species.

Birds were numerous.  We identified 37 species including hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds and one Sedge Wren.

Eastern Wood Pewee singing near the bridge.

Among the others were Wood Duck, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Spotted Sandpiper, Green Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Chimney Swift, Baltimore Oriole, Wood Thrush, Common Yellowthroats (scads!), Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting.

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 Birding out on the marshes.

Leopard Frogs were thick along the marsh trails!

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Thanks to Phil Chu for correcting my mis-identification

of the following frog.  It's a Green Frog.

- Ric

Rambi Has An Escort

Rambi came in last night about quarter to seven with an escort.

The Mourning Dove on the left side of the post is the adult, and the one on the right side of the post is Rambi.  The adult sat there for about three minutes, then flew up onto a branch where it sat and watched me for another three minutes.  As soon as the adult flew up on the branch, Rambi came over onto my lap fully expecting and promptly searching for its "ice cream" -- the thistle version of course!

- Mike VanderStelt

Did Rambi Transition to the Wild?

Well, not quite yet.  But it is staying out longer and longer overnight.  

On Friday, when this "coming-in-for-a-landing" happened, our Mourning Dove had been gone from about 3:00 in the afternoon the previous day until 6:30 p.m. the next day. 

Also it is starting to use its voice.  It gets basically the first note of their classic call out, but can't seem to get the rest of it out yet.

- Mike VanderStelt

The Latest on "Rambi"

Mike VanderStelt's Mourning Dove (see the Wednesday posts below) has a name.  Becky first started calling it "Rambo" because of its toughness and then Mike combined that with "Bambi".

Rambi still visits everyday.  In fact yesterday morning when Mike set down his cappuccino before finding his seat, he found Rambi already sitting in it.

But the bird has found the roost of the local Mourning Doves in the woods across the road and now sleeps at night there with them.  

Mike has read that Mourning Dove youngsters flick their wings to tell their parents they want food ... 

... if so, the voice in this video is Rambi's parent.

Northside Birding Saturday Morning

I had planned to spend the morning at the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve, but high water prevented that.  Only the northwest corner was accessible so only an hour was needed.  Birds were plentiful.  I found 16 species, none unusual, the "best" probably a Green Heron.

I also met a man who showed me a blurry cell phone photo of what he thought might be a Northern Goshawk taken recently on marsh habitat near River Road.  From the picture and his description of its size compared with the crows harrassing it, I think he I.D.'d it correctly.  If so, a very good species this far south in the summertime!

I spent the rest of the morning walking around Snug Harbor.  This Common Yellowthroat sang from the woods north of the walking planks on the new section of the Lost Lake Trail.  

Other birds among the 24 species included Alder and Great Crested Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, lots of Eastern Bluebirds, and a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers (my 170th year species if I were counting) near the boat launch parking lot.

- Ric

Friday Plover Update

Bad news.  Carol Cooper reports that as of late last week the Piping Plovers have not been seen at Muskegon State Park.  The three babies disappeared, Dad stuck around for awhile, but now he's gone too.

There is one silver lining: Back when the mother plover disappeared, three of the four eggs had hatched and the father was spending his time caring for the fledglings rather than sitting on the last egg.  So the authorities took that egg to the biological research station where it hatched successfully.  The plan to bring that fledgling back here to grow up with its family is no longer possible, so that youngster will be taken to another site further north and left in the care of plovers currently raising their own family.

- Ric

Can You Identify This Baby?

On June 20 Mike VanderStelt emailed this photo of a baby bird he found out of its nest in his yard.  We didn't know what it was at that time.  You might try guessing before reading further.

At first Mike left the bird alone and hoped its parents would keep caring for it.  When it became apparent that wasn't going to work, Mike stepped in, saved it's life, and -- you may read his update below.

- Ric

A Member of the Family

June 9 Email Update (see post above):

It's eating seed and drinking its own water now and seems to forage in the yard very well.  I got a cage for it when it was still too young so it could learn how to jump across the poles and balance itself well along with building its wing strength a little bit.  Also, it helped the baby transition to eating solid foods.  It stays out all day and night and will usually show up in the morning, so I set it in the cage with the door wide open just so it can get a good drink and maybe have some breakfast.  It will do that, then sit and relax for a bit, then go on its way again.  Not the perfect classical bird life, but it is alive and seems to be enjoying itself.  It is also interacting with the other Mourning Doves, as they are with it.  Hopefully it will totally transition and fly off with them, but if this is its life, I am willing to put in the "work".  - Mike

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Mike's Mourning Dove