Harbor Island

Peregrine Falcon

Red-winged Blackbird

I spent a little time at Harbor Island this morning and the Red-winged Blackbirds are back.  I also found this Peregrine Falcon eating what looks like a Hooded Merganser.

- Charlie DeWitt

Interesting "Yard Bird"

Good to hear from Travis Dewys again.  He sent this iPhone photo yesterday of a Red-shouldered Hawk "hiding" behind a tree in his back yard in Grand Haven.

- Ric

Bird Lovers Feed Chart

January 28 Email:

Greetings from Georgia,

Found this at Callaway Gardens down here and thought club members may find it useful. Wasn’t sure if I could post to site from my phone so this was next best way.

-  Don Neumann

PS spring is coming as daffodils are starting to bloom here...😃🌷 tulips soon

Don, thanks for the poster.  Hopefully some club members and others will find it valuable.  I'm not sure how many of us up here appreciate the spring and daffodil comments!  ;-)  - Ric

(See the directions in the sidebar for viewing the large version of Don's chart.)

Ho Hum

After meeting with Anita Friend at her office regarding some club business this morning, I drove around the Wastewater properties.  A distant bird in a tree top south of Laketon was likely a shrike, but who knows.  This immature Bald Eagle stayed on the ice when its adult buddy flew away.

There were a few flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows on the north side, hundreds of gulls at the landfill, and a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk south of Apple.

- Ric

Think Spring !

 Cape May Warbler

 Black-throated Blue Warbler

 Magnolia Warbler

 Blackburnian Warbler

 Black-throated Green Warbler

 Nashville Warbler

Northern Parula

These pictures were taken at Tawas Point State Park in mid-May 2019.  That is only four months from now.  Time is flying!

- Charlie DeWitt

Charlie's New Years Day Raptors

Regarding yesterday (see post below), Charlie DeWitt had a better day for raptors than Feller and I.  Besides the Snowy Owl, he also saw a Northern Harrier at the Wastewater and in Ottawa County two American Kestrels -- one looking for food, one not.

All photos by Charlie

Starting Our New Year Lists

Two Old Coots (Feller and Ric) at Pere Marquette Park

by Charlie DeWitt

Following yearly tradition, the DeWitt brothers and I began our 2020 birding lists at 8:00 this morning at the south breakwall of Pere Marquette Park.  From there we birded the west end of Muskegon Lake and most of the Wastewater properties.  

When I left the brothers at 12:30 p.m. on the south side, I had 22 species on my year list including Red-breasted and Common Mergansers, Long-tailed and American Black Ducks, Snowy Owl and Snow Bunting.

- Ric

Christmas Bird

December 23 Email:

We came home from Texas for Christmas and found this beautiful ornament at the feeder.

- Jim Zervos

Jim lives in northern Muskegon County.  Until someone says otherwise, I'm guessing the bird is a Northern Cardinal.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

- Ric

Golden Eagle at the Wastewater

I found this Golden Eagle north of White Rd to the west of Swanson Rd.  Take Swanson past the grain elevaters and go about 1/4 mile north to the road that goes west.  The eagle was in the first group of trees on the north side of the road.

- Charlie DeWitt

Owl and Goose Photographs from Yesterday

December 16 Email:  "Yesterday, roadside shot and basin SW corner WW." - Bruce Delamarter

.

Thanks, Bruce.  That's a Great Horned Owl in your first shot and one weird goose in the other two.  I'll guess leucistic Canada Goose but am open to other suggestions!  - Ric

Saturday Morning at the Wastewater

Up here for Thanksgiving my Ohio son Steve accompanied me to the Wastewater yesterday morning looking for Snowies or whatever.  We witnessed the encounter below, three Rough-legged Hawks, and Charlie DeWitt (who had seen a Snow Bunting), but saw nothing snowy ourselves.

Heading south on Swanson we watched an immature Bald Eagle scare the landfill gulls and then glide southeast.  A few minutes later we saw it on the field east of Swanson south of Apple.  It had some small prey in its talons.  Beside it was a Common Raven.

About six feet separated the birds except when the raven stepped toward its gigantic foe, beak up in a menacing posture.  Then the eagle would respond with a counter-charge displaying the prey, some grass stalks, and its talons.  The raven wisely stepped back.  

We figured that the prey belonged to the raven before the eagle arrived and that the raven wanted it back.  Otherwise it's hard to explain why an intelligent animal would intentionally get that close to those talons.

The dance continued until we stepped out of the car.  Then the raven flew up, performed an impressive low-level wing-over, crawked, and flew north beyond Apple.  The eagle carried its prey and grass stalks in the same direction for a few hundred yards, then settled back down on the field.

- Ric

Harbor Island

 Mute Swans

 American Wigeon

 Gadwall

Canada Geese, Gadwall and American Wigeon

Yesterday Annette Makin on Facebook reported a large flock of ducks on Harbor Island, so this morning I checked it out.  I counted 82 Gadwall, 13 American Wigeon, 2 Mallards, 8 Buffleheads, 250 Canada Geese and 50 Mute Swans.  There were also 5 American Crows, 2 European Starlings and 1 Downy Woodpecker.

- Charlie DeWitt

Christmas Bird Counts & Hemlock Crossing

If you're interested in either of the Muskegon Christmas Bird Counts (Dec. 14 and 18, 2019) or a report about our club's November field trip to Hemlock Crossing, go to our home page.

Of Peregrine Falcons and Short-eared Owls

At our meeting last night, Chip Francke presented an interesting program about Peregrine Falcons with emphasis on those that bred for several years at Grand Haven.  The Board of Light and Power smokestack will come down soon leaving no place high enough in that area for peregrines to breed. * 

In better news, Chip mentioned that Short-eared Owls are back on the south Wastewater properties.

- Ric

* Peregrine nest boxes remain at the Consumers Power Campbell plant (between Grand Haven and Holland) and in downtown Grand Rapids.  The Muskegon nest boxes from the old B.C. Cobb stack are still awaiting residents on the roof of the Shoreline Inn hotel.  Since the relocation of those boxes, peregrines were reported eating pigeons on that roof with one even entering a nest box.  Those reports are old, however, and we know of no recent sightings of local peregrines in the Muskegon area.

Two Photos from Saturday

Thanks to two members of the Barry County Audubon Club (see post below) for sending these photos taken on Saturday during their field trip:

White-tailed Deer by Maive

Cell phone image of Greater White-fronted Goose by Gayle

- Ric