Birding Hoffmaster This Morning

I spent a couple hours at Hoffmaster State Park this morning, mostly along the beach and trails north of the swimming beach, a half hour atop a dune, then a few minutes around the Gillette Nature Center.  A beautiful cold morning to be out despite numb fingers and toes.  eBird list below.

I had excellent views of Hermit Thrushes, a Swainson's Thrush, a Pileated Woodpecker foraging in some leaves on the ground, a migrating Sharp-shinned Hawk with its crop fully distended, my first Dark-eyed Junco of the season, and a dead Brown Creeper on the beach just north of the walkway leading back to the big parking lot.  It was in pristine condition, hardly any sand yet blown on the body, about 30 feet from the woods and about 200 feet from the Lake Michigan shore.  I have no idea how it died for its body to be there and welcome any thoughts from others.

- Ric

Hoffmaster State Park, Muskegon, US-MI

Oct 12, 2012 9:30 AM - 11:10 AM

Protocol: Traveling

1.0 mile(s)

Comments:    From North Parking Lot north to Bald Dune + Gillette Nature Center

19 species (+3 other taxa)

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  1

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  1    Immature, migrating, with full crop

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  2    Local pair north of dune

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  X

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  X

gull sp. (Larinae sp.)  40

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  2

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)  1

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  20    9+ migrating

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  12    10 in flock flying over trees seemed to be migrating

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  2

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  3

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2

Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)  1    Dead, very recently, on beach.  Photographed.

Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)  1

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)  5

Catharus sp. (Catharus sp.)  10    20+ foraging along road and parking lot edges throughout the park

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  1    10:25 a.m. in tree along shoreline; perhaps migrating?

sparrow sp. (Emberizidae sp. (sparrow sp.))  5

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  3