Orchard Oriole, Dickcissel, Bobolink, Etc.

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To Mich-Chat May 31:
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Birders,
I had an Orchard Oriole Wednesday evening (5-30-2012) at Muskegon Wastewater.  It was in the fields south of Apple Ave. to the east on the first drive in a stand of trees.  Several grassland species present including Dickcissel, Bobolink and Grasshopper Sparrow.  Also 5 swallow species present.  List posted on eBird.
Bird on,
Marc Miedema

Wood Ducks Make the Jump

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May 30 Email:
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As promised, here are photos of jump day at the Wood Duck nest box on the creek behind our house.  I waited in my blind for four hours this morning waiting for the jump.  I checked on the eggs Monday evening when the hen and drake were out feeding and a couple of the eggs were already starting to crack. Knowing they were all going to hatch on Monday or Tuesday I knew they were going to jump today.  It has been pretty incredible to watch as this process progressed. Once the hen jumped, the whole process took less than two minutes.  Here are the photos.

Rick Hamlin
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Pileated Woodpecker Photos and Video

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May 27 Email:
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Here are some photos of the baby Pileated Woodpeckers that are still in the nest in our backyard.  Today is the first day we have seen the young ones.  They both look like males and they are pretty vocal.  I took a video of the male feeding one of the young ones.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend,

Rick Hamlin
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Can Anyone Verify This Turtle Species?

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May 26 Email:
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I was wondering if anyone had information about this turtle that I found in our yard yesterday.   I believe it is a Wood Turtle but all the information that I have been able to find indicates that these turtles are not normally in the Muskegon area.  They seem to be mostly sighted in the northern part of the lower peninsula and the U.P.   Thanks, Rick Hamlin

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Wastewater Shorebird Survey, May 25

On May 25, I completed another Shorebird Survey at Muskegon Wastewater. Since the census occurs once every 10 days from early April to mid June, we usually run eight spring sessions per year. As exemplified from the mean passage dates for the ten most abundant spring migrants at the Wastewater, peak numbers and diversity typically occur during late May.

Pectoral Sandpiper - April 20

Lesser Yellowlegs - May 1

Black-bellied Plover - May 19

Dunlin - May 20

Least Sandpiper - May 21

Ruddy Turnstone - May 22
Semipalmated Plover - May 23

Sanderling - May 25

Semipalmated Sandpiper - May 30

White-rumped Sandpiper - June 3

These are the numbers from this evening:

Semipalmated Plover - 24

Killdeer - 27

Spotted Sandpiper - 45

Lesser Yellowlegs - 2

Upland Sandpiper - 1

Ruddy Turnstone - 8

Dunlin - 11

Semipalmated Sandpiper - 56

Least Sandpiper - 5

White-rumped Sandpiper - 5

Red-necked Phalarope - 1

The 11 species and 185 individual birds compare favorably to a late May session average of 10 species and 161 individuals.

I also stopped to look at four Dickcissels. I only banded a few last year, but I was hoping at least one was wearing a band.

Unlike the songbird migration, which has been lackluster since a large fallout in early May, shorebird numbers have been fairly decent this spring. Below are the figures from the last few shorebird surveys (all done by Carolyn Weng and myself).

April 27 was our poorest session, though still respectable with 5 species (average 4) and 44 (average 27) individuals:

Killdeer - 11

Spotted Sandpiper - 1

Lesser Yellowlegs - 8

Pectoral Sandpiper - 17

Dunlin - 7

May 4 closely followed a major songbird fallout, so not surprisingly, this session proved to best surpass the historical average for the period, with 10 species (average 6) and 129 individuals (average 68):

Killdeer - 16

Spotted Sandpiper - 27

Solitary Sandpiper - 5

Greater Yellowlegs - 1

Lesser Yellowlegs - 33

Upland Sandpiper - 2

Pectoral Sandpiper - 7

Dunlin - 34

Short-billed Dowitcher - 3

Wilson's Snipe - 1

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May 17 had moderate diversity but nice totals, with 8 birds (average 9) and 189 individuals (average 102):

Black-bellied Plover - 4

Semipalmated Plover - 10

Killdeer - 13

Spotted Sandpiper - 35

Lesser Yellowlegs - 10

Dunlin - 84

Short-billed Dowitcher - 7

Least Sandpiper - 26
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Brian Johnson
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May 23: Birds, Bugs, Deer

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Least Sandpipers.

 (There was one Wilson's Phalarope in the drawn down cell.)

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The dark smuges are bugs!  On the south side from Swanson to the center dike.

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Doe nursing a fawn; I took two quick pictures through the truck window and left.

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Charlie DeWitt

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Two Pictures from Yesterday

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Ron Buechele attached this photo to his May 23 email asking for ID of a bird which was "... at my deck this morning. The picture was taken just as he was jumping off the stick to a bush below."  Ron lives in the Wolf Lake area.  I've told him Great Crested Flycatcher, but I've never seen one from this angle before and there's certainly no crest.  Thoughts of others welcome!  An excellent photo, Ron!
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Meanwhile Rick Hamlin was birding the Wastewater yesterday and "... caught this little guy or girl trying to slip away unnoticed through the brush."
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- Ric
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Big Day Count = 116 Species

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On Saturday May 19 from 4:50 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. our group conducted its annual Big Day Count search for bird species in Muskegon County.  See lists posted on our homepage.
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Our group was as large as 12 with three die-hards going all day.  Despite excellent conditions, we found precious few warblers and missed many other species that should have been "automatic" (Pied-billed Grebe, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher).
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Birding Lane's Landing, State Game Area Headquarters, the Wastewater, Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve, Snug Harbor and the Muskegon Channel, we finished with 116 species for the day, a far cry from the club record of 156.
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White-winged Crossbills

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The White-winged Crossbills were still in the pines by Olivet Church this morning (details posted below).  Over thirty were seen there on Saturday.
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Ric
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Today's Hanging Owlet Adventure

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Dan and Sherri Lockard have been monitoring a Great Horned Owl nest this year.  The first five photos below are by Dan from earlier in the season.  The last three are by Sherri today when one of the owlets "decided it wanted to be a bat" as only Sherri was present.  The bird found itself hanging upside down without being able (or wanting) to let go for a long, long time; so long that Sherri phoned for help in extricating it from its predicament.
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Despite many phone calls, no one with expertise in owl extractions was available.  Sherri was able to contact Susan Stamy of Braveheart Raptor Rehabilitation who told her how to recover the bird if it fell to the ground IF she wanted to attempt it (please notice the talons on the adult owl for why you might not want to attempt this, even with a baby raptor).
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Sherri went to get a box and blanket as per Susan's instructions, and when she returned the owlet was on the ground but still in distress.  Sherri was able to throw the blanket over the bird, box it, and take it to Susan.
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Prognosis this afternoon was that she (the baby owl) has something wrong with her hip and based on the amount of downy feathers she's still wearing, perhaps other problems as well.  If she can be re-habbed, Susan and the Lockards will release her back to the area near the nest.
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( The exact location of the nest will remain private. )

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Trumpeter Is Back at Lane's Landing!

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May 16 Email:
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It's back!  Charlie and I found the Trumpeter Swan at Lanes this morning.  It was at the northeast corner of the marsh walking the dike.

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Feller DeWitt

Monday Photos

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Emailed May 13:
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Eastern Screech-owl by Sherri Lockard and Great Crested Flycatcher by Dan Lockard followed by two of the thirty White-winged Crossbills that Rick Hamlin found at the Olivet Church location (posted below).
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Lunchtime

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A Bald Eagle returning (to the nest) with lunch, an American Robin with a brood to feed, and a Bobolink with a tasty caterpillar.

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Don Neumann

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Warblers Etc.

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Torsten Pawlowski and his Eagles-R-Us camera are back in our area and he sends these photos of a Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler and Pileated Woodpecker wondering how a Rose-breasted Grosbeak has the gall to stay on the feeder!
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Bobolinks and White-striped Crossbeaks

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Returning from a Mother's Day ride up the lakeshore with Carol on which I stumbled upon Species #141 (Bobolinks on the field in Oceana County southwest of the Flower Road - 48th Avenue intersection) if anybody's counting, I listened to a phone message from a non-birder regarding several "White-striped Crossbeaks" in the pines bordering the west side of the Olivet Church parking lot (Shettler Road & Quarterline) yesterday.  (Isn't that just the greatest species name!)  But seriously, I'm sure he was referring to White-winged Crossbills which were seen at that location by many people over several days last month.  If so, does anyone know how unusual that would be for the second week of May in Muskegon?
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- Ric
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