Sightings Archive:
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Stonington Birds
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5/9/05
Birded the Stonington Peninsula this morning with Scott Hickman and Zach. Not a lot of waterfowl or shorebirds, but we did great with the land birds. By my count, we had 65 species of birds for the morning, including 9 species of warblers. There were lots of insects in the air.
Highlights included Baltimore Oriole, American White Pelican (one at Ogontz Bay, swimming near shore), Bobolink, Field Sparrow, Cape May Warbler, Northern Pintail (at least 3 of them), Dunlin, Bonaparte's Gull, and Caspian Tern.
Greg |
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Presque Isle Sunday a.m.
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5/8/05
Visited Presque Isle between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Mild (60 degrees F), breezy (SW) and clouded. 27 species for the period: Amer. Woodcock, Can. Geese, R-B Gull(s), Herr. Gull
(s), Mallard(s), Swamp Sparrow(s), Song Sparrow(s), W-T Sparrow(s), Chipping Sparrow, Amer. Goldfinches, B-C Chickadees, Amer. Crow(s), Common Raven, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Hermit Thrushes, D-C Cormorant(s), Common Grackle(s), R-W Blackbird(s), Amer. Robin(s), Winter Wren, Brown Creeper(s), N. Cardinal, House Finch, European Starling(s), Mourning Dove(s), Y-B Sapsucker, Turkey Vulture
(s), Sharp-shinned Hawks (2), Merlin, Yellow-rumped Warbler(s), Least Flycatcher. Notes: The (2) Sharpies were moving through on the wing north to south on the west side. The
Merlin (a male) was harrassing a pair of crows. The Woodcock was the greeter at the boardwalk. Sparrow activity was high in density and frustratingly low to the ground. A
Chickadee on the boardwalk so fit to peck at my left boot and sit for a bit on my right boot toe with its beak filled with nesting material. Overall the activity was light. NEXRAD radar reports out of Wisconsin indicate a massive push coming north.
M.L. Scheiwe and D. Raven |
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Saturday in Marquette
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5/7/05
The upland sandpiper was still in the field near the corner of Lakeshore and Hawley. It took some work to find it but it worked near the bikepath south of the east entrance to
Biolab. A kestrel also stopped there. A kestrel was seen in the same area last Saturday. Across the street a flock of mixed scaup, red-breasted mergansers, and three shovelers was parked on the Lake around 2 PM. Four more shovelers were in the backwaters of the Dead River near the power plant. The bogwalk was quiet, but there was a sharp-shinned soaring over it around three with an escort of three goldfinches.
Lots of reports of Lincoln, white-crowned and white-throated sparrows around town.
Chris and Rob Yuill found palm, yellow, and yellow-rumped warblers on the Chocolay River this afternoon.
Scot Stewart |
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Ruddy Duck, Alger Co.
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5/7/05
A single male Ruddy Duck was floating out toward the middle of AuTrain Lake this morning, and 6 Rusty Blackbirds were near the campground for Little Beaver Lake in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Scott |
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Sedge Wren, etc.
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5/6/05
A Sedge Wren was in the field near the Presque Isle bog walk in Marquette this evening. I also saw a Common Yellowthroat and hordes of sparrows, mostly White-throated and Swamp, but also Lincoln's, Song, Savannah, and one White-crowned. The sparrows were all flitting through the brush, parallelto the lake shore but generally in a northerly direction.
Once again, the Upland Sandpiper was in the mown field just south of the Biotech place, near the corner of Lakeshore and Hawley.
There was a flock of 7 Green-winged and 4 Blue-winged Teal in the ponds back behind the power plant.
Greg |
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N. Bobwhite, L. Yellowlegs; Alger Co.
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5/5/05
A Northern Bobwhite was calling from the forest/field edge south of M.S.U.'s milking barn in Chatham this morning (5/6/05). Eight Lesser Yellowlegs were along the edge of Chatham's sewage lagoons and 16 Sandhill Cranes were in the fields south and east of the lagoons.
Scott Hickman |
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Least Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs
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5/5/05
At the ponds behind the Marquette Power Plant I saw the following tonight:
Lesser Yellowlegs:13+
Least Sandpiper:1
Very few ducks were present there.
Zach Gayk |
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Marquette County Spring Migration Count
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Saturday, May 14 - Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society invites you to participate in the Marquette County Migration Count. This is a one-day count on May 14th only, part of the North American Migration Count (NAMC) which has taken place in Marquette each spring since 1994. All birders are welcome to count in the field or at their feeders. Counters are especially needed in townships in the southern and western ends of Marquette county.
To participate, call Greg Cleary at 228-8781 or email gcleary@provide.net. Greg needs to hear from all participants to make sure that counters are spread out evenly around the county, and to distribute forms. |
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Attention UP Birders: Mark your calendars for Birding By the Bay 2005
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Registration is open for the upcoming 3rd annual Birding By the Bay event being held May 20-22, 2005, in Munising! We have another great line-up of field trips, speakers and other activities!
Dr. Scott Hickman will kick off the event Friday evening with his presentation, "Birding the Melting Edge of the Polar Ice." On Saturday evening, keynote speaker Dr. Bill Bowerman will talk about "The Status of the World's Eagles and What They Tell Us About the Health of our Planet." Saturday and Sunday, birders will find a wide selection of field trips appropriate for birders of all ability levels and interests. Also Saturday afternoon, MUCC's Wildlife Encounter program will bring present its live raptor program under the festival tent.
For more details on the event or to register, please visit the Birding By the Bay Website or call 906-387-2138 to request a registration packet.
While we're excited that the festival has attracted folks from distant states, the BBB team is counting on "local" birders to help support the festival. Looking for a way to lend a hand? We're offering free registration to the first 5 folks who sign up as festival volunteers! Volunteers work one day and get a free field trip on the other day. To take advantage of this opportunity, contact mjcook@chartermi.net.
Janel Crooks
Hiawatha National Forest |
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