June 19 Field Trip Report

Six of us dodged scattered rain showers while birding three locations north of the Muskegon River this morning.  We found 32 bird species at the old Ferguson Farm including Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Sandhill Crane, Green and Great Blue Herons, Brown Thrasher and Indigo Bunting.

Birding the Ferguson Farm Bridge by Carol Cooper

The Creek at Ferguson Farm by Carol Cooper

South of the Creek by Carol Cooper

Eighteen species at the Holton-Duck Lake Road creek bridge included another Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Great Egret, Belted Kingfisher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Prothonotary Warbler.

The view west from the Creek Bridge on Holton-Duck Lake Road 

Thirteen species at the old Walleye Ponds included another Yellow-billed Cuckoo!

The Meadow that used to be the Walleye Ponds by Carol Cooper

Dorothy Smith 8/26/1926 - 5/4/2021

Dorothy Smith, a member of our club for many years, passed away earlier this month.  Click here for the obituary.

A friend of hers wanted to donate $50 in Dorothy's memory to our club, and Dorothy's daughter Peggy has informed us that the family wants to match that donation.  More details will be presented when we finally hold a meeting again and send out a newsletter in September, but for now we're posting this THANK YOU for the $100 donation to the Muskegon County Nature Club in Dorothy Smith's memory.

Big Day Count Report

Eleven people participated in this year's Big Day Count (Saturday, May 15, 2021).  Unofficially they tallied a total of 129 bird species* in 16.5 hours at 7 locations in Muskegon County.  (People photos by Charlie DeWitt.)

Lane's Landing yielded 80 species from 4:30-10:20 a.m.:

Eastern Screech-Owl, Barred Owl, Gray Catbird, American Robin, Swamp Sparrow, Canada Goose, Common Yellowthroat, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Horned Owl, Yellow Warbler, Mourning Dove, Wood Thrush, Brown Thrasher, American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Song Sparrow, Great Crested Flycatcher, Mallard, Wood Duck, Blue-winged Warbler, House Wren, Warbling Vireo, Sandhill Crane, Red-winged Blackbird (photo by Charlie DeWitt), 

Common Grackle, Green Heron (photo by Susan Christner),

Tree Swallow, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Great Blue Heron, Killdeer, White-crowned Sparrow (photo by Charlie DeWitt), 

Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Yellowlegs, Sora, Double-crested Cormorant, Belted Kingfisher, Barn Swallow, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Solitary Sandpiper, Savannah Sparrow, Black-crowned Night-heron (2 adult, 1 juvenile, photos by Charlie DeWitt and Susan Christner), 

American Tree Sparrow, Palm Warbler, European Starling, Marsh Wren, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Flicker, American Redstart, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brown Creeper, Red-eyed Vireo, White-throated Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Chimney Swift, Prothonotary Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak (photo by Charlie DeWitt),

Pileated Woodpecker, Common Nighthawk, Black-throated Green Warbler, Philadelphia Vireo, American Crow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Turkey Vulture, Trumpeter Swan, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hooded Merganser, American Coot, Blue Jay, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Waterthrush, Blackpoll Warbler, Least Flycatcher, Hairy Woodpecker and Rock Pigeon.

The Muskegon State Game Area DNR Headquarters area and west along the Maple River yielded 14 additional species from 10:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.:

Ovenbird, House Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Cooper's Hawk, Field Sparrow, Red-tailed Hawk, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Nashville Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Magnolia Warbler and a flock of Pine Siskin!

The Muskegon County Wastewater properties from 1:20-3:55 p.m. added:

Grasshopper Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Gadwall, Ring-billed Gull, Ruddy Duck, Wilson's Phalarope, Northern Shoveler, Horned Lark, Orchard Oriole, Cliff Swallow, Dunlin, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Redhead, Bufflehead, Bank Swallow, Bonaparte's Gull, Lesser Scaup, Eared Grebe and Horned Grebe (near each other in the east lagoon providing an excellent comparison of the two species), Herring Gull, Bald Eagle, Wild Turkey and Vesper Sparrow.

Traveling to Patterson Park and birding there from 4:15-5:20 p.m. provided American Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Phoebe, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Parula and Black-throated Blue Warbler.

6:00-7:00 at the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve added Mute Swan and Yellow-rumped Warbler.  7:10-8:20 at Snug Harbor and the Lost Lake Trail provided Veery.  From 8:30-9:00 only one new species appeared: a Ruddy Turnstone foraging along the Lake Michigan shoreline.  Rain, poor lighting and distance prevented the ID-ing of some aerial foragers above the martin houses on the other side of the Muskegon Channel.

The core group at dusk: Ken, Mark, Ric, Roger, and Charlie (smiling behind the camera).

Please send any corrections or additions to Ric.  As of this posting, it's 129 species for our 2021 Big Day, a good number even without a House Finch.

* Disclaimer:  Species were counted if identified this day by the core group or by participants joining or leaving or at the same location as the core group.  Anyone having a problem with this methodology should contact the birding police.  :-)

April 17 Field Trip Report

Despite health issues preventing the originally-scheduled leaders from attending, five club members with seven others spent three hours this morning looking for birds at the Upper Macatawa Natural Area near Zeeland.  

Notable sightings included American bittern, sora, Virginia rail, swamp sparrow and blue-gray gnatcatcher.  If we receive any photos from the trip, we will post them here. 

May Events Down to One

  Our last scheduled meeting of this Covid-ruined season is canceled.  We will not hold the potluck picnic in May.  This also means there will be no Election of Officers in May.  We will have a Big Day Count on May 15.  

Details about the election, Big Day, and our summer field trips will be posted later.

March 20 Field Trip Report

Nine human adults and three juveniles searched for birds at two locations this cold sunny morning.  Rusty Blackbird was our "species of the day".  We saw at least 18 along the south bank of the Maple River.  In years past, hundreds were common early in the spring at this location, but since then their numbers have crashed worldwide, so these were very good birds to see!

Rusty Blackbirds by Charlie DeWitt

Other notable species among our 23 total were Wood Duck, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe and Bald Eagle.  At 7:00, an hour before the trip began, Charlie DeWitt heard American Woodcock near the yellow gate at the end of Messinger Road. 

Birding the "snipe field" west of DNR headquarters by Charlie DeWitt

Later we drove around the Muskegon Wastewater properties.  Among our 33 bird species were seven common ducks, a lethargic Trumpeter Swan, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Killdeer, Common Redpoll, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird.

A pair of Buffleheads by Charlie DeWitt

February 20 Field Trip Report

Six of us birded three locations this cold February morning.  Pushing through the snow at the first two locations produced few birds: Eleven species at the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve including two hawks (Red-shouldered and Coopers) and four at Snug Harbor (including Eastern Bluebird and Pileated Woodpecker).  Charlie did see two American Robins along the way.

Sunrise at the Preserve by Carol Cooper

Birders at the Channel by Carol Cooper

Birds were more plentiful at the north wall of the Muskegon Channel.  We counted a few hundred individuals of eleven species: Mute Swan, Tundra Swan, Mallard, Redhead, Greater Scaup, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Common Merganser, Herring Gull, Bald Eagle and Tufted Titmouse.  

Tundra Swans with Iced Beaks by Charlie DeWitt

Tug Boat Breaking Muskegon Lake Ice by Charlie DeWitt

Swans Scattering from the Tug Boat by Charlie DeWitt

Greater Scaup Takes Flight by Charlie DeWitt

January 23 Field Trip Report

Wearing masks and social-distancing, eight of us birded three locations this morning.  Our group found some good birds, but three of the more remarkable species were not seen by everyone.

Long before the trip began, Charlie heard an Eastern Screech Owl near the east end of the Muskegon Channel.  Later in the same area we found eight other species including Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted and Common Merganser, and Herring and Ring-billed Gull (some with their undersides beautifully lighted by the morning sunrise).

Sunrise by Carol Cooper

At the south breakwall of Pere Marquette Park we missed some White-winged Scoters reported soon after we left.  We did see eight species including Greater Scaup, Redhead, Long-tailed Duck and Bald Eagle.

After driving to Lake Harbor Park, we walked the trail along the Mona Lake Channel out to Lake Michigan.

Mona Lake Channel birders by Carol Cooper

Along the way we found 11 bird species including Pileated Woodpecker and our best view of Long-tailed Ducks.

Long-tailed Ducks by Charlie DeWitt

Carol saw an American Robin on the way to Black Lake Park, our final destination.  Our group found eight species there, none out of the ordinary, and dozens of ice fishermen on the lake.  A nice morning outing despite the cold weather and Covid precautions!

Meetings Canceled / Field Trips Continued

The most optimistic forecast predicts late April as the time by which most ordinary Michigan citizens will have received their Covid vaccinations.  Until then, indoor congregations would of course be unnecessarily dangerous if not illegal.  So instead of continuing to announce month-by-month the status of our meetings/programs, we're canceling them now through April.  Grand Rapids Audubon and Holland Audubon have already announced similar plans.

Whether we hold the outdoor potluck picnic meeting on May 20 is still undecided.  In a few months if we decide to have it, we will contact Michigan State Parks to reserve the Snug Harbor pavilion again.

Meanwhile we will continue our monthly field trips on the dates of our original schedule, but with social-distancing, masks if appropriate, and without car-pooling once the trips begin.   How we conduct the May 15 Big Day Count is still anybody's guess.

Christmas Bird Count Updates

Although there were no official meetings of people (or lunches at the Cherokee or Grandma's Griddle Restaurants), we still obtained some decent bird numbers on the Muskegon County Wastewater CBC December 16 and the City of Muskegon CBC December 19.  Numbers for the City CBC were compiled for the official North American records and keep our club's participation in Christmas Bird Counts unbroken since we first began a long time ago.

Five people submitted numbers to Brian Johnson for the Dec. 16 Wastewater count.  Pleasant weather helped produce respectable numbers and good quality.  Rough-legged Hawks were seen by all; Wild Turkeys by nobody!  Excellent species included Rusty Blackbird and Short-eared Owl.  Totals were 57 species and 10,197 individuals.

Eight people submitted numbers from 14 locations within 7.5 miles of downtown Muskegon on Dec. 19.  Two species had not been recorded on previous Muskegon CBC's for at least 25 years: White-crowned Sparrow (at the Causeway Marsh) and Wood Duck (along Rood Road in Norton Shores).  A total of 3,059 individual birds were reported among the 49 total species.