September Meeting and Program

                                      Meeting and Program

Our first of three MCNC membership meetings will be on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. at the Loutit Library (407 Columbus Ave. Grand Haven).  We will take care of old and new business, have an update on the George Wickstrom Trail project, and collect the $20 annual dues from whoever would like to pay their annual membership fee this evening.

Following the meeting join us for social time until the program at 6:30.  Tonight's program is “The Beauty and Biology of the Muskegon River” presented by Muskegon River fishing guide Kevin Feenstra.  He will include photography from all seasons on the Muskegon River.  These images include birds, mammals, aquatic insects, fish, and scenery.  The photography is from the mainstream of the Muskegon River, as well as from some of the creeks and connecting swamps.  Kevin's work focuses on the life above and below the surface of this majestic river.

Kevin is a fly fishing guide, author, and photographer who spends much of his life on the Muskegon River system.  Throughout his 25 years on the river, he has continued to learn about our waterways. 

Monthly Field Trip

Hoffmaster State Park

Sept. 21, 2024

Our monthly field trip is scheduled for Saturday, September 21. We will meet at the Hoffmaster picnic shelter at 8:30 (drive as far south as you can go) and bird a long trail with several steep climbs.  We will take a side hike to the Moblo pond on the way. We hope to see some migrating birds. 

If time and energy allows, we may hike up the dune lookout by the visitor center.

    

The public is welcome.  We hope to see you there!

August 17 Field Trip Report

Five people found 62 (!) bird species at the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center (Wastewater) properties this morning.  Here is the eBird report:

Muskegon Wastewater System

Aug 17, 2024
Traveling
14.94 miles
248 Minutes

12 Canada Goose
3 Wood Duck
5 Blue-winged Teal
3 Northern Shoveler
74 Mallard
1 Ruddy Duck
23 Wild Turkey
13 Mourning Dove
13 Sandhill Crane
4 Killdeer
1 Semipalmated Plover
17 Spotted Sandpiper
1 Solitary Sandpiper
5 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 Greater Yellowlegs
4 Lesser/Greater Yellowlegs
1 Sanderling
4 Baird's Sandpiper
23 Least Sandpiper
1000 Ring-billed Gull
30 Herring Gull
4 Double-crested Cormorant
1 Great Egret
3 Great Blue Heron
1 Turkey Vulture
7 Bald Eagle -- All immature. 5 Sitting on electrical posts near the landfill. 2 flying over dried cells.
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Belted Kingfisher
3 Downy Woodpecker
8 American Kestrel -- One family group hunting near a dry cell
5 Eastern Wood-Pewee
1 Acadian Flycatcher -- High in forest canopy giving sharp “pweek!” Call note. Have recording.
1 Empidonax sp.
1 Eastern Phoebe
2 Eastern Kingbird
3 Blue Jay
4 American Crow
6 Black-capped Chickadee
5 Tufted Titmouse
6 Tree Swallow
2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
4 swallow sp.
4 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 House Wren
1 Carolina Wren -- Cinnamon colored wren with bold eyebrow and decurved bill, calling loudly tea kettle tea kettle, tea kettle in the forest near the entrance.
800 European Starling
8 Eastern Bluebird
2 Cedar Waxwing
1 House Sparrow
4 American Goldfinch
10 Chipping Sparrow
5 Song Sparrow
2 Eastern Towhee
4 Bobolink
9 Eastern Meadowlark
1 Baltimore Oriole
1 Nashville Warbler
1 new world warbler sp. -- Yellow with eyeline
2 Northern Cardinal
4 Indigo Bunting
2 Dickcissel

August 17 Field Trip

Muskegon Resource Recovery Center

August 17, 2024

    Meet at 8:30 on Saturday morning August 17, 2024, near the Maple Island Road entrance to the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center properties (MCRRC, formerly "the Wastewater").  Having a walkie-talkie tuned to Channel 11, Subchannel 0, can be helpful but is not necessary.

    We will drive around the Rapid Filtration areas looking in the dry cells for late summer field species such as Dickcissels, sparrows, larks, Bobolinks, etc. and in the wet cells for shorebirds and waterbirds, stepping out of our cars occasionally.

    Then we will look for shorebirds in whichever aeration lagoons are drained down providing proper habitat.  Later we'll drive the perimeter of the large lagoons looking for waterbirds and shorebirds.  Near the landfill at the southeast corner of the east lagoon we'll try for the odd gull, ducks, ravens, etc.

    Unfortunately the properties south of Apple Ave. are closed to birders, so we will conclude our morning northward up Swanson Road to the granery and the edges of the MCRRC properties.

    This trip will end around noon.  It is open to the public.  We hope to see you there!

July 20 Field Trip Report

Charlie DeWitt led our Allegan field trip this morning.  Five veterans of our club spent three hours finding 34 bird species.  All photos (Green Heron, trip list, four participants, and Monarch butterfly) by Carol DeWitt.

Muskegon Peregrine Falcons

See Ruth Achterhoff Aust’s article about naming the downtown Muskegon Peregrine Falcons on our Recent Sightings page.

July 20 Field Trip

Field Trip

Allegan SGA / Crane's Restaurant

July 20, 2024

    Our monthly field trip is scheduled for Saturday, July 20. We will bird the Allegan State Game Area in the morning and enjoy lunch at the Crane’s Pie Pantry Restaurant west of Fennville at midday.

    Allow about an hour of travel time from Muskegon to the US-31 / M-89 interchange south of Holland.  We will meet at 8:30 in the parking lot of the Shell gas station a half mile east of the interchange where M-89 crosses the Blue Star Highway.  This gas station has parking on both sides, so be sure to check both lots for our group.

    From there we will drive to various places on the nearby farm properties of the Allegan State Game Area to look for whatever birds we can find.  Having a walkie-talkie in your vehicle tuned to Channel 11, Subchannel 0 can be helpful, but is not necessary.

    Around noon we’ll drive to the Crane’s Orchard Pie Pantry Restaurant, 6054 124th Ave. (M-89), Fennville, MI. for lunch.  Some of us may return to Muskegon with a stop at New Richmond Bridge Park along the north side of the Kalamazoo River .  

    The public is welcome.  We hope to see you there!

June 15 Field Trip Report

Thanks to Ken for leading this trip to the Walkinshaw Sanctuary and Gale’s Pond, both in the Walkerville area.  Seven people participated recording thirty bird species:

Eastern Kingbird, Common Yellowthroat, Willow Flycatcher, Mourning Dove, Bobolink, American Goldfinch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Great Blue Heron, Sandhill Crane, Red-winged Blackbird, Hooded Merganser, Wood Duck, Tree Swallow, Green Heron, American Redstart, Swamp Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Belted Kingfisher, Pine Warbler, Veery, Killdeer, Mallard, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Flicker, Chipping Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Cedar Waxwing, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, American Robin and Common Grackle.

May 18 Big Day Count

We’ve calculated the final Big Day Count number of species from May 18:

118

Here is the list:

Common Nighthawk

Great Crested Flycatcher

American Robin

Great Horned Owl

Wood Thrush

Scarlet Tanager

Veery

Gray Catbird

Northern Cardinal

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow Warbler

Indigo Bunting

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

American Redstart

Swamp Sparrow

Black-billed Cuckoo

Mourning Dove

Red-winged Blackbird

Ovenbird

Canada Goose

Trumpeter Swan

Wood Duck

Green Heron

Pied-billed Grebe

Sandhill Crane

Common Grackle

Common Gallinule

Mallard

Hooded Merganser

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Chimney Swift

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Virginia Rail

Sora

American Coot

Killdeer

Ring-billed Gull

Green Heron

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Belted Kingfisher

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

American Kestrel

Eastern Wood Pewee

Willow Flycatcher

Least Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird

Yellow-throated Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tree Swallow

Barn Swallow

Brown Creeper

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Marsh Wren

Eastern Bluebird

Cedar Waxwing

American Goldfinch

Song Sparrow

Baltimore Oriole

Brown-headed Cowbird

Blue-winged Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

Mourning Warbler

Cerulean Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Blue-winged Teal

Gadwall

Greater Scaup

Ruddy Duck

Upland Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Herring Gull

Western Cattle Egret

Great Egret

Turkey Vulture

Fish Crow

Horned Lark

Bank Swallow

Cliff Swallow

European Starling

House Sparrow

House Finch

Grasshopper Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Bobolink

Eastern Meadowlark

Orchard Oriole

Northern Shoveler

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Pectoral Sandpiper

Downy Woodpecker

Lesser Yellowlegs

Red-tailed Hawk

Acadian Flycatcher

Alder Flycatcher

Willow Flycatcher

Eastern Phoebe

House Wren

Field Sparrow

Black-and-white Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Tufted Titmouse

Black-throated Green Warbler

Pileated Woodpecker

Gray-cheeked Thrush

Purple Martin

Swainson’s Thrush

Eastern Towhee

Redhead

Eagle, Bald