Ten of us meandered around Black Lake Park this morning -- a nice cold walk with a few birds scattered here and there; nothing to write home about.
Among the seventeen species were at least one Brown Creeper, five Pied-billed Grebes, and several Dark-eyed Juncos. Surprisingly, no Northern Cardinals appeared on our walk, but two flew in front of Charlie's truck as he was leaving.
Photos by Carol Cooper:
November 18 Meeting and Program
( See Sidebar for Time and Place Details )
Birding in West India
Steve and Angie Hamberg
The country of India has a number of habitats and a good diversity of bird species. In Thursday's audio-visual program, Steve and Angie Hamberg will concentrate on the more arid western portion of India, largely following its border with Pakistan. They start north in the Punjab region where a manmade wetland attracts wintering species from even further north, then south into Rajastan, land of palaces and fortresses where isolated natural areas provide a refuge for local wildlife. Next they go into the Thar Desert to look for a couple of endangered birds. This is followed by a visit to the great salt flats bordering the Arabian Sea. Their program ends at a forested reserve northeast of Mumbai to find a rare owl.
Steve and Angie Hamberg are from Holland, Michigan. Steve is a practicing physician, though soon to retire. Angie is a retired elementary school music teacher. Together they have been to 85 countries around the world and have birded in most of them. Steve keeps a list of all of the birds he has seen and is presently at 7,211 species on his world checklist!
Field Trip
Black Lake Park, Etc.
November 20, 2021
We will meet Saturday morning at 8:00 in the parking lot of Black Lake Park (on the west side of Wood Road about a mile south of Pontaluna Road). At 8:15 we will begin our slow clockwise walk around the park heading south to the creek, west to the first viewing platform, north to the second viewing platform, east to the meadow and south back to our cars. The entire distance is about a mile.
Depending on time and the group's desire, we may then drive to the west side of Black Lake to look for birds there or at the adjoining Hoffmaster State Park. The trip will end around noon.
Nominate another club member or volunteer yourself from now until January 31, 2022, to be president, vice-president, secretary, or treasurer of the Muskegon County Nature Club next season (Sept. 16, 2022 - Sept. 21, 2023). Members will vote anonymously at our meeting on February 17, 2022, or non-anonymously by mail or email from February 18 until February 28, 2022.
(Ric will not be the club’s president after September 16, 2022, but will remain an active member and help whoever succeeds him in every way he can.)
The forecasted weather (cloudy with a 15% chance of rain) didn't hold true for yesterday's conditions at the Upper Macatawa Natural Area. Instead the day began with ground fog and mostly clear skies. The sun burned off the fog fairly quickly. Then clouds hurried in from the northwest and rain sprinkled us for much of the rest of the morning. Nonetheless, on our walk along the trails six-and-three-halves of us found many individual birds of 34 different species.
Notable were seven waterbirds (Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, American Black Duck, Green-winged Teal) plus Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, White-crowned Sparrow and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Carol Cooper took these pictures:
October 20 Email:
In case you or anyone you know is interested…. If you like the photography I produce, there are 2022 calendars for sale at the Bird House on Lake Street in North Muskegon that highlight photography of various sorts.
There is a calendar that has been created of Richard’s Park …the park that now can only be entered when heading away from North Muskegon on the Causeway …formerly could be entered also from Ottawa Street. The calendar was created as a fundraiser to create awareness/ appreciation for that little park… The money gained from the purchase of calendars has allowed for the purchase of a number of bird houses and one bat house that have been installed around the park in various trees.
Fourteen people birded two Ottawa County locations this morning on our September field trip. We found 36 bird species today.
Just east of the Grand Haven north pier seven small birds occupied a lone tree. Six of the seven seemed to be warblers: a Nashville, a female Black-throated Blue, and a Bay-breasted (I.D.'d by Chip Francke who happened to be walking by). One was a Yellow-throated Vireo.
Notable from the pier were Caspian Tern, Ruddy Turnstone, and a number of Sanderlings, some of which we nearly stepped on.
After the pier we walked the woods and open areas along the east side of the lake at Ottawa Sands County Park. Birds of note included a Gray-cheeked Thrush, Red-headed Woodpeckers, some warblers (Nashville, male Black-throated Blue, and Palm), some local and migrating raptors (Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels), Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Ducks, Spotted Sandpipers, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, and Great Blue and Green Herons.
"If you are a birder in Muskegon County, you might want to join the Muskegon County birds listserv that was started by Beth Miller some time ago If you want to join, email Beth at glenabeth@gmail.com. You will receive more info after you join." - Chip Francke
Nineteen people showed up for our August 21 Wastewater Field Trip. We caravanned through the Rapid Infiltration cells, birded the north end of the center dike, and finished at the Clay Pond on the south side.
Shorebirds were nicely spread around the lagoons despite none of the rapid filtration cells being drawn down. We found 13 of these: Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Stilt Sandpiper, Sanderling, Baird's Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope ...
... Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Two birders not with our group reported a Ruddy Turnstone.
Others among the 54 species identified by our group included Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Sandhill Crane, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret ...
Seven of us birded the Allegan State Game Area farm unit this morning. We found 35 bird species including Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Sandhill Crane, Willow Flycatcher, Sedge Wren, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Meadowlark, Indigo Bunting and Dickcissel.
American Goldfinch
We concluded our day with lunch at the Crane's Pie Pantry Restaurant.
Photos by Carol DeWitt
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.
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.
Thirteen species at the old Walleye Ponds included another Yellow-billed Cuckoo!
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.
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. :-)
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.
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.
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!
Birding the "snipe field" west of DNR headquarters by Charlie DeWitt
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.
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.
