January 21 Field Trip Report

Nine of us in eight vehicles drove 18 miles around the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center properties this morning.  Thanks to Glen Miller for snapping the photo above.

Things didn't seem particularly birdy, but we still found 31 species in our 3 1/2 hours.  Of note were two Rough-legged Hawks (a dark morph north of the East Lagoon and a light morph south of Apple Ave.), Snow Buntings on the Center Dike, a Sandhill Crane south of White Rd., and a pair of Hooded Mergansers in the Clay Pond.

Best birds of the day were 17 Cackling Geese on the far side of the Clay Pond.  Fortunately two people noticed their short necks, small bills, and size (just a bit larger than a nearby Mallard) or we would have overlooked them as Canadas.  The latter were the most numerous species today with multi-hundreds here and there on the properties.  There were also hundreds of gulls at the landfill.

January Meeting on the 26th !

Remember our January meeting at the Norton Shores branch library on Seminole Road this Thursday January 26 at 10:30 a.m.  We will be discussing ideas for the money George Wickstrom bequeathed to our club.

Three January 2023 Events

On Tuesday Evening, January 17, Lucas Timmer will present his program about Habitat Restoration in Ottawa County.  

Lucas is a resident of Holland with his wife Molly and his daughter Florence. Birds have always been an interest to him (Adelie penguins are his favorite animal) but birding as a hobby did not take root until he found time for it during the spring of 2020 during the pandemic. 

As a now avid birder, Lucas has been enjoying using his skillset as a civil engineer who works with local governments to promote local habitat preservation to these same communities as the head of OIAS Habitat Preservation Committee promoting critical habitat for our avian friends. In this presentation, Lucas will discuss some of the work that OIAS is doing currently with habitat preservation in the community and future opportunities for proposing habitat preservation in our area. 

The location for this and the remainder of our season's programs will be the Covenant Life Church, 101 Columbus Ave., in Grand Haven.  Social time: 6:00-6:30 p.m.  Program: 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Please park on Columbus Street or in the parking lot in front of the piano factory condos on Harbor Drive so we reserve the small parking lot next to the church for church programs that take place the same night.  We appreciate GHCLC hosting our programs!

On Saturday morning, January 21, our monthly field trip will be around the many square miles at the Muskegon Resource Recovery Center (formerly the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System).  We will begin just inside the Maple Island Road entrance at 8:00 a.m.  From there we will caravan in our cars around the fields, lagoons and woodlots of that property stepping out often to look for birds.  A spotting scope and a walkie-talkie tuned to Channel 11, Subchannel 0, for car-to-car communication can be helpful, but neither is necessary.  This trip will end around noon.  The public is welcome.

Our January meeting will be Thursday, January 26, at 10:30 a.m. in the Norton Shores branch library on Seminole Road.  We will discuss ideas of what to do with the money bequeathed to our club by the late George Wickstrom.