June 3 Field Trip to Allegan County

Our monthly field trip is scheduled for this Saturday, June 3.  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 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.  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 .  

This trip is open to the public.  Hope to see you there. 

Report: Big Day Count May 20, 2023

Six people started Saturday morning's Big Day Count at 5:00 by the outer gate of Lane's Landing.  Our goal was to find as many bird species as possible in one day.  At one time or another eleven people participated as the group birded the State Game Area, the Muskegon Resource Recovery (Wastewater) properties, Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve, and Muskegon State Park's Snug Harbor, Lost Lake Trail, and Muskegon Channel northside.  Two people finished at 9:15 p.m.  (Photos by Glen Miller.)

Lane's Landing and SGA provided 75 species.  Besides the usual suspects these included Trumpeter Swan, American Bittern, Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos, Common Gallinule, Yellow-throated Vireo, Brown Creeper, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Veery, Prothonotary, Blue-winged, Black-and-White, Cerulean and Wilson's Warblers, Acadian Flycatcher, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Towhee and Scarlet Tanager.

The Wastewater properties gave us 42 more including Red-tailed Hawk, Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Wilson's Phalarope, American Pipit, Baird's and White-rumped Sandpipers, Sanderling, Orchard Oriole, Lesser and Greater Scaup, Redhead, Canvasback, American Coot and Kestrel, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Vesper, Savannah and Grasshopper Sparrows, Bald Eagle and Common Raven.

After supper we added Mute Swan and Blackpoll Warbler at the nature preserve, Winter Wren on the Lost Lake Trail, and Purple Martin at the channel.  We had no great misses today but were disappointed at finding no Bonaparte's Gull or Black-throated Green Warbler along our way.

The grand total was a very respectable 121 species for the day.  Thanks to all who participated!

May Events

May 18, 2023

Potluck Picnic Meeting

Our annual membership potluck supper, meeting, and bird walk will be at Snug Harbor, May 18, 2023.  See your newsletter for details.  

We've had two M.C.N.C. meetings this season: Sept. 15, 2022 at the Roosevelt Park Community Building and Jan. 26, 2023 at the Norton Shores branch library.  Our final meeting will follow this evening's supper and will include an election of officers for 2023-2024.  Anyone interested in being next year's president, vice-president, secretary or treasurer should let Beth know sometime before the meeting.

May 20, 2023

Big Day Count

Diehards will meet at 5:00 a.m. at the outer gate to Lane's Landing just beyond where Maple Island Road crosses Mosquito Creek a mile north of the entrance to the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center (MCRRC).  Be careful pulling into and out of this driveway as traffic on Maple Island Road can be fast.

Shortly after five we will drive a mile to the inner gate, stopping occasionally to listen for night birds.  When it's light enough to see, we will walk the mile north to the Muskegon River and back.  Then we'll drive up Maple Island Road less than two miles to the MDNR headquarters for birding along the Maple River.

Lunch as usual will be brown-bag on the porch of the headquarters building.  During the afternoon we'll bird the MCRRC properties and perhaps Patterson County Park (depending on what species we still need).

After an optional supper at the North Muskegon McDonald's, we'll bird the nearby Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve before driving west to Snug Harbor at Muskegon State Park and concluding our day along the north wall of the Muskegon Channel.

Our "purpose" is to have our group count as many bird species in the county as possible in one day.  Anyone is welcome to join our group anytime along the way.

Bluebird Nest Box Monitoring

Once again this summer some of our members will help monitor the bluebird boxes on the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center (MCRRC) properties.  Monitoring boxes is a great way to learn more about cavity nesting species and to get up close to nature!  

Simply sign up for a week when you'll be available and then choose whatever day (10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.ml) during that week that works for you.  (You will receive an email reminder prior to your scheduled appointment.). Pick up your monitoring field sheets at the Administration Building prior to monitoring your nest boxes.

Sign up online by clicking here.

Thanks!

- Anita Friend, MCRRC

April 15 Field Trip Report

   Finally!  A beautiful day for a field trip!

photo by Pat Bazany

   

    Fourteen of us spent three and a half hours strolling Black Lake Park Saturday morning.  It felt like spring, and the birds acted like spring.  By the time we left, we'd recorded 52 species!

    Of note were three Eastern Towhees (one of the two males scratching the leaf litter for bugs), an American Robin making mud-trips to its nest, Brown Thrasher, two American Wigeon, Bonaparte's Gull, Horned Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Wild Turkey (two males on the ground displaying their tails, a female perched high in a tree over our heads), both kinglets, Brown Creeper, Hermit Thrush, Pine and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and way too many Brown-headed Cowbirds.  

    Other species included Wood Duck, Gadwall, scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Red-shouldered Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied, Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers, Tree Swallow, Chipping, Field, White-throated, Song (and House) Sparrows, plus most of the usual suspects.  Notable by its absence was Gray Catbird of which we saw and heard none!

April Events

 April 15 Black Lake Park Field Trip 

    Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the Black Lake Park parking lot on Wood Road about a mile south of Pontaluna Road.  We will walk the entire park slowly looking for resident and migratory birds. 

    It's a small park so this trip should end before noon.  The public is welcome.  Hope to see you there! 

April 18 Program

How and Why Birds Sing 

There is more to bird song than the tones and melodies we find pleasing to our ears and use to identify birds we cannot see. Just as we use spoken language to communicate with each other, birds use vocalizations and songs to communicate. There are two ways to explain bird song. First, we try to learn the physical mechanisms birds use to sing and how they acquire their songs. Laboratory studies showed that the ability of birds to sing and vocalize involves, to different degrees, genes, experience, and practice. Second, we need to try to understand why birds sing.  What do birds gain by singing? Some reasons seem clear; birds sing to defend their territories from rivals and to attract mates. However, what exactly are bird songs communicating to their rivals and potential mates? Are all vocalizing birds communicating “truthful” information? Do birds “lie”? Why? Asking these sorts of questions should give us a greater understanding of what is happening when we hear birds singing but they need not detract from the pleasure we get when we hear the dawn chorus. 

To learn more about the complexities of bird song, please attend our 18 April program presented by Michael Lombardo.

Michael P. Lombardo is an Emeritus Professor of Biology at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI.  At GVSU from 1991-2021.  He taught classes in Evolution, Human Evolution, Human Sexuality, Ornithology, and Vertebrate Natural History.  He earned a B.S. in Zoology from The Ohio State University (1976), M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Zoology (1978) and Ecology (1984) from Rutgers University, was a Junior Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows at the University of Michigan (1987-1990), served as Secretary of the Association of Field Ornithologists (2011-2016), and is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society. 

His main research interest is the evolution of social behavior and among his over 50 publications in peer-reviewed science journals are papers on bird behavior, the evolution of sexually transmitted diseases in birds, the evolution of reciprocity, and the role of microbes in influencing the evolution of sexual and social behavior of their hosts. Trained as an ornithologist, he more recently turned his attention to topics in human evolution and has published papers on the evolution of sports, human adaptations for fighting, and the evolution of throwing in humans. 

Our programs are in conjunction with the Owashtanog Islands Audubon Society.  Social Time: 6:00-6:30, Program: 6:30-8:00, at the Covenant Life Church, 101 Columbus Ave. in Grand Haven.

March Events

March 18 Field Trip

Our scheduled field trip to the Upper Macatawa Natural Area was canceled due to the bad weather.

March 21 Program

Fostering Backyard Habitats to Attract Birds

Curtis Dykstra

Learn to maximize your yard's maximum potential as bird habitat.  Go beyond just the use of bird feeders and look at how you can create an intentional habitat structure in your own yard that will attract birds for their benefit and your viewing pleasure.  The three main ingredients that work in concert with each other to achieve this goal will be discussed and you’ll learn what unique birds your yard could attract.  Additionally, speaker Curtis Dykstra will describe the motivation behind and implementation of Hemlock Crossing’s bird feeder observation area and what opportunities Ottawa County Parks has for you to learn and enjoy birds even more!

Curtis graduated in 1999 from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, with a degree in Environmental Studies.  Since then, his experience as an educator and naturalist includes being a teacher, State Park Ranger in eastern North Carolina, and Assistant Director of Outdoor Education at Camp Roger in Rockford.  Since 2013, Curtis has served as a Parks Naturalist for Ottawa County.  He is an avid birder and delights in sharing this passion with others.

(Our programs are in conjunction with the Owashtanog Islands Audubon Society.  Social Time: 6:00-6:30, Program: 6:30-8:00, at the Covenant Life Church, 101 Columbus Ave. in Grand Haven.)

March 25

Bluebird Box Cleaning at M.C.R.R.C.

Grand Rapids Audubon Club

Email from Steve Minard (Grand Rapids Audubon):

March 25, 2023, Saturday, 9:00 AM, Leaders: Steve Minard and Ruth Fridsma

Bluebird Box Cleaning At The Muskegon Wastewater (Resource Recovery Centerj

One way we can help our local nesting birds is by providing places for them to nest.  Jim Ponshair started several bluebird box trails at the Muskegon Wastewater.  This Has helped the Wastewater win environmental awards.  This does add up to a large number of boxes to clean every year and we need a good size group to do the job.  The annual bluebird box cleaning is a great way to learn your way around the Muskegon Wastewater.  It’s also a good way to learn about bluebird boxes, how to clean them, and see how the type of box and habitat affects who uses the box.  Since we’re at the Wastewater, we usually see some good birds while we work. You may even get to meet mice or Flying Squirrels up close and personal.  And you get to helpthe bluebirds, swallows, chickadees, wrens and other birds that use the boxes.  This year you can meet the group, or head directly to clean your group of boxes.  Send Steve an email at sdminard@gmail.com to get a group of boxes to clean.  If you want, we will meet at the Maple Island Road entrance to the Muskegon Wastewater System at 9:00 am.  From there, we will split up to clean out boxes in different areas.  Lunch is one your own this year.  Following lunch you can meet at 1:00 pm for some birding at the nearby Muskegon State Game Area Headquarters off Maple Island Rd to look for early migrants.  This can be an all day trip, or you can head out before or after lunch.  For all the carpenters and box builders out there, we always need more bluebird boxes.  Please bring any boxes you have available.

Essentials: Meet at the Maple Island Road entrance to the Muskegon Wastewater System at 9:00 am.  This is a bit north of White Road.  Come dressed for the weather.  Bring your spotting scope if you have one and bring some tools (screwdrivers, pliers, scrapper, hammer and nails)and gloves for cleaning out the bluebird houses.  Or head directly to your boxes.

Safety Hazards: Driving in a caravan can be hazardous.  Get directions from the leader for travel to the next stop.  Please exercise caution on the roads at all times, and watch the car ahead of you when driving in a caravan.  Please have a passenger handle all radio or phone communications while in a car.

February 18 Field Trip Report

    Except for the wind, it was a beautiful cold Saturday morning.  But the wind was strong and straight off the Big Lake, always trying to tip over the six of us as we looked for birds along the Grand Haven Channel and at the state park shoreline.

    Pigeon Creek channel was more protected but fairly birdless.  So the best bird-watching, not surprisingly, was through the window at the feeding stations of the nature center at Hemlock Crossing.

    I did add a Year Bird at each of the three locations: #35 Common Merganser at Grand Haven, #36 Bufflehead at Pigeon Creek, and #37 White-throated Sparrow (two surprisingly early individuals, one bright, one drab) at Hemlock Crossing.

    That location also provided Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White- and Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinch, Tufted Titmouse, Red-bellied Woodpecker and Northern Cardinal (basically all the common feeder species except House Finch and Hairy Woodpecker).

- Ric

February Events

 February 18 Field Trip

        The trip will begin at 8:00 a.m. in the Chinook Pier parking lot at the Grand River Channel (near the steam locomotive) in downtown Grand Haven.  

From there we will drive a mile west to the Lake Michigan shoreline at Grand Haven State Park to look for whatever waterbirds might be on the big lake.

Next we will drive several miles south to the boat launch parking lot north of Pigeon Creek (south of the Consumers Power Campbell Plant).  Weather permitting, we will look for birds from the boardwalk east of Lakeshore Ave.   

Finally we will drive east on Croswell St. and south on West Olive Road to the Hemlock Crossing Nature Center.  We'll watch birds at the feeder stations through the huge viewing window.  They'll have hot cider and hot chocolate at the desk for fifty cents. 

Dress warmly for the outdoor locations.  This trip will end around noon.  The public is welcome.

        In case any future field trips are canceled due to bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances, the cancelation will be posted here no later than 7:00 a.m. on the day of the scheduled trip.

February 21 Program

Long-time Muskegon County Nature Club member Brian Johnson will provide a photographic overview of local birds based on his birding and banding projects in Muskegon County.  Brian will present as many species as possible with quick commentary on status, abundance, habitat preference, phenology, and age and sex differentiation.  

Brian has banded Saw-whet Owls in northern Muskegon County for several years and will share his experiences with this elusive and beautiful bird. 

Our programs are in conjunction with the Owashtanog Islands Audubon Society.  Social Time: 6:00-6:30, Program: 6:30-8:00, at the Covenant Life Church, 101 Columbus Ave. in Grand Haven.

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.