Birds on the Wing

Quarantine Chronicles Part 1: Michigan Birding

Because of the coronavirus pandemic my ability to go birding has been hindered so I have decided to write about some of my favorite birding adventures in a series called the Quarantine Chronicles. For the first post I am showing some of my favorite pictures and birds from two separate trips to Holland Michigan to see my grandparents. Although neither of these trips were primarily focused on birds they ended up being awesome Michigan birding adventures.

September 25-28, 2018

Lake Michigan — A cool lighthouse on the shores of lake Michigan, aptly named “Big Red Lighthouse”.

Warbler — Unidentified warbler in poor light.

Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. A lifer!

Swainson's/Gray-cheeked Thrush — A Swainson’s or Gray-cheeked Thrush (leaning towards Swainson’s but poor lighting made it difficult to identify).

March 21-24, 2019

Our second trip to Michigan was quite different than the first. I seem to remember the temperature barely passed freezing our whole trip! Regardless of the weather I still added several species to my life list.

A female Harlequin Duck (bottom right) a lifer for me and a rarity in Michigan. Female Harlequin Ducks are chocolate colored overall with two white spots on their face. They usually winter along ocean shores (as you can see they should be nowhere near Michigan). They rarely wander to the shores of Lake Michigan. The three other birds are male Red-breasted Mergansers and a Herring Gull at the top.

A pair of Mute Swans, another lifer for the trip.

Two trips in different seasons gave us a great taste of Michigan birding!

Birds Close to Home

Most of my posts so far have been about remote locations and chasing rarities in the wild places of Colorado. Not all good birding happens in far-flung locations. Many of us have great birds close to home, we just have to slow down enough to see them. With the current situation in our world today, staying at home has become an all too real reality. This is a post about a few hours of birding on March 15 when Mom and I explored a local trail leading to a small neighborhood pond that has been made into a nature preserve.

A male Mallard. I often take these common ducks for granted but enjoyed watching this bird feeding very close to us.

Townsend's Solitare — Townsend’s Solitare.

*This European Starling confused me by imitating a Killdeer. After several minutes I realized Killdeer do not perch in trees and that the only bird in the tree was a Starling.* *Starlings are well known mimics, imitating up to 20 different bird calls.*

Can you spot The Belted Kingfisher hunting in this short video?

Watch this Heron go 4 for 4 catching minnows!

Cooper's Hawk — After careful consideration I have decided that this bird is a Cooper’s Hawk. The very similar but slightly smaller Sharp-shinned Hawk is the only other option. The light colored nape of its neck is indicative of a Cooper’s Hawk.

Spring is in the air! Watch the male Ring-necked Ducks (the ones with black heads and white bodies) chase the females (brownish overall). Keep an eye out for the males displaying for the females by tipping their heads back in the air.

As you can see it is not difficult to find cool birds close to home. I encourage you to take a moment and appreciate the birds that we often take for granted.