Was doing a perimeter check in the Portage Marsh on July 30th - when I spied a jaeger standing offshore on a sandbar. I dutifully turned and walked back to my yard "proper" (about a 20 minute round trip) before hoofing it out to Portage Point to try to ID (I'd rather have a jaeger sp. for the yard than a species specific jaeger -- even given the decent probability of a state bird in LTJA).
By the time I got to the point the jaeger was gone and while scanning I heard something calling behind me which when I turned around was about 10 feet over my head; a subadult Long-tailed Jaeger. The bird made multiple dive bombs of Lilly (jaeger bait) and I calling consistently. I felt Native Alaskan with my dog Stickeen (a John Muir reference). It was surreal given the behavior, time of year, and the fact I was on the north shore of Lake Michigan and not the north slope of Alaska. The bird greeted us the next morning and provided a morning and afternoon of pure bliss as it tooled around Portage Point and Bay and harassed everything under the sun. At some point, while watching with Chris Vogel, he spotted another jaeger offshore -- similar in all respects to a LTJA but a touch too far to confirm ID. I was hoping for a breeding pair.
JOKA: our love/hate relationship (mostly love) suffers yet another setback in the form of a much-anticipated LIFE bird which has appeared in your damn yard. Not only is it a STATE tick for me, but a freaking life bird. Need I say more?
ReplyDeleteThe only saving grace I can think of is that it only counts as much as my House Sparrow did earlier this year. That is not really helping me. I guess I can pull the "scoreboard 2012 card" card, no?
Congrats, beoch.
Oh man, the experience is only soured by the fact it didn't stay long enough so I could revel in the pleasure of having you "Chase" to our "Place" and fulfill my ultimate yardbirding dream of a double entendre! Opportunities to showboat like this are precious few......
DeleteWow. I'm still amazed by this. I've read and re-read your mich-chat posts and your eBird details. Pretty fun to relive, huh?! Especially through the video you took. Can you post that here? This has to top any of the yard birds any of us have ever had.
ReplyDeleteRB -- I tried to post that video but it doesn't want to upload or email for that matter. I'll figure it out - the video is pretty cool. I wish it would have stuck around for a couple of weeks, or months.
DeleteHa ha! Lilliy is a "Chaser", too! Thanks for getting these vids up. I have other birding friends who wanted to see them. More traffic for this site.
DeleteThis is simply ridiculous, and I agree that even DASL's WWDO just doesn't match up to this as a yardbird. Unreal.
ReplyDelete