The Arrival.

As aniticipated due to the weather and last night's radar the early migrants have arrived and decended upon my yard today. I managed 6 yard year birds (but no life yard birds) and 32 species today. Oh, and one mammal too.
Here's the 6 new for the year:
Northern Flicker (32)
Eastern Towhee (33)
Fox Sparrow (34)
Hermit Thrush (35)
Eastern Phoebe (38)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (37)

I'm having fun now...

Man, I love it when I come home from work and the sun is still high in the sky! What a beautiful day! Does it sound like I'm excited? Well, yes sir, and here's why...

I drove into Douglas across the Kalamazoo River noting that there were some decent duck numbers on Kalamazoo Lake to the west and Wades Bayou to the east. Encouraged that some might be visible from the roof, I scoped from there and at 7:15pm a swarm of Aythya rose above the tree-line. Leading were two Greater Scaup. However, the majority of the mass was indistinguishable to anything but scaup sp. A few moments later three small, buoyant gulls flew through my field of view. The white wedges in their outer primaries confirmed what I suspected to be Bonaparte's Gull. (For the skeptics - no significant dark underside of primaries.) A few more minutes of patient waiting and another smaller group of scaup sp. cleared the trees followed by three Lesser Scaup. A Tree Swallow zipping overhead finished off the roof-sit.

All told today were 5 yardbirds for the year: EATO, GRSC, BOGU, LESC & TRES. This brings my year list to 65. The scaup and bonies were all-time yardbirds putting that total at 165. Whats next?!

FINALLY

R to the U the B to the L

Four year yardbirds and some photos

I spent an hour and a quarter out this morning right after sunrise hoping for some passerines dropping. I definitely saw more during this hour than I have been toward dusk recently. The best bird was probably a Belted Kingfisher that dropped in on the pond, stayed for less than a minute, and was gone...
The next year bird came in the form of a pair of silent Eastern Bluebirds cruising over in the midst of a fairly sizable number of robins and blackbirds that were moving over all morning. Caleb also witnessed a bluebird going over this morning that was too high to be local so they are still moving through... The other two birds aren't nearly as good; finally nailed down a lone Rock Pig going over (it took me four months in suburbia to finally get this!?) and a Brown Creeper was also fairly expected given the date and the large willows and cottonwoods around. The BEKI was yardbird 80, consider yourself warned Slager!
Also saw two Rusty Blackbirds (one in full song that allowed very close approach) and the DCCO's overnight became an expected species (2 today, more tomorrow I'm sure). Also, I'm glad my wife's point and shoot isn't a cheap quality camera. It's definitely harder to digiscope with than my coolpix 4500, but it's totally doable.

Raptors PWNED

As seems to be the usual pattern, when you guys call me, I get birds. Yesterday this resulted in 2 life yardbirds and 1 additional yearbird. And so far today, another year bird. Sean called and I went out and had a Harrier (50) bolt through the same gap ("right finger", as I am starting to call it) as the Rough-leg from yesterday. Now, I am reduced to needing MERL, PEFA, GOEA, (and of course Osprey and Broad-wing which will both be straightforward next month) and NOGO, etc. These species are quite unlikely, but who knows. Maybe someone else can call me to try to help?

Redheads

The thermals that Putnam experienced today did not develop here today. Cold northwest winds off Lake Michigan kept the raptors earthbound except for a few low sailing TUVU. Still, I managed several stints on the roof which paid off later this afternoon. While scoping over the Kalamazoo Lake basin at about 4:30 five aythya flew into view. On closer examination they were made out to be three male and two female REDH. #60 this year, but #162 all-time.

Some northward passage at last...no year garden birds, mind

Hi all,
After having been in touch with Putnam via Facebook, about noctural migration and the like, imagine my delight when I heard some Eurasian Oystercatchers passing over my house tonight...and my dismay when I see that I had already noted the species at some stage this year. Still, it's always nice to have clear passage overhead, it's a rare thing in my neck of the woods: have to hope that something like a Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit or the like is caught up in the movement and that it utters a recognisable call...

Raptors at The Wastelands

Luckily, my situation is nothing like Putnut's and I don't have a narrow window of horizon to deal with...ummm...

Anyway, just stepped out on this beautiful afternoon after finally getting off the phone for the 3rd conference call today. The winds are steady from the north but that isn't stopping a fairly decent raptor movement. Best birds were two GORGEOUS adult Bald Eagles (#31; #43 yard lifer) covorting with one another in a thermal way to the north of the 'slab'. After trying to convince my neighbor that I was actually looking at Bald Eagles, they disappeared before I could give him a look through the bins. Luckily, my wife got on them so her yard list now stands at like 5 or something like that. Other raptors that zipped by in about 10 minutes:
4 RTHAs, 3 TUVUs, 1 COHA.

A consolation year bird was TRES (#32).

Finally, a high quality yardbird

Well, Kaptain Katty called a bit ago, which gave me the impetus I needed to step outside with my scope. And this happily just led me to spot a distant Buteo over the Sparta airport on the western horizon, soaring with a slight dihedral (ie. not RTHA). A scope view quickly confirmed my long-awaited first RLHA (a light morph) (47/120). Now how about Kestrel?

Sparrows and Such.

So I only had a couple hours to spend in the rainy drizzle/brief almost sun today and I came up with a decent bird count considering. So many Fox Sparrows! very nice I'd have to say there was at least 10 maybe more, one of the more common birds out back today. Also had good looks at FISP (one even showed at the feeder) and my first of the year yard CHSP also digiscoped at the feeder today after my walk. Still missed a few target sp. but it was fun to see a pair of EAPH down by the creek bobbin' their tails and catching bugs. Again with the few hundred AMRO and Wood Duck pair. Also had a pair o' MALL down on the creek. 44 Species in 2 hours aint bad.

Coot photo and two Great Northern Divers!

So I lugged the scope out to digiscope the lone coot that is on day three of its stay in the small pond bordering the golf course. After spending about ten minutes on that (best I managed below...) I scanned the rest of the pond and noted a Tree Swallow high overhead circling the pond. Behind that I caught an extremely distant large bird in sustained flight steadily winging its way north. I got the scope on the bird and my suspicion proved correct and not just one Common Loon, but two of them were bee-lining north across the horizon! Not only does this put me two behind Caleb for the year (#43) but it also puts me only two behind Slager all-time (#79). I'm enjoying the parity while it lasts. Come spring C. P. will be trouncing me with passerines...

Havin' a IMBY morning

Conditions were perfect this morning with clouds coving the sun and compatible air and water temperatures (no shimmer).

New yardies too in the form of American Wigeon and ..... Long-tailed Duck, whoa whoa. Flocks of LTDU were moving back and forth offshore in Little Bay de Noc with 125 birds total including a flock of 70 birds.

~ 1 hour:

Red-breasted Merg 5; Common Merg 7; Goldeneye 37; Long-tailed Duck 125; Tundra Swan 4; Canada Goose, 6; Scaup (Greater) sp. 4; Buff 5; American Wigeon 4; Mall 75; Am Black D 6; Northern Pintail 2.

time for coffee