Not too much birding wise. On Labor day Lise and I hit McNamara’s Landing on the Grand River hoping to catch some early migrants. Saw several warbler species like Nashville and chestnut-sided but no new species. After McNamara’s Landing we popped over to a property just acquired by Mid-Michigan Land Conservancy, of which I’m a board member, to get some newsletter pictures. The property has a half-built house on it. Last fall there was a screech owl roosting on the front porch but no luck for Ed and Lise on their Michigan big year quest. The real kicker was Lise having a major pollen allergy attack while we were there. I did get to see a black saddlebags dragonfly while there.
Lise in a field of goldenrod suffering from an allergy attack.
Black saddlebags. Taken handheld, off balance, and without a macro lens.
This property is pretty nice. It’s 130 acres with a mix of old field, restored prairie, some open water, emergent wetland, and forest in different stages. The forested area contains some vernal pools. The person that owned it planned it as their own little retreat. She was building a rather spacious house in the most inaccessible spot on the property. She ran into some unexpected family issues and had to move away to be a parental caretaker so she donated the property to Mid-Michigan Land Conservancy. A major gift and she wants to remain anonymous.
When we got back from our little outing there was a report of a rufous hummingbird about a half hour away. We hightailed it up there only to find out that the hummer hadn’t been seen since it was captured and banded earlier in the morning.
While we were standing there, waiting and hoping beyond hope, another birder showed up. He was coming down from the U.P. and heard about the hummer from a listserve. Turns out he is doing a Michigan Big Year, while working, and his count is at 314 species. That’s a real Michigan Big Year. Only 77 more species than me this year, within the same geographic boundary. Not too shabby.
I believe the Michigan Big Year record is 329 species so he has to pick up 15 to tie and 16 to beat the 2005 record. Like us, he is down to chasing migrants and rarities, but unlike us, he has nailed all the breeding species. I need another 13 species just to get to my low 250 species bar. I’m starting to get feelings of birding inadequacy. Time to blame Molly’s sports and school schedule for everything. Or blame the Republicans and Fox News. Nah, Jon Stewart’s back on the job. He can do a good enough job skewering them without my help.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 