Been awhile since I’ve had time to write. Last week I was in the Upper Peninsula, installing bat monitors on the Hiawatha National Forest. With the help of Forest Service technicians we installed ten of them. We were all over the forest and I put over a thousand miles on the van. Plus had to fight some major mosquitoes. Satan’s spawn were out in full force. I’m still a couple pints low on blood.
Prior to now we have been putting the detector microphones close to the ground. At the workshop I attended in May they stressed the need to get the microphones up in the air. So I came up with a rig built out of PVC that can get the mics 15’ up in the air. They ain’t pretty but they work and they only cost about $30 each. Way better than the several hundred dollars the specially designed poles cost.
PVC bat monitor.
While I was up there Joanna let me stay at the Sand River cabin. Always a pleasure, even if I was there for work and didn’t get the time on the river I wanted. Sand River is a low gradient, slow moving river. It’s dark too, probably a function of tannins from the pines. When the wind isn’t stirring it, the surface gets perfectly smooth and the dark waters reflect like a mirror. Just lovely, especially when the low angle sun puts a warm glow on everything. Drifting on the river in a late sun is right up there with a good Irish whiskey. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
It’s tough to take pictures on the river. You’re moving in a boat, and you make ripples that disturb the surface. But here’s a few quick tries.
Sand River reflections.
Didn’t get in any birding but I did chase some dragonflies. Both on the river and at a nearby bog.
Twelve-spotted skimmer.
Amber-wing spreadwing.
Familiar bluets getting frisky.
Four-spotted skimmer.
Unknown spreadwing.
Frosted whitefaces getting frisky.
Grass-pink, an orchid in the bog.
The UP trip was fun but, the rest of the world doesn’t stand still. So I’ve been occupied catching up on work or household things. Last weekend a magnificent frigatebird showed up on Lake Michigan, down close to the Indiana border. Two and a half hour drive from here. This is a Gulf Coast bird that decided it needed a northern vacation. Not a bird anyone expects to ever see in Michigan. Birders were flocking to see this thing but I just couldn’t get away. Today Lise had a business trip down there so I went with to help her out. While we were down there we tried for the frigatebird but no luck. We did get two new species for the year, sora and bank swallows. That brings me to 274 for the year and Lise to 236.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 