KIRTLAND'S WARBLER - ONE OF MICHIGAN'S RAREST BIRDS

I often visited Mio, Michigan in the spring to view the rare Kirtland's Warbler.  This small but handsome bird was on the brink of extinction back in the 1970's and 1980's and I, along with many people from all over the world came to view it in case this little bird did go the way of the Passenger Pigeon.  Requiring very specialized habitat of not too young and not too old Jack Pine Trees, it had run out of suitable habitat and was in a fast decline.  A massive effort was made by wildlife specialist and with a little luck the bird has bounced back from 167 singing males at it lowest point to over 2000 singing males today (Only singing males can be counted but it is estimated that one female exists for every singing male).  Once found only in a small number of Michigan counties it has established small colonies in a couple neighboring states and Canada.  It has pulled back from the precipice and hopefully can remain there.

In previous years I had heard the warbler singing in suitable Jack Pine habitat in the Upper Peninsula and I decided to spend some time hoping to get some better images than the ones I presently had. Things could not have gone better.  I drove some dirt roads into suitable territory, got out of the truck to begin hiking and immediately heard one singing.  Within minutes I located the male bird singing constantly while moving around a small area.  The light was not perfect but I was very happy with the quick results.  Did I mention the bugs in the U.P. in June.

The old name, "Jack Pine Warbler" is easy to understand from this image.

Angry Kirtland's Warbler

Studies indicate unmated males sing more than mated birds.  Hopefully this male has a mate.

NORTH DAKOTA BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY DURING THE NESTING SEASON

I had hoped to return to North Dakota during June for the past several years but was always sidetracked.  This year I set aside two weeks, packed up the camper and took the long way through the Upper Peninsula.  I planned on spending a couple days around Trout Lake but nothing was cooperating except the mosquitoes.  After 24 hours of shooting through a head net and dousing myself with repellent all I had was a couple of shots of a Black-throated Green Warbler.  I had had enough.  The rolling windswept grasslands and potholes of North Dakota's Kidder County beckoned me and within a day and a half I was setting up near Horsehead lake, one of my favorite photography sites.  Black Terns and Forster's Terns were flying a circuit along the shoreline while Western Grebes and even the similar looking Clark's Grebes were courting in large numbers near the road.  All seemed to want to perform for the camera rather than fly away.  Yellow-headed Blackbirds made a hideous racket while the shy Marsh Wrens stayed out of sight but made their presence known with constant singing.  An American Bittern walked out of the marsh into the road and watched me for a while before disappearing back into the cattails.  American White Pelicans seemed out of place on the prairie but they constantly flew over the lake in good numbers.  Wilson's Phalaropes and Marbled Godwits were constantly making an appearance.  It was hard deciding where to point the camera.

Black Terns are not gaudy but always a favorite anyway

Forster's Terns have a completely white belly unlike the Common Tern

Courting Western Grebes.  A more impressive side-by-side run across the water follows.

Common nap time position

Typical grebe foot

A much less abundant look-alike to the Western Grebe is the Clark's Grebe.  Note that the black hood does not cover the eye as in the Western Grebe.  The bill is also smaller and lighter in color.

Male Yellow-headed Blackbird

Female Yellow-headed Blackbird

Marsh Wrens make a lot of noise but often stay hidden.  Always look for the exhibitionist

Definitely an exhibitionist

A female Wilson's Phalarope.  The female is the most colorful of  the pair and the role-reversal extends to who takes care of the young.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

After leaving Kidder County I headed west again and arrived at the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora.  These "Northern Badlands" are known for their rugged beauty while birders know that they often contain the easternmost regiments of western species while still containing many of the eastern species.  

Wild horses are a crowd favorite.

Typical sight driving through the park

Western Meadowlark

The Little Missouri River meanders through both units of the park

An open air park structure overlooking the Little Missouri River

Red-headed Woodpeckers were breeding at Juniper Campground in the North Unit.

Medicine Lake National NWR, Lostwood NWR, and J Clark Salyer NWR.

I had visited these three locations in the past but if you are close they are worthwhile visiting.  Medicine Lake is just inside Montana while the remaining two are near the Canadian border in North Dakota.  Lodging is always an issue here since the driving distances are long and usually there are no motels or campgrounds anywhere near the refuges themselves.  I have found over the years that many of these tiny towns have a city park that will allow self-contained camping overnight free or for a modest charge.  When you have to be on location before sunrise the hospitality of these small towns are a god-send.  In one town the fairgrounds offered good accommodations with shower and electricity for $10. You often find yourself completely alone but sometimes that is a good thing. 

The Following images were taken at Medicine Lake NWR June 7, 2016.

Marbled Godwit

Least Flycatcher - a plain Jane bird with a monotonous voice.

Western Kingbird

American Avocet

Marbled Godwits seem to resent your presence even when their nests are a long ways away.  They relish flying at you with their best imitation of an attacking fighter plane.  After a period of time they fly away but if you begin hiking they come out of nowhere to continue harassing you

Proof that this area is one of the top duck producing areas on earth.  A mother Northern Shoveler.

An American Avocet which seemed to be in some foraging behavior rather than a killdeer-like "distract the predator behavior"

Lostwood is known for rare sparrows but also has enough water to attract large numbers of ducks. These images were taken June 8, 2016

The reason you get up in the dark.

Clay-colored Sparrow, a handsome fellow but very common

Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow is much less common

Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow on territory

J. Clark Salyer NWR covers a large area of mixed-grass prairie with plenty of water to attract a wide variety of wildlife.  These images were taken June 9, 2016.  There are many opportunities here but few that I hadn't had earlier in the trip.  I decided to head back to Michigan with a quick stop to capture images of Kirtland's Warblers that I knew to nest in the U.P.

White-faced Ibis

Franklin's Gull often fly over fields while "flycatching"

Franklin's Gull-very common here but still a handsome bird with black hood, red bill, and white eyering.

Grouse Hunting in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Birders in Michigan can observe three species of grouse.  The Ruffed Grouse is the most common and widespread while the Spruce Grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse are rarer and confined mostly to the Upper Peninsula.  This spring I decided to try and photograph the two more difficult species.  Of the two, Sharptails would be the most predictable to find since in the spring, every morning at dawn the birds will come to a lek to dance and mate.  These leks or "dancing grounds" are open areas that the birds use yearly in the spring to allow the males to perform for the females with considerable foot-stomping, tail rattling, and twirling.  It is said that the Plains Indians mimicked the dancing of grouse in their own ceremonial dances.  Seney National Wildlife Refuge has allowed birders and photographers to observe this phenomenon at a blind built at one of the leks found in the refuge. Unfortunately for photographers the blind faces generally east, which in the morning, with the sun in your eyes causes some difficulties.  

A late April morning found me sitting in Seney's blind with Mark, a non-birder friend, but avid hunter.  Mark was amazed at the dance performance he was observing and the predictability of these birds-same place, same time, same performance year after year.  It is one of the great spectacles of nature.

The next morning we went looking for Spruce Grouse in the Whitefish Point area.  These birds are not so predictable.  There is no lek to act as a magnet and the most efficient method of locating one is to slowly drive the back roads in the early morning, hoping to see one.  There is no guarantee. Fortunately Mark spotted one just at sunrise.  It was a male which we soon discovered had attracted several hens.  Since these boreal birds are somewhat tame to start with and were totally interested in each other it was easy to slowly follow their activities for the next hour grabbing shots whenever the opportunity arose.

Female Spruce Grouse

Male Spruce Grouse on forest floor

This male spent about 70% on the ground but was just a comfortable higher keeping an eye on where the females were.

SAVEGRE HOTEL, NATURAL RESERVE &SPA

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Savegre Hotel, Natural Reserve & Spa

Edie and I arrived at our fourth and final lodge, Savegre, Thursday afternoon after a 6 hour drive from Rancho Margot.  As we climbed out of the rain and fog the cool clear mountain air felt wonderful after four days of rain and damp clothes.  We laid out damp clothing in front of the space heater and began to explore.

Savegre is a little over 50 miles south of San Jose in a private reserve of almost 1000 acres and only a few miles from Los Quetzales National Park.   They offer 41 rooms, bar and restaurant, conference room, laundry and shuttle service, and beautiful grounds.  Edie and I stayed in a junior suite which was very comfortable.

There were two hummingbird feeders near the restaurant which attracted several species but offered no way to set up for multi-flash.

Green Violetear

Green-crowned Brilliant

White-throated Mountain-gem

Green Violetear

Purple-throated Mountain-gem

Even hummingbirds need a little rest sometimes.

A walk around the grounds gave me several other species.

Flame-colored Tanager

This male Yellow-bellied Siskin appeared to be eating leaves.

Collared Redstarts have a cuteness factor.

Rufous-collared Sparrows are very common around the lodge.

Saturday morning we hired a guide to try and find the most sought after species in these parts of Costa Rica - the Resplendent Quetzel.  This bird has been called the most beautiful bird in the world and is on every birder's list.  The male sports 3 foot long tail feathers during the mating season and was revered by the Maya and Aztec peoples.  The tail feathers were only allowed to be worn by priests and royalty during ceremonies.  Today it is protected and is the national bird of Guatemala. Our search began at 5:30 with our guide and John and Sharon from England.  I was quite encouraged by the small group as we stopped along a mountain road in the semi-darkness and began our "Quetzal Quest".  Within 15 minutes we were inundated with other searchers and it became a little less fun.

Birders in front of us...

while more birders flew in from behind.

There is a Quetzel up there somewhere.

Did we see any ?  Yes, actually two females and a male.  Did we get good close looks?  No.  Did I get any good photographs?  Not even close.

Our guide was happy we had seen the Quetzals and suggested we drive back to the lodge for breakfast.  He would then drive us farther into the cloud forest for more birds.

Our new British friends, John and Sharon, follow our guide through the cloud forest above the lodge.

The cloud forest was very quiet and we got very poor looks at the birds that did make an appearance. My best and closest shot was a parent Yellow-winged Vireo feeding a youngster.

The Yellow-winged Vireo can only be found in Costa Rica and western Panama.

Edie makes a new friend of our bird guide.