Last birding day of 2011.... Stoney Creek

Took my daily trip around the lake today by car... the lake that was frozen over a couple of days ago was mostly open water today... Most of the Waterfowl were in a part of the lake near Baypointe Beach that I did not have access too unless I hiked so I did not see much... there was a Large flock of Common Mergansers that were near the Bridge closest to the Nature center road....  tomorrow is the start of 2012... looking forward to starting my county list....

Port Huron - quick look

I was working in Port Huron today and took a quick run to the river... Not much underneath the bridge, so I ventured over to lakeside Park... A large group of gulls north of the park... Ring-billed, Herring and 8 Great Black-backed Gulls.... Long-tailed Ducks could be seen out in the lake... No Scoters... I didn't spend a ton of time there and the gulls were out of range of my lens....

Snowy day at Stoney Creek Metropark

Most of the lake at Stoney Creek is frozen over as of this afternoon... there are a couple of open areas in the middle of the lake and all the gulls and waterfowl were enjoying this small area together.... It is too far for binoculars so I got out the scope... There were a couple dozen Common Mergansers, 6 Common Goldeneye, 4 Buffleheads, 2 Hooded Mergansers, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, 6 Gadwall and a large group of Canada Geese.. I could not find any Bald Eagles today.... I also drove the farm land north of 26 mile road east of M53 and could not locate any Snow Buntings...

Birding Macomb County 2012...

I have never been much of a "lister" when it came to birding... I love birding and I enjoy seeing a wide assortment of species, but I am not one to chase them all over the state or country to achieve the next checkmark on my Life List.... However, I have tremendous respect for those who do... there are some great birders that I run into in the field that have amazing lists...

I have decided that for 2012 I am going to work on a Macomb County List for the first time and blog on what birds I see and where I see them.... Now that my children are older, I find that I now have more time to be in the field and I really am enjoying it.... So.... as Midnight hits on Jan 1, 2012.... I began my year long journey into becoming a lister for the first time..... it should be fun.....

Christmas Bird Count

I couldnt make it to the tally of the Macomb Audobon Christmas Bird Count, but I spent the day birding... I went Owling with Barb Baldinger and we managed only one Great Horned Owl... In the am, I birded the 230 acres behind my house... Highlights included a Belted Kingfisher and a Northern Flicker... There were a good amount of Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and Am Goldfinches around... Only hawks were to Am Kestrels. The afternoon was spent driving around with Barb and Nancy in an area encompassing Macomb Twp... Birding was slow... We came upon one good pocket of Juncos, Tree Sparrows, Cowbirds, House Finches... in an Industrial complex... go figure.. 10 Red-tailed Hawks...  All in all a fun day, just not a ton of birds...

Tons of cowbirds.... Not big news... But interesting..

Driving to East China today. As I was heading down 26mi RD, I saw a flock of Cowbirds numbering approx 500 birds.. I have never seen so many in the winter.....

Christmas Bird Count - Macomb Audubon next weekend

I look forward to helping the Macomb chapter of the Audubon Society with their Christmas Bird count next weekend.. I did the count last year and had a really good time... My area will be a little different this time as I cover the area south of my home in Macomb township.... I will be out scouting this week, seeing what is around... I still have not seen any Snow Buntings in the farm fields surrounding my area... Last year there were a ton of buntings around... I even had them in my yard.... I usually set a remote camera up to scan my bird feeders for birds.... then I count them when it gets dark.... hopefully the weather cooperates....

A day late - Stoney Creek update

At Stoney Creek Metropark yesterday there was a large amount of Hooded Mergansers near Baypointe beach... The Bald eagle could be seen sitting in a tree near the canoe rental.. a dozen Common Mergansers were on the water and of course the million coots are still present... Absent were the Ruddy Ducks that have been hanging out.... The Tundra and Trumpeter Swans were still present near Eastwood beach....    No time for pulling the ole camera out..... too bad, because the Hooded Mergansers were right by the shore.....

Tundra Swans - Stoney Creek Metropark

Took a drive around the lake today and found a dozen Tundra Swans at Eastwood Beach in the little bay there... They were fairly close to shore... I got a couple of photos... In addition there was a large flock of Canada Geese on the lawn in various sizes (for those who want to pick out a Cackling Goose)... Ring-billed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls near the beach.... 6 Common Goldeneye were out in the middle of the lake.. The Imm Bald Eagle that I photographed earlier in November was sitting on a nice perch near the south bridge.... I had one Belted Kingfisher at Winter Cove... click to enlarge

Correction: another birder pointed out to me in an email that the swans flying with the Mutes were actually Trumpeter Swans... I didn't pay close enough to the bills... I have included a side x side shot of two of the different species to point out what was pointed out to me... Thanks Cody!!

Tundra and Trumpeter swan

Imm Tundra with Adult