Great evening for a walk

Put on the Rubber boots and headed out behind the house tonite... sun was dropping lower in the sky... Something about the light at sunset I like... I found 4 Wilson Snipe and a Pied-billed Grebe in the pond... Water level is high from the winter of heavy snow.... I wasn't able to get near the Snipe to photograph and the Grebe spotted me and took off.... Did manage to shoot this American Robin singing its heart out and a Song Sparrow who took a keen interest in me as I sloshed thru the brush...click to enlarge

White Wagtail..... Sorry your lost, but I'm happy!!

I was out at Pointe Mouillee to see the White Wagtail that has been reported. After a 2.5 mile hike in high winds I got to cell #3 near the Lake Erie shoreline. There were already a few birders there and they had recently spotted the bird... of course it was gone by the time I got there... Patience is a virtue... after a few minutes it returned and we all were able to see it in our scopes... Not real friendly and we could only see it from a distance... a few people left except for me and Mark R  and the bird returned... I was able to get a few pictures of it although there was 50 percent cropping in order to show any detail on the bird... very cool bird and it was interesting to watch.... Probably sat there for us for about 45 minutes and took off... Also saw a Piping Plover on the mudflats.....click to enlarge

Bald Eagles - I guess they were not just visiting for the winter

I got up this morning at first light to head out to Stoney Creek Metropark to see if I could photograph the pair of Bald Eagles that has been seen in the park. I found them immediately and much to my surprise they are building a nest in the park in a tall pine. It was still a little dark for my lens but I managed some pics. I watched them gather sticks and branches and fly back and forth into the nest... I am not sure, but I think this is the first time they have nested in the park.... click on picture to enlarge.

a couple of new birds...

Stoney Creek Metropark, I had a Sandhill Crane fly over me... also had my first Eastern Meadowlark of the year. At home I looked out back and out of the fields popped a Northern Flicker... Saw a couple of Foresters Terns at Metrobeach.

Lunch break and fog..... Where did that come from?

The sun broke out today around 11am... on my lunch break I stopped by Metrobeach Nature Center in Harrison Twp... I noticed that a couple of the flooded areas were giving off a cool looking mist... then all of a sudden the whole park was under a thick blanket of cool misty fog... Not the best weather for birding or camera work but I managed a couple of pics.... only highlight was a couple of Fox Sparrows that did not stick around long enough for me to photograph them, and also the first butterfly of the year.... no not a Mourning Cloak, but a Red Admiral.... Also found a Garter Snake Orgy going on... very weird indeed....click on photos to enlarge

Ugly day

Yesterday was gray and raining. Almost an inch of rain fell in the metro Detroit area. I did manage a quick zoom around the lake at Stoney Creek Metropark... Large flock of coots on the south side of the lake... One wet tree swallow sitting on the south bridge.... Looked for Horned Grebes... None... Many other ducks on the lake... raining too hard to scope them...

Stoney Creek Metropark

    Took a drive today out to Stoney Creek Metropark in Oakland/Macomb County. 50 percent of the lake was still covered in ice. Highlights included a pair of Bald Eagles at Winter Grove picnic area. The raft of ducks held a number of different species. These included 6 American Wigeon, 6 Common Merganser, a dozen Ring-necked Ducks, a couple dozen Redhead, many Bufflehead, Scaup, dozen Goldeneye, 2 Canvasbacks and a couple dozen Hooded Mergansers. I also saw Tree Swallows for the first time this year. Large flocks of Juncos on south side of lake. Near the Nature Center Turkeys were displaying. The big Toms were strutting there stuff. Got my camera lens back today from the repair facility so I will be out photographing them this week... all in all a good day for less than an hour spent at the park.