Pacific Loon, Wm. Sterling State Park, Monroe County, Michigan

Probably the most pleasant and easiest rarity chase I've ever done. Several local birders enjoyed a companionable morning watching a Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica) make feeding circuits around the northern end of a lagoon that also held a Common Loon (Gavia immer), uncountable numbers of Common Mergansers and Bonaparte's Gulls.

Our mild, end-of-November weather encouraged lingering for a chance of photographs.  These are my best with my point and shoot.  Very cooperative and fun bird to spend time with.

The Pacific and the Common occasionally swam near each other.  This distant view of both shows side-by-side differences in bill and head structure.  Good to remember. 

For really great photos of both birds, plus a nice sunny shot of Common Mergs check out Jerry Jourdan's blog in my links at right.

The Great Salt Lake

I attended an Oncology Nursing Society conference in Salt Lake City, Utah during the first week of November.  I had never been to Salt Lake City or to Utah before.  So I took three days vacation at the start of the conference to look around.

I arrived at the SLC airport about 2:00 pm on Monday afternoon and picked up my econo car from Alamo.  From there I found Antelope Island State Park on the GPS I rented and made my way north on the I-15.

Shortly before my visit, the island's buffalo (Bison bison), our largest land animal, had been rounded up for their annual health inspection and to give the young ones vaccinations, etc.  However, a few of the "old bachelors" remained free.  Just beyond where these three are grazing is the entry road to Antelope Island.

The Great Salt Lake waters that lap the shores of Antelope Island State Park are the place to see Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis).  This flotilla contains a few scaup (Aythya sp.) and Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) otherwise these are all Eared Grebes.  There were several large flocks like this.  

The shores are also a good spot for flocks of American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana).  A flock of flying avocets is really a spectacular thing, with black and white wings flashing, but I couldn't capture their flash in a photo.

Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus) were also common hunting over the island grasses.  

I've seen Chukar (Alectoris chukar) in England and in Bulgaria, but these are my first seen in North America.  In addition to these perched birds, as I was leaving the island I flushed a large group that were feeding along the edge of the road.

These Pronghorn Antelope (Antilocapra americana), fastest mammal in North America, were neatly hidden in the long grass to graze.    

This White-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii) was hiding in tall grass and scrubby bushes.

On my 2009 car trip to Idaho I saw only three Black-billed Magpies (Pica hudsonia).  There were several on the island and I later saw them in a Salt Lake City neighborhood.  During 2010 and 2011 trips to England and Bulgaria I saw how common Magpie (Pica pica) is in Europe.  Common or uncommon, magpies are big, spectacular birds.    

For whatever reason, this coyote (Canis latrans) was my favorite sighting on Antelope Island.  There were two and the one in the photo above paused long enough to allow a couple of photos - such a beautiful and serene face.   

Ravens (Corvus corax) were common on Antelope Island.  Passerine species I saw on the island included Western Meadowlarks, White-crowned Sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds.

The Northern Harrier was hunting along the shoreline and I saw it switch directions and fly out over the lake carrying food.  It appeared to head for the mountain on the opposite shore.

Antelope Island State Park was worth the visit.  The panoramic mountain views beyond the island at sunset were beautiful.  On a late Monday afternoon, there were few other visitors except some cyclists and I felt like I had the place to myself.

Chipmunk control on Belle Isle

Yesterday, a relatively unbirdy Sunday morning, I got lucky [again] with a Cooper's Hawk flying in to perch, completely unobstructed, on a fallen log.  

The bird flew in so suddenly that I did not notice it was holding something in its talons.  

The unfortunate meal appeared to be more furry than feathery.  Then I saw the tail listless againt the brown of the tree bark - the shape and size of a chipmunk's tail.  There is no shortage of chipmunks at Belle Isle! 

While the bird was perched I didn't notice the meal.  When the Coop took off, the chipmunk was dangling from its talons.  In the photo above the bird is bending over for a nibble just before flying off.

Last year, about this same time, I came across a Cooper's Hawk perched in low shrubbery.  That bird was obstructed by leaves and shadows in my photos.  Cooper's Hawk is common on Belle Isle and it is uncommon not to see and hear one or two on any given visit.

New shorebird habitat in Dearborn

I don't know if it's just temporary or if it will become permanent.  For the past several years there has been a large water management and river restoration project at several sites along the Rouge River in Dearborn.  The areas affected have been torn up for years.  For this particular project along Military Road between Cherry Hill and Michigan Avenue, a woods was torn down to proceed with the project.

Two weeks ago I happened upon this location to find two Killdeer and eight Mallards feeding in the shallow, grassy water.  Despite only the Killdeer being present at that time, the habitat still looked very promising for other shorebirds.  I stopped by again on Sunday evening. Two Solitary Sandpipers were present and feeding actively.  

Whatever restoration of this location into shallow, muddy, grassy habitat was intentional or accidental is unclear.  All of our recent rain may have created the shallow pools that are present now, but it appears to be a spot that will collect river overflow during flood times.  A few large fallen trees remain in the water which would be a surprise if it was not intentional.  I think of Dearborn residents as typically preferring non-native, and even invasive, botanical species for landscaping that has been manicured to within an inch of its life.  This spot is in one of Dearborn's high-end neighborhoods - so it will be really special if this is left as is.  Over time it will probably grow over, but for now, we have some really nice shorebird habitat.

The above video is about four minutes long.  Prior to shooting this video, I saw the bird swim across a pool of water and I was hoping to capture that again.  No such luck.  

The spot is halfway between my mother's home and my home.  So I hope to make several more visits this fall.

Update:  The hoped-for shorebird habitat is gone.  Shortly after this post was written with the the Solitary Sandpiper - which I think is a great bird for Dearborn - the wet field was essentially dry and was planted with trees.  Oh well, it was hopeful while it lasted.

August shorebird video from Point Mouillee

Better late than never ...  

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