Birding at Whitefish Point...and Other Stuff

I have always been old.  I've often joked that I'm an 80 year old stuck in a 29 year old body.  My back hurts, I'm often cranky, and I'm constantly running to the bathroom to make my bladder flatter.

My friends have always made light of the fact that I'm apparently older than I look.  The unfortunate moniker of "Old Balls" followed me around during my high school years.  My mom, thinking that I actually liked this nickname, bought me a change container with an old dude on the top.  The container was stamped with the words "Old Balls."  Perhaps the worst Christmas present I have ever received.  I love you mom, but you really dropped the ball on that one.

Dunlin

My oldness, however, was very apparent on our trip up to Whitefish Point this weekend.  After driving 5 hours to Mackinac City Thursday night, my back was killing me.  We crashed at the Thunderbird Inn, and proceeded to sleep on a moderately comfortable bed.  In the morning, Elissa and I had a grab and go breakfast and made our way up to Whitefish Point.

Whitefish is that narrow peninsula that juts out into Lake Superior.  The Edmund Fitzgerald was 17 miles away from Whitefish Bay when it sunk into the depths of the lake also known as gichigami (Thanks Gordon Lightfoot).  Right at Whitefish Point there is a very well known bird observatory that has been in operation for 30 years.  The observatory shares a parking lot with other tourist attractions such as an appropriately located shipwreck museum.

Elissa's Pretty Falls

Elissa and I arrived around 10am.  After talking to the lady at the observatory for a few minutes, we began our trek about to the beach to join Whitefish's waterbird watcher, Cory Gregory.  Cory sits out at the point for 8 hours a day from October to December counting birds.  That sounds great for about two seconds until you factor in how cold in can be up there.

When we got out to the waterbird shack there were several birders out there.  The mood was almost somber.  I wanted to ask, "So which one of you is Cory?" and "Seen any Scoters?", but I suddenly became an introvert.  Elissa and I backed away from the quiet group and made our way down the beach.

We spent about three hours at the Point the first day.  I added two new birds to the list, one of which was a life bird.  Common Raven I had seen before, but the many Red-necked Grebes out on the bay were life additions for both me and my wife.  Other notables included 3 fly by White-winged Scoters and a single Dunlin patrolling the pools on the beach.

After birding for a few hours we decided to check into our hotel (The Paradise Inn), and grab a bite to eat.  We ended up stopping at the Berry Patch Restaurant and Bakery.  We both ordered breakfast and it was delicious.  The people watching was also pretty good here.  An older woman who worked for the bakery was in and out of the place delivering pies to people and chatting it up with the customers.  The table across from us had two older couples that were enjoying their lunch despite one member of the group asking pointless questions about a variety of topics.  The three other members of the group appeared to be annoyed but altogether used to her line of questioning.  This made lunch slightly more entertaining.

Male Spruce Grouse

Once lunch concluded, we found ourselves heading to Tahquamenon Falls.  Located southwest of Whitefish Point, Tahquamenon Falls State Park boasts one of the Upper Peninsula's most beautiful sites.  The upper falls span 200 feet across and drop nearly 50 feet.  The water is tinged with a brownish hue due to the decayed vegetation that leaches into the river from the surrounding forest.

The upper falls were cool, but we were there for birds.  The spot that consistently pops up on eBird as a good birding place in the park is the Clark Lake Trail.  We got a map from the park headquarters and headed towards Clark Lake.  It was a two track road that wasn't terrible, but driving a mini-van down such a road makes one seriously consider four-wheel drive.

About half way down the road we spotted three larger dark birds fly up from the road and into the trees on the left.  While I was trying to locate them, Elissa said that there was still a bird on the ground.  So there was!  A female Spruce Grouse.  We pulled up slowly as we snapped a few shots.  As we moved up we were able to relocate one of the males that we had flushed.  Very cool!

The Lighthouse at Whitefish Point

Around 7pm we were getting hungry again.  We opted to try out the brewery located at the upper falls.  This was a very good decision.  I chose a Lake Superior whitefish sandwich.  Elissa had a veggie sandwich.  My meal was excellent.  Elissa liked her's too.  We headed back to the hotel and retired for the night.  Yep...retired. I am old.

Saturday morning was pretty similar to Friday morning.  We grabbed breakfast and scurried out the door for some early morning birding.  We first explored Wildcat Road for Ruffed Grouse.  This road was fine, but the one I chose to head back to the Point was not so fine.  We got stuck.  Really stuck.  After trying to dig us out for about a half hour, we were forced to hike two miles back to the observatory.  I was fuming.

The Mackinac Bridge

While we were waiting for a tow (Not from AAA.  They said we were unservicable.  Why do I have AAA?), we met and talked to Cory Gregory.  He was very nice and offered to help us out in anyway he could.  In our short little discussion I learned a few things about birds.  Turns out, if you spend eight hours a day everyday for 3 months watching birds, you tend to notice things most people may miss.

Ugh...

When our van's savior arrived, I could not believe my eyes.  This man nearly looked exactly like Frank Szozda, my father-in-law.  The haircut was the same.  The combination of a jean shirt and jeans was only missing a jean jacket to form the not so fashionable Canadian tuxedo.  He laughed at his own jokes, and most importantly, he maintained an air of confidence that I wish I possessed.  When I commented that I hoped he wouldn't get stuck trying to get us out (he only had a little F-150), Frank's doppelganger said "That's not going to happen."

Fake Frank did in fact get us out of that mess, but we had wasted 3 precious hours.  We birded around the area for the remainder of the morning and into the afternoon, but nothing new turned up.  We had not booked a hotel for Saturday night because we weren't sure what we wanted to do on Sunday.  Elissa's Uncle John was staying at the family cabin near Rose City, and we gave them a call and mooched a night's stay with John and the rest of the John Szozda's.  It was great.  We went on a night hike with cousins AJ, Stephanie, and Stephanie's boyfriend Mike.  Unfortunately we didn't get any owls, but hopefully AJ (lead singer for The Americanos) got an album cover out of the many moonlit pictures we took.

A rain suit was needed at Whitefish

In the morning AJ lead Elissa and me on a hike through the area's many bogs.  Hermit Thrushes dominated the setting.  We had plenty of woodpeckers and one unidentified raptor, but couldn't add a species to the Big List.

Like many trips, I wish I had more time to explore.  I really had hoped for more birds, but I found myself wanting to be home by the time Sunday rolled around.  With as much as I like birds, my two little girls are taking up more and more space in my anxious mind.  I know it's important for Elissa and I to have time to ourselves, and that is why we took this trip, but I couldn't help feeling guilty about being away from our beautiful little girls.  Totally weird feeling.  Five years ago when Elissa and I got married, kids weren't even a thought in my mind.  Now they take up the majority of our time, effort, and love.  Strange how things work out.  Despite the fact that I stress over them and the lifting of a 2 year old and a car seat is doing a number on my old man back, I wouldn't have it any other way.  Happy birding everyone!

Birds and Baseball

Merlin

October means a few things to me.  It means that fall migration for sparrows is in full swing, and that my birding adventures are temporarily taking a back seat to playoff baseball.  Sorry sparrows.  You're tough to ID anyways.  Maybe after a few Kenn Kaufman workshops I'll be willing to make a serious attempt at IDing this eclectic group of birds.

Sparrows and playoff baseball, specifically Tiger's playoff baseball, can be equally painful to watch.  The frustration I feel when I see a tiny brown bird that I can't identify is on par with the feeling I get when Miguel Cabrera strikes out with runners on first and third with one out in a one run game.  All we needed was a long fly ball Miggy.  Why couldn't you, the best hitter in the game, lay off pitches that were several inches off the plate?  You looked lost up there big man.

The Tigers are down two games to one now.  They have the next two games at home, but after blowing a 4 run lead in Game 2 and failing to score a single run in Game 3, things are not looking good.

I will continue to watch the games despite the agony it causes, but I think birding is going to be my top priority for the rest of the week.  I say this because it's true.  Elissa and I will be leaving Thursday evening for Whitefish Point.  The following are our target birds: Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Red-necked Grebe, Northern Goshawk, Black-backed Woodpecker, Common Raven, Pine Grosbeak, and Evening Grosebeak.

Merlin, the smaller version of a Peregrine Falcon, was also on that list when I made it about a month ago, but that species was unexpectedly checked off at Oak Openings earlier this month.

My hope for this trip is to see some cool birds and to have a wonderful weekend with my lovely wife.  We have our ups and downs just like any couple, but I find myself loving her more and more each day.  I can't believe that it will be 5 years of wedded bliss come January.  We have two beautiful daughters, a lovable idiot of a dog, and a home filled with love.  Remind me of that if the Tigers continue to disappoint.  I'll need a pick me up.  Happy birding everybody!

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Merlin (website). Retrieved from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/merlin/id