sbradfield
Well-known member
For the past few years I have taken off in May or June with a friend or two leaving my family at home for a short birding break in Europe (3-5 nights). Over the years we have ranged all over Europe and it is beginning to get tricky to find somewhere in Europe with a lot of new birds. This year we looked further afield. Our attention was caught by the increasing reputation of Magee Marsh in Ohio as a place to see new world warblers on migration and in their summer finery rather than the toned down autumn versions at Cape May. It also gave the option to tack on a trip to Michigan to see the rare and range restricted Kirtland’s Warbler.
It was an easy trip to put together. We (myself, Dave Rose and Simon Hitchen) flew direct to Detroit from Heathrow (it would have been cheaper to fly via New York or Chicago but we would have lost half a days birding at each end). Car hire was easily arranged on line and we hired a condo at Green Cove (just ten minutes drive from Magee Marsh) which was cheap but rather tatty with several lights and the wi-fi not working This was not too much of a problem as we were out birding from dawn to dusk. Green Cove is a very easy 1hr 45 minute drive from Detroit airport. Eating options were somewhat limited.
For our trip to Michigan we stayed in Grayling in the heart of Kirtland’s country. This is a 4 hour drive from Green Cove (again very easy driving). We had one night at Woodlands Motor Lodge. This was great accommodation and I thoroughly recommend it to visiting birders. Whilst in Grayling we ate at Spike’s Keg o’Nails. This was by far the best meal we had and they also served good beers.
We decided to guide ourselves as with no language barrier and plenty of information about where to go on the internet (several nights perusing ebird paid off). We joined the free guided walk to see Kirtland’s Warbler from Hartwick Pines State Park. I recommend this as not only does it improve your chances of seeing the bird by taking you right into restricted habitat but is better for the (you also get to learn a lot about the birds and their conservation).
Wednesday 10 May 2017
After an early start and a very pleasant flight (as long hauls go) with Delta we arrived in Detroit at 1pm. Our first stop just 34 minutes from the airport was Antenna Farm in Michigan. Research on ebird had indicated that this was our best chance for Bobolink. Antenna Farm is exactly what it sounds like, a fenced off field containing radio dishes and antennae with lots of long grass. Upon arrival we had our first good look at Red-winged Blackbird, a bird which became very familiar to us on our trip and left the mind boggling about the number of people who had flown to see the female in Orkney, given how extremely common they are! We also started getting used to their huge variety of calls.
A bird landed on the fence within a minute of our arrival - a smart summer plumaged male Bobolink. The first lifer and a much wanted target had given itself up very easily. Over the next hour we saw many more of these charachterful little birds singing and displaying. The white rump was very distinctive in flight. Next “fence bird” was a Sparrow. A splash of yellow on the supercilium identified it easily as Savannah Sparrow. Like the Bobolinks this was another lifer for me and proved very common at Antenna Farm. Unlike the Bobolinks which we only saw at this site it was seen at several other sites during the trip.
A distant soaring raptor was picked up and from its dark belly band was confirmed as a Red-tailed Hawk, a third lifer and although we saw several others it was the only buteo we encountered on the trip. Two Sandhill Cranes flew in but landed distantly and the heat haze prevented any photographs of them. Two birds feeding on the farm track turned out to be Shore Larks although, given our distace from the sea the American name of Horned Lark was more appropriate.
A high-flying hirundine turned out to be our first Purple Martin of the trip and as we walked along Haggerman Road many more hirundines were feeding around us, mainly Barn Swallows with a few Sand Martins and Tree Swallows thrown in for good measure. The latter bird was another lifer for me.
A Turkey Vulture flew low above us allowing splendid views and then two large raptors flying above a distant hillock were identified as juvenile Bald Eagles, they were later joined by an adult. Another raptor seen flying and then perched in a tree, this time an Osprey, reminding us of our proximity to Lake Erie.
A rumble of an engine announced the arrival of the local farmer and his tractor along Haggerman Road. He pulled up right beside us. Now at home I would anticipate a volley of abuse or questioning about what we were doing but in America things are a bit different. The farmer was genuinely interested to know what we had seen and talked to us about the nesting Ospreys. This was repeated wherever we went on our trip, non birders would stop and talk to us, ask us what was about, with none of the disdain and suspicion you get in the UK.
Returning towards the farmhouses we had better views of Killdeer and American Robin and two female Brown-headed Cowbirds (my 7th lifer of the trip). We decided it was time to head for our rented condo at Green Cove so made our way back to I75. We had a flyover American Kestrel but decided that stopping on the Interstate slip-road to scope it was probably not wise so continued on our journey!
We headed for Green Cove where a brief hiatus trying to find our condo resulted in 4 new lifers for me. First off a female House Finch on a bush at the entrance to Harris Harbor Drive which was soon joined by a smart red male. This was followed by an American Goldfinch feeding in the grass. As we wandered trying to find our accommodation we came across 3 White-crowned Sparrows feeding on a lawn. Finally, returning to the car armed with better directions a pair of Chipping Sparrows were found around the base of a tree. A nice little burst to get some commoner species on the list.
Following a further hiatus as we struggled to get in to the condo due to a mix up with the lock box code we decided that, a walk around Green Cove would be productive. Outside the condo a large number of hirundines were feeding. As well as the species previously seen at Antenna Farm we were able to pick out a couple of American Cliff Swallows, another lifer.
A look over the Lake Erie inlet produced Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, many Canada Geese and a lifer in a pair of Trumpeter Swans, a somewhat disappointing looking bird, being a somewhat less interesting looking Whooper! A passing local on seeing what we were looking at invited us to come around the back of his condo and “feed the swan” however remembering the “Charlie” safety cartoons of our 1970s childhoods we made our excuses and left. Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and American Robins were all very common around the inlet.
A front garden bird feeder then kept us entertained for a few minutes with the first Baltimore Orioles and Northern Cardinals of our trip and more House Finches, White-crowned Sparrows, Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds.
Making our way to the lakeshore a flyby adult Bald Eagle was seen and we came across a mixed flock of Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls. There was a fierce northerly wind coming off the lake a big contrast to the sun and heat haze we had at Antenna Farm. Returning towards the condo we scored our first warbler of the trip a smart male Yellow Warbler, it was to prove the commonest warbler of the trip by some distance. In the same bushes we also had a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Anticipating a Goldcrest sized bird, this gave us an identification headache as it is a noticeably larger bird than Goldcrest. We finally confirmed it when we saw the species at Magee the next day.
We ended the day by finding an American Cliff Swallow nest allowing good views of the perched bird and made it back to the condo before the heavens opened with the hope that the bad weather might hold up some of the migrants at Magee.
Dinner was taken at Wild Wings in Green Cove. Sadly I am unable to recommend it!
It was an easy trip to put together. We (myself, Dave Rose and Simon Hitchen) flew direct to Detroit from Heathrow (it would have been cheaper to fly via New York or Chicago but we would have lost half a days birding at each end). Car hire was easily arranged on line and we hired a condo at Green Cove (just ten minutes drive from Magee Marsh) which was cheap but rather tatty with several lights and the wi-fi not working This was not too much of a problem as we were out birding from dawn to dusk. Green Cove is a very easy 1hr 45 minute drive from Detroit airport. Eating options were somewhat limited.
For our trip to Michigan we stayed in Grayling in the heart of Kirtland’s country. This is a 4 hour drive from Green Cove (again very easy driving). We had one night at Woodlands Motor Lodge. This was great accommodation and I thoroughly recommend it to visiting birders. Whilst in Grayling we ate at Spike’s Keg o’Nails. This was by far the best meal we had and they also served good beers.
We decided to guide ourselves as with no language barrier and plenty of information about where to go on the internet (several nights perusing ebird paid off). We joined the free guided walk to see Kirtland’s Warbler from Hartwick Pines State Park. I recommend this as not only does it improve your chances of seeing the bird by taking you right into restricted habitat but is better for the (you also get to learn a lot about the birds and their conservation).
Wednesday 10 May 2017
After an early start and a very pleasant flight (as long hauls go) with Delta we arrived in Detroit at 1pm. Our first stop just 34 minutes from the airport was Antenna Farm in Michigan. Research on ebird had indicated that this was our best chance for Bobolink. Antenna Farm is exactly what it sounds like, a fenced off field containing radio dishes and antennae with lots of long grass. Upon arrival we had our first good look at Red-winged Blackbird, a bird which became very familiar to us on our trip and left the mind boggling about the number of people who had flown to see the female in Orkney, given how extremely common they are! We also started getting used to their huge variety of calls.
A bird landed on the fence within a minute of our arrival - a smart summer plumaged male Bobolink. The first lifer and a much wanted target had given itself up very easily. Over the next hour we saw many more of these charachterful little birds singing and displaying. The white rump was very distinctive in flight. Next “fence bird” was a Sparrow. A splash of yellow on the supercilium identified it easily as Savannah Sparrow. Like the Bobolinks this was another lifer for me and proved very common at Antenna Farm. Unlike the Bobolinks which we only saw at this site it was seen at several other sites during the trip.
A distant soaring raptor was picked up and from its dark belly band was confirmed as a Red-tailed Hawk, a third lifer and although we saw several others it was the only buteo we encountered on the trip. Two Sandhill Cranes flew in but landed distantly and the heat haze prevented any photographs of them. Two birds feeding on the farm track turned out to be Shore Larks although, given our distace from the sea the American name of Horned Lark was more appropriate.
A high-flying hirundine turned out to be our first Purple Martin of the trip and as we walked along Haggerman Road many more hirundines were feeding around us, mainly Barn Swallows with a few Sand Martins and Tree Swallows thrown in for good measure. The latter bird was another lifer for me.
A Turkey Vulture flew low above us allowing splendid views and then two large raptors flying above a distant hillock were identified as juvenile Bald Eagles, they were later joined by an adult. Another raptor seen flying and then perched in a tree, this time an Osprey, reminding us of our proximity to Lake Erie.
A rumble of an engine announced the arrival of the local farmer and his tractor along Haggerman Road. He pulled up right beside us. Now at home I would anticipate a volley of abuse or questioning about what we were doing but in America things are a bit different. The farmer was genuinely interested to know what we had seen and talked to us about the nesting Ospreys. This was repeated wherever we went on our trip, non birders would stop and talk to us, ask us what was about, with none of the disdain and suspicion you get in the UK.
Returning towards the farmhouses we had better views of Killdeer and American Robin and two female Brown-headed Cowbirds (my 7th lifer of the trip). We decided it was time to head for our rented condo at Green Cove so made our way back to I75. We had a flyover American Kestrel but decided that stopping on the Interstate slip-road to scope it was probably not wise so continued on our journey!
We headed for Green Cove where a brief hiatus trying to find our condo resulted in 4 new lifers for me. First off a female House Finch on a bush at the entrance to Harris Harbor Drive which was soon joined by a smart red male. This was followed by an American Goldfinch feeding in the grass. As we wandered trying to find our accommodation we came across 3 White-crowned Sparrows feeding on a lawn. Finally, returning to the car armed with better directions a pair of Chipping Sparrows were found around the base of a tree. A nice little burst to get some commoner species on the list.
Following a further hiatus as we struggled to get in to the condo due to a mix up with the lock box code we decided that, a walk around Green Cove would be productive. Outside the condo a large number of hirundines were feeding. As well as the species previously seen at Antenna Farm we were able to pick out a couple of American Cliff Swallows, another lifer.
A look over the Lake Erie inlet produced Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, many Canada Geese and a lifer in a pair of Trumpeter Swans, a somewhat disappointing looking bird, being a somewhat less interesting looking Whooper! A passing local on seeing what we were looking at invited us to come around the back of his condo and “feed the swan” however remembering the “Charlie” safety cartoons of our 1970s childhoods we made our excuses and left. Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and American Robins were all very common around the inlet.
A front garden bird feeder then kept us entertained for a few minutes with the first Baltimore Orioles and Northern Cardinals of our trip and more House Finches, White-crowned Sparrows, Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds.
Making our way to the lakeshore a flyby adult Bald Eagle was seen and we came across a mixed flock of Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls. There was a fierce northerly wind coming off the lake a big contrast to the sun and heat haze we had at Antenna Farm. Returning towards the condo we scored our first warbler of the trip a smart male Yellow Warbler, it was to prove the commonest warbler of the trip by some distance. In the same bushes we also had a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Anticipating a Goldcrest sized bird, this gave us an identification headache as it is a noticeably larger bird than Goldcrest. We finally confirmed it when we saw the species at Magee the next day.
We ended the day by finding an American Cliff Swallow nest allowing good views of the perched bird and made it back to the condo before the heavens opened with the hope that the bad weather might hold up some of the migrants at Magee.
Dinner was taken at Wild Wings in Green Cove. Sadly I am unable to recommend it!