I've been hearing a lot about the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area recently, and especially about its reputation as an amazing hotspot for migrating birds in May. This preserve is on the southern shore of Lake Erie, and as the high concentrations of birds pass through the area in the spring, so come the birders! There was a huge birding festival at Magee Marsh all last week. Since I'm not a big crowds person, I waited until this past Tuesday morning to go check this place out. And yes, it was pretty great; a bit crowded, but still fun! Long boardwalks wind through marshy forests with lots of low bushes that help bring birds down to eye level. It was cold, cloudy, and windy when I visited, and there weren't insane amounts of birds (it wasn't one of those heavy-bird days at Magee Marsh that I've read about, when birds are practically dripping from the trees). But there were many, many cool creatures to see!
One of the most interesting parts of the visit for me was getting to walk around in an area entirely populated with birders: all these people with their soft voices and reserved movements, pointing their lenses at spots of interest in waves. I walked by one clump of people who were all staring at the base of a tree and passing around the word "Gray-cheeked Thrush," and yes, there it was (a bird I'd never seen before and would've had trouble identifying on my own). A few yards further along the boardwalk, another group was muttering "American Woodcock" and cooing happily whenever a new person managed to see the well-camouflaged bird; it was all super adorable, both the people and the bird:
An adult Bald Eagle perched in a nearby tree got a few points and exclamations, but it was much less of a celebrity than the woodcock:
So yeah, there are definitely some benefits to being around groups of other people looking for birds; I almost certainly wouldn't have noticed this slowly-moving woodcock on my own (it was trying really hard to stay hidden)! Most of the time, though, I did what I prefer to do, which is just wander around quietly on my own and see what creatures I can see.
Gray Catbirds were all over the place in these woods. This catbird was singing directly overhead near the boardwalk's entrance, and I got a clear view of the rusty feathers under its tail:
Gray Catbirds are quite handsome birds, and I'm glad they've returned for the summer:
This Eastern Kingbird was hunting for flying bugs at the edge of a small pond; I'd never noticed how beautiful these birds' wing feathers are, with those white outlines, although this individual's normally white-tipped tail was quite bedraggled:
Is it just me, or are those feet really small?
I love this bird's wide flycatcher beak:
Another Eastern Kingbird was hanging around on the beach. I think flycatchers look really cool:
Hordes of iridescent Tree Swallows were swooping through the air all along the beach, and this one paused to pick at something in the sand:
A flying Great Blue Heron strangely touched the water for a moment on the open lake, as if it thought about landing and then changed its mind; I love this dangling/dancing pose:
A male Baltimore Oriole lit up the overcast woods:
And I was surprised at how bright this American Robin looked; it's no oriole, but it's not too far off:
With so many leaves on the trees now, the smaller songbirds were pretty difficult to see! This Red-eyed Vireo only showed itself briefly:
And this is the best picture I got of a male Blackburnian Warbler who was working his way quickly through the trees:
Male Blackpoll Warblers showed up a few times, hunting for bugs in low branches:
It looks like this guy found something:
I love this warbler's stripey back:
Yellow Warblers were all over the place, males with their fancy striped chests:
And plainer (but still very bright) females:
This female was being chased by a couple of males, but she still managed to do some foraging:
Yellow warblers can look so cute from some angles:
My visit to Magee Marsh didn't yield the most birds I've ever seen, or the most amazing/impressive diversity, but it was still a great trip with lots of awesome creatures! I'm very glad I got to visit this place while I'm still living in the area.
The traveling birds just keep coming through the yard, and our Red Cedar tree provides the perfect place for the birds to hunt for food while I creepily watch them. Today's fancy visitor was a Blackpoll Warbler:
Like so many other warblers, Blackpoll Warblers look much fancier in the spring, with the males sporting black caps and mustaches. I think this more subdued fall costume is still quite nice, though. And I'm not 100% sure, but I have a suspicion that our visitor may have been a male -- that looks like the remains of a mustache to me:
And are those a few scattered black feathers on the top of your head, too, bird?
I love it when warblers come to hang out here -- they all seem to have such a good time fluttering around and snatching bugs from the branches. What would it be like to live in an environment where there's food literally all around?
Thanks for stopping by, Mr. Blackpoll, and best of luck on your trip south!
Today's discovery: animals make really weird noises.
I was walking my normal loop through the Naugatuck State Forest this morning when a loud screeching call started echoing through the forest. It didn't sound like anything I'd heard before -- not like a hawk or a Blue Jay, which are the normal screamers around here. I thought it might be mammalian in origin, perhaps an agitated carnivore... which didn't make me very eager to get closer, I must say. But then the source of the sound moved, and it was now coming from above. I looked up into the trees above the path, and there, perched on a branch and very actively looking around and making that crazy sound, was a Great Horned Owl.
Great Horned Owls are the owls that make the classic "hoot-hoot" sound, usually at night, so I have no idea what this fellow was up to. I've read that juvenile Great Horned Owls make a screeching sound, but this creature's well out of the nest, so I don't know if that's a suitable explanation.
Here's a video I took of this owl making its crazy call -- I didn't think it would be post-worthy at first, but YouTube magically removed all the shaking, and now it's like a real video! The audio's quite soft, and you'll have to listen past the Blue Jay calling constantly in the background, but there's some cool stuff there. Also, if you right-click on the video to watch it on YouTube, and then enlarge it to full-screen, you can actually see the owl's mouth opening as it calls. The call right at the end is the best:
I just love owls, and any day I see one is immediately a best-day-ever. I wonder if this individual was part of the family of owls that was nesting in this same area earlier this year.... Be well, big fellow, and I hope your screaming got you whatever it was you wanted! Speaking of strange sounds in the woods, I've been hearing this hollow wood-block sound for a while now, but it wasn't until today that I finally found its source: an Eastern Chipmunk. Here's another video -- again, you'll have to turn up your volume to hear the sound (my camera doesn't have a great microphone, as I'm learning):
Apparently this is a sound that chipmunks make when there's an aerial predator in the area, and in fact, right after I saw this guy, a small falcon zoomed across the path (chased by a Blue Jay... what tenacious birds). I've already learned to recognize that persistent bird-like cheeping that chipmunks make, but I had no idea these little mammals could produce this strange sound as well. There's always something new to learn!
Not everything in the woods today was noisy, of course, and I saw some cool silent creatures as well. The Red Efts (the terrestrial, juvenile forms of Red-spotted Newts) were out in force today, trundling along the sides of paths in several parts of the forest. (I love these little guys. Love, love, love.) The first eft I saw has the distinction of being possibly the most orange thing ever, as well as the only eft I've seen climbing above the ground (only by a foot or so, but still). Maybe this fallen branch was a handy bridge toward wherever the eft was going:
This eft I saw later in my walk was decidedly browner than the first, but no less photogenic:
Hello, eft creature, what a perfect little newt face you have:
On my way out of the forest, I stopped to hang out with a Common Yellowthroat who was foraging on a goldenrod-covered bank, when a second warbler popped into view. It was a Blackpoll Warbler, a bird I've only seen once before and at a great distance. This one was content to forage close by, within camera range:
In the spring, male Blackpoll Warblers have striking black and white plumage, similar at first glance to a chickadee. But in the fall, both males and females take on this more subdued look. Even without the bold spring markings, however, I think this is one pretty bird:
And I love that olive-and-brown striped back:
It was quite the day -- so many new things to learn, and it's always exciting to see old friends like the efts. The weather forecast is predicting rain every day for the next week, but I'm hoping there will still be a chance to get outside again before too long!
