Michigan

     Throughout the days of August 17th to the 27th, my family and I went up to Onekama, Michigan to visit family on my mom's side.  We stayed in the same house as last year which is right where Portage Lake meets the channel leading into Lake Michigan.  As soon as I got out of the car, I saw and heard Cedar Waxwings close by.  Unlike last year, I saw many Caspian Terns flying through the channel.
     On one of the first days of the trip, my dad took my brothers and I up to go golfing at a nearby course.  While we were there, I saw Common Ravens, Purple Finches, American Redstarts, Red-eyed Vireos, and Cape May Warblers.  On the way home, we drove by a small field that looked like it may have previously been a small farm.  In the grasses of that field, close to the road, were three Sandhill Cranes.  There were two adults, likely a pair, and one juvenile.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera with me, so we drove back to the house, and came back with the camera as fast as we could.  Luckily, they were still there when I got back, so we slowly came up to them in the car with the windows down, and I snapped away.  After a few minutes I carefully stepped out of the car to get a better angle of them and took many pictures.  They stayed there the whole time roaming around in the field giving us great looks.

Adult Sandhill Crane

Adult Sandhill Crane

Juvenile Sandhill Crane

Adult Sandhill Crane

Adult Sandhill Crane

Adult Sandhill Crane Stretching its Wings

Adult Sandhill Crane

 

 

     A few days after seeing the Sandhill Cranes, we went to Arcadia Marsh, which happened to be about a minute away from where the cranes were.  While we were at Arcadia Marsh, we saw Belted Kingfishers, American Redstarts, Northern Harriers, and my lifer Virginia Rail.  Although the rail was a great bird, it took a lot of effort to see.  While we were walking the trail, my mom stepped a few feet off of the trail which immediately spooked the bird that we did not even know was there up.  It just called, flew up and down, and was gone.  After waiting a few minutes to see if it would show itself, with frustration growing because of the fact that it was only behind a clump of grass only five feet away from us in the marsh, we finally heard it again.  We also heard the splashing of it quickly darting through the shallow water.  After attempting to lure it out by playing calls of it a few times, I took off my shoes and socks and stepped one foot into the shallow, mucky water.  After waiting and waiting, I finally could see the bird through the grasses, so I snapped a few crappy pictures and decided quickly that that was good enough for me.  I walked back to the car shoeless, stepping on thistle and other twigs, but happy that we were able to have gotten the bird.

Virginia Rail through the Grasses

 

 

     Later that evening, we got to the house to hear Sandhill Cranes calling from the marshes in the lake and to see a very friendly Red Fox walking around our yard.  It was a young Fox that was very curious and likely fed by others on the beach.  It allowed me to get many pictures of it, and at one point, it came right up to me, less than a foot away, and looked directly into the camera.  After checking out our place for a little while, it walked off towards another persons house.

Fox coming close to check me out

Red Fox

 

 

     The next morning, my mom and I went to a small nearby park however, this time with the objective of finding some reptiles or amphibians.  There was not much there, but on the trail I found a small Grey Treefrog blending in with the mosses.  I picked him up and placed him on a small, leafless shrub so that I could get some better pictures of him.  He was very cooperative and did not jump all over the place to make it difficult for me.  After having some fun with him, I put him back down into the grasses were he was found.

Grey Treefrog

Grey Treefrog

Grey Treefrog

Grey Treefrog

 

 

     On the last day of the trip, we went up to the Platte River to kayak all the way through to Lake Michigan and then to hang out there.  After kayaking down the river and seeing a Snapping Turtle, many Eastern and Midland Painted Turtles, many Great Blue Herons, and a few female Hooded Mergansers, we got to the shore and brought our kayaks up.  Like always, I went with my mom across the river to the beach of Lake Michigan to look for the few Piping Plovers that nest there.  We walked down the shore watching Caspian Terns, a few Bonaparte's Gulls, Least Sandpipers and finally got the Piping Plovers.  We watched them for a while and then we headed back.  It was a good finish to a great trip.

Bonaparte's Gull

Piping Plover

Least Sandpiper

Caspian Tern