If only my own mother were so tender . . .
Just about 45 miles away from where we were staying on Michigan’s Garden Peninsula is the gargantuan Seney National Wildlife Refuge. I’ve been wanting to go there for some time, but since it’s only open from May 15th to October 15th, I’ve always just missed that small window of visiting opportunity. But not today, Seney will not be missed, no sir, Seney will not be missed.
Soft focus makes the Kirtland's sexy
After a long drive north, we made it to Gaylord, Michigan this morning at 1 am. We came to see the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler, one of the rarest birds in the States. It only breeds in a small area in northern Michigan, so if you want to see it, this is where you come. You can only view its breeding grounds on official tours run by rangers, and we met ours this morning at 11 am at a hotel in Grayling, a little south of Gaylord. We had two guides, the master (Chris) and the apprentice (Sean). The viewing season started today, so Sean was just learning the ropes. There was just one other birder on the tour, so we made a three-car convoy to the site.
Osprey with digitally docked tail
First thing today, we checked out the South Padre Island Convention Center, which is supposed to be a good spot. It was. It’s right on the water, and strolling in the sands we saw BLACK SKIMMERS and a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. It would have been nice to see a skimmer actually skimming, but we did see it actually being black (and white and orange), which is something.
Plenty of birders were ogling the shrubbery near the center, so we joined them, managing to see a BLACKPOLL WARBLER, a SCARLET TANAGER, and a TENNESSEE WARBLER. In a year or two, the convention center is going to become the World Birding Center, which sounds pretty highfalutin’. But what that means beyond a gift shop, I can’t tell you. At present, though, they’ve built a nice walkway through the marsh to the water, and that’s where I digiscoped the osprey. There’s a large water tower nearby, and a nice old couple pointed out a small hawk perched high up on one of its railings. With a scope, it proved to be a PEREGRINE FALCON.
And don't forget the venomous ivy
Today started as another driving day, this time from Rockport to South Padre Island. We paused at a rest stop along the way, and saw the amazing sign on the right. Never mind that they mean “venomous,” not “poisonous,” but what halfwit is going to walk their pet after reading such a warning? Only in Texas. Lots of boat-tailed grackles here, and this was the first time we heard their outrageous squawking. They can make the most hellish, unbirdlike sounds imaginable. That must be why they’re called “niños del diablo.” (I just made that up.)
We drove south on Route 77, a raptor hotspot, and sure enough, we spotted a CRESTED CARACARA and HARRIS’S HAWK in short order. Pole got to claim them first because she saw them longer and knew what to look for. But we saw more of both before long, so I got to check them off, too. In fact, the Harris’s were all over the place.
No, ma'am, we sure won't
Last night we drove south to Rockport. Most of the drive was in the dark, and we passed several refineries glowing in the night. Ugly places — talk about your Dark Satanic Mills. Our first birding stop this morning was Goose Island State Park, which is on the Lamar peninsula. Before we entered the park proper, we stopped off to see the Big Tree, which is the Texas State Champion Oak, whatever the hell that means. It’s a big ol’ tree, and best of all, we saw a BLACK-CRESTED TITMOUSE in its branches, a lifer for us both. The area was different from most what we’d seen in Texas so far, since there wasn’t garbage everywhere. The reason? The Lamar Women’s Club. (See photo.)