Beaver Island Michigan

Beaver Island is still as beautiful as ever. It is shaking off the winter and spring migration is underway. It was disappointing to cancel the Warblers on the Water events but under the present health crisis unavoidable. Beaver Island is truly a year-round destination for viewing birds. Due to its high quality diverse habitats, it supports a wide variety of bird species. I thought it would be fun to share with individuals a weekly list of the incoming birds. You can add your sightings here, email me, or call me and I'll add your birds.

The first Sandhill Cranes were observed almost three weeks ago by Jacque LaFreniere. You will find more pairs in fields and along wetlands.

This week, a noticable increase of Brown Creepers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rump Wablers, Pine Siskins, Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Bluebirds, and Merlin activity. A Northern Harrier was observed the past two days working the fields between Kathryn Ricksgers and Little Sand Bay's open fields. The Northern Harrier has a large white spot on its rump area and flies low over the fields trying to flush up a bird. Brown creepers can be observed crawling up the trunks of tree and then fluttering to the base and creeping up again. They are looking for insect eggs. The Golden-crowned Kinglets are one of our smallest songbirds and can be observed along the roads where you find spruce, fir, and hemlocks. Look for the Merlins in the Sand Bay area and near Oliver's Point on the west side. The Eastern Bluebirds were noted on the fence at the township airport and at the Beaver Island Golf Course. American Kestrels were also noted at both sites as well. Enjoy the great outdoors and stay well!

April 13, 2020 Bird Sightings:

Northern Flicker-East Side Drive. This particular woodpecker spends most of its time on the ground looking for ants and other insects. It is frequently observed along the roadsides flying away with a flash of a white rump.
Eastern Phoebe by the Toy Museum
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers-These are known for the rows of small holes it drills into sap trees. Males tend to arrive on breeding grounds first and courtship displays include showing off their colorful throats by pointing their bills straight up.
Song Sparrow-Little Sand Bay Preserve
Eastern Meadowlark-singing on tops of apple trees in open fields toward Island Airways.
Brown-headed Cowbirds-open field areas.
Small flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos
Snow Buntings observed along the shore of Sand Bay.
American Robins are plentiful.
Am. Kestrel noted sitting on electric wire at LSB.

Harbor species observed: Hooded, Common, and Red-breasted Mergansers, a few Redheads left, Buffleheads, Mallards, Common Golden-eye, and Blue-winged Teal along with Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.

Ruffed Grouse are drumming, Turkeys displaying, and 1 male and 2 female Ring-necked Pheasants were seen on Kings Highway at the corner of Sloptown Road, courtesy of Charlie Carey.

Our common winter bird species are busy looking for nesting sites:

Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pileated Woodpeckers
Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Blue Jays

Check out the great photos on the Beaver Island Birding Trail Facebook page. Happy birding!

Photo of male Common Golden-eye performing courtship display-Harbor, courtesy of Frank Solle

I saw and heard the brown headed cowbird, saw the cranes and the white ducks on Miller's marsh. So cool!!

Are they practicing social distancing?

No, they aren't Pirate. But they are avoiding bats...

I truly miss not being there to see and hear the return of the sandhill cranes.

On Sand Bay think we’re seeing two pair of loons on water going with two maybe three little ones in tow. Have black & white coloring, loons or something else?

Keep us apprised of when you start spotting Snowbirds. Some idiot governor, to remain unmentioned, opened beaches at 5pm yesterday so we are ready to fly north with Corona under our wings. Hope Michigan testing program is ready for the migration. No testing needed down here!

Hello Bucky Guy and BI Pirate,

Loons do frequent Sand Bay but I've been seeing a number of Common Mergansers on the east side which can look similar to the Common Loon at a distance. The male Common Merganser is mostly white with a black head and some black on his back. You would notice a very orange bill. The Common Loon on the other hand is larger and has a large dagger-like black bill. The Common Loon is now in breeding plumage and is mostly black with extensive white checkering on back and a white breast. Loons have returned from their wintering grounds and have been reported on Font and Barney's Lakes. They have not yet set up nests so we will need to wait until June to see the young.

Happy birding and thanks for those sightings. You may want to google Cornell's eBirds for further information.

Attached is a photo for the BI Pirate who mentioned that he is missing the Sandhill Cranes while in exile from Beaver Island. You can almost hear them calling. Tom Hawkins is the wonderful photographer.

Just looking at the picture I can hear that raspy call from here. Hope to hear it in person soon.

April 20, 2020 Bird Sightings:

Birders know that even seed and fruit eating birds need to feed their nestlings protein which is found in the form of insects. Most native insects don’t recognize exotic plants as food, so from a nesting bird’s point of view, many yards and gardens are “pretty deserts” with no food for their babies. A single pair of breeding chickadees must find 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to rear one clutch of young, according to Dr. Doug Tallamy. Think about adding native plants to your yard or transplanting natives from the island which have already acclimated to our area.

Mourning Doves
Turkey Vultures
Eastern Phoebe-Iron Ore Bay
More Yellow-rumped Warblers appearing
Hermit Thrush-east side on 4/14 and West Side Road
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is a secretive little bird that lives in dense forests. The genus Troglodytes relates to cave dwellers. These little birds live along stream banks, brush piles, or wind throw areas with uprooted trees. During the spring and early summer, the male will perch high in a tree and sing the longest continuous musical thrill of any bird in North America. They are known by birders as the Mozart of bird world. Winter Wrens heard singing on the south side of the harbor area before Bonedeos and at Little Sand Bay.

Barney’s Lake-4/14 Common Loon
Miller’s Marsh-4/15 Several dozen Ring-necked Ducks
Green’s Lake-4/15 2 Pied-billed Grebes, Canada Geese, and Common Mergansers
Jacque LaFreniere, Loon Ranger, commented that a pair of loons were seen on the north end of Font Lake.

Corvids (not COVIDS) on the island, include the Common Raven, American Crow, and the Blue Jay. Tips for telling the difference between ravens and crows include:
Ravens L 24 inches Crows L17.5 inches
Ravens have longer and narrower wings, long wedge-shaped tail. Soars more often. Ravens are rarely seen with crows.
Crows usually seen flying with steady rowing wingbeats. When crows do glide, they often have wings slightly raised while ravens can be seen soaring with wings flat. Crows are more common than ravens. The Beaver Island Golf Course and any of the open farm fields are good places to test your skills.

These birding posts are moving to the Beaver Island Birding Trail Facebook page, WVBI, and the free Beaver Island Association webpage www.beaverislandassociation.org .

Stay well and enjoy the spring migration! Photo: Pileated Woodpecker-Woody the Woodpecker's cartoon laugh resembles the call of the pileated woodpecker.