We had mild weather, great color, seventeen participants, and lots of mockingbirds on our trip to Watkins Lake on Tuesday.  I planned this trip a month earlier than our normal November waterfowl trip in the hopes of getting a good color tour of the park.  In addition, the upland grassland on the Washtenaw side of the property offers a great view of the surrounding area-you can even see Brooklyn!

Right out of the gate the park’s resident Mockingbird’s were out & about and 5 were seen.  We started walking the trail to the east toward the upland area.  After much encouragement from the group a few more Mockingbirds were coaxed to make the jump east over the county line so we could count them in Washtenaw.  We tallied 3.

(Brenda Wineman)

A short walk off our route to a view from the grassland to the lake’ was rewarded with the sight of hundreds of Canada Goose coming in for a landing on the lake.  We then started the woodland trek up the hill to the grand view.  It was a bit of a climb, but well worth it.  The view was great, and the fall colors were spot on. I think we got peak color on that day.  So, of course forgot to take a pic.

The loop trail down was though more grassland and was a more gradual descent.  We’ll go up that side next time.  The walk on this path allows a lakeside view to the west, but there was not too much activity there.

After a return to the parking lot for a quick refresh, we walked down Arnold Rd. for the waterfowl part of the tour.  I think we did pretty good in terms of wildfowl. We saw 19 waterfowl and other water birds in the lake. 

Toward the end of the viewing, we had a falcon identified as a Peregrine Falcon.  This Duck Hawk did not stop for a snack, but just gave as a quick flyby.

Bird lists for the trip are below. Be sure to check out photos in the checklists.

Parking lot & west end of trail:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S199888781

Washtenaw county:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S199895916

Jackson County lake sightings:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S199895983

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/21/2024

(Steve Jerant)

By Don Henise

Sandhill Cranes are finally making their way into Haehnle Sanctuary marsh in good numbers. Over the weekend, volunteer greeters counted 300+ and 400+ cranes flying in just before sunset. On our official Monday evening count, with unseasonably warm temperatures near 80 degrees, 504 cranes were counted landing in Mud Lake Marsh to roost for the night. An additional 467 were observed flying past the sanctuary, most appearing to land in wetlands to the north of the sanctuary, giving a total of 971 cranes observed from the Harold Wing observation hill.

(Steve Jerant)

A total of 35 bird species were observed during the afternoon and evening count – see the eBird checklist link below. Ducks have begun arriving in the area over the past weeks and many were seen out in the marsh. Three rusty Blackbirds were viewed perched in the trees near the overlook in the early afternoon. Near sunset, a Merlin blasted over the overlook.

Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) (Don Henise)

This has been a good fall for Common Buckeye butterflies in Jackson County and many continue to be seen along the trails through the prairies at Haehnle. Autumn Meadowhawks are normally the last dragonfly species to be on the wing in the fall. There were probably hundreds of them still flying around the grasslands on this warm evening. In years when the weather stays mild, we see the Autumn Meadowhawks into November.

 
Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) (Don Henise)

Buckeye (Junonia coenia)(Don Henise)

Total Cranes Roosting: 504

Counters: Gary Siegrist, Steve Jerant, Don Henise, Robyn Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S199820859

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/14/2024

Ross & Gary held down the fort on Monday night and counted cranes for us.  They almost hit one hundred (99) on the flybys and we got 91 to stay overnight.  Brenda had an unofficial count of 141 on Sunday while working as a greeter.

(Brenda Wineman)

Complete eBird checklist:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S199009705

Total Cranes Roosting:  91

Counters: Ross Green & Gary Siegrist

Compiled by: Ross Green

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 10/07/2024
By Don Henise

October 7th was sparrow night at the Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count. We observed 7 species of sparrows including Chipping, Field, White-crowned, White-throated, Song, Lincoln’s and Swamp Sparrows. Most of these were in the brush just to the right of the overlook, but a few were also seen down near the lower benches at the apple trees. An Orange-crowned Warbler was viewed early in the evening in the trees above the overlook kiosk.

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)(Don Henise)

Sandhill Crane numbers remain relatively low with only 6 cranes remaining to roost in the marsh, matching last weeks number. A total of 73 others were counted flying past, most heading to roost north of the sanctuary.

A total of 40 bird species were observed during the count – see the eBird checklist link below.

Total Cranes Roosting: 6

Counters: Ross Green, Steve Jerant, Don Henise

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S197960442

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 09/30/2024

By Don Henise

(Steve Jerant)

The crane numbers from our weekly Monday counts are heading in the wrong direction.  We started with 13 roosting cranes on the 16th of September, then 11 on the 23rd and most recently on Monday the 30th, we only had 6 cranes remaining to roost in the marsh. Relatively few Sandhill Cranes were even observed as flyovers, we only tallied a total of 35 cranes seen for the evening.

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)(Don Henise)

Steve spotted a mole in front of the Eagle Lake observation deck digging around in the leaf litter. We couldn’t get good enough photos to identify it to species. At dusk a couple of bats were flying around the observation hill.

Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) (Don Henise)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) (Don Henise)

A total of 39 bird species were observed with a Lincoln’s Sparrow calling from the brush to the right of the overlook, a pair of Trumpeter Swans out in the marsh and two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in the trees above the kiosk being some highlights. The sapsuckers were observed “hawking” insects in short bursts from the trees, a behavior neither of us had observed before.

Eastern Tailed-Blue (Cupido comyntas) (Don Henise)

Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) (Don Henise)

Total Cranes Roosting: 6

Counters: Don Henise, Steve Jerant

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S197094557

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 09/23/2024
By Don Henise

(Don Henise)

The second week of crane counting was a bit uneventful. It was a cloudy afternoon with temps in the mid 60s. We tallied 42 bird species throughout the afternoon and evening. One highlight was a few Lincon’s Sparrows, one near the overlook and several near the lower benches by the apple trees. A number of Wood Ducks and Great Egrets were observed flying in and out of the marsh all evening.

Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) (Don Henise)

Only 11 Sandhill Cranes stayed to roost in Mud Lake Marsh, but 117 others were counted flying past the sanctuary.

Total Cranes Roosting:  11

Counters:   Don Henise, Robyn Henise, Mike Bowen, Ross Green

Compiled by:  Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S196287631

Haehnle Sanctuary Crane Count 09/16/2024
By Don Henise

We began the 2024 fall season of weekly Sandhill Crane counts on Monday evening, September 16th. Mud Lake Marsh in the Haehnle Sanctuary is a traditional roost and staging area for these cranes in the fall of each year. Sandhill Cranes prefer to roost in shallow water overnight. In the last hour or so, before sunset, they will fly from their daytime feeding locations into a roost sight. Members of Jackson Audubon Society have been monitoring the number of cranes roosting at the sanctuary on a weekly basis each fall for many years. The numbers of cranes using the sanctuary for night roosting starts relatively slow in September and then builds as cranes arrive from their nesting locations in the far north. The numbers typically peak in late October or early November. The weekly crane counts will continue until Mud Lake freezes and the birds are no longer using it for a roosting location.

(Don Henise)

Monday evening at Haehnle Sanctuary was very pleasant after a very warm mid-September day. A walk through the prairie before the count found a few late season butterflies like Eastern Tailed-Blues, American Coppers and Common Buckeyes. At least one Monarch flew past while we were conducting the evening crane count.

(Don Henise)

A total of 31 bird species were seen by the crane counters through the afternoon and evening. As expected for mid-September, crane numbers were low with only 13 remaining in the marsh to roost. Many others were seen flying by the sanctuary without landing. As the sun went down, the moon came up giving us a look that was a precursor to Tuesday night’s super harvest moon. The mosquitoes also came out at dusk and drove us from the lookout hill

Total Cranes Roosting: 13

Counters: Don Henise, Ross Green, Gary Siegrist, Steve Jerant

Compiled by: Don Henise

Complete eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S195524747

We had a perfect day for a ride down to Monroe County for our annual Shorebird trip at Pt. Mouillee State Game Area.   In addition to the great weather, we had the best shorebirds in years, by far.  Ross led our small caravan on the dikes to the best mudflats there had been at Pt. Moo for a long time. 

Not long into the tour we saw lots of American White Pelican and Great Egret.  There had been a report of some Ruddy Shelduck and we were able to find a group of five.  We tallied 11 ducks and allies, 4 species of gulls & terns, nearly 500 herons & egrets, and five species of raptors. 

The habitat at the Vermet unit was perfect and it was there we saw the majority of the 19 shorebirds.  Of note were Red Knot, Stilt Sandpiper, Dunlin, and White-rumped Sandpiper.  And thanks to our friends at Macomb Audubon who alerted us to a sighting of a Hudsonian Godwit.  This was originally spotted by another birder riding on the dike.

Trip checklist on eBird https://ebird.org/checklist/S192617971

Don Henise took some great shots below of some of the birds we saw and, of course, one of his six-legged flying friends.

(American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos))

(Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea))

(Sanderling (Calidris alba))

(Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii))

(Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus))

(Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla))

(Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus))

(Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus))

(White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis))

(Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia))

Jackson Audubon members walked the western end of the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail SP led by naturalist Joann Ballbach.  At the end of the walk, she shared some teas made by local plants, that some call weeds.

The eBird checklist for the tour is available HERE.

(Brenda Wineman)

Monarch Caterpillar (Brenda Wineman)

Viceroy Adult (Brenda Wineman)

Grey Tree Frog (Brenda Wineman)

Sharing Tea (Gary Siegrist)

Penny came out for the tour. It was thundering and raining.
We decided to cancel