A Week of Early Summer Photos

Julie captured this really nice image of the main East Marsh; if the gods (and our equipment) stay on our side, we will draw most of this water off over the next couple weeks to expose 100+ acres to what we anticipate will be an explosion of vegetative growth

Weeks literally feel like they are going by like days lately. I guess that means it's summer! I'm going to play a little catch up and share some of my favorite photos since Memorial Day weekend. As day light continues to lengthen, opportunities to get things accomplished outside increase, but it also gets harder and harder to stay disciplined about downloading what’s on the SD card!

Again, here are some highlights:

I often wonder how people would react to seeing mallards if they were rare (instead of the most common duck in North America);
taken in isolation, they truly are beautiful birds -- yet another instance of "common" too often leading to taken for granted

Frogs are starting to become more visible;
Julie snapped this nice photo of a well-camouflaged leopard 

And where there are frogs there are typically snakes;
this common watersnake gave me a great opportunity for closeups

At 30" or so and right at my feet, I have to admit this one got my attention

This docile DeKay's brown snake maxes out at 12-15" and
is more interested in earthworms than frogs

I am routinely finding them now as I clear downed logs
or move anything that has been sitting on the ground for an extended time

Like the mallard, this red-winged blackbird is extremely common . . . and extremely striking at close range

We continue to be overrun with yellow warblers, and this individual really put on a show for the camera

Just because it's invasive (monk thistle) doesn't mean it can't be beautiful;
I didn't even notice the ants until the image was "developed"

Opportunistic egrets always seem to find food in fluctuating water

Click to enlarge to see some of the ~150 that have been frequenting 40 acres of shallowly flooded millet residue

This male oriole has set-up shop in the largest cottonwood next to the bunkhouse; his vibrant colors
make it hard for me to put the camera down every time that I have to leave

A Lesson in Evolution

Perhaps the least appreciated "end" of a Great egret

I just had occasion to be in my six-year-olds' kindergarten class for a morning of volunteering. Among other things in a bustling classroom never short on activity, they are in the midst of an extended session learning about birds. The day's specific topic was migration, but as we left, it was clear that birds were on the brain.

In the truck, I asked if they knew where birds came from. (This was not intended to be a precursor to "Where do babies come from?" but I realized as soon as I had asked the question that the conversation could get interesting.)

The brief silence after my question gave me enough time to sneak a peak in the rear view. From what I could tell, the twins were comparing notes with their glances before they offered a response. Soon enough though, one of them piped up, "Lizards, right? Or dinosaurs or something." Even though the topic hadn't been covered with me in the room, their teachers had connected some dots.

When we got home, I showed them the photo above, just recently taken at the marsh. Pretty hard to deny the link. Makes you want to go invest in some better binoculars, doesn't it?

The Warblers Are Coming! (and so are some other cool birds)

Yellow-rumped or Myrtle Warbler in dogwoods -- April 21, 2017

As anticipated, lots has changed since I left northwest Ohio just over a week ago. Native trees and shrubs are starting to leaf out in earnest and especially for those who fertilize, the lawn mowers have been asked to come out of hibernation, too. I've yet to make my first cut, but there is no question that spring has sprung in northern Ohio!

From what I hear, last week's weather along the Lake was a classic seesaw: one day of bright sunshine reminded untested skin that it's getting to be sunscreen season, and then the next day it was time to scramble for a winter hat. But there has been enough sustained wind from the south to start ushering in the often colorful and always inspiring neotropical migrants. Warblers are the stars of the show, but dozens and dozens of bird species make their way from southern reaches often amazingly far afield (think Central and even South America). Individuals may only rest over for hours or days as they push on into Canada, but the bi-annual (spring and fall) phenomenon is just getting going and collectively should last for weeks.

I would anticipate I'll be writing plenty more on guests such as the Yellow-rumped Warbler in the lead-up to and even following The Biggest Week in American Birding. For those unfamiliar, this is no publicity stunt. This is another example of a Northwest Ohio treasure that often goes unnoticed or at the very least wildly underappreciated locally while it has become must-see entertainment for a regional, national, and even international audience. (The Oak Openings region and Lake Erie in general could be put into a similar category.)

At any rate for now, here are a few other cool images Roy collected while I was away. I'll be playing catch up with some others over the coming days.

Tree Swallow (with an itch)

Great Egret (apparently in the midst of a staring contest)

Wood Ducks in millet (hen in front, drake in rear)

Dunlin (non-breeding)