The meeting schedule for the rest of 2009 is set:
Sept. 21—“Fun in the Rain Forest” with Grosse Pointe Audubon’s own Mike Florian.
Oct. 19—Clayton Daughenbaugh of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance will present “Wild Utah: America’s Red Rock Wilderness,” a film narrated by Robert Redford.
Nov. 16— "Of Berries and Birds: The Fall Stopover Ecology of Catharus Thrushes" with Julie Craves.
Of course, we meet in the annex of the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church, 17150 Maumee, Grosse Pointe, between St. Clair and Neff. Social hour starts at 7 p.m. and the meeting starts promptly at 7:30. All meetings are free and open to the public, so come and bring a friend.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Invasion of the Hummingbirds!
It seems there are more hummingbirds around Grosse Pointe this summer than we've ever seen before. My neighbor started with one regularly coming to her feeder over the summer, and a couple of weeks ago she started seeing two fighting over the food. I stopped by a couple of weeks ago to watch the hummers come and go and realized that there are actually three!
The photo at right is of one of the hummers that has been coming to her feeder. It's a adult female. You can tell by some of the blotchiness in her feathers that she is undergoing a molt.
I stopped by Meldrum and Smith, the plant nursery on Mack Avenue, the other day. Workers there have been seeing hummingbirds coming and going at their location all summer, and they have heard from an unusual number of Grosse Pointers this year who have seen hummers in their backyards.
Hummingbird migration has already begun, so if you have a feeder, you might want to put it up and keep it up through October. Don't forget to change the water before it goes bad, and never put dye in the mix!
Bill Rapai
President
Friday, May 29, 2009
Canada Warbler at the Ford House
I found a Canada warbler at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores this morning. That means only one thing: Migration is coming to an end. Sure, there will likely be stragglers for the next couple of weeks, but the Canada warbler is among the last of the spring migrants to arrive. Who can blame it? It has to come all the way from South America to reach its nesting grounds in northern Michigan and Wisconsin, stretching north through the great Canadian forests. Look for the Canada warbler to be among the first birds to head back south, too. It can be found in migration through our area as early as late August.
The Canada warbler at the Ford House was found in the woods next to the Activities Center. Other interesting birds at the Ford House today included magnolia, blackpoll and yellow warbler.
Good birding!
Bill Rapai
President
The Canada warbler at the Ford House was found in the woods next to the Activities Center. Other interesting birds at the Ford House today included magnolia, blackpoll and yellow warbler.
Good birding!
Bill Rapai
President
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A flute at dusk
I opened the backdoor tonight to let the dog out, and heard, from a neighbor's yard, the song of a Hermit Thrush. I've heard Hermit Thrush sing in northern Michigan and Ontario, but never in Grosse Pointe before tonight. It's not surprising that I haven't heard a Hermit Thrush sing in Grosse Pointe because we are south of the bird's normal nesting range.
I hear several bird songs this time of year, but the Hermit Thrush song is unlike anything else. It's beautiful, yes, but It's also very complex. In 1904, Schuyler Mathews wrote: "The song of the Hermit Thrush is the grand climax of all bird music; it is unquestionably so far removed from all the rest of the wild-wood singers' accomplishments that vaunted comparisons are invidious and wholly out of place."
I'll be listening closely to see if he finds a mate and attempts to nest. His song at dusk every night for the next month will be a nice addition to the neighborhood.
Bill Rapai
President
I hear several bird songs this time of year, but the Hermit Thrush song is unlike anything else. It's beautiful, yes, but It's also very complex. In 1904, Schuyler Mathews wrote: "The song of the Hermit Thrush is the grand climax of all bird music; it is unquestionably so far removed from all the rest of the wild-wood singers' accomplishments that vaunted comparisons are invidious and wholly out of place."
I'll be listening closely to see if he finds a mate and attempts to nest. His song at dusk every night for the next month will be a nice addition to the neighborhood.
Bill Rapai
President
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Grosse Pointe Woods Team Wins Annual Challenge
The Grosse Pointe Woods team of Martin Blagdurn and Rosann Kovalcik has won the fourth-annual Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge, which was held on May 2.
The competition pits teams from the Grosse Pointes in a seven-hour race to find as many bird species as possible between 5 a.m. and noon in their respective communities. At noon, all teams gather in a restaurant in the Village to tabulate results, declare a winner and swap stories of the day. Each team reports their sightings on the honor system. The Challenge is becoming a fun spring tradition for members of the Grosse Pointe Audubon Society. The event is held in the spring because of the tremendous variety of birds that migrates through our community this time of year.
This is the first year the Woods team has won the Challenge, earning 64 points by seeing 56 species of birds. The Grosse Pointe Farms team finished second with 55 points. The Grosse Pointe Park finished third with 50 points, and the City team finished fourth with 44 points. Each team received one point for each species they saw, one additional point for each species they saw exclusively, and five points for seeing this year's bonus bird, the Northern Yellow-shafted Flicker. The City team had been the defending champion going into the 2009 event.
Even though the event is designed to be a fun competition, members of other teams express jealousy over the advantages that Kovalcik and Blagdurn have. Kovalcik is the owner of the Mack Avenue Wild Birds Unlimited, which is the epicenter of Grosse Pointe bird gossip. Customers share their sightings with Kovalcik and she knows exactly where to go to find the largest variety of birds. Kovalcik and Blagdurn have also turned their yard into a sanctuary that often attracts uncommon birds. Without having to leave their kitchen, they counted a Carolina wren, a somewhat uncommon bird in the Pointes, visiting a feeder in their yard.
Bill Rapai, the lone member of the City team, was the competition's early bird. He visited Neff Park at 5:15 a.m. to search unsuccessfully for the Eastern Screech Owls. Chris Chamberlain and Mark O'Keefe, the Farms team, found a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the grounds of the Country Club of Detroit. Mike and Judy Florian, the Park team, found a Least Flycatcher. The Woods team found a Sandhill Crane, the most unusual bird of the day, flying north along the Lake St. Clair shoreline. Altogether, the four teams found 79 species of birds during the seven-hour count period.
The competition pits teams from the Grosse Pointes in a seven-hour race to find as many bird species as possible between 5 a.m. and noon in their respective communities. At noon, all teams gather in a restaurant in the Village to tabulate results, declare a winner and swap stories of the day. Each team reports their sightings on the honor system. The Challenge is becoming a fun spring tradition for members of the Grosse Pointe Audubon Society. The event is held in the spring because of the tremendous variety of birds that migrates through our community this time of year.
This is the first year the Woods team has won the Challenge, earning 64 points by seeing 56 species of birds. The Grosse Pointe Farms team finished second with 55 points. The Grosse Pointe Park finished third with 50 points, and the City team finished fourth with 44 points. Each team received one point for each species they saw, one additional point for each species they saw exclusively, and five points for seeing this year's bonus bird, the Northern Yellow-shafted Flicker. The City team had been the defending champion going into the 2009 event.
Even though the event is designed to be a fun competition, members of other teams express jealousy over the advantages that Kovalcik and Blagdurn have. Kovalcik is the owner of the Mack Avenue Wild Birds Unlimited, which is the epicenter of Grosse Pointe bird gossip. Customers share their sightings with Kovalcik and she knows exactly where to go to find the largest variety of birds. Kovalcik and Blagdurn have also turned their yard into a sanctuary that often attracts uncommon birds. Without having to leave their kitchen, they counted a Carolina wren, a somewhat uncommon bird in the Pointes, visiting a feeder in their yard.
Bill Rapai, the lone member of the City team, was the competition's early bird. He visited Neff Park at 5:15 a.m. to search unsuccessfully for the Eastern Screech Owls. Chris Chamberlain and Mark O'Keefe, the Farms team, found a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the grounds of the Country Club of Detroit. Mike and Judy Florian, the Park team, found a Least Flycatcher. The Woods team found a Sandhill Crane, the most unusual bird of the day, flying north along the Lake St. Clair shoreline. Altogether, the four teams found 79 species of birds during the seven-hour count period.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Northern Mockingbird, Ford House
A northern mockingbird was seen this morning at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores. The bird was seen around 11 a.m. The bird could not be relocated later in the day.
Other first of the year birds:
Gray catbird
Great-crested Flycatcher.
Get out there!
Other first of the year birds:
Gray catbird
Great-crested Flycatcher.
Get out there!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
