The American Kestrel is our smallest falcon and the only Kestrel found in North America. It is frequently seen sitting on electrical wires or hovering over a field searching for grasshoppers, its' favorite prey. They seem to be migrating through our area right now. I saw six of them in the Maple River State Game Area on Wednesday. They are quite "shy" and rarely allow you to approach very close. 

American Kestrel

Well maybe not as rare as a blue moon but this is the first Blue Phase (Dark Morph) Snow Goose that I have seen. Sure do wish I could have been a little closer to this one!

Snow Goose and Blue Morph Snow Goose

Here is a photo of a Snowy Owl sleeping in the only shade it could find on a hot December day. Somehow it just doesn't seem right to see these owls without snow.

Snowy Owl

It is always a pleasure to see a male Northern Harrier. They seem to be quite secretive and reclusive compared to the females and immatures. Or maybe there just aren't as many of them around. Harriers very rarely fly close enough to get a really good photograph. Here is a pic of one of the two males my friend and I discovered on our quest to find a Snowy Owl. What a beautiful graceful bird!

Northern Harrier

Yesterday a friend and I were on our way back from looking for Snowy Owls in the Shiawassee NWR and we decided to make a drive through the Maple River SGA. Just can not pass by Maple River SGA without taking a look around. Especially this time of year when all of the different raptors are showing up. Typically there are Kestrels, Northern Shrike, and occasional Merlin, Northern Harriers, Red tailed Hawks and maybe if your lucky a Golden Eagle or uncommon Owl. Well today we were lucky. There is a group of pine trees that we go by time after time and my friend always says "someday I'm going to find an owl in there". Today when we went by the pines there were about a dozen Bluejays raising a raucous. Quite often when Bluejays or Crows or even Chickadees are being very loud it means that they have found a raptor and are dive bombing it to try and chase it away. We stopped the car and began to search the pines to see what the Bluejays were bothering. It wasn't long before I herd my friend say in a low excited voice "Jim I've got a Long-eared Owl". Here is a pic of the very unusual Long-eared Owl. What a great ending to a very good day outside!

Long-eared Owl

When I was hiking the trails at Fenner Nature Center this week I came across this Red Squirrel chowing down on a Black Walnut. Black Walnuts are really hard but it didn't take him long to get to the good part. Watching him eat made me hungry so I headed for home and a lunch of my own.

Red Squirrel

Frost

Come out, come out!
October is here;
Come out, come look!
The weather is clear.
Jack Frost has brought something 
for you and for me; his frosty white paintings --
A wonder to see! ...

Alice C. D. Riley
 

Late this afternoon I was at Lake Lansing with Bruce Cohen watching the evening gulls fly in for the night hoping to find something rare. Our gull watch was suddenly interrupted when an immature Bald Eagle flew over the lake scattering the gulls. We were quite disappointed to see the gulls settle down much further out in the lake making it harder to see them through the scope. But our disappointment changed to excitement when this Merlin flew in with a House Sparrow in it's talons and landed in the Cottonwood Tree just above us. Needless to say our gull watch quickly turned into a hawk watch or should I say watching a hawk eat dinner.

Merlin  

Often when I am quietly sneaking through the woods, being oh so careful not to step on a twig and make it snap, I get the feeling that I'm not as stealthy as I think I am. I feel like the trees and the bushes have eyes and I am always being watched. Do you ever get that feeling too? 

Raccoon

I forgot about this photo I took at Fenner Nature Center last spring. So I will post one more today. So much to be thankful for!

Wild Turkey

Today I thought I would post a couple of Ducks in Flight pics from my trip to Thorn Lake earlier this week. It is hard to appreciate the beauty of birds in flight when looking at them through binoculars. But slow things down a bit with a fast shutter speed and you enter a new world. Here are a Northern Shoveler and a Hooded Merganser. Happy Thanksgiving!

Northern Shoveler

Hooded Merganser

I was out for a walk yesterday and found this deer all snuggled up in it's warm cozy bed for the day. It picked it's head up to check me out just as I was getting ready to take a photo of it sleeping.

White-tailed Deer

A local Michigan birder found a first year male Harlequin Duck last Saturday in Michigan Center, Jackson County. I drove down with a friend on Sunday to find it but as it turns out we were looking at Center Lake and the duck had moved below the dam where it was feeding with some Mallard Ducks in the shallow rapids. We did not find the duck on Sunday so my sister asked if I would meet up with her yesterday and look for the little guy one more time. We pulled in to the Party Store parking lot and walked behind it where the river was and he was right there less than 30 ft away. Here are a couple of pics. More photographs from the trip to Center Lake and close by Thorn Lake can be seen here.
Thanks to R Green for finding the Harlequin Duck and posting directions on where to find it.

Harlequin Duck

Harlequin Duck