May 16, 17, 18, 2019....Lake Erie...Howard MetroPark, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Magee Marsh

Tom and I spent three days at Lake Erie birding in some of the parks along the coast.  Howard MetroPark has been open since last year.  It is part of the Toledo MetroPark system.  The park personal are in the process of turning the Howard farm back to its natural marshy state.  Already, the birds have found it.

Tom and I have seen Horned Larks in the past but we have never seen one as close as this one.  For a while it perched on a big rock and sang its beautiful song.

Later, it, or another one, sat on the gravel beside the van as we ate our lunch.  We looked at it and it looked at us.

We got really good looks at its tiny "horns".  

Another bird we rarely see up close is this Caspian Tern.  Usually we see them flying.

We saw lots of Trumpeter Swans. Trumpeter Swans are one of the successful Conservation projects  in this area. For many years there were none in the area.

Tom is good at spotting Snowy Egrets. If you click on it, you can see the red between its bill and eye which only appears in breeding season.

This Great Egret has the distinctive green patch between its eye and bill. The patch and fluffy feathers tell us it is in breeding plumage. This one has wet "fluffy' feathers so they are stringy, not fluffy.

The bird I was elated to see was this Yellow-headed Blackbird.  They nest in the area but they are not often seen.  The last one I saw was years ago at Cheyenne Bottoms in Kansas.  Tom had to take this picture through the front window so it is not as clear as it might be.  The situation was beyond Tom's control.

Our next stop was Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.

One of the most noticeable birds was the Eastern Kingbird.  Tom took some photos that showed the entire bird better but this one shows the identifying white band across its tail best.

We drove the Ottawa dike drive on Thursday and again on Friday.  On both days we saw many Eastern Kingbirds and also large numbers of Trumpeter Swans and Great Egrets.  We heard Yellow Warblers all along the drive and toward the end of the drive we came across this one in its nest.

The boardwalk at Magee Marsh is the place to see a big variety of warblers.  Sometimes the warblers are close to the railing.  Other times they are further away.

Sometimes they are high in the trees.

Below are portraits of some that were close enough to see without binoculars.

Bay-breasted Warbler (male)

Chestnut-sided Warbler (male)

Magnolia Warbler (male)

At all three locations , we saw families of Canada Geese.

Walks at Garbry Big Woods, April 10 and April 16

April 10 Bloodroot.  Tom and I saw Bloodroot on April 16, also but a lot of them had lost their petals.

April 10 Harbinger of Spring...We didn't see any on April 16 but that may have been because we were looking at all the new species that had begun blooming.

April 10 Spice Bush...Tom noticed one bush in full bloom at the entrance to the woods but we didn't see any other blooms.  I think we missed their showy season.

April 10  Blue Cohosh...Maroon flowers were still blooming on April 16.

April 16, Blue Cohosh...I found the yellow version, too.  I didn't see those on April 10.

April 10 Mayapples...The Mayapples were emerging.

April 16 Mayapples...Lots of Mayapples as tall as they ever get.  The two-leafed ones had plump round buds.  Looks like this will be a good year for Mayapples.

April 10 Yellow Trout Lily (Dogtooth Violet)...This was open as far as any I saw on April 10.

April 16 Yellow Trout Lily...The entire woodland floor was sprinkled with open Yellow Trout Lilies (Dogtooth Violets)

April 16, Yellow Trout Lily...Lots of the Trout Lilies nestle among the roots of the trees.

April 10  Large Flowered Trillium...Tom and I were pleased to find this Large-flowered Trillium showing its white petals.

April 16 Larged Flowered Trillium...Still not a lot of Large-flowered Trillium completely open but there were a lot that were close to fully open.  In a few days the woods will be white with them.

April 16 Large Flowered Bellwort...We didn't see any open on April 10 but today there were enough that their paler yellow was noticeable even though there were also lots of the brighter yellow of the Trout Lilies.

April 16  Wild Ginger...The leaves are beginning to emerge.  The fuzzy buds were visible on some of the plants.

Wild Blue Phlox...I found this as we were heading back to the van.  After I saw this one I saw several more.  None of them were showing buds, yet.

And that is why the early flowers of Spring are called "Ephemeral".  Here this week and gone next week.

April 6, 2019...A Walk at Brukner Nature Center

I came to Brukner Nature Center to see the Snow Trillium.  They were scattered about at the foot of Short Step Hill.  They were growing among clumps of Hepatica.  It was a beautiful hillside.

Here and there, single Spring Beauty flowers bloomed.  There will be clusters of them, soon.

With my walking stick in my left hand, my binoculars strap around my neck and my Olympus Tough camera in my right hand, I headed to the swamp to see if the Marsh Marigolds were blooming.

On the way I made more discoveries.

The first completely open sprays of Dutchmen's Breeches that I have see this spring...

Purple Cress in bud....

Another photographer was focusing on a tree trunk as I headed up Wren Run.  I didn't get a picture but we saw a Red Admiral, a Mourning Cloak, and an Eastern Comma sucking the sap running down the bark.  All three stayed on the trunk the entire time we admired them.  So nice to see three different colorful butterflies at the same time.

And onward toward the swamp...

The boardwalk on the floodplain was still mostly covered by water.

But as I looked down on the steps to the swamp section of the boardwalk I saw the Marsh Marigolds...

and Skunk Cabbage leaves unfurling its leaves throughout the swamp.  In a few weeks the leaves will cover the entire surface.

The boardwalk in the swamp was not flooded.  It rarely floods.  I followed it out to a little rise where the Harbinger of Spring and the Squirrel Corn grows.  I found the Harbinger of Spring but not the Squirrel Corn.  Maybe next week...

But I found one blooming False Rue Anemone (Isopyrum)...

and this pretty Waterleaf leaf.

I was pleased to get a good photo of a Crayfish Chimney.  I find them hard to photograph.

As I was climbing the hill out of the swamp,  I spotted a Bloodroot fully open.

And I was surprised to see the leaf of a Mayapple that had just broken through the ground.

As I hiked up Hickory Ridge, I found a few more signs of spring.

The Buckeye buds were opening, showing their clusters of  leaves.

There were many more Snow Trilliums and Hepatica in white, lavender and pink.  There were Purple Cresses in bud...

And after much searching I found a Purple Cress blooming.  A pollinator had found it, too.

April 3, 2019...A Perfect Spring Day in the Woods

Frogs singing for their mates provided music for our ears and flowers provided beauty for our eyes.   This was the first day of Spring in Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary.  The calendar Spring is only a date.  This was an event.

Harbinger of Spring clusters were sprinkled throughout the woodland, little tufts on the blanket of last year's leaves.

Here and there other flowers joined in the celebration.

Spring Beauties...

Hepatica...

Bloodroot...

And a little further down the boardwalk, Dutchmen's Breeches buds were swelling.

A few Sessile Trillium were opening their leaves.

Waterleaf was just beginning to show itself all through the woods.

And the pollinators were busy gathering food for themselves and spreading pollen.

A bee or a wasp or a fly?  The flower is Purple Cress.

Eastern Comma Butterfly

A couple Eastern Garter Snakes  awakened to check out the territory.  

One decided to explore further.

Happy Spring, everyone.