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Dawn Chorus -- Autumn at Magee Marsh [1]

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Date: 2022-11-13

I’ve learned not to limit my forays to Magee Marsh, as there are many other nearby parks and refuges. Just to the west of Magee is the main unit of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Magee is on the east side of Crane Creek as it empties into Lake Erie, and Ottawa on the west. I resolved to extend my visits this year, not just to different places, but also through different seasons. As of April, my goal is at least once a month, and so far I’ve missed only September. It’s been a good plan and I’ve never been disappointed as there’s so much to see. Shorebirds were already into migration mode at the end of July. At Magee, the water levels were low and mudflats few.

Least Sandpiper at one of the few mudflats along the entrance road to Magee. Blink and you miss this tiny but active cutie.

A lack of mudflats didn’t mean that there weren’t some goodies. This lifer Cattle Egret was also along the entrance road.

Ottawa had more water and more birds at the end of July.

Short-billed Dowitchers and Greater Yellowlegs at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, 7/31/22. Zoomed. As always, I welcome corrections and clarifications on bird ID!

Pectoral Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs at Ottawa in August. Zoomed.

Trumpeter Swan pair at Ottawa in August. Unfortunately, there were no signets with them.

October was much livelier at Magee, while Ottawa had mostly dried up. I was dismayed to see signs for hunting blinds along the entrance road to Magee. Other birders reported hearing gunshots in the morning. But it’s a state run wildlife area, and if it’s anything like the ones in Michigan, the fees from hunters fund a lot of the preservation work.

When I was at Magee in mid-June the boardwalk was overgrown in many areas. Concern for ticks (and spiders) kept me from pressing through some of the vines and bushes. Everything was neatly trimmed in October, with enough other birders there to keep good company. As I entered the boardwalk, two flocks of American White Pelicans converged overhead.

American White Pelicans flying over the boardwalk. Another birder said that they were heading out into the Crane Creek estuary to roost.

Before an August, 2021 severe storm, there were three Bald Eagle nests at Magee. Two were destroyed. One pair rebuilt in the middle of the boardwalk area, but was unsuccessful in hatching any chicks.

Bald Eagle nest June, 2022. Zoomed.

The surviving nest is just off the west parking lot in a huge Cottonwood tree. In mid-June, I saw the parents feeding what looked to be two eaglets, and in August, saw the parents defend an empty nest against what looked to be a hatch year fledgling. In October, only the adults were present at the nest.

Bald Eagle at the Cottonwood tree nest near the boardwalk’s west parking lot, October 2022. The second eagle had just flown away so I wasn’t able to make a size comparison.

The Baldie headed further out on the limb, wiping its bill along the way. There’s a word for that, but I can’t remember it. Anyone out there able to help me?

Bill-wiping is not the hottest topic in ornithology, but curiosity has drawn the occasional researcher to the behavior over the years. Although they haven’t arrived at a definite, universal explanation, we can summarize their reports on the role of bill-wiping this way: It definitely acts like a napkin, probably as a file, and maybe even as a cologne spritzer. National Audubon Society.

Bald Eagle wiping its bill. Zoomed.

Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets were everywhere, or at least they seemed to be. Yet they were somehow almost always out of camera frame or focus.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Zoom. Two novice birders asked me about a tiny bird they had just seen, and described a Ruby-crowned, including the blazing red crown. I’m hoping my excitement and hearty congratulations, (mixed with just a wee bit of jealousy as I’ve never witnessed one flare its crown), conveyed how fortunate they were. And just maybe they felt the intoxicating thrill of birding.

Golden-crowned Kinglet. Zoom. I’m reading “The Wild Places” by Robert MacFarland. I love this line: “[W]rens ... whirred from twig to twig so quickly they seem to teleport.” Although he was writing about wrens, he just as easily could be describing kinglets.

Towards the east end of the boardwalk is a small canal. The clear, moving water attracted several bathers and hunters in shallows along the edge.

Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.

Rusty Blackbird.

Purple Finch. A lifer for me.

Another view of the Purple Finch.

These helpful Bird Migration Profiles for warblers from the nearby Black Swamp Bird Observatory predicted that fall warbler migration would be mostly over in the area by the time I visited in mid-October. They were right. (The BSBO has similar migration profiles for many other birds, based on over 30 years of banding data.) Other than the very late migrating Myrtle Warblers in the title photo, I saw only a handful of warblers. Of course the only other one I was able to photograph turned out to be a bit of a puzzle — the ever tricky Bay-breasted versus Blackpoll. I have three similar views.

Faint eyeline, light broken eyering, light streaking on breast, overall olive-ish yellow, looks like dark feet and legs. Zoomed.

In this light, the flank has dark streaking, but no reddish wash of a Bay-breasted. The undertail pattern could be either according to “The Warbler Guide” by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle. Zoomed.

Multiple photos are a must. The feet are in the light in this photo, clearly showing that they are pinkish-orange. The eyeline and eyering are more distinct. Zoomed.

I’m thinking Blackpoll, but I’d appreciate any comments.

Now it’s your turn. What’s up in your birdy world this fall?

This Dawn Chorus is dedicated to Mr. C’s dad, who passed away early yesterday. He was 98½ years old, a WWII vet (Coast Guard stationed on Maui), and the best of fathers-in-law. Even though birding was way outside his ken, he always asked what prizes I’d seen after a day out in the field. And even though he was almost blind, he ooo’d and aah’d at my photos. And despite being a long time Republican, he was overjoyed this past Wednesday to hear that Governor “Big Gretch” Whitmer was reelected and the Michigan reproductive health care proposal passed.

I will be joining the Chorus this afternoon. Meanwhile, funning forrest and Jeff Graham have graciously volunteered to host for the morning.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/13/2131509/-Dawn-Chorus-Autumn-at-Magee-Marsh

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