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The Daily Bucket -- Another check in at Lake St. Clair [1]

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Date: 2025-02-12

This will be a quick Bucket showing scenes from Lake St. Clair at Anchor Bay. I visited last week with my birding pal, looking for a rare (for SE Michigan) Eared Grebe. I was also interested in how the relatively warmer weather had impacted the lake ice on this very shallow lake.

THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS. WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

First some background on a Very Good (but not Great) Lake from Wikipedia (hyperlinks omitted):

Lake St. Clair is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Great Lakes system (although not considered one of the five Great Lakes), and along with the St. Clair River and Detroit River, Lake St. Clair connects Port Huron (to the north) with Lake Erie (to the south). It has a total surface area of about 430 square miles (1,100 km2) and an average depth of just 11 feet (3.4 m); to ensure an uninterrupted waterway, government agencies in both countries have maintained a 30-foot-deep (9.1 m) shipping channel through the shallow lake for more than a century. First Nations/Native Americans used the lake as part of their extensive navigation of the Great Lakes. The Mississauga called it Waawiyaataan(ong), meaning "(at) the whirlpool". The Wea derived their name from a Miami cognate: Waayaahtanonki.

Lake St. Clair

It’s current name dates to 1679 when French Catholic explorers first saw the lake on the feast day of Saint Clare of Assisi.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Lake St. Clair because it’s heart-shaped. The mouth of the St. Clair River forms a marshy delta at the north, separating the lake into two lobes. The northwest lobe is Anchor Bay, with Lake St. Clair Metropark sitting at the small point just east of Mt. Clemens on the map. Harley Ensign Memorial Boat Access is just to the north of the metropark. That point is formed by the Clinton River as it empties into the lake. That’s where we were looking for the grebe and lake ice.

I haven’t been out much recently, not due to the cold but to a very wet snow plus ice two weeks ago. From the title photo, you get a sense of what many of the trails are like. And this is true throughout the region. At least my neighborhood sidewalks are mostly clear so I’ve been able to get out for walks. We’re under a winter storm watch starting Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning, plus another winter storm is forecast to hit Saturday. Predictions of snow accumulation vary, but I expect we’ll be getting about as much snow from these two storms as we’ve seen all winter so far. And I’m also bracing for subzero temps that will follow the storms.

The lake ice was well developed earlier in the month after a polar vortex settled in.

Frozen Anchor Bay at Lake St. Clair Metropark on January 26th, with ice fishing shanties far out into the lake. Zoom

Anchor Bay looking south towards Lake St. Clair Metropark, February 1st. Zoom

Same view February 7th. Temps have rarely been above freezing for two weeks. But it’s been warm enough, together with the current, where much of the lake is ice free now. Zoom

February 1st, looking towards the marshes at the mouth of the St. Clair River. Zoom

Same view, February 7th. The Clinton River mouth is to the left and flows right, which is part of the reason for the open water. Winds pushed some of the lake ice onto the shore. Zoom

A wider view around the corner, to the south of the prior photo. Open water further out, but still frozen closer to shore. Zoom

Open water means ducks! They are the big pull in getting me out in winter. Those are mostly Canvasbacks, with Redheads, Scaups, Ruddy Ducks, Common and Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, Gadwalls, Common Goldeneyes and Wigeons mixed in. And one Eared Grebe. Zoom

Ducks and a couple swans congregating at the mouth of the Clinton River. There were similar rafts everywhere we looked. Zoom

Closer view of the mix of ducks. Again, the majority were Canvasbacks and most of them were tucked in. Zoom

Close up view of Greater Scaups, Redheads and a Canvasback. Zoom

The Canvasbacks were restless and flying from one side of the point to the other. Zoom

Ah ha! The culprit was a Northern Harrier. Zoom

Common Mergansers swim past another Northern Harrier with a kill on the ice. Zoom

Common Goldeneye drake. Zoom

Greater and Lesser Scaup drakes. Zoom

Success on the target bird — Eared Grebe in the Clinton River. Zoom

Now it’s your turn.

What’s up in nature in your area?

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