Imagine it if you can. There were over 60
birding enthusiasts all in one room a few
weeks ago in Roscommon.
They had gathered there from all over the
state for many reasons. One was companionship.
Reason number two was for sharing knowledge
and to learn more about birds. Reason number
three was to 'help put faces to the names'
from the website, and reason number four
was simply for fun and to get out on a beautiful
fall day to enjoy an activity we all shared
a passion for - bird watching.
The event that brought us together was the
Third Annual Northern Michigan Birding Get-Together.
Each year this event has grown and doubled
in size as word of its popularity has spread.
The event has spun off of the popular website
http://www.northbirding.com and as the birding
community and participating members have
grown in size, so has the annual get-together.
This year we gathered at 9 a.m. and split
into three groups for a few hours of birding
the trails of North Higgins Lake State Park.
It was a gorgeous day with a muggy feel that
promised to get hot. When we started out
the birds seemed to be purposely avoiding
us and all we could find was a turkey vulture
circling us overhead. Luckily, near the end
of our trail, we entered into a dense patch
of pines and sauntered into a vertible bonanza
of birds flitting above and around us. We
were lucky enough to see and identify: red
and white-breasted nuthatches, red-eyed and
warbling vireos, a robin, goldfinches, quite
a few Eastern wood peewee's, a black-throated
green, Blackburnian and Tennessee warblers,
along with many redstarts and chickadees.
Jays and hairy woodpeckers were heard, though
not seen and a cardinal, Northern flicker
and Swainson's thrush were also seen by certain
members of our group. A butterfly enthusiast
among us was also delighted to point out
one of Michigan's smallest butterflies to
us - Eastern Tailed Blue.
The other two groups also saw white-crowned
sparrows, tufted titmice, downy woodpeckers,
yellow-bellied sapsuckers, a ring-billed
gull, a common loon, a red-bellied woodpecker,
an ovenbird, a hummingbird, a scarlet tanager
and a special sighting of a yellow-throated
vireo. All in all, it was a spectacular and
relaxing walk along a beautiful northern
Michigan forest trail.
These elusive bird-watchers were spotted
at Higgins Lake a few weeks ago by an even-more-elusive
camera bug named Al Menk.
Camera in tow and binoculars in hand was
the order of the morning on September 8th
when the Third Annual Northern Michigan Birding
Get-Together was held in Roscommon.
Photo courtesy of Al Menk
"The Feeding Station!" - Group
lunch on the shore of Higgins Lake
Photo courtesy of Ken & Sandy Hoover
We had been promised lunch promptly at noon,
so we headed quickly back to the Conference
Center where an incredible 'spread' awaited
us on the beach along the shore of Higgins
Lake. Everyone had their fill of burgers,
brats, watermelon, salads and much, much
more while each group mingled and tried to
find out what the other groups had seen on
their walks.
After lunch, we headed indoors for the special
guest speakers that had been invited to speak
to us. For the next four hours we were treated
to three amazing speakers, each with their
own style and presentation.
Rick Baetsen started off the program with
his lecture on "Northern Michigan Owls"
and proceeded to amaze us with his incredibly
beautiful slide show and the unlimited depth
of his knowledge and love for Michigan's
owl species'. His slides were truly wonderful
and they left us alternately "oohing"
and "aahhing" in wonder. His presentation
was very factual and included many tips on
identifying owls. There was no doubt in anyone's
mind afterwards that Baetsen is an owl expert
and has donated much of his life to the study
and preservation of owls. Baetsen's work
can also be viewed online at http://www.rickbaetsen.com.
Next up was Jerry Purdy who narrated a very
factual and informative presentation on loons
and loon preservation.
His slide show included massive amounts of
culminated data from many surveys about loons.
Everything from breeding to loon threats,
loon habitat needs and loon calls was featured
and Purdy squeezed an incredible amount of
information in a very short time. He also
left us dazzled and speechless. I for one
came away with much more loon knowledge than
I had before Purdy's speech.
Purdy also tried to field some of those oft-asked
questions like: "Why do loon chicks
ride on the backs of the adults?" To
which he replied, "Cuz it's so darn
cute!" In reality, 'riding' prevents
hypothermia, allows for full-body energy
conservation and prevents turtle predation.
Purdy also outlined ways that we could help
with the loon preservation and had pamphlets
available for all the participants.
Last but certainly not least was Bob Pettit.
He proceeded to entertain and educate us
for the next 45 minutes on bird calls. Pettit
has developed an unusual way of transposing
bird calls into human-sounding "phrases".
Many authors and groups have used this 'phonetic'
way of bird-call translation before, but
Pettit's methods were much simpler and more
precise. He liberally sprinkled anecdotes
and quips of humor into his lecture to keep
us entertained rather than lectured at.
Examples of some of Pettit's bird call ID's
are:
Bobolink: Like a banjo. "Bob-o-link-spink-spank."
Ovenbird: Begin softly and ends loudly. "teach'er,
Teach'er, TEACH'ER, TEACH'ER!"
Common Yellowthroat: "Witchity-witchity-witchity-witch."
American Goldfinch: "Potato chips, potato
chips." or "Virginia, Virginia."
House Sparrow: "Seal-it, seal-it, seal-it,
seal-it."
I was concentrating so hard on learning these
calls during the meeting that I forgot to
take notes. Instead my bird call handouts
are covered with hand-written notes to help
me remember. If anyone would like copies
of Pettit's hand-out on bird songs and vocalizations,
please contact me.
At the end of the session Pettit tried to
help a few folks out with some difficult
bird calls that they had encountered and
he was successful in most cases. However,
at the end he was a bit helpless for one
fellow with a hearing aid who claimed that
he could "hear a mosquito fart but couldn't
hear a grasshopper sparrow!"
After Pettit finished up, door prizes were
handed out and many, many birders left that
day with a little something extra other than
fond memories. All of the door prizes were
donated by very generous individuals and
provided an extra 'bonus' that none of us
expected.
However, the Get-Together would not have
been possible without the efforts of Sandy
Hoover. She put her body and soul into making
this a fun and informative day for everyone
concerned and she deserves a huge "kudos"
for all of her hard work.
If anyone is a birder and has access to the
internet, I highly recommend the Northern
Michigan Birding website. It is a fun and
informative site that is particularly tailored
to bird observations, sightings and news
stories from Northern Michigan. And, I hope
to see you all at next year's Fourth Annual
Get-Together!
All text copyright of Connie Thompson
October 2002
To report any bird sightings or anecdotes,
please call me evenings at 906-635-5336
or write to: 14488 S. Ridge Rd., Dafter,
MI 49724
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