Last year Tropical Birding Tours sent us Spring Warbler Guides that were distributed at our welcome tent. These full-color guides were in very high demand last year because new birders found them valuable to identify the many warblers at Tawas Point. We are thrilled to announce that Tropical Birding Tours again provided these valuable guides for migration days. Look for them at the AuSable Valley Audubon welcome tent.
Wholehearted thank you to Tropical Birding Tours for their generous donation. You can learn more about them at tropicalbirding.com
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April’s AVA member meeting will be on Tuesday, April 11, at 7 pm in the evening at the Oscoda/AuSable Senior Center, 653 State St SW, Oscoda Mi 48750.In Oscoda/AuSable from US 23:At the intersection of US 23 (south of the bridge over the AuSable River) and Smith St(Smith St intersects US 23 at the AuSable Chamber of Commerce and Shoreline Park)Turn west on Smith StreetDrive west on Smith Street to State Street SW, turn south (left) and drive to 653 State Street SW
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Tree planting at Tawas Point State Park April 30, 2022
AuSable Valley Audubon continued its third year of tree planting at Tawas Point State Park this year. The first year we planted 100 jack pine seedlings along the two-track out to the point. Last year we planted 12 4-5’ white and red oaks in the campground and this year we again planted in the campground: 10 3-4’ linden or basswood trees. Larry VanWagoner picked up the trees we special ordered from the Alcona County Conservation District tree sale. They were all in good shape except for one tree with no roots longer than an inch. The others had roots up to two feet long. We planted them all and will keep our fingers crossed on the first one.
Six AVA volunteers planted along with four park staff members. Most of the holes were in pure sand below the sod. A couple lucky trees actually had dirt in the hole. After planting we mulched each tree with wood chips while Larry made a wire cage held up by rerod – mainly to make the trees more visible to campers backing up trailers. Then a kitty litter container with two holes in the bottom was placed inside the cage and filled with water. Larry and his wife, Sue Duncan, have agreed to water the trees again this year – weekly! It’s quite a commitment on their part. We’re anxiously waiting for the trees to leaf out so we know they’re alive. – Patsy Mortimer
Park staff and AVA volunteers plant basswood trees in the campground at Tawas Point State Park.
Pictured: Staff, Kathleen Swindlehurst, Tim Morand, Dee Morand, Staff, Staff
John Gontarek and Larry Van Wagoner put final touches on the cage for the basswood tree which has wood chip mulch and a slow-release watering bucket, AKA a kitty litter container.
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Bill Roth 23 April had some nice sightings today. I traveled down to Pinconning Park and Nayanquing Pt in Linwood . A Wilson’s Snipe, a Great Horned Owl with Owlets in an old Baldie nest (very hard to photo because over 1/4 mile away), Blue winged Teal ( many), Flock of 15 American White Pelicans, Yellowlegs and something I never expected, a Tri colored Heron. Didn’t realize how small they are. I saw it feeding along bay shore and then it flew up onto a dead ash. Was posing for me for several minutes and able to get very close to the Heron. If anyone is traveling downstate, try to hit this area right now, many birds. Just contact me and will give you directions and try to be of help. Bill
Photo by Bill Roth Photo by Bill RothPhoto by Bill RothPhoto by Bill RothPhoto by Bill Roth
Story of owlet saved at Greenbush Golf course by David & Ruth Golm. Owlet discovered along roadside while walking. After many phone calls the ARK group in St. helen suggested to build a cage around it to protect from predators & hopefully mom would return to feed & save. Beach towel was used to move into cage & help protect from 20 degree night temps. Owlet survived night, but NO sign of mom visit. So at 4pm Golm’s transported Owlet to Tawas for ARK rep to return to rehab area for future growth. Chick gobbled down 4 mice once in new transport cage. Hope it will survive & be returned to Gbgcpro in the near future.
The May meeting will be at the Warrier Pavillion on Van Ettan Lake Annual Potluck and elections. Please RSVP attendance to: Dawn Hooper: hooperstu2414@gmail.com
Summer field trips: August 10 @ Glennie Library “Wildflowers at the Labyrinth” 10 am
TBA Tour Osprey Platforms
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Connecting with nature is beneficial, even when you use technology to do it. And the barrier to entry is almost non-existent with the fun and free Merlin Bird ID app.
Great article. Thank you Martha for getting me to use these apps and to LOVE birding! Now I am obsessed and it’s all thanks to you for getting me started.
Can there be anything good coming out of the recent Michigan forest fire south-east of Grayling?Fire.
When it comes to the jack pine, it's a double-edged sword. It's great because it naturally occurs here -- it's a natural part of the ecosystem on the outwash plains; it's the way the ecosystem renews itself.
But fire is also a heartless destroyer.
Saturday's fire, dubbed the Wilderness Trail fire for a road that runs east and south of the fire area, burned an estimated acres 2,400 acres. Some of the acreage was jack pine. Other areas were a mix of pines and hardwoods. In some areas the fire was contained to the ground and in other areas, the fire burned complete trees.
We don't know yet if any occupied Kirtland's Warbler habitat was impacted by the fire -- but we suspect there was. In fact, based on a map provided by the Michigan DNR, it appears that the trees we helped to plant during our 2013 Jack Pine Planting Day may have been burned. And we know that as of last year that particular stand was occupied. If there were any nests in there this spring, it's unlikely that they survived.
The adult birds, however, likely escaped and the odds are good that they will try to re-nest elsewhere. There's plenty of habitat nearby. The question is, will they be able to find enough area that isn't already claimed by another pair.
So what happens next? First, everybody is going to take a step back and let out a sigh of relief because it could have been much worse. Had crews not worked to contain the southern flank of the fire, it could have had an impact on businesses and Kirtland Community College on Four Mile Road. And the damage to KW habitat was kept to a minimum.
The Michigan DNR will make an assessment of the burn area to see if any timber can be salvaged. If so, it will be sold off and harvested. If not, the KW habitat will be plowed and either replanted or allowed to regenerate naturally.
In the for what it's worth department, it's likely that more KW habitat will be created by the fire, but it's just too early to say for sure. And the other piece of good news comes from a study done years ago showed that female Kirtland's Warblers preferred to nest in areas that had been burned to areas that are replanted. Fingers crossed there will be some benefit from this.
We wish we had more to share with you today. We'll be working to gather more information and share it with you later in the week.
It is known as a fire species because the trees rely on wildfire or prescribed burns to open their resinous, tightly closed cones to release seeds.
So should be a lot of Jack Pines popping up very soon if we get some rain
