We will have a potluck get together on August 18 around 4pm.
Where:
South shelter area at Oscoda Beach Park.
Meeting at 4 eat at 5.
Bring chair, own service & beverage.
Masks & folding chair needed.
Making decisions on AVA role during COVID-19 situation.
.
This gallery contains 1 photo.
A bunch of members installed some birdhouse at Blue Horizon the other day.
Our April speaker.Adam Beckta, has agreed to present the “Beyond Moreals” talk at our May 5th meeting at 7 pm. Meeting will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Oscoda starting at 5 pm as this is our annual pot-luck.
February 14-17,2020
Tuesday, February 4, 2020, Public Information Meeting
August 27th, 2019
Our trip to Tawas Point was on a cold, intermittent rainy day, May 13. However, many birds were seen and enjoyed and good learning was going on because of our wonderful guide, Sam Burckhardt. Sam is a professional guide, who is truly a great asset to us! Many Thanks to Sam and all that attended.
Dear AVA Members,
To all those who braved the cold wind during this morning’s field trip lead by Sam Burckhardt and all those who stayed home in their warm beds at 7 am, here is a list of the different species that were observed.
This eBird list was compiled by Larry VanWagoner.
My thanks to all who braved the cold weather.
Sam
Tawas Point State Park, East Tawas US-MI (44.2538,-83.4483), Iosco, Michigan, US
May 13, 2019 7:02 AM – 9:35 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.459 mile(s)
Comments: AVA field trip, cloudy and drizzle at times, winds out of North, 42 F
51 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 5
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 1
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) 1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 4
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 9
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 2
Common Loon (Gavia immer) 1
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 12
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) 2
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) (Colaptes auratus auratus/luteus) 4
Merlin (Falco columbarius) 2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 12
Purple Martin (Progne subis) 1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 20
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 20
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 5
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) 3
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) 1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 12
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 1
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 1
Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida) 2
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) 1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 4
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) 9
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 40
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 6
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 20
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) 3
Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina) 1
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) 6
Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) 9
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) 2
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) 1
Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 30
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) 3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) 5
A small but efficient and hardworking team of 9 met for the spring clean up on M-55 west of Tawas on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Their task was to address two miles of highway which had missed a fall 2018 cleaning. It took two hours of sunshine and walking to complete the two miles under AVA care. Eighteen bags of trash, some lumber, a full and complete car bumper and a number of ‘roadies” (ten cent refundable cans) were collected. Thanks to folks like this, AVA has 227 bags of trash removed to their credit. These efforts give us all a healthier habitat, a more attractive landscape and a fine sense of accomplishment.
Thanks to ALL our Road Clean Up Teams Present and Past!
Just thought I’d throw in a birds nest in Africa today.
Anyone here ever seen one?
www.facebook.com/groups/340988663878839/permalink/810218816955819/
This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.www.pcmag.com/news/calling-all-bird-lovers?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=whatsnewnow&zdee=gAAAAAB...
Calling All Bird Lovers: We're Obsessed With This Identification App
www.pcmag.com
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.
DNR photo.
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
