AuSable Valley Audubon

(sorry for the late posting)

Western Tanager
photo by Phil Odum used with permission

Article by Peggy Ridgway

For us birders, the massive spring movement of our feathered friends sends a buzz to our brains that we don’t experience at other seasons of the year!  These first few weeks of May are usually the highlight as we anticipate the arrival of species that have traveled thousands of miles to reach their breeding grounds. Many come from as far away as South America or even the Bahamas.   For some it’s a   stop, rest, and refuel before journeying on further north.   For others, Northern Michigan is their final destination and a time to set up territories , commence courtship, and raise young.

The kaleidoscope of color adorning the trees and even our backyard feeding stations is amazing.  Males in their bright bold breeding plumage create an artist’s palette beyond compare. Sweet song symphonies fill the air. Many of us recognize the signature sounds and significance of each note. Continue reading →

Bird Hide at E. Tawas city park

East Tawas City Park has a new addition; one birders can appreciate. It’s a bird hide. The bird hide was built by city employees at no cost to AVA. The hide is meant to disguise curious birders (and the public) as they search for waterfowl, and songbirds in or along the beach of Tawas Bay.  Note the viewing windows at different heights and angles in the photos.

AuSable Valley Audubon board members have been supportive of this project since its inception by writing a letter of support for the grant that helped purchase the land  and offering advice and opinions on the construction and design of the hide.

Of special interest is the extended part on one end. This extension allows a wheelchair to pull-up flush to the inside viewing area and still have room for the person’s legs and the chair.

Stop by and give the hide a try! It is directly across from the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on US 23 in East Tawas. Look for the duck tracks inside, too!

Bird Hide interior

Click on the photos for a larger view.

Several members of AVA and a representative from Ducks Unlimited gathered on Jan. 7 to say farewell to U.S. Forest Service biologist Paul Thompson.

Paul will be leaving the headquarters in Oscoda and transferring to the Cadillac field office. He will continue his biologist position, but will shift his focus from Kirtland’s Warbler to the Great Lakes Piping Plover and other endangered species.

For the past eight years, Paul has led the Kirtland’s Warbler field trips
during the Tawas Point Birding Festival. His expertise and fine presentations were appreciated by all.

Paul also assisted AVA on numerous other projects and he will be missed by all.

Sharp-shinned Hawk with Mourning Dove

Sharp-shinned Hawk with Mourning Dove

Here are a couple of photos submitted by AVA member Patsy Mortimer. She stated that they are of: “A juvenile sharp-shinned hawk nabbed a mourning dove at our feeder in Hale Jan. 17.”

Not all birds eat seeds, but all birds need to eat. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

One of the announcements made during the January  AVA membership meeting was of an upcoming informational talk about the Great Backyard Bird Count.

The meeting will be held on February 3rd in Oscoda at the Robert J. Parks Library on Skeel Avenue. The meeting will be held from 1-3 PM.

Check out this opportunity for some background and information on how you can participate. The Great Backyard Bird Count will occur on February 12-15 this year.

Our AVA meeting hosted one of the rangers from Tawas Point State Park, Micah Jordan as speaker. He spoke to a number of infrastructure upgrades scheduled to begin at the Tawas State Dock in downtown east Tawas. This is a three phase project, with phase one to begin within the next few months. The number of boat slips will be greatly enhanced by the end of all the phases.

Micah also spoke to the planned decommission of the Tawas Point lighthouse light and what is in process to keep the Fresnel lens at the lighthouse in a historical setting. He also answered some questions from the meeting floor about the proposed replacement light mast at the tip of the point near the current foghorn location. We wish to thank the staff of the Tawas Point State Park for providing us the speaker and this information.

Updates from members were also presented about the Christmas bird count which recently completed and some teaser information about the May Tawas Point Birding Festival. There was also a reminder that many volunteer openings are in need of people to help make the 2016 festival successful.

The piping plover is one of many bird species that has benefited from the protections of the Migratory Bird Treaty, which marks its 100th anniversary in 2016.

(Note: This information and photo are taken from the Jan. 7, 2016 MDNR news release. See the release on the DNR site for the complete story and further information.)

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners are kicking off a yearlong celebration of the Migratory Bird Treaty’s 100th anniversary throughout 2016.

To learn more about the Migratory Bird Treaty centennial, visit www.fws.gov/birds/MBTreaty100. To sign up for DNR Wildlife Viewing emails, visit www.michigan.gov/dnr and click on the red envelope.

We have the birds, get out there and see them!

Lesser Yellowlegs

This photo was taken on September 1, 2015 at Tuttle Marsh by Jean Howard, AVA member. Click on the photo for a larger view. 

Thank you Jean!

The AuSable Valley Audubon’s new season schedule of meetings and field trips is now available. You may view, print or download a copy of the schedule (it’s in two parts) via these links: 2015-2016 AVA Program and 2015-2016 AVA schedule contact info.  These files are in PDF format, so you will need a copy of Adobe Reader to view them.

The Spotted Knapweed patrol posts our final message for the Pulling Together project…Spotted Knapweed 2015.

The following is the final letter to Chuck Allen, manager of the Tawas Point State Park and the pullers who worked through the weather, sweat, and aches and pains to remove the noxious plant, Spotted Knapweed. Tuesday, August 18 was our last day of pulling. Following this letter, please note Chuck Allen’s thankful response.

Hello all (Chuck as well as Judy, Bob, Larry, Sue, and Gary)

As we draw the 2015 Spotted Knapweed pulling season to a close, I cannot brag enough about your (our) efforts.  You are such a hard working small group!!!  If I didn’t say it enough this year…thank you, thank you, thank you.  Your reward is in the value that we added to the Tawas Point State Park by removing this noxious weed and by spending time educating folks about SN. 

Today’s pullers were: Judy LaPorte, Bob Kemnitz, Larry VanWagoner, Sue Duncan, Gary and Donette Spiekerman.  Four of us pulled on the bayside of Sandy Hook trail and we got quite far along.  Sue worked on the beachside of Sandy Hook and Larry continued his work in the lawns.  Six pullers worked 13 hours, removed 14 bags which weighed 136 lbs.  Total poundage removed this season is 975 lbs and total volunteer hours worked is 90.5.  Continue reading →