I never met a warbler ...

Sounds like a comic's joke? Are you waiting for the next line?

Bottom line is "That I did not like" ... but you will have to wait and read quite awhile to see this!!!

First, my "trigger":   In thinking about the upcoming Biggest Week (our favorite annual event - Hey! click the link! It happens in two weeks!), It occurred to me I have no recollection of ever seeing a warbler on the US west coast where I spent over 3 decades. Ever! I always carried binocs (big, clunky 7x50 binocs (better light in the SF fog) and my hands were steady enough to use them, but I never saw a warbler!!! So tonight I spent some time digging out the published field guide I used then (I think the only guide then!!!). At the same time I was hoping that I might have used the checklist in this 1961 field guide book at that time to record all my west coast birds (no such luck...).

It was fun anyway... and makes an interesting "ramble" - at least for me anyway...!

First I need to post a disclaimer: I did all the pics quickly to tell a story tonight, so they might be a bit fuzzy.

I took a Vertebrate Zoology course at UC Berkeley (UCB) back in the 1960's (I think I was seventeen).  I bought the required books, one of which was the Peterson guide shown here. Overall it was not an experience that would ever convince anyone to become a birder. My main memory of birding was that the TA graded on taking field notes. Never mind the name of the bird, just take notes! I did. My only remembered note from the required field notes was "a bird flew from a tree into a bush"! To this day I hate that memory! What bird??? Teach me! Don't grade me! I already knew more scientific names of critters than most people learn in a lifetime, but did not learn any new birds! To be fair, birds were only part of the class, and their IDs were not the focus. And, it did get me used to the idea of taking field notes - a habit I still follow.

As a budding (botany talk) or an unfledged (birder talk) taxonomist, this was the antithesis of what I wanted to learn! And, I am sure all birders' first questions are like mine was then  - "what IS it?"! How indeed (!) could I ever write any notes without knowing its name?

Without further elaboration, I might suggest things, like  "I observed a mammal eating something in my home tonight"; "I set my drink on the large wood thing"; etc.  I am sure everyone will understand what any communication would be like without names! (i.e., taxonomy ...).

Anyway it was interesting tonight to see my old book. Geez!!! Fourth edition! 1961! Darn near the start of "birding" as we know it! And, yes, this was when "bird watchers" were thought of as very strange people!!! Wonderfully amazing how the image of birders has changed over the decades!!!

It is dirty, tattered, sun-faded, and partly wine-drenched. And I had bought and pasted special tabs to denote each section. You can see that it must have been used, but mostly after the class was over!



















OK, my checklist in the book will tell me life birds to add to my "life list"! No such luck!

I am not at all sure what the dots on my checklist mean - like "=" equals  "=", right? But, I will guess that all I was trying to do was pass the class, and orange dots were either mounts or pictures I had encountered in the lab. These I had to study! Blue dots - did I see the birds? Maybe.  Useless anyway!

Then I quickly ran thru the book to see what else I had done. Maybe I made notes by each species I had encountered as I started to do in my more recent Peterson guide in Michigan (before I became a "birder")? No such luck!!! About the only check I found was for a bird (Warbler! Fascinating...) everyone would love to see in the Midwest! Did I see it? Or did it fly "from a tree into a bush"?

The only "real answer" lies in my field notes. If I ever locate them again, I will be able to tell eBird what birds I saw when, and add to my relatively meager (in comparison to many birders) life list (188 species and counting) as well as my diminishing memories. In my field notes, I recorded all my adventures. The notes originally included primarily fishing exploits with detailed notes of fish caught, and what baits were used. (A few decades later, prestigious fishing magazines like InFisherman and Bassmaster recommended this practice to their readers!) As I progressed into marine biology - primarily phycology (esp. marine seaweeds) -  the notes detailed every species collected, and my field note numbers were also documentation as an accession list for the source of the original record of the collection.

Maybe my field notes went to the University of Washington (UW) when I gave them my personal seaweed herbarium (4th largest on Pacific Coast). That would be appropriate, Maybe I left them with the University of Southern California Allen Hancock Foundation Herbarium (formally known as HAHF) where I was the curator for over a decade. That would be appropriate. Maybe they were lost in the transitions between HAFH and the LA county Museum (LACM) , or perhaps subsequently when LACM collections were transferred to UCB. Or maybe, when I put my personal collection on loan to an up-and-coming phycology star Geoff Leister at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB). Or maybe, somewhere in my basement boxes?  UW has searched with no results. UCB is possibly too huge to take the time? Geoff Leister has disappeared. And, I seriously doubt they are in the basement - I keep all the "good stuff" (i.e., personal) upstairs. Where did they go???

Geez! How I want to see my notes again!!!
............................................
Oh, sorry, did I digress???

So ... back to subject! "I never met a warbler"! With possible exception of that lifer Hermit Warbler I just learned about  - (and doubt?). In my West Coast days, I know I loved (and recorded) wonderful shorebirds. I also recorded yard birds. But warblers? Never!!! Dinky things that fly too fast! Dinky things at the tops of trees!!! Things that my Peterson had pages for called "Confusing Fall Warblers". Confusing? That was enough! I did not need it. No matter the season! Forget warbler birds! I am going to the beach!!!

Anyway, in two weeks the Biggest Week in American Birding happens. (click the link!) For Judy and me, this is the highlight of our year! It is the time we travel to stay "local" away from home and enjoy out birding the most. And what do we see? Warblers!!!

Now I say: "I never met a warbler I did not like"!!!

During spring migration, they (the warblers) are in breeding colors.That are beautiful!!! You can easily find their pics in a bird guide. And at the Biggest Week, there are SO many experts - including professional birders - to help you not only identify them, but also to SEE them! They are right there! And the really great thing is that they are often at eye level!!! (Even though the Magee Marsh used to be called Crane Creek, it referred to the many wading birds you will also see, and not necessarily the contortions of the cervical vertebrate as you play "follow the bouncing bird"!).

So, I also post a few pics of references about warblers. I take along a couple of regular field guides to eastern birds as well because you will see so many other interesting birds!

Recently I put a pic of me holding a great warbler poster and holding one of the warbler books on Facebook. I am not sure if Charles Owens' great poster will be available for sale this year, but it was SO wonderful he made his amazing pics available to BSBO and the Biggest Week for a poster to generate income for their causes!!!

Here I am also holding a warbler field guide by Don and Lillian Stokes. It was cool that when I posted this on Facebook Lillian thanked me. Birders are so friendly!


Before I started "rambling" tonight, I also dug out a couple more books that I need to review and take along for the Biggest Week.

The Peterson series now has a special warbler guide. A really cool thing is that it has "warbler butts" - like what you get in your pics when looking upward!




















And a new book totally "blows me away" with comprehension, but really the most fascinating new feature is that it includes the graphical depictions of songs showing pitch and cadence!!! Former bird guides talk about songs as "words", and yes, they might be helpful to some, but my mind has yet to make sense of it, For example, the first time I heard "Drink your tea" (described song of Eastern Towhee), it was a Robin doing three syllables! If I had thought it was "drink" (first note") "your" (down!) " tea" (up and kinda multi-syllabic warbled), I might have guessed better! Yeah, whole another story ...! Maybe this book will help? Too much to handle!!!

Every book is great in their own way (and I will not elaborate now), BUT I note that you really need nothing other than your interest!!! There are SO many experts (published authorities and otherwise) in the area that I guarantee all your questions will be answered. Just ask!!!

And if you do not already have books, there are several places in the area to get them. Also, if you need binocs, you can get them there as well at"Optics Alley" at BSBO.


Also, be sure to check out the online Visitor's Guide before you go. Lots of info!

Here it comes again with the bottom line: I never met a warbler I did not like!!!

... Hope y'all enjoyed my "ramble"!!!

BTW check out my prior BW blog  (and its embedded refs!) for pics and more details ...
http://drbobsbirdblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/spring-and-ones-fancy-turns-to-biggest.html

You Might Be a Redneck if... and other Red-fronted Birdie Dudes this winter

The horrible winter here this year kept us indoors for most of it. Yes, we are "fair weather birders". But I always watch the weather forecasts and birding reports, and found a few occasions where it looked promising for an adventure.

My thoughts are now turning to The Biggest Week in American Birding, but I wanted to get out some more pics from this winter.

Besides the amazing spectacle with the Long-tailed Ducks I reported earlier, I also shot my best ever pics of Red-breasted Mergansers on that day. We have hardly ever seen them and they came up close and personal. Great day!!! I add a few more pics here. I have many more pics of both male and females (including many "bird book pics"), but worked on a few of my favorites to share now.

I took a ton of pics of the birds, but need to note that this behavior I call "snorkeling" is not from only one series of pics, but was a common behavior as I watched this bird! Indeed, I think the bird cruised along with head under water looking to see if it were worth diving for prey. Very fascinating!!!

Red-breasted Merganser shakes it off

What's up? Duck?

RB Merganser snorkeling

RB Merganser snorkeling

Close up for Judy. She loved their hairdos! I love this shot!

And I think my most amazing shot shows a film of water surrounding the head!!!

Indeed!!! An amazing day!!! I have hundreds more pics of Long-tailed Ducks, Mergansers and their feathered brethren, but at least I shared some of them! (What will happen to all our pics when we die? I suspect they will be lost. At least I try to share some memories as I move along ...)

And, then on another amazing day, I shot some quite decent pics of a Red-necked Grebe feeding on Yellow Bullheads at the North Dam at Stony Creek Metro Park. Thanks to Carl Bachtel for identification of the fish! (BTW, if you follow the highlighted link to Carl, you will see him talking about how to get kids into fishing. I love it! It really applies to birders as well! We go out to "catch" something, and just need to get the kids prepared with the right equipment - accompanied with preparation, understanding, guidance, and patience on our parts!!!)  )

This bird (Good Grebe!!!) was possibly the most photographed individual member of that species ever. Local birders had reported it there several days before we went, and the bird stayed for maybe two weeks after and left fat and happy. I surely appreciate my Facebook Birding Michigan friends for their posts telling me about great birds!!!

Yes, when we went, the day was above freezing, but the wind off the frozen lake (the dam was about the only open water) was positively frigid! But even with the shaking, our stabilized lenses allowed some decent pics from the top of the dam. It even was so cold, my intrepid wife and companion Judy retreated to the car before I did! First time! But she had fun and saw her lifer first!!!

Red-necked Grebe with Yellow Bullhead

"Darn thing is not cooperating!
I'll smash it a few times on  the water to loosen it up."

"Now if only I can swallow it without those spines getting caught in my throat!"

Just thinking. I wonder if anyone named this guy! I have not seen anyone do that yet, so I think I will name our wonderful visitor "Jeff" after Jeff Foxworthy and his gang who inspired the title of my blog. Now our local Red-necked Jeff is even more personal!

So as I was thinking about rednecks, I also thought about other red-fronted birds. A large amount of reddish coloring is fairly rare anyway, but especially in winter.

Here are a few pics of the American Robin that visited our deck a couple of weeks ago. Many people think of Robins as the first sign of Spring, but we usually see them here all winter. I guess there are enough berries or other fruits left on our trees to help them, and a river runs behind our yard for fresh water. But I know they are sure happy to see grass again, and maybe soon the earth will thaw enough to bring forth their favored worms. By now, the Red-winged Blackbirds have come back. These are my first avian sign of spring.

And we had occasional visits from our year-round House Finches. I keep looking and hoping in winter to get a rare glimpse of a Purple Finch, but no luck this year.

And no discussion of red-fronted would be complete without the Cardinal. The following pics were taken while snow was falling and the light was yukky, but I'll take them! (Oh. That's right, I really did take them ...)  :)

Male Cardinal eats while snow falls

Oh. Oh!
I am eating and flashing my gals and this guy shows up!
Bombs away!!!

.

Lady Cardinal - the object of desire?
"Hey guys, I am trying to eat here. Stop showing off!!!"

Hope y'all liked my "redneck humor" and pics!!!
- "Dr. Bob"

My Three Swans - Beaudette Park, Pontiac, 2014-03-08

This post is mostly about pictures. Judy and I have mostly been housebound this winter and this was the first time we went to Beaudette Park - one of our favorite places in winter. I saw an earlier FB post (thanks so much Mike!!! I sold my 4WD drive Jimmy last year and really missed it this year ...) from a very experienced birder who got stuck in a snow drift there (and really saw nothing of too much interest) and decided to avoid it for the interim. But a more recent FB post mentioned Trumpeter Swans there again (as usual in winter), and the day was milder and some of the snow had melted, so we tried it.

Great day! Not only did we see the Trumpeter Swans, but also a Tundra Swan. A couple of years ago we saw all three there, but this time I shot some better pics. It was a great lesson in swan identification! I admit I was stumped before, but the day allowed seeing the differences quite well. Even in the pics here, I think you can see differences.

OK. Mute Swans you know. The big thing about Trumpeters and Tundras is that (mostly) the Tundra has a yellow spot on lores (like just below the eyes). That makes it easier. And even if not, the Tundra has a rounded (actually fairly flat) border where the white of the head meets the bill. The Trumpeter has a more pointed white going towards the bill. Sibley's guide has good illustrations of this.

Yes, I know it can be more complicated than this, but tonight I did not want to take the time to look up the great ID tip sheet that Bruce Bowman put on the Mich lister's site a couple of years ago. These birds were easy.

.

"Un-Cloaked" Mute Darth Vader Swan goes after Tundra Swan

Same nasty Mute spent most of its time going after the Trumpeter Swans

.

I think I'll have a couple of Mute's and a spilled latte on ice ...

.

Damn! I have been chasing the other swans all around this pond
and I still can't ever get rid of this darn thing that always seems to be below me!
No matter where I go, there it is! 

.

Trumpeter Swan goes after Tundra

So I figured out the pecking order. Mute swans go after any other swan as well as geese (no geese were present and I know why!). Trumpeters go after Tundras. I hope the Tundra finally made it to the ice hole to grab some veggies!
.

Tundra Swan napping

.

Tundra Swan ice dancing

.And to the folks on the Facebook (FB) Hearts in Nature site, I posted the following. Reflecting, it reminded be of some comments by Desmond Morris (author of Naked Ape) from the 60's/70's. (Anyone remember him? Curious, I am interested in knowing ...)

It's a heart, but part heart is under water ...

And just to complete my story, here is a pic of lovely wife Judy.

Judy marks her territory with a footprint while some weird snow Trump bird thing watches ...

Fun day!

Spring and one's fancy turns to ... The Biggest Week

Today (Pi day - i.e., 3.14) was sunny and hit over 50 degrees! The icicle-laden ice dam on our roof melted and dropped. Our front porch lost the dangerous sheet of ice that salt would not faze and one that we and our neighbors would not cross (thank goodness for the garage door!). Grass appeared out of the white back yard and also replaced some of the muck along the roadways.

We saw about 20 Robins feeding on the grass. Several Robins have over-wintered here, but at least now they have a chance finding something. Our first-of-year (FOY) Grackle fed from the deck. We saw our FOY Turkey Vulture circle overhead. The Red-winged Blackbirds who arrived about a week ago no longer need to figure out what to do with the seven inches of new snow we received only a couple of days ago. Oh, those silly  "early birds" got the snow ... now they are singing happily! Sing it out guys; your gals are coming soon.

Spring, finally! I no longer see temps in the single digits in the forecast! We got out a couple of times this winter when the temps hit the "warm" 40's For example to see an astounding scene with Long-tailed Ducks, but oh, those teens and especially pre-teens, have been merciless this winter! We just "hunkered down".

My winter SAD is being replaced with my usual joy on anticipating the marvels of spring. The earth will again be re-born and replenished. Life will spring forth anew. It happens every year. It is really miraculous! Spring is my favorite season! No wonder why spring and religion provided us with so many upbeat melodies from the great composers! Rebirth! Hope springs eternal! A yearly reminder: Life is Good!

And ... the marvelous feathered beings will again return here from the far off places to which they flew to avoid such a winter. Just imagine the accumulated air miles for these avian frequent fliers!!!

And speaking of spring migration, have you made your reservations yet for The Biggest Week in American Birding? (Hey! Click that URL! Then use the pull-down tabs at the top for info ...) Registration has been open awhile, and many talks and field trips are going fast! I let my Facebook friends know about this as soon as registration opened (FB is a rapid way to fire off tidbits whereas a blog post suggest a longer "ramble" to me), but have not yet blogged about it ... sorry about that!













I drop a few pics here to get your attention, and refer you to some of my past blog posts to further pique your interest and offer ways to enjoy the Biggest Week. And, no, you do not have to officially register to enjoy it! But, I suggest this is the best way to do it. The birds will be all around the area, but you might also want to partake of the many other happenings that registration brings. And ... it benefits great birdie causes!

Every year we add another night to the time we stay overnight in the area.  I wish we could afford to spend the entire span there, but like most of y'all, money and commitments dictate otherwise. Oh ... that reminds me ... besides registration for Biggest Week events, you might think about getting lodging reservations now (not linked, just emphasized ...)! Every year, this festival grows larger, and some lodging may already be drying up!!! And, be sure to tell them when you register that you are coming to see the birds! Many places may have special rates for birders. Even if not, it is important to let hem know that birding is the main reason that draws your hard-earned dollars into the local economy! In turn, many (most?) of them support local birding causes. Win-win!






We will always remember driving into Oregon, Ohio and seeing signs along the major streets proclaiming "Welcome Birders"! And then at our motel, we found a stack of free Guides to the Biggest Week. Welcomed indeed! We left our home to "come home"!







Here are URLs to some of my previous posts. Just "click and go". Note that these are from previous years and some things like road conditions are ancient, but they are provided as background and include links to other sites (many of which are still pertinent ...). As the Biggest Week approaches, I will drop a post with this year's updated info site URLs.(But, note that if you start by clicking on the Biggest Week link I provided at the onset, you can probably get to the best available ones now anyway ...)

http://drbobsbirdblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-ramble-about-biggest-week-first-week.html

http://drbobsbirdblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/biggest-week-pearson-metropark-and.html

http://drbobsbirdblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/playing-states-and-plates-at-biggest.html

http://drbobsbirdblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/biggest-week-woodcock-babies-hours-old.html

And for historical info, here is a link to my first Biggest Week blog. It more emphasizes just "being there". We avoided the crowds.  As new birders, someone told us about the Biggest Week, and also that it could be crowded. We usually hate crowds! But, interestingly, we have learned that the more eyes - especially experienced eyes -  in the area, the more we learn! Birders are a great group and willing share info - especially at the Biggest Week! We see so many things that we would miss on our own!!! And, with few exceptions, everyone is far more courteous than we experience in our daily lives! They see the bird, then bring us forward and point it out. They not only tell us what we are seeing and where to look, but also the special characteristics by which the bird is identified. Oh, how we have grown!!!

http://drbobsbirdblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/2010-05-20-magee-marsh.html

We hope to see you there!!! Please introduce yourselves to us! A wonderful part of our experience is meeting new birding friends!!!

- "Dr. Bob" and Judy

BTW, you can also "Like" and "Follow" the Biggest Week on Facebook to see all the updates!!! You will get current info and also links to posts by the amazing blog team as they are posted. Great stuff!!!  https://www.facebook.com/TheBiggestWeekInAmericanBirding

Outstanding and totally amazing day with Long-Tailed Ducks and great weather in the middle of a horrible winter!

I'll just say that this is the second time I wrote this post. The first was a few days ago. I spent 2-3 hours composing a great post about the Long-tailed Ducks (LTDU) we saw recently at Port Huron, Michigan. I was almost ready to post it, and was dropping in a few more pics. It was great! I had a wonderful "ramble" going. I was hyper-linking many references and really telling the story of the day. I was saving often. And blogger was doing its normal saves besides. What could go wrong?

I found out! I tend to use  the control key ("CNTL") functions to speed many actions. Normally I am fairly good at it. I suspect what happened was that I might have used a function I did not know about (that was "select all") just before I hit the delete key? And just then, blogger did its normal save. No "undo" possible. What??? Or, as I just now learned, maybe it is because in some views, there is a higher function bar in blogger that has a twisted arrow thing (like the "undo" arrow) that instead of undoing, asks if you want to refresh the screen. This time I did not bite, so I am not sure what it does. Erase? In any case I screwed up ...

Omitting a redo of expletives, I just note I was overwhelmingly frustrated and just walked away. Finally now I am ready to put up something again. It will not be the amazing masterpiece dispersed to the transient internet of before, but at least you can get some idea of the day.

Brief history: This has been the second snowiest winter on record (like ... "ever") here in southeast Michigan. It has also been one of the coldest. I am not sure how the temp ranks historically, but it is certainly the coldest I have ever experienced since I moved here in 1995. I normally get SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) here in winter. Basically it is depression. Cures include getting outdoors. Not so easy to haul this aging body out into very low temperatures or through snowy trails. Yes, maybe I am a wimp, but I am also smart enough to know that I just cannot do what I used to be able to do. I try to make the most of the winter. I get more time to study birds at my feeders - the most fun is learning behaviors! I love the juncos and American Tree Sparrows "scrabbling". Buddy John Lowry tells me it is called "double scratching" in birder speak. They jump forward, then jump back while scratching. It works great to find seeds under the snow. We never see it in "local" birds.  And I try to catch up on the years of stuff I totally ignored when I was working 60 hour weeks. I cook more; and enjoy the food more and, yes, put on a few pounds. Gotta get outdoors!

But, enough whining about my frustration of losing my previous attempt at a blog. On to the story.

Wednesday, February 19, was an amazing day!!! Why?

More history: For a couple of weeks I had been watching the weather forecasts for a good safe time to go to Port Huron to see the astounding reports of huge numbers of Long-tailed Ducks (LTDU) reported there. My buddy Jerry Jourdan posted an amazing (!) blog post (note the words just before this were highlighted - it means it is a "clickable URL" to Jerry's post) about the LTDU at Port Huron he saw on February 8. To me his blog post was a monograph - a large scholarly treatise on a single topic. He identified many color and age variations in LTDU. When I get around to closely looking at all my pics from our day there, I will refer to this constantly to see if I can pick out the same patterns on the ducks I shot. Great job Jerry!!!

He estimated 40-50,000 LTDU at Port Huron!!! After learning about these birds dropping by most winters from a tip by our friend Ed Lewandowski, Judy and I always plan at least once a year a trip there on nice winter days to see them. Normally we see a few to a dozen - or, one year, maybe a hundred. Why so many now? The answer is that the Great Lakes where the birds hang out are almost completely frozen this year!!! Like 95%!!! I now forget what URL I used before, but take it as a fact. The Saint Clair River comes out of Lake Huron at Port Huron, and now is about the only open water close to where they really want to hang out! Imagine! 50,000 very special ducks in one area! WOW!

So: Knowing that the day promised temps in the 40's (almost unheard of this winter) and driving conditions would be safe, we set out.

Our first stop was at the Coast Guard dock at Pine Grove Park. It is usually our favorite spot and did not disappoint!



Then following a much-needed rest stop in town, back to the waterfront. This time we first tried the parking lot just north of the Blue Water Bridge. Normally this is a great area to see the LTDU (but usually on the Canadian side). We only saw two ducks! But we watched a guy fishing. We always want to see what might be caught.

We performed our good deed for the day. Shortly after we arrived at the lot just north of Blue Water Bridge, this fisherman hooked something. I told Judy it was a good fish. As he brought it to shore, he bemoaned the fact he had left his net in the car. It was a long icy way to the water! We volunteered to help. He tossed his keys to Judy and I retrieved his net and took it to him. Well played by all! Beautiful brown trout!

While there, it was obvious that the end of Lake Huron above the river was frozen all the way across. Later I learned that a Coast Guard ice breaker had approached and found the ice to be two feet thick.  Amazing winter! Great lakes shipping often continues even in winter. But, that is another blog post - even with songs you might know ...

That white band? Lake Huron!!! From Port Huron 2/19/2014

One interesting bird observation was that large flocks of LTDU would fly up the river and just all land closely under the bridge. I figured out later that this was the birdie equivalent of a "tubing" holiday. Drop your tube/body in the river, float downstream, then haul out and start over. What fun! OK. I just got that tubing reference in my mind, but really it appears that was what they were doing!

Then we went just below the bridge to Edison Park. It is an expansive area with a few parking lots right on the river. We were enjoyed to find lots of ducks. Many were in the middle of the river, but happily many dropped by for really close views and pics!!! We got our best ever shots of LTDU, as well as both male and female Red-breasted Mergansers!

What a bunch of flocking LTDU heading up to float down again! 

Male LTDU preening - two more guys and four dolls.

Two guys and three dolls - LTDU

My best ever shot of male LTDU showing long tails!

Female RB Merg, 6 LTDU. 6 Common Goldeneyes

Female LTDU crashes down. "Hey, I am just wanting to make waves!"

Not so graceful landing! "Did I wake y'all?"

Male LTDU drops in.
I'll probably never get a pic like this again with tails out!!!

Male Red-breasted Merganser

Then back to the Coast Guard dock at Pine Grove Park before we left for home. Still many great shots. But then!!! All of a sudden thousands (!!!) of LTDU flew by! Thousands!!! Incredible!It turns out they were being "herded" by the CG cutter returning home. Indeed, the sight of a lifetime!!!

Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUlLO2IgyDE
It is not the best video - like where to focus? - but you can hear the noise of the beating wings and get some idea of the numbers. Amazing!!! Certainly a lifetime experience!!!

And, to make the day complete, a true birding hero and mentor, as well as a friend, Allen Chartier dropped by to say "Hi"! Allen had seen us earlier at Edison Park just before a snow blower started clearing the river walk and drove us away so he never had a chance then. Just the fact that Allen would stop to say Hello made a perfect end to our perfect day!!! While I have many pics of Allen, I never had a shot of Allen and me. Thanks Judy for the pic, and especially thanks Allen for stopping!!! (Geez!!! I just love birders!!!)

Allen estimated that he saw about 25,000 LTDU this day. Half the numbers Jerry recorded from a week and a half before. Where did they go?

And Jerry went back on February 22 - three days after we were there. He only saw six (!) LTDU! See his blog: post: http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/02/all-gone-22-feb-2014.html

Where did they go? Some birders think because of the warm temps, the birds headed north. But with recent deep freezes again, will they return to the open water of the Saint Clair River at Port Huron? It will be interesting to see. Hope they are all right! Weird winter!

This is one of the first (if not THE first!) time when Judy and I made it to an amazing reported sighting and actually saw our objects of desire. And in such numbers I know we will never see it again! WOW! WOW!