Having failed to find any Clay-coloured Sparrows the previous day, a little bit of local research directed us to a particular hotspot just off the road in Grayling Forest we’d travelled down the day before, so once more we headed in to the young Jack Pines to see if we could locate any, Kirtland’s Warblers and Juncos serenading us with their songs for a second time. This being our only realistic chance to see them during the trip and me having a personal liking of American sparrows, I was keen not to dip, so it was encouraging to wind down the window and catch snippets of distant Clay-coloured Sparrow song further down the valley.
Navigating the sandy off road track and overgrown bushes scraping at the car, we were certainly glad of a 4x4, a pair of Eastern Kingbirds gathering food for their brood nice to watch as more Kirtland’s sung all around. Chancing upon a pair of birders with their cameras outstretched (always a good sign) it transpired they had been photographing Clay-coloured Sparrows all morning, and after a slight wait, we too were rewarded with brief views of what turned out to be an incredibly skulking species. Nevertheless, we persevered, getting a much better look at this charming sparrow as it scurried mouse-like through the grass, picking off the small seeds and clinging to the swaying stems – success!
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| Clay-coloured Sparrow |
With the Clay-coloured Sparrow moving off further in to the pines, we bid the two birders farewell, heading much further north to our next site – the warbler hotspot of Shumsky Road. Planned in to target Mourning and Golden-winged Warblers, but already having seen both, we decided to pay a visit regardless, if only to try and get some photos of the warblers on territory. A small stretch of road leading to a river and lined with scrubby trees, it wasn’t long before we’d located at least 3 male Golden-winged Warblers, singing proudly and providing absolutely outstanding views on the branches in front of us – much better than our brief encounter at Haughton Boardwalk a few days earlier.
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| Golden-winged Warbler - a cracking male |
Despite not managing to locate any of the Mourning Warblers on site, a handful of American Redstarts, Bay-breasted and Chestnut-sided Warblers displaying added a burst of colour, while another Alder Flycatcher called from the tops of a pine.
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| Chestnut-sided Warbler |
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| Male American Redstart |
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| Female American Redstart |
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| Mourning Cloak Butterfly |
Still missing Winter Wren, we explored a section of forest next to a nearby river in the hope of connecting with what was turning in to a bogey bird, a calling Spotted Sandpiper on the rocks and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker working the bark the best for our efforts, in what once more seemed a pretty deserted patch of pines.
Exploring a few wooded back lanes alongside a nearby river also produced nothing more of note, however a fine Broad-winged Hawk perched on some roadside telephone wires was our first of the trip, much smaller than the Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks and the black and white banded tail pattern distinctive as it took flight.
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| Broad-winged Hawk |
With a short stop over for the night in the delightfully named town of Gaylord on our way to the Upper Peninsula, we fuelled up on Applebees chicken and a bowl of some of the best French onion soup I’ve tasted before our journey north the next day, ready for exploring the vast expanses of pines in search of Gray Jays and Black-backed Woodpeckers.
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