Heading out of Gaylord and travelling towards the Upper Peninsula, our first port of call en-route were the fields surrounding Pellston Airport, where a number of Upland Sandpipers were known to reside. Driving slowly around the field margins, several families of Sandhill Cranes foraged with their young, much smaller in size than the birds we’d previously seen down in Florida and as such clearly recognisable as the “Lesser” subspecies.
Eastern Meadowlarks provided a welcome burst of spring song as we drove, while a pair of Killdeer patrolled the grassy edges warily. Parking up on a small lane at one of the junctions, our luck was in as we quickly located a family party of around 5 Upland Sandpipers, albeit distant - slightly wary at first but soon moving happily through the grassy tussocks as they foraged before us.
"Lesser" Sandhill Cranes |
Upland Sandpiper |
The fields at Pellston |
The Mackinac Bridge |
The shores of Lake Michigan |
Least Flycatcher |
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail |
Veery |
Golden-crowned Kinglet - superficially similar to a Firecrest |
Male Blackburnian Warbler - one of my favourite birds in the world |
One of my favourite species of bird in the world, Blackburnian Warblers hold a special place in my heart, and to see one so close was a magical experience I will never forget.
With no sign of any Gray Jays we pressed on, a lone White-throated Sparrow and the blazing tones of a male American Redstart the only birds of note in a disappointingly barren landscape. Exploring several other forest tracks further south also proved fruitless on the Jay front, the deep sand on the tracks hindering our progress and forcing us to turn back on more than one occasion.
The view down Hulbert Bog road |
The views from some of the Forest Roads near Trout Lake |
The bogs surrounding the Forest Roads - a haven for Mosquitoes and biting flies! |
The views over Trout Lake |
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