March Mixed Bag

The month of March is always intriguing here in Michigan. There's always bursts of spring weather followed by returning cold and snow. Freeze, thaw. Rinse and repeat. Following a winter of record snowfall and record breaking cold, its going to take time for the winter weather to finally loosen its grip. Most of the snow on the ground melted two weeks ago following a strike of fifty degree days, but was then followed by a winter storm which dropped 7-10 inches of heavy wet snow across much of the state. The remaining snow and cold has kept a lot of arctic bird species here longer than expected.

Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), Washtenaw County, MI

Snowy Owls (Bubo scandiacus), Isabella & Midland Counties, MI

Though the winter weather continues to linger, there have been some glimmers of hope that warmth will soon be on its way. Chris Boguslawski and I decided to try and get out on the evening of March 21st in hopes of seeing some early bird salamanders in the mid 30 degree rain. We arrived to snow covered woods and mostly frozen vernal pools and felt a little discouraged. But as we were moving around the edge of the pool, my headlamp caught this blue-spotted thing in the leaf litter near a mammal burrow. It was a pleasant surprise and the only salamander we saw the entire night.

Unisexual Hybrid Salamander (Ambystoma ssp.), Washtenaw County, MI

It's an encouraging sign that spring is on its way, even though it will probably be a week or two until the salamanders begin to emerge at full strength. It also means that the arctic birds will soon be on their way back to the tundra. Sad to see the snowies go, but glad to see the sallies emerge.

Lifer Red-necked Grebe

I've recently began to compile a life list for birds, much like I have one for herps. Today I got a a lifer Red-necked Grebe. This bird breeds in the Arctic and winters along the coasts of the lower 48. Occasionally they show up during migration in Michigan. Pretty cool little bird!

Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena), Dixboro Dam, Washtenaw County, MI

Wall Worthy

Despite single digit temperatures and gusting winds of 35-40 mph, I got out for about an hour on Wednesday afternoon. There was so much blowing snow that I almost didn't see this snowy owl sitting right off the edge of the road. I pulled off and managed to get this photo just as the owl took off. By far my favorite photo from this winter, this one may end up on a wall.

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), Coe Township, MI

Owling with Dad

Though my dad and I had gotten out owling once or twice over the holidays, we had only seen the birds from several hundred yards away. He had mentioned me that he would like to get out and get some closer shots of them, especially because he had just picked up his new toy, a Canon 300mm f/4 IS telephoto lens. So we decided to give it a shot this past weekend and roll north to the wind turbine region of mid-Michigan. On our way northward we swung through Maple River SGA to see if any snowies were still hanging around. I had seen one previously on February 3rd sleeping atop a barn in the early morning. We managed to see a few Northern Harriers, a Northern Shrike, some Snow Buntings, and hoards of Horned Larks. We continued to press north in Gratiot County and eventually hit some back roads in the vast expanse of wind turbines. We made a pass down a road where I had seen two snowies a few weeks earlier and came up empty, but as we turned around and headed back out the way we came in, I noticed a white blob sitting atop a telephone pole. Sure enough, it was a snowy.

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) N Blair Road, Gratiot County, MI

This sleepy owl simply turned his head and gave us a squinting look. We shot a few quick photos of him and then moved on. We drove a little further north into Isabella County to an area where I had previously seen good numbers of owls. Around 4:30 PM, we turned down a road and noticed an owl sitting atop a bare pole. We got out of the car and fired away, getting much better photos of this owl than the one we had seen earlier.

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), Summerton Road, Rosebush, MI

The owl didn't seem to mind us at all until something distance caught its attention and it flew off into the adjacent agricultural field. We drove a little further east and saw one last owl just before sunset from about 200 yards away in an open field and called it a day. My dad was thrilled with the photos he got of the owl, and the trip was considered a success. It was a great way to spend a Saturday, and I hope we can do more photography stuff like this in the future.

On the Hunt

We finally got some relatively warm weather here in Michigan, with temperatures rising above freezing for the first time in more than two months. I relished the opportunity to get out and enjoy the sun and warmth in the late afternoon for an hour or two. The area that I've seen snowy owls a lot this winter has become relatively absent as no sightings have been reported and a failed attempt over the weekend. Just across U.S. 127 there is another expanse of agricultural land less than two miles from my apartment which one owl was reported from, so I decided to go check it out. I noticed a white blob about 150 yards from the road and decided to pull off and take a look through my bins. Sure enough, it was a snowy. After a few minutes, the owl suddenly took off and started to fly in my direction. The initial, "Shit shit shit!" reaction caused me to fumble to get my camera lens cap off, luckily I managed to do so. I stooped low and got my lens on the bird. The owl only occasionally beat its powerful wings, gliding less than two feet off of the fresh blanket of snow. As the bird got closer, I was able to figure some nice shots, though not as spectacular as I was hoping for. The bird passed to my right overhead and then swooped low to grab something about fifty yards in the field behind me.

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), Isabella County, MI

The owl had obviously seen some small rodent from more than two hundred yards away, which is proof of their incredible eyesight. I love the above photo because you can see that the owl is zeroed in on its target, completely ignoring me and my lens. The bird ended up landing about a hundreds yards from the road in the field behind me and scarfed down its meal. It was pretty awesome to see one of these birds in action, as most of the ones I've seen this winter have been stationary. I decided to drive around a few others fields in the area and noticed another snowy on a utility pole right before sunset.

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), Isabella County, MI

Unfortunately a passing truck spooked the owl, but I was able to capture nice shot of the owl during takeoff. As we move towards the end of February, these owls will likely be making their departure from Michigan in the next few weeks as spring finally approaches. My dad and I are going to try and make a snowy trip this weekend so he can get some decent shots of them before they depart for good. Stay tuned...