Welcome to this excellent month of October. If the rest of this great year is an example of what is to come, then this should be a most colorful month.
My wife and I spent a few days in Manistique, September 7 – 10, and the colors were just starting to change. The colors did make the drive to Grand Marais a bit more enjoyable.
One highlight of our trip was meeting some friends at the rest area just north on the Mackinac Bridge as they were headed to Baraga for the week. We went on and met up in Engadine at the Beary Patch restaurant for lunch. What an excellent way to start our little vacation.
We spent two days driving through the Seney Wildlife Refuge looking at the scenery and the birds and animals. Lots of Swans and Wood Ducks were found and a few other ducks and a few Geese. The weather was a bit windy and there was some rain that kept the numbers down I am sure.
Driving around the back roads of the Garden Peninsula we found several different warblers, vireos and other avian travelers staging for migration. I am sure that as soon as that south wind let up, they were heading out for the Door Peninsula and on to the far southern areas of refuge and warmth for this coming winter.
One of the things that I like while traveling in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are the many roadside parks. Not only for the restroom facilities but for the views. Especially along the great lakes and at the overlooks where we can enjoy the beauty God has given us to enjoy. The picnic tables are a nice place to relax and just enjoy the sounds of nature surrounding us. It’s also a great place to look for birds.
On a side note, did you know that the first roadside park in America was in Iron County. Larson Roadside Park along US-2 in Iron River was the first and quickly the idea was expanded across the state and onto the rest of America.
Personally, I prefer these smaller areas instead of the big facilities that cost millions to build and maintain.
The birds here at home are doing just fine. Lots of woodpeckers, chickadees, blue jays and all the regulars that we should all be enjoying. I normally have a few different warblers stop by each year but so far, I have not seen them. Maybe I need to spend more time looking and less time working in the wood shop.
I have wondered this past summer how the fires in Canada have affected the birds nesting and fledging opportunities. The smoke being as bad here as it was made me think that it must have had a profound effect on the northern wildlife.
My local turkeys have returned, and they have not brought any young ones with them. There are a couple of nice toms and one bearded hen. With the lack of young turkeys, one has to wonder how the ice storm this past spring may have hurt the eggs.
As I set here writing an Eastern Phoebe has landed maybe three feet away on one of my feeders. What a treat to see so closely.
That’s all for this month, please help keep our woods and waters clean.
