Showing posts with label Bill Thompson III. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Thompson III. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Birding with Bill: Lakeside

Midwest Birding Symposium is the much anticipated birding event in the works for this fall. You'll want to be there to hear all the great speakers and take in the spectacular view from my favorite Lake Erie community. Register now while there is still room on the Thursday night Boat Cruise.


A crowd of nearly thirty gathered this morning to walk the Lakefront path in search of birds and witty humor. Fortunately, both were in good supply. A Caspian Tern performed as if on cue and our guide, Bill Thompson III, was able to correctly identify all those Great Blue Herons and Ring-billed Gulls which are so easy to confuse.

The West end of town offers the additional attraction of a thriving Purple Martin community. The largest of the swallows have become tenants in a mini-Fountain Inn. I hope their accommodations are as lovely as the room I stayed in last night, but I am pretty sure they don't get Direct-TV.

However, their view makes up for it: that is Perry's Monument at Put-In-Bay you can see in the distance. It it about 6 miles away as the Martin flies, but looks like you could almost reach out and touch it. The clouds played in an overcast sky which only added to the intrinsic beauty. I never get tired of this shoreline.


Just to our east is the dock where our ship will come in. The Goodtime party boat is a bit larger than these Sunfish cruising the choppy waters today, but we are keeping the cruise registration to 250, so don't dawdle. You need to register soon or you'll miss out.
Can't wait to get back to Lakeside this fall!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Where am I?

Warblers are generally tough to photograph, but this little guy was amazingly compliant last weekend.


A Prothonotary Warbler put on a good show on the Magee boardwalk. In truth, perhaps he was a bit confused. It is a long way to fly in from the tropics, and it is always good to check your landmarks.

"Yep, I'm at Magee! Here's the sign."


Thanks to the Division of Wildlife for preserving this habitat, as it benefits all manner of wildlife, including warblers on the move.

Magee Marsh is one of my favorite "happy spots" and many of us got our first looks at these winged jewels at this Lake Erie location. It is amazing just to be there to enjoy nature- especially with the likes of BT3 (Bill Thompson III) and other friends like Ann Oliver, Kathi Hutton, Peter King and Dave Reinhart. That's your blogger dead center, sporting the silly grin I get from watching warblers!

Magee- there is no better place to meet up with some of the finest birds and birders in the world!