Old Loony at Seney

Here is one more post from vacation, and before you think I am dissing my elderly father, the star of this blog is in fact, an old loon.  "ABJ" is a well documented celebrity at Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Seney (Upper Peninsula) Michigan.

Seney Wildlife Refuge is home to the oldest  (known) living loon.

Meet ABJ, aka for "Adult Banded as a Juvenile."  While I was gathering information about the driving tour offered at Seney, a nature center guide told me of a Common Loon family that is routinely seen on the tour.

ABJ, as they call the patriarch of this loon family unit, was banded when he was a juvenile- in 1987.  This loon is an impressive 26 years old!  This is just one good reason bird banders tag birds in this manner, to provide life-history information about our wild birds.

If you are interested in wildlife, especially birds or water-fowl, Seney NWR is a must see.  It also has a stunning array of dragonflies, butterflies, and yes, black-fly and mosquitoes this time of year.  So drive through in your car with the windows rolled up!  It was still an enjoyable place to spend an afternoon watching wildlife.

 Here is the loon family unit we were hoping to see.  Common Loons breed on large lakes in Canada and the most northern regions of the U.S.   The haunting, tremulous call of the male is a signature sound for the Great North.  Male and  female loon look pretty much alike, but the fuzzy looking juveniles are a real stand-out.

 Juvenile loons often hitch a ride on their parent's back. However, these "teenagers" are too big for all that. They paddle about freely as the adult loons dove for food nearby.

 Loons are awkward, at best, out of water.  These strong swimmers  and deep divers are meant for the water. The brown, fuzzy looking youngsters will soon be changing to a more flight-worthy plumage.  In a few short months they will be hop-scotching from lake to lake, making their way south in migration.

Good luck little guys! Hope to see you at Mansfield's Clear Fork Reservoir!

A Land of Lakes and Loons

Having just returned from a fabulous trip to the Adirondack mountains, I am a bit buried in sorting photos, a week worth of e-mail and a pile of dirty cloths.  However, I'll share a few of the heart stopping images I was able to record with my camera.  There were so many experiences it will be hard to choose, but one of the most picturesque scenes was taken at Great Camp Sagamore, the vacation home of the Vanderbilts. Yes, THE Vanderbilt family of NY.

Wild Lupine grace the banks of a rock strewn stream in the Adirondacks.

Wild Lupine was at its peak during the visit.  Breathtaking waves of color bracketed the roadside on Route 28N from the Moose River to Raquette Lake. 

Common Loon nesting at the Horseshoe area of Tupper Lake.

Common Loons are commonly seen and heard on these clear mountain-water lakes.  Their haunting tremolo was heard drifting across the moon-lit water.  The inescapable allure of the lakes, for those of us with no interest in fishing or boats, is the call of the loon.

White Admiral, the north-eastern color morph of the Red-Spotted Purple butterfly.

 The Red-spotted purple is one of my favorite butterflies.  Its northern counterpart- the White Admiral is a close relative of the butterfly that I grew up watching in Ohio.  It is said our dark form is a mimic of the poisonous (if you eat it) Pipevine  butterfly, and where the Pipevine does not exist, the Admirals can't use the Batesian strategy.   Photographing this butterfly for the first time in my life was a mega-highlight of the trip.

Dragonfly of the bogs...

Bonus points to anyone who can help me ID this fascinating dragonfly.  Since I am still sorting hundreds of photos of flowers, birds, rocks, trees and endless scenery- I can use all the help I can get. It was in a bog habitat and between 1.5 to 2 inches long.  It was a stunner, and a probably one of the mosaic darners.  Since I don't know the northern species- I am open to suggestions.

More photos to come, and great stories of nature travel and conservation.  The birding included Bicknell's Thrush, Boreal Chickadees, Gray Jay and Black-backed Woodpecker as well as nesting warblers.  And the botany was a fine as the U.P. of Michigan, with highlights of orchids, pitcher plants and sundews.  We'll have much to discuss.

Loons at Clearfork

Most people were focused on a turkey on Thanksgiving Day, and our family did indeed participate in a food fest. But some unexpected birds also arrived in time for Thanksgiving.

Common Loon. Photo by Colm Otten.

Our nearby Clearfork Reservoir had a "fall out" of loons! Over 200 loons were found floating about on the day before thanksgiving, and continued on for two days. But even more impressive, two of those loons were Pacific Loons- extremely rare visitors to the state of Ohio.

Our family made several trips to see them, but there were a bit out of our camera's range.

Birders at Mansfield sailing Club. Photo by Colm Otten

There was much excitement among the birders, as we set up our scopes in front of the Mansfield Sailing Club. It provides a good overlook of the lake, which is need to sort through 200 loons. The Pacific is bit smaller, and more delicate looking bird than the Common Loon, a heavy bodied water bird. Pacific also have a distinctive "collar"marking just below its head. Bonus birds were a female Long-tailed Duck and 30 or so Red-breasted Mergansers swimming in formation.

Cheryl Harner and JJ Soski. Photo By Colm Otten

My daughters are home for the holiday, and JJ is visiting from Philadelphia- where she works at Adventure Aquarium. She is way more interested in fish than birds, but she humored her ma and visited the Clearfork with me.

If you have an interest in swimming with the sharks at her aquarium, JJ can fix you right up. It is a bit of a strange job, but someone has to do it. (I guess...)

Later in the day we caught this fabulous sunset on a hike from the other side of the reservoir. I must say this is one of my favorite views in Richland County, and I never tire of sharing it with friends and family.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

On Little Cat Feet...

THE FOG comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches

and then moves on.

................................Carl Sandburg

...

On holidays and weekend mornings I am often found cruising the back roads near the waters of Clearfork Reservoir. And standing deep in the early morning dampness, I await the sun.

Slowly the silent wetlands come to life. Cardinal chips, a nuthatch calls "ank" and on the occasional November morn... a haunting tremolo floats across the water.

...............

As the fog lifts to reveal Common Loon...

.................................................I am thankful.