Where the Sandhill Cranes Nest (and an Answer)

 
Before we begin, do your have your guesses for the craft project in place? Early guesses were for a golf club cover or a cover for a wheeled table leg. Yesterday both Ann and Lin thought it might be a monkey.

Maggie and I did a roadwalk today. I skied this morning, but it was still mostly a mental exercise in telling myself it was fun. I didn't get all my ski trails mowed in the fall, and with only a little snow the tall grass really hampers forward motion. And the sun was softening things up and making the snow sticky. Solution for the afternoon...roadwalk.

We were accompanied by some strange monsters.



We walked along a paved road past the home of an acquaintance. She has told me that sandhill cranes nest in the little pockets of wetland behind her house. One year I saw some there. Of course they aren't there now! (They're vacationing in New Mexico and California)

This is one of those small low spots the cranes like because it's somewhat isolated.



I know, it's not much to see, but it's the best thing we encountered on our walk.

And now... here's the answer.



Were you right?

	See It's a Siege for sandhill cranes in a different wetland See Birds, Birds, Birds for a crane flying
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A Progression and a Clue

 
Do you think the light snow that started coming down yesterday amounted to anything?

Friday, 8:57 am



Friday, 6:06 pm


Saturday, 11:06 am


Saturday, 11:29 am Can you see what's different?


Here's your next clue on the project



Have fun!

If you needed a little help, there are ski tracks in snow picture 4. It was pretty marginal, but I pretended I was having fun.

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Indian Pete Bayou

 
Just a visit to a local place with an interesting name. This is yet another site on Hamlin Lake, so I'm bringing back the map you've seen before



Yesterday I had a work assignment just to the left of the number 10. This first picture is looking east toward the upstream end of Upper Hamlin Lake. That's the section of the lake from the "Narrows" (to the left of 10) to 6.



That's just to get you oriented. What I really want to show is Indian Pete Bayou. See the small inlet just to the right of the number 10? That's it! Here's the view back toward the lake from the narrow end of the bayou.



There's just a little bit of the bayou behind me. I'm standing on the bridge on Shagway Road. This is a valley that does not have a creek, so its water level depends only on the lake level, which is drawn down for winter. Therefore the part behind me is just mud and ice... not so scenic right now!

So, how did a place in Michigan get a name that sounds like it came from a Mark Twain novel? Here's the deal:



The sign reads, "Indian Pete Bayou named after Peter Espiew Ottawa Indian 1830-1925, Carpenter - Trapper - Logger. This memorial erected on land he once owned, by bayou residents and the Mason County Historical Society.

Hope you enjoyed the local tour. Actually, I also learned how the bayou got its name!

	See Hamlin Lake for the other points on the map
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Rough-Legged Hawk

 


These pictures are from yesterday. Today was beautiful too, but these are special, and I got an ID on them from a local birding expert, Dave Dister. I was driving along and saw this hawk soaring above the field to my left. The more I watched it, the more I realized that I didn't know what kind of hawk it was.



These pictures aren't great, but I'm always happy to get anything that is in focus enough to show any details of a bird on the wing. The next picture is the best for showing key points.



Turns out this hawk has a brown phase and a gray one. This bird is in the gray phase (more rare), and it's also not seen here all that often. So I'm feeling pretty good about catching this one, and getting a picture to prove it.

Note the white tail with a dark band at the end, and the dark wrists.

But I never would have figured it out on my own. It's great to know the local expert!

	See Used to Be the Marsh Hawk See Red-Tailed Hawk It Is!
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More Grousing and a View from Natahki

 
Today was a work day, and the sun was shining! It was cold, but who could possibly care when the sun is so lovely?

I bring you a ruffed grouse in the red phase. At some times of the year they look more gray. What you can mainly see is how well camouflaged they are. If I hadn't seen the motion of it walking I'd never have spotted it. It happens to be a female, but I only can tell because I blew up a shot of her tail and studied it. She sure knew where I was!



This photo is interesting (I think). It shows her back, but she has that ruff of feathers around her neck lifted so that it fans out and shows the black and white edges.



Finally, this shot is for a new blog friend named Dave Norris. He's a fan of all things Big Bass Lake. I was there today, on a road called Natahki, and got this shot of the two largest (I think) islands in the lake. They have names, but I don't know what they are. But they sure were pretty.



Here's Google Satellite view with my vantage point shown by the yellow lines.



More assignments tomorrow, so who knows what I will find!

	See Grousing Allowed?
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