In Marquette harbor we saw two Red Breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator) male and female, and several Double Crested Cormorants (Phalcrocorax auritus).
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The Presque Isle Bog was a special treat. There is a wooden boardwalk into the middle of a reed filled bog. The place was buzzing with birds. Some of these were "life birds" for us.
There are three ways to bird in a bog. 1. Tree-topping - scanning the tops of bushes and trees to spot flycatchers and other air-bourne scavengers. 2. Probing - aiming the scope or your bins at the middle of a tangle of bushes and search for movement. and 3. Watching the edge of the water - birds search here for insects or to drink water.
The American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) was creeping through the inner branches of a bush in the bog. The Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta baria) was inches away from the edge of the water. There was a pair, male and female, of Hooded Warblers (Wilsonia citrina) hiding in a small tree next to the path. And one bird that needs to be added to our Life List. The Black Billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) was flitting from the top of one small tree to the top of another in the bog.
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We went to the Lighthouse on Big Bay Point and ate a warm lunch there at Thunderbay Inn. My GPS device failed in the woods. It could not see many roads and no towns at all once we got deep in the woods. We relied on our Atlas map. We plucked up our courage and climbed out onto the giant breakwater in the rain. There we spotted Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) to go along with the Red Breasted Mergansers which we saw at the pier.
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Right after a tremendous dinner at the Landmark Hotel in downtown Marquette, we drove along the shore. We spotted a Ruby Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) at some lady's feeder. Not bad for the first day. We really enjoyed birding around Marquette.
Robert
photo courtesy of wikipedia and bnielsen
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