[MDOsprey] Kirtland's Warbler Quest Results
Steve Sanford (tanager@bcpl.net)
Wed, 30 Jun 1999 19:47:03 -0400
I decided to go ahead with my long 2 1/2 day loop out of Milwaukee over
the top of Lake Michigan and back to go look for Kirtland's Warbler in
northern Michigan, thanks mainly to advice received from the many
respondents to my "RFI" a few weeks ago.
AND ...
I saw six Kirtland's Warblers! The first two were on the official FWS
tour out of Grayling, Monday morning, June 28. Then on my own in the
afternoon - pursuing a lead from the tour leader about possible
Black-backed Woodpeckers - I found and saw four more Kirtland's Warblers
without even intending to. One of them hopped around for five minutes in
great view in a tree about 8 feet away. I was just riding along some
roads (Turney Ranch Rd and Oyster Rd) in the young Jack pine habitat and
heard them singing. This was in mid-afternoon, too, but they were still
singing. These were along sandy roads through the forest which were
obviously OK to drive along since the guide had directed me to them.
They were simply marked with signs prohibiting you to go into the forest
from the road. However, I did quite well from the roadside. I also
talked with several other birders who had found some Kirtland's on their
own. So, putting this together with the info from all the replies to my
RFI, it seems that it is not really necessary to go on the official
tour, although it would be safest to get on a tour if possible. Maybe
there will have to be a Kirtland's Warbler control program sometime.
Other birds were two Clay-colored Sparrows, one Upland Sandpiper
(heard-only, but that was fine since I don't think I ever HEARD one
before), a Junco (in summer!), a Purple Finch, lots of Meadowlarks, 2
Nighthawks, a beautiful basso-voiced Baltimore Oriole, a Sapsucker, lots
of singing Hermit Thrushes, etc. I never did find the Black-backed
Woodpeckers, but the chase produced most of the preceding results.
Thanks again to all the respondents to my previous RFI.
Steve Sanford
tanager@bcpl.net
Randallstown MD