I’m sitting in our warm living room in Ann Arbor listening to the wind and watching snow blow past our house. Sitting here listening to the news gives my mind time to wander. The rambling journey leads me to remember some of the birds that we saw earlier in 2022.
Perhaps the first “good” bird of the year was one of the many Snowy Owls that we saw in the Upper Peninsula in January.
Another owl that we saw in the same week as the Snowy Owls was this Northern Hawk Owl. Who knows, perhaps we will see another next January.
I never tire of seeing Spruce Grouse Here are two that we saw near our cabin at Whitefish Point, Michigan.
Back in the first week of January we managed to find numerous Sharp-tailed Grouse in Chippewa County in the eastern Upper Peninsula. But the only Bohemian Waxwings that we found were in the village of Mackinaw City, just south of the Mackinac Bridge.
Later in January we headed to Florida. While we normally only see Northern Shrikes in Michigan, this Loggerhead Shrike was one of many that we saw in Florida.
One of my favorite shorebirds to find in Florida is the American Oystercatcher.
Finding tow Great Horned Owl nestlings at Orlando Wetlands in Florida was a nice find.
I was quite pleased to get this shot of a Northern Harrier in Florida.
It’s funny how it’s easier to get photos of Peregrine Falcons that the harrier. This one was at the Apopka Wildlife Drive.
A real highlight in Florida was this Heerman’s Gull which is a vagrant from the west coast.
It’s hard not to be impressed by this gaudy male Painted Bunting. We managed to find them at several sites in Florida in February.
Back at the cabin in Michigan in April we started seeing Common Redpolls.
While watching birds at our feeders, we also get to see an interesting array of raptors fly by heading north. This is a Golden Eagle, one of many that we saw in April and May.
And finally a Long-eared Owl that our friend Joe found perched in a jack pine at Whitefish Point. We see many flying by heading north in the evenings in April and May. However, finding them perched during the day is a real treat.
More later…
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