Day 1: On The Road

Thursday, June 13, 2013

After a mega-trek through the desert southwest last summer, Natalie and I decided that a “more local” twist on summer vacation was in order.  Basically, the route was the famed Lake Superior Circle Tour:  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario. 

Sure, birds can be the focus, but if your life revolves around only birds, I would argue you are a bit lost.  Beer?  Yes, now were talkin’.  History?  Always.  Life in general?  Got it.  Combine those factors and you have a trip the way they should be….

Keep in mind, for those of you that are taking notes, this is the first two-week trip I have taken in over 12 years (at least) were my chances of a “new bird” were basically zero.  This trip was built around Natalie’s needs to secure some boreal birds: Connecticut Warbler , Black-backed Woodpecker, and Boreal Chickadee just to name a few.  Sure, many of these birds can be found in Michigan (some even breed here). Trust me, that played into our decisions as went…

My National Park map, complete with pins marking the locations that I have visited (just like fourth-graders might do) had some holes in the region.  She gets some birds.  I get some pins.  We get some beer.  It all works out. 

In any case, mega-road trip ’13 didn’t start until the early afternoon. Natalie, a teacher a training, had to pass a test mandated by the State.  In short, it confirms you have a pulse.  She passed it easily.  Duh.  From Ann Arbor, we hit the road.

The drive was more or less uneventful.  The creamed Pileated Woodpecker on the I-75 shoulder was unfortunate.  On the positive side, the baby porcupine did not suffer the same fate.  Refusing to have dinner at the Big Suck Brewery, we pressed onto St. Ignace for chow.  (How Natalie’s bladder lasted this long is a question for the ages...)  Fresh salmon and a Mad Hatter at the Village Inn certainly worked.

Continuing to scoot, we managed Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore by dusk.  Whipping up the tent at the Twelve Mile Beach Campground in minutes (we’re pros at this point), we wandered the beach until dark. 

Ovenbirds, Black-throated Green Warblers, and thrushes wished us well as we slept…in the cold.  It was quite chilly. I was already regretting the lack of cool weather gear.

Apparently, the star show that night was really something else. I, however, was perfectly comfortable in my sleeping bag.  I just couldn’t fathom getting up and out to see something I’d be seeing most nights for the next two weeks.  You can see where this is going, can’t you…?

 

Whew. We Made It.....

Whew. We made it.  

Natalie and I just returned from the famed "Lake Superior Circle Tour".  What a trip!  Birds, beers, bugs, black fly bites, and a Viking-style burial. What more could one want?  Lots of "B" stuff!  A moose, too.  Oh, wait, that does not begin with a "B".  Hang on. Yes it does. It was a bull.....

I need some time to process photos, do some writing, and give my marrow time to generate more blood cells.  In the meantime, here is an image of a Black Fly.  Those little bastards....

One Hour For Two Hundred Years

A question.....

When did the War of 1812 start? 

Is it really that hard to figure that the War of 1812 started in 1812?  It certainly shouldn't be! 

While historians to this day still discuss the nuances that started it all, some vestiges of America's "Second War for Independence" can be found locally.  Soaking up the history during the 201st anniversary of the war, Natalie and I recently made a trip to Amherstburg, Canada for a visit to Fort Malden. 

That said, a trip through time can't really started without a trip to a beer bar.  While the shell of building was constructed in 1841 and has held everything from furniture store to a pharmacy, the current holder is the Lord Amherst Public House. 

The Iron Spike Copper Ale (#1,440) from the Railway City Brewing Company had a written description that was pure poetry. Sadly, the real beer was a bit dull. Okay, we did get the butterscotch tones on the palate but we were expecting so much more. It just didn't deliver.  It was not bad, just a bit.....dull. 

The second pint, Tennant's Lager (#1,441) from the Wellpark Brewery is said to be Scotland's first lager.  Visually, it looked like a Bud but we found the palate and aroma to be a step up from there (sure, that is not hard but you know what I mean).  All in all, with a salad, it was quite nice, actually. It was nothing to shout about, but it was certainly refreshing.

The beers, while fair (or even good), came at a price.  Two salads, some buffalo wings, and 4 half pints of beer cost us 1.9 million dollars.  Sure, you could joke it was Canadian money, but the exchange rate is about par with the US dollar.  Cripe - we could have started a third war of independence with that kind of money!

In any case, having beers in what is almost a two hundred year old building is quite an experience.   Give a whirl.  Rob a bank before you go.......

A short walk up the way brought us to the gate of Fort Malden.  

Originally constructed in 1796, it was the center of British operations in Upper Canada during the War of 1812.  After Oliver Hazard Perry handed the British their asses in the Battle of Lake Erie in September of 1813, Malden could no longer be defended. Destroyed as they retreated, Malden was left in ruins until the British re-built it beginning in 1820 (Note: one of the peculiar aspects of the War of 1812 was the status quo ante bellum. Translating to "the state existing before the war", all ground gained by the United States was given back. Go figure.)

Completely rebuilt (okay...almost) during the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1838-1840, Malden saw a resurgence. Some of the buildings standing today are original from the period, if not earlier.

Take, for example, the barracks in the photo below. Built in 1819-20, it is listed on the Ontario Historic Places Register.  Walking that long porch and seeing how the soldiers slept was simply awesome.  Knowing now, in the 21st century, we do not have to share the piss bucket in the corner like they did makes me appreciate modern plumbing....

By 1859, some buildings had been modified for the 11-year tenure as the local "lunatic asylum".  The 1861 Hough House, built as a laundry and bakery, can be seen in the photo below.  In addition, many of the trees that provide shade on the grounds today are from this period. 

As the bird flies, Fort Malden is less than six miles from my house.  By car, the drive is about an hour.  

One hour to travel 200 years. 

Yeah, it's worth it.......

It Just Ain't Happenin'

May. 

The month of the year that birders in the Midwest dream about.  After winter's chill gives to spring, northbound birds flood to or through the region to breed. 

Sure, I made a trip or two to the now intergalactically famous Magee Marsh in northwest Ohio.  Sure, I have walked the trails of Lake Erie Metropark before work, for work, and even on scheduled days of no work. I have even found some places I have never birded before right in my own neck of the woods - woodlots in Elizabeth Park and on Grosse Ile have been interesting. 

All that said, my mood is tempered.  I'm just not feeling it.  I walk. I listen. I pause.  But the birds just don't seem to be there.  Well, I mean, I'm seeing birds, but it seems to be such a struggle.  One of these. One of those. Eh.

Now, in the grand tradition of the seasons as of late, to hell with spring. Lets just skip it and have summer. There was frost here Monday morning. Seriously.  Frost. Today?  85 degrees.

So, I thought I could make up it for by posting some pictures.  I had to go through 3 weeks worth of pics! It seems like a winter/summer mix.  

Here's a Black-capped Chickadee. I photographed it a few weeks ago in Ohio while hunkered down in a photo blind with my buddy Josh and his dad, Dave.  Early May?  Felt like March! Whatever.  Should have been warmer in any case.....

On the flip side, check out this Bay-breasted Warbler.  (Sure the picture is a bore.  Never put your subject in the middle of the frame.  But, it's a slick-lookin' bird, isn't it?)

This bird, while a spring migrant, could be likened to a "bird of summer".  It is heading off to Ontario (and beyond) after spending the winter in the tropics.  It has a plan. Find a babe.  Be a dad. Bust a move back to the Belize.  

Maybe Nat and I will be seeing him in a few weeks.....

Three For One Deal

Common Terns. You know the drill. Local nesters.  Not common.  I've shot the birds before (cameras, people, shootin' with cameras!).  You seen it. Here. Here. 

So, the other day, I was near the colony. This time I tried a new spot.  (That is the Grosse Ile free bridge running across the  image, by the way.)

So, I found, by standing on the dock marked in the image, the birds came by quite close.  With the colony only 100 yards away, they came by pretty often, too.  (My other photo site was across the river and easily three times as far.)

While I certainly got some Common Tern photos, the one that caught my eye was the Caspian Tern.  Nothing new here - I've shot them before.  

But for whatever reason, this particular bird decided to fly straight at me...and over me. 

 

Banging away at eight frames per second and using a little Photoshop magic can be quite fun!