I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Birdwatching at the Park
The suburban is still in the repair shop.
We took JJ to work this morning so that if the repair shop told us that the suburban was done, we could go pick it up. They didn’t call, which means that Monday I will have to drive EJ to work in the morning and pick him up later in the afternoon.
JJ has two parks that he is responsible for. One is a small park with a baseball field and the other is the large campground on the lake several miles further on.
We drove JJ first to the small park where he emptied trashcans and did whatever else he had to do. I didn’t pay much attention to what our son was doing because my focus was on the pair of ospreys. They had made a nest on the top of one of the baseball field’s light poles. One osprey was in the nest and the other was sitting on one of the other poles. JJ said that if anyone enters the ball field, the ospreys swoop overhead. We didn’t have time to see that–JJ had to get to the campground. JJ also told us that the county had built a post specifically for the ospreys to build their nest on, but it is shorter than the lightposts so the ospreys ignore it. Because of the nest, the light is never turned on.
After JJ finished his tasks at the small park, we drove on to the large campground and dropped him off at his ranger station. Before we parted ways, I asked him where to look for the Petoskey stones and ant lions that he says are in the park. He gave us a few general directions.
EJ parked in the parking lot and we wandered the beautiful campground. We didn’t find any Petoskey stones or ant lions, but we did see a flock of unfamiliar birds. We took photos and when we got home, we searched for their identity and learned that they are Eastern Kingbirds. Cool! Including the Ospreys and Kingbirds, I have seen five birds that I’ve never seen before this month. I told EJ that we should visit some of the prime birdwatching places in the area. I said that before we know it, we will be getting up at dawn, dressed in khaki shorts and pith helmets with binoculars around our necks. But, seriously, it’s immense fun discovering new birds.
As we wandered the campground, we also found some lichen. It looked like foam under the trees. Close up, the lichen was beautiful, like lacy coral.
We also saw other beautiful scenery.
The route to the campground is filled with orchards–mostly cherry, but some apple as well. There are miles and miles and miles of orchards. The cherry trees were heavy with ripe cherries. I tried to take photos, but it’s difficult to take good photos while we are driving along.
This afternoon we had to go pick JJ up from work. He said they were super busy today–about as busy as they were during the July 4th weekend. EJ theorized that people were getting their last days of vacation in. There are not very many weekends left before the school year starts.
On the drive home, EJ and JJ were quite sure that a bird soaring overhead was probably a bald eagle. I tried to take a photo, but I wasn’t quick enough. By the time I got my camera ready, we were down the road and the eagle had flown behind some trees. I have seen bald eagles in the wild before, but not in Northern Michigan.
EJ and I agreed that our next adventure will be to a birdwatching place.
I Love To Go A Gardening 
I love to go bird watching and find new birds. Sounds like you had fun.. Happy birding 🙋🐦
LikeLike
Thanks! It really is a lot of fun finding new birds!
LikeLike