At 989: OH gives two, MI gives four

     The main target for this trip was Kirtland's Warbler. This Warbler mainly breeds in central Michigan and is nearly-threatened. I could count on seeing a Henslow's Sparrow. Birds I could not count on getting are the hard to get Connecticut Warbler and the three Grouses found in MI. I expected to get three or four new species.

Day 1:

Henslow's Sparrow

     I took an early morning flight from ATX and reached Detroit around 10:30 am. After taking a rental car, followed by a quick and cheap breakfast, I was at my first spot - Nichols Arboretum. One section was exposed to the sunlight and was hot, and the other section was crowded with people. At this time of the day it was unbirdy - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56722967. Next stop was in Ohio which was my main birding destination of the day. The main target was Henslow's Sparrow which should be singing now. They winter in east TX in marshy areas that require us to possibly wear water boots and wade through. I tried for one earlier this year and dipped - https://operation1kbirds.blogspot.com/2019/02/there-were-few-options-for-chasing-this.html. I drove to Ottawa NWR--Adam Grimm Prairie with dark clouds gathering. The prairie was quiet. I saw a good number of Canada Goslings. It started raining heavily and I waited it out. After the rain I played the call of the sparrow and one started singing at a distance. I walked on what looked like a small trail, and after a point it was covered in water. I closed in on the bird and called it out to have good binocular looks and a decent photo. Henslow's Sparrow is a sparrow I had given up on earlier, and was bird 984. Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56730180. I drove to Magee Marsh (Lucas Co.) and hiked the whole system of boardwalks for some really good birding. Weather was great and birds were plentiful. I had a calling Alder Flycatcher, multiple empids and warblers. Highlight was a close look at a female Black-throated Blue Warbler which I'm seeing after a long time. They are common during migration in Raleigh,NC. Checklist - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56736504. At one section of the boardwalk I joined a birder who recommended Maumee Bay SP for American Woodcock. I headed to 'The Hill' and had a calling Willow Flycatcher. Both Alder and Willow Flycatchers were lifers since I had improperly id'ed Alder earlier, and should not have id'ed Willow on a Traill's (or empid sp). Anyway for my counting purposes I am back to where I should be. I climbed 'The Hill' and it was silent. As I climbed down in low light I started hearing the peent calls of American Woodcock. I slowly drove towards the sound and found it coming from a field which had a path to it. I parked the car and headed there with a torch and I could faintly see one land right in front of me. I shined a torch and got good looks at an American Woodcock for bird 985. I tried to take a picture with the torch between my legs and was struggling. I got a poor picture and a ranger came to see what I was doing and he shined a torch on the bird for me to take a few pics. We both saw the breeding display where the bird flew up high with rapid trilling wing beats and landed back near us. At one point the bird walked towards us making the peent calls, and flew directly at me and veered off inches away! Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56739158. I drove to Flint,MI which was two hours away without stops. I stopped at a taco place at Toldeo for dinner, followed by another stop for a coffee. I reached the hotel around 12:45 am.

Day 2:

Kirtland's Warbler

     The main stop was Tawas Point State Park which was two hours away from Flint. The morning was cloudy and cool. I got into the state park and walked the main trail there. I started off at a section that had annoying insects and was unbirdy. Thankfully they were not biting. I soon hit the section that was the trail that I should have taken for the birds. I saw calling Least Flycatchers and a lot of warblers. I slowly walked along the trails, and saw a good number of active birds. I met a birder who mentioned she had Connecticut Warbler the previous day. I tried for it knowing well that it could have moved on. I did see a few more warbler species and it was good birding overall - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56765880. Ebird flagged White-crowned Sparrow as rare. A birder was guiding a group of birders from Chicago, and he gave me pointers to try for my main target of the trip, Kirtland's Warbler. I drove to the place he mentioned and I heard a couple singing as soon as I arrived. However they would not show themselves. The ideal time to try is in the morning but I wanted to give it a shot anyway since it is the main target of the trip. I slowly drove on a road that had space for only one car. I drove in reverse after I hit a bad section. I took another narrow road and heard several more singing at a distance. Then out of no-where there was one silently moving around on one of the the young Jack pine trees! It was not shy and I was in my car. I got good looks at a male Kirtland's Warber for bird 986! Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56765531. I saw it move along for a few minitues and drove to my next point Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area which was hot and unbirdy in the afternoon - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56768383. It became clear to me to head north and do some birding in the evening. I drove towards the Upper Peninsula and stopped at a place where a Connecticut Warbler was seen several days back - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56774673. I walked the trail a little and it was unbirdy except for some Pine and Yellow Warblers. If I stopped I was covered in mosquitoes! I walked back and drove further north and I chose a place to watch the sunset. I headed to Cheboygan State Park that had a chance for Ruffed Grouse. I sat and watched the sunset before heading to the Upper Peninsula, where I stayed for the night.

Day 3:

Sharp-tailed Grouse

      After seeing the Kirtland's Warbler and Hensolow's Sparrow, and after learning that Connecticut Warbler is really hard to get as they all say, I decided to target the Grouses which are not easy too. My first stop was Munuscong WMA (Munuscong Potholes) for Sharp-tailed Grouse. During the drive from the south part of the UP, I saw trees with fresh green leaves. While I was driving on the road, just before making a turn to the WMA, I saw a grouse like bird fly. I immediately made a U-turn and parked my car on a patch of area on the side of the road. I could see displaying Grouses at a distance. I walked closer to get better looks of Sharp-tailed Grouse for bird 987. I made a quick drive on the WMA mud road which did not produce anything interesting - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56793762. It started drizzling and I chose Whitefish Point as my next spot. Ruffed Grouse is more common compared to a Spruce Grouse, and I felt it would be better to go after the latter. As soon as I arrived I saw bird feeders teeming with birds. The temperature was lower at this latitude, and some trees were yet to get the leaves. I struck a conversation with a local birder who recommended spots for Spruce Grouse. He also mentioned possibility of Ruffed Grouse on the spot we were at, and the presence of Black-backed Woodpecker and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.  Just as we were speaking I saw a sparrow land near the feeders which I knew would be the Eurasian Tree Sparrow since I've not seen it in detail in the books and this was unfamiliar. I asked him about the count-ability and indeed it was introduced and established and ABA countable. So Eurasian Tree Sparrow became bird 988. They were introduced in St.Louis and rare in this part of Michigan. I walked the boardwalk and trails after taking pics of Evening Grosbeaks, female Purple Finches and others. I got really close looks at Black-capped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches. At the beach side birders with scopes pointed at a distant Parasitic Jaeger. I got poor looks with my binocs and decided not to count it. The highlight was a close look at an American Red Squirrel that ate a pine fruit or whatever a few feet away from me. After the hike, I spent some more time at the feeders and took pics of Blue Jays and a White-throated Sparrow. https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56801744. Next was the spots recommended for Spruce Grouse which I have to be lucky to see. The first spot was Vermilion road - slab, where I drove along the road, walked around the slab area. The second was Farmtruck road which was a mud road and looked promising for fall colours. The drizzle turned to light rain. The third and final spot was Clark lake, where I had to drive up a mud road and walk a little. None of them produced any good birds. With rain increasing in intensity I decided to drive around Seney NWR - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56838467. The place was not birdy but beautiful. I had a long drive to make to Detroit. Since it was raining I decided to head south and cut down on my after dark driving time. I stayed close to Saginaw for the night.

Day 4:

      The rain had stopped in the morning, and I went to Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge. The auto tour was closed, and Ferguson Bayou Trail was open. I hiked about 1.5 miles one way before turning back. The place was beautiful with tress over swamps. There were several calling Willow Flycatchers and more than a dozen calling Yellow Warblers. Birding was decent - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56838462. Due to poor sleep over the past few days, I got a headache after the hike. I had coffee and continued on to Kensington Metropark--Nature Center. On the way I had to take a mud road which produced a melanistic Eastern Grey Squirrel which was a first for me. I saw a distant Mute Swan on a pond of a golf-course and googling showed that Mute Swans are countable in MI. They were introduced in 1800s and have established a population and are expanding. So, Mute Swan was bird 989. I personally did not like to count it, but I have to follow some rules, and I chose ABA rules! I went to the Nature Center and hiked a little bit. Highlights were close looks at a White-breasted Nuthatch which was for some reason flying straight at me before veering off, and followed me along the trail. Further down a Tufted Titmouse was collecting worms possibly for it's fledglings. At times it came near me to catch insects or worms. There were a couple of Sandhill Cranes that appeared quite tame. I saw people feed Chipmunks and Mourning Doves earlier. Any chipmunk that I saw in the park ran towards me expecting something and it was sad to see. I got closer looks at Mute Swans and one was on it's nest. Surprisingly this session of birding was entertaining in terms of close looks at common birds and Chipmunks - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56843874. I took the flight back to ATX at 6 pm after a packed last day.

     This was a tiring trip. Sunset was at 9 pm, and I utilized the full day light. I had to drive from south MI to northwest OH, to north MI and back to south MI. I hiked a lot on first, second, and fourth days. I got four new birds plus two introduced birds for a total of six, excluding Alder and Willow Flycatchers. In total I submitted 13 checklists to ebird from both OH and MI, and saw a total of 106 bird species.