Enjoy the beauty of the area and its changing cycles and patterns from season to season and the many lessons and examples nature has to offer. Special places like Grass River are disappearing at an alarming rate. Learn how you can help save and preserve our wetlands, woods and water and their inhabitants for future generations.
GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT RESULTS
Thanks to everyone who shared their bird counts with us. Our bird watchers saw many of the same species, but they each added at least one different specie to the list. Aren’t we lucky that so many beautiful birds hang out in northern Michigan in the winter!
Julie spotted 15 different species in her Bellaire back yard. Over a 3 hour period she counted 26 Mourning Dove, Woodpeckers—3 Red-bellied, 2 Downy, 2 Hairy and 1 Pileated, 9 Blue Jays, 2 American Crows, 12 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 Red- and 2 White-breasted Nuthatch, 1 Dark-eyed Junco, 10 Pine Grosbeak, 5 Pine Siskin, 3 American Goldfinch and 1 Evening Grosbeak.
Also reporting from Bellaire Connie and Melynda saw the some of the same species plus a few Common Redpolls.
In Kewadin, Jill and Bob saw 2 early Robins, 18 Mourning Doves, 1 Nuthatch, 1 Chickadee, 3 Cardinal, 6 Junco, 13 House Sparrows, 12 Goldfinch, 4 Redpolls and 1 Barred Owl.
Trisha in Elk Rapids wasn’t able to watch her birds the weekend of the GBBC but sent us a list of her usual sightings: 3 crows, 12+ Chickadees, 6-8 Juncos, 40-60 Mourning Doves, 6 or 7 pairs of Blue Jays, 2-3 pairs of Cardinal, 10 or more American Goldfinch, 10 or more Starlings and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Don, retired from the DNR after 33 years, watches birds in Alanson. He reports seeing Chickadees, Finches, Blue Jays, Doves, Woodpeckers (Hairy and Red-headed), Starlings, Nuthatch, Titmouse, Cardinals and Ravens. He also sent us his “Checklist of Birds” from his copy of Kitchen Table Bird Book, by John Ham. Other winter sightings include Pine Grosbeak and Eastern Phoebe. And in the summer he’s seen Red-winged Blackbirds, Bobolink, Indigo Bunting, Catbird, Cowbird, Mallard, Goldfinch, Grackle, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Purple Martin, Baltimore Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, Red-headed Woodpecker and Purple Finch.
“Wow! It was a great weekend for Birding. I was at The Teachers Environmental School work shop at the DNR conference center (Roscommon). Sunday morning there was a bird walk, so I went on it and we saw bunches of birds. Here is the list:
- Downy Woodpecker - 1
- Hairy Woodpecker – 1
- Pileated Woodpecker -1
- Blue Jay -2
- American Crow-1
- Black-capped Chickadee- 25
- Tufted Titmouse -1
- Red-breasted Nuthatch -5
- White-breasted Nuthatch – 4
- Brown Creeper -2
- Red Crossbill – 2
- Pine Siskin-18
- American Goldfinch – 11
We had lots of fun!” GRNA Naturalist, Anne Drake
William, downstate in Harbor Beach, sent us his observations for the week of February 13-19. What a list!
- 12 Bald Eagles
- 6 Marsh Hawks
- 5 Turkey Vultures
- 25 Common Mergansers
- 4 Ruddy Ducks
- 30 Greater Scaup
- 30 Lesser Scaup
- 50 Mallards
- 75 Canada Geese
- 24 Whistling Swans
- 60 Gulls
- 30 Crows
- 25 Buffel Head
- 70 Tufted Titmice
- 25 White-winged Crossbill
- 90 Ground Sparrows
- 60 Nut Hatches
- 75 Chickadees
- 25 Blue Jay
- 18 Yellow Shafted Flickers
- 25 Red-bellied Woodpeckers
- 6 Red-headed Woodpeckers
- 18 Hairy Woodpeckers
- 24 Downy Woodpeckers
- 150 Cardinal
- 175 Purple Finch
- 100 Mourning Dove
- 20 Common Redpoll
- 4 Screech Owls
"This is my very favorite place to come in all of Michigan. There are a lot of other conservancies and nature areas to visit, but so often there is no parking. Grass River is just my favorite. I've come here many times and I love it so much. This time I'm going to become a member."
—New Member , Portage MI
"This is the most educational place on earth for outdoor enthusiasts. I have been coming to Bellaire for 20 years and Grass River has it all. Keep it around for my children. Deer, birds, fish, turtles, ducks, otters, porcupines, flowers, lily pads, you name it. Best place on Earth! God's Country! "
—Matt Harris, Toledo, Ohio
"In about 1947 my family including my grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hawley of Alden, had a picnic in what is now part of Grass River Natural Area. We parked where Comfort Road makes a turn by the old railroad track and walked on a logging road into the woods. Then Granddad, my Dad, and I walked a long ways back into the Cedar Swamp to an old beaver dam. Somewhere there is a photo of me standing on top of the dam. Along the way Granddad talked about the birds, wild flowers (including yellow lady slippers and pitcher plants), and different kinds of trees. He talked about how important it was to have a cedar swamp and that it was very rare; and he talked about the different fish in the cold creek. Two years ago my sister, my daughter, two grandsons and I spent several hours in the Grass River Natural Area. It was pure joy to show them a piece of my childhood and to experience again the serenity of life in the swamp. Our family lives in Virginia, Texas, and California now. The world is a better place knowing this piece of nature has been preserved for younger people to learn about and experience."
—
Marian Kirk, Chesapeake, Virginia
From Students – –
"Awesome"
"That was the best field trip ever!"
"I caught a fish. I named the fish Spike because he looked sharp and nice. At
the end I had to let him go."
"I liked walking on the boardwalk. We got to explore."
"The best part was walking the trails because we saw things real cool
like flowers, animals, bugs and a snake."
"It was all about science and we learned about animals and insects and we all had fun."
"I caught 3 tadpoles, 1 dragonfly nymph and 1 thing that was long
brown and had little hairs on the side of his body. It was really fun."
Beaver sighting on Moonlight Ski
"The twenty-three people who came out for the Moon Light Ski were treated to the biggest, brightest , and closest Moon that we Earthlings will be able to see all this year! (January's full moon was at its closest orbit point to Earth)
Skiing over Chippewa and Nipissing trail, we cast our shadows over mounds of sparkling diamond snow, spent over an hour contemplating winter happenings, and took in the sights and silence of the deep woods. What a beautiful night to be outside!
After returning to the parking lot, six people continued out to the dock with me on Sedge Meadow trail. The moon seemed to light up Sedge Meadow like it was noon. Standing on the dock and looking up river, we spotted a beaver swimming with its head above water. He was swimming in ever widening circles, coming nearer to the dock and seemed to be checking us out. We were amazed and stopped talking to see what the beaver would do next. He swam past us right in front of the dock! Once down river, the beaver began swimming in circles again. He then past by the dock 2 more times, and with each pass, added a loud tail slap before continuing on down river in the bright moonlight."
- Naturalist Anne Drake
Field Notes
"Last Fall our first, second and third grade classes had the opportunity to visit the Grass River Natural Area on field trips. With a wide variety of plant and animal habitats, Grass River is an exceptional outdoor classroom. Our teachers greatly appreciated the quality of the hands-on learning experience and lessons that meshed well with our science curriculum. Several teachers commented on the organization and the effective operation of the program. Many of them felt that the hands on activities were awesome and qualified this experience as one of if not the best field trips ever."
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