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May 24, 2013

Boardwalk gives you access to rare sightings.

April 30, 2013

Avocets??
 

Bird watchers and photographers were coming out like crazy to see these rare birds on the beach. These are American Avocets. 55 of them were on the shore easily seen. We have had an occasional one in past , never 55! The bird is not a rare bird but they are seen in the west. They are quite rare to be seen in the Great Lakes area.

Images courtesy of Heather Slayton
 

April 19, 2013

Spring is here!?

April 1, 2013

NEWS FROM OWL WATCH 2013:

The boys are back in town!

March 2013


Photo courtesy of Mike Dees

Male Red-winged Blackbirds are back from their southern sojourn and flocking to our feeders. They have returned in this chancy weather to establish territories, which they will defend by singing and flaunting their red wing patches, through spring and the breeding season. When the females arrive, usually later this month, they will examine both the male and the habitat for suitability before deciding to settle down. A male with prime habitat often has more than one female. This is called polygyny. It may also occur among the Marsh Wrens and Yellow Warblers that call this park “home” in the summer.

Though winter is usually a quiet month, the calls of the Red-winged Blackbirds echo throughout the park now. As more bird species arrive, the trails will be inundated with bird chatter and, as spring warms up, frog song. Latter, insect hums and buzzes will fill the air. This is music to our ears!

If you are looking for a way to enjoy these recent arrivals and spring happenings, come and join us for some of our upcoming programs. We will be hosting free guided nature walks on April 5, from 10am to 2pm, in honor of National Public Health Week. Our Owl Festival will be April 7. See our website for more details at this link: OWL FESTIVAL. Or, if you want to help us keep our park beautiful and our wildlife healthy, sign up for our annual Clean Up Day (CLEAN UP DAY FLYER).

What are these crazy birds doing here?! Don’t robins eat worms?

MARCH 2013

Well, yes and no. Robins will eat worms, but that is not their only food source. They will also eat insects and other invertebrates, as well as fruit. The University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web cites a study that indicates up to 60% of an adult robin’s diet is fruit. Cornell Lab of Ornithology states that robins particularly enjoy “chokecherries, hawthorn, dogwood, and sumac fruits, and juniper berries.” We have also seen them eat small crabapples, and they will use fruit from some cultivated plants and ornamental shrubs. Since some of these fruits are persistent (stay on the tree or shrub) through the winter, a small population of robins often sticks around where that fruit is available. 

Here at the Nature Center, we have a stand of staghorn sumac along the Meadow Loop of the nature trail, so we often have robins here throughout the year. It is startling to see a robin in the snow, though!

Want to help out over-wintering robins? Make sure they have a source of clean, ice-free water. They will not only drink the water, but also bathe in it. Also, plant native Michigan shrubs and small trees, such as chokeberry, dogwood, red cedar, winterberry, various viburnums and American mountain ash, to help resident and migratory flocks. Some of these plants are currently available through the Macomb County Conservation District spring tree and shrubs sale. Download a flyer and an order form from: http://macombcd.webs.com/ 

For more answers to your robin questions, check out:http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/ExpertAnswer11.html 
and http://lansingwbu.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-in-world-are-robins-still-doing.html 

Who is that handsome dog?

A coyote, Canis latrans, a member of the dog family. This one was sighted Monday morning in the field and woods adjacent to the Nature Center.

Right around Valentine's Day, these animals start pairing up. The park likely has one mated pair of coyotes and some of their descendants. They feed primarily on small mammals (mice, voles and rabbits), birds and other small animals, as well as insects and plant material.

Do you have anything to fear from this animal? No. Coyotes in the eastern United States have a maximum size of 35-45 pounds, and are rather wary animals, so they don't pose any threat to you. Please keep all dogs on a six-foot leash (and in the appropriate areas of the park) to avoid coyote-dog interactions. If you want to insure that they do not approach you or your pets, carry a small cannister full of coins or pebbles and shake it vigorously to make noise.

At home, if you have a small pet, keep them within the boundaries of your yard and go out with them. Your presence will discourage any coyotes (and they are found in every county in Michigan).

Also, please do not attempt to feed these animals (or any others in the park, actually). Feeding habituates animals to people and to food from humans, which can become unhealthy and harmful for them.

If you are walking in the park in the early morning or late afternoon, you may actually get a chance to hear or see these graceful animals. The Native Americans of the southwest called them "song dogs" for their many vocalizations - so keep your ears open, and you may get a chance to hear them!

If you want to learn more about coyotes, stop by the Nature Center and see our display (and our taxidermied, mounted coyote), or check out these websites:

Michigan
Coyote Facts



The Coyote
Project


Coyote Tales
Complete Bio

Wow! That’s a big bird! Is that an eagle?
January 2013

Fall Migration Wonders

With a chill in the air, our thoughts turn to…snow? No! Falling leaves, and the smell of autumn in the air? Yes!

As the temperature goes down, fall colors begin to appear and the last of the flowers fade. Reptiles and amphibians eat their last meals before hibernation, and birds, bats and other animals that rely on warm-weather food – like insects – begin their southward trek.
 

Fall migration is a big event at Lake St. Clair Metropark. Birds often use bodies of water, like large rivers and shorelines, to find their way. They also use these waterways as stopovers. Wetland habitats and adjacent fields and forests can provide the water, food and shelter these intrepid travelers need. Like we tell the kids – the nature area here is like McDonald’s and Holiday Inn for birds!


 

So, fly on over to the park and do some bird watching while enjoying the fall color change. Stop into the Nature Center to let us know what you have seen and take a look at the records to find out what other people have been seeing in the park. Happy bird watching!

Monarch Project at the Lake St. Clair Metropark Nature Center

The unseasonable warmth of spring brought a pleasant surprise this year – monarch butterflies! They were almost a full month early, but there wasn’t much milkweed up for them to lay eggs on. As a result, instead of one or two eggs to a plant, there were up to a dozen on each tiny stem! We harvested many of the eggs to ensure a better chance of survival, and we are raising them in the nature center. Many have become chrysalises (pupae) already and we've released over 60 butterflies!



Stop in and see this amazing process first hand. The first of the butterflies emerged (eclosed) on June 8. They usually come out of the chrysalis in the morning, pump the veins in their wings with fluid and then spend the next several hours letting them harden and dry. When they are ready to go, we release them – and let any visitors who are around help out!



Later in the summer (mid-August through September) we will tag the butterflies for research purposes, as they will be migrating to Mexico. To learn more about monarchs, raising caterpillars, and creating backyard butterfly habitat, sign up for our “Amazing Monarchs” program on August 18 at 1:00 pm (phone-in registration begins two weeks before the program – call 586-463-4332 for details or to sign up). There will also be a "Hummingbirds and Monarchs" festival on September 9 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. During this "open house" style program, drop in and make a craft, take a guided hike, and learn more about these tiny but mighty migrants.




For more about monarchs, their migration and raising caterpillars, check out the Monarch Watch website:  www.monarchwatch.org. This non-profit organization helps to promote monarch education and research, and they have lots of great information and monarch-related items.




May 24,2012
Photographer Paul warner has given us some views along the nature trail from this past week.


Family of Mute swans on the pond

Typical view of migrating warbler




Baltimore Oriole




Blackburnian Warbler



Cedar Waxwing




Jug-A-Rum!

This year we have had more Bullfrogs than ever recorded in the pond and along the canal. They can be seen and heard calling, like this big guy. (Notice the ripples in the water from the vibrations of his call)




Two males fighting over territory.



Wrestling matches for territory  


The Bullfrogs were most active last week with calls and territory wrestling matches.  Several days we counted 40-50 Bullfrogs in the pond. What a sound with all of them calling!  They have slowly diminished in numbers calling and the Green Frogs have begun in earnest.  Watch for large tadpoles as the summer progresses.


May 2012
The two Great Horned Owl babies have fledged and can be found sitting together in the trees behind the nest bucket. They are learning to fly and the parents continue to feed them all summer. However, they are very difficult to find now that all the leaves are out on the trees. We will listen for their begging calls at night as we monitor how they are growing and developing. 


February/March 2012




The resident Great Horned Owl has been sitting on her nest "bucket"  since February 4th. The owl incubates her eggs for 28-30 days so we will be watching for signs that the eggs have hatched in a few weeks. The owl will not sit in the bucket uhless she has eggs or young.   Volunteer bird bander Tom Heatley installed the washtub in the trees in 1991  to help provide a nesting site for the owls. Owls do not make their own nest and will seek stick nests built by other large birds such as herons and crows.  The nest bucket has been used now for  17 years and each year has produced 1-2 young each time. 

The nesting tub and owls can be seen from the trail. Bring your binoculars for a better view. Visitors must remain on the trails to observe the nest to prevent disturbing the female off the nest which could result in failure of the nest.

Visitors from the North. 

With the mild winter weather, the lake has remained open and thousands of diving ducks such as Canvasback, Ruddy Ducks, Redheads have been visible from our shore. Some days it takes a good spotting scope, but the huge numbers are a sight to see. Lake St. Clair supports these species of waterfowl with the abundance of submerged plants such as Wild Celery and with the abundance of fish and invertebrates associated with these plants.

Lake St. CLair is a crucial stop over site for these diving ducks and Tundra Swan.

A rare visitor this year has been the Snowy Owl. They only arrive occasionally down from the Arctic tundra when food is scarce. Several individuals have been seen and photographed on the point of Lake St. Clair Metropark and  at the mouth of the Clinton River.  They'll hunt for rodents but also ducks that are so numerous out in the lake.




1)  Bufflehead Duck
2)  Canvasback Ducks
3)  Tundra Swan
4)  Redhead Ducks
5)  Snowy Owl


Another unusual visitor down from the north has been a small falcon called a Merlin. The Merlin has been seen regularly sitting in a tree in the parking lot often with a meal. So it has discovered a good spot to feed and rest. They are common in migration, but unusual that it has been hanging around since October.




There has been regular sightings of Bald Eagles in the park and our resident Great Horned Owls have been more visible as they protect their territory for the upcoming nesting season. Stay tuned.






Fishfly season is here! 

Most residents of Michigan call these fishflies but they are actually mayflies.

Its that time of year when the buildings and lights become covered with them. 
As adults they emerge all at the same time from their larval stage underwater. They only live a few days and do not feed. At the stage of their life cycle they emerge from the water, molt a second time then they are ready for their breeding flights over the water. After eggs are layed, the adults die and the new generation hatches from eggs underwater. They will remain for several years underwater feeding on decomposed plant material. They are important recyclers of the aquatic plants in the lake.  They are an important food source for many fish in Lake St. Clair, including the endangered Lake Sturgeon that feeds heavily on the larvae. 
Mayfly during its molt

Mayfly from beneath and above

June 12, 2011

Metro Beach has close to 500 acres of wetlands within its boundaries. Since these wetlands are on the shore of Lake St. Clair  and a large portion of it is cattail marsh, several species breed in the wetlands that are listed as threatened species in our state. Birdwatcher and photographer Alan Ryff took these pictures earlier in spring of a pair of Forster's Tern , a threatened species in our state, as the male brought fish to the female during courtship.

These terns will nest back in the cattails, sometimes on old muskrat lodges, and can be seen diving for fish in the open areas of the marsh and in the lake .  Watch for them diving for food and soon they will be bringing food to their young of the year. 

The Least Bittern is another threatened species that nests at Metro Beach and can be seen on the edges of the cattails.

June 10,  2011


SLOW! Turtle Crossing

This sign greets you as you enter the park. The roadway entering Metro Beach divides a large marsh, and wetlands are on either side of the road. Wetland creatures such as turtles, frogs, ducks and geese often cross the orad as they travel to different areas of the wetlands.

Turtle movement increases greatly in June as female turtles seek places to lay their eggs in sunny areas with soft soil. It is not unusual to see a large 
                                               Snapping Turtle slowly working its way across the 
                                               road.

These road crossings can create a traffic hazard for people and for the wildlife.  Metro Beach staff is concerned for the safety of our patrons and the wildlife in the park.  Please drive slowly in the park and watch for wildlife in the road or parking lots.   Slow down and allow the animals to pass and avoid stopping and getting out of your car in traffic for your own safety and to avoid accidents. Turtles move slowly and when frightened , will stop in the middle of the road and not move. Please report turtles in the road to an employee such as the tollbooth operator or call the park office at 586-463-4581 and park staff will be called to safely move the turtle. 

Visit the Nature Center to learn more about the turtles that make their home at Metro Beach and see live specimens on display of the species that live in the park. 

Better yet, join us for our "Turtle Talk" program on June 18 at 1pm to visit with these fascinating creatures up-close.  Give us a call at 586-463-4332 to learn more about our programs. 



 
April 23, 2011
After the heavy downpour of rain last night and warm sunshine today, the  Groundhog that lives by the Nature Center building was stretched out in the grass soaking up the sun and drying off. Common Loon was seen in the North Marsh and several could be heard as they flew over the nature trail on their journey north.  Along the trail new migratory birds that have arrived such as Hermit Thrush, Eastern Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Virginia Rail could be seen and heard. 

Several visitors have inquired about our nesting Great Horned Owls. The female owl sat on the nest from February 8 to March 22. The eggs should have hatched in 30 days or so. She stuck it out another week and finally gave up on the nest. The eggs had failed to hatch. The adults remain in the trees in the park, so we'll be watching next winter for them to try again. 

April 16, 2011 - Let’s Hear it for the Volunteers!