I Shore Love Birds

I awoke at five a.m. Friday to the sound of my sister's phone alarm.

No, I didn't move to C-Bus.

Disoriented, I opened one eye and remembered where I was...in the midst of The Biggest Week in American Birding, an event hosted by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory.

The day before we'd gone to the Ottawa Refuge for a talk on birdsong. It had been a rainy but warm day, and we wound up driving around the park and peering at any birds who didn't mind getting their feathers wet. Admittedly, the view wasn't optimal, but we did manage to see a few winged warriors between the raindrops. The weather cleared a bit, so we stopped at Howard Marsh, where we got our first look at some long-legged shore birds.

Overnight, we settled in at the Maumee Bay Lodge. Friday morning, the bus was set to depart at six a.m.

I followed Diane to the lobby, where I picked up the box lunch I'd ordered the night before and climbed into the bus. We headed to the "Wilds of Erie County" to see what we could see. First up was the Pipe Creek Wildlife Area, followed by the Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve.

Pipe Creek is just across the way from Cedar Point, but it couldn't be more distant in terms of human civilization. It was wild and amazing, with lots of shore birds, from great egrets, blue herons and cormorants to terns, gulls, sandpipers, killdeer and dunlins. On the shores were the remains of fishes that were dinner for some large birds.

Sheldon Marsh was more of a woodland adventure, hosting warblers, chickadees, swallows, sparrows and nuthatches. Plus, as a special bonus, a bittner, which is not rare but is tough to spot. (And yours truly spotted him, hah!)

Lunch was delicious!

Saturday took us in the opposite direction, to Michigan, where we explored Pt. Mouillee State Game Area. It was cold and windy, and most of the time we viewed the birds from the van. Because the water levels were so high, the birds were clustered on small patches of mud. On one finger of terra firma, there were a couple hundred dunlins. To see them sweep up together and fly in unison, dipping and soaring this way and that, is really something. Nature does some amazing choreography. (The June Taylor dancers ain't got nothin' on these guys!) Pt. Mouilee is also home to pelicans, so I got to check them off my list. Other cool birds we saw today: a horned grebe, green heron and bobolinks.

An advantage to going with a tour, aside from the fact the leaders know their birds both by sight and sound, is they bring along scopes. So if you can't see a particular species with your binoculars, you can view them through the scope. (Which they offer for sale, by the way, although I didn't even ask the cost, I knew better.) Sometimes I wish I could photograph what I see, but I figure I'll just leave that to the experts. I remain an observer, with access to eBird, so I can go back and re-see what I saw.

This Dunlin is Rockin'

Slogging around in all kinds of weather looking at birds may not be everyone's cup of tea. But I find it relaxing and exhilarating. There's nothing like watching a bald eagle in flight. Or a baby killdeer trotting along in the sand after its mom. Or hearing the cacophony of birdsong in a remote area in the early morning. I still get a kick when I can actually spot the buggers in my binoculars. Just watching them preen or hop from reed to reed or ward off competitors -- it's all good to me.

On the way home, I was tired and my knees were aching.

But I felt a deep peace and satisfaction that went all the way to my core.

And that's what it's all about.