Soo trip report for Feb 2-4

[Lathe Claflin]

Greetings,

Eighteen people braved the cold, wind, and snow for a birding
excursion to the Soo area this past weekend.  Highlights of this trip,
sponsored by the Washtenaw and Jackson Audubon Societies, included:

SNOWY OWL – Two immature-type owls were located on Centerline Rd in
the Rudyard "flats".

SHARP-TAILED GROUSE – These birds were plentiful: 50+ birds were seen
around the large house on 9 Mile Rd. between Ridge and Riverside
Rds.(3374); they eventually flew off in two large groups, quite a
sight.  We found another 12 feeding on the ground around the house at
the NW corner of 5 Mile and Ridge Rds. and a larger group feeding in a
subdivision outside of Rudyard (reached via Glen Rd.).

CROSSBILLS - We located both species of crossbills near the west end
of the wooded area of Dunbar Forest on 12 Mile Rd., but they only
landed briefly.  We also saw two small groups of White-winged
Crossbills on Basnau Rd. (Hulbert Bog) but they were either fly-overs
or perched only briefly.

EVENING GROSBEAKS - We had a large flock (30+) of cooperative Evening
Grosbeaks at one of the houses near the south end of the N/S leg of
Basnau Rd.

PINE SISKIN - A heard only bird in Dunbar Forest and on Basnau Rd.

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS – As others have reported, these birds are common
in the farmland S and W of the Soo; two very dark phase birds were
notable.

NORTHERN SHRIKE – Northern Shrike were present in a few locations but
were not as easily found as two weeks ago.

PURPLE FINCH were seen at the feeders in Dunbar Forest as were
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, TREE SPARROWS (10+),  WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS
(at least 3), and many DARK-EYED JUNCOS (also seen in the Hulbert
Bog).  The last three were atypical for this time of year.  A notable
miss was GRAY JAY, the first time in memory for me.  Four of our group
took it easy Saturday afternoon but did record 3 GLAUCOUS GULLS and
6-7 LONG-TAILED DUCKS along the waterfront east of the Edison
powerplant.

Lathe Claflin and Gary Siegrist