We’re passionate about birds and nature. That’s why we opened a Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in our community.
20485 Mack Avenue
Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236
Phone: (313) 881-1410
Fax: (313) 881-2008
Email: Send Message
Store Hours:
Mon - Fri: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Thurs: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Sat: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Sun: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Comments:
Free parking available at rear of store.
It was a full house of thirty participants, both new and experienced, on the March 28th Bird Walk. It's always exciting to share a first time adventure with new birders, and today was no exception. We gladly lowered the scope to the level of our youngest participant, Nick, who attended with his Uncle and Grandfather.
In typical March fashion, it was windy and cool, but the sun was shining and our spirits were good as we headed out. The first stop was to see if we could locate the Cooper's hawks, as we had seen one of them when we drove in, flying near what appeared to be a new nest. Although we could easily view the nest from the prior year, a nest from two years ago and the new nest, all situated within the same area, we did not see either of the birds. Because of the wind, we decided to continue along the main path that leads toward the Play House. Chickadees were busy in the area, calling with their territorial "Fee-bee", instead of the usual "chickadee-dee-dee" sounds that we hear all other times of the year. The red-bellied woodpecker flew from tree to tree but finally landed in a place where we were able to spot it with a scope in order for birders to see the bright orange-red head and start the usual conversation about the fact that it should have been named something else since the red belly is not the most prominent field mark.
Our walk along the road next to the gardens resulted in sightings of brown-headed cowbirds, grackles, and red-winged blackbirds. As we continued along the fence line toward the lake, we had a few glimpses of a golden-crowned kinglet, the smallest bird to winter in the area, feeding itself with eggs and insects that it finds in the bark of deciduous trees and on evergreens. A much better look was had of the kinglet when we got closer to the lake, as well as seeing a second bird. Many of the birds we saw were signing to set up territory including the song sparrow and the white-breasted nuthatch. The dark-eyed junco had started to trill also, but they are thinking of territory further north. Robins had returned in good numbers and were feeding on the large, expansive lawn. The lagoon proved to be fruitful as it was out of the wind and a good place for ducks. We had scope views of a few pairs of ring-necked duck, mallards and goldeneye. A few different species of gulls were also in the lagoon, allowing us to compare the size differences of the ring-billed gull, herring gull and great black-backed gulls. We also got to watch the black-backed force a herring to give up its catch of fish.
On the way back to the Center, I decided that we should walk toward the hawks' nest on the chance that they may be spotted. We were rewarded with the pair sitting about 18 inches apart from each other, giving us a great comparison of the size difference between the male and female. In raptors, the female is typically larger, ready to sit for long periods on the nest, and capable of catching larger prey for the brood, once hatched. The two flew about the area and we had a variety of views in the scope each time they landed. We had thirty species of birds in total, with many new birds for some of the participants. It's always a pleasure to get out and walk, enjoy the fresh air and share resident and newly arrived migrant birds as well as the company of others who enjoy the experience.
