Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Dawn on Lake Huron

We have made it an annual thing now, to spend a weekend somewhere in Michigan in the winter, just for fun. The original plan was to go up to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan, but after getting a newsletter from Michigan Audubon that six Snowy Owls had been spotted at Tawas Point State Park on Lake Huron, we decided to head there instead.  Tawas is where the birding festival I attended last year was held, where I added 12? birds to my "life list".  We found a three bedroom house for rent right on the water for a great price (winter rates), called up our friend Karin from Traverse City, and we all met there Friday night.

By the time we got settled it was dark so we had to wait till morning to really see the place.  Dawn brought a glorious sunrise, spreading across a frigid Lake Huron (the air temperature was seven degrees).




I grew up on a lake (not as big as this one!) and I miss it horribly.  I could spend hours on the shore, just watching and listening to the nuances of the water.  The cold had brought ice to the surface of the great lake, and it crinkled across the small swells.




Each moment is different, every place you look a new texture, color.







The horizon is ill-defined, seemingly infinite. Waves and swells break the line between water and sky.







Winds from the west spread out across the surface, winding between the ice sheets.





Just as I was finishing up Lori spotted a dark shape moving down the coast.  "Eagle!" she cried.  Sure enough, gliding south down the shore was this magnificent Bald Eagle.  No time for adjusting the exposure, I got a couple shots before the bird moved out of sight.



It was going to be a good day!

Next:  Tawas Point

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos of the water.

    An eagle, whauw! Great.

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  2. Thanks! It was quite a moment and I was lucky to get any shots of the bird at all. We saw it fly back up the coast later that morning but it was farther out over the water. About 10 miles north of where we were staying there is a known eagle nesting area, has been for years, and we almost always see an eagle when we go up that way.

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