Platte River Paddle (part one)

This past week found me up in Northern Michigan, having booked two shows four days apart in the northwest part of the state. This was a first for me, doing at show then not returning home before the next. I had no idea how much stuff I would need so I really busted my tail getting stock ready for the trip.

The first show, on a Wednesday, was in Frankfort. Situated where the Betsie River meets Lake Michigan and just south of Sleeping Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore, it is a busy little town during the tourist season. The second show wasn't until Saturday, an art fair in Traverse City that all three of us were doing. Set up for T.C. was Friday afternoon, so that left us all day Thursday to have a little fun. And what do three nature/wildlife artists do for fun? They go canoeing, of course!




The Platte River is a popular canoeing river. The Upper Platte is twisty, swift and a bit narrow, suited for paddlers with some river experience. The Lower Platte is wider and slower, and requires little more than steering to get through it. Since we had Lisa's niece along for the trip we picked the Lower Platte.



I am glad for the choice, because it allowed us to look around and enjoy the scenery. We didn't have to pay too much attention to the river so we could pay attention to what was going on along its banks.

Our first sighting was this Green Heron. Unfortunately it was strongly back lit and I did not adjust the exposure. However, it is my first photo of this bird so I am happy just to record it.




Belted Kingfishers abounded along the Platte. Where the river broadens out into a lake, Lisa and I had a kingfisher dive and catch a fish 30 feet in front of us. We drifted as we watched her subdue the fish, slamming it repeatedly on the branch upon which she perched. She gulped it down before we could get within good shooting range. I was happy though that she sat for a spell on the branch as we floated ever closer.



We were thrilled to get so close. They are typically nervous and shy.

A female Belted Kingfisher is more colorful than the male, who lacks the rusty band on the chest and sides. I marvel at the white spots in front of her eyes. What are their purpose? Such a striking lady she is.



We had to hustle to catch up to Alaina and Lori but got held up by a passing muskrat.


They had stopped upriver to watch some immature Wood Ducks that Alaina had spotted along the riverbank.


There were other sights along the river that didn't involve fur or feathers. The tangled branches of a long dead tree reflected off the smooth surface of this gentle river.



And along the shore, Joe Pye weed, of the milkweed family, bloomed vibrantly. (Thank you, Joni James, for correcting me--this is not Joe Pye, nor is Joe Pye in the milkweed family. My bad, I never looked it up. This is actually swamp milkweed, which is why it looks like a milkweed! Joe Pye is apparently in the sunflower family. I stand corrected.)



To all of my "alternative" readers.... Happy Lammas. Let us celebrate the first harvests and the midway point between the Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox.


Next: Platte River part 2

Soggy Morning

The rain started late Tuesday afternoon so we sat under the RV awning and talked until after dark--no camp fire for us! Just at dusk the whip-poor-wills began to sing, and Lori was thrilled. She said she hadn't heard one in nearly 30 years. The rest of us had never heard one. Our excitement was short lived, however, as the birds sang and sang into the darkness, then started up again at 4:30 in the morning. We started to wonder what whip-poor-will soup tasted like....

When dawn finally arrived Wednesday it was dark and wet, with a fine mist falling. It took us a while to get up and around--you kind of have to force yourself to go out in weather like that, but since it was our only full day at the park we dragged ourselves up and out. Since neither hiking nor kayaking sounded particularly appealing in that weather, we opted to drive the dirt road up to the observation tower. At least we could see stuff and stay relatively dry.

The view from the observation platform offered looks at Lodge Lake (foreground) and Devoe Lake (far in the background) to the west...



and Grebe Lake to the east. As you can see it was quite dark and damp, even at 9 am.



When we got out of the car at the observation deck we saw a critter swimming around that we thought at first was a beaver, and we were all excited. Once we climbed the tower we saw that it was a muskrat. Why a muskrat is any less appealing than a beaver is a mystery to me, but I must say we were all a bit disappointed.



Across Grebe Lake, in a tall, lone white pine, is an eagle nest. This one looks a bit dilapidated. Eagle nests are huge structures, usually weighing 500 pounds or more. Eagles will use their nests year after year, adding more nesting material every year. A park employee told us that one nest weighed in at 2 tons. It's astonishing that the tree can hold that much weight.

We never did see the adults but we could clearly see two large nestlings moving about the nest.



The area was replete with birds, including several warbler species, orioles, robins and doves. This great crested flycatcher perched on the top of a tree and posed.



As dark as it was it was difficult to get images of anything under the tree canopy. Here a blurry yellow-belied sapsucker works its way up a tree branch.



As usual, we heard the pileated long before we saw her. I think there was a pair working their way through the trees, but I only saw the female.



Lori's sharp eyes spotted these pine saps in the woods along the road. Like its relative the Indian pipe, which also grows in this park, pine sap does not produce chlorophyll. They get their nutrients from organic matter in the soil. I had to battle the mosquitoes to get shots of these!



The saturated air had left everything covered with shimmering droplets. Rain won't do this--the drops hit and splash and run. But the fine mist that was falling that morning turned the world into a diamond mine--without the environmental destruction.

Wild rose--not sure which variety. All I know is that it is not the invasive multi-flora, and that makes me happy.



Blue flag iris.


Ox-eye daisy. While not a native, they are not terribly invasive, and have become one of those flowers that I cannot imagine a summer roadside or meadow without.



Columbine. The cultivated varieties are nice, but I still prefer the more subtle wild variety.



By the time we finished the drive the drizzle had stopped and the weather was starting to brighten up. We decided to walk the mile long nature trail loop that works its way around a fen. But before I take you there I have one more treat for you from the drive that morning.

Tobico Marsh

The rail trail in Bay City extends north up to Tobico Marsh in the Bay City rec area. Our plan was to ride to the rail trail to the Andersen Nature Trail, hike that trail, then ride back to the campground. As we neared the marsh the rail trail crossed a bridge, and we spotted a muskrat swimming amongst the cattails and duck weed.




From the rail trail there is a paved connector that cuts across the marsh to the 4-mile Andersen Nature Trail loop. We stopped at an observation platform on the connector to, well, observe. It was a pleasant day but there wasn't a whole lot happening at the marsh.



See, our timing was off. This is a great birding area--most of the east coast of Michigan is a flyway for migrating species. But we'd missed the hawk migration by months. Waterfowl was probably several weeks before, and song birds had not yet started in earnest.

What we did see were lots of mute swans. We counted five nests on the small island in the marsh. While we were there, we noticed a bit of a conflict underway. Apparently this Canada goose had gotten a bit too close to a swan's territory, and a chase was underway. The goose's mate is there in the background, loudly honking.

The swan, with its huge black feet, was able to swim much faster than the goose, who very nearly got goosed.

The goose would take wing and fly, but only 30 feet or so before landing.

The swan would catch up rather quickly and the whole thing repeated itself, over and over around the lake. I don't know why the goose didn't just fly to the other end, unless it too had a nest nearby.

Before we headed into the woods I tried to get a few shots of the tree swallows, who were back from there winter homes in the south. It is a personal challenge of mine to get decent shots of birds in flight. A better lens would help, but this isn't too bad--cropped, of course.

I love to watch their aerial acrobatics. These two were either fighting or in amorous pursuit, it was hard to tell which.

Next: Andersen Nature Trail, Lori goes boom.