Boreal Vacation--MBY Vol 9

About a week into my Michigan Big Year I started to think about places I would want to visit around the state during certain seasons to get the best chance at seeing specific species. Tawas Point would be on the list as a magnet for migrating warblers, with an added trip into nearby jack pine country to look for the Kirtland's, a Michigan specialty. The Straits of Mackinac in April for migrating raptors would be another. And for sure a few trips into the Upper Peninsula would be in order for those northern/boreal birds that don't come below the bridge. Here's part of that story:

February 22

I'd been seeing eBird reports of three of the notoriously hard-to-find boreal species along a road in the McCormick Wilderness west of Marquette--Black-backed Woodpecker, Canada Jay, and the appropriately named Boreal Chickadee. I asked for some advice in a U.P. birding group on Facebook about the road and how accessible it was in winter. Turns out Marquette County maintains it in winter but to be mindful of the logging trucks (!!). I checked the weather, found a motel with a kitchenette so we could eat in (because COVID and Lisa's Celiac), and we headed north.

We stopped in Mackinaw City to see the famous blue ice near the bridge, but there were so many people there (it being a Sunday) that we didn't even bother parking. We admired it from afar as we crossed the Mighty Mac. Driving north on I-75 we birded the "Rudyard Loop", a rectangle made up of country roads where past years had yielded a bounty of Snowy Owls, although our quarry was Sharp-tailed Grouse. We didn't see a single raptor of any kind, and at 1:30 in the afternoon it was kind of late for grouse. We did find a flock of at least 100 Snow Buntings, but did not find any new species for the year.

Driving west on U.S 2 along Lake Michigan's northern shore we could see more blue ice, but there was by and large very little ice of any kind on the lake. In Naubinway we stopped for an early dinner (or late lunch) at MooFinFries, a little restaurant that has glute-free fries, burgers and whitefish, then made our way to the Hillcrest Inn and Motel in Rapid River. A charming little "mom and pop" establishment, it was clean and didn't smell bad (a big worry of mine with these old motels). We had two rooms (connected) with three beds. One room had two beds and a bathroom, standard issue motel room, but in the other the bathroom had been converted into a kitchen and had a dining table and queen bed. Plus they allowed pets!

It snowed overnight but had also warmed up to above freezing. Everything was melty and we encountered some fog on the way to the McCormick Wilderness. I had only a general idea of where we were going, knowing that we were looking for the White Deer Lake Trail parking lot. The road was a bit rough but not too bad since the potholes were filled with snow. We did pass several logging trucks but there was plenty of room on the road for us to move over and let them pass.

We eventually came to a parking lot with a sign that said simply "McCormick Wilderness." We had not yet reached the spot where I had dropped a pin in Google maps that I thought was the trailhead, but we stopped to have a look around. It certainly fit the bill, right down to the bird seed that I was told people leave at the edge of the lot.

Fog beginning to clear.

I could see a Boreal Chickadee on the pine by the road before I'd even gotten out of the truck (it's a Chevy Suburban but truck is much easier to say and type!). I had seen these guys in Alaska in 2014 but was so happy to get one in my own back yard. It was eating peanut butter someone had smeared on the trunk of the tree.

Boreal Chickadee. Note the brown cap and brownish back, and rufous sides.

There were, I think, three of them, plus a number of Black-capped Chickadees. The woods rang out with their calls, the boreal's a bit harsher than the black-capped.

They're just the cutest damn things. I mean, really.

While we watched the birds another truck pulled up between us and the tree, and the man put his window down and asked if we'd seen any chickadees. Oblivious of the fact that I'd been taking pictures of them and that he'd just pulled between us, I was a bit short in my reply, but I immediately felt bad for my gruff attitude. They got out and he took a bag of seed over to the tree to add to the pile that was already there. Turns out Mark and Joanie are long-time birders (46 years!) and live in Au Train, a little town east of Marquette. They are usually in Texas this time of year, leading tours at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, but the pandemic had caused all tours to be canceled, so they were making the best of being stuck in the U.P. all winter. It also turns out that we were at the trailhead and hadn't realized it!

We drove further down Peshekee Grade but didn't see anything. They then took us to a cabin nearby where there are feeders that the black-back sometimes comes to, but aside from a small flock of Evening Grosbeak we didn't see anything of interest. We parted ways then, promising to keep in touch if we saw anything "good," and we drove back to the trailhead to eat lunch out of the back of the truck and take a quick hike down the trail.

White Deer Lake trailhead, which, in our defense, was not visible from the parking lot.

It was a splendid afternoon, sunny, light breeze. Lisa and I donned our snowshoes (Lori is recovering from knee surgery) as the snow was quite deep, but it was too warm and we kept getting balls of snow accumulating under our shoes. It was like walking on softballs. Lisa managed to develop a stride where she kicked the snow off with every stride but I couldn't manage it, and ended up taking them off on the way back. The trail was packed enough to keep me post-holing, thankfully. I tried really hard to enjoy the afternoon but I was pretty frustrated.

From the bridge over Baraga Creek

Lisa toughing it out with Bailey in tow.

I LOVE black spruce and their pointy heads.

Back at the truck we decided to drive Peshekee Grade past the trailhead again, slowly with the windows down. Over two miles out, and two miles back, we did not see or hear a single bird. I was pretty bummed. It was after 4:00 and the sun was starting to settle, and we'd only seen one of our target birds. It was two hours back to the motel (and dinner) so we decided to pack it in. 

My doubts about the whole Big Year thing started creeping in. I tried to tell myself to enjoy the journey, that it wasn't about the numbers, that missing birds that others saw did not mean I was a lousy birder.... But we'd spent a good bit of money coming up (motel, gas, dinner the day before) and I was just--ugh. 

As I'm dumping all this on the girls and feeling really pitifully sorry for myself, a bird flew across the road right in front of us, and landed in a pine not 10 feet from the road. Lori cried "Canada Jay!" but I knew that wasn't right. While the light wasn't great I could see that this bird was almost entirely black.

I slammed on the brakes, setting off the ABS, which made a horrific noise. Thankfully the bird seemed not to care, because there on the trunk of a dead pine was a Black-backed Woodpecker.

Male Black-backed Woodpecker (note golden crown).
Oh happy day!

I got a look at it with my binoculars to get a positive ID, practically laying in Lori's lap and twisting myself into a pretzel to see out the passenger window. Having already put my camera away I exited slowly and crept around the back of the truck and popped the rear gate. The chime dinged but still the bird was non-plussed. I snuck back around the truck as the girls gave me updates of his location. I finally spied him through the branches, working his way up the trunk. I did the best I could with the light I had to work with. 

Oh such a stunning bird! Not only was this a great find for my big year but it was also life bird #511.

I had left the truck kind of in the middle of the road so I hopped in to move it to a pull off just ahead and the bird flew off, but we'd all gotten great looks at it. I put my camera away and climbed in. The girls said while I was out taking photos they had thanked the birding gods for sending us the black-backed, adjusting my attitude, and saving our trip. 

We continued on towards M-41, content to miss the Canada Jay this trip, but just as the main road came into view my phone rang. It was Mark. 

"Did you get my voicemail?!" 

No, we'd just gotten cell service. 

"Did you see Canada Jays yet?!"  

Peshekee Grade, February 22

#85) Boreal Chickadee

#86) Black-backed Woodpecker (Life bird #511)