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  • In Memorium: Joseph M. Soehnel

Wayne Shawl

2/28/2014

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Trumpeter Swan 
Red-breasted Merganser
Cooper's Hawk
Pileated Woodpecker 
Blue Jay 
Common Raven 
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Purple Finch
8
1
1
1
73
1
3
2



Cooke Dam Area, IO
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Joe Soehnel

2/28/2014

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Hooded Merganser
Horned Grebe
Snow Goose
ROSS' GOOSE
White-throated Sparrow
1
1
11
2
1
Middlegrounds, BA
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Discovery Way/Washington, MI
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Midland, MI (brother's feeders)
First, a note of warning!  This location is technically Dow Property so DO NOT proceed south of the intersection of Washington & Discovery Way.  I drove parallel to and within thirty meters of these birds and was detained by two Dow Security Guards and a Midland Police officer for twenty minutes as they ran a security check, confiscated my camera to be sure I didn't take pictures of buildings, and then told me to leave.  You can observe the geese and the narrow strip of grass by remaining on Discovery Way just east of Washington.

Now for the description....Two weeks ago I was drawn to this location as there were numerous robins and snow buntings on a narrow strip of exposed grass that I'm presuming was that way due to underground warm pipes of some kind.  I pulled up today and was surprised to find fourteen Snow Geese types.  Upon closer observation, I noted at least two of them being Ross' Geese.  One was resting right in front of a Snow Goose and was noticeably smaller.  Both ROGO were white with black primary ends that were visible in both the resting birds and the one that was feeding.  Bill shape was noted to be stubby without a grinning patch and the base was perpendicular without any curved look.  Their heads were also nicely rounded.  I was then approached by the police and didn't get a chance for further study but I did get photos and will share them later.  

The GPS coordinates are 
43°36'32.4"N 84°13'01.6"W43.609006, -84.217105
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Craig Schafer

2/28/2014

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Carolina Wren
1
Bay City, BA (photo in gallery)
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Joe Soehnel

2/27/2014

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Bald Eagle
Horned Lark
Snow Bunting
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
American Tree Sparrow
4
187
152
3
1
3
4
1
45
Curtis Rd, SA
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Shiawassee NWR, SA
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Week 2 of the 2014 IWMMP survey at the refuge and still NO Canada Geese, Mallards, or any other waterbirds aside from that misguided flyover Sandhill Crane from the previous week's survey.  Temp briefly climbed up to 10F at 1:00 P.M. then dipped down to 6F at 3:00.  I did observe the Wildlife Drive Bald Eagle nest for over an hour and a half.  Specific nesting activity indicated that they already have incubating eggs!
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Wayne & Toni Shawl

2/26/2014

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Rough-legged Hawk
1
M-65 S of M-55, IO
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Sam Burkhardt

2/25/2014

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Golden Eagle
2
River Rd near Kob Rd, IO
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Roger Eriksson

2/25/2014

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Horned Lark       
Snow Bunting
Rough-legged Hawk
Mourning Dove       
American Kestrel
American Crow       
Horned Lark       
Snow Bunting       
46
12
1
2
1
5
148
65
Linwood Rd, BA
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Curtis Rd, SA
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Joe Soehnel

2/25/2014

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Snowy Owl
1
Russell Rd/Portsmouth Twp, BA
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Joe Soehnel

2/24/2014

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Red-breasted Nuthatch
American Goldfinch
2
39
Hampton Twp, BA
After years of not getting many (if at all) American Goldfinch coming to my feeders, this winter has more than made up for it.  The combination of a harsh winter plus my adding a sunflower heart feeder has slowly bolstered their numbers until they've reached my yard list all-time peak count today.
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Matt Hegwood & Sam Burkhardt

2/23/2014

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Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Merganser
Redhead
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Long-tailed Duck
Greater Scaup
Redhead
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Trumpeter Swan
Redhead
Common Goldeneye
American Black Duck
Common Raven
24
3
5
3
1
1
1
4
7
2
2
5
7
117
29
1
3
3
2
VanEttan Dam,  IO
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AuSable River Mouth, IO
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Foote Dam, IO
Iargo Springs, IO
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Ed Cole was also at the VanEttan Dam location
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Matt Hegwood & Ed Cole

2/23/2014

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Red-breasted Nuthatch-3
Brown Creeper-1
Red-bellied Woodpecker-1
3
1
1
Oscoda, IO
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Sam Burkhardt

2/23/2014

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Pine Siskin
13
Brooks Rd/Wilber Twp, IO
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Phil Odum

2/23/2014

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GOLDEN EAGLE
1
Iosco County
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Doug Jackson

2/23/2014

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Bald Eagle
Horned Lark
Snow Bunting
1
120
64

Turner Twp, AR
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Wayne & Toni Shawl

2/23/2014

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Golden Eagle
1
Hale Area, IO
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Matt Hegwood

2/22/2014

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Snow Goose
Red-shouldered Hawk
1
1
Pinconning Twp, BA
US-23/Twining Rd Area, AR
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February 22, 2014

2/22/2014

1 Comment

 
Mallard
American Black Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Bald Eagle
American Robin
475
14
88
3
35
6
57
2
3
3
31
62
6
11






Karn Plant (Restricted Access), BA

First migrating gulls of the season!
1 Comment

Roger Eriksson

2/22/2014

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Redhead       
Greater Scaup       
Long-tailed Duck       
Bufflehead       
Common Goldeneye    COGOxHOME hybrid   
Common Merganser       
Red-breasted Merganser   
1
2
9
14
9
1
6
1



AuSable River Mouth, IO
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David Peters

2/20/2014

2 Comments

 
Horned Lark
Snow Bunting
122
73
Curtis Rd/Spaulding Twp, SA
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Roger Eriksson

2/20/2014

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Snowy Owl
Horned Lark
Brown Creeper
1
8
1
Fraser Rd/Pinconning Twp, BA
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Baldwin Twp, IO
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Joe Soehnel

2/19/2014

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Cooper's Hawk
Snowy Owl
Horned Lark
Snow Bunting
House Sparrow
Canada Goose
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
SANDHILL CRANE
Merlin
Great Horned Owl
1
2
7
51
68
ZERO
6
4
1
1
1
Portsmouth Rd, SA
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Shiawassee NWR, SA
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This winter has been one for the record books for the amount of snow and bitter cold temperatures.  It was reflected with the number of waterbirds (ONE!) that I heard/observed in the first Integrated Waterbird Mgt & Monitoring (IWMMP) of 2014.  A lone Sandhill Crane flew in a westerly direction over Shiawassee River then veered south until I could no longer see it.  

As noted, there were no Canada Geese, Mallards, or any other waterbird observed from 11:00 A.M. until after sunset. Putting this in perspective, Steve Kahl observed 13,410 Canada Geese on 02/13/13.  Looking back on previous seasonal surveys, Canada Geese are generally observed at the refuge in good numbers in February.  Not surprisingly, I did read that the last memorably cold and snowy winter of 1994 held only 4 Canada Geese at the refuge on Jan 21st.  
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Joe Soehnel

2/16/2014

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Northern Flicker
American Robin
American Black Duck
Bufflehead
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Bald Eagle
Double-crested Cormorant
Peregrine Falcon
1
64
2
8
3
92
2
129
4
16
2
1
I-75/M-84 Rest Area, BA
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Consumer's Hot Ponds Area, BA
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Larry Vanwagoner

2/15/2014

1 Comment

 
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Red-headed Woodpecker
1
1
15
14

Sand Lake Area, Io
1 Comment

Doug Jackson

2/14/2014

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Ruffed Grouse
Common Raven
Purple Finch
Rough-legged Hawk
3
2
1
1
Moffatt Twp, AR
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Clayton Twp, AR
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Jeanne Henderson & Michelle Fournier

2/13/2014

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Northern Shrike
1
Chippewa River Rd, MI
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    County Abbreviation Key:   
    • AR = Arenac
    • BA = Bay
    • HU = Huron
    • IO = Iosco
    • MI = Midland
    • SA = Saginaw
    • TU = Tuscola
    • SBA = Saginaw Bay Area

    Other Abbreviations:  
    • ​SRA = State Recreation Area; 
    • SWA = State Wildlife Area;
    • SGA = State Game Area; 
    • SF = State Forest;
    • NWR = National Wildlife Refuge;
    • IWMMP = Integrated Waterbird Management Monitoring Program; 
    • CDF = Containment Disposal Facility (Dredge Island).

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