Magee Marsh

warblerMy own personal mother’s day celebration? Magee Marsh! I got the idea from a twitter/school friend (@redcrew if you are on twitter). Magee Marsh is on the south shore of the western end of Lake Erie and it is a haven for songbirds traveling north during the spring migration. If I have it right, they get to Magee and wait around in the area until the wind conditions are optimum for them to continue northward.

We got up early and made the hour plus drive by 8:00 AM or a bit before. What can I say? It was beautiful down there. And *packed* with people from all over the place! Because this is *theeeee* season to see warblers and songbirds of all sorts. I am not a birder (the GG is a bit more serious but that’s a whole ‘nother entry). I don’t tend to focus on any one facet of nature with a microscope. I enjoy doing things outside and, if I see an interesting specimen or occurrence, fine. If not, I just let my thoughts run along. Solving problems, strategizing, or just daydreaming. It’s all good. I don’t keep a bird list. I don’t carry a lot of fancy optical equipment. Honestly, I felt a bit “under-dressed” with just my little old Canon Powershot (er, and my iPhone). The serious birders are all decked out with equipment, in some cases, as you’ll see in one of my sneakier photos, it dwarfs the person. I wasn’t caught taking that particular photo but I *was* caught taking a picture of all the humanity checking out a, well, I forget the species at this point. The GG is in that crowd somewhere and it’s okay, I wasn’t turned in.

I loved the marsh boardwalk. I loved seeing the songbirds right up close where even my little camera could get a semi-decent shot. I loved all of the people. Birders are a wonderful group of people. My favorite part? Walking the beach “trail”. It was approximately the length of the moominbeach, maybe a bit shorter. No one else was there, at least not walking, like I was. The sand was a bit different and there were shells (zebra mussels?). If it had been a bit warmer, I’d’ve taken my socks and sandals off and waded. The trees were also different, no majestic pines, still very pretty. And we do *not* (yet) have a cooling tower at the end of the moominbeach. Whatever the differences, walking the beach made me feel like I was home and it was probably my favorite part of the day.

Click here or on the [I forget what] warbler (chestnut something) pic for more. There are only a couple more low-quality bird pics — Scarlet Tanager and Baltimore Oriole. Those are for the GG. Generally, I stuck to the kind of photography that I am trying to learn to do (self-learning, sometimes painfully) which is pictures of natural features that stand still.

And now I have stretched Mother’s Day out into three whole days! So. Good night.

Your favo-rite blahgger,
Kayak Woman

3 Responses to “Magee Marsh”

  1. gg Says:

    The web page picture is a Chestnut-sided Warbler (outstanding song).
    Photo 16 is a Scarlet Tanager.
    Photo 17 is a Baltimore Oriole.

  2. Margaret Says:

    I could be a birder because both my girls were crazy about it when younger, so we spent quite a bit of time doing it. I loved it! However, they got older and I got lazier.

  3. Fran Says:

    The pictures from this blohg seem to me to be a little more clear and sharp than some that came before. Is it the camera or the difference between the camera and the phone? I would like to have been there to see all of the different warblers – we do see groups in spring and fall but not so many kinds at once..