During the past week I spent a few hours over several days on the western shore of Lake Erie looking for birds to photograph. Last Saturday, October 27, I went to the Lake Erie Metropark Hawkwatch to look for some of rarer late season migrants (Golden Eagle, Rough-Legged Hawk, Northern Goshawk). Well I didn't see any of those but this Bald Eagle provided a nice photo-op. Favorable weather conditions coming the next few days (Sat Nov.3- Mon Nov.5) should bring some of the aforementioned rarities.
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| Adult Bald Eagle at Hawk Watch |
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Hurricane Sandy that ravaged the East Coast earlier this week also brought a chance of ocean-going birds to the Great Lakes region, so I walked the shoreline in Erie, MI after work a couple of mornings this week. I didn't see anything too unusual but here are some photos that I was able to capture.
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| Greater Black-backed Gull (world's largest gull) |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull (which breeds on the Atlantic coast of Europe) |
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| Forster's Tern (left), Bonaparte's Gull (right) |
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| Young Herring Gull |
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| Forster's Tern |
On my Thursday morning stroll, I saw something out in the lake, among the birds, swimming toward shore.
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| What's that floating in the water? Not Neptune's only daughter. |
It was a swimming weasel. More precisely a mink.....coming from where? Who knows? But it was motoring as if it was a triathalon participant. Not breaking stride as it completed it's swim and hit the beach running.
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| Mink after a morning swim |
With such short legs the bicycle portion of the triathalon was out of the question, also the running was limited to a just a few strides before the weasel went........
.... airborne?
Yes.....airborne.
Such a beautiful creature, it took all my inner strength not to club it to death with a piece of driftwood and skin it to make a winter hat.
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