Yesterday morning after work I birded the south breakwater at Ludington. Among the dozen or so shorebirds (mostly Sanderlings) was a Baird's Sandpiper.
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| Baird's Sandpiper |
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| Baird's in flight |
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| Sunrise over Mason County Courthouse |
Here are three consecutive photos of a Sanderling taken in a span of half a second. Looks like a pretty efficient way to wash up in the morning.
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| Unspotted Spotted Sandpiper |
As I was walking back in from the breakwater I noticed about two dozen Monarch Butterflies taking flight off of their overnight roosts. Though it was a relatively warm morning it was very humid and I found a roost that still had almost 20 Monarchs that were still on the roost trying to shake of the dew.
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| Monarch roost |
20 monarchs in one tree? Pretty impressive. That is more than I have seen all season. Enjoy them while you can - their future does not look bright.....
ReplyDeleteThere most likely had been more on the roost because there were quite a few that had taken flight already. This weekend I'm going to look for roosts a little earlier in the morning to see if I can find a bigger gathering.
ReplyDeleteI've been seeing a lot heading toward Lake Michigan the past couple of weeks. Every time I see them I just hope that they follow the shore instead of trying to cross the lake.