Bird Dog at Night 3/13/2022

 

   A prediction of a Northern Lights display had me outside last night waiting for a show that never materialized.  Turns out it had already peaked before the Sun went down.  While out I decided to try to do some owling.  I started by imitating a Saw-whet Owl's toot call.  No response.  I had better luck when I tried the Eastern Screech Owl's whinny and monotonic trill.  After a few attempts I heard one...and then a second Screech Owl reply.

  As I listened, I noticed my dog Nico looking up at the closest tree about 10 feet away.  Sure enough with her super night vision she had located the owl who had relocated and was silently checking us out.  With the camera already out, I repositioned to get a better angle at the bird. 

  Not the best shot but the lump on the horizontal branch is the owl.

     Ten years and 5 days ago while attempting another ultimately unsuccessful photo session with the Northern Lights I took the photo below. 

   It's my late dog Roscoe with Canis Major (the Big Dog) in the background sky.

   And last night....

It's almost like history repeating.  What has changed it 10 years?...new dog, I live 200 miles farther north, the dog photo taken with phone instead of camera, the bird on Roscoe's night was a peenting  American Woodcock but best of all I didn't have to drive 70 miles to find a relatively dark sky. 

 
  

Willets at Ludington Harbor 7/9/2018

   Dave Dister left a voicemail late this morning about 7 Willets he had seen on the South Breakwater of Ludington Harbor.  I made it out there within the hour and found them still hanging together but moving occasionally to avoid the light pedestrian traffic.

   Bonus Bird - Piping Plover.  It was the first one that I have seen in Ludington this year.

   The leg bands show that this bird is not one of the breeding pair that nested on Stearns Beach in 2016.

 It has been over a month since my last post in part because of the loss of my best friend back in the first week of June,  After a brief illness my 13 year old dog Roscoe died.  He had found his way into a number of posts on this bird blog here is a link to those posts....Roscoe

  He was valedictorian of the PetSmart Obedience School Class of 2005.

  He was good friends with and watched over two of our cats Comet and.....

 ….the late Leo

even when Leo wasn't so friendly.

   He was never one to back away from a threat

Ended in a draw

This confrontation ended differently as he stole the turkey sandwich and eventually ended up humping his opponent. 

   He never quite got the hang of an Easter Egg Hunt.

 He got into his share of trouble.  After initially denying involvement in Curious George's demise.

   He had a hard time explaining his new wardrobe.

  He frequently displayed his athletic abilities

He was the Eric Ebron of Dog Frisbee

But the Barry Sanders of DFL

10/31/2017

    

   Halloween can be tough when lawn decorations try to assert their dominance.  Despite their aggressive stance Roscoe can see right through them.

Ludington Oriole

  As I was taking test shots to ensure a properly exposed photo of a Baltimore Oriole, an Oriole dropped down from the Beech tree and flew past the orange that I put out for it. 

White-crowned Sparrow

  The day didn't start out all sunshine and oranges. The cool gusts off of the lake brought a squall of snow pellets that coated the car....

.....the deck.....

...and the dog.

Merlin Takes a Meal

   During the 9 o'clock hour this morning a Merlin flew over my yard with an unfortunate (American Tree?) Sparrow in its grasp.  It took it to a nearby tree, ripped it open and consumed the unfortunate bird.

Feathers Flying

 Earlier in the morning I walked the south pier at Ludington Harbor and saw a Horned Grebe.....

....and a cooperative pair of Red-Breasted Mergansers

  Yesterday afternoon I found the Male Northern Harrier below in Amber Township.

  The morning started out cold in the mid-teens

  Before that it started out dark as I check for Northern Lights before dawn.

Sparrows in the Snow

   An early spring snowstorm had the lingering winter sparrows sharing scraps under the feeding stations with arriving spring migrants.

American Tree Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Song Sparrow

 

Chipping Sparrow

   The snowstorm had been in the forecast since last weekend but as is often the case with spring storms, the uncertainty of temperatures hovering in the low 30's had the snowfall predictions swinging from 1-3 inches all the way to 12" plus.  We could have hit that one foot level had we not had an influx of warm air in the mid levels of the atmosphere for several hours that melted the precip on the way down only to refreeze on the 31 F ground,  We ended up with 7 or 8 " and maybe 1/4" of ice that took out the power in my neighborhood and beyond.

    The quick walk to the end of the driveway to get the mail left the dog almost covered by the nearly 2" diameter flakes.

Protecting the Shoreline

  With today looking like the last 60 degree day until spring, I figured I'd take Roscoe to the beach and let him take on the waves one last time this season.

  At first he looked a little disappointed that waves were somewhat dampened by an offshore wind.

All leashes shall be dogged

  Soon we found a spot where the breakers were a little more competitive.

    The battle went like this....

Like a shortstop charging a grounder, he faces it head on.

And takes a shot to the chin.

he applies a retaliatory bite on the sea and sand 

As the wave retreats to from where it came... Roscoe does the same.

 We'll call it a draw.

Dog and Cat Olympics

On your mark,.........Get set......

........Squirrel

Roscoe practicing for medal ceremony

Leo inspecting the luge run

Opponents exchange greetings

Greetings get a little too familiar 

With his back against the wall

Leo applies the kiss of death
        

 Leo getting his game face on

Battle begins

Setting him up

For the right cross

    Leo is a little disappointed he didn't get a shot at the stray dog problem in Sochi.