With temperatures only reaching highs in the 50's, spring migration is off to a slow start. The Pine Warbler pictured below is only the second warbler species (Yellow-rumped was the other) I've seen in the yard so far this year.
All aboard for pun-time
I have some landscapers who have been dethatching my lawn. The work is going slower than expected but this guy works for....
...a couple of bucks,
....who in turn work for peanuts
Have to admire the grace and agility of the deer who have been raiding this platform feeder all winter and have yet to knock it down or even cause it to lean.
Well, my Christmas Bird Count partner Van Burmeister did it again. He found another great bird in Mason County. This time on a morning visit to Ludington State Park he found a Harris' Sparrow at the feeders that Dave Dister installed and maintains at the warming shed near the park entrance.
To recap in the past 3 years Van had two county firsts in his yard.
In September 2016 a White-winged Dove.
Then in December 2018 he reported a Black-Headed Grosbeak that drew birders from across the state to his neighborhood.
Also in July 2016 he beat me by an hour on discovering a Common Eider in Ludington Harbor. He actually called me when he saw it but he had a bad signal and he couldn't get his message to me. He was using a borrowed phone with a Maine area code so I kept hanging up on his subsequent calls that I thought were from a persistent telemarketer.
I guess I can consider myself fortunate that he didn't scoop me on the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that I found on the day that I met him in October 2014, when Van was a strapping young lad in his early 80's.
Opening tipoff of round 2 game between Michgan and Florida
Shortly after the Michigan State Spartans defeated Bradley early Thursday afternoon in a first round NCAA Tournament match, I gave into the case of March Madness that I had been fighting off since earlier in the week, when I had noticed that both MSU and Michigan (despite competing in the tournament's East and West regions respectively) would be playing their first two rounds in Des Moines, Iowa. With the Spartans (my wife's favorite team since 2015) wrapping up their early game and Michigan (my favorite team since 1975) being favored against Montana in their first round game later in the day, I went to ticketliquidator.com (an aftermarket ticket selling site) and found a pair of tickets at center court just 3 rows behind the scorers' table.
Screengrab of tipoff from NCAA's highlight video
If you watch the above video at 0.25 speed, at the 0:08 mark you can see my right hand coming down after taking the tipoff photo with my iphone.
Jordan Poole hits a 3.
Isaiah Livers working the ball to the hoop...
...for two.
Michigan ended up outclassing Florida as expected with stifling defense 64-49.
After a half hour break for warm-ups it was time for game two with the Spartans taking on Big Ten rival Minnesota.
Coaching legend Tom Izzo.
MSU big man Nick Ward throws up a short jumper.
And it's good.
Minnesota's 6 to 22 turnover edge was overcome by the Spartans 45 to 19 rebounding advantage, as MSU manhandled the Gophers 70-50.
Izzo receives congratulations from Minnesota Assistant Coach Ed Conroy
In the photo below, Coach Izzo gives words of encouragement to Minnesota senior Jordan Murphy. Murphy was limited to 4 minutes of play because of a back injury sustained in the Gophers' first round game. We were surrounded by Minnesota fans and were told that Murphy hadn't missed a game (or even a practice) in his four year college career.
In the waning minutes of the 20 point blowout Murphy was reinserted into the game so that he could receive a proper crowd acknowledgement when he was removed from the game just moments later. The Minnesota fans responded by chanting JOR-DAN MUR-PHY. The Gopher contingent was soon joined in their tribute by the Spartan fans as well as the Michigan and remaining Florida fans.
While the games were in Des Moines near the geographic center of Iowa, our hotel was 2 hrs and 20 mins away in Davenport. That shortened our drives to Iowa and home. It also gave us a chance to visit the Antique Archaeology antique store in Le Claire, Iowa. The store is famous as the home base of Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe of the American Pickers show, which airs on the History Channel.
Phillip Morris Bellhop....$7500
Laurel and Hardy oversized heads......$2500 each
85-pt Deer mount......$1200
Flock of American White Pelicans flying over as we walked back to the car....priceless.
A couple of months ago I purchased a bottle of Black Xantus Imperial Stout with the expressed intent of drinking it the next time I recorded a new bird to the yardlist. At 22 ozs of 11% alcohol I couldn't very well consume it on a workday. Fortunately a night off from work coincided with a Field Sparrow making its debut in the my yard,.
The Harlequin Duck shown above has been seen off and on at my work site since December. Earlier this week a Surf Scoter was seen at Ludington State Park. But my searches the past couple of days only yielded Scoters of the White-winged variety.
The Barrow's Golden-eye found by Linda Scribner early this winter in Manistee is being seen almost daily. Below is a photo taken in early February.
