(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Daily Bucket -- Summer's Hanging On [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-09-19 Good morning Bucketeers! I didn’t see anything in the queue, so this is going to be photo heavy with text in the captions. I’ll also be gone for part of the morning and mid-afternoon. You know what to do! Lets hear your reports and see photos if you have them. I’m signed up for a Detroit Bird Alliance field trip this Saturday to Lake Erie Metropark. The park is located where the Detroit River empties into northwestern Lake Erie. I wanted to see what was going on there ahead of Saturday’s outing, so I headed out Tuesday afternoon. With temps running 10 degrees above average lately, it felt like summer. THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS. WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS Until about three weeks ago, we’ve had a wet year in SE Michigan. Water levels have been high at the park, so shorebird migration has been minimal. Waterfowl migration is starting, so the water levels are good for dabblers. Blue-winged Teals and Mallards. The Mallards are summer residents. The Blue-winged Teals are passing through. Over 100 were reported throughout the park on eBird early this week. Common Gallinules are passing through as well. There’s still late blooming flowers, here Jewelweed, providing fuel for this Ruby-throated Hummingbird. In addition to the Common Buckeye in the title photo, other butterflies were hitting the flowers, including this Common Checkered Skipper (Burnsius communis), which paused for a moment on the beach. Dragonflies were scarce, but damselflies plentiful. I think this is a Familiar Bluet. These are native Large Milkweed Bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus), which feed on milkweed sap. Closeup. For comparison, this is an adult I saw mid-summer. Common Milkweed going to seed. Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis). It was larger than the usual ones that I see and Wiki says it’s often considered a pest. The park is a natural flyway in the fall for raptor migration. Geography funnels birds coming down from Canada to the eastern and western ends of Lake Erie. The Detroit River Hawk Watch sets up shop at the park every year throughout the fall. This is where I’ve seen Golden Eagles the past two years. Detroit River Hawk Watch banner. That’s the Detroit River in the background, with Grosse Ile behind it. To the right out of frame is Lake Erie with Ontario, Canada in the back. The open vista gives eagle-eyed spotters a 180 degree view. Different species migrate at different times, so multiple visits can be fruitful. These Broad-winged Hawks were a lifer for me. These were relatively low so I was able to see them with my naked eye. Others were gliding so high I never did see them, even with bins or zoom lens. At one point, spotters counted off over 40 Broad-wings flying in a stream. I never saw even one of that group. Zoomed in and good enough for ID. Spotters reported 750 Broad Wings on eBird yesterday. Plus 200 Sharp-shinned. And 1800 Blue Jays. That’s it for the Lake Erie Metropark report. What’s up in nature in your neck of the woods? [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/19/2271423/-The-Daily-Bucket-Summer-s-Hanging-On?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/