The birds have migrated back from their winter homes and the babies have appeared during late Spring in northern Michigan. Lets meet a few of them, along with some of our non-feathery friends.
Hawks
Can you tell what kind of hawk this is? It is checking out an eagle nest with two eagle chicks that are two months old.
These are the eagle chicks it is eyeing
Early morning Cooper’s hawk looking for songbirds in the forest
Sandhill Cranes
These are wary birds, and I knew something was funny when one of them stayed on the ground as I approached in my kayak
The one on the ground eventually stood up, and my suspicions were confirmed
She was hiding two chicks
I was surprised how close the adults let me come to the chicks
The chicks are called colts
As I continued to slowly move closer in my kayak they worked their way towards the water
One last look before they disappeared into the marsh
In wildlife photography you need to be close and you need to have powerful lenses, at least 400mm (8X) to get pictures of cranes like this. The above photos were taken from a kayak in calm water, using a 400mm lens with a 1.4X teleconverter (making it 560 mm), from a distance of 20 yards.
It is unusual for such a wary bird as a sandhill crane with chicks to let me get this close. It was probably due to a combination of reasons. The first is habituation. I have been on this lake many times in my kayak. When I first spotted the cranes at a distance I did not approach closely, and over several weeks slowly got closer and closer.
The next is my movement. When I finally decided it was the day to get the above photos I kayaked very slowly, and did not go directly at them, but went at an angle like a sailboard tacking with the wind. I also did not stare at them, and kept my gaze slightly off to the side.
Lastly I was wearing greens, a natural color in nature, and less alarming to them.
I was lucky this time, because when you pull up the large camera and lens and point it at them this is an aggressive move to some wildlife, and it is common for them to move away rapidly when you do this. I will be going back for more photos as the chicks get larger. There is no guarantee the parents will let me get this close again. Patience is the key!
Bald Eagles
When the adults eagles saw the hawk eyeing their chicks they flew in. This looks like the female, that usually perches at the nest or very close to it.
She landed on a branch right at the nest
The male is on top. He is usually out fishing for lake trout for his always hungry chicks. He was around when the hawk went by, and joined his partner at the same time.
When the coast was clear the chicks stopped hunkering down and the male left to find dinner
The male brought his carry-outs of lake trout a few hours later
Common loon
An artificial nest was made at an inland lake to attract the female loons. A mated pair has been raising chicks at this nest for several years. This gives a good chance to get some photos. This is a protective and wary bird, so you need to plan out carefully, habituate them to your presence over several weeks, and use lenses equivalent to at least 600mm. This takes patience and time.
They are such a unique and beautiful bird they are worth a few extra photos- enjoy!
