I like beginning the day with my mind a blank canvas and that’s been my mindset since Day One of my walking regimen, especially at Council Point Park. I enjoy walking alone, but because of the ongoing “project” at my favorite nature nook, I’ve walked alongside and/or spoken to more walkers in the past month than the eleven years I’ve walked there. Those conversations revolve around our disgust over the destruction, or for me, to gain insight into what transpired after I departed for the day.
On April 15th, the morning dawned bright and sunny, so I decided to make it a “Parksapalooza Day” with a goal to fill up the camera card with images from four different parks. I began with Council Point Park where, at that time, the project would not begin for three more weeks.
On my one-mile trek along the perimeter path, just as I passed the cement ledge, I saw a Black-crowned Night Heron, not a rare bird in SE Michigan, but a species I’ve only seen one other time in over a decade of walking at this venue. The Heron was poised on the edge of the ledge, bill immersed in the Creek and likely about to snag a shad for breakfast.
Immediately I shifted my bag of peanuts and seeds to the crook of my elbow, then dug out my digital compact camera from its case that was hooked onto my fanny pack. I had just lined up my shot when another walker pointed to the ledge and loudly called out “hey Linda, what’s that bird?” Torn between being rude and simply ignoring the question versus getting my shot, I responded “a Black-crowned Night Heron” and, just as I spoke, the Heron lifted off the ledge with a raucous-sounding squawk. Admittedly, I’m glad Mom raised me right so that I “speak when spoken to” but good etiquette made for a missed shot that morning. Sigh.
I put the camera back in its case and finished off my walk, happy that the geese were not around to pilfer peanuts or seeds that I had put out for my furry and feathered friends.
There would be three more parks on my agenda that day.
The next stop, was 15 miles later at Lake Erie Metropark where I parked near the Offshore Fishing Bridge.
It was the first time I’d been back here since that cold, icy February 4th day where I witnessed the attack of one Mute Swan by two of its brethren. I hoped it would be a quieter scene today and, because I was still smarting over that missed Heron shot, perhaps I’d fare better here since I’d seen the Sandhill Crane pair every single time I parked here in 2023 and on February 4th.
Happily, I was rewarded moments after my arrival … so this spot was my lucky charm! Well sort of – only one Crane was present. Where was its mate?
I headed to the marsh as close as I dared, not only treading carefully due to ticks, but also to avoid spooking the Crane. I figured this was the male and the female was likely sitting on a nest, perhaps on the little “island” which is an area I can’t see nor photograph well.
The Crane, evidently oblivious to me, poked and prodded under a few sticks at the water’s edge, then proceeded into the water where its gaze was focused on fish.
It stood there, studying the water, but since no fish materialized, it moved on, those very long legs taking measured steps to find some breakfast.
I was very quiet, but it eventually saw me lurking nearby and bolted …
… across the marsh to its personal tiny island where it was staring me down …
… while blending into the background.
The Crane remained motionless so I said “okay, bud – have it your way. I’m off to walk and maybe when I come back I’ll see your mate too.”
I climbed back up the hill, did a tick-check for any hitchhikers, then moseyed across the street to the other side of the fishing bridge where the marsh was equally as drab with bare trees and lifeless brown reeds – it could hardly be called picturesque.
No one was fishing off the bridge on this side either. Nor was there a single soul walking along Cove Point. It appeared I was all alone and it was devoid of noise, so bring on the birds, maybe even a deer or two on this peaceful morning!
I walked along the vehicle road and saw a flash of white. A beautiful male Mute Swan was motionless, posing just for me. What a pretty sight to behold!
You can tell it was a male (a/k/a a “cob”) from the black knob above its bill. Look at the graceful arch of its neck.
I stood mesmerized by its beauty and wondered how long before he saw me and paddled away?
Preening … but will it get rid of that pesky “ring around the collar?”
The swan took its good ol’ sweet time with preening ritual contortions that rivaled yoga moves and took about 20 minutes to complete. You’ll see some of the photos in this slideshow below.
Finally he was satisfied he passed muster and never acknowledged my presence while staying embedded in the reeds.
Next I headed to the overlook …
… knowing full well that it was way too early for the Barn Swallows, but maybe due to El Niño they returned early? Nope, still MIA.
Way across the marsh I saw the Mute Swan I had just been admiring was paddling around.
The Phragmites were swaying a bit …
… near this fungi-riddled tree.
Thankfully the small patches of violets and dandelions perked up the otherwise blah landscape.
I walked along Cove Point figuring it was a little early for goslings. I will always stop for an oohing-and-aahing session when I see goslings or ducklings.
I only saw one goose which enhanced this post about a solitary soul and her glimpses of solitary birds. The goose saw me, stopped in mid-waddle and plopped down.
It’s unusual there were not more geese roaming about this park, but it was nesting season after all; they were hunkered down on nests, their mates hovering nearby.
I returned to the car and continued on to my next two destinations, both which will be topics for other blog posts.
I will be joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Pastels this Wednesday where I hope to wow you with the Botanical Gardens’ pink Springtime flowers and flowering trees.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I had to look up black crowned night heron as I was unfamiliar with them. I think I might have shushed the person until taking the picture then replied. I wouldn’t think it rude since they were not considerate of your photo taking. Great photos as always!
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Thank you Ruth! The black crowned night heron doesn’t look much like a heron as it’s small and more the shape and size of a green heron. They mostly are only out at dusk or dawn and I was early that morning, so was lucky. I should have done shushed the other walker and not missed the shot. Oh well – being polite has its downside sometimes. 🙂
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You may not be interested in this Linda, but serious wildlife photographers dress in appropriate camouflage. If you had the right clothing and stayed still I bet most animals would ignore you.
Also, take the shot then shout.
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Wayne, I do have one camouflage-colored top, which I didn’t buy for blending in, but I bought it as it is SPF clothing since I am often outside at bigger parks when the sun’s rays are strongest. I bought a couple of the sun-protection tops plus pants and a wide-brimmed hat and baseball cap, all with 50 SPF protection. Hopefully it all helps as I have already been sunburned twice in April, two weeks in a row as I didn’t think it was that sunny out. I also will have a teeshirt coming in light camouflage tones in conjunction with the Run to Honor 5K for military personnel who come home with PTSD – that is the end of July. The Great Blue Herons are spooked easily so probably this heron was too and yes, I should have ignored the question, taken the shot, then answered. I saw Harry the Heron at Council Point Park this morning. He tried to land on his ledge, but too much tree debris, so he went across the Creek and sat on tree debris.
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Too bad you missed the shot but you got some good ones here.
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Yes, I should not have been so polite Kate. Thank you, I thought I was pretty lucky since I only walked about a mile at this park and had three big bird encounters.
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I think raising a “just a second” finger and taking your shot would still have been polite.
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I should have just done that Zazzy but I guess my thinking at that time was that if I didn’t respond, they would yell it again, so might as well just respond and get it over with.
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*hugs* for the overly polite of us…
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Hugs back to a soul sister … yep, our Mamas raised us right. 🙂
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Some good finds along the way.
I would be a photo first as that was the primary object not talk to someone rudely yelling at me from a distance. They were impolite so no need to be immediately responsive
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This was a nice bird-filled walk, considering I only went about a mile at this park and had so many finds. That swan was pretty twisted up trying to preen! In retrospect I realize that now Brian and I see others agree with me. I think my mindset at the time was to just answer now as they’d only call out again. Grr!
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Nice you sharing The Heron at Council Point Park this morning. Always enjoy your’s photography.
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Thank you Raj – I am glad you liked the heron.
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Most welcome,Linda ❤️
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pretty swan and crane!
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I lucked out seeing these two Dawn!
P.S. – I know you’ve been busy so maybe you’re not keeping up with the Metropark Photographers site – I get behind if I go more than a day or two. Anyway, a lot of people are commenting on all the ticks at Kensington when they stray off the path to grassy areas to get better shots or macro shots, so be careful! The author of the post was Rob Uchniat, just a few days back if you want to search for it.
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You did a fabulous job collecting so many pastel images of the birds against the backdrop of nature, Linda, even if it wasnt your intention for the pastel color challenge. The crane is so pretty and of course the swans have that creamy glow. Great shots of them all!
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Wow Terri, I could have double-dipped then this week! I never thought about using these two birds as pastels, but I should have thought of their pale colors. Thank you – I am glad you liked them. I had pictures of the Dogwood and Crabapple and some pink flowers, all from the Botanical Gardens, but not enough to make a whole post so I had to resort to a Wordless Wednesday.
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Lovely and peaceful!
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It was very peaceful Anne … just those birds and me.
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I agree that you should have taken your shot before responding to someone calling out to you. A general rule of thumb is to wait until someone holding up a camera has clicked before disturbing him or her. You got other lovely pictures as a form of compensation though 🙂
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You’re right Anne – I should have gone ahead and just taken my shot and introduced you all to a Black-crowned Night Heron. It is like most people stop in their tracks if you’re taking a photo, so they are not in the picture. It did turn out to be a lucky day for me, especially as to the Crane and Swan.
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Always so much to see on your walks. 🙂
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I lucked out on that walk Sandra with these nice birds. I never saw any Crane offspring, so they either didn’t have one or are hiding it on the “island” … now I will try and find a fawn next time I go.
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Too bad you missed the shot of the black-crowned night heron. They are such pretty birds! They used to have a rookery near my house, but they abandoned it several years ago. I still see them fairly regularly at a nearby lake.
You have been having good luck with the cranes this spring! That is a bird that I have never seen near my house – only when I visit my sister in Florida in the winter or my son in Colorado in the summer. Wonder where this guy’s mate was. Maybe on the nest?
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I was mad I missed it Laurie as it’s only the second time I’ve seen one anywhere and I would have liked a photo. I wonder if this one strayed from a rookery? I follow a Metroparks Photographers site on Facebook and they only mention the Great Blue Heron rookeries around here, not even Egrets. You were lucky to see so many of them.
I have lucked out with the cranes … I wondered if she was sitting on a nest, but those babies should have hatched by now and I’ve been back there two or three more times since this walk. I can’t see this whole island from the shoreline or bridge as my view is blocked by bushes – I suspected she might be sitting on a nest there.
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I enjoyed meandering along with you on this lengthy walk through two of the four parks, Linda. You’re lucky to see so many sandhill cranes nesting in your area. The swan looked so pretty there floating among the reeds. I can relate to your frustration about having your black-crowned night heron photo op ruined! So often people come along the path, oblivious to what I’m trying to photograph, and wind up chasing a bird away. So annoying! I hope you will get another chance soon. Loved seeing that little patch of violets, so spring-like. 🙂
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It was a nice morning for these two walks Barbara. The weather cooperated for all four walks. This morning I had plans to go there again, but it was already very cold and very blustery and then they called for rain, so I had to abandon that idea. I was disappointed and I guess, in retrospect, I figured if I didn’t answer, he’d call me again, perhaps louder. Yes, I hate having that happen too as many people are not paying attention at all.
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I like how you said that dandelions perked up a dull space. There are so many dandelion haters in the world, it’s refreshing to know that someone appreciates them! Also, the cranes! Not I sight I see around here.
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Yes Alley, they do brighten up these big parks where the grass is full of dandelions – when you see a whole field of them, it is beautiful. The cranes are very tall and majestic looking and seem to move in slow mo most of the time. I used to pick each dandelion root out of my front lawn and now I just leave them.
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A lovely hike even if the plant life was a bit drab. You always seem to get some great bird shots.
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Thank you Eilene – some mornings I luck out with the birds. This was one of those mornings. It takes this park, especially the marsh, a very long time to green up.
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I’d say, even though you missed the photo due to being polite (which is always a good thing to be, no matter what) you had a very successful walk. I enjoyed the preening show photos. What a lucky day indeed. The pops of colors from the early spring flowers were delightful to notice too. The bolting crane is indicative of how these walking ventures can be filled with fleeting moments of joy!
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I was bummed about that shot Shelley, but if something nice comes along, I feel better about it then. 🙂 You would tend to think someone would wait to ask the question if you’re facing the other way with a camera pressed up near your face, but …. It WAS nice to see violets and dandelions. You, better than anyone, knows how nice it is to see a little color in the Springtime, even if it was a warmer-than-average Winter. I am wishing we had an average Winter as I sit here waiting for this severe weather to roll through. We spiked to 91 – you probably had this weather yesterday as you’re often a day ahead of us. This heat wave next week has us in the 90s all week – ugh. I’ll plan on getting some major decluttering done. That crane was just kind of meandering along, taking its sweet time, then it bolted. Just. Like. That.
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What’s that saying? “The best picture I took is the one I haven’t taken yet?” or something like that. The pursuit of catching something keeps us going on our adventures. 😉 I hope the next time you see that bird there’s no one else around to detract from getting a great photo.
Yes…we know the long winters don’t we?!
We didn’t get the 90s, but yesterday it was a bit warmer. I do think this weekend will lead us into a hot week. Sigh. I should add decluttering to my list of what to do in the AC.
That’s a crane – here one minute looking all cool, then off to the next spot! 😂
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I like that saying Shelley – I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before, so it can be my new mantra! Yes, that is very true … I finally saw my first male Wood Duck this year, kind of far away, but I was happy about that and something I had been hoping to see and photograph for several years now.
The long Winters are why we look forward to Spring and Summer so much. Yours are worse than ours. Today was the earliest sunrise day of the year … I thought it would be the day of the Summer Solstice, but it is not. It will be very hot next week. The weatherman said we’ll break some records and it will be very humid as well. I hope we don’t get bad storms as a result of it. I will get some decluttering done and get some of my steps in that way. Make sure to enjoy Saturday, the nicest day of the next five or six.
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Yay – glad you liked the saying.
I bet I’ve seen a Wood Duck and didn’t know it was a Wood Duck. We started using the Merlin Bird App on our phones so we can recognize birds in our yard by sounds. You’re like a real-life Merlin – you know the birds by sight, that’s very cool!
Yeah…long winters are a thing here in WI. Our weather this week is going to be rain almost every day. Last year we had a draught, this year not so much. It’s gonna be hot too. Oy…I hope we both find days to get out and enjoy the summer weather!
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The male Wood Duck is very beautiful Shelley. Exquisite colors and the female is a very drab brown. The only thing that she resembles the male is the distinctive white ring around the eyes and also the feathers look slicked back at the base of the neck. I was lucky to see it – it was a little far away, but I kind of did a double take when I saw it. I was going to go back there at the marsh where I saw it today, but it got too warm and I spent about 45 minutes stalking both Sandhill Cranes who finally appeared together. 🙂 I have gotten to know a lot of the birds around here from following a Metroparks photographers site – one of the Metroparks (Kensington) has quite a variety of songbird and raptors and the beautiful Red-headed and Pileated Woodpeckers, so I am getting to know them that way too.
I decided to make the most of this weekend because I don’t see a let-up in this extreme heat for a week. I stopped at Council Point Park this morning, thinking I’ll go if it not crazy hot early in the morning this week – we have storms every afternoon, which, if not severe would be okay as watering won’t be necessary then. Bet the grass is brown by week’s end though.
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The resources you tap into to help recognize the birds are cool. You’re a great student. I remain in awe of the parks you have so close to you where you can see all these birds. I bet they’ll take cover or be in the water trying to stay cool this week!
I hope the rain keeps the grasses green instead of letting the heat brown them so early in the summer.
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Thank you Shelley – I have learned a lot of nature info since starting this blog. I really liked chatting it up with Arnie and was sad to learn he had passed away. His friend Bob used to walk with him sometimes and he told me. Arnie had a foot problem, so I just thought that kept him away and his wife rarely walked there and if she did it was with him, never alone. He grew up on the fringe of a forest, so knew a lot about the birds, critters, flowers, fungi. His wife also enjoyed nature. For their honeymoon, they went on a two-week hiking trip, roughing it by carrying everything in their backpacks.
We had a storm early this morning and got 1/2 inch of rain from it. And have another one coming around 7:00 p.m. At 4:00 p.m., it was 96 with a “real feel” of 100. I hope you get some rain relief for your garden and lawn too.
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Aw, that’s sad about Arnie. I’m glad you know now what happened to him though. I smiled at your comment about the honeymoon – my youngest and her hubby did just that for their wedding/honeymoon. The conveniences you can pack in a backpack nowadays makes it much easier to do so.
We had the heat, but not the storms (or at least I slept through them if there were storms). It’s still windy and cloudy here. The gardens are surviving so far. I hope the storms weren’t bad for you!!
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Well, I’m glad I found out … his friend Bob stopped by the Park to walk one day and saw me so wanted to tell me. Arnie only walked one mile a day, so sometimes I’d walk with him and Bob. Bob and his wife live on Grosse Ile – they walked every morning there, then Bob would drive 10 miles to meet Arnie. Yes, I imagine when they did a backpacking honeymoon, it was a little more rustic. In fact he told me they chose an area in Georgian Bay, very pretty, but he said there was some rough terrain in parts there.
Made it through two storms Monday, both torrential rain. The storm yesterday fizzled out by the time it got here, but we have severe weather and they’ve upped our risk tonight from marginal to slight … first storm at 7:00, then another at 9:00. I’ll be glad when the weather stabilizes a bit. Right now it’s 90 with a “real feel” of 96.
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It’s nice to hear about the friendship they had and that you were able to find out about Arnie. I’d enjoy the quiet and the beauty of a backpacking honeymoon…the lack of a shower and a bathroom might make the honeymoon a very short one in my book! 🤣
Oh, my, Linda…the storms are so horrible there! UGH. I’m glad you made it through them. That’s so HOT too…we’re in a cool off phase for now. It’s only 58 here. I hope some of our more pleasant temps and weather head your way.
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The torrential rain finally stopped as did the thundering around 6:30 so I put the A/C back on. It’s cool in the kitchen from the fan, but it was 79 in the house. We’re still under a thunderstorm warning for another storm that may be here by 7:30 – it’s in another county now but inching closer. I will be glad to see Sunday arrive after the last cold front passes, but we’re going to 94 on Saturday with potentially severe weather. I looked at some of the damage from today’s storms and I feel lucky … I hope I stay lucky.
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Yikes, Linda, the storms are so crazy! I’m glad your A/C is working and that you are lucky and safe. 🙏🏻
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I have no words for these storms Shelley … I am lucky, safe and appreciative of the fact that I remain unscathed, but today, there were three separate sets of storms predicted, similar to yesterday, but not as violent. So as of 5:30, we have passed up two of them. At 5:00 I looked on Accuweather and there are now four storms for my zipcode: 6:00, 7:00, 10:00 and 11:00. Now our Saturday storm will linger into Sunday morning. I’m dreading tomorrow as they will be worse storms after we get to 94 degrees.
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I did not realize cranes had such long legs! I’ve rarely seen them up close. And how did that cob do those preening neck moves?! Great pictures of your walk…I like how you take us along on your journeys. I think about how you organize your writing to do that on your blog and think maybe I should try it. But the task seems big and I get super distracted with all the stimuli around me.
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They are very tall Esther and their legs make up most of their height. When they walk they take long strides. There is a metropark that is not close to me, but I follow a site where people post nature photos from all the metroparks and they say the sandhill cranes are so used to seeing people on the trails, they will come right up to them and put their bills into their back pocket or nuzzle them looking for food and this is because so many people take food for the songbirds. A lot of people put food in the palm of their hands and the birds sit on their hand to eat it. It amazes me how birds preen sometimes, especially the swans with those long necks. You think they’ll get stuck like that sometimes. It was a shorter walk than normal for me, but I saw more things than sometimes I go there and walk and walk and see landscape only, or geese. Thank you … I started doing the play-by-play when my friend Marge, who persuaded me to start a blog, was housebound 100% of the time when she was on full-time oxygen. So I started writing like that so she could imagine what I saw. Back then I went a lot to Elizabeth Park, somewhere she really liked going to when she was healthy.
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I would be amazed and thrilled if a sandhill crane came close to me!! We got an experience of feeding birds from our hands in Hawaii and the kiddos were beside themselves with joy. The ducks that we used to feed at the small pond are gone now. The pond is drained and I have no idea where those birds went, especially the pair of Peking ducks that were abandoned there.
Yes, Marge was your inspiration and encourager to write the way you do!!
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I would love those sandhill cranes coming over and asking for food or nibbling it from my hand too. I remember the pictures with the parrots right? I had a similar experience on vacation years ago as a kid at Parrot Jungle in Florida and I have a photo how they put the birds on your arms and I was weighed down by them and I think I was grimacing as they were heavy, but it was a fun experience.
I am grateful to Marge for her inspiration and encouragement, though originally, I only did this because she kept “bugging me” to do it, so I decided since she was a special friend, I would do it.
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We all need a Marge in our lives!
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Yes, we do Esther. Before she passed away, I frequently mentioned her in my blog. Sometimes she saw me walking on a weekend morning when she was out and she would stop, pick me up and we’d go to Elizabeth Park or down to the River with our cameras. And she was there for me when my mom passed away, as well as when I lost my two birds.
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She was a special friend to you and you to her!!
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Yes, I wish I would have known her longer Esther. After her COPD kept her tethered to the large oxygen tank 100% of the time, she only got out for doctor appointments and was hospitalized four to six times a year for breathing problems. She’d be in the hospital a week or longer until she could breathe better.
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Marge had a lot of medical issues and that must’ve been so hard on her to not fully enjoy nature outdoors as she loved it so much. It was great that you started writing the blog for her. That’s a special connection you had together and yea, the friendship would’ve grown and you both created more memories if you had known her longer. That’s the bittersweet part of looking back on good relationships.
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Yes, Marge was such a good friend and she was younger than my mom and older than me, yet a friend to each of us, not just a family friend. After my mom died she invited me to family get-togethers as she always had Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at her house, but I didn’t want to intrude on family, even though I knew all of her kids and grandkids as they were always over there and some of the kids and grandkids had lived with her during periods of time.
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What a lovely friendship you all had together!! As I get older, I realize that age doesn’t matter when it comes to friendship. When I was younger, I used to think that friends had to all be around the same age or else friendship was impossible. This is probably old thinking that developed in school where we always hung out with people in our own grades. Remember I went to an all girl school? Oh yikes, making friends with girls in my age group was a nightmare. I digress…but it just reminded me of that time.
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What a fantastic bird hike Linda! That heron is so different from any I have seen.
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Thank you Diane – it was a short and sweet hike. Sometimes I go there and see nothing. But I was lucky that day. I was bummed about the heron for sure.
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