Did you see it? Look in the sky, to the left of the pond.
I was expecting another hawk.
Or perhaps a Great Blue Heron slowly winging its way across the early morning sky at Lake Erie Metropark on the northeastern shore of Lake Erie.
I was surprised by what I saw.
This weekend I joined the Oakland Audubon Society for their monthly bird hike. Who wouldn’t want to join 20 people you’ve never met for a four-hour birding trek through the woods and along the shoreline?
It was a fun morning for birding and I felt welcome immediately with the friendly group of birders.
The weather was the warmest it would be for the day. Winds and a cold front would bring the 40-degree early morning temperature to the mid-20’s with snow showers and 20 mph winds a couple of hours later.
It had been a quiet morning so far in terms of seeing birds.
A female Cooper’s Hawk graciously sat on a tree branch for about 30 seconds, with the glow of the early morning sun on, in clear view of everyone. I would see another Cooper’s Hawk about an hour later, when the snow showers moved in.
The expected Mallard Ducks were in the pond near the end of one of the trail loops.
Move over to the left a bit. Now can you see it?
It starts just above the tree line. The rainbow in the sky!
First time I’ve seen a rainbow in February in Michigan. In February, we usually have four to ten inches of snow on the ground. Not this year.
Our winter weather in southeast Michigan has been all but typical. We haven’t had a long cold spell, nor much snow this winter.
Last week temperatures almost hit 70 degrees. Thunderstorms and severe winds came through our area two days ago.
This weekend’s rainbow was something I’m going to remember for a while.
