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In southeast Michigan, we don’t often see a lot of Snow Geese in winter; they’re considered rare birds in our area.
I was lucky to see a Snow Goose up close at Belle Isle State Park in fall 2019.
Usually a handful are reported each year in our area, often seen with hundreds of Canada Geese feeding on grass or harvested cornfields. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Snow Geese on a Wintry Day
The first time I saw a Black Vulture was on Florida’s Atlantic Coast on the way to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to see my nemesis bird, the Painted Bunting.
The Black Vulture is common in southeastern United States, where they can be found year-round.
I’ve seen them in southern Ohio in the past few years, but it’s a rare find for a Black Vulture to be found in Michigan.
Which was why birders were excited to find a Black Vulture this past week in Washtenaw County, where it stopped near a conservation area.
After doing some research, I learned Black Vultures are smaller than our native Turkey Vultures (which I see every month in Michigan). The short stocky black bird has a bare head, large bill, and short tail.
They live in social groups and lay their eggs on the ground in bare areas; they don’t build nests.
Unlike Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures don’t have a good sense of smell. The two types of vultures do associate with each other, so when a Turkey Vulture finds a carcass, the Black Vulture follows them.
“Wait a minute,” I said to my husband as I peered at the feeder in our side yard this weekend.
“That bird doesn’t look like the brown-colored House Finches.
It looks like it has a raspberry wash over it.”
And the other House Finches on the feeder didn’t seem very happy with it.
The raspberry-colored bird kept chasing the other birds away from the feeder. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Purple Finch at Our Feeder