Michigan visit

My Iowa friend was attending a conference for 4 days, so I decided to drive east, stop at a bird event, and continue on to Ann Arbor, MI.  My niece and her boyfriend hosted me for the week.  They have a downtown apartment that features a large living room with a huge glass wall.  Its a wonderful bright space for sitting, or for classes.  They generously offer the space to yoga, dance, and swordsmanship classes.  She teaches aerial silks.
       Living in downtown, one can walk to many stores, events, theaters, and restaurants.  One night we walked to a movie theater (nearly next door) to see the Lord of the Ring movie Two Towers.  What a amazing movie !!                     Another evening we went rock climbing at Rock Planet, a wonderfully diverse climbing gym.  Lots of fun.
       My nephew lives in another part of the city near a forest with walking trails.  He let me park Silver truck at his place all week.
Ann Arbor is a vibrant city, people are out walking, doing things all day. The city parks are well used.  Snow is gone, however the air is cold with a brisk wind. Trees are still in winter dormant condition, not thinking about Spring quite yet.  Snowdrops and crocuses are blooming, daffodils are pushing up little green stems.  A promise of Spring to come.
       Bird sightings:  Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Robins, Canada Geese, Mallards, Cardinals, Blue Jays, and a White-throated Sparrow.  Barton Lake had Mute Swans, Ring-necked Ducks, Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads, Redheads, and American Wigeon.
A stop in Peoria, Illinois was productive for a new Life bird, the European Tree Sparrow. This species was introduced 150 years ago in St Louis, and has not spread very far. Populations remain small.

Photos of my niece on her aerial silks. Her boyfriend often partners with her.

Driving driving

I spent 3 weeks in Reno, it was time to go.  I very much appreciate their hospitality, and Kris' wonderful better-than-restaurants cooking.  I drove hwy 80 across Nevada in one day. Nevada is not flat.  Leaving Reno the highway travels thru a dry canyon, beyond that moves along a creek supporting Cottonwood trees.  Continuing eastward I saw more snowy mountains to the south; while mountains to the north are more distant with snow. Highway 80 passes over Golconda Summit at 5160 ft,  past Battle Mt covered with snow and shining in the sun, Towns with names like Beowawe, and Argenta.  Small towns and settlements barely hang on in this arid open landscape. 

     Late afternoon I stopped at the California Trail Visitor’s Center, an official National Historic site. This is the location of several forks in the pioneer trails, where a wagon train could choose a cut-off trail or stay on the main trail.  The Donner party had taken a cut-off trail and lost a lot of time that Fall, ending up in the Sierras in the winter. The museum is very well done.   

     At the end of the day I drove thru Wendover.  This town is a riot:  West Wendover is in Nevada (casinos !!) and East Wendover is in Utah (no casinos).  A painted line across the Boulevard serves as the state boundary.

     Day 2 was spent driving across Utah.  From the phenomenon of the Great Salt desert, and Great Salt Lake, to the snow-covered Wasatch mountains, Utah is always spectacular.

Birds so far were Crows, Ravens, Black-billed Magpies, and at a rest area, a pair of brilliant Mountain Bluebirds.

     Day 3   I drove from Grand Junction, Colorado to Loveland. Highway 70 travels thru the Rocky Mountains from west to east.  It is a magnificent drive on a clear sunny day. Steep canyons, snow-covered mountains, and highway passes at 10,500 and 10,600 feet. Scenery is just awesome. I stopped at my storage unit to pick up a few papers, then continued on across a very dry Colorado prairie. 

Day 4    My brother Gary and his wife have returned from traveling in Mexico, Central America, and South America.  I was able to meet up with them in Nebraska.  Ah, the magic of cell phones.  We camped that night at a nice state park. 

Day 5    Gary made hot chocolate for us in the morning.  A welcome treat on this cold morning.          Snow Geese !!  Nebraska's Platte River valley has one of the most spectacular bird shows in the country. Tens of thousands of Snow Geese  will cover a field, or fly across the sky in several large skeins.  Canada Geese, and White-fronted Geese, too.  We saw flocks of Sandhill Cranes in fields and flying.

     After enjoying more Snow Geese and Cranes, Gary and Nan headed for home, and I continued east out of NE.   

The next day a cold front was coming thru the area, with strong wind but not much precipitation.  Wind chills were predicted at -5 F.  I stayed overnight in a Motel 6.  Iowa has more snow on the ground than Nebraska.  
     After many days of driving I arrived at my friend's place in eastern Iowa.  The day was bright and sunny, altho cold and windy.  We talked for awhile, ate lunch, and later went for a walk at a nice county forest.  Exciting birds were the Bald Eagles, above, Eastern Bluebirds, and a Red-headed Woodpecker.  !!!!  A Killdeer was foraging along a riverbank, a pair of Lesser Scaup floated in a protected bay, and Robins called from the leafless tree canopy.

2nd photo is from Utah, a pond along hwy 70 west of Salt Lake City.  3rd photo is Sandhill Cranes flying away, west of Grand Island, NE.

Back to Reno

I had an uneventful flight back to Reno with cloudy skies most of the way.  Snowstorms were hitting the east coast and the Chicago area.
     This week has been filled with domestic duties, walking at Damonte wetlands, and always more job searching.  The ice has melted from the large pond at the wetlands.  I know Spring is coming when the Marsh Wrens are singing from the tops of the reeds.


     I started the blog's bird list over today.  All the wonderful birds from NH/ Maine/ and CT are good memories.  Today the list begins with birds along the Truckee River, Damonte wetlands, and the backyard.

     A happy event,  my brother and sister-in-law have returned from nearly 2 years (1 3/4 yrs) of bicycling and hiking across USA, Mexico, Central America and South America. Good to have them back in USA after their amazing trip.



Since the last posting from NH had photos of CT,  I will put up 2 photos from a NH snowstorm the day I was leaving (returning to CT).   Both photos taken across the street at Oyster River.

A week in NH

I have spent a week in New Hampshire, birding and hanging out with my parents.  Monday afternoon we stopped at Salisbury Beach State Park to look at the winter ducks.  This area at the mouth of the Merrimack River is listed as one of the Top 10 birding places in the country.  It was very good.
     Shortly after arriving  Dad found the King Eider pair on the beach. !!!!  That was exciting. A new Life Bird !!  We saw Scoters, Goldeneyes, Common Loons, Common Eiders, Horned Grebes, Red breasted Mergansers and 3 species of Gulls.  (Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black-blacked).
     Tuesday would be the last good weather day before a forecasted snowstorm, so I suggested we drive out to the coast again.  He recommended going north along hwy 1 to Cape Neddick/ Nubble Light.  The ocean was grey and waves were coming in strongly.  We saw all 3 species of Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Buffleheads, a pair of Harlequin Ducks, plus the birds from yesterday.
     The Wednesday - Thursday snowstorm was sporadic.  Durham received only rain, while Rochester recorded 15 inches of snow.
     Friday we went out birding again.  Salisbury Beach SP was still very active.  We added Red-necked Grebes, Brant (Geese), and Crossbills to the list. Pine cones had opened and spilled their seeds giving us great looks at the Crossbills as they foraged on the ground. The mixed flock included White-winged Crossbills, Red Crossbills, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Juncos, and Chickadees.  It was fun to watch them so close to the car.

 Photos from Connecticut:  Hammonassett State Park,  top photo.
Roaring Brook, 2nd photo.

3rd photo, I think these are tracks of a Red Fox, walking across the cornfield.