10/1/06

Incredible that it's already October! It is officially fall, and it does feel like fall also. Happily, the mosquitoes are gone and I can write in peace. It's another beautiful morning at Saginaw. The lake is still and the steam arises, swirling clockwise like a giant witches cauldron. A fish just jumped and broke the surface. The squirrel in the trees to my east finally stopped his noisy scolding and gave in to my presence. A flock of small birds - swallows or sparrows? - just flew west over the lake. It's funny that I never see any flying due south over the lake. Six Canada geese follow them in perfect formation.

The sun has started to move down the trees on the North Shore. The large bird perched on a branch on the opposite shore continues his lookout. He alighted there just after I saw down, and I'm very much regretting having left my binoculars indoors. I would guess that it's some sort of hawk - or perhaps an osprey?

I saw two gorgeous wood ducks on the adjacent pond (west of the causeway) on my run yesterday. They were quite close - the male's colors were absolutely vivid and beautiful. I surprised them and they abruptly took off. I believe they prefer the other pond and are often there - I've often scared away skittish ducks without a chance to identify them. I can't imagine that mallards would be so skittish. According to my book, wood ducks were nearly extinct in the early 1900s.

I think the bird across the lake is an osprey...

One of the large tents of the moths is still here in the here in the Tilia tree. I wonder what becomes of them in the winter? I went in for my binoculars - it is indeed an osprey. (A couple of nights ago we heard a Great Horned Owl west of the cabin and an eastern screech owl to the east.) He [the osprey] is facing east, and the sun lights up his white stomach.

A duck just landed at the far west end of the lake. It's difficult to tell what kind of duck he is, but I'd guess a wood duck? He's lost in the mist.

A mute swan just few east of over the lake - he made this strange whirring noise, as if he could hardly carry his own weight through the air. It's possible it was a trumpeter or a Tundra swan, though a Tundra swan in these parts would be unusual!

The tiny flicker (or some version thereof) is back, pecking away at the cherry tree and chirping at me. Fabulous viewing suddenly! Two wood ducks flew + landed on the west side of the lake. A heron - either immature blue or tricolor out of it region - is talking fish to my left. It's doing quite well. He gets in the water to his belly & slowly walks through it - stalking them.

A duck was also eating in the shallow weeds - a small dark duck with a lighter bill. It looked almost entirely black, but then I could detect a lighter and a darker black. Perhaps it is a type of scaup or could have been a female goldeneye.

Looked it up online - turns out it was a Black Scoter, male. Quite unusual for this area at this time.