Karen Markey - a Kirtland's Warbler trip report I thought it might be useful for some BIRDERS subscribers to learn about the Kirtland's Warbler Census that is conducted by the U. S. Forest Service and Michigan Department of Natural Resources every year during the second week in June. I am a member of a group of about 40 volunteers for the U. S Forest Service. Some people volunteer for one day, others, like me, volunteer for the full week. We are given a map and assigned to an area through which the census coordinator has drawn a transect, a path that cuts through the forest. (This transect is rarely a path, road, or two-track; most of the time it is a line drawn through a Jack Pine forest that we volunteers navigate with map and compass.) We place stops on the map at 5-chain intervals (about 60 steps or about 1/16th of a mile). We use the compass to navigate the transect and stop at 5-chain intervals to listen for singing Kirtland's Warblers. We triangulate the location of a singing Kirtland's using the map and compass. On occasion, a singing Kirtland's is right on our transect and after searching with eyes and binoculars, we are rewarded with great views. Although we are tempted, we rarely leave the transect to search for a singing Kirtland's. Here is the first installment that is a daily account of my experience on this year's census: Day 1 (Sat., June 5) I race home from the Stinchfield Woods survey and finish packing. I motor north to Mio, Michigan, a 3-hour drive, minus stops in Birch Run and Linwood at dry goods and cheese outlets, respectively. (I cannot pass up an outlet mall.) I arrive at the Holiday Motor-In at dinnertime. This is where other census folks are staying. The price is right at a little over $200 for a one-week stay. Day 2 (Sun., June 6) The alarm clock rings at 4 am. Is it really time to get up? We meet at the Ranger Station at 5 am and carpool to Pine River, about 40 miles away in Alcona and Iosco Counties where a total of 30 rangers and volunteers are assembled for the census. I tell the census coordinator that my orienteering skills are rusty so he pairs me with Mike Petrucia, a longtime volunteer. Mike and I are assigned an area I surveyed on last year's census. The Jack Pines are between 4 and 6 feet high. This will be easy terrain to walk and I am confident that we will find birds. The high dark clouds in the distance do not look threatening so we do not bother to put on rain gear. Hardly 15 chains later (3/16ths of a mile), the skies burst open with a downpour. Although we count 9 singing Kirtland's Warblers on our 70-chain march through the forest (7/8ths of a mile), we are drenched, dirty, cold, and miserable. We find the truck, put the heat on high, and try to warm up. We pick up the second pair of volunteers who are surveying a transect parallel to ours and compare results. We drive to the meeting place and report our findings. When all pairs have returned to the meeting and reported their findings, we drive to the Chat And Chew in Glennie for hot coffee, tea, and warm breakfast. After lunch, we disperse to shower, nap, etc. I compile my Stinchfield Woods report and submit it to BIRDERS. In the evening, a group of us drive to Lewiston for a great dinner at the Lewiston Lodge. Day 3 (Mon., June 7) The alarm clock rings at 4 am again. Of course I want to fall back to sleep. We return to Pine River for a second day. I am assigned a one-mile transect that parallels the transect that another pair of volunteers are surveying. These are young trees, 3 to 5 feet high and the my march alone through the forest is easy. Hardly 5 chains (about 1/16th of a mile) later, the skies open up and rain pours down. I stand still for 10 minutes because I cannot hear anything except the rain pounding on my hood, hat, and rain gear. There is no cover in sight. I am drenched but today I wear my rain gear. The rain finally stops and the birds start to sing. The sun comes out, it warms up, and the bugs start to bite. I finish my transect and when I orienteer to the truck, I hear three singing Kirtland's. One is very close. A singing Kirtland's perches on an oak tree and bingo! I catch sight of him. It is very hard to tear myself away from him to meet up with the pair paralleling my transect. We compare out results and report our findings. The census coordinator for Big Creek announces that we found 249 singing Kirtland's over the last two days. We drive to the Chat And Chew for breakfast. On our return to Mio, we stop at a prairie and see Lincoln Sparrows and a pair of Upland Sandpipers. After lunch, we disperse. I read some boring stuff for work and fall asleep. In the evening, a group of us drive to Gaylord for a great dinner at the Big Buck. Tomorrow, I will finish my Kirtland's Warbler diary 2004 with days 4 to 7.) Here is a truncated list of the best birds I saw or heard during my week in the northeastern lower peninsula near Mio: Great blue heron Common ravens Wild turkeys Ruffed grouse Upland sandpipers Killdeer Common nighthawk Belted kingfisher Yellow-bellied sapsucker Red-bellied woodpecker Downy and hairy woodpeckers Northern flickers Great crested flycatchers Eastern wood-pewee Alder flycatcher Eastern kingbirds Red-eyed vireos Red-breasted nuthatches Hermit thrushes (very common in Jack Pines) Wood thrushes Brown thrashers (very common in Jack Pines) Cedar waxwings Nashville warblers (very common in Jack Pines) Common yellowthroats Pine warblers Kirtland's warblers Cape May warbler Yellow-rumped warblers Scarlet tanagers Rose-breasted grosbeaks Indigo buntings Eastern towhees Chipping sparrows Clay-colored sparrow Field sparrows Vesper sparrows Lincoln's sparrows White-throated sparrow Dark-eyed junco Baltimore orioles Brewer's blackbirds Brown-headed cowbirds American goldfinches (Also there were reports of Great-horned owl, Purple finch, Evening grosbeak, and Olive-sided flycatcher from others.) ------- Day 4 (Tues., June 8) We travel to Jack Pine plantations in Eldorado today, southeast of Mio and closer than Pine River. This means an extra 15 minutes of sleep in the morning. I am paired with Dave Ewert from the Lansing office of the Nature Conservancy. I am fortunate -- Dave wants to take time to birds see the birds to inspect them for bands because he is working on a project to relocate Kirtland's Warblers in Michigan that were banded in the Bahamas in winter. The weather is perfect, cool, dry, and sunny, and the heights of the trees on the area to which we are assigned are 4, 5, 6, and 7 feet. Of the 14 Kirtland's we count, Dave sees 9 (no bands) and I see 5 (no bands). Two birds are right on our transect. It is hard for me to pull myself away from these two because we are so up close and personal. This is a great day! Day 5 (Wed., June 9) We travel to Big Creek in Oscoda County today. I am paired with Don Dickson, MSU professor and author of the recently published book "The Forests of Michigan." We walk trails adjacent 15-foot trees and higher and 3-foot trees and smaller. We hear only 1 singing Kirtland's way in the distance. Storm clouds threaten, thunder rumbles, bugs bite, I am dressed in plastic from head to toe and dripping wet because it must be 90 degrees at 10:30 am when we finish. In the afternoon, I shop the outlet mall in West Branch to escape the heat. In the evening, I treat myself to a steak at the Rustic Inn halfway to Lewiston. Day 6 (Thurs., June 10) We are assigned to state land in Ogemaw County. Light drizzle gives way to a steady downpour as soon as we begin the census. Jana, a biology major at Wittenberg College and a first-year census volunteer, and I are assigned a transect on the edge of the plantation so it is easy to navigate in comparison to the transect that Dave Mendes and Stella (another first-year volunteer) draw in the middle of the plantation. They must be swimming through the maze of trees - wet from head to toe. Despite the rain falling on our plastic rain gear, Jana's ears are incredible; she hears Kirtland's before I do. I do the job of navigating through the forest; Jana tries to keep the map dry and marks the location of the 7 birds we hear on the map. When we finish, our map is soggy, wet, stuck to the clipboard, hardly readable. Then the rain stops and the sun shines. Stella and I are the first ones to arrive at the Au Sable River Restaurant in Mio to warm up, dry off, and eat a hot breakfast. During the meal, Christy, a seasonal employee of the Forest Service, tells us that she will be checking select forest locations about 30 miles east of Mio for Connecticut Warblers. I accompany her and play recordings. No warblers. In the evening, I treat myself to a scallops sauteed in wine-mushroom sauce at the Rustic Inn. Day 7 (Fri., June 11) At daybreak, we are treated to a spectacular sunrise - the sky is a combination of Michigan Maize and Syracuse Orange. (Do I really have to go home today?) We arrive at the Mack Lake Burn, a little southeast of Mio. I recall this area from last year when I navigated a transect in pouring rain and emerged black from head to toe from the wet, sooty trees. I am assigned to the exact same area but it is warm and partly cloudy today. The trees are 13 feet high and taller. I doubt I will hear or see any Kirtland's Warblers today. Joe, the ranger who recruited me for the census two years ago, walks a transect parallel to mine. Both of us fail to get birds. Joe and I pick fresh Jack Pine cones so I can throw them into my grill at home and watch them open in the heat, smoke, and fire. I am dawdling because it is hard to leave. Then I realize that my next stops are the Williams Cheese Outlet in Linwood and the outlet mall in Birch Run and I speed away from Mio with a heavy heart and soon-to-be lighter wallet. My personal subtotal (Kirtland's Warblers heard and/or seen) = 37 My personal subtotal (Kirtland's Warblers seen) = 6 My personal total = 43 (And I make it home in time to see the Lawrence's Warbler on the northwest edge of Stinchfield Woods. Thanks Mike and Susan!) -- Karen Markey Professor School of Information, 304 West Hall, 550 E. Univ. Ave. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1092 USA Voice: 1-734-763-3581; Fax: 1-734-764-2475 Email: ylime@umich.edu Web site: http://www.si.umich.edu/~ylime/index.html