The world is changing quickly. Many of the changes are not the kind people hope for, but changes are relentless, and it takes a great deal of patience and understanding and more and more action to understand them. The past year showed many of these changes. It got off to a good start in Marquette, with great promise, as flocks of both bohemian waxwings and pine grosbeaks began dropping in from the north and west. Birders, shoppers, Marquette County courthouse workers and visitors alike were thrilled by the sight of pine grosbeaks, bohemian waxwings and cedar waxwings.

Over the years landowners have planted a huge number of crab apple and mountain ash trees in the city making it a winter paradise for fruit eating birds like waxwings, pine grosbeaks and robins too. Nearly 200 waxwings, a couple of robins and several dozen pine grosbeaks spent early winter cruising through the fruit trees here. They eventually stripped most of the city’s trees of fruit and left Marquette. The remainder of winter was relative quiet. A few northern shrikes showed up across the Upper Peninsula. The winter highlight in the U.P. had to be the 50+ snowy owls scattered across the Mackinac-Chippewa County open lands mostly around Pickford and Rudyard.

Spring got a really slow start in 2019. One of the first migrant pairs to arrive was the peregrine falcons. A new twist last year was the closure of the peregrine nesting box at the WE Energy Power Plant at Presque Isle leaving just one site at the Shiras Steam Plant to nest in town. This year a new box will be opened atop the Landmark Hotel downtown.

Many warblers and shorebirds arrived late in the central U.P. Their arrival seemed to coincide with late insect hatches. A huge flock of nearly 100 semipalmated sandpipers arrived on the Lower Harbor Breakwall in Marquette in early June just as a big hatch of midges appeared.

Scot Stewart

Then summer seemed quiet. Numbers of many summer arrivals seemed lower than normal. Later a report was released by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology stating that approximately 2.9 billion have disappeared in the U.S. and Canada since 1970 from a population of nearly 10 billion to 7.1 billion breeding adult birds. A changing landscape of development, loss of habitat, changes in the climate affecting things like insect hatches, plant growth and rising sea/lake levels, urban lights on building and other structures, continued use of various pesticides in agricultural fields, lawns and other sites have all contributed to the losses. It seemed truly apparent in the U.P. in 2019. Even goose migrations in the fall seemed to occur in a very narrow stretch of time.

There were other changes too. Northern cardinals and red-bellied woodpeckers continue to be seen farther and farther north. Other species including blue-gray gnatcatchers also were seen more frequently farther north or far off course creating interesting sightings but underlined the idea that climate changes may be moving birds into new area where they are better adapted for conditions than their old ranges or are simply being pushed into new areas by new weather patterns and storms.

There were a couple of birds in the running for the best bird in Marquette this past year. In late May, a Hudsonian godwit appeared in Chocolay Township. A long-legged shorebird it’s distinguished by a chestnut colored belly and the long bills characteristic of godwits. Most migrate north from southern South America through the Mississippi flyway or along the east coast to a number of scattered areas in northern Canada and Alaska. There may be a couple seen in the state during spring migration, but sightings in Marquette County are extremely rare. This one spent several days in Chocolay Township before heading out.

The second bird was a northern hawk owl, another species rarely seen in the central U.P. This medium sized day-hunting owl occasionally appears in the eastern U.P. during the winter, but most remain in the boreal forest of Canada and Alaska year-round. What made this owl special is that it chose to hunt within the old Marquette compost area next to Lakeshore Boulevard in north Marquette, remaining in or near the site during its stay. It remained reasonable easy to see from the perimeter of the restricted site.

A mountain bluebird found in Munising was another highlight for U.P. birders this year. It’s more commonly found in the western states starting on the eastern side of the Rockies, so the discovery of a beautiful blue bird far from its home range was a real treat. It also stayed in the area for nearly a week giving many birders a chance to see another great bird.

As is so often the case, the number of great things found outside is directly proportional to the time spent outside. It does appear birders and other lovers of nature will need to continue to do all they can to care for the environment, landscape for wildlife and protect all nature features to ensure the quality of their experience. Being outside also provides chances to see what changes are coming too. They will need to act as they never have before to continue to see the type of natural world they expect and hope to continue to have.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Scot Stewart is a teacher at Bothwell Middle School in Marquette and a freelance photographer.