×

End of summer fast approaching

A turkey vulture is shown. (Scot Stewart photo)

“Follow Sirius, the dog star, through the summer sky and you will know the dog days of summer.” — Anonymous

With 80-degree days again this week, Yoopers knew the dog days were still here. But with the middle of August comes the certainty that although it is as warm as mid-July, the end of summer is getting closer. Summer is in a glorious time, with bright bands of yellow goldenrod along the highways, some bold thunderstorms with lightning and some much needed rain and some more signs of fall migration.

Discussions continue about the changes in the summer ranges of many birds in the U.S. One species rarely discussed it the turkey vulture. A true rarity in the Upper Peninsula 20 years ago, they began developing small, strongly established areas in the U.P. Today one well established area here continues to be Big Bay in northern Marquette County. Starting in the old sand pit on the southeast edge of the “downtown” area, there are still a big group that come to rest and roost there in the afternoons.

This past Monday, 26 were seen in town.

Primarily scavengers, turkey vultures are gentle, health department employees, cleaning up remains of road kills and old age, using only the most sanitary of habits. Some may mistake them in flight for bald eagles, but the V-shape wing shape and rocking action will give them away. They can spend hours in the air using their sense of smell to find carrion. They don’t kill their own food but look to find mammals and other animals that have already expired.

Their anatomy assists with healthy eating. Their nostrils are directly across their beaks so one quick poke with a toe can clear any gunk from their meal stuck on them. Their heads have only a few tiny feathers so as liquids dry on them from digging down into carrion quick stretching a shaking can easily shed accumulations. They excrete uric acid onto their legs to kill any harmful bacteria they may pick up from dead animals and their stomachs’ gastric acid is extremely powerful and kills bacteria in the food they eat. Their nutrient recycling is an integral part of the ecosystem.

They strike classic poses with their wings outspread in what biologists call a horaltic pose in the morning hours as they warm themselves in the morning sun and wait for rock surfaces to begin heating too. A group of vultures, known as a wake, can sit together with their nearly six-foot wing spans outstretched as an impressive bunch. As bare rock surfaces warm, they send heated columns of air upwards. These updrafts help vultures rise upwards with a minimum of effort as the begin their daily soaring searches for food. Vultures’ keen sense of smell helps them find fresh kills they prefer.

Another bird making some inroads in the central U.P. is the smallish green heron. Over the past few years, a small populations have developed in Delta County and along the Dead River upstream from the Tourist Park. They are quite secretive and are probably nesting in several other areas not yet well-known. This summer these crow-sized greenish/chestnut-colored waders have popped up along the river and at the Bog Walk at Presque Isle where one was seen last Tuesday.

Green herons feed close to the water’s edge, spearing small fish, insects and literally anything else that hops, flies, or swims by. Their range occupies nearly the entire east half of the country in summer except parts of northern Minnesota and the U.P., although this is changing, and winter along the Gulf Coast, most of California and the southern part of Arizona.

A few common nighthawks have been noted recently in the central U.P., all headed south for the winter. Once a common part of the night sky in the Upper Peninsula, they are now difficult to find here in summer. Not true hawks, they are related to whip-poor-wills and other nocturnal insect-eaters call goat suckers. With stiff bristles around their large mouths to funnel moths and other flying insects in as they fly, they have slowly disappeared from much of the eastern U.S. Their long, narrow gray wings with sharp white vertical bars make them easily identified during their daylight migration, and their loud vibrating sounds made when diving for insects help to pick them out at night.

Shorebirds continue their flights back to the Gulf Coast and the far ends South American for winter. The breakwall in the Lower Harbor in Marquette has had both on and off days depending on the weather and the winds for seeing them. South winds will often slow them down for stops here and rainy weather will frequently set most of them down. Semipalmated plovers, semipalmated, spotted and least sandpipers have been the best bets there this week. Rudy turnstones, sanderlings, whimbrels both species of yellowlegs have also been regularly at other beaches like the mouth of the AuTrain River in Alger County and Whitefish Point in Chippewa County.

Warblers are also on the move, with small mixed flocks seen at many locations as they begin their move to the Caribbean and South America. One recent highlight was the sighting of a rare Connecticut warbler at Miners Memorial Heritage Park in Ironwood. This warbler, one most often seen near wetlands though very shy, has been most frequently seen when on the move in the U.P and not on summer territories this season. With plenty of late summer flowers, fall migration and bold storms, enjoy the dog days!

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

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today