A pair of blue jays is shown. (Scot Stewart photo)

“Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a person is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.” — Black Elk

For some there is a growing sadness as the weeks of August peel away and summer draws closer to a close. But in the Upper Peninsula, there is no need for sadness. Summer here rolls into an amazingly spectacular season filled with near perfect temperatures, nearly insect free wild places, and beautiful ruby red, gold and brilliantly yellow leaves of Autumn. It is true Winter is the longest season in the U.P., but that simply allows residents time to pick perfect days improve their cross-country skiing, ice fishing, snowshoeing and snowflake studies. And there will be many perfect days to work on each!

That leads to a conclusion to a perfect circle with the brief time called Spring, several weeks when flowers, leaves, and birds, reawaken the Earth here and ramp up Summer once again.

So, August now brings the blooming season closer to a close, with its riot of yellows — especially the goldenrods, but also some blues and purples with the lobelias and asters. The mornings have become very quiet, punctuated by the murders of crows and blue jays’ shouts announcing the passing of a neighborhood fox or an occasion owl still hoping for a meal before everything else comes awake. The blue jays have been very prominent in Marquette the past few weeks with several families, being regular visitors at feeders and noisy in their rambling around town. The rains have brought a renewal of green to vegetation and a sudden burst of mushrooms and other fungi to stumps and logs.

The Lower Harbor breakwall in Marquette has come alive with shorebirds. During this past week, a large flock of sanderlings, least, Baird’s, semipalmated and buff-breasted sandpipers has dotted the concrete and rocks. They have wound in an out of the blue harebell and tufts of grass and valiant volunteer balsam poplar and red maple seedlings eking out an existence in the concrete cracks.

Single birds and pairs, especially the smaller least, semipalmated and summer-local spotted sandpipers will usually stick close to the large boulders wedged against the concrete. There is an added level of security and cover between the rocks as they scour the surfaces for midges and tiny mayflies. The sanderlings, Baird’s and buff-breasted are more likely to race down the breakwall’s concrete top, digging through the vegetation and large cracks for the insects lodged there. In larger flocks the smaller sandpipers will join in to feed with them. Because they have only known the solace of the Arctic tundra all summer, many of these birds, especially the young who may be seeing their very first humans, are tame and will often trot down the concrete, staying just ahead of walkers. Occasionally a group with fly off, usually looping out over the lake, only to return to another unused part of the structure.

A peregrine or merlin will change the path of fleeing birds though. Their presence in town will keep most shorebirds off the breakwalls during windy weather because escapes do become more problematic. It does appear at least two young peregrines were hatched from a nest in north Marquette. Their loud calls, series of keels and kaks, can be heard sporadically around the Dead River and Presque Isle Park.

Merlins raise their young in last year’s crow nests. This year a pair found a spot in the large white pines at McCarty Cove and could be heard daily two weeks ago as the young fledged. A family quartet has been seen circling the East Side regularly since and the nearby breakwall and a multitude of birders’ neighborhood feeding stations offer many hunting opportunities.

One of the month’s bigger surprises has been the continuing great egrets in Marquette. Five appeared on the Dead River July 23 working along the river edge and in the ditch leading into the river system north of Hawley Street. Great egrets do appear in the northern Upper Peninsula from time to time, but usually leave within a day or so. Two great egrets, surprisingly, have remained, feeding in the waters and in the large field along Lakeshore Boulevard south of Hawley Street. The pair with their graceful form and flight have brought a thrill to many able to find them.

Warblers, another group of early migrants, have been more difficult to find lately. Local nesters may have already begun heading south but mixed flocks of Canada’s summer residents should be headed through soon, livening up the treetops.

Chimney swifts and swallows also have been scarce. Several nights ago, a small group of common nighthawks was spotted following the Lake Superior shoreline through Marquette as they headed to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean from points north. Single nighthawks do pass through the area in mid-August each year, frequently following the Great Lakes’ shorelines south.

Migration is truly underway. As the summer birds leave it is time to start assessing what the winter will look like here. Two brighter lights appear to be the lively pockets of young house finches, black-capped chickadees, and northern cardinal in Marquette. It seems some families had successful nesting in town to join the blue jays that do stick around. Nuthatches are still scarce but will start returning to feeders and tell their story in a few weeks. The circle continues around!

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