A male hoary redpoll looks on. (Scot Stewart photo)

“That is one good thing about this world…there are always sure to be more springs.”

— Lucy Maude Montgomery

More springs and no more turns to spring. This year’s spring has come, on March 19, and apparently left, but will be back. Ups and downs in temperatures and seasons have become the norm for the Upper Peninsula. Humans are slowly adapting to the irregularities, but how wildlife and plant life do remains to be seen. Maple trees have sent unknown gallons of sap up and down their trunks this year and alder trees have already cast most of their pollen out into the early spring air. Many perennials have already sprouted and now sit in melting snow and semi-frozen soil. Chipmunks have made some guest appearances at area bird feeders but have been scarce of late. Foxes have had to work a little harder to find food as smaller mammals are still tucked in.

Bird migration seems to be continuing at a near normal rate. There are still solid numbers of winter finches, pine siskins and common redpolls in particular, lingering in the area. Along the Dead River in north Marquette a flock of two hoary redpolls joined with 120 common redpolls last Monday. Small numbers of redpolls have been seen in locations in both the eastern and the central U.P. in recent weeks, but this was definitely one of the larger flocks seen lately. At feeders in Marquette, several mixed flocks of siskins and American goldfinches ranging up to about 100 or so have continued. Another flock of 100 siskins was seen at feeders in the Garden Peninsula, in Delta County. Smaller flocks of siskins have been spotted in multiple locations in Chippewa County too. In Beaver Grove south of Marquette, a large flock of over 70 bohemian waxwings was observed last Sunday. Usually, as the beginning of April nears, winter finches and bohemian waxwings begin heading back to summer ranges and eventually disappear in the U.P.

The Lower Harbor is close to the way it should look in March. One birder made an exhaustive count of the gulls there on Monday and found an amazing 1,016 herring gulls and 12 ring-billed gulls. With the gulls now here for the summer were three glaucous gulls and three iceland gulls too. It was quite a haul for the area around the ore dock where the herring gulls nest. Because these gulls must be four to five years old to breed, many will just hang out in the area, while the adults will nest on Ripley Rock and rocky islands north of Marquette. This past winter the majority of these adults probably stayed in Marquette, Munising, and other areas with nearby landfills to supplement food supplies. Younger gulls often move southward in fall and return in March.

Long-tailed ducks are also beginning to move back north for the summer. One has continued on the Dead River for quite some time, which is a bit unusual as long-tails are diving ducks commonly found in some of the deepest parts of lakes. They are capable of diving 200 feet in search of food. A dozen recently returned to the Lower Harbor. They are one of the hardiest ducks, rarely wintering any farther south than the Illinois end of Lake Michigan and the Atlantic Coast at Virginia.

Another spring migrant showed up in at least three locations last Tuesday indicating the U.P. should be a neater place this summer. Turkey vultures cruised the sky around Marquette and Newberry as the day’s strong south winds carried them into the U.P. Turkey vultures’ migration was made famous by the town of Hinckley, Ohio where their annual return has been followed since 1958. What makes this site special is the predictable promptness of the vultures as they arrive precisely every year on March 15. With a strong south wind, they can make it to the U.P. in just a few days! Not sure what the vultures think of March snow though.

Another harlequin duck has also been located this “winter.” Last Friday a female harlequin was located swimming around the Picnic Rocks. This duck was seen frequently swimming around the rocks and perched on them during the four days following that first sighting. It was hoped and anticipated to continue there for a few more days. Harlequins have appeared in the U,P. during both spring and fall migrations, appearing in the ponds at Presque Isle, on the Carp River, and in the Lower Harbor. Harlequins overwinter on both coasts and spend their summers in the west from southwestern Wyoming to Alaska and northeastern Canada and Greenland in the east.

Diving ducks, they often forage on rocky shore and fast-moving streams. Males are among the most beautiful ducks with slaty blue, chestnut, and white markings. Females are mostly gray with white spots behind their eyes and around their cheeks and eyes around their bills. A good view of it requires a spotting scope, but with a good pair of binoculars will do if the sun is shining and the water relatively calm.

The adult eagle with both white and reddish tail feathers seen last week on the Chocolay River in Harvey has not, unfortunately been reported in the area again. Dr. Tom Noren’s photographs have circulated amid a number of eagle experts across the country, and no one has reported a similarly marked eagle in their experience. Birders have continued their attempts to relocate this eagle, but it may have been an early migrant that has moved on. Spring though will continue to provide a wide variety of spring sightings in the weeks to come.

Scot Stewart is naturalist at the MooseWood Nature Center, a writer and photographer.