Pictured is a great horned owl. (Scot Stewart photo)

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” — Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

On those quiet winter morning when the sun touches every treetop with a golden wand it does seem like those tree tops lean down with their long shadows to embrace the snow beneath them. It seems to help welcome them to the morning light. On these short winter days, the long shadows cast by the low sun seem to stretch on forever some days.

Dec. 21 is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year with eight hours and 34 minutes of daylight in Marquette. With the official start of Winter, the afternoon sun sets a bit later each day, but the sunrise will be a little later until December 27th, then will stay at 8:33 a.m. until Jan. 7 when the morning sun rises a little earlier each day. Hard to believe the days start getting longer on the first day of Winter but few will complain!

With the Marquette Audubon Christmas Bird Count coming up tomorrow morning (counters are meeting in the Mattson Park parking lot at 8 a.m.) birders are checking on many important areas to see if many harder-to-find birds are hanging around. A quartet of trumpeter swans had been hanging out on the Dead River near the mouth recently until the shallows froze over late Monday, and it seemed to push the swans out and down to the Lower Harbor on Lake Superior. The warm snap reopened the Dead, but they continued southward, stopping next on the Chocolay River! So, there is hope the four will stick around for the count.

It looked this week as though nearly all of the Lower Harbor would be open for tomorrow. A bit of ice did form near the U.S. Coast Guard dock but cleared out after southwest winds broke it up. The open water has hosted common goldeneyes, mergansers, a sizeable flock of long-tailed ducks, and the resident mallards, but a few other birds would be welcome additions to the count if they stuck around. Occasionally horned grebes make the CBC, and one has been seen recently in the harbor. The other recent appearances have been by a northern pintail duck and that would be a most unusual species for the Marquette Count and a greater scaup that appeared on Wednesday,

Snowy owls have been difficult to come by since the original wave arrived in the Upper Peninsula. In the eastern U.P. only two has been reported on eBird this past ten days – in the Rudyard area and a second near Pickford. In Marquette, it has been about two weeks since one was reported near the intersection of McClellan Avenue and the U.S. 41 bypass and another on High Street. The CBC also provides a little better chance to turn up hard to find species like the snowy owl with some many sets of great eyes scouring the area literally from dawn to well after dusk when chances for owl spotting can get a little better.

In Marquette, the chances for finding great horned owls are good. There have been several recent reports of them along the Chocolay River in Harvey and historically there have been at least half a dozen pairs in the area surrounding Marquette. A short-eared owl was reported on several occasions in south Marquette along Lake Superior before the Thanksgiving week storm, but there have not been more recent sightings so relocating it would be a first for a Marquette CBC.

Hawks also have hinted at being possible species making it to the Marquette count this week. An American goshawk was spotted in the downtown area on Wednesday. An earlier report came from the Chocolay River area in Harvey last Saturday. This is a large, unusual hawk at any time of year to see, so two sightings in town in a week is pretty remarkable. A Cooper’s hawk and a merlin have also been reported on occasion this fall in town so the extra eyes again might help relocated them.

There are two vagrants looking to have a good chance of making it to many CBCs in the U.P. this year. Small flocks of pine grosbeaks have popped up in many spots, both out in the woods and towns with small fruits on their trees. There was one exception. Last Sunday, a flock of around 100 was found off U.S. 2 between St. Jacques and Nahma Junction in Delta County. Bohemian waxwings have been very different. As predicted, they arrived in the U.P. in great numbers that continue to show up in swirling flocks of up to 300+. It is often difficult to estimate some flocks because the frequently skittish flocks swirl over trees with fruit, landing in them and nearby trees while others jockey back and forth in between.

Another continuing rarity hanging around Marquette found again on Wednesday was a Townsend’s solitaire from the western states. It has been feeding in crab apple trees at McCarty’s Cove near Lake Superior and may also occasionally wandering over to a juniper tree at the edge of the playground there to feed on one of their favorites, ripe, dark blue juniper cones.

Individuals hoping to participate in a CBC have opportunities through early January. They can search “Audubon CBCs” and “Join” to find one that fits their schedule.