This morning eight of us birded our way up the Peshekee Grade in Marquette
County for the annual field trip held by the Laughing Whitefish Audubon
Society. We were all a bit surprised to find nearly 6″ of snow already on
the ground there, and by midmorning more was coming down hard. That didn’t
stop us from seeing some great birds though. After turning up the Peshekee
Grade, the first bird we encountered was a SPRUCE GROUSE on the road! This
is only the second one I’ve seen in Marquette County, so it was an exciting
way to start the day. Our next sighting, just south of South Arfelin Lake
Rd., was a mixed flock containing several Black-capped Chickadees and
Red-breasted Nuthatches along with a pair of BOREAL CHICKADEES. Then after
watching this flock for a while, a pair of GRAY JAYS flew in! Finally, at
the McCormick Tract we hit the highlight of the day, running into a gorgeous
female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER just off the trail. She barely seemed to
notice our presence, and we all had amazing looks for a couple of minutes
before she flew off.
Spruce Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
Bald Eagle
Downy Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Gray Jay
Blue Jay
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Goldfinch
Pine Siskin
Gary Palmer
Gary Palmer