Murrelet Musings

Ancient murrelet photographed on November 14, 2009 at St. Joseph, MI by John Kendall.

Arriving home from the sandhill cranes at Jasper-Pulaski, I went on line and checked out the Ancient murrelet reports. People spent hours watching the bird as it fed on fish at the mouth of the St. Joseph River. A placid lake with flat waters allowed great views of the bird. John Kendall’s almost unbelievable photo of the bird screamed: you should have gone to look for it! John and others had provided excellent directions. There was not much else I could do. I called Tim and he was gung ho to give it a try. I also called Andy Sigler, Jon Wuepper, and Darlene Freidman (an ex-Chicago birder who now lives near Detroit and who chases rarities) but I could find no one at home.

The mouth of the St. Joe is lined on either side by a pier. We opted for the wider of the two which is on the south side of the channel. Unlike the preceding day, however, Sunday was windy and the lake was heavily roiled. A red-throated loon flew by and several lines of tundra swans flapped heavily across the horizon. Birds were certainly moving. Unfortunately, one of the birds that seemed to have moved was the little alcid. At one point, a bird arose from just out of view next to the north pier and someone shouted “Ancient murrelet.” I glimpsed it and thought it was a long-tailed duck but as the bird had disappeared again who knew for sure. A birder on the north pier seemed to have given up and was walking to shore- we felt bad that she might be walking right by the murrelet. But then the bird arose again to where we could see it at leisure and we understood why the birder kept walking- it was indeed a long-tailed duck. But the excitement warmed us up a bit.

Jon Wuepper appeared, having called my house earlier to learn that I had headed for St. Joseph. He had watched it for seven hours on Saturday. Then I saw Andy on the north pier heading back. The lake became rougher and rougher so that even if a murrelet were somehow spotted by someone it would be damnably hard to relocate in the deep troughs. Tim, Jon, and I stopped for breakfast and retreated for home.

The murrelet remained undetected for several days, by which time birders figured it had gone elsewhere (for an oceanic bird stuck in the middle of an oligotrophic lake, alcid heaven was not a bad guess for its destination). But the small guy proved its resilience when it was relocated on Wednesday as the lake had again flattened out. The bird was feeding on the little fish (probably alewives) that concentrated at the river’s mouth. And it had exciting company, for two adult little gulls put in appearances as well.

This was too much for Andy who, along with Mike Madson, decided to try again. They arrived early in the mourning to discover the lake had once again become choppy. But they were rewarded by the presence of the little gulls, which by then had been joined by a parasitic jaeger. Their main target still eluded them, however, and after a few hours they threw in the towel, stopping for an early lunch. As they crossed the state line and entered Indiana, they received a call from local birder Craig Taylor saying he was watching the bird. So the two turned around and zoomed back. The lake had calmed only a bit so it was still a challenge, but finally at 3:15 central time Mike spotted the bird.

Every day its presence is confirmed establishes a record for an individual of this species surviving in the lake. It was seen over the weekend and at least as late as Tuesday, November 24. Tim, by the way, did manage to get it on Monday, a fine birthday present! Your blogger, unable to get away (ok, I was in Bloomington, IN with mistress and Don Gorney, in what was a fruitless search through the correspondence of Amos Butler, the father of Indiana ornithology), takes the bird’s continued presence to be a personal affront. Quit mocking me, and leave for goodness sakes! (If you want to hang out on this side of the lake, though, all will be forgiven.)

Birders with Tim and Joel on a day when the murrelet did not appear (photo by Tim Wallace).

Have a great “Day They Kill the Broad-breasted Whites” (the breed that comprises over 90% of the country’s turkey supply)!

          

Tags: ancient murrelet, St. Joseph MI