The Tahoe was loaded with luggage and enough snacks to feed a small army. The GPS was loaded with a few choice destinations and a pile of printed internet posts were on hand to help find our targets. We got up at 5 am, dressed for comfort and headed out before dawn with the hopes on being in the U.P. before sundown. (It is about a 6.5 hour drive to get to Sault Ste. Marie, but we made a few stops along the way and took our time.) It was pouring rain when we left but by the time we reached Magee Marsh in Ottawa County the sun was up and it was a little more clear. A quick pass through the marsh produced robins and red winged blackbirds calling from every stand of reeds, American tree sparrows and juncos, a few muskrats scurrying about, a northern harrier gliding over the eastern marsh and a single mink trotting along the western dike. The trip had started; bring on the wildlife!
Before we knew it we were into Michigan and heading over the I-275 bridge making our way to the upper peninsula. As we drove further north the rain gave way to blue skies and cooler temperatures. By the time we reached the southern end of the Mackinac Bridge on 75 it was crystal clear and breezy and there was snow on the ground again. We stopped to look at a series of giant windmills and a wilderness area right before the bridge. Flocks of common redpolls and good numbers of red breasted nuthatches greeted us along the road as we drove through. Not a bad start to add the Redpolls as lifebird #1 on the trip. By the time we got back to the bridge a chilly wind had picked up and a bank of fog had moved in making the 5 mile long bridge seem endless. The frozen lakes below us (The bridge crosses where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet.) looked like a moonscape with only the tracks of the ice cutter making its way through the ice below us. Kind of spooky up there, but really cool.
Following the GPS to our first exit in Rudyard, MI we got off the highway and began to drive along the country roads. There was still about a foot of snow blanketing the ground in this area. I began thinking that it might make it difficult to find our next target. We idled along the road as we scanned the posts, small piles of snow in the fields and rooftops of barns and sheds. A pile of cement blocks looked promising but nothing was perched on top.
Just as we were passing the blocks I turned back for a last look. There in was in the bare grass where the wind had kept the snow from piling up. A gorgeous Snowy Owl. Staring at us from 40 feet away hunkered down out of the wind beside the blocks. I turned the Tahoe around and parked on the road so we could get a good look this northern beauty. Ooh's and Ahh's all around and a hundred or so shutter clicks later and we had added our first northern owl to the list. We continued to watch as the light faded and the the owl glided effortlessly out to the middle of the field to land on a wooden stump a few hundred yards away.We scouted out a few other areas just as it was getting dark and made our way to Sault Ste. Marie to grab dinner and check into the hotel for the night. We had spent 13 hours in the car and all of us were pretty tired as we set the alarm for 6am the next day.
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