January 1

My goal for 2022 is to see at least 700 different species of birds in the USA.

My first stop was Lake St. Clair Metropark in Harrison Twp. Michigan. I entered the park at 6:00 a.m. hoping to start the year with an owl. As I walked the muddy trails trying to call in an Eastern Screech-owl, I could hear a bird in the distance. It was a Canada Goose. Next I heard the quacking of a distant Mallard. It sounded suspiciously like derisive laughter. Then, finally, a "good bird!" I heard the unmistakable bugling call of a Sandhill Crane. At 7:00 two Great Horned Owls beagan calling back and forth!

As dawn approached, the air was filled with the same sound that ushered in the new year the previous evening - gunfire. I had forgotten that January 1 is the start of winter duck hunting season. Many hunters began the new year with hopes of slaughtering the very birds I was hoping to see. I decided to spend the rest of the morning at the park. There was no sense in looking for snowy owls and ducks at Harley Ensign DNR boat launch. The waters would be full of decoys and hunters, but few live birds.

The rest of the morning was a little slow, but i did see a Tundra Swan and a Bald Eagle.

I ended the day with 27 species.

Tundra Swan

Bald Eagle