CD 99 Species

CD 2002 produced by Neville Recording
Photograph by Ethan Meleg

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ISBN 0-9734399-6-3

Bird Songs of the Great Lakes by John Neville - CD 775020418226 - Neville Recordings Playing time 73.26

95.Trumpeter Swan 6SeneyMI

Ring-billed Gull 5ManatoulinIsl

total playing time 77:00

 

 The Great Lakes

Impressions of a Nature Recordist by John Neville


The influence of this Great Basin of freshwater and the activities of man around it are still fermenting in my mind. Standing on the shore of the St Lawrence just above Quebec city, marvelling at the size of the lakes' outflow and passing freighters. The Peace Arch, linking Windsor and Detroit, symbolizing international unity. The mighty Mackinaw Bridge, eight kilometeres long, is suspended 60 metres above the outlet to Lake Michigan. Standing on the cliffs of Lake Superior witnessing a storm forcing spray 33 metres up the rock face! Driving from a place called Paradise (can you believe it) to Whitefish Point. Superior's influence is so great, that we experienced a drop in temperature of 7 degrees Celsius in a mere 25 kilometres as we reached shoreline! The history contained in the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. Swimming and paddling over sandbars and rippled sand at Pelee Island in warm clean water. The pressure of gravity created the picturesque Tahquamenon Falls, "Hiawatha's old stomping ground", and the dramatic Niagara Cataract. Above all ,the diversity of wildlife is etched on my memory. Both Long Point and Point Pelee boast bird checklists of 370 species. The birds, butterflies, mammals and amphibians were a delight; but the insect bites were something else!

On May 21st we took our first break from the car journey. The birch were beginning to cover themselves with green foliage. After walking along a car track for a few hundred metres, a persistent warbler sound attracted my attention. The melody was short with two introductory notes followed by a more emphatic statement. My onomatopoeic interpretation would be: "AWheet-AWheet-A Wheetio!". I had never encountered this bird before so returned for my recorder and invited Heather to come and have a look. The wind caused the branches to rustle and crackle. It would not be a great recording ,but I could not resist focusing the microphone. Between distant traffic sounds, I obtained several minutes of the bird proclaiming histerritory. Meanwhile, Heather had found the bird in her binoculars. Its colours were not disappointing to match its bright tune. It was black and white, brilliant yellow throat and breast with black stripes. Yes! it was our first Magnolia Warbler. The fatique from driving across Canada immediately disappeared.

Manitoulin Island is billed as the largest freshwater island in the world. I don't usually take much notice of "biggest is best" but Manitoulin was an exception. Migrating birds from four of the Great Lakes use this landmass as a stepping stone. The island is covered by forest, farmland, marshes and alvar, First Nation and pioneer history. Unfortunately, the weather was unco-operative: wind and/or rain dampened my recording opportunities. The highlights are memorable. Bobolinks on the side of a rural road allowed me close to capture the complexity of sounds that issued from the males. The air from each lung can separately produce sound passing over the tympanic membrane of the syrinx. This bird must be amongst the most accomplished of complex songsters. When my presence had been competely accepted, one male performed his display between songs. He would raise his yellow nape and flap outstretched wings, dragging tail feathers close to my feet.

A sandspit reaches out from Twilight Isle in the North Channel of Lake Huron. Our cottage window was only eight metres from the spit. When a large Lake Trout washed up on a rainy afternoon we were treated to 200 Ring-billed Gulls, going through the pecking order till the fish had disappeared. Only a screen separated us from the sound of a host of gulls,giving us a real front row affair with nature. After the males had eaten,the females and even the immatures eventually shared the scraps of the feast, together with a few starlings. Later, I was able to record a few of the same gulls on the spit without the previous day's drama. The alvar is created by the limestone of the Niagara Escarpment. Where the rock reaches the surface, only shallow soil exists. The landscape is covered with bare rock, scrub and intermittant trees. I was able to hear and record some of the varied songs of Nashville and Magnolia Warblers. It was interesting to find Golden-winged Warbler so far north. My only regret was not being able to get close enough to the Golden-winged bird to capture him on disk.

The Bruce Penninsula separates Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. We reached Tobermoray after a 1-1/2 hour ferry ride. The Bruce Penninsula National Park contains boreal forest, mixed woodland and deciduous hardwood trees. The Bruce Trail is a wonderful way of experiencing the forest scenery and geological splendours. For the very ambitious,the trail is 780 kilometres long. We enjoyed several short sections of the trail in search of birds. However, Dyer's Bay, Crane Lake and Emmett Lake roads occupied most of our time. A marsh on Dyer's Bay Road had four different bittern calling at the same time ! In order to record the American Bittern, Canada Geese, Sora and Pied-billed Grebe it was necessary to cross a narrow strip of grass. The Bobolink and Savannah Sparrows were so virile that I almost had to shoulder them aside! The Bluebirds and Meadowlarks then conspired with the Bobolinks and Sparrows to try to drown out the marsh sounds. In an old Oak,at one end of the marsh,I lucked out and got great close-up recordings of Great-crested Flycatcher and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. On the Emmett Lake Road, Canada Warbler (a first for me), Black-throated Green Warbler and Eastern Wood Pewee sang into the microphone. In the alvar, near the end of Crane Lake Road I was thrilled to listen to a Sandhill Crane giving his strident calls. A hedge leads away from the marsh. Many birds use the hedgerow as a corridor. The ascending notes, followed by a single note at a lower pitch, suddenly alerted me to a Northern Parula! Pointing the microphone and quickly setting buttons on the minidisk, I recorded four good songs of the Parula before he disappeared in the trees. We stayed in a cabin on Miller Lake. At dusk two pairs of Common Loon gave their "wail " and "yodel" calls. On our last morning I recorded the oriole of Baltimore Orioles. The black hooded orange bird sang long and lyrically, a sort of Ben Heppner of the avian world.

Last year, I spent three weeks recording in the Long Point area. Returning for a much shorter visit, Wilson's Tract and the hardwood trees of Backus Woods were another delight. At dawn, three or four Veery sang their beautiful delicate song. They seemed unafraid and allowed me to stand really close to record every detail of their song, including the "churr" call-note. At Backus, I recorded my first Cerulean and Golden-winged Warblers, what a rush! There was some wind behind the Golden-winged Warbler but it was just good enough to publish.

We were able to spend more time at Point Pelee and Rondeau parks this year.Last year we walked out to the tip of Pelee, as most visitors do. The detritus along the shoreline of deer carcass, swan and gull bodies made us very aware of life's cycle. Above the surfline, thousands of tiny objects turned out to be the bones of countless songbirds. Scores reach Pelee without enough energy remaining to continue,and perish. Rondeau's Harrison Trail could have been named the Woodpecker Trail for our visit. A Flicker was feeding on the ground when he gave a long series of "clear" calls within six metres of my microphone. Adjacent wildlife trees were providing nestholes for a Pileated and Red-headed Woodpecker. They were both so involved with domestic duties that I was able to obtain good recordings. Driving through the park, we suddenly stopped to listen to a "peeping" call from the verge. A small raccoon was calling pitifully and seemingly alone. After waiting anxiously for a minute or two, we both got out--Heather to take a close-up photographs and me, unsuccessfully, to record the distressed animal. I had plugged the microphone hastily into the wrong socket! The raccoon seemed to be imprinting on my feet as it approached. About then, I became aware of rustling in the grass on the opposite side of the road. Heather looked more closely and saw a  distraught Mamma raccoon. We quickly left the scene, hoping the youngster would not follow us. Presumably they had been separated when only one crossed the road. Our car must have delayed their reunion.

Pelee Island is a gem in the middle of Lake Erie. The vegetation is lush, appearing more like Florida. The hardwods are tangled with underbrush and thick vines. Yes, there is a vineyard, ferries to Leamington and Sandusky and beautiful sandy beaches! The soft "cuck cuckoo" call mixed with a drier note exposed my microphone to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. One evening a violent storm approached from the northeast. We were at Lighthouse Point as the wind dropped ahead of the storm, but the air remained charged and very humid. Black clouds were moving quickly toward us and the birds in Henry Lake become suddenly quiet. Then the wind and drops of rain reached us! Leaves, twigs, sand, Swallowtail Butterflies and my hat were tossed around. The strength of the wind quickly grew, embarrassing some of the birds. One Great Egret did a forward sommersault as he descended to the marsh. Double-crested Cormorants were trying to fly against the wind to reach open water. Some of the cormorants remained stationary, flying hard against the wind, while others were driven backwards. One Herring Gull was flipped onto its back and lay floundering on the beach. It had a badly broken wing and was unable to right itself. The Stone Road alvar complex again allowed me recording opportunities. I had rare chances to stand close to Downy Woodpecker and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. The center of Pelee Island used to be all marsh. In the 1880s a drainage program began, and now only two small marshes remain. Drainage channels flow across the lowlands and Red-winged Blackbirds survive everywhere without a marsh.

Crane Marsh, on the southwest shore of Lake Erie, was magical at dawn. As the faint light mixed with mist, wraithlike spectres lifted off from the marsh in ones, twos and sixes. These were Great Egret, Great Blue Heron and Black-crowned Night Heron. Sadly for me, Highway 2 was close enough for traffic sounds to reach the marsh. We moved on after one enjoyable morning. It was amongst Michigan's evergreens that I recorded the gentle sad songs of the Hermit Thrush. In Huron National Forest, amongst Jack Pines, I fulfilled a longtime ambition. In the pines between six and 18 feet, live Kirtland's Warbler. There are less than 1,500 of these warblers wintering in the Bahamas and nesting in central Michigan. After searching along sandy roads for several hours, a songster suddenly began singing near the car and I was able to record him. Bill lifted high and throat quivering, he sang his four- or five-note refrain.

Driving through Wisconsin, Minnesota and back into Ontario, south of Lake-of-the-Woods, there were many more treats: a flock of Trumpeter Swans sleeping in the sun; Common Loons calling at dusk; a flock of Evening Grosbeaks at a feeder were just a few of them.