Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail

 The Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail is one of my regular places to go to, especially in the summer. It is open, usually a nice breeze, fewer bugs, and always a few things to see and photograph. And it isn't that far from home.

For anyone not familiar with this trail, this is what it looked like when I took this photo in April of 1989, as I was giving some folks an aerial tour of the district.

 The wetland had been altered, obviously, to create more edge and what not. It has changed a bit, but the canals are still there, although somewhat filled in, and they aren't as sharply delineated as this photo shows. There is a gravel trail that goes out through one of the stands of cattails, and is a little higher elevation, which gives a great view of Lake St. Clair. The trail also goes south and ends at Mitchell's Bay village, following the shoreline. This next photo was recently taken from the slightly higher vantage point, looking northwest out over the lake, with Walpole Island First Nation in the background. There is even a picnic table to rest at and spend as much time as you want, watching the ducks, geese, cormorants, egrets, gulls, eagles, terns, etc. moving around.

 Great Egrets are almost always seen, from early May until freeze-up. Sometimes they are perched on something along the shallow water edge....

...or sometimes up in a tree fairly close to the trail. They must feel a little safer higher up.

 A cormorant swims by in the canal adjacent to the trail....

...while a Green Heron partially hides in the vegetation out in the shallows.

Shorebirds can be around, depending on water levels of course. Here is a Greater Yellowlegs....

...with a Killdeer nearby.

Sandhill Cranes are often in the area, although sometimes just seen flying well out over the lake. The wind turbines in northern Essex County are visible out in the back ground.

This shows that shorebirds can be seen in close proximity to one another, as in this next photo, a Solitary Sandpiper is on the left, then a Lesser Yellowlegs in the middle and a Killdeer on the right.

A closer look at a Solitary Sandpiper, not a species that ever seems to be very abundant.

There is some Phragmites along sections of the trail. This sparrow popped up and got my attention. It isn't a typical plumage, but appears to be a partially leucistic plumage of a Song Sparrow. Leucism is the result of a lightening of the feathers, as opposed to albinism, the latter of which results in some or all of the feathers being white, and the eyes, legs and beak are pink.

Along with the Phragmites, there are other plants, especially as in the last decade and a half, some of the land areas have been planted with tallgrass prairie species. Of course when flowers are blooming, butterflies can be found, such as this Viceroy.

Purple Loosestrife, can be abundant, unfortunately.....

...and this next photo shows a view across the canal along the trail, and the Purple Loosestrife can be seen in the foreground, with numerous taller Cup Plant in the background.

Cup Plant

Another non-native, but fairly abundant species is Velvet Leaf. It is quite common anywhere near roadsides or agricultural fields.

The next two species are definitely tallgrass prairie associates.

Missouri Ironweed

Indiangrass

Great Blue Lobelia, next, is native but a generalist.

And other critters will be found on the flowers such as:

Goldenrod Soldier Beetle

Arcigera Flower Moth

Another prairie plant species is American Senna, next, but is pretty much finished flowering now.

Various critters can be found along the trail, including a few Bronzed Tiger Beetles...

...and Differential Grasshoppers, which are a species at risk, but quite abundant here. They are on the gravel path... 

...or resting in the adjacent vegetation.

This Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly was quite cooperative resting on the bent over stem of Indiangrass.

So there are a few things to see along this little used trail. Sometimes there are people from the Mitchell's Bay village hiking or biking along the trail, but sometimes I have the trail all to myself for an hour or two. I don't mind a bit :-).

 

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Local wetland explorations

 I've been to Rondeau a few times, but have spent more time exploring some of the wetland habitats along the Lake St. Clair shoreline. The openness and the photo opportunities are great, not to mention the gentle breezes mean fewer annoying insects!

St. Clair NWA is close to home, which is another advantage.

View from the tower, looking E

 

 On the way to the tower, there are things along the way. A few Great Egrets can be seen, including some opportunistic ones if one is ready.

No, it didn't have a line attached to its foot :-), and fortunately I was out of range. It did swing by heading in the other direction, enabling me to get a closer photo.

There is a constant variety of wildflowers along the trail, which adds to the likelihood of finding butterflies.

Monarch on Joe-pye-weed

Black Swallowtail on Milkweed

Some other plants include:

Blue Vervain

Buttonbush

Water-willow

Water-willow close-up

Giant Foxtail

This next one is probably Grass-leaved Arrowhead, but it is similar to other members of the Sagittaria genus, so may be another one. At any rate, it is abundant.

Next is Missouri Ironweed, a tallgrass prairie species at risk. Of course tallgrass prairie dominated the area adjacent to the Lake St. Clair wetlands, so some species like this have lingered, or have been augmented through planting.

The flowers of this species has around 40 individual florets, which can help separate it from another species which usually has less than 30. Also the bracts at the base of the flower head are pointed, but do not have an extended tip, as other ironweed species do.

 A few birds may cooperate for the camera.

Backlit Eastern Kingbird

Green Heron

 

 

 

 

Sandhill Cranes are usually somewhere around, and sometimes are only heard as they are hidden by the tall wetland vegetation, and don't often stick close by when hikers are within view. Flybys are much more common.

Dragonflies are frequent, but typically in flight. On occasion one may catch one resting for a better view, as this Halloween Pennant is doing.

Double-crested Cormorants are usually somewhere around, and typically in a dead tree closer to the lake.

This photo from the tower, looking towards the lake, shows the above tree at the extreme left edge of the photo. You may have to click on the photo to get it larger before you can see them!

I've also been to the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail on occasion. At the end of the trail which goes through the Cadotte wetland, there are always some things to enjoy. An immature Bald Eagle is in a tree at the edge of the wetland...

...and after a short time, decided it was time to move on.

This Belted Kingfisher stopped by for a few moments.

Along another edge of the trail, the section that goes towards the village of Mitchell's Bay, provides a good spot for a family of Common Gallinules to search for a meal. There are two adults and at least 4 young in this photo.

 Along the trail one can find a lot of wildflowers. Again, this area at the time of settlement was partly wetland and partly tallgrass prairie, which would have varied depending on the naturally fluctuation of the Lake St. Clair water levels. While the wetlands have been retained in part, the presence of the tallgrass prairie plants is less certain due to the changes. However some representative species, such as this American Senna, have been planted, as have a multitude of grasses.

In some of the dead trees, Great Egrets will hang out....

...until they decide to come to the wetlands in search for food. Of course no one who reads Nature Nuggets very often would have any idea that I enjoy photographing Great Egrets.....:-).

With the shallow and somewhat muddy shoreline, it has attracted shorebirds, such as this Greater Yellowlegs.

In another dead tree, there are typically a lot of swallows resting in between feeding flights. Sometimes there may be several hundred of them, and at times, mostly Purple Martins.

  

 

 Another shorebird, this Short-billed Dowitcher, is using the shoreline edge.

And as is typical along the marshes of Lake St. Clair, Swamp Rose Mallow is widely scattered, and sometimes quite abundant. It is a species at risk, but one wouldn't know it by their abundance here.

 Sooo many things to see and photograph. The next post will likely feature some recent findings at Rondeau!

 

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