McGill's Nature in Motion

05/10/2026

There is nothing like driving down a quiet backroad in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...with the window down...just listening to Spring.
The grassy fields are coming alive with the sounds of songbirds preparing to nest. I found lots of little Savanah sparrows sitting on old fence posts guarding their territories. Then I spotted this handsome guy, an Eastern Meadowlark, singing. Magical time of year here in the Germfask/Curtis area of the U.P.

05/08/2026

It's always a good day when I find one of my favorite sandhill cranes. This one was along a backroad in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan...seeming to be patrolling what could be a possible nesting site. Time will tell.

05/08/2026

Another lovely morning in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I didn't catch the sunrise...yet. But I did enjoy seeing more wildlife out and about. I found this pair of male wood ducks at Seney National Wildlife Refuge. I still haven't taken my long early morning hike to visit the loons...maybe Monday.

05/05/2026

I was so happy to find several little broad-winged hawks on my morning drive today in the upper Peninsula of Michigan. This one was busy hunting...giving me time to get a quick shot off before flying.

05/05/2026

The morning started out sunny, but as soon as I found something interesting to photograph, it disappeared behind a fast-moving bank of clouds. But I was still happy to find several pairs of Northern Pintail ducks in a vernal pond along a backroad in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They are such handsome birds. I even caught one in flight.

05/05/2026

Thank you, Jordan River Arts Council for the wonderful H2O Show and the buyers who purchased two of my framed photos. Of course, both are from my Happy Place...Seney National Wildlife Refuge.
The first is ABJ and Fe feeding their chicks at dawn...and the other is a sunrise prism over C Pool. I'm so looking forward to this season at this magical place.

Look for three of my watercolor paintings at the Members Show May 31-July 11th...all of them from my Happy Place, Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

05/02/2026

Another little treasure I found at Seney National Wildlife Refuge this morning...a lone greater yellowleg enjoying the sunshine. I also found a vernal pool along a backroad with 35-40 of these little beauties. It was so great to see so many. It's been years seen I have seen that many in one place.

05/02/2026

After three trips to the U.P. with our belongings over the last week...we are finally settled back into our second home...our cozy travel trailer located on South Manistique Lake in Curtis, MI.
Today the sun finally shone so off to see what I could find. I had hoped to take a long hike on the Refuge...but at 28 degrees and a strong west wind...I thought better of it. ;) There will hopefully be better days to take the hike. But I was happy to find a pair of buffleheads...several ring-neck pairs...and this lovely great blue heron on the Refuge. So, it was a good day after all. The first of many.

04/28/2026

Awesome news!! Our ABJ is back on H Pool with last year's mate. Also his former mate of 25 years is back on I Pool!! Can't wait to get back there this weekend!!

WORLD’S OLDEST LOONS RETURN TO SENEY

On Saturday morning, April 25, a female loon on I Pool beheld a relatively frequent spring sight: two males battling, with beating wings and stabbings bills, for control of the breeding territory. The observer was Fe, who was first color-marked as an E Pool mother in 1990, and who will thus turn at least 40 this summer. The hostilities were brutal but brief, and after only a minute one of the combatants discerned that this was not his day, after which he shortly took flight for less perilous waters. With the challenger vanquished, Fe and the unbanded victor, who was likely but not certainly her mate from 2025, initiated a circling round of bill dipping and jerk diving, aspects of courtship involved in forming, or re-forming, a pair bond for the season.

Concurrently on nearby H Pool, Fe’s former partner of 25 years, ABJ, was engaged in scouting for potential nest sites with his current companion, Aye-Aye, with whom he bred unsuccessfully on H last year. Although ABJ, who will turn 39 this June, hatched a record 32 chicks with Fe, since their split in April 2022 he has failed to produce further offspring, and she remains the only mate with whom he has ever sired young. Along with the broader Seney loon population, which includes color-marked adults who are embarking upon their 24th, 27th and 33rd Refuge seasons, ABJ and Fe and their respective partners will spend the next few weeks engaged in territorial defense, habitat assessment, copulation and nest building ahead of 27-29 days of egg incubation that, with luck, will culminate in the emergence of one or two downy fluffballs in early-mid June.

Thanks to Dani Fegan for her extensive documentation of the migratory return of Seney loons.

Damon McCormick
Common Coast Research & Conservation

PHOTO: On April 25, Fe observes with alarmed but restrained interest as two male Common Loons battle to lay claim to Seney’s I Pool territory. Photos by Dani Fegan.

04/25/2026

Here is a photo of the hooded merganser pair that was courting on South Manistique Lake in Curtis, MI yesterday to start opening up our trailer for the season. :) There were also buffleheads and a lone loon but out too far for decent photos. Hope to be back up soon so stay. :)

04/22/2026

On this beautiful Earth Day here in Northwest Michigan...the Spring Clean-up Crew was out and about. The unique turkey vultures are enjoying the remnants of winter roadkills. They are one of the few birds that can actually smell...the smeller the better for them. ;)