Readers’ wildlife photos

Thanks to a couple of readers who are helping fill my lacuna of wildlife photos. I now have more than a week’s worth, but please keep sending them in.

Today’s photos come from reader Mary Rasmussen, whose captions and IDs are indented. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Birds Along the Northern Lake Michigan Shore

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, this shoreline serves as a crucial part of a migratory flyway for birds journeying from the southern U.S. and beyond, through Wisconsin, across an archipelago, and northward into Canada. Despite being 350 miles north of Chicago, this region falls within the same climatic zone.

Our cabin is perched on an ancient sand dune along this rugged coast:

Just a mile offshore, several small, uninhabited islands dot the landscape. These islands become nocturnal roosts for hundreds of Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) which then traverse the skies daily to and from nearby farm fields:

Occasionally, a pair of cranes chooses our shore for nesting, successfully raising a chick this season:

The Sandhill Cranes are known for their distinctive, almost prehistoric bugle call, which resonates loudly across the landscape (JAC: You can hear a variety of their calls here.)

A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) wades along the shore, scanning the clear pools for small fish and tadpoles:

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), with their nearly perfect camouflage, blend into the rocky shore so well that I usually don’t see them until they move:

The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) is a carrion feeder that is often here in groups soaring over the shore in search of dead fish, birds and other animals. It uses thermals to glide through the air and a keen sense of smell to find its food:

A nest of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is situated nearby along the shoreline. Occasionally, a gathering of four or five juvenile and adult Bald Eagles can be observed on the shore.

The eagles were landing at the end of our kayak ramp. I was able to get these shots because of the distraction of a large fish that had washed ashore:

Flocks of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) frequent the islands and follow the fishing boats when the boats are heading in with their catch:

Pelicans are very large birds, having the second-largest wingspan of any North American bird. We found this skeleton on the shore. Here is the Pelican partial skeleton next to my dog Sylvie for scale. (55 lb. Golden Retriever) Sylvie looks unhappy because we would not let her keep the skeleton:

Equipment: I use a Nikon D500 camera with a NIKKOR 200-500mm lens.