This is the last installment in the “Funny Farm” series, at least for now. I have a couple more pictures I wanted to post and talk about. Many years ago when I first started birding, I was out driving around the countryside near the Lantis home when I happened upon a very winding, narrow, dirt road called Arnold. Arnold Road passes through an area of the Trolz farms. The interesting thing to a birder is that one portion of the road bisects Watkins Lake almost perfectly. Watkins Lake is perhaps ½ mile long by ½ mile wide and is a fall and winter gathering place for a great number of ducks and geese. Parking on the road in the middle of the lake allows great viewing of all the waterfowl present. The lake is also an historic site of an early settlement. Whenever I’m staying at the “Funny Farm” I always take time to visit the area. During a drive out there last summer, among other things, we saw a nice looking fawn ambling through the brush. I was out there birding on December 8th 1984 when I saw a rather large raptor soar across the lake. The bird zipped down close to a flock of waterfowl which caused them to disperse into the air, it was at this point that the raptor singled out a duck and acquired its dinner. I had not had a lot of experience with eagles so my first thought was a young Bald Eagle, however, something about it seemed not right even to me. The underside of the wings each had a very dark look except for nice patches of white at what seemed to be the base of the primary feathers. The underside of the tail had the right look for a Golden Eagle juvenile as well, so when I got back home I called Ron Howard and told him about the bird. Ron stopped out there the next day on his way to work and confirmed my suspicion. He later notified the rare bird alert in Detroit and birders from all over lower Michigan showed up to see our find. I’ve since seen Golden Eagles out west and posted below a couple pictures of one I saw in Big Timber, Montana. There are also two photos of the signs denoting the historic significance of the spot and one of a Baltimore Oriole nest which I found right there hanging from a roadside tree in the middle of Watkins Lake in the fall of 2010. Great place, great memories!!
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 12:30:24 +0000
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