My parents (John and Charlotte Wuepper) photographed a ring-necked snake at their home in Royalton Township last week. Although found throughout Michigan, this snake is very uncommon.
Found in moist woods, it is chiefly nocturnal and its diet includes the red-backed salamander, which also inhabits moist woods.
Ringnecked snakes are brown or black in appearance and have a cream-colored “ring” around the neck area and a yellow bottom.
Sandhill cranes (adults and young) have been seen by several observers over the last two weeks in and around Grand Mere State Park. These large birds have made a remarkable comeback over the past 40 years, as they were once highly susceptible to the pesticide DDT.
Sandhill cranes are commonly seen during spring and fall migration throughout Southwest Michigan, but nesting pairs (in summer) are more difficult to find in Berrien County. In addition to Grand Mere State Park, the species breeds at Sarett Nature Center, near Boyle Lake near Buchanan, Topinabee Lake Preserve near Niles and several other south Berrien County locations. They are found during the nesting season all over Cass County, which has more intact wetlands.
Wayne Gleiber of Lincoln Township reports seeing a cattle egret in a cow pasture June 2 along Livingston Road in Lake Township.
Cattle egrets migrated to the Western Hemisphere on their own accord from Africa and Asia in the late 1800s. They reached the United States during the 1940s and Michigan in 1963.
They are uncommon migrants in Michigan and have never nested in Southwest Michigan. Gleiber’s sighting represents a late spring wanderer, perhaps blown off course during one of the major weather fronts within the past few weeks.
On Sunday, I ran a breeding bird survey route through the southern portion of Berrien County. A project of the United States Geological Survey, breeding bird surveys have been performed every summer since 1966, documenting status and distribution of our breeding birds.
A typical survey route is 25 miles long and 50 stops (one every half-mile) are made in which the observer counts the different birds that are singing in that spot. I tallied about 60 species this year. One of the more noteworthy birds was a blue-winged warbler (small songbird) seen at the Boyle Lake State Game Area.
American robin, gray catbird, indigo bunting and song sparrows were found in great numbers. This is the first time in several years I failed to hear a single ring-necked pheasant crowing along the survey route.
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