Monthly Archives: June 2014

Days 142 to 148: The Birds of Crisp Point Lighthouse and the U.P.

Year 1

Kind of like the bridges of Madison County … with an feathered twist!

Crisp Point Lighthouse is a beacon which keeps watch on a point just a few miles shy of Whitefish Bay on the eastern end of Lake Superior. Recently, my wife Molly and I served as volunteer lighthouse keepers for just under a week. A 20 mile ride along narrow dirt roads is required to reach this remote stretch of beach on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Lake Superior coastline. Once one arrives, the lodging accommodations are your own tent. There is not a lighthouse keepers residence. However, for Molly and me the opportunity to camp over 38 miles from the smallest town is considered a “cushy and plum” assignment! During our stay at Crisp Point Lighthouse, our only neighbors were seagulls, eagles, and timber wolves.

Here are a few photographs from our stay as lighthouse keepers. Birding was actually a bit of a challenge as the sandy soil and cold harsh climate does not generate lots of food for birds. In addition, this stretch of Lake Superior coastline does not have many streams and rivers … another limiting factor. (learn more about lighthouse keeping at Crisp Point)

Day 142: Molly and the lighthouse on our first evening
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Day 143: Breaking the rules of photography … taking photos into dawn’s light
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Day 144: High stepping herring gull
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Day 145: Song sparrow serenade
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Day 146: Fogbound gull
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Day 147: Posing on the stump
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Day 148: Killdeer and chicks
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Day 141: Piping Plover (photos)

Year 1,

The Piping Plover is on the United States endangered species list. According to the Audubon Society, only 8000 individuals birds are in the wild today. Thus, when I heard it’s distinctive piping melodious call on a remote Lake Superior beach, I followed my ears and was rewarded with a very rare sight, the piping plover.

Some notes about the location and photos.  The Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula juts north into Lake Superior. It is extremely remote which is one reason Piping Plovers are able to maintain a presence (i.e. few humans). The cages in the photographs are out in the open on these remote beaches. The plovers walk into the cage and nest. The nest helps protect them from predators.

My first view of the Piping Plover
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The Piping Plover inspects a cage it uses for nesting
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A sign on the beach
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Day 140: Poised for Takeoff!

Year 1

Molly and I are poised for takeoff. We will spend the next week near the entrance to Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior as volunteer lighthouse keeps at Crisp Point. Given all the work required to get ready, I did not have much time for birding and photography. Thankfully this tree swallow obliged me!

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