Serrania de las Quinchas

Manistee/Benzie Audubon Conservation project: Serrania de las Quinchas in Colombia South America.

For an update on our project see

http://www.worldlandtrust-us.org/index.php?page=magdalena_rainforest

Phoebe on North Manitou island

My wife, granddaughter and I spent several days on North Manitou Island helping to monitor the piping plover nesting area.

During free time we explored what we could of the island. The plover area is remote and not connected to any trails but we did locate a spur trail to the old Bournique homestead. Up under the roof of the rear porch was a ball of grass with several hungry mouths popping out of it. Then something flew by in an excited blurr and landed on a nearby out building. It was this concerned Eastern Phoebe. Amazingly, I got a decent foto before it buzzed me again! We also noted many cedar waxwings.

North Manitou is part of Sleep Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and is managed as a wilderness and will give anyone a good feel for what that means. You'll need a permit to backpack/camp but it's well worth with. -Rich Krieger/ Lake Bluff