Nayanquing Point State Wildlife Area, Michigan
Happy Friday! It’s time for part 3 of the Michigan trip report (see part 1 and part 2), a visit to Nayanquing Point State Wildlife Area on Saginaw Bay. I’m going to milk my trip for all I can on here, because it’s the only interesting thing I’ve done in ages. So get ready for: birds!
But first: This post is part of the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Grab a treat, have a seat, and let’s look at some water birds!
The lay of the land
Nayanquing Point is marshland on the edge of Saginaw Bay.
We found this place by accident–we saw a road sign for it and decided to go check it out. It turned out to be one of the more interesting places we visited. Because:
Birds!
Egrets
Swans
I believe these are Mute Swans. They’re native to Europe but have escaped captivity and established breeding populations in the wild.
Definitely glad I had a long lens. No way would I get near swans, especially not swans with babies. They’re vicious!
And speaking of vicious water birds:
Canada geese
Terns
Notice the ones with their beaks open? They argued–loudly–almost the entire time we were there. At least I think they were arguing. Whatever–they were *loud*.
And finally, the common but still lovely:
Redwing blackbird
One of my favorite things about traveling is serendipitous discovery. We could so easily have driven right past the turnoff for this place (and I’m sure we drove past turnoffs for a lot of other cool places). But we were curious, and our curiosity led to a lovely experience. (And we didn’t get murdered by the swans.)
The memery
This week I’m going to excavate my meme folder for some oldies I haven’t posted yet.
I’m bummed I didn’t get to try Cool Ranch Doritos flavored chips–they sound delicious. I did try Funyons-flavored chips recently, though. Why? Because I’m an American, and we’re ridiculous. That’s why.
Spoiler alert: regular ol’ Funyons are better.
Ahahahahahaha. Let’s keep the Stupid Pet Tricks theme going:
On to Stupid People Tricks:
Whoever made that one has a valid point, just sayin’.
I’m sure my son wishes he could do this.
He probably will do this:
If he does, he’d better pony up for this tombstone:
And finally:
For the record, I’ve never gotten drunk at an aquarium (or anywhere else, because I’m booorrrrriiiinnnnnggggg), but I did do this at the Monterey Bay Aquarium back in 2009:
That’s it for this week! Tell me what’s going on in your world.
17 Comments
Susanne
How cool to find that place by accident, and those are some really good bird photos, especially of the egrets! I love the meme about food photos 😆
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! I love the kind of laid-back trips that let us follow random road signs to discover new attractions. So much fun.
Joanne
Lots of lovely birds! Redwing blackbirds are one of my favorites too
Leanne | www.crestingthehill.com.au
Hi Janet – lovely scenic and wildlife shots – nice to see so much water. I also enjoyed seeing you (not drunk) in a clam shell – it gave me a smile.
Janet Alcorn
LOL. I even had red hair, though that’s where my resemblance to the Little Mermaid ends.
Melis
So many great shots! Beautiful birds just happily going about their day <3 Thanks for the Ancestry meme chuckle. If you dive deep enough into your tree it can be tempting to throw your hands up at the chaos and challenge of it all. I hope your son doesn't give up 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend!
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! I suspect my son will be fine – he’ll accept that his family tree bore a bunch of nuts and move on 🙂
trent
Yep, they look like Mute Swans, which is a shame – 40 years ago it would have been Trumpeters. I too often accidentally get too close to swans and haven’t had any issues. I had one hiss at me as it swam by, but that was the worst of it. Hey, I was sitting still in my kayak, it was the intruder! I’ve been looking at a lot of photos of egrets the last couple of days.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Janet Alcorn
Glad you haven’t been attacked by the Swan Mafia. I haven’t either (except for some minor aggression), but I’ve had a few encounters with geese. We used to keep geese, so I learned how to stand up to their bullying, but they can be nasty.
Hope you’re enjoying your weekend too.
Gary A Wilson
Oh – I bet there are other storiess of not being boring that could be told.
I can’t say that I’ve never been drunk.
There are still a few witnesses alive out in the wild.
But, I, on the other hand, had to look up “funyons”.
No one wants on needs to see me (dressed or not) in a shell,
but you graced the MBA the day of your visit and didn’t need to get naked to pull it off.
That was a pretty cool shot.
In case you ever need it, the Saginaw airport is a great local one to use for any nearby visit.
We were just there a few months back to visit our girl at the University of Mich. in Mt. Pleasant.
Such a cooler place that Tucson ever was when she was there.
Other than Bilbo’s – I don’t know how you exist there.
I would have melted away long ago.
Janet Alcorn
LOL, thanks. Nice of the aquarium to provide such a cool prop for pictures.
Funyons are awesome! But then I feel that way about most junk food.
Glad to know about the Saginaw airport. I’d like to go back to Michigan when I have more time to explore–especially the Upper Peninsula, which we didn’t have time to visit this time.
Tucson isn’t so bad, especially this year. Temps have been downright moderate. It’s only supposed to be 92 today and not supposed to break 100 again till Thursday.
Writing Sparkle
Thanks for sharing that lovely collection of photographs, Janet. My brain is stuck thinking about mosquitos; were there lots in the swampy area?
Janet Alcorn
Ugh, so many mosquitoes! In the swampy areas and in park bathrooms. We stopped at one coastal park to use the facilities and ended up getting right back in the car – the restroom doors were blanketed with skeeters. No, thank you.
Natalie
Thank you for your weekend coffee share. What a wonderful discovery! I love all your bird photos especially the baby swans.
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! Baby swans are adorable!
Ju-Lyn
Wow! Such a riot of birds! and all sighted in one visit?!
Janet Alcorn
Yep! Wetlands are wonderful for bird-watching.