Migration

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

Many birds migrate to and from the Great Lakes region. I am spending some time along the coast in North Carolina this month and I've noticed several species of birds that spend the mild months along the shores of our Great Lakes.

The sanderling is one of the hardest working shorebirds. It constantly scurries along the edge of the waves looking for its next meal.

Sanderling

I am also keeping an eye out for piping plovers. The Great Lakes subspecies of this bird is endangered. It spends the mild months in the Great Lakes and migrates to the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coast for the winter. 

 Nesting areas are protected in the Great Lakes.

Piping Plover on North Manitou Island.

Shoreline Birds

Sanderlings scurry along...

...then take flight

Many winged creatures make their home at the edge of the lake.

Here are some photos I took along the way.

Turkey vulture on the shoreline

Merganser ducks take to the water...

...then discuss which way to go

A hairy woodpecker works away at a fallen branch

Solitary sandpiper, a master of rocks and waves

Same solitary sandpiper, still quite alone

Canadian geese along Lake Michigan

Two bald eagles meet in mid-air...

...and engage

A cormorant tucks in

Time on the Lakeshore

Here are some highlights from my time at the lakeshore this fall.

Even after encircling Lake Michigan with my footsteps and recording it in my muscles and bones, the lake continues to captivate me.

Next year I will undertake another 1000-mile hike in the Great Lakes region.