Kellogg Bird Sanctuary

In the swan's opinion, we were trespassing, and I was the ringleader. BEST LARGE Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Gull Lake, Michigan.

Kellogg Bird Sanctuary , Gull Lake, Michigan. Explored! [#418 on Friday, September 21, 2007.] Thanks! (No longer in the top 500, but quite popular nonetheless according to the view counter.)

Whistling Swans (I think) at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, near Gull Lake, Michigan

Kellogg Bird Sanctuary (a Michigan State University facility, on land donated by W.K. Kellogg), very near Gull Lake, not far from Battle Creek. The smaller bird seems to be a redhead duck (or is it a canvassback?)--the sanctuary attracts thousands of ducks, in many varieties. ==================== Had a friend who worked at the Biological Station (a larger facility which includes the sanctuary); she told tales of watching ducks mistake the ice on Wintergreen Lake for open water, and trying to land. Evidently an ongoing source of entertainment for the staff. The sanctuary is open in winter; perhaps I'll wander down some day and check.

Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Gull Lake, Michigan.

This is the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, near Battle Creek. I've always thought of this view as the entrance to the sanctuary, though technically it's well past the gift/book shop which controls entry to the facility. I can remember that this view was quite different when I was a kid, but don't remember any details; I think this just proves I'm no longer young. Bet I can find a picture in my slides, or my dad's, though. If you check out the original size , you can see several birds nesting along the path... =================== I'd post some pictures of the recent snow--today's been absolutely gorgeous, and the whole week's been very pretty--except I've been taken by a really nasty cold and haven't wanted to do much of anything. The cats and I watched birds all day, but I was too wasted to set up the camera rig.

A Mallard, methinks, at the W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary . The water's green because, well, the water's actually green . Blame algae. The sanctuary's near Battle Creek, of course, though it claims an Augusta address (I'm a bit surprised--I was expecting Richland, or Hickory Corners). I've been visiting the Kellogg Sanctuary pretty much all my life, though these days the visits are relatively rare. When I was young it was an exotic place, with Peacocks and Sandhill Cranes and other large unusual birds; with injured raptors--always including a Bald Eagle--in large cages; with colorful pheasants in a set of cages away from Wintergreen Lake. And Swans. It's the first place I remember seeing swans, though it seems likely I'd seen 'em in Kalamazoo before. No Peacocks today, and no Sandhills (though these days I see Sandhills pretty regularly elsewhere--saw a pair in flight on Monday, around Cloverdale). Mostly there was the usual array of Canada Geese and Trumpeter Swans on or near the lake, with a relatively small population of ducks. A good visit, all in all. I got pictures! Technically the sanctuary's a remote campus of Michigan State University, part of their Kellogg Biological Research Station .

As I said: The water's green . The Kellogg Bird Sanctuary calls this "The Lagoon." It's a little pond beside Wintergreen Lake (which is in the background of the photo), and it serves as both a display area and a sanctuary-within-the-sanctuary for the sorts of birds who nest beside little ponds. Of course, these particular nesting birds are pretty tolerant of humanity. It's also the first thing I see when I visit. There are several routes a person might take through the Sanctuary, but I've always begun by taking the stairway down to the lake, and the lagoon, right inside the Sanctuary's entrance. Because I like this view, basically. You don't see it unless you walk down those steps.

One of several taking off from Wintergreen Lake, WK Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, near Gull Lake, Michigan.