Wednesday, May 23, 2018

The Belted Kingfisher

(This article first appeared in our Spring 2018 Newsletter.)

The Belted Kingfisher
by Dante Beretta, April 17, 2018

The bird sits perched on a branch at shore-side waiting patiently for the right moment. All of a sudden it dives rapidly head first into the lake coming up with a fish for its dinner. This bird is the Belted Kingfisher, a common summer visitor to Long Lake.

The Belted Kingfisher is commonly found in summer throughout the U.S. wherever there are suitable bodies of water for its habitat. Like many other birds (and people) on Long Lake, these are ‘snowbirds’, moving down south for the winter. I have seen them many times in Florida and the Caribbean, especially in lagoons.

A mid sized bird with a large head and a distinctive mohawk crest, the Belted Kingfisher is easy to identify. Sometimes you can only see the profile but this is sufficient to tell it is a kingfisher.

In good light, you can see the slate blue coloration of its back and breast band. In many of species of birds, males are brighter than females (think Cardinals, Hummingbirds, Orioles). In an an apparent reversal, the female Belted Kingfisher is showier than the male, as she sports a rust color band on the belly.

Often when I’m kayaking at Long Lake, I hear the kingfisher's territorial call, a repetitive chattering. I don’t really understand bird guide books description of bird calls, but the kingfisher has such a distinctive call that you can quickly learn to recognize it.


Keep an eye and ear out for the Kingfisher on Long Lake this summer.
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These 2 drawings of Kingfishers by Dante Baretta's can be seen in a larger size by clicking on them. 

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★ Note:  Our Long Lake Area Association annual meeting is coming up on Saturday, June 30, 2018 at the Hubbard Community Center.  Social time, refreshments & registration start at 9:30 AM with the business meeting starting at 10 AM. This year's speaker is Jason Durham, a well-known guide and sport fishing educator.

Saturday, May 5, 2018

The ICE is officially OUT! May 5, 2018

Long Lake, 5/4/18, with a small bit of ice left by Sharon Natzel.
We have word from the variety of spotters around the lake that the last small patch of ice still floating (seen this morning) has now melted with today's wind and warm temperatures.  There is no ice evident this afternoon.

Therefore the official Ice Out date for Long Lake is 5/5/18.

Sharon will be reporting the information to the government ice-tracking sites and our Ice statistics team.  We update our ice data page when the stats are completed.

Ninety-one people sent in guesses as to the date of Ice Out this year!  Everyone is part of a random drawing for the prize quilt, with the winner being announced at our annual meeting on June 30th at the Hubbard Township hall.

Photo by Linda Johnson of a previous ice out in progress.

 

There were 2 guesses for Ice Out to be on May 5th.  Congratulations to Randy Williams and Pete & Carol Click.  They won the 2018 bragging rights to being the best prognosticators.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Pine Haven Resort in the 1960s


I found a couple of old post cards that my grandparents, Harold and Delpha White, had made for the resort they ran on Long Lake from late 1940s until 1967.  It was called Pine Haven Resort and was located on the north end of Chippewa Loop..(then named Chippewa Drive).  The resort had 4 cabins for rent and mostly they were rented by the same families during the same part of the summer each year. My grandparents also had a small store to sell eggs, milk, ice cream, pop candy etc.  They also had a gas pump with an oil tank so that people could buy gas & oil for their outboard motors.  The one thing most of the "old time residents" remember is the ice house.  My grandfather harvested ice from Long Lake and stored it in an open building packed with sawdust. The ice would last until Labor Day.  Until 1955 we ran an ice route that delivered blocks of ice to many of the cabins along Chippewa Loop and Beach Haven.  After 1955 people could still come to buy blocks of ice but they didn't deliver them any more.