RHH's photos with the keyword: tawas point

This is a female Killdeer on her nest, a slight depression scraped out in beach sand. We photographed her at Tawas Point on Lake Huron when we were in Michigan recently. She must have realized we were not going to hurt here because she did not even move from the nest, though when we first found it she tried to lead us away by pretending to have a broken wing.

Hiking out to Tawas Point on Lake Huron we found this Killdeer and her nest. She tried to lead us away from the nest but we found it and the four eggs she had laid and after some quick photos left her in peace. On the way back she did not even leave the nest and we took a few photos of her sitting there. Killdeer are large plovers that nest on the ground, simply scraping out a small hollow. Unlike other plovers they are often found inland on lawns, golf courses, really anywhere they can find bare ground. Their name comes not from the fact that they are a threat to deer but from their call. The female, if anyone comes near her nest will run away from the nest pretending to have a broken wing and trying to lead predators away. We knew the trick and found her nest anyway but the ruse is often successful. In the photo this lady was voicing her displeasure as we took some photos of her nest and eggs. On another note, we are home again. We brought home cabinets for remodeling a bathroom and so were not able to use the back of the car for sleeping. We drove through, a trip of 1850 miles (nearly 3000 km) and thirty hours of driving, stopping only for petrol and food, from northern Indiana and my sister's home there.

Though nesting on the ground, Killdeer eggs are well disguised. We found these along the shore of Lake Huron at Tawas Point when we unwittingly disturbed her. She tried to lead us away from the nest by pretending to have a broken wing but we snapped a few photos before leaving her to her business.

While in Michigan recently we went for several days along part of the Lake Huron shore with one of our sons and his wife. Tawas Point State Park and the lighthouse there was our first stop. We were surprised at the high water levels of the lake. Part of this park was flooded including most of the trails, the beaches were gone and what was not flooded was threatened by the rising water. The water levels on the Great Lakes fluctuate in cycles, however, and I remember the same thing happening when I was a boy living in Michigan.

This is Tawas Point on Lake Huron, part of the state park of that name and the site of one of the many lighthouses along the Lake Huron shore. We were there with one of our sons and his wife.

This photo shows how rising waters have inundated much of the Lake Huron Shore. Here at Tawas Point State Park most of the trail and many of the beaches were under water or washed away.