The Whitefish M & Ms. Martin and me. Yesterday we birded from 6pm until 9:30pm, and we had 34 species of birds. The real trek is today. we’ll be starting around sunup and finding birds until 6pm. Thus, we we have a 24-hour period with birds. This is being done to support The Friends ofContinue reading “Birdathon – 2026”
Author Archives: makielb
A birdie day at Whitefish Point
Susan took a picture of me sitting out on the deck watching birds in the morning. The highlight of the day was a Swainson’s Hawk. Here it is next to a Broad-winged Hawk. A couple of different views of the Swainson’s Hawk. The Swainson’s Hawk heading off to the point. One of the many EveningContinue reading “A birdie day at Whitefish Point”
An unexpected find
It’s always nice when you find something that you weren’t expecting. That happened yesterday. Susan found a small critter on the boardwalk to the point. The unexpected surprise was a newt, always a nice find here. I’m sitting writing this as I am taking a break from watching birds heading north. The highlights so farContinue reading “An unexpected find”
From the garden to the birds
The plants in the garden survived the night, it never got that cold. This is what it looked like as we were getting ready to head north. Got to Whitefish Point and the Red-breasted Nuthatches were enjoying the suet. At one point there were seven on the suet or waiting to get to it. ThisContinue reading “From the garden to the birds”
Dealing with nature
This morning the B.C. comic was so appropriate. Last night after planting the garden there was a frost warning. Susan quickly got the plants covered. Since we’re leaving today to go north when we uncover the plants they will be “on their own” for a while. This morning it was 36F when I got up,Continue reading “Dealing with nature”
Garden 2026
It’s time to think about what’s going into our garden this year sice we will be planting it this week. Three of the beds are ready for planting. One bed, the lower right one still needs mint removed. The two rows with stuff already growing are our garlic beds. Once the garlic comes out we’llContinue reading “Garden 2026”
Hantavirus
The recent outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise-ship has brought this incurable disease into the forefront of the news. I first heard about hantavirus in the mid-1990s when there was an regional outbreak in the Navajo Nation in the southwest United States. This outbreak involved the deaths of three young healthy Navajo runners. It tookContinue reading “Hantavirus”
Time to look for warblers
Yesterday we got together with Mike and went to Magee Marsh where we met Joanna and spent an enjoyable day at Magee Marsh and Howard Marsh in Ohio. It’s always nice getting a good look at a Bald Eagle nest. But the real highlight was the number and variety of warblers. American Redstarts (left) wereContinue reading “Time to look for warblers”
Time to head south for a few days
Whitefish Point in May can vary from cold to hot and from windy to still, sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows. It’s OK when it rains because it is typically intermittent and migrants, especially waterfowl still moves. But when it snows everything that I want to see stops. Well, last night it snowed, althoughContinue reading “Time to head south for a few days”
Quiet days at Whitefish Point
The past few days have been less that great for migrants. The winds have been howling from the north-west and west. So, I’ve been catching up on reading and thinking about what I’ve read. I bought this a few years ago, as Terry Pratchett was an author that was recommended to me by a colleagueContinue reading “Quiet days at Whitefish Point”
Michael's Place 