Author Archives: makielb

Looking out from the Raptor’s Roost at the cabin it was obvious that the white pines were heavy with cones. I counted the cones visible from where I sat and tallied over 3,000 cones on seven trees. That’s a lot of cones. Yes, I’m a bit OCD when numbers are present. Interestingly the jack pinesContinue reading “The cone crop in northern Michigan”

Since I have been home from Mexico Susan and I have spent a lot of time processing vegetables from our small (350 square feet) garden. When I started picking green beans I was amazed at how many there were, For the past three weeks we have eaten green beans for dinner every evening. But oneContinue reading “The urban gardener”

My typical breakfast in Oaxaca. Lots of fruit, pan dulce, orange juice and black coffee. Breakfast at the Hotel in Oaxaca City. Our lunch at Restaurante Calibre started with two salsas, bread and cheese. We all tried the hot chocolate, I had mine with water. One evening in Oaxaca City we went to a tacoContinue reading “Oacaxan meals”

We had lunch at a coffee finca. To get up the mountain to get there we took “tuk-tuks” crazy little three-wheeled vehicles that we had seen everywhere. We had chicken and rice for lunch with some veggies. I also got to try the mezcal that the owner made – it was quite nice and IContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-9, San José de Pacifico and Oaxaca City”

We once again had a day filled with birds and more. Scrub Euphonia (left), Masked Tityra (center) and Willow Flycatcher (right). We had excellent looks at Russet-crowned Motmots. Very cooperative Orange-fronted Parakeets. Emerald Toucanet. Rusty Sparrow. Streak-headed Woodcreeper. Heliconia collinsiana. Blue-crowned Hummingbird. The underwing of a Blue Morpho. Two, yet to be identified butterflies. OneContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-8, Pluma Hidalgo”

Sunrise as we head out in search of pelagic (ocean-going) birds. A Brown Booby bouncing up and down on a log. Sooty Shearwater. Olive Ridley’s Sea Turtles making the next generation of sea turtles. Red-billed Tropicbird. Nazca Booby. Boobies and shearwaters. More Nazca Boobies that I was really taken with. Wedge-tailed Storm-Petrel. Magnificent Frigatebird. BackContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-7 on the Pacific Ocean”

After leaving Las Ninfas we headed west to Huatulco where we were going to take a pelagic. But the spent the last part of the day looking for birds. This is a Golden-fronted Woodpecker at a nest in a palm. Being in the hotter part of the day at sea level we had a lotContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-6, Huatulco”

As we approached the Isthmus of Tehuantepec we drove through an immense wind farm. In this photo, which I took from our moving van, there are around 100 wind mills, the other side of the road had an equal number. So, 200 wind mills, not too bad. Well, we drove through this wind farm forContinue reading “Oaxaca, Wind farms and an interesting Hotel”

We spent the morning at Las Ninfas reserve. What a wonderful site to visit. The wide trail made viewing birds (and other critters) very easy. Cinnamon Hummingbird (left) and adult Gray Hawk (right) Grasshoppers were abundant here. Machaerocera mexicana (left), Orphulella punctata (center), Aztec spur-throat grasshopper (right). Albinanstic Abracis flavolineata (left), typical Abracis flavolineata (center),Continue reading “Oaxaca, day-6 Las Ninfas Reserve”

Once again we headed into the hills in search of birds and other interesting things, like more Cinnaomn-tailed Sparrows. One of the few birds that I photographed today, a Tropical Kingbird. We saw a lot of grasshoppers, but not many katydids. Yes, another interesting wasp that I have not been able to identify. And moreContinue reading “Oaxaca, day-5, Tolistoque foothills”