Author Archives: makielb

This Swainson’s Thrush looked away just as I took the photo. Oh well, it would have been nice. Jack-in-the-pulpit as seen from the boardwalk at Furstenburg Park in Ann Arbor. Equisetum litorale, Shore horsetail/equisetum. I found many more today than yesterday. Some were just emerging, others were more robust. Susan spotted the oriole nest onContinue reading “More birds and plants”

Today started out warmer that any afternoon this past three weeks at Whitefish Point. One of our “Redbuds” is in full bloom. So we decided to spend the whole morning at Nichols Arboretum and Furstenberg Park. Migrants were quite common, although most were high in the trees, where songs alerted us to their presence. LowerContinue reading “A nice day at Nichols Arboretum”

Today we drove from Whitefish Point to Ann Arbor. It was hard to leave as the morning was filled with birds. But we have to get the garden planted. On the way I was thinking about my cousin Carol who had wanted some information on our family in Teramo, Italy. So I thought why notContinue reading “Traveling and thinking about family”

What better way to start the day while it was still dark this morning than with Snoopy writing to his mom. Last night we had a “Whip-poor-will” calling close to the cabin. I took this photo in 2016 on this day in 2016. As soon as there was enough light I checked at the lightsContinue reading “Mother’s Day – 2022”

Today is the third day running with large raptor flights. Still a lot of Broad-winged Hawks. Another Golden Eagle. But what is surprising is the huge influx of Black-capped Chickadees. Our day started, as we usually do here, with a few new moths at the lights. The left photo is a “Speckled green fruitworm” andContinue reading “The birds keep coming”

Before getting to birds there are other issues in the US. The issue gripping the nation these days has to do with the Supreme Court and the potential over-turning of Roe vs. Wade. Let’s hope that they listen to the nation, not just the squeaks-wheel religious extremists on the right. I’m not a fan ofContinue reading “Another great day at Whitefish Point”

It’s funny when a comic strip happens to mirror what you’re thinking. It’s time for some birds other than raptors to start appearing. Last evening was beautiful, the wind had died down and there was a nice promise of new birds arriving. We hope that they’ll stop here before heading north across Lake Superior toContinue reading “Busy day at Whitefish Point”

A late walk to the point yesterday resulted in have some nice looks at a Merlin. For two days now we have been visited by a large number of Black-capped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches. This chickadee kept an eye on me while others came and went. One of the Red-breasted Nuthatches at the suet feeder.Continue reading “A great day at Whitefish Point”

The day started with a couple of species of moths on the deck. The Large gray pinion (Lithophane georgii) on the left is rather unusual here as is the darker Acadian swordgrass moth (Xylena phoracica) on the right. This spring is quite different from last year when we were having many more moths at theContinue reading “An early May morning at Whitefish Point”

I love scouring the sand dunes and old logs for lichens. A particular group that are both interesting and fun are those in the genus Cladonia. Many of them are what people know as “British soldiers caps.” These are small rarely more than 20-25mm tall and capped with red. Sometimes the British soldiers caps areContinue reading “Whitefish Point lichens”