Author Archives: makielb

Spending an overcast and misty day visiting the Upper Falls on the Tahquamenon River. This was the perfect way to spend the day. Lots of warblers and the Falls themselves. The distant view is just a quiet tease for getting close to them and their roar. Each viewing site as you approach the falls getsContinue reading “Tahquamenon Falls”

It’s always fun finding caterpillars, but frustrating trying to get them identified properly. This caterpillar is a great example of an unidentified beauty. But we’ll keep working on it. A spider on the side of the cabin, searching for breakfast. Another species of sand-loving tiger beetle. This one shouldn’t be “to hard” to identify. AContinue reading “Birds and bugs”

Finding the tracks of a black bear on our dune close to the cabin is always a treat. And that’s how our day started. The road to the Whitefish Point was full of thrushes and warblers. This Eastern Bluebird was joined on the branch by a Swainson’s Thrush. A big treat and rare sighting hereContinue reading “A fun walk from the cabin to the Point”

More photos that I contributed to the Animal Diversity Web that were downloaded as less than optimal quality scans from their site. One day I’ll scan the original slides which are better quality. An Altimira Oriole in a Bombax Tree at Coba, Mexico in the 1980s. Bared Antshrike at Palenque, Mexico in the state ofContinue reading “Animal Diversity Web – Part 2”

We spent yesterday looking for several orchids that are difficult to find since they are small and live in wet cedar woods. Just getting to them required over and hour of walking. But on the way to finding them we found may other interesting plants, such as the above Indian paintbrush. Close to the IndianContinue reading “Searching for orchids”

I can’t help but photograph a Piping Plover when I see one. This one was photographed when it was annoyed with an American Golden Plover. Perhaps the other plover was too close to a nesting scrape. And all that the golden plover was doing was standing on a nearby log on the beach. At theContinue reading “A few birds to end the day”

There are now over 400 cases globally, the greatest number in Africa, with over 100 cases in Europe. Ut is also in the U.S., Canada and Australia. This is the largest outbreak of the virus every recorded. Apparently smallpox vaccines are 85% effective at preventing the disease. Maybe we all need to be re-vaccinated forContinue reading “Monkeypox and nature books”

Fog on Lake Superior this morning left the ships talking to each other, which we all enjoy listening to. The woodland edges were filled with sparrows and a few warblers. These are two Savannah Sparrows of the many we found. Another common sparrow this morning were White-crowned Sparrows. But then I was easily distracted byContinue reading “What to do on a foggy slow day at Whitefish Point”

There are several species of willows flowering right now. I know that there are at least three like these – pussy willow, small pussy willow and Bebb’s willow. But I can’t tell them apart until they have leaves. Fortunately there is an excellent guide, with keys for differentiating them. “Shrubs of Ontario” is an excellentContinue reading “Botany, bugs and birds”

Leaving the heat for the cooler north. We’re heading to Whitefish Point, but will be stopping south of Grayling to try to find some Kirtland’s Warblers. Of course, along I-75 the orange barrels and arrows have popped up like mushrooms after a rain. But we finally got to our destination after lunch in Roscommon. ItContinue reading “Heading north to Kirtland’s Warbler country”