Whitefish Point – April, 2026
The wind shifted to the south yesterday, but barely there. It was quite sunny all day and felt warm even with the temperature getting higher than 39F. Looking south from the hawk watch where we went in the morning to talk with Sean the hawk-counter. The sun is slowly meting the snow at the edges.…
Back in the land of ice and snow
Yesterday we arrived at Whitefish Point, Michigan and it’s clearly still “winter” here. It’s cooler and there’s still a lot of snow. It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago we were enjoying nighttime temperatures in the lower 60s F and daytime temperatures in the low 70s F. Crossing the Mackinac Bridge there’s still a…
Book Reviews
For the past few weeks I’ve been reading a lot. Right now I’m a bit slow as I recently had a tetanus shot and the most recent COVID vaccine. So here’s what I’ve read. This was an interesting fantasy read. It’s the story of a young woman who inherits an interesting bookstore. It’s also about…
Looking for signs of spring
Now that we’re back in Ann Arbor we are looking for signs of spring. Here that would be plants and insects as birds are still lagging compared to what we saw in the south. A couple of days ago we decided to go to Dexter Huron Metropark where spring ephemerals (plants) typically appear quite early…
Back in Ann Arbor
I’m sitting back at home writing as the temperature is 65F and there are thunderstorms on the horizon, On our trip to the southern states we traveled 3553 miles. So now it’s time to sit back and relax for a few days. Time to get caught up with appointments – doctor appointments and a car…
Splinter Hill Bog, Alabama
This is the third time that we have visited the Splinter Hill Bog in Alabama. It is noted for its great variety of carnivorous plants – 12 species. Yesterday we had perhaps the best day for seeing a nice variety. We had 4 species of pitcher plants, a sundew and a bladderwort. Not bad for…
Dauphin Island, Alabama
Our Internet service has been rather sketchy recently. But right now it seems to be working so I had better write while I can. We’re leaving Dauphin Island, Alabama today starting our trip north. The birds have been somewhat disappointing, but that’s how migration goes sometimes. On the other hand the company and food has…
Alabama, so far it’s all about insects – in a good way
Susan has set up the lights and sheetnfor insects several nights since we’ve been in Alabama and we’ve had some interesting results. Here’s an interesting beetle that stopped by for a visit. So far we have got it down to a genus – more on that later. But those antennae are amazing. Here’s one of…
Friends of Whitefish Point
Owl banding has started for the spring at Whitefish Point and the Friends of Whitefish Point are fundraising for this season as well as the rest of the year. Until the end of March they have a sponsor who will be matching donations, so if you can please donate in the next ten days. The…
Butterflies and thistle
Susan and I returned to Goethe State Forest yesterday, once it armed up around 1pm. We wanted to walk more of the road looking for insects. As a result I saw more Zebra and Pipevine Swallowtails in a day than in my entire life. The day started with a Carolina Mantis egg case where we…
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