With so many woodpeckers in Eastern North America how is it possible to haver a favorite bird. Pileated Woodpeckers are large, loud and flashy birds. Black-backed and Red-cockaded Woodpeckers are rare and occasionally hard to find. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are fun to find But for me it’s Red-headed Woodpeckers. While exploring areas near Grayling, Michigan thatContinue reading “Red-headed Woodpeckers”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Moths in Ann Arbor
On Friday night we did a moth night for the Natural Areas Preservation people and volunteers at Oakwoods Nature Area. What a great evening at a place we had never been to. The meandering trails in the woods skirt a nice vernal pool and a large pond/lake. Setting up was simple and at about 9:30Continue reading “Moths in Ann Arbor”
Grayling birds
So the other day we decided to spend a night in Grayling which is in the heart of Kirtland’s Warbler country. It’s been years since we stayed in that area, probably since before 2009 when we built the cabin. Regardless, it was a blast. One of the spots that we visited had tremendous numbers ofContinue reading “Grayling birds”
Finding an interesting orchid
We always stop along M-123, between I-75 and Moran (Mackinac Co., Michigan) to see this orchid when it is blooming. This is the Showy Lady’s-slipper. Sometimes to get there before they are blooming, or after they’re done. But sometime we hit them at peak. That was the case this year with an added benefit. InContinue reading “Finding an interesting orchid”
A couple of interesting moths
At first look these two moths look alike, but they aren’t. The moth on the left is the spear-marked black. The moth on the right is the white-banded black. These were photographed on the same morning coming to our lights. But not only were they there on the same day, there were a lot ofContinue reading “A couple of interesting moths”
Summer Solstice 2024
At 4:50 PM EDT on June 20 we officially enter summer this year. I am hoping that this will stimulate me to start blogging more. As many of you know it’s been since late May that I have written anything. Writers funk, writers block, whatever is it I have been in a writing lull. AndContinue reading “Summer Solstice 2024”
Finally, some flowers!
Last night we had a beautiful sunset. This is one of the great joys of having an upper deck that faces west. White flowers seem to be dominating currently. The plant on the left is wild strawberry, there must be thousands between our place and the lighthouse at Whitefish Point. The plant on the rightContinue reading “Finally, some flowers!”
A night filled with moths
When the nights are warmer and without a threat of rain we set up the lights for attracting moths. In this part of May it’s still chancy regarding what we might get at Whitefish Point. The other night was better than we had recently experienced. Here are a few of our moths. We had severalContinue reading “A night filled with moths”
Birds at Whitefish Point
Finally, a small push in passerines at Whitefish Point. We had 12 species of warblers, 2 vireos, 2 flycatchers and a sparrow. Also the Great-tailed Grackle continues to be seen at the point. Warblers included: Nashville, Myrtle, Yellow, Blackburnian, Common Yellowthroat, Magnolia, Tennessee, Black-throated Green, Canada, Orange-crowned and Wilson’s. Vireos were Red-eyed and Philadelphia. FlycatchersContinue reading “Birds at Whitefish Point”
Time for some harriers
I love watching harriers migrate. Of all of the raptors they have the most-bouyant flight. Additionally when seen well you can identify males, females and juveniles. This is a juvenile harrier. This is probably a juvenile female that passed close to me. At the same time there are always eagles to watch at Whitefish Point.Continue reading “Time for some harriers”
