Category Archives: Uncategorized

Over the years we have learned that midges fuel bird migration. When warblers, thrushes and flycatchers are migrating there are typically large swarms of midges emerging around the Great Lakes. The other day we were at Point Labarbe on the northern edge of Lake Michigan and we encountered large swarms of midges. This is aContinue reading “Fueling bird migration”

Trying to get photos of the large numbers of Evening Grosbeaks passing by is really challenging. I had close to 300 fly by the cabin in the morning. Large numbers of Broad-winged Hawks are still around, but the numbers are much lower than in the past few days. The Sharp-shinned Hawks are taking advantage ofContinue reading “South winds brought some great migrants”

To say that chickadees are moving through is an understatement. These are the feeders at the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. Between here and the waterfowl counter I tallied some 450 (or more) chickadees, with a few warblers mixed in. Another bird that made an appearance in good numbers is White-crowned Sparrow. Warblers also arrived inContinue reading “Broad-wings!”

It’s always fun getting good looks at individual Broad-winged Hawks. Because as the morning passes they start getting higher and higher. Before you know it they are passing high overhead. Or sometimes they are in swirling kettles where it is all but impossible to count them. At the same time there are eagles passing. ThisContinue reading “Hawk migration at Whitefish Point”

This showed up in my news feed the other day. As a person who has studied genealogy for many years I found it quite interesting. When I was born my mother had turned 26 the day before I was born. Her mother (my grandmother) was 43, her mother (my great-grandmother) would have been 66 hadContinue reading “May flowers in Ann Arbor”

Just back from two busy weeks of birding at Whitefish Point. Juncoes were abundant feeder visitors, but the Cardinal was a pleasant surprise. Fox Sparrows were moving through in small numbers. Flickers were abundant migrants, sometimes with 40-50 and hour passing through. On some of the warmer days we had a lot of dragonflies. WanderingContinue reading “A busy two weeks at Whitefish Point”

It’s always fun when the first Friday in April arrives in Ann Arbor because it’s time for Fool Moon. This is an early evening celebration of spring and there is always a theme. This year it was aliens. Kerrytown was filled with booths, performers, music and luminaries. People dressed up and everybody seemed to beContinue reading “Fool Moon in Ann Arbor last Friday”

For many years I have been interested in lichens. These little “critters” are a symbiotic organism. The contain both algal and fungal components. What really got me going with them are the members of the genus Cladonia. These are commonly referred to as the British soldiers lichens, pixie cups, funnel lichens and powderhorns. I usuallyContinue reading “Rainy day lichens and food”

Going for a walk not far from our house we found a large tree down on city property. It was no surprise that we found interesting critters on it. I think that the spider is a Tuberculated crab spider. The beetle is a Red-banded fungus beetle. We then walked to the wetlands by Skyline HighContinue reading “An Ann Arbor spring afternoon”

While I have seen, and even photographed many Harlequin Ducks, this is the first one that has occurred in Washtenaw County, Michigan, a mere 19 minutes from our home. This bird showed up on Ford Lake last month while we were in Florida. I had little hope that it would remain. However, here we areContinue reading “A cold day bird to warm my heart”