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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”

That would be us. The infamous “LBJs” (Little Brown Jobs). Oops, when a Venus fly trap goes vegetarian. We looked for Venus fly traps when we in the Carolinas. Beetles would never consider themselves “bugs.” As anybody who has taken entomology knows – true bugs suck! Dr. Who meets Dali! Be alert (see the firstContinue reading “Some humor from the north”

On our way north to Whitefish Point we stopped in West Branch for lunch at the Lumber-Jack where we hadn’t eaten in years. It really hasn’t changed much over time. With about a foot of snow on the ground, more in places, we are clearly back in the land of ice and snow. A freighterContinue reading “An Easter miracle”

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”

I’m thinking that the “threat” of snow in southern Michigan has passed, but you never know. Darn, and thought everything that I read on FB was real. The way that the season has started for the Tigers makes me wish there were some salary disputes. An oldie, but still a goodie – a “corona virus.”Continue reading “Rainy day humor and more”

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”

What a beautiful day to start April, warm and sunny. Hardly, let’s just call that an April Fools joke. Thunderstorms, hail, rain and snow. But we did manage to start that day with a fun walk at Dexter Huron Metropark. A nice little moss with a lot of fruiting bodies was a real sign ofContinue reading “And now it’s April”

Pooh and Piglet nailed it. Too bad it couldn’t have happened sooner, before death went covid-bowling. But, as usual, Snoopy the writer summed it up well. More later…

Well, it appears that the three things that appeal most to visitors to Whitefish Point won’t happen this year. For the first time since 1979 there is no hawk counter. Here is the statement posted on the WPBO website- So, no hawk counter at one of the premier spring hawk-watching sites in North America. TheContinue reading “Bad new from the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory”