Nichols Arboretum: April, 2026

We spent part of yesterday morning at Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor. Not many bird migrants but a lot of interesting plants. Trilliums were one of the highlights yesterday. We had three species. Common trillium, prairie trillium and either drooping or nodding trillium. Prairie trillium. These can be found along the trails that border DowContinue reading “Nichols Arboretum: April, 2026”

Eagles at Whitefish Point

Yesterday was a funny day. Scattered birds throughout the day than a burst of activity in the mid afternoon. The flight, as it was consisted of a variety of raptors, but was dominated by eagles. That was nice since eagles, both bald and golden are some of my favorite birds. An adult Bald Eagle. WeContinue reading “Eagles at Whitefish Point”

It’s time for lichens

It’s a beautiful morning here at Whitefish Point. The first clear morning since we’ve up here this month. Clear at this time of year means cold. As I am sitting here and writing it’s 28F and fortunately with very very little wind. Yesterday on our walk to the point it was obvious that lichens wereContinue reading “It’s time for lichens”

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.Continue reading “Whitefish Point – April, 2026”

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 aContinue reading “Back in the land of ice and snow”

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 earlyContinue reading “Looking for signs of spring”

Heading north into winter

On our way to Petosky we needed to stop for lunch. Since our favorite lunch stop, Wholesome Dine or Dash in Waters was closed we decided to go to our second most favorite lunch spot – Alpine Tavern and Eatery in Gaylord. I had the beef barley soup and a salad which was quite nice.Continue reading “Heading north into winter”

Sitting inside after breakfast

I made blueberry pancakes this morning for breakfast. Since it’s currently -11F (-24C) I don’t seeing heading outside soon. But have been thinking about art, drawing and painting. In two weeks we’ll be back in the Upper Peninsula looking for birds with friends. What will we find? Who knows? Regardless, it’ll be interesting and fun.Continue reading “Sitting inside after breakfast”

A special visitor

We always appreciate visitors, both friends and animals. In the past couple of weeks we had friends with or without a dog visiting and it’s always nice. But our feeders also have nice visitors. While they are meant for birds and always have bird visitors we also get an array of other animals. In AnnContinue reading “A special visitor”