The other day started out with a beautiful full Moon. Soon Susan and I were heading out to look for a bird that is a rare nesting species in Michigan. We were headed to Sharon Mills. There are nice trails that pass through grasslands and skirt the woods. Milkweeds had monarch caterpillars and milkweed tussockContinue reading “Searching for a rare bird in Michigan”
Tag Archives: michigan
Another travel day, another unusual animal
We were traveling from Whitefish Point to Ann Arbor today. Typically, our travel days involve a small number of moths and sometimes butterflies that we see at rest areas along I-75. But today was different. We did have a very small number of moths but Susan finding a Five-lined skink was special. I’m not sureContinue reading “Another travel day, another unusual animal”
Bishop’s Bog orchids
We spent Saturday morning at Bishop’s Bog Preserve, in Portage, Michigan. It was a near perfect day. Normally I would have said that we were spot-on for seeing the orchids that we were searching for, but this year we were actually a week or two late for flowers. We were lucky though and saw aContinue reading “Bishop’s Bog orchids”
COVID, a week after Ann Arbor Art Fair
Now that we’re a week after the mid-point in the Ann Arbor Art Fair it’s time to see how COVID rates have changed. As it turns out COVID tests that were positive increased by 4.7%. How many cases have gone unreported? Here’s the situation before the Ann Arbor Art Fair. COVID rates in southern MichiganContinue reading “COVID, a week after Ann Arbor Art Fair”
Shorebirds at Whitefish Point
Spending a lot of time on the shore and sand dundes at Whitefish Point means that you will see a lot of shorebirds. The obvious target for the majority of birdwatchers is Piping Plover. But there are a lot of other shorebirds as well. Adult Piping Plover. Piping Plover chick running across the stones andContinue reading “Shorebirds at Whitefish Point”
A day filled with insects
We went to Embury Road the other day searching for several birds that I hadn’t seen or heard this year – Blue-winged Warbler and Cerulean Warbler. We managed to find both species. But the high-lights for our time on there were the insects. Nothing like starting the morning with a Leconte’s Haploa, a nice mothContinue reading “A day filled with insects”
A southern Michigan bog
The other day we spent time at the Eddy Discovery Center bog trail. This is a wonderful trail that goes through a variety of woods and wetlands ending in a delightful bog. Along one stretch of the trail there are a lot of Indian pipes (Ghost pipes). which is an interesting plant. But it wasContinue reading “A southern Michigan bog”
Red-headed Woodpeckers
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”
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”
Michael's Place 