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”
Tag Archives: nature
First full day of summer 2024
We spend a lot of the summer at our cabin at Whitefish Point, Michigan. Spring migration is long over, although yesterday we had a small kettle of eleven Broad-winged Hawks overhead. Now we talk long walks looking for flowers and insects, drive to favorite sites for birds and orchids or light for moths (more onContinue reading “First full day of summer 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”
Birdathon at Whitefish Point.
Well, as expected the day started out drizzly and with mist until about noon. The number and variety of birds was lower than the day before. But we managed about 135 species with about a dozen observers. Money raised with this effort will go to supporting the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. In the course ofContinue reading “Birdathon at Whitefish Point.”
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”
A busy day
Our day started with finishing what we needed to in the garden. There are 46 tomato plants (various cherry, roma and beef beef), 27 hot peppers (9 varieties), 15 basil and a new rosemary. Hopefully they will all make it until we’re home later in the month. On our way north we stopped just eastContinue reading “A busy day”
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”
Orchids in Mackinac County, Michigan
Yesterday we made our first real trip this year searching for orchids. We thought that the orchid season should be early this year – we weren’t disappointed. The first orchids that we found were Striped coralroot. They weren’t quite blooming but were close. In another week or two they’ll be open. Next we found theContinue reading “Orchids in Mackinac County, Michigan”
Spruce Grouse
We had several friends visiting Whitefish Point, here to see birds. After breakfast we all got into one car and headed off to an area where Spruce Grouse are common. None of us were disappointed. We found three male Spruce Grouse. Photos from behind show the stunning tail. The rust-colored tail tips are stunning. Here’sContinue reading “Spruce Grouse”
Michael's Place 