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Please don’t release balloons into the sky — they kill turtles and birds!
Category Archives: Michigan
Insane Winter Birding
This weekend we drove up to Sault Ste. Marie (“the Soo”) in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) for a group birding event with a guide from Michigan Audubon. If you had told me five years ago that I would (a) pay … Continue reading
Jane Goodall Knows
Like many people who care about social and environmental issues, I sometimes get discouraged. Can I really make a difference? What impact can I have by writing a letter to my representative, or signing a petition? Petitions are a dime … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Humans vs All Other Animals, Michigan, Threats to Birds
Tagged activism, airport, Snowy Owl
12 Comments
Yank Yank!
The Nuthatch Patrol are sounding their “yank yank!” alarm as I trudge through the silent woodland, knee-deep in drifts of heavy, wet snow. Red-bellied woodpeckers bicker high up in the naked oak tree. A lone gull flies overhead, like a … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Living in the Woods, Michigan, Walking in the Woods
Tagged blizzard, Michigan, snow, snowpocalypse, winter
5 Comments
Winter Birding in Michigan
I’ve never liked winter very much. Sure, the first snow of the season is pretty, but after a couple days the charm fades away and it turns dirty and slushy. And all the leaves are gone on the trees, making … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Ecotherapy, Health, Michigan
Tagged Bubo scandiacus, Great Lakes birding, Michigan, nature, Snowy Owl, Winter birding
6 Comments
“Pure” Michigan? Not Yet, But It’s a Good Goal
Remember my post about picking up balloons in the lake at Bald Mountain a few weeks ago? I’ve picked up more than a few since that day. So you’ll understand why I was discouraged today when I found out about … Continue reading
Posted in Michigan, Threats to Birds
Tagged balloon pollution, balloon release, balloonsblow.org, don't pollute, helium, pure michigan, sterlingfest
6 Comments
A Day at Holland Ponds
A couple weeks ago the first of the Great Blue Herons arrived back on their nests at the Holland Ponds rookery. I only found out about this large communal nesting site last spring, so I still get very excited about … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Michigan, Nesting
5 Comments
Birding by Car at Shiawassee NWR
We’d been meaning to visit Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge near Saginaw, Michigan, for quite some time. So when a fellow birder reported some great birds up there last week, we decided to check it out. It’s only 80 miles from … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Michigan, Photography, Travel
Tagged Bald Eagle, birding, birding by car, lifer, Michigan, National Wildlife Refuge, Saginaw, Sandhill Crane, Shiawassee NWR
2 Comments
Rare Bird on my List — and a Great Memory
We had success last weekend in finding the rare Kirtland’s Warbler. Not at the Tawas Point Birding Festival on Saturday, but the next day in Grayling. We took one of the tours that leave from the Ramada Inn, and were … Continue reading
Photos of an Early Spring in Michigan
A few days ago on my way to go birding in the park, I saw a very big Red-tailed Hawk lazily soaring on a thermal in a big circle over the road. I pulled my car over and jumped out … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Michigan, Nesting, Photography
Tagged Bluebird, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Screech Owl, sugaring, tapping Maple trees
2 Comments
