April Walk
Posted: April 20, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: birds, environmental interpetive center, kinglet, michigan wildflowers, nature, photography, ruby-crowned kinglet, University of Michigan Dearborn, white-throated sparrow Leave a comment »A handful of spring treasures — some wildflowers, some birds, and a butterfly — from this week’s walk in the University of Michigan – Dearborn natural area:
Wild Geranium – The most recent to open her petals!
Another photo.
Virginia Bluebells – Another lovely spring ephemeral; grows in pretty clusters.
Red Admiral Butterfly – A large influx of them this week; warm temperatures down south allowed many more than usual to survive, reproduce, and migrate back here; hundreds of thousands being reported this year.
Yellow-rumped Warbler – A neotropical migrant bird, returning from a long journey. You may find many traveling through an area at once.
White-throated Sparrow – One of the most recognizable songs! I remember the first time I heard one sing — it was in the middle of the night in midtown Detroit a few years ago. Although they don’t usually sing at night, rumor says that they sing when the moon is full. You can sometimes hear them migrating at night.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – A cute and perky little bird! They are truly little, weighing only 5 to 10 grams — the mass of one or two U.S. nickels!
Another photo. The ruby-crown looks very similar to its cousin, the golden-crowned kinglet, but lacks the dark eye stripe.
“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”
―Rainier Marie Wilke
October Nature Walk
Posted: October 11, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: autumn, birds, nature, photography, University of Michigan Dearborn Leave a comment »Some of today’s fall splendor from around the University of Michigan – Dearborn Campus:
“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”
- John Burroughs
June Nature Walk
Posted: June 16, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: insects, nature, photography, Rose Garden Pond, University of Michigan Dearborn Leave a comment »Some photos from this week:
Garter Snake
Saw this while on a walk with my friend and roommate Jon — spotted on the stone steps of the upper pools of the Rose Garden.
Leconte’s Haploa Moth
A black and white, triangular moth sitting on the leaf of a Virginia Creeper; seen during a Insects & Pollination walk through the natural area; we were lucky to have a group of 3rd graders with us when we saw it. It was one of the neatest (and most triangular) bugs any of us had ever seen. It did not stir, even as we all gathered around.
A gray ladybug! A mostly arboreal (tree-dwelling) species; found on the leaf of a Foxglove Beardtongue in the rain garden. Spotted by one of the 3rd graders and ID’d by Julie Craves.
American Toadlet
A little American Toad tadpole that has sprouted its legs and arms. Hundreds emerging from the pond right now. A delight to see up close. We have been doing our pond programs on the side opposite of where they are emerging.
Black Swallowtail (?) caterpillar
A black, orange and white caterpillar on a Golden Alexander in front of the EIC. Early instar (stage of larval development). Some say that this caterpillar resembles a bird dropping. Note the white band around the middle; the fleshy, black protrusions and orange warts will become more prominent as it grows. Another photo here with its osmeterium sticking out!
Zoomed in picture:
Last but not least:
Waterlily from Rose Garden Pond
Beautiful waterlilies, a beautiful and essential part of the Rose Garden Pond experience.
Enjoy!
Cottonwood Seeds: Summer Snow
Posted: June 5, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cottonwood, nature, photography, trees, University of Michigan Dearborn Leave a comment »The cottonwood trees have begun to “go to seed” — it is starting to look like snow is falling in the forest:
Cottonwoods are a kind of poplar tree — a very fast growing kind of tree — and are very tolerant of flooding and erosion (so are well-adapted for life in a floodplain). The leaves provide food for many kinds of butterflies and moths, such as the Viceroy, Mourning Cloak and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The downy seeds are used by birds as nesting material. I don’t know if people use cottonwoods for building material but I have read that it is used for making boxes, crates, and children’s toys. I have also read that cottonwood trees had other functions for people of the plains:
Pioneer homesteaders planted the fast-growing trees as windbreaks, cut them for fence posts and firewood, and worked the wood into baskets and boxes. Hollowed-out logs even served as canoes and cargo vessels.
To the Mohave Indians, the cottonwood was also a primary resource. They ate the tree’s raw catkins, consumed its inner bark as medicine, and wove baskets from its green twigs. The Hopi and Pueblo kachina dolls could only be carved from cottonwood roots–where good spirits lived.
According to that site, the tall cottonwood trees of the plains would also act as guideposts for travelers and would indicate that water was nearby. It was not uncommon for travelers to stop beneath a grove of cottonwood trees for shade and rest.
Cheers to the snowing tree of the floodplain, the provider of food and building material for different forms of life, a wayfinding tree for travelers in the prairie, the Cottonwood!
Floodplain Squirrels in Love
Posted: June 5, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: nature, photography, squirrels, University of Michigan Dearborn Leave a comment »
Two Eastern Gray Squirrels on a Branch
The floodplain was mostly still yesterday (in terms of vertebrate life, anyway) — except for these four squirrels who lept, climbed, and barked, their way through the trees above, creating this quite noticeable racket in the otherwise still woods!
… It seemed like three of the squirrels were “pursuers” and one was the pursued — perhaps three males, and one female?
The dynamics changed a bit once one of the pursuers got close enough to the female… he and the female laid down on a branch and rested nose-to-nose, staying vigilant. They others stood by and watched; when they’d try to crawl near, the dominant male would scare them away. Scamper towards them, force them to run up the tree…
At first I thought they were all just having fun until I realized that they were engaged in a very serious ritual that shakes out whose genes get passed on, and whose do not. Only the strongest, fastest, and most nimble squirrel could earn passage into the future.
They got very close, sitting nose-to-nose for a few moments.
Another one of the squirrels, laying down after circling the tree many times.
Swallowtail Butterflies & Other Winged Wonders
Posted: June 2, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: insects, nature, photography, Rose Garden Pond, University of Michigan Dearborn Leave a comment »Swallowtails on Orchard Trail:
Spicebush Swallowtail
Damselfly molting its skin
Six-spotted Tiger Beetle and Dragonfly
That’s all for today!
Cedar Waxwings [Belle Isle, Detroit]
Posted: May 29, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Belle Isle, birds, Detroit, nature, photography Leave a comment »Cedar Waxwings are named for the red, wax-like tips extending from their wing. They are about the size of a Northern Cardinal, but are a beautiful gray color which lightens to a pale yellow as you descend down the belly. They have an unusual silky texture and look as soft as flower petals. Very Lovely birds.
See the waxy wing tips? Once thought to be used for feather protection, researchers theorize that they play an important part in mate selection — the number of waxy quills corresponds with age (older = more quills) which corresponds with reproductive success. Female birds tend to pick similarly-aged mates.
Picking petals
Sentinel pose
Sharing blossom petals
Slightly closer together
During courtship, mating pairs will pass objects back and forth, such as berries or flower petals — this Waxwing pair was passing little crabapple apple blossom petals back and forth, although they were not hopping towards and away from each other, another notable characteristic of Waxwing courtship behavior.
Good luck to these Cedar Waxwings on Belle Isle who have made a home on the jewel of Detroit River.
While I was taking pictures of Waxwings, this Eastern Phoebe looked on curiously… so of course, I had to get a picture of it, too.
Read more about Cedar Waxwings at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center website.
Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)
Posted: May 28, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: insects, nature, photography, University of Michigan Dearborn Leave a comment »Roaming the forest of the University of Michigan – Dearborn campus:
A beautiful emerald color.
It looked like it was feasting on something while this ant kept trying to approach it.
Two Tiger Beetles caught in the act.
Is it just me, or is that an aedeagus in the last photo?
May Nature Walk
Posted: May 25, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: natural area, nature, photography, University of Michigan Dearborn Leave a comment »
A lovely mallard hen on Fairlane Lake
Bathing Robin… making waves!
Red-eyed Vireo – singing. This is the bird I was looking for when I accidentally found the Hummingbird’s nest (see previous post).
Lots of little caterpillars (just like this one) coming down on a thread of silk from an Oak tree – important food for migrating birds.
Okay, it’s sooo blurry… but here is a picture of our Lake’s resident mink.
Some photos of our beautiful woods:
Nido de colibrí [Hummingbird Nest]
Posted: May 24, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: birds, hummingbird, nature, nest, photography Leave a comment »Today I was on a Trip of a Drip walk in the natural area and kind of lallygagging behind the group. I was drawn off course for a moment to track a singing Peewee but ended up discovering something much more unexpected instead.
Standing there on the trail being bitten by mosquitoes, I saw two big bumblebees buzz into the leafy top of a small Maple tree. I watched them and slowly realized that my big bumblebees were actually Hummingbirds. Imagine my surprise when I realized that … in the 300 acres of natural area behind the U of M campus… I had just happened to stumbled across this tiny Hummingbird homestead:
Sitting on the nestcup
Leaving the nestcup
Curious about the intruder (me)
Sitting once more!
They would leave and return frequently, not staying on the branch for more than a few moments at a time. The female would occasionally sit and shape the nest, though, picking at it with her beak and pressing herself into the cup. This is when I was able to get the best pictures of her.
They are most likely a pair of Ruby-throated hummingbirds, Eastern North America’s only breeding hummingbird. Their nests are made from thistle, dandelion, spider webs, and lichen, and are very tiny — about the size of a thimble. Ruby-throats build their nests on top of branches as opposed to in forks. They feed mostly on nectar, but will also eat small insects and spiders (which I am sure there are a lot of the area).
Here is the tree it was in – as you can see, they have chosen to nest near water in the shade, which will help keep the eggs cool:
Good luck to them!
What a lucky day!
