A weekend in photos

This weekend was spent with a walk on the MSU campus, a drive out to the flooded field on Ruppert Rd to look for shorebirds, and a hike through Lake Lansing Park with a group of friends.

On campus I saw:

Tulips

Shadow smelling the tulips

Virginia bluebells

these fancy unique flowers

this yellow flower

a male northern cardinal singing in the magnolia tree

a white-crowned sparrow (which I think is a rare species?)

a chipping sparrow

a cottontail rabbit

mushrooms at the base of a tree

a fox squirrel busy with a snack

licking up crumbs

and the Beaumont tower.

The field at Ruppert Rd was busy with yellowlegs and unidentified peeps (I was looking into the setting sun). There were also a pair of blue-winged teal, Canada geese, a lone northern shoveler drake, multiple (100s?) red-winged blackbirds, and several ring-necked pheasant roosters calling.

The female red-winged blackbird

At Lake Lansing Park we heard: black-and-white warbler, common yellowthroat, scarlet tanager, chickadee, tufted titmouse, robin, song sparrow, and many more birds whose calls we couldn't remember. We also saw a couple of garter snakes. Here are some things we saw:

Skunk cabbage

Morel mushroom

Common violet

I forgot the name of this flower despite being told twice what it is =(

We originally set out to go birdwatching. However, when we came to the first boardwalk over a bog, we were immediately distracted by the thought of salamanders and aquatic insects. Of course being the bunch of scientists we are, we set out to explore the bog for creatures. Soon we were all on our bellies on the boardwalk reaching into the water. We found larvae of trichoptera (caddis fly), diptera (true fly), mosquito, and other things we couldn't identify. We also found fairy shrimp, wood frog tadpoles, a nematode that looked like a string, and tiny crayfish.

Of course a group of adults laying on their bellies across a trail in the woods looks funny and naturally draws attention from other trailgoers. A little boy came along with his young brother and his dad, "Hey! What are you guys looking for?!" We told him insect larvae and other animals that live in the bog. He enthusiastically joined us for about a half hour. He was very knowledgeable about a variety of things we found. We all took turns catching various organisms and letting him hold them in his cupped hands filled with water. It was refreshing to share time with a person so young but filled with just as much enthusiasm for the natural world as I (we?) have.

I took photos of him exploring the bog and emailed them to his father. The little boy wrote back:

"Thank you for letting me touch two shrimp and two crawdads. I liked to look at the fly larvae. I like to hold the fresh water creatures. It was fun! I liked the freshwater tadpole. I saw a stringy worm under water. It was an underwater worm. There was a big larvae. I don't know what it was. I would like to see you and everyone else that was with you again. Thank you for for putting a shrimp in my hands. She put water in my hands too. Our phone number is XXX-XXXX. I will be sending you a thank you note too."

My labmate catching critters for the little boy, perhaps a future aquatic entomologist

I took a break from packing and reading and drove back down to the flooded field at Ruppert Rd. The south winds brought in more yellowlegs. I saw six ring-necked pheasant roosters and one hen. I also saw the pair of blue-winged teal perhaps prospecting for a nest site. The northern shoveler drake was still hanging around as are the Canada geese.

Ring-necked pheasant roosters (one on each side of the road)

Blue-winged teal pair

Greater yellowlegs settling down for the evening as the sun sets.

Get outside and smell the tulips!

Cheers!