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!

A few days outdoors - a few photos to share

Last Friday I went out with my prof to help conduct a mistnetting demonstration for a small group of MSU students. The weather was hot, sunny and windy - not very good for catching birds. We caught two robins and two field sparrows and at the end of the day we caught a beautiful male yellow warbler.

Yellow warbler (male)

That evening I took Shadow for a walk around campus. Shadow retrieved sticks from the Red Cedar River. I took a few photos:

Tree reflection

Sunset on the river (this photo doesn't do it justice)

Saturday I did some schoolwork and ran some errands. I went to a friend's Backyard Wing Ding Spring Fling BBQ which was a super fun time! Her upstairs housemates are musicians with fun instruments like a washtub bass and a saw and bow in addition to guitars. We sang songs and played instruments for a few hours and enjoyed each others creativity and company. I forgot my camera but took many photos with a friend's camera. Maybe I'll post those photos later?

Byron's mom came to visit on Sunday. We picked up another friend of mine for brunch at Sawyer's Pancake House. Then we were off to walk in the 5K Race for the Cure. The weather was perfect. It was awesome to see so much support for breast cancer from men and women of all ages. After the race, we stopped into a chocolate and coffee shop for some chocolate and then we were off to grab Shadow for a walk through the woods at Lake Lansing Park. Shadow romped through the mud and made a mess of himself. We enjoyed the new plants popping out of the ground. We ate dinner at the Blue Gill Grill and then Cindy was off for home. I'm so thankful to live so close to Byron's parents!

Sunday evening around sunset I drove out to the flooded field off of Beard Rd near Perry, MI to look for shorebirds and waterfowl. I found 3 drake and 4 hen ruddy ducks. I also saw several yellowlegs but the light was too low to take any photos. On the drive back to Haslett, I saw a pair of sandhill cranes doing their courtship dance in a flooded corn field off of Perry Rd.


I went back Monday evening to the flooded field off of Ruppert and Beard Roads in hopes of finding the ruddy ducks. The males had been in spectacular breeding plumage and I wanted to photograph them. Instead, I was treated to Bonaparte's gulls soaring in the high winds along with the ring-billed gulls.

On the ground I found greater yellowlegs, some unidentified peeps, killdeer, horned larks and a scuffle between two ring-necked pheasant roosters.

Bonaparte's gulls

Ring-billed gull

Greater yellowlegs

I first heard a ring-necked pheasant rooster call but couldn't find it. So, I cued up the rooster call on the cd player in my car and played the call. The rooster popped his head up and I was able to see him. Ten minutes later, I saw a young rooster move in the brush. He saw the old rooster and hid. The old rooster flushed him out of his hide. The young rooster froze and then began to run then eventually flew to the next field. It was interesting to watch this play out before my eyes. I had never observed ring-necked pheasants like this before.

Ring-necked pheasant roosters
(the old one is on the right and the young one on the left just came out of his hide)

The young rooster runs past the old rooster who then gives chase

The young rooster takes flight toward the adjacent field

This evening I took Shadow for a walk on the trail at Lake Lansing Park. Here is what we saw:

Flowers in the marsh

Bag worms on a black cherry tree in the under story

One of several deer

This last photo is of a deer at dusk. Do you see the deer?

I hope you're enjoying the beautiful wondrous outdoors! I know I am!

Cheers!