The Days of Summer - Day Ten through Day Sixteen

This is the second installment of my Days of Summer photo project.  To read about the project and see the first installment click here.

Day 10 (30 June 2018) - Wheatfield

Agriculture may not be the first thing that you think of when you hear the word Michigan, but it is one of the leading industries in the state.  This image of a ripening field of wheat was taken along the border of Isabella County and Gratiot County.  I spent the morning at Forest Hill Nature Area photographing wildflowers in a restored grassland.  Deciding to take a different route home, I passed by this field a couple of miles from Forest Hill.  I've been admiring wheat fields for the past several weeks, but never found one that I could easily photograph.  Stopping here was a no-brainer.

Day 11 (01 July 2018) - Ragged Fringed Orchid

This photo was taken at the Williamston Township Community Park in Ingham County, MI.  I stopped at this park to revisit an older grassland restoration that I have photographed several times over the years.  A pair of Ragged Fringed Orchids (Platanthera psycodes) was my reward.

Day 12 (02 July 2018) - Moss Sporophytes

Mosses are small; thus they are easily overlooked.  For those that take the time to notice them, they are well worth the effort.  One of the best books I have read in recent years is about moss.  These white balloon-like structures are reproductive bodies known as sporophytes.  When conditions are right, they will each release hundred or thousands of spores into the world.  We often associate mosses with shady woodland habitats, but these mosses were growing on bare sandy soil on land owned by Shepherd Public Schools.

Day 13 (03 July 2018) - Last of the Brood

This Days of Summer project means that I have to photograph something every day.  It means I have to get outdoors and away from my desk.  Fortunately Isabella County has lots of public land within a short drive of my office.  This picture of a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) with a single poult (chick) was taken at Chipp-A-Waters Park in Mt. Pleasant.  Seeing a hen with only a single chick raises so many questions.  Was this the only egg that hatched?  Were the other eggs stolen by predators such as raccoons? Did predators get the rest of its nest mates?

Unlike most of my photographs, this image has been edited.  It has been cropped from the original size (about 50%) and the highlights have been toned down to bring some of the color back into the image.

Day 14 (04 July 2018) - Curious Fawn

The Fourth of July found me exploring the Maple River State Game Area.  This curious White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn wanted to check me out up close.  Unlike the previous picture, this one has not been cropped.  The fawn was that close and approaching closer.  It probably would have allowed me to touch it if I hadn't shooed it away into the woods.

Day 15 (05 July 2018) - Great Spangled Fritillaries

Yesterday I visited the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's Sylvan Solace Preserve for about an hour in the middle of the day.  Mid-day may not be the best time for photography, but the heat of the day does bring out the pollinators.  I was luck to spot this pair of mating Great Spangled Fritillaries (Speyeria Cybele).

Day 16 (06 July (2018) - Chicory Flowers 

My final photo for the week is of a pair of Common Chicory (Cichorium intybus) flowers.  This photograph was taken at the Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum early this morning.  Originally from Europe, Chicory is a common roadside plant in Mid-Michigan.  Even though this plant is not native to North America, it is well-behaved and likes roadsides and other waste places.    This is one of my favorite flowers to photograph.  The pale blue color is absolutely beautiful.  You have to get up early to photograph Chicory, by mid-day the flowers have closed up tight.

Field Trip - Maple River State Game Area

Yesterday (04 July 2018) I took a short trip to the Maple River State Game Area (MRSGA).  I have lived in Mid-Michigan for the majority of my life, but I have never visited MRSGA before despite driving through part of it hundreds of times.  I grew up in the area and hunted and fished in several State Game/Wildlife Areas as a youth, but because MRSGA has been managed primarily for waterfowl and I have never been a duck or goose hunter so this area was mostly not on my radar.

With no other plans for the morning I decided it was finally time to explore the area a little.  My trip took me to a part of the game area known as the East Unit (Wetlands Wildlife Management Unit).  This Unit is located on both sides of US-127 between St. Johns and Ithaca.  The East Unit is further (confusingly) subdivided into smaller sections also known as units.  The highway itself separates Unit A on the west side of the road from Unit B on the east side of the road.  Several other Units stretch further east from Unit B including a Wildlife Refuge that is closed to the public from September 1st to December 1st. 

There is a parking lot located along US-127 at the northwest corner of Unit B.  This is where I began my visit.  Unit B like most of these other units is enclosed by a series of dikes that allow the water level to be raised or lowered on a seasonal basis.  I walked east along the dike on the north edge of the unit to the dike that separates Unit B from the Wildlife Refuge and followed that dike south.  I returned to my truck by the same route.

The berm along the north edge of Unit B

Along the east edge of the unit is a wood observation tower.  This tower is actually visible from the highway.  The tower was my goal of my hike.  For some reason I didn't take any photos of the tower, but I did take several of the view from the top.  There is also a handicap-accessible ground blind along the North boundary of Unit B.  The view right now consists entirely of tall cattails; I did not take any photos from there.

The view South from the observation tower - berms and a ditch can be seen on the left of the image

Southeast - a better view of the ditches and berms that mark the edges of the Units

West-northwest - the highway is the white line on the horizon

East - looking across the Wildlife Refuge

It didn't seem like it at the time, but I was able to see and photograph a surprising amount of wildlife.  This included butterflies such as Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) and Eastern Tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas).  I also saw several species of Skippers, a Fritillary, and a bunch of small brown butterflies with eyespots on their wings including Wood Nymphs (Cercyonis pegala).

Monarch

Eastern Tailed Blue

I also saw lots of birds.  A partial list includes Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) , Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), Great Blue Heron (Ardia Herodias) , Green Heron (Butorides virescens), Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus).

Red-winged Blackbirds in a drowned tree

 

Red-winged Blackbird on cattail

 

Juvenile Bald Eagle being chased by Red-winged Blackbird

Cedar Waxwing

American Goldfinch

Green Heron

A young Wood Duck runs across the water to hide in some cattails

In one of the ditches I noticed a schools of smallish (6-8 inch) Large-mouthed Bass and Bluegill sunfish.

I also saw several White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) including this buck. 

I also had a fawn run up to me and approach within ten feet.  I'm not sure why it came up to me, except maybe curiosity.  It saw me well before it approached.  I shooed it away when it got too close, but I was able to get several good photos before it ran into the woods.

I plan to go back to Maple River State Game Area, but probably not until next spring.  I want to see if I can photograph some of the thousands of migratory waterfowl that pass through every year.

IMG_0115 for 01/15 (A random collection of photos that all have the same name)

The following photographs have nothing in common, except their file names.  Each of these photos is titled IMG_0115.  I don't do a good job of labeling photos as I add them to my computer.  Each of the pictures goes into a separate file according to the date that the picture was taken, but the individual pictures all have the name that the camera assigned to them.

I actually thought of this idea of posting several of the pictures a few months ago while I was searching for an image on my computer.  I was writing a new blog post and wanted to use a certain photograph, but I couldn't remember which file it was saved in.  Fortunately I had used the file previously in another blog post.  When I use an image on this blog the link to the image contains the name of the file so I was able to look at that link and then do a search on my computer for the original file.  I found the file that I wanted, but I also found several dozen more images with the same name.

With that experience, I decided that I would share several photos that share the same name.  Why did I pick IMG_0115 as the title to share?  Today's date is January 15th, or if you are expressing it as a number in the format MM/DD it is 01/15.  So IMG_0115 it is.

IMG_0115 - Devil's Tower as seen from the base of its boulder field (July 2017)

IMG_0115 - Mt. Rushmore (July 2017)

IMG_0115 - Red Admiral butterfly  (May 2017)

IMG_0115 - Yellow Trout Lily (April 2017)

IMG_0115 - Trail clearance at Audubon Woods Preserve (April 2017)

 

IMG_0115 - Rural sunrise (January 2017)

The rest of the photos can be found below the break.

Five field guides for holiday gift giving (2017 edition)

Hi, I'm Mike and I have a problem with field guides.  I simply cannot resist the pull of  a new guide.  Birds?  I have guides.  Trees?  I have guides for those too.  Flowers?  Lord, do I have guides for flowers!  Insects?  Not just general guides to insects - I have guide dedicated to bees, aquatic insects, and beetles.  (I love beetles!)  Lichens?  Who has a field guide for lichens?  Um, I do...  Actually, I know I have at least two lichen field guides.

Like I said, I have a problem.

In 2016 I wrote a series of posts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4) about some of my favorite field guides that I thought would make good Christmas gifts .  Here is an update for 2017.

1.  Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great lakes Region, Revised Edition by James H Harding and David A. Mifsud (ISBN 9780472073382)

This is not a new field guide.  The original edition came out in 1997.  Even if you own the older edition, go out and buy this field guide.  It has more photographs and updated (color) maps.  This book was published by the University of Michigan Press and costs $24.95 (paperback).  When I found out that this edition was in the works, it immediately went on my to-buy list.

2.  Mammals of the Great lakes Region, Third Edition by Allen Kurta (ISBN 9780472053452)

This is another update of a previous addition.  Like Amphibians of the Great Lakes, this book was published by the University of Michigan Press.  It retails for $24.95 (paperback).  The key updates to this edition include color photographs and updated maps.  Another nice feature that I like in this book is that origin of each species' scientific name is described in detail.  Did I need to purchase the updated version of this guide?  No, but I think it was worth the cost.  If you live in the Great Lakes region I definitely recommend this book.

3.  Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest:  A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms by Teresa Marrone and Kathy Yerich (ISBN 9781591934172)

Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest is not a new book.  It was published in 2014 by Adventure Publications.  This book is one of an entire series of small pocket sized guides.  Some of the books that I have in this series include wildflowers, trees, reptiles and amphibians, and mammals,  Limited in scope, these are great books for beginners.

I like that this book lists many of the common edible and toxic mushrooms that can be found locally.  As always, I caution anyone against relying on a single source for information on edible mushrooms - Mistakes can be deadly!

4.  Bark:  A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast by Michael Wojtech (ISBN 9781584658528)

This another book that is not new.  Bark was published in 2011 by the University Press of New England.  I have been aware of this book for several years, but have never come across it in a store until this year.  I most tree field guides, bark is an afterthought.  There might be a short description for each species, or even a single picture of the bark of a mature tree.  In this book, bark is the star.  There are photographs of bark at various stages of a tree's life - young, mature, and old trees.  Although this book is not specific to the Midwest/Great Lakes there are enough common species to make it worth purchasing.

5.  Michigan Atlas & Gazetteer by DeLorme (ISBN 9780899334424)

Okay, this one is not a field guide.  Instead it is guide that gets you into the field.  I currently own three different editions of this guide.  Whenever we go on vacation to another state, I am likely to buy the DeLorme Atlas for that state.  I know off the top of my head that we own copies for Maine, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin (at a minimum).  These guides are so much more than road maps.  They show waterfalls, geologic sites, museums, scenic drives, lighthouses, hiking trails, and much more.  There are many places that I would never have visited if I hadn't found them in a DeLorme Atlas.

A highway in the woods

Logs are irresistible to kids.  They want to sit on them, roll them over, and above, all use them as a balance beam. 

This desire to walk on logs seems to cross the boundary between species.

These three images were all captured over the course of a single night. 

This log seems to be a highway for young Virginia Opossums - more than ten pictures over the course of a month.

The Red Fox also is a regular (although less frequent) user of this log.

The Northern Raccoon uses the log as a walkway, but much less frequently.