The Days of Summer - Day Forty-five through Day Fifty-one

This is part seven of my Days of Summer photography project.   Beginning with the Summer Solstice (21 June 2018) and ending with the Fall Equinox (22 September 2018), I am making it a point to get outdoors and photograph something every single day.  One photograph from each day is being selected for this project and shared here.

The previous installments of this project can be found at the links below:

Part Six
Part Five
Part Four
Part Three
Part Two
Part One

I hope you enjoy the photos from this past week - one of them might be quite a surprise.

Day 45 (04 August 2018) - A Banded Bird

The first image of the week was taken at Forest Hill Nature Area.  If you look closely at This female Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) you might notice that her left leg sports a band.  Between this picture and several others of this bird I was able to make out a couple numbers on the band.  With that information, I contacted Mike Bishop at Alma College - he is running a banding project at Forest Hill.  With the numbers I gave him, Mike was able to narrow it down to one of two birds that he banded on June 28th of this year.  We both thought this was pretty cool.

This photograph has been cropped into a landscape format - taking some off the top and bottom of the image.  I just thought it was the most appealing of all the different crops that I tried.  I like how the bird looks like she is about the launch herself at the goldenrod to the left of the image.

Still life with frog

Just a photo for today.

This picture of a male Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) was taken at Mill Pond Park on Tuesday (24 May).  While most of the male frogs around the pond were calling loudly, this one was sitting silently.

Clouds and Birds - Forest Hill Nature Area (26 MAR 2015)

After work yesterday I stopped at the Forest Hill Nature Area for a short walk.  Located in Gratiot County, Forest Hill is own by the Gratiot Conservation District operated as a nature center by the Gratiot Isabella Regional Education Service District.  Forest Hill is approximately 90 acres and consists of woodlands, restored wetlands and grasslands, and several restored farm buildings.  A number of trails criss-cross the property.

Trail Map at Forest Hill

The weather was a little bit dreary for a walk, cold and windy, but the cloudy skies were great for photography.

Cumulostratus clouds over "Mallard Marsh"

A Crab Apple tree silhouetted against the clouds

Clouds over "Grebe Pond"

There was very little that indicated that the seasons have officially changed from Winter to Spring.  With the exception of a few blades of grass, there is very little green to be found.  Last year's flower stalks and seed heads still stand in the fields.

The mostly empty seedpods of a dogbane plant - a few seeds can be seen clinging on

Last year's Purple Coneflowers have been picked over by birds

Empty flowers talks and grass seedheads in the native grassland planting

The branches of trees and shrubs remain bare of leaves, exposing evidence of browsing, flaws, and bird nests.

Red-osier Dogwood - almost every branch had been nipped off by deer

"Witches brooms" on willow shrubs - this irregular growth can be caused by many things including fungi

A closer look at some "Witch's broom"

Last year's goldfinch nest

For most of my walk I avoided the groomed trails and followed deer trails or walked across the open fields.

A well-traveled deer trail through a low swampy area

By walking off of the trails I was able to find a few views that were new to me, as well as a few small surprises.

This wetland area is known as "Sora Swale" - the trail around follows the high ground to the rear

A dead snag, occupied by shelf fungi, and excavated by a woodpecker

A small Eastern White Pine seedling establishing itself in the meadow

One thing that did indicate that the seasons have actually begun to change was the presence of birds.  Everywhere I looked (or listened) there were birds to be found.

A pair of Canada Geese winging overhead

The same pair of geese coming in for a landing

A different pair of geese in "Sora Swale" - to the left you can see three Wood Ducks taking off

The Wood Ducks flying away

A Canada Goose calling loudly as it circles

Most of the birds that I saw were expected (Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Crows, etc.), but there was one unexpected species.  In the middle of Grebe Pond, was a single male Greater Scaup.  This species of duck, commonly called a Bluebill, is only found in Michigan during the Spring and Fall migration periods.  I watched this duck for about 20 minutes as it repeatedly dove below the surface of the pond in search of food.  This duck was careful to keep at least 3/4 of the width of the pond between us and I was never able to get a good photograph.

A single Greater Scaup drake

I think I could have probably sat for hours waiting for this duck to move closer with no results.  Eventually I had to pick up my camera and head for home, leaving Forest Hill to the birds.

Animal Signs and Ice Crystals

Last Wednesday (14 JAN 2015) I was able to spend a little bit of time walking through the woods at Chipp-A-Waters Park in Mt. Pleasant.  I already posted some pictures of ice taken that day, but ice was far from the only thing I found.

Part of my walk took me off the paved trail and onto the frozen surface of an oxbow pond.   In Summer the edges of this pond are the home to rushes and bur-reeds.

Giant Bur-reed at Chipp-A-Waters Park

The center of the pond is home to a colony of Yellow Pond Lilies.

Yellow Pond Lily colony at Chipp-A-Waters Park

This time of year, the oxbow looks like this...

Ice and snow-covered oxbow pond

It's covered with snow and ice and criss-crossed with tracks from White-tailed Deer and Red Fox.  Many of the fox track passed near an old muskrat lodge along the edge of the oxbow.

Fox tracks converge on an old muskrat lodge

At least one fox took the time to leave its mark with a spray of urine.

This spot serves as a marking post for local wildlife

A yellow spot of urine shows that a fox has recently passed through

Fox tracks and urine were not the only interesting things that I found on the oxbow.

A fox-eye view through the rushes and sedges

Some of these emergent vegetation was covered with delicate blades and feathers of frost

Frost-covered leaves and stems

Some of these frost feathers were nearly an inch long.  This picture shows them in more detail.

Feathers of frost on a rush stem

Two Ponds in Two Days - Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Sampling

One of the best things about my work is having the opportunity to get kids outside and expose them to the habitats and wildlife in their own hometown.  Last week I was able to get five classes off of school grounds to explore a couple of local ponds.  Here are a few pictures.

The first pictures were taken at Mill Pond Park in Mt. Pleasant on Thursday May 29th.  Two 3rd grade classes from Ganiard Elementary walked down the street from their school to join me in searching for aquatic macroinvertebrates.  The other two 3rd grade classes from the school will be doing the same thing later this week.

On Friday May 30th, the 3rd - 5th grade classrooms from Winn Elementary met me at a private pond near their school.  We were lucky to receive permission from the land owner to use this pond.  This meant that the students were able to walk to this site, instead of having to take a bus to a location far from their school.  Many students pass this pond every day on their bus ride to school.  Now they know what kinds of animals can be found swimming around in it.