100 Species to Know by Sight - #9 Mallard Duck

It's time to add to my list of species that every kid (and adult) in Mid-Michigan should be able to identify.  The list so far includes:

     #1  Wood Frog
     #2  White-tailed Deer
     #3  Large-flowered Trillium
     #4  Black-eyed Susan
     #5  Skunk Cabbage
     #6  Monarch Butterfly
     #7  Viceroy Butterfly
     #8  Fox Squirrel

Species #9 is the first bird on the the list - the Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos).  In Mid-Michign when most people think of a duck this is the species that come to their mind.  The Mallard drake (male) is one of the most easily recognized birds in North America.  It is characterized by a shining green head, bright yellow bill, chocolate brown breast, grey body, black rump and white tail.

Compared to the male, the hen (female) is rather plain looking - she has speckled brown feathers covering her entire body, a dull orange and brown bill, and a patch of dark blue on her wings.

Drake and hen Mallard - the drake shows his distinctive green head and yellow bill

Mallard Hen

Mallard hen - note her mottled brown and tan color and dull orange-brown bill

Mallard hen - note the dark blue patch on her wings

Mallard drake - showing all of his distinguishing marks

For more information on the Mallard check out this species profile on allaboutbirds.org.

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

Being Observant

There is an old saying that the key to photography is "f/8 and be there".

The first part of this statement, "f/8" refers to the aperture used to take the photo - the aperture is essentially how much light is allowed through the lens to record the image.  A way to imagine aperture is to think about your own eye.  If you squint you let in less light if you open your eye wide you let in more light - this is aperture.

While the part about aperture is important, the real key to taking photographs is to "be there".  It is impossible to take a photograph of something you never see.  This is good advice in general, even if you are not interested in photography.

You will never see anything unless you are prepared to see.

So what is the point of all of this discussion of "being there" and "seeing"?

Last week I had one of those opportunities to "see" something that most people probably would pass right by.  I was at the the Mt. Pleasant City Hall to drop off some paperwork and noticed a flock of ducks in a small retention pond between the parking lot and the Chippewa River.  At first glance most people would probably see a flock of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) - this is not unusual, Mallards are our most common duck in Mid-Michigan.

However, one of the ducks was different than the others.

That duck in the center of the photograph is an American Black Duck (Anas rubripes).  This is not the first time I have photographed a Black Duck in Mt. Pleasant - I also took photos of one in April 2013.  American Black Ducks are not currently listed as endangered or threatened, but their numbers are on the decline throughout their range.  It is always exciting to me anytime I see one.

Be there (wherever that might be) and be prepared to see.  You might be amazed.

Shameless Self-promotion

A few weeks ago I received an email from a lady at one of our local phone book companies.  She asked if I would consent to one of my photographs appearing on the cover of the 2015 phone book for Isabella and Gratiot Counties.  They had two photographs of a young raccoon that they were considering - these photos appeared on this blog in June 2013.  I was also asked to write a short paragraph describing the picture and my photography.

This is what the final product ended up looking like. 

It's pretty cool to think that one of my photographs has ended up in thousands of local homes and businesses - even if its just the cover of a phone book.

Abstract Forms in Ice

New posts have been few and far between over the past few weeks.  Initially Christmas Break was to blame - I really had no intention of posting much during the time between Christmas and New Years.

Then once I got back to work last week my busy schedule got in the way of taking photographs and writing.

And through it all I kept getting sick.  I had a cold twice.  I managed to avoid getting the flu, even though Shara was sick with it.  Finally both of us got pink eye (conjunctivitis).

To top it all off, our home internet has been down for several days.

So today I am back at work (still taking a day off from visiting schools due to the conjunctivitis) and it looked like a good day to go out and get a few pictures.  I went to Chipp-A-Waters Park on Mt. Pleasant's southwest side and spent about ninety minutes walking around in the woods and along the trails. 

I took quite a few photos, but my favorites are these ones of jagged pieces of ice in the Chippewa River.

Snow and Survival - Animal Adaptations in Winter

After a mild December, Winter has arrived in Mid-Michigan with a vengeance.  Projected temperatures for the next twenty-four hours are set to dip down to -1 degree Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius).

In addition to the cold temperatures, over the past week Mid-Michigan has also received several inches of snow and a day of freezing rain.  The snow and cold pose survival challenges for animals that remain in Michigan during the Winter.

Life during the Winter seems to occur at a much slower pace than it does during the other eight or nine months of the year.  Most of the birds that called the region home during the warmer months have migrated to warmer climates.  Insects seem to have disappeared - some lie dormant as adults, others spend the cold months as eggs, larvae, or pupae.  Reptiles, amphibians, and a few mammals lie still in hibernation until the weather improves.  Even most of the trees and other plants sit dormant and await the return of Spring.

For each animal that remains active here during the Winter survival comes down to two factors; can it find enough food (and avoid becoming food for another animal) and can they stay warm.  While part of staying warm is staying sheltered from wind and moisture, a big part of staying warm is being able to metabolize at a high enough rate to stay warm.  So in reality the ability to survive Winter in the northern United States comes down to finding enough food (and avoiding avoiding becoming food).

First Snows of 2015

Happy 2015!

After a very mild December, the new year has started off with some wintry weather.  Snow on Saturday morning followed by rain during the day and night and more snow on Sunday morning.

Here are a few photographs of the Pine River in Alma from yesterday (04 JAN 2015) morning.

Waterfowl appreciate that the river remains open.

Soft spongy ice has formed outside the main channel of the river.

Pedestrian bridge over the Pine River

The river isn't in this photo - it's immediately behind the trees to the right

Finally, my favorite photo of the day...

Canada Geese coming in to land on the river.

Tomorrow, look for an article on whether animals in Mid-Michigan survive the Winter better if there is no snow or lots of snow.