Vernal: A Spring Photo Project (Day 81 through Day 93)

Nearly two weeks into summer and I am finally finishing up my spring photography project.  I began this project on the spring equinox and have photographed something outdoors in the natural world (with one notable exception) every day of the season.  I have selected only one photograph to represent each day.  If you haven't seen the first eight sets of images they can be found at the following links:  Days 1 - 10, 11 - 20, 21 - 30, 31 - 40, 41 - 50, 51 - 60, 61 -70, and 71 - 80.

The final set of images consisted of fourteen photographs photographed between June 8th and June 20th (the last full day of spring)

Day 81 (08 June 2019) - White Campion

This image shows a white campion (Silene latifolia).  This species is native to Europe but has naturalized across much of North America.  Unlike many European imports, this species probably does not have a negative impact on the environment.  In fact it may have a slight positive impact as its white flowers attract a variety of moths that seek it out for nectar.  This photograph was taken at Forest Hill Nature Area.  Forest Hill is located northwest of Alma in Gratiot County and is operated by the Gratiot-Isabella RESD.  Forest Hill is located less than fifteen minutes from my house so it is a convenient site for me to visit and photograph.  Many of the photos from my 2018 summer photography project were taken at Forest Hill.

Day 82 (09 June 2019) - How Blue Can You Get?

My second image was taken at one of the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's farthest flung preserves.  Peterson Natural Area is located in Mecosta County nearly 40 miles west of Mt. Pleasant.  The preserve is significantly closer to Big Rapids (less than 10 road miles away).  Before become a nature preserve, the Peterson Natural Area was farmed for many years.  Much of the property remains clear of trees and shrubs today.  This attracts birds that like open habitats such as this pair of eastern bluebirds (Sialis sialis) who claimed this nesting box along the old farm lane.  A pair of tree swallows was using a nesting box a few posts away.

Day 83 (10 June 2019) - Backroad, Tree and Clouds

Sometimes I take the gravel roads home just in case I find something worth photographing.  I love photographing clouds and on this day the cumulous clouds were perfect.  As I passed this tree I realized I had found something worth taking time to photograph.  This picture was taken from a low angle so the grass along the roadside would block a couple trees in the background.

Day 84 (11 June 2019) - Cirrocumulus Clouds

Another day, another cloud photograph.  This image of cirrocumulus clouds was taken from my driveway in Alma, MI.  Cirrocumulus clouds are often referred to as "mackerel scales" because the pattern of the clouds resemble the scales on a fish.

Day 85 (12 June 2019) - A Snake Called Fluffy

Until 2013 I had never seen a northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon) in Mt. Pleasant, despite working in the city parks from 2002 through 2010.  Now I see them every single year, sometimes several at a time.  I now know that if I want to see this species I can reliably find them at Chipp-A-Waters Park.  There is a small pond located near the southernmost parking area in the park.  This pond was originally dug as part of a wetland mitigation project.  It now is home to fish, tadpoles, and frogs.  In other words it's the perfect hunting ground for the northern water snake.  This particular snake did not appear to be actively hunting; instead it was basking in the sun in the middle of the pond.  The white fluff covering the surface of the water is composed of hundred (more like thousands) of fluffy cottonwood seeds.

Day 86 (13 June 2019) - Hairy Beardtongue

The native pollinator garden at the Saginaw Chippewa Academy was planted way back in 2011.   Other than the occasional weeding and trimming down old stalks each spring, the garden has been largely on its own since it was planted.  One of my favorite flowers in the garden is hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus).  This species doesn't flower profusely every year, but this was one of those years where it did.  I especially like how it contrasts with the surrounding lance-leaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata).

Day 87 (14 June 2019) - Sic semper Tyrannus tyrannus!

This photograph of an eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) was taken at the Ziibiwing Center.  Eastern kingbirds are a species of flycatcher.  As that association implies, they feed on flying insects.  This was one a pair of kingbirds I observed feeding in the open field behind the Ziibiwing Center.

Day 88 (15 June 2019) - Bombus ternarius

June 15th was a busy day for me.  I had to be in Tustin, MI at the Kettunen Center for a meeting of the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) board of directors at 1:00PM.  At 3:00PM I needed to be in Cadillac at William Mitchell State Park to give a presentation on Michigan's logging history.  When the presentation was over I had to return to the Kettunen Center for more MAEOE meetings.  Arriving back at the Kettunen Center I decided to take a few minutes to walk along the edge of the woods before going back into the meeting.  I photographed a few flowers and some fern.  Then I noticed a bumblebee buzzing around a bunch blackberry or raspberry plants.  Right away I could see that this was not the common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens), instead its the orange-belted or tricolored bumblebee (Bombus ternarius).  I rarely see this species as it is not common in the southern half of the lower peninsula.

Day 89 (16 June 2019) - Emerald Spreadwing

This photograph was taken near Laingsburg, MI at my parent's home.  My parents own approximately 15 acres of land of which nearly half is part of the floodplain of the nearby Looking Glass River.  The floodplain has been consistently flooded for much of this year.  That much water should result in a mosquito problem, but the damselflies seem to be keeping populations under control.   I can honestly say that I have never seen so many damselflies in one place - at one point I was standing in a small clearing (maybe 20ft by 20ft) in a planted woodland and was surrounded by several hundred individual.  Most of them appeared to be emerald spreadwings (Lestes dryas) such as this one, but there were several other species mixed in.

Day 90 (17 June 2019) - You Talkin' to Me?

Another day, another damselfly.  This ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) was photographed at the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's Audubon Woods Preserve.  When I first started approached this damselfly I began photographing it from the side, but it quickly turned to face me.  It didn't fly away.  It just seemed curious and allowed me to photograph it for several minutes.  This photo was cropped from a horizontal to a vertical format.

Day 91 (18 June 2019) - Hungry Hungry Caterpillar

As summer gets closer and closer more insects appear.  This monarch caterpillar (Danaus plexippus) was feeding on a common milkweed (Asclepia syriaca) at the Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum's native pollinator garden.  This photograph was originally in a horizontal format, but has been cropped to a vertical format.

Day 92 (19 June 2019) - Hive Mentality

There are currently a pair of honeybee hives at the Forest Hill Nature Area.  When I visited on June 19th one of the hives had almost no activity while the other was literally abuzz with activity.  I took this photograph from about ten feet away.  The bees were completely unconcerned by my presence, but I would not recommend approaching the hive from the front.  I really like this picture because of the bees I captured in flight on the left of the image.

Day 93 (20 June 2019) - Last Day of Spring

With this photograph we've reached the end of spring.  This image of a pair of flies on a buttercup (Ranunculus sp.) flower was taken at Picken's Field in Mt. Pleasant.  For some reason, I find yellow flowers really difficult to photograph.  They always seem to be over exposed and the highlights completely blow out the details.  Because of this I did adjust the brightness of this image on the computer to tone down the highlights.  I also cropped this to a vertical image from the original horizontal.

I may have reached the end of spring, but the photography hasn't stopped.  As I type this on July 3rd, I'm thirteen days into an as-yet-unnamed summer photography project.  I'll start posting those photographs soon.  Hopefully I will be able to catch up on that project fairly quickly.

Nestlings and more (12 June 2017)

Shara and I stopped at the Ziibiwing Center last night (12 June) to check on the bluebird nesting boxes.  First up was the single Eastern Bluebird nest.  Here is what they looked like yesterday.

Eastern Bluebird nestlings on 12 June 2017 (photo by Shara LeValley)

For comparison, the same nest on June 6th.  Those little buggers have grown a lot in a week!

Eastern Bluebird nestlings on 06 June 2017 (photo by Shara LeValley)

 We also checked on the four Tree Swallow nests.  One nest had chicks that appeared to have hatched in the last 24 hours.  The chicks in the other three nests are a five to ten days old.  Here is a picture of  one of the older nests.  Unfortunately most of the other photos were too dark and blurry.

Tree Swallow nestlings on 12 June 2017 (photo by Shara LeValley)

The birds were not the only babies that we found.  While walking across the lawn, we noticed a patch of Common Milkweed and out of habit began to search for Monarch eggs and caterpillars.  We found one - our first caterpillar of the year!  Because grounds was at that time mowing the lawn, we knew this caterpillar would not survive where it was found.  We collected it and took it home to rear.  We'll release it once it metamorphoses as an adult.

Monarch caterpillar (photo by Shara LeValley)

Finally, we discovered paper wasps creating a nest on the underside of a sculpture.  Wasps create these nests by chewing up wood fibers and mixing it with their saliva to create a paper-like substance.  The hexagonal shape of each cell allows the wasps to fit the maximum number of cells in a small space.

Paper wasps (photo by Shara LeValley)

Paper wasp nest on coneflower sculpture (photo by Shara LeValley)

Bluebird and Swallow eggs

Yesterday (24 May), we stopped after work to check on the nesting boxes at the Ziibiwing Center.  Out of seven boxes, we found five active nests - one Eastern Bluebird (Sialis sialis) nest and four Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nests.  The remaining two boxes showed evidence of House Sparrows and were cleaned out.

Here are photos of four of the active nests; the fifth nest had a swallow in the box and we didn't open it.

First up is the Bluebird nest.  This box was also used by a pair of Bluebirds in 2016 - last year they successfully raised five young.  The colder weather this spring has delayed nesting for many birds.  At this point last year, the Bluebird chicks were a week old.  As of yesterday they were still eggs.

Eastern Bluebird eggs (photo by Shara LeValley)

Next is a picture of a Tree Swallow nest.  You'll notice the difference in nests right away.  Bluebirds construct their nests of fine grasses.  So do Tree Swallows, but then they line their nests with feathers.
This nest got a late start - the bird have only laid one egg so far.

Tree Swallow nest and egg (photo by Shara LeValley)

The final two active nest both contained six Tree Swallow eggs.

Tree Swallow eggs (photo by Shara LeValley)

Another Tree Swallow nest (photo by Shara LeValley)

We'll check on the boxes again next week - hopefully there will be baby birds to show.

Baby Bluebird Update (31 May 2016)

The baby Eastern Bluebirds at the Ziibiwing Center continue to grow quickly.  They have begun to spill out of the nest cup.  At a minimum these nestlings are 15 days old.  They could fledge (leave the nest) any day.

It's getting crowded in here... (Photo by Shara LeValley)

Baby Eastern Bluebirds (Photo by Shara LeValley)

One of the other nest boxes has a Tree Swallow nest.  When we opened the box, Mama Tree Swallow was sitting inside.

A female Tree Swallow sitting on her nest (Photo by Shara LeValley)

Meanwhile, in one of the nest boxes at the Saginaw Chippewa Academy a clutch of Tree Swallow eggs has hatched.

Tree Swallow nestlings (Photo by Shara LeValley)

Baby Bluebird Update (26 May 2016)

Last Thursday (the 26th), we stopped at the Ziibiwing Center to check on the progress of the Eastern Bluebird nestlings.  They look more and more like adult birds every time we check on them.

I've got my eye on you! (Photo by Shara LeValley)

Eastern Bluebird nestlings - that nest is getting pretty full (Photo by Shara LeValley)

Not the greatest photo, but you can see all five nestlings (Photo by Shara LeValley)

Eastern Bluebird nestlings - check out the blue wing feathers (Photo by Shara LeValley)

Baby Bluebird Update (23 May 2016)

The Eastern Bluebird nestlings at the Ziibiwing Center are coming along nicely in their development.  They have their eyes open now and are covered with feathers.  They are beginning to look like birds.

Baby Bluebird Update

We stopped at the Ziibiwing Center yesterday (18 May) on our way home to check on the nesting boxes.  The baby bluebirds are growing and changing quickly - their feathers are starting to develop.  I expect their eyes to open in the next day or so.

Baby Eastern Bluebirds - there is a fifth one on the bottom of the pile (photo by Shara LeValley)

Baby Birds

We stopped yesterday afternoon (16 May) to check on the bluebird nest at the Ziibiwing Center.  Opening it up, here is what we discovered.

Five adorably ugly baby Eastern Bluebirds - photo by Shara LeValley

Look here to see the eggs before they hatched.

On the Bluebird Trail

Yesterday afternoon, Shara and I stopped at the Ziibiwing Center to check on the nest boxes along their new Bluebird Trail.  Most of the boxes are unoccupied - it is not unusual for birds to take a while to discover and use new nesting boxes.

However, one of the boxes contained a full clutch of five Eastern Bluebird eggs.

Eastern Bluebird nests are made entirely of grasses - photo by Shara LeValley

Eastern Bluebird eggs - photo by Shara LeValley

There were several pairs of Tree Swallows flying around the nest boxes.  Now that the weather has finally begun to warm up, I expect that they will also begin too nest soon.

Don't forget to come by the Ziibiwing Center this Saturday (May 14th) for the annual Bird Day Celebration.

If you build a bluebird trail, they will come

Not a great photo, but it does show the male of the Bluebird pair that I saw at the Ziibiwing Center

The new bluebird trail at the Ziibiwing Center is drawing attention from the local birds.  Yesterday afternoon I stopped to see if there was any activity.  I found several pairs of Tree Swallows either perching on or entering boxes.  I also found at least one pair of Eastern Bluebirds staking a claim to one box.  The birds are still very skittish and are best observed from a distance - as they begin to nest and acclimate to attention you should be able to approach a little bit closer.  Out in the field behind the museum I also saw and heard at least two male Eastern Meadowlarks calling back and forth.

Again, not a great picture - Eastern Meadowlark male

Last week I even saw a birder, glassing the open fields with binoculars.

A new bluebird trail in Mt. Pleasant

A bluebird nest box with the Ziibiwing Center in the background

 
Yesterday afternoon I stopped at the Ziibiwing Center to install a new bluebird trail.  A bluebird trail is simply a series of nesting boxes arranged in some sort of pattern.  This will be the fourth bluebird trail that I have installed.  The others are at the Saginaw Chippewa Academy, Winn Elementary, and the Morey Public School Academy.  I maintain the boxes at SCA, the other boxes are maintained by teachers at the schools.

Why install bluebird trail at the Ziibiwing Center?  First, the Ziibiwing Center is the host site for our annual International Migratory Bird Day Celebration and I thought this would be a great addition to this year's celebration.  (This year's Bird Day is scheduled for Saturday May 14th - more information will come soon.)  Second, the Ziibiwing Center is surrounded by open grassy fields - good habitat for bluebirds.  Finally,  I have worked with the Ziibiwing staff on a number of projects over the years and though this was a great way to say thank you for their assistance. 

I also want to say thanks to Heather Shaw (wildlife biologist for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe) for helping me install the boxes.  If you want to learn a little more about Heather and the work she does, check out this post from August 2015.

In total, we placed seven boxes around the perimeter of the Ziibiwing Center.  I plan on going back and adding at least one more box.  There is also the potential to add some boxes at the nearby Andahwod senior center.  While putting up the boxes, we were able to watch hawks hunting in the surrounding fields and I think I saw an Eastern Meadowlark at one point.  I expect both Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows will find these nesting boxes and make use of them in the upcoming years.

For plans to build a bluebird nesting box of your own, look here.

Building a Bird Nesting Box

Yesterday afternoon I built a nesting box for small cavity-dwelling birds.  Over the past decade I have probably built several dozen of these boxes.  They have been placed in school habitats, given away, and donated as silent auction items.  I placed several on trees at our previous home and have one up on a tree near our back door.  These boxes have been used by Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, Black-capped Chickadees, House Wrens, White-breasted Nuthatches, and unfortunately by House Sparrows.

I like this design because it is relatively easy to built.  It is constructed from a single 6 ft. piece of 1x6 rough-sawn cedar.  I can cut all of the required pieces from this one board and have a couple pieces left over.

Building one of these boxes requires very little in the way of tools.  I use a compound miter saw to cut the wood, but it can easily be done with a hand saw.  The other required tools and supplies are a tape measure or ruler, a hammer, nails ( I use 6D and 4D sinkers), a #3 Phillips screwdriver, one #10 brass wood screw, and a drill with a 1 1/2 inch spade bit.  I also use wood glue or construction adhesive to help attach the boards and a pair of bar clamps to hold things together during assembly.  The glue and clamps are not required, but do make things easier.

The first step is to cut all of the piece to length.  This nesting box requires one 14 inch piece (back), four 9 inch pieces (sides, front, and top), one 3 3/4 inch piece (bottom).

All of the pieces for one nest box can be cut from one 1 x 6 x 6 ft piece of cedar - one 4 x 2 3/4 piece (predator guard),      one 3 3/4 inch piece (bottom), four 9 inch pieces (sides, front, and top) and one 14 inch piece (back).

A Historical Anniversary and A Brief Hiatus

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1st-3rd, 1863).  It was the largest battle fought on American soil and marked the high point of the Civil War for the Confederacy.  We visited the battlefield in 2009.  This was my favorite photo from that trip.

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) on the First Minnesota Infantry Monument

Blog posts over the next two weeks will be sporadic as I will be out of the office during that time.  Regular Monday through Friday blog posts will resume on July 15th.

Mid-Michigan Program Notices for 8 & 10 APR 2013

If you live in the Mid-Michigan Area there are two programs going on this week that might be of interest to you.  Both events are open to the public.

Tonight (8 APR 2013) at 6:00PM

The Mid-Mitten Chapter of Wild Ones is hosting a program on Monarch Butterflies at the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland.  From the Mid-Mitten Chapter calendar:

Monarch Butterflies and the "Bring Back the Monarchs Campaign": The Monarch butterfly's life cycle, migration, and habitat have been studied extensively by many scientists. Learn about the perils Monarchs face during their travels to Mexico and back, and how our climate has impacted the populations. Wild Ones, the national organization, officially joined the "Monarch Joint Venture" last fall in an effort to plant more milkweeds this year for the Monarchs. Denny Brooks is a long time amateur naturalist, local nature photographer, and citizen scientist. He is collecting data for "Monarch Watch" at the University of Kansas; the "Monarch Larva Monitoring Program" for the University of Minnesota; parasite testing for the University of Georgia and butterfly sightings for "Journey North," for over ten years. This program is open to the public starting at 6 pm at Chippewa Nature Center, 400 Badour Rd., Midland, Michigan

Wednesday (10 APR 2013) at 7:00PM

The Chippewa Valley Audubon Club is hosting a program on Eastern Bluebirds at the Veterans Memorial Library (301 S. University) in Mt. Pleasant.  From the CVAC website:

Bluebirds:  Kurt Hagemeister from the Michigan Bluebird Society will talk about bluebird houses and housing preferences, bluebird predators and the care and monitoring of bluebird trails.

Signs of Spring

Yesterday I had my first confirmed Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) sighting of the spring.  I know that some Bluebirds remain in Mid-Michigan throughout the winter, but the majority migrate to the south for winter.  Fortunately we cleaned out the nest boxes at Winn Elementary and Saginaw Chippewa Academy so they are ready for the Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and other birds.

A pair of Eastern Bluebirds from 2009: male (left) and female (right)

Eastern Bluebird chicks in a nestbox at the Saginaw Chippewa Academy (May 2011)

For the Birds

One of the easiest things that you can do to help birds is to put up places for them to nest.  Many bird nest only in abandoned woodpecker holes, knotholes, and other cavities in trees.  Unfortunately for many cavity-nesting birds, appropriate nesting sites are few and far between, and there is great competition for those sites that do exist. 

Most appropriate nest sites are found in dead or dying trees where it easier for woodpeckers to excavate a hole.  If these are in the middle of a woods, they may stand for many years and be used by many different species.  But if they are along a fencerow, on the edge of a woods, or in someone's yard they are not likely to last for more than one or two nesting seasons.  Many people view dead trees, especially one with holes, as ugly or even dangerous.  They don't think about the value of such trees to wildlife.

A trend that has been happening for many years, but that seems to be accelerating here in Mid-Michigan, is the removal of fencerows between fields.  Farmers do this to maximize agricultural production, but unfortunately it removes valuable habitat for many species, including cavity-nesting birds. 

So things might look bleak for cavity nesting birds, but there is one easy step that can be done to help them: build and install artificial nest boxes.  Do it right now before nesting season begins.  The birds will find the boxes and use them. 

There are many available plans that can be built from a single board with simple hand tools.  This plan is one that we have available in our office for people to take. I have found this same plan available on numerous websites, and do not know the original source of the plan.

Simple one board nest box plan.