After last year's learning and successful raising of a monarch butterfly we have been anxiously awaiting seeing them back again! Last year we had 2 cultivated milkweed plants, a variety called "SoulMate". This spring, both came back, but one got damaged during an early spring … [Read more...]
Recent Yard Sightings! Beetles, Snakeskins and more
We've been seeing some interesting things here in the yard, here's a few recent sightings! … [Read more...]
Rose Breasted Grosbeak Mating Behavior Observed
I caught this weird Rose-Breasted Grosbeak interaction on camera a week or so ago, but had to have an opportunity to read about it in the Stokes Guide to Bird Behavior to be sure what I was seeing. This is a mating behavior that the Stokes guide calls: "Wing-Droop-Fluff". It is … [Read more...]
Male Baltimore Oriole Eats Caterpillar or Grub
I setup the GoPro in this landing area for the orioles and their fledglings. I was pleasantly surprised to capture this male oriole land with a green caterpillar or grub in its beak and proceed to gobble it up! Pretty cool to see! … [Read more...]
Invasive Japanese Beetles
Last year we saw a few of these beetles. This year, they were EVERYWHERE. covering some chokecherry bushes. We would squish them because they are invasive, but there's just so many. According to the MI DNR, they are pervasive across the state now and their spread is no longer … [Read more...]
Gray Catbird spends the summer!
This is our first year seeing a Gray Catbird around. Now that we are more familiar with them, we know we've heard them before, but we never saw one prior to this year. It's been fun to have them around. They like the fruit and jelly we put out for the orioles and they also like … [Read more...]
