Tag: birdwatching

  • A Year of Birds: April 2023

    While still cold, with occasional flurries of snow, the days are finally getting a bit warmer, with temperatures creeping into the mid- to upper-30s at times. While snow is still on the ground, it is gradually melting, and the mornings are misty with the evaporation in the air. The ice is nearly melted on the…

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  • Getting ready for new exhibit

    This has been a busy time of year, getting ready for an exhibit in Detroit, and will be taking my art to a new gallery in Grayling. I am also preparing for an art fair in a few weeks. Today, I also delivered prints and painted birdhouses to a gallery in Harbor Springs. Below are…

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  • A Year of Birds: March 2023

    March has come in cold and blustery, with several inches of snow falling, as if to make up for the warmer weather at the end of February.  Ice has formed on the bay again, and it is bitter cold. One early morning during this cold spell, I saw a group of juvenile eagles out on…

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  • A Year of Birds: February 2023

    The warm spell at the January didn’t last. It is, after all, winter in northeast Michigan. The temperatures dropped to a chilly -5 degrees F in the early morning, and I am feeding the birds twice a day now (and the deer, too! They come by regularly for snacks). The ground has turned from a…

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  • A Year of Birds: January 2023

    January has come in cold for a few days after a warm spell (if you consider 35 degrees F warm, that is!). But it has snowed, the temperatures have dropped, and today I saw a mute swan swimming on the bay near the snow-covered beach. It glided silently along, beautiful. A couple of days later,…

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  • Favorite Photos of 2022: Part 2

    Here are some of my favorite photos from 2022 that I took. June: Ruffed Grouse July: Mute Swan July: Two Kingfishers July: Sandhill Crane mother and baby August: Hawk August: Tern with fish September: Blue Heron September: Sandhill Cranes October: Bald Eagles October: Yellow Legs migrating November: Young Eagle flying November: Golden eye ducks migrating…

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  • Favorite Photos 2022 Part 1

    This year, I took many photos, and want to share my favorites during this review of the year. January: rough legged hawk February: snowy owl March: Great Blue Heron April: Golden Eye May: Wood Ducks May: Phoebe May: Great Egret

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  • A Year of Birds: December 2022

    December has come in cold, but not bitter as it often does here in northeast Michigan. The days are often cloudy and gray, unless the sun decides to peek through. Some mornings, the banks of clouds on the horizon look like a small mountain range in the distance, and it is beautiful. While driving back…

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  • A Year of Birds 2022: November

    Part 1 During my hike today at the beginning of the month, the bay is silent compared to the almost constant background chatter of small tweets, whistles and the high “kews” of the yellow legs that are heard during the summer. When I went into town, I saw one of the few birds that has…

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  • A Year of Birds: September 2022

                                            September 2022 The days are still warm at the beginning of September, and there are plenty of bird sightings along the beaches and marshes. Today, on the way into town, I stopped by a local marsh on the river, and saw a pair of Greater yellow legs there, wading and fishing. Then, on the…

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  • A Year of Birds: August 2022

    This has been a very busy month, but I am trying to find time to go birding. The sandhill pair is still hanging out near Misery Bay in the marshes, but I haven’t seen the baby. I hope it is okay, I will check on them to see. While hiking, I saw a young merganser…

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  • Sandhills Flying: Acrylic Painting

    I think that sandhill cranes are beautiful birds, especially in flight when the markings on their wings can be seen. This is a fairly common sight over the marshes and fields of Michigan. I decided to paint this pair flying in a deep blue sky to show the complement between their ochre red-orange colors and…

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