Photo of the Week: Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed

Orange, white, and black patterned butterfly pauses on purple blooms of tall plant with smooth green leaves.

With my plans to create a more bird and butterfly friendly yard, last year I replanted one of my flowers beds with Swamp Milkweed and other native Michigan plants. The milkweed plants had a couple blossoms last summer, which surprised me. From my research, I understood it would take a year for milkweed to establish… Continue reading Photo of the Week: Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed

Photo of the Week: The Endangered Migratory Monarch Butterfly

Bright orange and black butterfly lights on a yellow dandelion flower, green blurred field in the background.

When I was growing up, seeing a Monarch butterfly was something I took for granted.

I would see the brilliant orange and black butterflies on a daily basis throughout the summer.

Monarchs were common in our yard, stopping on brightly-colored flowers to sip nectar. I remember chasing them with a butterfly net, rarely being to catch one.

Never in my mind would I have thought one day Monarchs would be considered endangered.

Yet, that’s what happened this month when the International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migratory monarch butterfly to its Red List of threatened species.

The migratory Monarch butterfly is now considered an endangered species.

Continue reading Photo of the Week: The Endangered Migratory Monarch Butterfly

Photo of the Week: Piping Plovers Along Lake Michigan Shoreline

small shorebird with narrow black band around neck, black-tipped orange bill sits on sand next to Lake Michigan

What a special treat to end June by seeing the Piping Plover on the shore of Lake Michigan this weekend!

I’ll always remember June 2018, since I saw three of the rarest Michigan birds in one month: Continue reading Photo of the Week: Piping Plovers Along Lake Michigan Shoreline