Photo of the Week: Upland Sandpiper, Long Distance Traveler

buffy-brown and white bird with yellow legs perched on fence post.

My bird sighting last week at a nearby birding hotspot caught me by surprise: the Upland Sandpiper has arrived in southeast Michigan.

When I checked my past bird sightings, I learned I usually see Upland Sandpipers in early May.

A long distance traveler, the Upland Sandpiper winters in South American pampas of Paraguay and northern Argentina before migrating through the Great Plains and Midwest of the United States in early spring. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Upland Sandpiper, Long Distance Traveler

Photo of the Week: the Inconspicuous Wilson’s Snipe

plump brown shorebird with long brown bill and buffy patterns forages for food in the marshy mudflat.

I’ve probably walked by dozens of mudflats with Wilson’s Snipes in them, without realizing I should have lifted my binoculars to my eyes to peruse the piles of mud in search of the shorebird.

While Wilson’s Snipes are considered a widespread shorebird in North America, they can be hard to find.

Why? Continue reading Photo of the Week: the Inconspicuous Wilson’s Snipe

Photo of the Week: Ice Sheets on the Detroit River

white ice sheets float down the blue open water of the Detroit River as it flows past Mud Island in Ecorse, Michigan.

Like many people in southeast Michigan, I’ve enjoyed the last few days of warmer weather and sunshine.

We’ve had temperatures reach the mid-50 degrees Farenheit over the weekend, it’s such a good feeling to have warm weather again!

Despite the fact we have snow mounds on our lawns and 10 to 20 feet tall snow piles in parking lots, spring is coming. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Ice Sheets on the Detroit River