Kalamazoo Seasons

Maple Syrup Festivals 2012

2012-02-16T09:40:00.000-05:00

This Winter has been so mild, it will be hard to tell when Spring arrives. It is coming and the maple sap will flow bringing syrup season to the north. Warm days in February (along with cold nights) have allowed some producers an early start.

Maple events near Kalamazoo

March 1 Backyard Maple Sugaring(reservations needed) Blandford Nature Center Grand Rapids

March 3-4 and March 10-11 Maple Sugar Time 10am - 4pm Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Chellberg Farm Chesterton, IN

March 17-18 47th Annual Maple Sugar Festival Kalamazoo Nature Center 9am – 5pm Kalamazoo

March 17-18 Sugar Camp Days St Joseph (IN) County Parks Bendix Woods County Park, New Carlisle, IN

March 17 Maple Syrup Day at Kellogg Forest, 11am-5pm Augusta

March 24 Sugarbush Festival & Pancake Breakfast Blandford Nature Center Grand Rapids

March weekends Maple Sugar Time at the Van Raalte farm DeGraaf Nature Center Holland

April 20-22 Wakarusa Maple Syrup Festival, Wakarusa, Indiana

April 27-29 71st Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival Vermontville

Also consider

Oakland County Maple Syrup Events

National Maple Syrup Festival Medora, IN

Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival

Make your own Maple Syrup

Sarett Nature Center usually holds its Maple Sugar Madness in March but it wasn't on their calendar when I looked. Benton Harbor

Maple Syrup festivals in the Midwest (mostly Wisconsin and Minnesota)

Ontario Maple Syrup Festivals

Ski Fort Custer

2012-02-12T13:55:00.005-05:00

It's been a few years since I'd skied at Fort Custer, partially because parks to the west of Kalamazoo often have more snow. This season the Lake effect snow has been minimal, so this morning we decided to try Fort Custer State Recreation Area. The snow was barely deep enough to ski, with the occasional root or branch sticking through the surface, but much better than the 1 inch depth reported near Lake Michigan.

Fort Custer has something like 25 miles of trails of differing levels of difficulty. In the summer, they're used by mountain bikers and horseback riders. In winter, skiers and dogsleds. Hikers all year round.

This morning, We skied around Whitford Lake which took just over an hour. The trail was clearly marked and easy to follow through the woods. There were a few hills, including a couple we decided to walk. Overall it's fairly accessible for beginners.

We saw a few Blue Jays, Chickadees, and swans, but the most impressive sight was a pair of noisy Sandhill Cranes flying overhead. It seems a little early for Spring migration but there was no mistaking these big birds.

Fort Custer Recreation Area
just east of Augusta on M-96
about 16 miles from Kalamazoo

Great Lakes Vacations

2012-02-09T08:20:00.000-05:00

Great Lakes
88 Great Vacations
by
Doris Scharfenberg
1996

This guidebook describes vacation destinations around Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario and on connecting waters, like Lake St Clair or the Niagara River. The book is illustrated with a few sketches and hand-drawn maps. It would make a good resource for anyone planning a Circle Tour around one of the Great Lakes. The vacations listed in this book stretch from Minnesota to New York. Michigan is well-represented, with destinations on 4 of the 5 lakes. I've selected a few destinations close to Kalamazoo.

Great Lakes Vacations in West Michigan

1. Michigan's Wide-Awake Sunset Towns
"By rare geologic luck, Michigan has a long chain of lakes immediately behind its western coast. Lake Macatawa (Holland), Muskegon Lake (Muskegon), Pere Marquette Lake (Ludington), and Manistee Lake are among the many harbors for commerce and plaeaure. Neither the Wisconsin coast nor any Lake Huron shore has this advantage."

Empire
Point Betsie
Frankfort
Manistee
Ludington State Park
Pentwater
White Lake/Whitehall/Montague
Canoe the White River
West Michigan Tourist Association

2. Lakeside Bonanzas in Muskegon
"The largest city of the east coast of Lake Michigan sprawls loosely over a wide area, ties in with a great state park and would like some things in its past to be forgotten. In 1887, forty-seven Muskegon sawmills were consuming forests like locusts on a binge, leaving years of depression when the trees ran out."

Muskegon County Museum
Hackley Public Library
Michigan Adventure
Festivals
Muskegon State Park
Luge
Hoffmaster State Park
Muskegon Visitors Bureau

3. Town of the Dancing Waters: Grand Haven
"Two shouts below Muskegon, a trio of towns shares a watery access to Michigan's southern heartland: Grand Haven, Ferrysburg, and Spring Lake. Grand Haven is largest and the only one with water on three sides, but the three are close enough to share the same big events."

Coast Guard Festival
Boardwalk
Grand Haven State Park
Grand Haven Area Visitors Bureau

4. New Furnishings For Grand Rapids
"Stand at the door of the Oval Office, then fish for salmon in a business suit one block away-- you can do it in Grand Rapids, Michigan's second largest city. Planted as a seedling village on a curve of the Grand River where water bubbled down over a stretch of rocks, the city's fame and fortune came from lumbering, manufacturing, cleansers (Amway Products), publishing, and in some measure from being the boyhood home of President Gerald Ford. The biggest claim to fame, however, has been as a furniture maker without peer."

Gerald R Ford Museum
Van Andel Public Museum
Fish ladder at Sixth Street dam
John Ball Park Zoo
Meijer Gardens
Heritage Hill
Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention & Visitors Bureau

5. Saucy Holland Days
"Minutes away from Lake Michigan, the sweet city of Holland hugs the east end of Lake Macatawa, quiet, scrubbed, and as lively as a tulip in the breeze. Founded by Netherlands' immigrants, its population today is a diverse mix, yet the Dutch heritage remains in charge."

Windmill Island
Veldheers Tulip Farm
Dutch Village
Tulip Festival
Holland State Park
Holland Convention and Visitors Bureau

6. Artful Saugatuck
"Searchers for the perfect bed and breakfast do consider pausing around Saugatuck, sometimes called the Marth's Vineyard of the Midwest. It is a village that manages to be famous, chic, historic, quaint, and unspoiled all at once. An even smaller hamlet, Douglas, shares the same wide spot on the Kalamazoo River (called Lake Kalamazoo) just inside the coast of Lake Michigan and a few miles south of Holland."

Chain ferry
galleries, gift shops, boutiques
SS Keewatin
Star of Saugatuck

7. Michigan's Sunny Southwest Corner
"The number of brochures declaring this of that vacation spot as an "all-season paradise" could fill the hold of a large freighter. However, the southwest corner of Michigan has a hefty list of year-round getaway goals, from scenic to gastronomic, with U-Pick farms, wineries, wonderful beaches, pretty towns, great fishing, winter sports, fall color, and quick access."

National Blueberry Festival South Haven
Liberty Hyde Museum South Haven
Canoe the Black River [pdf map]South Haven
Kalamazoo Nature Center Kalamazoo
Air Zoo Kalamazoo
Wineries
Magic store Colon
Blossomtime Festival St Joseph
Lake Bluff Park St Joseph
Grand Mere State Park
Warren Dunes State Park
Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council

This book seems to be out of print. Booksellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble may have used copies. I found a copy at my library.

Ice Breaker

2012-02-05T08:20:00.007-05:00

South Haven's annual Ice Breaker festival is held in the middle of winter but this weekend the weather felt more like Spring. It was warm enough in the sun that the ice sculptures carved in the morning had melted by mid-afternoon. Fortunately, South Haven's ice rink has its own freezer units so that ice was cold enough to support performances by synchronized skaters from Western Michigan University and Grand Valley State University.

The chili contest attracted lots of interest and the mild temperatures drew crowds to the outside decks of the Idler and South Haven Yacht Club where they could enjoy a cold drink after their spicy chili.

Ott Preserve

2012-02-02T18:34:00.004-05:00

Unseasonably warm weather squashed my plans to cross-country ski this week. Instead, I took a walk in the woods at the Ott Biological Preserve outside Battle Creek. Initially, the trail didn't look very promising-- backyards, scrubby trees, invasive groundcovers, and mud-- but I guess not much in Michigan is at its best on a snowless day in February.

A few minutes down the trail and the houses disappeared and the trees got bigger and the trail itself was drier. Small, but informative, signs described various natural phenomena visible from the trail. One noted that the trail follows an esker, a ridge created during the last Ice Age. A boardwalk crossed wet ground, where ferns and moss provided a touch of green among the fallen leaves. Side trails led to two small lakes within the preserve.

The mix of mature woods, shrub swamps, bogs, and open water provides substantial habitat diversity within a relatively small area. It looks promising for wildflowers; I noticed some round-lobed hepatica at the edge of the path.

The preserve trail system seemed to be three irregularly-shaped interconnected loops. They were clearly-marked and well-maintained so they were easy to follow without a map. A section of the North County National Scenic Trail passes through the preserve.

Last Spring, there was a controversy over plans for siting a new paved bike trail through the preserve. It appears that the resolution re-routes the planned Calhoun County Trailway to protect the preserve's more fragile features.

I'd hoped to visit Kimball Pines and Historic Bridge County Park since they are off the same stretch of M-96, but they both seemed to be closed for the season.

Ott Biological Preserve
Directions: The Preserve is just off the M-96/I-94-Business commercial strip east of Battle Creek. Arlington Avenue (across from a KFC) runs into the preserve's parking lot.

Dark-eyed junco

2012-01-29T09:45:00.003-05:00

Juncos Junco hyemalis are one of the birds that migrate to Michigan for the winter. They spend summer feeding and breeding in Canada. Some juncos are found as far south as Florida and Northern Mexico. In Kalamazoo, they are a consistent winter presence.

Juncos are members of the sparrow family. There are a number of different colorations for the Dark-eyed Junco, distinct enough that they were previously classified as separate species. Our local variation is known as the Slate-colored Junco or the Northern Slate-backed Junco. Informally, they're called snowbirds.

Juncos will readily come to bird feeders but they prefer to eat from tray feeders or seeds on the ground.

photo by Maria Stull Jan 28, 2012

Ski Russ Forest

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Russ Forest is one of my favorite spots for spring wildflowers but I hadn't visited it in the winter. Last weekend, before the snow melted, we skied its trails.

This park makes an ideal outing for the beginning cross-country skier. It offers a substantial outing (over 4 miles of trails) without any difficult terrain. The trails are wide, well-marked, and easy to follow. I'm not sure why loop 3 was designated "intermediate" on their maps, since it seemed perfectly level and easily negotiable. The biggest "hill" was the gentle slope to the bridge over Dowagiac Creek.

Russ Forest is less than an hour's drive from Kalamazoo. Only a few visitors had made the trip since the last snowfall, so over half of the distance we were able to ski unbroken snow. While no wildflowers are visible in January, the big tulip poplars are still there, as are the large beech trees marred by pocketknives.

Fred Russ Forest County Park
Marcellus Highway, eight miles east of Dowagiac
(269) 445-8611 Office

Fred Russ Research Forest (MSU)
20673 Marcellus Highway
Decatur, MI 49045
269-731-4597

Directions to Fred Russ Forest

From US-131 -- Just north of Three Rivers turn west on M-216 (Marcellus highway). Proceed 18 miles, traveling through Marcellus, to the research station office located on the left side. Travel another 1/4 mile to the roadside park entrance.

From I-94 -- Take the Paw Paw M-40 exit (exit 60). Travel south on M-40 through Lawton to Marcellus Highway. Turn west and travel approximately 5 miles to the research station office on the left side. Travel another 1/4 mile to the roadside park entrance.

Predator on campus

2012-01-22T10:39:00.003-05:00

On Friday afternoon, I was chatting with a friend in his office while college life went on outside his window: students walking across the upper quad, squirrels bounding across the snow. Suddenly, a dark shape streaked past the oak trees and crashed into a squirrel. A red-tailed hawk had found its dinner. I'd never seen a hawk at Kalamazoo College so it was a real surprise. I'm sure it was a bigger surprise to the student who was standing about 10 feet away when it happened.

Screech Owl

2012-01-19T14:16:00.000-05:00

Eastern Screech Owls (Otus asio) are common in Michigan, but I'm not sure I've ever seen one in the wild. Like the other owls of Michigan, Screech Owls are nocturnal, making them more difficult to observe. I'm more likely to hear owls than see them.

Screech Owls are much smaller than Michigan's other owls. They are predators, with a diet of rodents, small birds, and large insects.

The bird pictured here is used in educational programs at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

Ski West Lake

2012-01-15T07:00:00.002-05:00

Kalamazoo's inconsistent winter means cross-country skiers need to take advantage of the snow when it does arrive. That often means fitting skiing into a work day, so it's nice to find spots for a short jaunt in town. West Lake Nature Preserve in Portage isn't a big ski destination, but it does have a nice loop path through the woods. It's a good place for beginners since it's a short trail with no hills, only a few gentle grades.

For skiers looking for a longer outing, West Lake park is just across Westnedge Avenue from Bishops Bog which connects to Schrier Park. These parks combine to form the South Central Portage Greenway and offer about 5 miles of trails.

West Lake's trails get a lot of use from non-skiers, so it's best to go shortly after a winter storm while the snow is fresh. If the snow is deep enough, you can ski the boardwalk to the preserve's bog and the overlook of West Lake.

West Lake Nature Preserve
9001 S. Westnedge
Portage, Michigan

parking is off South Shore Drive.

It's All About the Bike

2012-01-12T09:30:00.001-05:00

It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels
by Robert Penn
2010

While not a guidebook and not related to Kalamazoo, I couldn't resist mentioning this book on bicycles. Nominally, it's about the author's quest for a custom-built bike. He travels from Wales to workshops and factories around Europe and the United States to observe and report on the manufacturing process of the components-- Brooks saddle, Cinelli handlebars, Campagnolo gears, Chris King headset-- that will complete his bike.

"The torch snapped alight again. We flipped our visors down. Jason picked up a fresh filler rod and the flame roared into action on the seat cluster. He worked methodically round the weld, turning the jig, flipping the cable of the torch from beneath his feet, holding the flame steady at the exact distance from the weld. Ten minutes later, the seat stays were on. The torch went out. Jason pulled off his mask and stepped back, inviting me forward with one arm, like a midwife in a maternity ward introducing an overawed father to his child. The frame of my dream bike-- the diamond soul--- was finished."

"He dropped the spokes one by one through the holes in the flanges of the front hub. Periodically, he gathered all the spokes from one side of the hub together and swept them to the side, like someone tying their hair back. When he'd lined up the label on the hub with the label on the rim-- a nice touch-- he placed the first spoke through the hole on the rim next to the valve and secured it with a blue nipple. All the other nipples would be silver: the blue one was a visual aide, and Gravy's signature. Then he went round the rim once, placing a spoke through every third hole. He flipped the wheel over and laced a second set. Within minutes, the pattern of the wheel began to emerge."

If his visits to these builders are the skeleton of the book, its meat is a wide-spanning history of the bicycle. The time span is wide: from the invention of the first wheeled vehicle in ancient Mesopotamia to the development of the mountain bike in Northern California. Along the way, the reader learns of velocipedes, high-wheelers, the origins of bike racing, Reynolds double-butted tubes, and the connection between bike manufacturing and the development of both automobiles and airplanes.

"By the end of the decade, the bicycle had become a utilitarian form of transport for millions-- the people's nag. For the first time in history, the working class became mobile. As they could now commute, crowded tenements emptied, suburbs expanded and the geography of cities changed. In the countryside, the bicycle helped widen the gene pool: birth records in Britain from the 1890s show how local surnames began to appear far away from the rural locality with which they had been strongly associated for centuries. Everywhere, the bicycle was a catalyst for the campaigns to improve roads, literally paving the way for the motor car."

If you like bikes, I highly recommend this book.

Available from Amazon, other booksellers, and libraries.

Oak Openings

2012-01-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

In 1848, James Fenimore Cooper, the author famous for the Last of the Mohicans, published a novel set in Kalamazoo titled Oak Openings. Set in 1812, it describes west Michigan before European settlement:

The woods around were the then unpeopled forest of Michigan ; and the small winding reach of placid water that was just visible in the distance, was an elbow of the Kalamazoo, a beautiful little river that flows westward, emptying its tribute into the vast expanse of Lake Michigan. Now, this river has already become known, by its villages and farms, and railroads and mills; but then, not a dwelling of more pretension than the wigwam of the Indian, or an occasional shanty of some white adventurer, had ever been seen on its banks. In that day, the whole of that fine peninsula, with the exception of a narrow belt of country along the Detroit River, which was settled by the French as far back as near the close of the seventeenth century, was literally a wilderness. If a white man found his way into it, it was as an Indian trader, a hunter, or an adventurer-in some other of the pursuits connected with border life and the habits of the savages.

The title, Oak Openings, refers to the landscape, an ecosystem now called an Oak Savannah. Cooper describes it:

The trees, with very few exceptions, were what is called the "burr-oak," a small variety of a very extensive genus; and the spaces between them, always irregular, and often of singular beauty, have obtained the name of "openings;" the two terms combined giving their appellation to this particular species of native forest, under the name of "Oak Openings."

The story itself is about the adventures of Ben Boden, a "bee-hunter," on the Michigan frontier during the War of 1812. The prose is very different from a modern novel.

The text is in the public domain, so it is available free online from Google books or Project Gutenberg. Amazon will sell you a Kindle version or a print copy.

Rough-legged Hawk

2012-01-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

While many birds leave Michigan for the winter, the Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) migrates to this area from Canada's far north.

This hawk had been injured and is unable to survive in the wild. It's one of the stars of the Kalamazoo Nature Center's education programs.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:54:00.002-05:00

Best wishes for a healthy, active, and engaging 2012.

Michigan Off the Beaten Path

2011-12-29T09:40:00.000-05:00

Off the Beaten Path Michigan:
A Guide to Unique Places
by Jim DuFresne
2005

In this book, the author of many outdoor guides turns to other attractions-- museums, restaurants, & festivals-- throughout the state. The book includes plenty of local history and fun facts, along with the descriptions and directions. Like his other books, this travel guide is organized by region. Kalamazoo is in the "Heartland" region and close to the "Lake Michigan" region. Here are some of the author's top picks near Kalamazoo.

Heartland Top Ten

1. Antiquing in Allen
Allen

2. Capitol Tours
Lansing

3. Gerald R Ford Museum
Grand Rapids

4. Gilmore Car Museum
Hickory Corners

5. Hidden Lake Gardens
Tipton

6. Rosie's Diner
Rockford

7. Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum [Air Zoo]
Kalamazoo

8. Kellogg's Cereal City USA [closed]
Battle Creek

9. Michigan Library and Historical Center
Lansing

10. Van Andel Museum Center
Grand Rapids

Other Heartland Attractions

1. Grand Rapids Art Museum
Grand Rapids

2. Grand Rapids Children's Museum
Grand Rapids

3. Honolulu House
Marshall

4. John Ball Zoological Gardens
Grand Rapids

5. Kalamazoo Valley Museum
Kalamazoo

6. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary
Augusta

7. Kingman Museum of Natural History
Battle Creek

8. Kresge Art Museum
E. Lansing

9. Leila Arboretum
Battle Creek

10. MSU Museum
E. Lansing

11. Michigan Women's Historical Center & Hall of Fame
Lansing

12. Potter Park Zoo
Lansing

Lake Michigan Top Ten

1. Gillette Nature Center
Hoffmaster State Park
Muskegon

2. Hackley and Hume Historic Site
Muskegon

3. Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary
White Cloud

4. Ludington State Park
Ludington

5. Mac Wood's Dune Rides
Silver Lake State Park
Mears

6. Picking apples at Tree-Mendus Fruit
Eau Claire

7. Saugatuck Chain Ferry and Mount Baldhead Park
Saugatuck

8. Shrine of the Pines
Baldwin

9. Three Oaks Spokes Bicycle Museum [museum closed, Three Oaks Bicycle Club contines.]
Three Oaks

10. Windmill Island
Holland

Other Lake Michigan Attractions

1. Curious Kids Museum
St Joseph

2. Fernwood Botanic Gardens
Buchanan

3. Pear's Mill Museum
Buchanan

4. Manistee Fire Hall
Manistee

5. Southwestern Michigan College Museum
Dowagiac

6. SS Keewatin Museum
Saugatuck

7. Trillium Ravine
Niles

My library has the 8th edition; Amazon and other booksellers have the current edition. Jim DuFresne's other books include 50 Hikes in Michigan (reviewed here and here.) Michigan Sand Dunes, Michigan's Best Campgrounds, and Outdoor Adventures with Children.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Marram Grass

2011-12-22T09:40:00.003-05:00

Marram Grass (Ammophila breviligulata), also called American Beachgrass, is a characteristic plant of Michigan's sand dunes. This pioneer species survives on Lake Michigan beaches by outgrowing the blowing sand. Its roots stabilize the sand, forming dunes. Prairie grasses, like Little Bluestem and Switchgrass, can grow on the stabilized sand behind the Marram Grass. Eventually, woody plants and trees grow on the stable dunes, ultimately forming a maple-beech climax community. Observations of these plant communities along Lake Michigan were important for the development of the theory of plant succession.

When the protective beach grasses are disturbed, wind erosion can cause a blow-out where whole dunes move rapidly, burying forests, and creating parabolic dunes.

Marram grass also grows on beaches along the Atlantic coast.

A 1000-Mile Walk on the Beach

2011-12-18T14:45:00.001-05:00

A 1000-Mile Walk on the Beach:
One Woman's Trek of the Perimeter of Lake Michigan
Loreen Niewenhuis
2011

This book tells the story of the author's walk around all of Lake Michigan. She started on Chicago's Navy Pier and walked through Indiana (Gary sounds like the worst part of the journey), Michigan (the most beaches), Wisconsin (not much beach), and Illinois back to Navy Pier. It took 64 days (spread across eight months), 3 pairs of boots, and 1,019 miles. She stayed in bed-and-breakfasts or motels (with a few nights of camping) and had help from relatives and friends for transportation and logistics.

The book is an engaging mix of descriptions of the lake, of her experiences walking, of the people she meets, and of the lake's environmental problems.

Some quotes from her west Michigan segments:

"A little more than an hour's hike north of Grand haven, I entered the P.J. Hoffmaster State Park. This park preserves several miles of shoreline and over 1200 acres of dunes and forest. This park came about through the efforts of P.J. Hoffmaster and E. Genevieve Gillette, who were friends. He was the superintendent of state parks in Michigan in the 1920s and 1930s, and then headed up the DNR for the next two decades. Gillette was the first woman to graduate from Michigan State University's landscape architecture class. Hoffmaster charged Gillette with scouting out areas that would make good parks."

"North of Portage Lake, it soon gets rather remote and the shoreline becomes rugged with high, wooded dunes flanking me to my right, with the expanse of calm lake to my left. There are miles without any signs of civilization, and I pass curious tracks along a small stream that look like a bobcat made them."

"The slim St. Joseph River separates the cities of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, but they might as well be on different planets. St. Joseph on the south side of the river is a primarily white community, a lovely tourist town with shops and restaurants and kid-friendly Silver Beach. Benton Harbor on the north side is a primarily black community, with a gutted economic base, and a huge crime and drug problem."

While I don't plan to walk around Lake Michigan anytime soon, the day I finished the book, I was inspired to drive to the lakeshore and walk for several hours along the beach.

You can read more on her Lake Trek blog (which includes photos, while the book is straight text) or in this Kalamazoo Gazette article.

Available from Amazon, other booksellers and libraries.

Rosy Mound Natural Area

2011-12-15T07:59:00.005-05:00

Rosy Mound Natural Area is on Lake Michigan a few miles south of Grand Haven. (It's a little over an hour's drive from Kalamazoo.) It would make a nice stop on the Lakeshore Connector bike trail.

Rosy Mound has more of a back-to-nature feel than nearby Kirk Park since it doesn't offer a playground or large picnic areas. It does offer a well-constructed trail through a mature forest on a backdune, a steep climb up a sturdy sets of stairs, spectacular views from the top of the dune, and a boardwalk through the open dunes to a sandy beach.

The trails are constructed to preserve the dune environment from erosion and blowouts caused by casual trails. This helps protect the endangered Pitchers Thistle.

In mid-December, there were only a few other visitors to the park but the walk was very enjoyable. The forest was a mix of oak, maples, beech, and conifers, with ferns still contributing a splash of green. Nothing was in bloom, of course, but I saw some nice patches of Hepatica suggesting this might be a good spot for Spring wildflowers.

At first, I thought this might be a good cross-country ski destination since the trail starts with a wide, level loop through the woods. The 300+ steps over the hill convinced me to reconsider.

Rosy Mound Natural Area
13819 Lakeshore Drive North
Grand Haven, MI

Parking fee in the summer.
No dogs. No bikes on trail.

Lansing River Walk

2011-12-11T11:56:00.003-05:00

The Lansing River Trail isn't going to be mistaken for wilderness. It passes through downtown Lansing, close to the Capitol, on the banks of the Grand River that are lined with office buildings and industrial sites. It does make a popular urban walk and even on a cold weekday I shared the trail with a number of joggers and walkers. The trail connects several parks, museums, and the Lansing City Market.

The trail runs for several miles, with a branch on the Red Cedar river that connects to MSU, which would make a nice bike in warmer weather. Tire tracks in the snow showed some riders were still active in December.

The City of Lansing provides a trail map pdf

Or see this Interactive Trail map, with photos of trail landmarks.

Horned Grebe

2011-12-08T08:12:00.003-05:00

Horned Grebes (Podiceps auritus) summer in western Canada and winter in the southeastern United States, passing through Michigan during Spring and Fall migration. This one was diving for food on Lake Michigan near the mouth of the St Joseph River, last week.

Grebes were once called Helldivers since they tended to disappear under the water at signs of danger, rather than fly away. While they look like ducks, the two families are not closely related. Grebes have narrow bills and their feet are lobed, rather than webbed.

The grebe pictured here is in its black-and-white winter plumage. The Horned Grebe's breeding colors are strikingly different, chestnut and black with a distinctive yellow tuft behind the eye that makes the "horn".

The Eared Grebe has a similar winter look, although I think they are less common in Michigan.

Horned Grebes are also found in Europe, where they are sometimes known as Slavonian Grebes.

Standing wave

2011-12-04T08:00:00.003-05:00

This was just about the strangest water I'd ever seen. These waves developed on a small creek just as it entered Lake Michigan on the beach at Warren Dunes State Park. The water was flowing clear and smoothly until it reached the lake, when these bumps would appear. They didn't flow forward like a regular wave; they just stayed in the same place. It looked like the water was flowing over an invisible log about six or eight inches high. The water would stay that way for a half minute or so, and then either subside back to a smooth flowing stream or collapse backwards with a little whitewater crest.It was fascinating. I couldn't figure it out completely, but it was obvious that the moving stream hitting the lake waves caused some kind of interference that created the phenomenon. Later, I vaguely remembered the term "standing wave" from a physics class. A little internet searching suggests that these are a form of "hydraulic jump" that occurs when a shallow, fast-moving stream moves into deeper, slower water.

I'd been to this creek numerous times in the past & never saw this happen. On Friday, I guess the speed and depth of the creek crossing the beach were just right. I'll certainly look for it in the future.

Here's a short video of the standing waves.

Kellogg Bird Sanctuary

2011-12-01T09:27:00.006-05:00

The Kellogg Bird Sanctuary is a great place to interact with ducks, geese, and swans. At the entrance, buy an inexpensive bucket of corn and the birds will come to you. Some, like the Trumpeter Swans, are permanent residents and others are passing through. The sanctuary is about 15 miles east of Kalamazoo, just past Gull Lake.

Established in 1927 by cereal magnate W. K. Kellogg to protect waterfowl, the sanctuary is run by Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station. The main attraction for birds is the 40 acre Wintergreen Lake, which is an important migration stop for some and a nesting area for others. While Mallards, Canada Geese, and Trumpeter Swans dominated the areas where visitors threw corn, other species were more abundant offshore. We saw Canvasbacks, Redheads, Buffleheads, and Ruddy ducks on our visit last weekend.

The sanctuary also displays some exotic waterfowl including Mute Swans and Black Swans. A small series of cages contain rescued birds of prey: a Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Red Tailed Hawks, a Bald Eagle, and others. A relatively new exhibit shows gamebirds, both native (quail, grouse) and imported (various pheasants.) Overall it makes a nice family outing.

Kellogg Bird Sanctuary
12685 East C Ave.
Augusta, MI 49012

Admission

Winter Events 2011-2012

2011-11-27T07:00:00.008-05:00

Despite cold days and long nights there is plenty to do around Kalamazoo during the Winter. Skating, skiing, and sledding are all fun local activities. Or watch a holiday parade, go snow-shoeing, or just enjoy a walk in the woods.

Winter Events near Kalamazoo

November 28, 2011 Marshall's 47th Annual Christmas Parade 7:00 PM Marshall

November 29, 2011 Parade of Lights 6:30 PM Holland

December 2, 2011 Sinterklaas Eve Procession 7:00 PM Holland

December 4, December 11 Holidays at Delano Homestead Kalamazoo Nature Center Kalamazoo

December 10 Free Admission Day and Local Gift Fair Kalamazoo Nature Center Kalamazoo

December 14 2011 - January 5 2012 Christmas Bird Count

January 6-7 2012 Ice Sculpting Competition Holland

January 11, 2012 Ice fishing seminar Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery Mattewan

January 21, 2012 Schrier Park Winter Sports Fest. 12 noon - 3:30 pm Portage

January 26 - 29, 2012 Winterfest 2012 Grand Haven

January 27-30, 2012 Duck Decoy Carving at Kellogg Biological Station

January 31 - February 4, 2012 Muskegon Snowfest Muskegon

February 3-5, 2012 Icebreaker 2012 South Haven

February 17-20 2012 Great Backyard Bird Count

February 18-19, 2012 Free Fishing Winter Weekend throughout Michigan

March 3, 2012 Quietwater Symposium East Lansing

Ongoing events

International Festival of Lights Battle Creek

Holiday Kerstmarkt Holland

Millennium Park Skate Rink opens December 3 2011 Portage

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:28:00.002-05:00

Enjoy a day of turkey and giving thanks.

Great Horned Owl

2011-11-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) is found throughout most of North America and selected parts of South America. Unlike some of Michigan's birds, Great Horned Owls spend the winter here, nesting in January & February.

It's easier to hear these big predators, than to see them since they are active at night. Their hoot is the characteristic "who who." (Owling.com shares some recorded hoots.)

The owl's "horns" are not ears, just distinctive tufts of feathers.

Great Horned Owl territories often overlap with Red-tailed Hawks, with owls hunting at night and hawks hunting in daylight. Owl wing feathers are much softer than hawk feathers, allowing silent night flight. The stiff hawk feathers allow for higher speeds.

The bird pictured here is used in educational programs at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

Michigan State and National Parks

2011-11-17T17:30:00.000-05:00

Michigan State and National Parks
by Tom Powers
1997

Tom Powers, author of Natural Michigan and other guidebooks, describes 100 Michigan parks with park maps and black & white photos. The National Parks are all up north, but there are several state parks near Kalamazoo.

Michigan State Parks near Kalamazoo

1. Fort Custer Recreation Area
"A little something for everyone and a lot of potential outdoor enjoyment for anyone is packed into the sprawling year-round playground named Fort Custer Recreation Area."
Camping, cabins, hiking, x-country skiing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, hunting, boating, boat rental, swimming beach, picnic areas, horse trails.

Ft Custer Recreation Area
5163 W. Fort Custer Dr
Augusta, MI

2. Kal-Haven Trail State Park
"The route follows an old, unused stretch of the Penn Central Railroad from South Haven, on the shores of Lake Michigan to Kalamazoo."
34 miles of trail, hiking, biking.

Kal-Haven Trail State Park
Trailheads:
Blue Star Highway/ South Haven
10th St/ Kalamazoo

3. Van Buren State Park
"A wide sidewalk leads through a single narrow opening, and it's not until you're almost completely through the sand wall that the view opens to reveal the park's main attraction: limitless blue waters of lake Michigan edged by a broad sweep of fine black-speckled sand."
Camping, beach, picnic area

Van Buren State Park
23960 Ruggles Rd
South Haven

4. Yankee Springs Recreation Area
"There's no doubt, though, that most of the 600,000 people a year who come to the park funnel to the beautiful picnic and beach areas lining the peninsula that juts so far out into the water it almost cuts Gun Lake, the park's largest, in half"
Camping, rustic camping, boating, water skiing, hiking, mountain biking, horse trails, hunting, fishing, x-country skiing.

Yankee Springs Recreation Area
2104 Gun Lake Rd
Middleville

5. Saugatuck Dunes State Park
""The shortest route to the beach is a l...o...n...g one-mile slog over wooded dunes from the parking lot. That's quite a hedge against overcrowding."
Trails (14 miles), beach, x-country skiing

Saugatuck Dunes State Park
138th Avenue
Saugatuck

6. Holland State Park
"Each year a million and a half visitors take advantage of the fact that the long, broad beach that edges Lake Michigan northwest of Holland is one of the most accessible and beautiful along the Lower Peninsula's west shore."
Beach, camping (separate unit), boat ramp, fishing

Holland State Park
Ottawa Beach Rd
Holland, MI

7. Grand Haven State Park
"Essentially, the park is the beach; only a slab of asphalt and a few buildings interrupt the wide, nearly flat expanse."
Beach, RV camping, fishing.

Grand Haven State Park
1001 Harbor Ave
Grand Haven, MI

8. Grand Mere State Park
"The dunes, forests, Lake Michigan shoreline and string of small interdunal lakes are part of the reason that Grand Mere is one of only a dozen Michigan areas listed among the country's National Natural Landmarks."
Trails, picnic area, fishing, dunes, beach

Grand Mere State Park
Grand Mere Rd
Stevensville

9. Warren Dunes State Park
"Even if you're a longtime resident who has seen what wind, water, and sand has created elsewhere along our 3,121 miles of Great Lakes frontage, you will be unprepared for your first-time visit here."
Camping, beach, trails, picnic areas, dune climb

Warren Dunes State Park
12032 Red Arrow Highway
Sawyer

10. Warren Woods State Park
"The unique area is the legacy of E. K. Warren, a local businessman who in the 1870s, when most people saw nothing but dollar signs in Michigan's great forests, had the unusual foresight to purchase the virgin hardwood stand with the sole intent of saving it for posterity."
Trail, birdwatching

Warren Woods State Park
Warren Woods Rd
Three Oaks

11. Coldwater State Park
undeveloped

My library has the Third Edition. You can order the Fourth Edition (2007) from Amazon or other retailers.

See also:
Michigan National Parks

Black Squirrel

2011-11-13T09:05:00.004-05:00

Black squirrels are a color morph of the Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) which is widely distributed throughout the Eastern United States and Canada. The black variety is relatively rare, with localized populations becoming something of a tourist attraction. Southern Ontario and Michigan seem to have relatively large numbers of black squirrels. Legend says W.K. Kellogg brought black squirrels to the area. (Personally, I'm somewhat skeptical of this; black squirrels seem too broadly distributed in the area to have come from a single source.)

My backyard is full of Fox Squirrels, Red Squirrels, and Chipmunks so I never see Grey Squirrels (of whatever color) in my yard. But, a few miles south in Portage (near Centre Avenue) I always see black squirrels. The squirrel pictured here was at Portage's West Lake Nature Preserve.

See also: Myths and Realities of the Mysterious Black Squirrel
Michigan's Squirrels
Information on many Squirrel species

Wood Duck

2011-11-10T07:30:00.003-05:00

Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) are such striking birds that I still remember seeing my first one, nearly 40 years ago at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in upstate New York. Living in Kalamazoo, I'm fortunate to see them frequently when canoeing on Portage Creek.

Over-hunting and habitat destruction nearly destroyed Wood Duck populations a century ago. [See USDA report pdf] Protection began with Migratory Bird Treaty in 1916 and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Hunting regulations and the development of duck boxes allowed the population to rebound. In Michigan, they are now reasonably common.

This is the time of year when many Michigan Wood Ducks migrate south.

Wood Ducks tend to more skittish than, say, Mallards, so I rarely get decent photos in the wild. The bird pictured above was at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Easy Hikes Chicago

2011-11-06T08:20:00.000-05:00

Easy Hikes Close to Home Chicago
by Ted Villaire
2010

This slim guidebook presents 18 short hiking trails near Chicago. Each trail description includes an overview, a map, directions to the trailhead, and a more-detailed discussion of the trail. Most of the trails are in northeastern Illinois with a few in Southern Wisconsin or Northern Indiana. All are within a day's drive of Kalamazoo.

The author's website provides more information about the book, including a complete list of the hikes and a few sample chapters.

The trails listed in the book's third section, "South Chicagoland and Indiana" are closest to West Michigan.

Easy Hikes Close to Kalamazoo

1. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore: Bailly-Chellberg Hike
length 3.3 miles
"Get a glimpse of early settlement life in northwestern Indiana by touring the homesteads of two frontier families. You'll also see wooded ravines, rich bottomland forest that grows beside the Little Calumet River, and a curious old cemetery."
directions: from I-94 take exit 22B to US 20, parking is on the left, 4.1 miles.
Indiana Dunes website

2. LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area Loop
length 5.2 miles
"If you like riverside hikes and sprawling marshlands, you'll find them in abundance on this hike, one of the great undiscovered hikes in Chicagoland." The author also describes this hike in chapter in his guidebook 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Chicago. See this pdf. [West half closed for hunting season Oct 1 - Dec 1.]
directions: from I-94, go south on US 41 until you reach IN 10 (County Road 1000). West on IN 10 about 2.4 miles to sign for Parking Lot 3A.
LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area website

3. Thorn Creek Hike
length 2.5 miles
"This lightly used nature preserve is a gem: after exploring the ravines, the pine plantations, the wooded hills, and the streams,= surrounded by bottomland forest, be sure to check out the former country church that now serves as a nature center."
directions: I-94 to I-57. South on I-57 to exit 339 (about 18.5 miles) to Park Forest [I got confused following the book's directions from this point: I'd suggest Google maps or GPS for the last few miles.].
Thorn Creek Nature Center
247 Monee Road, Park Forest, IL 60466
708-747-6320

Available from Amazon, other booksellers and libraries.

Best Fall Color?

2011-11-03T09:24:00.007-04:00

Fall in Kalamazoo is always colorful. At times, I'm stopped in my tracks by a spectacular tree. But, I want a bigger picture: a whole forest of colorful trees. I haven't found anywhere that I'd consider a "best place" for fall color near Kalamazoo.

Now, there are many colorful places for an Autumn walk, drive, or float, and I'm sure there must be places with a colorful panorama, but I don't know where they are. I'm thinking of the classic Fall pictures from Vermont or New Hampshire with a hill covered with orange, red, and yellow trees.

West Michigan seems to have all the individual elements: maple trees for beautiful red & orange leaves, rolling hills to display a swath of forest, and water to reflect the colors. Yet, I can't recommend a single spot for reliable breath-taking scenary.

Perhaps, I'm just busy with Fall classes & I miss the peak beauty. Or maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. If you have a favorite spot for Fall Color in West Michigan, please add it to the comments.

Cowles Bog Trail

2011-10-30T07:00:00.001-04:00

The Cowles Bog Trail in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is about a two hour drive from Kalamazoo. I stopped there recently on the way home from a trip to Chicago. The trail is about 4 miles long, with a couple of options. Parking is down a narrow dirt road, on the right, just before the guardhouse for the Dune Acres gated community. (There is another lot close to US 12.) See the National Park Service map (pdf).

The first mile of the trail is very level, lined with Sassafras, Red Maple, and White Birch and includes a short board walk over a wet section (which apparently is not truly a bog.) The next mile is hilly, through wooded dunes which eventually lead to a steep climb down to the beach on Lake Michigan.

I had the beach to myself on a pleasant Sunday, except for the looming steel mills and the loud hissing from industrial smokestacks. With the Chicago skyline barely visible across Lake Michigan, it's clearly not a pristine wilderness experience. The area is important for birds, and I did see a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers flying through the trees. The Park Service has a restoration project to remove invasive species and improve the habitat for native plants and animals.

In some ways it's as interesting to see the resilience of nature amidst heavy industry, as it is to visit a more purely natural setting. It definitely made a nice outing.

Cowles Bog Trail
N. Mineral Springs Road
Chesterton, IN 46304
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Virginia Creeper

2011-10-27T07:56:00.005-04:00

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a common vine in the Kalamazoo area and it is widely distributed throughout the Eastern US and Canada. It grows in shade or sun and will climb bushes, trees, fences, and phone poles.

Sometimes it is confused with Poison Ivy since it has a similar form and grows in similar habitats. The leaflet count is the easy way to distinguish the plants: Virginia Creeper's leaves are groups of five, while Poison Ivy has groups of three. (In Spring, young Virginia Creeper plants may show only three leaves at the tip of the vine, making them harder to distinguish; usually, there are 5-leaflet clusters farther down the vine.)

Its leaves can turn a spectacular red in the Fall.

Sarett Nature Center

2011-10-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

The Sarett Nature Center is a great outing, not far from Kalamazoo, with trails, wildlife, water, and woods, but somehow it had been a few years since my last visit. Last week, on the way to Chicago, I couldn't resist a quick side-trip, particularly since Sarett is only 5 minutes from the I-94 + I-196 junction. (Exit 1 on I-196, then west on Red Arrow; Benton Center Road is the first right.)

The nature center had built several new structures recently: an expanded visitor center, a butterfly house, and an impressive elevated boardwalk on a trestle high in the forest.

Of course, the original attractions of the nature center were still in place: a series of trails and boardwalks through woods, marshes, fens, swamps, and fields along Cowslip creek and the St Joseph River. The habitat is great for birds and other wildlife. It's one of the few places where I've seen a Massasauga Rattlesnake. On my short walk this time, I saw plenty of birds, a leopard frog, and a couple of deer. I'd hoped to see some fringed gentian but the one plant I saw had already flowered.

Sarett Nature Center
2300 Benton Center Rd.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Admission $3
Free for members
Also free admission for members of the Kalamazoo Nature Center, DeGraff Nature Center, Blandford Nature Center and many others. See the ANCA Membership Reciprocal List [pdf].

Pretty Poison Too

2011-10-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) is a relative of poison ivy and poison oak and like those plants it contains urushiol, the chemical that causes painful, itchy rashes. While it acts like its cousins, Poison Sumac doesn't look like them. Poison Sumac is a small tree, with compound leaves, rather than a vine or shrub with "leaves of three." It grows in really wet areas-- bogs, swamps-- throughout the eastern US and Canada.

Poison Sumac's green leaves turn red in the Fall (like Poison Ivy.) Poison Sumac is not related to our common Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) which also turns red in Autumn.

Poison Sumac bears white berries (or drupes) in the Fall.

Praying Mantis

2011-10-16T07:00:00.001-04:00

There are a number of species of praying mantises in Michigan, some native and some introduced. I don't really know them apart, but based on its size, I think this one may be a Chinese mantis (Tenodera aridifolia sinensis). Praying Mantises are famous for cannibalism after sex, but that doesn't seem to be strictly true. This one blended well with the prairie grasses at WMU's Asylum Lake Preserve.

Wooly Bear

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

Wooly bear caterpillars (Pyrrharctia isabella) are an immature stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth. Superstition has it that the width of the colored bands can predict the severity of the coming winter (more black = colder winter). Not surprisingly, there is no scientific evidence to support this.

There is, however, interesting science on how these caterpillars survive the winter. Unlike the Monarchs that migrate to avoid Michigan's cold weather, or other species that overwinter as eggs, pupae, or adults, the wooly bear hibernates as a caterpillar, producing an internal antifreeze that keeps it from freezing solid.

I've seen a lot of these guys in Kalamazoo over the last few days.

Bur Oak

2011-10-09T10:05:00.004-04:00

The Burr Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is a tree of the open grassland. They're native to the Great Plains and prairies and are a characteristic species of the oak savanna. They evolved to survive the frequent grassfires of these ecosystem, with thick corky bark that provides fire resistance.

More Fall Color

2011-10-06T20:20:00.004-04:00

Autumn continues its progress in Kalamazoo, despite the unseasonably warm weather. Silver maples seem to be at their peak (at least those growing by ponds & lakes); some have already lost their leaves but most are bright red. Sumac, Virginia Creeper, and Poison Ivy contribute more reds. There are a lot more yellow leaves-- walnuts, hickories, and ash-- than there were a couple of weeks ago. Some oaks are getting a little purple-red and the first sugar maples have started to change.

The National Arboretum has an interesting page on the science of color, which explains why day length, rather than temperature determines when leaves change.

West Michigan Weekly has updated their Fall Color Report.

Red Squirrel

2011-10-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) are much smaller than the other squirrels I see around Kalamazoo. (Flying squirrels are even smaller but since they are nocturnal I hardly ever see them.) Red Squirrels also quicker than the Fox Squirrels and, for some reason, more charismatic.

Now they are busy filling their caches with food. While they aren't true hibernators, I don't remember seeing them during the winter. Perhaps they're spending the cold months in their nests enjoying their stored harvest.

The Great Indiana Touring Book

2011-09-29T21:00:00.000-04:00

The Great Indiana Touring Book: 20 Spectacular Auto Trips
by Thomas Hunt
2002

This guide presents 20 driving tours in Indiana, each illustrated with black & white photos and full page maps. (The book also has a short section of glossy, full-color photos.) The routes average about 150 miles, so each can be done at a leisurely pace in one day. Three drives are reasonably close to Kalamazoo:

Northern Indiana Auto Trips

1. Touchdown Jesus and the Gentle People
South Bend - Mishawaka - Elkhart - Bristol - Goshen - Middlebury - Shipshewana - Topeka - Ligonier - Nappanee - Wakarusa - South Bend
144 miles

Selected Attractions:
Studebaker National Museum South Bend
Potawatomi Park and Zoo
Woodlawn Nature Center Elkhart
Menno-Hof Shipshewana
Potato Creek State Park

2. From the Heartland to Lake Country
Fort Wayne - Grabill - Saint Joe - Auburn - Pokagan State Park - Lagrange - Rome City - Fort Wayne
154 miles

Selected Attractions:
Foellinger-Freimann Botantical Conservatory Fort Wayne
Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum Auburn
McClue Nature Preserve (pdf)
Wing Haven
Pokagon State Park
Ropchan Memorial Nature Reserve
Pigeon River Federal Wildlife Area and Tamarack Bog Nature Preserve
Maplewood Nature Center
Olin Lake Nature Preserve

3. The Dunes and Beyond
Gary - Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore - Chesterton - Michigan City - La Porte - Valparaiso - Merrillville - Crown Point - Griffith - Munster - Hammond - Gary
132 miles

Selected Attractions:
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Indiana Dunes State Park
Kingsbury State Fish and Wildlife Area
Deep River County Park
Lemon Lake County Park
Hoosier Prairie Nature Preserve
Oak Ridge Prairie County Park

Available from Amazon or the publisher, or electronically from Google Books, and from other booksellers and libraries.

Goldenrod

2011-09-25T11:41:00.004-04:00

Goldenrods (Solidago sp.) are among the last flowers to bloom in Kalamazoo, which makes them an important nectar source after many summer flowers have gone to seed. Earlier this week, the goldenrod flowers at the Kalamazoo Nature Center drew honeybees, bumble bees, yellow jackets, wasps, and other insects.

There are a large number of goldenrod species in Michigan and throughout the US. These identification guides may be useful: Wisconsin goldenrods, Ontario goldenrods, US goldenrods.

Early color

2011-09-22T08:51:00.004-04:00

While tomorrow's equinox marks the astronomical start of Fall, the changing colors make autumn visible. Silver maple and sumac offer the first red leaves of the season. West Michigan Weekly reports a 5% color change in Southwest Michigan, which sounds about right.

Monarch butterfly

2011-09-18T09:01:00.003-04:00

The Monarch (Danaus plexippus) is probably the best-known butterfly species found in Kalamazoo. Of course, it's a popular species across the US and has been named the official insect of seven states. The bright colors, while attractive to humans, warn predators of the monarch's bitterness. This protection comes from consuming milkweed. The Viceroy butterfly is protected by its similar coloring.

Michigan's Monarchs are currently migrating south where the will spend the winter in Central Mexico. A Western Michigan scientist's work on Monarch migration was featured in a National Geographic news story earlier this year. I'm impressed by the distances these small creatures can cover.

Thornapple Trail

2011-09-15T07:00:00.001-04:00

The Paul Henry - Thornapple Trail is a developing rail-trail in west Michigan. Only selected segments are currently open, including one out of Middleville, which is about an hour's drive north of Kalamazoo. The paved section of the trail is less than 4 miles long (one-way) so it's not a major adventure, but it runs along a pretty stretch of the Thornapple River. There are no hills and no road crossings on this section, which would make for a kid-friendly outing.

On an afternoon ride earlier this week, I was impressed by the variety of birds & animal life. The mill ponds at Middleville had the usual Canada Geese & Mute Swans but they were joined by a Great Egret hunting in the shallows, a species I associate with Florida. A few minutes later a pair of deer ran across the trail in front of me. On the return trip, a garter snake sped across the trail and two Sandhill Cranes called from the adjoining wetland.

The paved trail ended at McCann Road, which made a fairly short ride. Across the road, an unpaved section continued east. I wasn't sure how well my bike would fare on the grassy path, but it had been mowed and cleared of obstacles so the riding wasn't bad. (Although wider tires would have probably been more comfortable.) That section of trail ended at Irving Road. Eventually the trail will continue to Hastings which would make a really nice ride.

Overall plans for the trail are ambitious. When complete, the trail will run from suburban Grand Rapids through Middleville, Hastings, Nashville, Vermontville, Charlotte, and Eaton Rapids-- over 40 miles. This Google map shows the current and planned route. West Michigan Trails also has a map and information on the trail

The Middleville trailhead is at the gazebo and stagecoach, near the restored downtown. The Village Hall provides restrooms and plenty of parking.

Middleville Village Hall
100 E Main St
Middleville, MI 49333

Backroads of Michigan

2011-09-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

Backroads of Michigan: Your Guide to Michigan's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures.
by Robert W. Domm
Voyager Press
2006

This book falls somewhere between a guidebook and a photography book. It's full of large color pictures, taken by the author, along with descriptions of 25 driving routes in Michigan. The state is divided into four sections: "Pasties and Iron Ore: The Upper Peninsula," "Where the North Begins: The Upper Lower Peninsula," "The Sunset Coast: Western Lower Michigan," and "Under the Thumb: Southern Lower Michigan." Each route is illustrated with photos of the landscape and selected details-- a wildflower, a picturesque stairway, or a Victoria cupola-- along with driving directions, an area map, and a few pages of description of the attractions and the history of the area. Two of the routes are in Southwest Michigan.

Backroads near Kalamazoo

1. Dunes, Beaches,and Art: Saugatuck/Douglas to South Haven.
"The two-lane Blue Star Memorial Highway (also labeled A2) links Saugatuck/Douglas to South Haven and once was the main north-south thoroughfare between the cities. Nowadays most commercial traffic uses U.S. Highway 196, a modern four-lane highway that shadows the older road. For those interested in a closer look at the local scenary, the Blue Star offers a slower-paced route packed with interesting sights and mom-and-pop businesses. Along the Blue Star are numerous antique dealers, ranging from quaint shops to sprawling lawns cluttered with rusting metal curios. Bed-and-breakfast inns (including one for pets), art studios, small restaurants, and plant nurseries are interspersed with fields of highbush blueberry and small farms along the route."

Directions: From I-196 take exit 41 onto Blue Star Memorial Highway, which leads south to the towns of Saugatuck, Douglas, and South Haven.

2. Yankee Springs
"Between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, where the rolling cornfields give way to forests and clear, quiet lakes, is a place called Yankee Springs State Recreation Area. Steeped in colorful history and awash with natural beauty, Yankee Springs entices visitors with 5,000 acres of public land situated around nine lakes, including a portion of Gun Lake, one of the largest and deepest inland lakes in Michigan. Oak, maple, and hickory trees line the blacktop roads and hang in a green canopy over the narrow sand-and-gravel access roads leading to the park's secluded lakes. Every season offers something new at Yankee Springs."

directions: From US-131 take exit 61 onto M-179. Go east on M-179 to Gun Lake Road. South on Gun Lake Rd to park. Continuing on Gun Lake Rd to Yankee Springs Road, then north, makes a loop back to M-179 (Chief Noonday Road.)

Amazon offers a Kindle version. Barnes & Noble lists used copies. I found a copy at the library.

Hart Montague Trail

2011-09-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

The Hart Montague Trail connects a series of small towns in west Michigan on a former railroad right-of-way. It's about two hours north of Kalamazoo. The trail runs 22 miles from Hart to Montague.

We started at the Hart trailhead (a mile from downtown Hart, on Polk Road right next to Hansen's Grocer) and rode to Shelby, about 8 miles each way. The trail passed orchards, woods, and fields of asparagus. Like most rail-trails, it offered easy riding without steep hills. On Labor Day weekend, it was very popular, although not too crowded. It made a very nice ride.

The trailheads at both Hart & Shelby had plenty of parking, several picnic tables, exercise stations, and information signs. The "Get Off The Couch" website has detailed information on the whole trail.

Hart trailhead
3780 West Polk Road
Hart, MI 49420

Fall 2011 events

2011-09-04T07:00:00.006-04:00

Fall is a great season in Kalamazoo: colorful leaves, crisp nights & clear days, apple harvests, migrating birds, college football, and pumpkins. In September, it's usually warm enough for a trip to the beach. The weather for biking, paddling, and camping is usually reliable through October. November is a nice time to hike (but be careful of hunters.)

Fall events near Kalamazoo:

September 16-18 Grand Haven Salmon Festival Grand Haven

September 20 Ribbon cutting ceremony for the newest section of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail 1:30 p.m. Shipshewana, IN

Sept 23-24 Oktoberfest West Michigan John Ball Park Grand Rapids

September 24-25 Feast of the Hunter's Moon West Lafayette, IN

September 24 Sturgeon Release Celebration 10 am - 2 pm New Richmond Bridge County Park, Fennville

Oct 1-2 Old Tyme Harvest Festival at Scotts Mill Park Scotts

October 2 Share the Harvest Kellogg Bird Sanctuary/ Kellogg Biological Station 1-5pm Augusta

October 7-9 Cranefest at Audubon's Baker Sanctuary outside Battle Creek.

Oct 8-9 Goose Festival Fennville

Oct 9 3rd Annual Fall Color Cruise on the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail noon-4pm Markin Glen County Park Kalamazoo

Halloween Events around West Michigan

November 11 Winter Bird Feeding 101 5 pm at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Gull Lake

mid-November peak Sandhill Crane migration at Jasper Pulaski in northern Indiana.

Also consider

Fall recommendations from 52 Michigan Weekends

a Fall Color Tour or an Apple Tour

Fresh apple cider from VerHages Cider Mill.

West Michigan Tourist Association has a list of Harvest Time Festivals, a Weekly Color Report, and more Color Tours

Fall walks and rides on the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail

September events from Pure Michigan

October Events from Absolute Michigan

Event listings from Discover Kalamazoo

Gazelle Sports' calendar of West Michigan Races & Running Workshops

League of Michigan Bicyclist's Michigan Ride Calendar

West Michigan Coastal Kayaker's Association Event Calendar

Outdoor Athlete has lists for Michigan running, biking and triathlon events.

The Department of Natural Resources has calendars of events for State Parks and Recreation Areas: September, October, and November

Douglas Beach

2011-09-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Douglas Beach is a small public beach just outside of Saugatuck, MI, just over an hour's drive from Kalamazoo. Access is down a steep flight of stairs. The park is in a residential neighborhood perched on the dunes above Lake Michigan and the upper part has parking for about a dozen cars, restrooms, and a couple of picnic tables. The lower part is a nice sandy beach.

While the public beach is relatively small, the Michigan Supreme Court affirmed the public's right to walk along privately-owned beachfront, so it's possible to walk for miles along the water.

It's easy to find the beach by following the signs for the Rosemont Inn.

Douglas Beach
80 Lakeshore Drive
Douglas, MI 49406

free

Pumpkinvine Trail

2011-08-28T07:00:00.001-04:00

The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail is a developing bike trail about an hour south of Kalamazoo in northern Indiana's Amish area. Several sections of the trail are currently open around Goshen and Middlebury.

We started our ride in Goshen. The parking lot was easy to find on 5th street north of Lincoln Ave, but the trail wasn't immediately visible. It's tucked between a grain elevator and the industrial-looking city waterworks, right next to the train tracks, which, in hindsight, was perfectly logical since the trail was a railroad right-of-way. The trail quickly passed through the semi-industrial section, crossing Rock Run Creek on multiple bridges before reaching Abshire Park (which is an alternative starting point.) The trail surface was mostly asphalt but one section of a mile or so was crushed stone-- fine for bikes but not rollerblades.

The trail was surprisingly pretty, with more curves than a typical rail-trail. At times, it passed close to farm fields and in other places it ran through woods. This section of the trail ended at County Rd 33, about six miles from Goshen.

Another six mile section, running from Middlebury toward Shipshewana, was recently completed. Its official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held September 20, 2011. When completed in a few years, the trail will run 17 miles connecting Shipshewana, Middlebury and Goshen.

Thanks to Joann and John Smith for writing about the Pumpkinvine trail on their "Now Showing Near You: Wildflowers" blog.

Brown-Eyed Susan

2011-08-25T08:29:00.004-04:00

Brown-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba) are blooming in Kalamazoo, well after their better-known cousins, the Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). Brown-Eyed Susan are widely distributed throughout the Central and Eastern states, but are only found in scattered counties in Michigan.

Great Blue Lobelia

2011-08-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) are now in flower in Kalamazoo. Like their showier relatives the Cardinal Flower, these perennial wildflowers need moist soil and tolerate partial shade. The flower spike grows about three feet high and they are often found along streams and rivers. They're a widely distributed plant, found throughout Michigan and most Eastern, Midwestern, and Great Plains states.

Pere Marquette Rail Trail

2011-08-18T07:00:00.001-04:00

The Pere Marquette Rail Trail starts in Midland, MI, which is a 3 hour drive from Kalamazoo. The section I rode was paved and had mown grass shoulders. It passed through several parks in Midland, then paralleled the Tittabawassee River for several miles northwest of town. A goldfinch flew among the wildflower plantings along the trail. In other areas bracken ferns and woods edged the trail. The Averill Preserve (pdf) offered a river overlook with information about the area's logging history. I had to turn back to Midland shortly past the Averill overlook but the trail continues to Clare (30 miles from Midland).

Overall, the Pere Marquette trail was much more polished than the KalHaven trail with smooth asphalt suitable for rollerblades. Like other rail trails, it was fairly flat and ran pretty much in a straight line. Concrete mileposts marked the distance every half mile. The trailhead at Midland offered drinking fountains, restrooms, and compressed air. The Pere Marquette trail was selected for the Rail Trail Hall of Fame.

A four mile extension, called the Chippewa Trail, links the Pere Marquette trail to the Chippewa Nature Center. The trails are connected by a Y-shaped bridge, known as the Tridge, in Midland. Both trails start at the Tridge, just outside Midland's downtown.

Dow Gardens are also worth seeing if you're in Midland.

Natural Michigan part 4 (Grand Rapids)

2011-08-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

Natural Michigan: A Nature Lover's Guide to 228 Attractions
by Tom Powers
1995

This guidebook has over 200 pages describing natural areas throughout the state, with directions & small maps. In earlier posts, I highlighted areas near Kalamazoo and areas near the Indiana border and areas near Lansing. These areas, near Grand Rapids, are around an hour's drive from Kalamazoo.

Natural Areas near Grand Rapids

1. Aman Park
"Beautiful Sand Creek winds through the heart of the park and dominates the landscape." Trails, wildflowers, cross-country skiing.

Directions: From I-96 exit onto M-45. M-45 (Lake Michigan Avenue) about 6 miles west of Grand Rapids.
Aman Park Trail map

2. Blandford Nature Center
1715 Hillburn Ave N.W.
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
"143 acres of woodland, open fields, marsh and farmland plus ... several ponds and Brandywine Creek." Trails, visitor center.

Directions: From US 131 exit onto Leonard Street. West 3 miles on Leonard to Hillburn Avenue. North on Hillburn 1/2 mile to entrance.
Blandford Nature Center

3. DeGraaf Nature Center
600 Graafschap Road
Holland, MI 49423
"The DeGraaf Nature Center is a perfect example of the old adage, 'good things come in small packages.' Though only 15.5 acres big, the area is packed with a wwide variety of habitats and plant and animal life." Trails, wildflowers.

Directions: From Holland go south on River Avenue to Michigan Avenue. Continue southeast on Michigan to 22nd street. West on 22nd to Graafschap. South on Graafschap 1/2 mile to entrance.
DeGraaf Nature Center

4. Kitchell Dunes Preserve
"Tucked away on the north shore of the Grand River a few hundred yards from where it empties into Lake Michigan at Grand Have, the Kitchell Dune Preserve is a living showcase for a typical Michigan dunal ecosystem, where nature patiently and efficiently changes a sandy, barren dune into a hardwood forest." Trails.

Directions: From US 31 exit west onto Van Wagoner Rd outside of Ferrysburg to 174th Street. South on 174th to North Shore Dr. West on North Shore to North Beach Rd. South on N. Beach to Berwyk. East on Berwyck to entrance.
Kitchel-Lindquist Dunes Preserve

This book seems to be out of print. Amazon and Barnes & Noble may have copies through their affiliates. I found it at my local library.

Trumpeter Swans

2011-08-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) are native to Michigan but they were extirpated more than a century ago by over-hunting and habitat destruction. Most of the swans I see around Kalamazoo today are the aggressive Mute Swan introduced from Europe.

In the 1980s, Michigan began a program to reintroduce Trumpeter Swans to the state. By 2000, Michigan had over 400 swans, including 100 in Southwest Michigan. Since then, their numbers have increased. Wild swans are protected from hunting in Michigan.

Binder Park Zoo, where I took this photo, is a participant in the restoration program.

The Trumpeter Swan Society has more information on these magnificent birds.

Beach Freaks' Guide to Michigan's Best Beaches

2011-08-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

Beach Freaks' Guide to Michigan's Best Beaches
Joan & Bob Elmouchi
1999

This guidebook reviews 20 beaches near Detroit, 57 on Michigan's west Coast, 16 on its East Coast, and 4 in the Upper Peninsula. Each beach's features are described and most are illustrated with black & white photos. Directions (complete with keys for the DeLorme and Universal Michigan County Atlases) are given for each location.

Best Beaches near Kalamazoo

1. New Buffalo Beach,
New Buffalo

2. Warren Dunes State Park
Sawyer

3. Weko Beach Park
Bridgman

4. Silver Beach County Park,
St Joseph

5. Van Buren State Park,
South Haven

6. South Beach,
South Haven

7. North Beach,
South Haven

8. West Side Park,
Allegan County

9. Douglas Beach,
Douglas

10. Oval Beach
Saugatuck

11. Laketown Township Beach
Holland

12. Holland State Park
Holland

13. Tunnel Park
Holland

14. Kirk Park
West Olive

15. Grand Haven State Park,
Grand Haven

16. Grand Haven City Beach,
Grand Haven

17. North Beach Park,
Ferrysburg

18. PJ Hoffmaster State Park
Muskegon

19. Bronson Park [Kruse Park],
Muskegon

20. Pere Marquette Park,
Muskegon

21. Muskegon State Park
Muskegon

22. Pioneer Park,
Muskegon

23. Duck Lake State Park
Muskegon

24. Meinert Park,
Muskegon

25. Silver Lake State Park
Mears

26. Charles Mears State Park
Pentwater

Available from Amazon, other booksellers, and libraries.

Outdoor Adventures with Children

2011-08-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Michigan's Best Outdoor Adventures with Children
Jim DuFresne
1990

Noted outdoor writer, Jim DuFresne, suggests 75 adventures for families throughout the state of Michigan. I've highlighted a few destinations reasonably close to Kalamazoo

Outdoor Adventures with Children in West Michigan

1. Mount Baldhead
Mount Baldhead and Oval Beach Recreation Area
"Saugatuck, that trendy resort town on Lake Michigan, is hardly wilderness, but it does offer a fun adventure that includes riding a hand-pulled chain ferry, climbing Mount Baldhead, and sweeping views from the top of the forested sand dune. It ends with a pleasant descent of the dune's west side to Oval Beach, Saugatuck's renowned stretch of sand and Lake Michigan surf."

2. Graves Hill
Yankee Springs Recreation Area
"An old moraine makes a fine place for a child's first 'mountain climb' in southwest Michigan's Barry County. Graves Hill, the result of glacial activity, is located in the heart of Yankee Springs Recreation Area, one of the most popular units of the state park system. The loop trail is not strenuous but just steep enough to make children believe they're climbing a peak. The top rewards you with good views of the area, and the walk can be extended an extra mile to include Devils Soup Bowl, a deep depression."

3. Michigan Fisheries Interpretive Center
Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery
"The center attempts to capture all aspects of the Michigan fishery, from commercial fishermen and the present stocking program to the anatomy of fish. But to the delight of children, the displays are devoted mostly to sport fishing."

4. Backwoods Bikeways
Three Oaks Spokes Bicycle Museum
"But the museum is much more than old bicycles and wall displays. What it's really showcasing is Berrien County, a pedlar's paradise locals call 'Michiana.' This southwest corner of Michigan, with its secondary roads, patchwork farmland, lakes, streams,and rolling hills, is a great place for a family bicycle tour."

5. Warren Woods
Warren Woods Natural Area
"Most of Michigan's remaining stands of virgin timber are located either in the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula or in the Upper Peninsula. Except one. Surprisingly, in the southwest corner of the state, less than 10 miles from the Indiana border, are trees so big that most adults can't stretch their arms around the trunks and most children can't see the lofty tops. This unique spot is Warren Woods Natural Area, a 200-acre reserve featuring a rare, primeval beech and maple stand."

6. Love Creek
Love Creek County Park
"You can go nordic skiing at hundreds of places across Michigan, but for a change of place slip on a pair of snowshoes and trudge your way up the hills and through the beech and maple climax forest at Love Creek County Park."

7. The Ledges
Fitzgerald County Park
"Grand Ledge, the only place to do any serious climbing in Michigan, also makes for a fun adventure for children, even if they're years away from lacing up a pair of rock shoes. The town west of Lansing is named after 'The Ledges,' towering faces of sheer rock that border the Grand River."

8. Dune Overlook
P.J. Hoffmaster State Park
"You can view the most famous dunes in the Midwest all along the state's Lake Michigan shoreline, but the best place to teach children the significance of these mountains of sand is at P.J. Hoffmaster State Park on the outskirts of Muskegon."

9. Luge Run
Muskegon Winter Sports Complex
"Beginners depart from the lowest entry ramp on the 600-meter luge track, but they still zip along the iced runway at speeds of up to 12 to 15 miles an hours-- while lying on their backs. For kids, it's the most exciting 12 seconds they've ever had on a sled... in any position."

10. Silver Lake Sand Dunes
Silver Lake State Park
"For the boy or girl whose sandbox never has enough sand, there's Silver Lake sand dunes, the mile-wide strip that separate the inland lake from Lake Michigan. This is heaven on earth for people who like to wiggle their toes in the sand, climb steep slopes of sand, or run down dunes into a cool, refreshing lake."

Amazon has used copies; mine was from the library.

River Oaks County Park

2011-07-31T07:00:00.000-04:00

River Oaks County Park is a real sports park with a dozen soccer fields, softball diamonds, a model airplane field, and plenty of parking. The park also offers picnic shelters, some hiking trails and a boat ramp on Morrow Lake, an impoundment of the Kalamazoo River.

A year after the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill, access to the river is still closed at River Oaks Park.

In winter, it was a nice park for solitude.

River Oaks County Park
9202 East Michigan Ave (M-96)
Galesburg, MI

Admission $5 daily. Season pass $25.

Milkweed

2011-07-28T09:36:00.003-04:00

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) doesn't have the show-stopping flowers of the Butterfly Milkweed but the pale pink flowers are attractive enough. They're particularly attractive to butterflies, most famously the Monarch.

Milkweed is named for its thick white sap, which protects the plant from many herbivores since it contains bitter cardiac glycosides that are toxic in large doses. Certain insects, like the Monarch Butterfly, have adapted to tolerate this poison and, in fact, are able to incorporate it as their own chemical defense against predators.

The USDA has an informative pdf on the Common Milkweed.

Wild blueberry

2011-07-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

Wild blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) are ripening now. These are highbush blueberries, closely related to the commercially-farmed berries grown near Kalamazoo. Michigan also has two species of lowbush blueberries that only grow a few inches high, while the highbush blueberry grows several feet tall. The sweet fruits are popular with birds, animals, and people.

Water lily spirals

2011-07-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

The other day I was paddling on Portage Lake (from Coldbrook County Park) and I noticed these spiral stems on many submerged water lilies. At the time, I thought they were new blossoms and I wondered why they grew from a corkscrew stem. A little web surfing showed me I had been wrong in assuming they were new buds. Apparently White Water Lilies (Nymphaea odorata) emerge on straight stems but after pollination the stems twist into a spiral pulling the flower underwater where the seeds mature.

Rocky River (Three Rivers)

2011-07-17T08:14:00.002-04:00

Three Rivers, a town about half an hour south of Kalamazoo, offers several choices for canoe trips. Last fall we tried the St Joseph River; yesterday, we paddled the Rocky River. Compared to the St Joseph River, the Rocky was narrower, shallower, and twistier with a better current.

We started at a bridge on Null Road in a suburban area northwest of town, where the river took us through a mix of manicured lawns and natural areas. Downstream, farmers were irrigating their fields with river water. We saw Blue Herons, muskrats, turtles, frogs and a Kingfisher and we watched a colorful Goldfinch take a bath at the river's edge. About two hours into the paddle, we came to the dock at Brewster's where we stopped for a cold beverage.

Near the end of the river the current picked up, with a few rapids. We scouted the whitewater from a footbridge in the city park and decided to portage. We did watch three boats run the rapids, none successfully. The water was shallow enough that the paddlers were able to just stand up and start again.

From there, the river ran through Skidmore Park where we saw an emu in the small zoo. Then a series of riffles led to the Saint Joseph River. The end of the trip was directly across the river at the Conservation Park boat ramp.

Boat rental and spotting are available from
Liquid Therapy
221 S. Main Street
Three Rivers, MI 49093
269-273-9000

Prairie Flowers

2011-07-14T08:36:00.007-04:00

While the Kalamazoo Nature Center is my favorite spot for Spring wildflowers, I don't always think of it for summer blooms. I visited earlier this week and the prairie flowers were spectacular. Black-eyed Susan were at their peak. Monarch butterflies were drinking nectar from the Wild Bergamot. Butterfly Milkweed and Common Milkweed were in flower, along with both purple and yellow coneflowers.
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta

Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea

Purple Prairie Clover Dalea purpurea

Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa

The prairie flowers can be easily seen from the Prairie View parking lot (on Westnedge about a half mile south of the main entrance) and from the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail. To walk the prairie, start at the Interpretive Center, cross the bridge over Trout Run stream, then head uphill. The bright colors of the prairie make quite a contrast from the cool dark woods.

Kalamazoo Nature Center
7000 N. Westnedge Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49009

American Kestrel

2011-07-10T07:00:00.001-04:00

The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the smallest bird of prey found near Kalamazoo. They eat grasshoppers and other insects in the summer and mice and small mammals in the winter. They nest in tree cavities, often in holes created by woodpeckers, and feed in open areas. They are often seen perched on telephone lines watching for prey. The species is widely distributed throughout North and South America.

The bird pictured is used in education programs at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

Adventure Cycling in Michigan

2011-07-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

Adventure Cycling in Michigan: Selected On & Off Road Rides
The Adventure Cycling Association
1997

This guidebook describes 39 bike rides throughout the state, organized into four regions: Upper Peninsula, North Lakes, Southwest Michigan, Southeast Michigan. Detailed directions, accompanied by maps and black and white photos, are given for each tour. Many of them are reasonably close to Kalamazoo.

Southwest Michigan Cycling

1. Kal-Haven Trail
Start: South Haven
End: Kalamazoo
Distance: 33.5 miles
Kal-Haven Trail

2. Paw Paw Way
Start & End: Paw Paw
Distance: 34.8 miles

3. Holland-Saugatuck Connection
Start:Holland
End: Saugatuck
Distance: 15 miles

4. Grand Haven Trail
Start: Grand Haven State Park
End: Holland
Distance: 21 miles
Lakeshore Connector Path

5. Lake Michigan Trek
Start: Holland
End: Mackinac Bridge in Mackinaw City
Distance: 387.3 miles
League of Michigan Bicyclists' Shoreline West Bicycle Tour

6. Coopersville Ramble
Start & End: Coopersville
Via: Nunica, Grand Haven, Eastmanville, Lamont
Distance: 46.2 miles

7. Last Train to Clarksville
Start & End: Ada
Via: Clarksville & Lowell
Distance 41.5 miles

This book appears to be out-of-print but Amazon offered copies through its affiliates. I found it at my local library.

See the Adventure Cycling Association website.

Grand Haven State Park

2011-07-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Grand Haven State Park has a great beach and it's very popular on summer weekends. Crowds of visitors stroll the wide walkway along the Grand River between the state park and the downtown restaurants and shops. The beach itself is wide and long with plenty of nets for beach volleyball, an ice cream stand, changing rooms, and lots of smooth sand. The park is right at the edge of town so it doesn't have the wooded dunes that some other Lake Michigan parks offer. It doesn't really have any grass-- just one big beach.

In May, the park hosts the Great Lakes Kite Festival, which I really enjoyed.

The state park campground has a great location but it's basically a parking lot on the beach. The RVs are packed tightly, with just a line painted on asphalt to separate campsites. I wouldn't want to camp there with my tent.

Grand Haven is a little over an hour from Kalamazoo.

Grand Haven State Park
1001 Harbor Avenue
Grand Haven, MI 49417
Phone Number: (616) 847-1309

Thornapple River

2011-06-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

The Thornapple River, less than an hour from Kalamazoo, is one of my favorites. It's an easy river to paddle with shallow water and plenty of woods and wildlife.

Our paddle from Charlton Park to Hastings took around two hours on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with turtles sunning on logs and cedar waxwings flying overhead. The river was wide and slow at Charlton Park, since it's the end of Thornapple Lake. Downstream, past the cottages, the river narrows and you can drift with the current between wooded banks. That section was popular for innertube floats. We did pass several groups on the river, but it was only crowded in one short section.

Canoes, kayaks, and innertubes are available from
U-Rent-Em Canoe Livery
805 W. Apple St.
Hastings, Michigan 49058
(269)945-3191

Kirk Park

2011-06-26T09:30:00.000-04:00

Kirk Park, on Lake Michigan between Holland and Grand Haven, is set in the forest. Trees shade the drive to the playground, picnic shelter, and parking. Paved paths lead through the woods to the wide beach. Other trails climb steeply up the wooded dunes to scenic overviews and make several loops through the park. Trails are closed to bikes but they are open for cross-country skiers in the winter.

Kirk Park makes a great stop on the Lakeshore Connector path.

Park map [pdf]

$6 parking fee. Discount for Ottawa County residents.
Annual passes available.
Free admission for pedestrians and bikes

Kirk Park
9771 Lakeshore Ave N,
West Olive, MI
49460

Lakeshore Conector

2011-06-23T07:00:00.002-04:00

The Lakeshore Connector is a paved bike path that runs 20 miles along Lakeshore Drive from Holland, Michigan to Grand Haven. The trail itself is pleasant but not particularly scenic since Lake Michigan is hidden behind private homes on wooded dunes and the landscape is more suburban than rural. The trail, however, does connect some great beach parks: Holland State Park in the south, then Tunnel Beach, Kirk Park is near the trail's midpoint, followed by Rosy Mound Natural Area, and then Grand Haven State Park in the north. Any of these parks makes a nice destination.

Another natural area along the trail is the Palomita Reserve, a Great Lakes marsh preserved by the Land Conservancy of West Michigan. There's a marsh overlook on the trail and an option for a woodland walk through the reserve. It's a little north of Kirk Park.

On the north, the path ends at the city limits of Grand Haven but riders can continue on sidewalks or streets. Duncan Park, in Grand Haven, offers a scenic but hilly ride through a mature beech woods on the way to the downtown or waterfront. I never saw any signs to the Lakeshore Connector trail but we found our way easily enough.

Trail maps are available in Ottawa County's "Bike Grand Haven & Holland" brochure [pdf]

Approximate distances (one way)
Holland State Park to Tunnel Beach 2.7 miles
Tunnel Beach to Kirk Park 11 miles
Kirk Park to Grand Haven 9 miles

Free.
Parking fee at parks; no park fee for bikes.

Blue Flag Iris

2011-06-19T07:00:00.001-04:00

Blue Flag Iris (Iris virginica) is one of the showiest flowers of early summer. These native wildflowers grow in wet areas-- at the edge of ponds and rivers, in marshes, bogs, floodplains and wet prairies. It can be found across much of the Eastern United States. They've been in bloom in Kalamazoo for a couple of weeks.

Wild cranberry

2011-06-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

Wild cranberries (Vaccinium oxycoccos) are blooming now. I didn't recognize the tiny flowers but they were easy to find in a guidebook. Michigan has a similar species, the large cranberry, (Vaccinium macrocarpon) but based on the leaves I think the flowers pictured are the small cranberry. Both plants are native to bogs and grow throughout the northern US and in Canada.
Cranberries are in the blueberry family, but the plants only grow a few inches tall. Wild blueberries grow in the same bog but the plants are much taller. The blueberry bushes have already set fruit.

Other nearby plants included Lady's Slipper, whose flowers were mostly gone, and Snake's Mouth orchid which are just starting to bloom.

Yellow Pond Lily

2011-06-12T10:01:00.003-04:00

Yellow Pond Lilies (Nuphar lutea) bloom earlier in Michigan than our White Water Lilies. Both native plants grow in ponds and slow moving streams throughout the United States and Canada. Yellow Pond Lilies are also known as Spadderdock.

Michigan Sand Dunes

2011-06-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

The Complete Guide to Michigan Sand Dunes
by Jim DuFresne
2005

"But what sets us apart from any other state, what has become our natural trademark, are sand dunes, those grassy-covered mounds and hills of drifting sand created by glaciers, carved by the wind. More than 275,000 acres of dune formations have been identified in Michigan, making it the largest collection of freshwater dunes in the world."

This guide, by a prolific Michigan outdoor author, describes 47 dune parks and preserves in Michigan. All but six of them are on Lake Michigan and nearly half are close to Kalamazoo. Each chapter includes a description of the park's features, facilities and activities, along with a park map, often with topographic lines to show the dunes. Directions to each area are included and many parks are illustrated with black & white photos.

Lake Michigan Sand Dunes (Southern half)

1. Warren Dunes State Park
Bridgman
camping

2. Weko Beach
Bridgman
camping

3. Grand Mere State Park
Stevensville

4. Van Buren State Park
South Haven
camping

5. Mount Baldhead & Oval Beach
Saugatuck
chain ferry

6. Saugatuck Dunes State Park
Saugatuck

7. Laketown Beach
Holland

8. Holland State Park
Holland
camping

9. Tunnel County Park
Holland

10. Kirk County Park
Grand Haven

11. Rosy Mound Natural Area
Grand Haven

12. Kitchel-Lindquist Dunes
Ferrysburg

13. PJ Hoffmaster State Park
Muskegon
camping

14. Kruse Park
Muskegon

15. Muskegon State Park
Muskegon
camping

16. Duck Lake State Park
Muskegon

17. Meinert County Park
Montague
camping

18. Silver Lake State Park
Mears
camping
dune rides

19. Charles Mears State Park
Pentwater
camping
kites

There are, of course, many dunes further north along Lake Michigan and this guide describes those as well. Besides the individual park descriptions, the author includes sidebars on related features, such as the Paw Paw, Lakeshore Connector bike trail between Holland & Grand Haven.

Available from Amazon, Google Books, Barnes & Noble and other retailers and libraries.

Michigan Rivers Less Paddled

2011-06-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

Michigan Rivers Less Paddled: The Rivers, The Towns, The Taverns
by Doc Fletcher
2009

Michigan Rivers Less Paddled is a sequel to Canoeing in Michigan by the same author. This book describes another twenty-one rivers throughout the state, including several near Kalamazoo.

Southwest Michigan Rivers

1. Thornapple River
"The river has a national reputation as a fine smallmouth bass stream. The suggested river trip is right in the middle of some of the river's best fishing..."
Start at Charlton Park Bridge/Rivergate Campground; end at U-Rent-Em Canoe Livery in Hastings
3 hours
Skill level: beginner
Town: Hastings
Tavern: Olde Towne Tavern Co.
Canoe rental at U-Rent-Em Canoe Livery

2. Dowagiac River
"The river feel was rustic (even more than most rivers), the water flowed quickly down long straight-aways, the many logs just above and just below the surface kept us alert and on our toes, and the trees leaning in from each bank formed a canopy above us, acting as a coolant on a hot summer day."
Start at Doe-Wah-Jack livery; end at M62 Bridge
2 hours
Skill level: intermediate
Town: Dowagiac
Tavern: Wounded Minnow Saloon
Canoe rental at Doe-Wah-Jack's Canoe Rental

3. Kalamazoo River
"Without protective tree cover, the winds and sands coming off of Lake Michigan quickly eroded Singapore into ruins. By 1875, the town was vacated (many residents moved to The Flats, i.e. Saugatuck) and completely covered over by sand drifts. Today Singapore is buried beneath the dunes."
Start at Ottawa Marsh (128th & 46th Roads); end at Old Allegan Road (at 58th St)
3 hours
Skill level: beginner
Town: Saugatuck
Tavern: Wally's Bar & Grill
Canoe rental at Old Allegan Canoe

4. Rocky River
"The view looking north from the bridge is sweet: the Rocky white water flows beneath a foot bridge, cascading down a series of rocks before wrapping around a grassy island." [Portage suggested here.]
Start at Null Road Bridge; end at Liquid Therapy ramp (across St. Joe River)
2 hours 25 minutes.
Skill level: intermediate
Town: Three Rivers
Tavern: Brewster's
Canoe rental at Liquid Therapy

5. Grand River
"The Grand's Indian name is 'O-wash-ta-nong', meaning far-away-water, a name well-suited to a 260-mile long river."
Start at Tompkins Road; end at Grand Adventures livery.
2.5 - 3 hours.
Skill level: intermediate
Town: Jackson
Tavern: Archey's (in Onondaga)
Canoe rental at Grand Adventures

6. Rogue River
"For thousands of years before the Europeans arrived, the Rogue was the main transportation route linking Native Americans in the Grand Rapids area with their cousins near Newaygo."
Start at 12 Mile Road Bridge (at Friske Road); end 100' before Rockford dam
2 hours
Skill level: beginner
Town: Rockford
Taverns: Rogue River Tavern; Grill One Eleven
Canoe rental at Powers Outdoors

7. Looking Glass River
"Deeply beautiful reflections off of the river's surface, as the water gently ripples over rocks, treat you to a visual paradise throughout."
Start at Lowell Bridge; end at Wacousta Canoe Livery
3-4 hours
Skill level: intermediate
Town: Portland
Tavern: Duke's Cajun Grill (aka Duke's Canoe Club)
Canoe rental at Wacousta Canoe Livery

Available from Amazon, or directly from the author and from other booksellers and libraries.

Blandings Turtle

2011-06-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

When my daughter and I saw this turtle crossing the Kal-Haven Trail, we immediately knew it wasn't any of the four Michigan turtles we could name off the top of our heads (Painted, Snapping, Softshell, or Box) but neither of us could remember it. A quick visit to this Michigan Herps webpage showed us it was a Blanding's Turtle (Emys blandingii or Emydoidea blandingii).

The turtle was fresh from the pond, with duckweed on its shell, most likely on her way to lay eggs on a warm day in late Spring.

Blanding's Turtles are listed as a species of special concern in Michigan.

Michigan's Best Campgrounds

2011-05-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Michigan's Best Campgrounds:
A Guide to the Best 150 Public Campgrounds in the Great Lakes State
by Jim DuFresne
2005

Like the author's other popular guidebooks, this guide offers descriptions, complete with maps and black & white photos, of outdoor opportunities throughout the state. This book's focus is on camping and it includes information on when each campground is likely to be full or closed. It also gives suggestions for nearby outdoor activities. Kalamazoo falls in the book's "Heartland" region and many campgrounds close to Kalamazoo are in the "Lake Michigan" region. Here are a selection from those two areas:

Best Campgrounds near Kalamazoo

1. Cold Brook
51 sites Modern/Rustic
"Coldbrook has both modern sites and a rustic loop, each on a small peninsula of their own on the southwest corner of Portage Lake."
Swimming, fishing, hiking.

Cold Brook County Park
14467 East "MN" Avenue
Climax, MI

2. Deep Lake
120 sites Rustic
"Deep Lake is a very scenic section of Yankee Springs."
Mountain biking, fishing, hiking.

Yankee Springs Recreation Area
2104 Gun Lake Rd
Middleville

3. Warren Dunes
185 sites Modern/Rustic
"This facility is two loops in a wooded area on the backside of the dunes, offering shade and surprisingly, for the number of sites in it, a small degree of privacy between campers."
Beach, hiking

Warren Dunes State Park
12032 Red Arrow Highway
Sawyer

4. Grand Haven
174 sites Modern
"Sites at Grand Haven State Park are little more than a cement slab with no trees, no vegetation to keep the blowing sand at bay and little privacy from your neighbor who is but four feet away."
Beach.

Grand Haven State Park
1001 Harbor Ave
Grand Haven, MI

5. Hoffmaster
293 sites Modern
"The loops are well forested in hardwoods and pines and being dune country the sites are in a sandy area covered with needles but little undergrowth."
Beach, hiking, interpretive center.

PJ Hoffmaster State Park
6585 Lake Harbor Road
Muskegon

6. Muskegon
110 sites Modern
"The Lake Michigan campground has 110 sites on a loop of several lanes. The pre-motorhome era facility is neither level nor is it easy to pull trailers into many of the sites and large RVs are sent down to Muskegon Lake campground at the south end of the park."
Beach, fishing, hiking.

Muskegon State Park
3560 Memorial Drive
North Muskegon

7. Pioneer
213 sites Modern
"The sites are close together but most of them are well shaded by red pines."
Beach.

Pioneer County Park
1563 N. Scenic Drive
Muskegon

8. Henning
60 sites Modern
"Henning Park has 60 modern sites that are situated close together in three loops in an open grassy field."
Canoeing, fishing.

Henning County Park
500 Croton Road
Newaygo

9. Newaygo
99 sites Rustic
"Newago is one of the few units of the state park system with a rustic campground and where there is actually a little space and privacy between sites."
Fishing.

Newaygo State Park
2793 Beech Street
Newaygo

10. White Cloud
104 sites Modern/Rustic
"If the White Cloud City Campground has the look of a state park to you that's because it used to be a state park."
Hiking, tubing.

White Cloud City Campground
620 E. Wilcox
White Cloud

Available from Amazon and other booksellers and libraries.

Summer Events 2011

2011-05-26T07:00:00.002-04:00

Warmer weather and longer days make summer a great season for outdoor activity around Kalamazoo.

Summer events near Kalamazoo:

May 27-30 22nd Annual West Michigan Coastal Kayaker's Association Symposium Big Blue Lake

June 3-5 Cerulean Warbler Weekend Hastings

June 4 National Trails Day 2011- West Michigan Events or throughout the US

June 4 Lake Michigan Water Trail Dedication Portage, IN

June 11 KRVT Grand Opening Celebration 10am-2pm Parchment

June 11-12 Michigan Free Fishing Weekend

June 11-12 Michigan Kitefest and Competition Richland

June 21 Free Day at Kalamazoo County Parks

July 1-4 Balloon Festival Battle Creek

July 16-22 Michigander Bicycle Tour

August 6-15 25th Annual Shoreline West Bicycle Tour

August 11-14 Blueberry Festival South Haven

Also consider:

West Michigan Summer Weekends

Event listings from Discover Kalamazoo

Gazelle Sports' calendar of West Michigan Races & Running Workshops

League of Michigan Bicyclist's Michigan Ride Calendar

West Michigan Coastal Kayaker's Association Event Calendar

Outdoor Athlete has lists for Michigan running, biking and triathlon events.

Michigan DNR's calendars for events in state parks and recreation areas for June, July, and August

Long Tailed-Duck

2011-05-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'd never seen a Long Tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) until this Friday when I saw a unfamiliar bird swimming in Lake Michigan near the South Haven pier. It eventually swam right up to the edge of the pier, then dove. Later, I found they can dive 200 feet deep.

Long-tailed ducks are an ocean species, spending much of their lives far offshore. They spend summer in the arctic and nest on the tundra. They winter on the Atlantic & Pacific coasts, the Great Lakes, and in European waters. Because they are difficult to observe, scientists don't know much about these birds compared to other ducks. The Sea Duck Joint Venture provides more detailed Long-tailed duck information pdf.

Hunters frequently refer to these as "Oldsquaws."

Wild Ginger

2011-05-19T07:08:00.001-04:00

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) has an interesting flower that blooms at ground level, beneath the leaves. Most plants elevate their blossoms to attract flying pollinators but Wild Ginger is pollinated by ground-dwelling beetles or flies. Later, its ripe seeds are dispersed by ants who collect them for the nutrients in each seed's elaiosome.

The plant is widely distributed throughout woodlands in the Eastern United States and Canada.

Wild Ginger is currently in bloom in Kalamazoo. The flowers aren't attention getting but they are worth a little search. I look for colonies of the plants (each with a pair of round-heart-shaped leaves) and then look underneath for the blossoms.

May wildflowers

2011-05-15T07:00:00.001-04:00

While the wildflower season in Kalamazoo started slowly this year, it accelerated in the last week or so. Some hot days, some heavy rains and the leafing out of the canopy finished the season for many of the Spring ephemerals. Squirrel Corn, Dutchman's Breeches, and Marsh Marigold all had seed pods where the blossoms had been. The Toothwort leaves are yellow; they'll likely be completely gone next week. Trillium are past their peak and looking pretty ragged. Wild Phlox and Blue Eyed Mary are still in flower, but ebbing.

Of course, other flowers are now coming into their season. Lots of Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) and Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) were out. It looks like the peak for Mayapple flowers and white wood violets (perhaps Viola sororia albiflora). Swamp buttercups were in bloom along the Kalamazoo River where the Redbud trees on the far bank were spectacular.

Top Picks from Where to Weekend around Chicago

2011-05-12T07:00:00.001-04:00

Where to Weekend around Chicago
Fodor's
editor: William Travis
2004

This guide has information on a large number of Midwestern attractions and I posted earlier about destinations close to Kalamazoo In addition to the detailed information on each destination, Fodor's also lists their editor's favorites. Here are some of their top picks that are reasonably close to Kalamazoo.

Beaches:
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Events:
Tulip Time Festival

Hiking:
Allegan State Forest
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Museums:
College Football Hall of Fame, South Bend
National New York Central Railroad Museum, Elkhart
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor

This guidebook seems to be out of print but the Amazon listing has the "look inside" feature. Fodor's website doesn't seem to have it. My copy was from the library. Allgetways has selections from the guidebook online.

Warbler migration

2011-05-08T07:00:00.001-04:00

Michigan's spring warbler migration overlaps with its ephemeral wildflower season, perhaps because both depend on insects to some extent (for food and pollination, respectively.) In any case, it's nice to see these small colorful birds in the woods and see wildflowers at the same time.

My warbler identification skills aren't very good, so I lean heavily on guidebooks. The bird pictured above is a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) sitting in a plum tree in my backyard.

It's impressive to think about how far these small birds travel, flying from Central & South America to the northern US and Canada. Of course this also means that habitats separated by thousands of miles are interlinked and that ecosystem disruption in one place will affect the others.

National Geographic's guide suggests several area birdwatching sites that have large numbers of warblers in the spring.

2011 Warbler festivals

Tawas Point Birding Festival May 12-15, 2011
Kirtland’s Warbler Wildlife Festival May 21, 2011
Cerulean Warbler Weekend, June 3-5, 2011.

While it's a three and a half hour drive from Kalamazoo, I can't resist adding northern Ohio's immodestly named festival: Biggest Week In American Birding May 5-15, 2011

Hoffmaster Wildflowers

2011-05-05T08:03:00.006-04:00

This Saturday (May 7, 2011) is P.J. Hoffmaster State Park's "Spring Blooms in the Dunes" event. In the 1980's, Hoffmaster was known for its annual Trillium Festival but an overabundance of deer ate many of the park's wildflowers, forcing organizers to rename the event. Since 2005, a controlled hunt has been used to reduce the size of the deer herd so the native plants can recover.

We visited Hoffmaster earlier this week and we didn't see many wildflowers in bloom. We did see some trillium plants but their buds were tightly closed, suggesting their season is well behind Kalamazoo's this year. There was a nice colony of Hepatica in peak flower, again suggesting a later season.

There were a variety of native plants in bloom in a wildflower garden in front of the park's visitor center.

The 2011 "Spring Blooms in the Dunes" schedule includes

Native Plant Sale 9am - 3pm
Nature Art for Children 10 am - 12 am
Guest Speaker on "Spring Wildflowers and Coastal Adventures" 11 am
Michigan Wildlife demonstration with live animals 1 pm
Wildflower hike 2 pm

for more information see the Gillette Nature Association

Hoffmaster State Park
6585 Lake Harbor Rd
Norton Shores, MI 49441-6199

Wildflower season continues

2011-05-01T08:57:00.007-04:00

Kalamazoo's wildflowers continue despite a mostly cold and rainy week. Dutchman's Breeches were at their peak. New blooms included Toothwort, Trillium, and Blue-Eyed Mary. Hepatica blooms were gone and their new leaves had emerged. Bloodroot seemed well past its peak. Marsh Marigold were still very colorful but the ratio of old blossoms to unopened buds was high. Spring Beauty seemed to have disappeared but the flowers were just closed-up on a cold afternoon.

Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis) is Dutchman's Breeches' less-whimsical cousin.

A few, early Trillium were almost fully open.

Wild Phlox (Phlox divaricata) buds were still tightly furled but they'll blossom soon.

Wildflower progress

2011-04-28T07:57:00.006-04:00

Spring feels a little late this year but it is progressing. Plants that were just budding a week ago are now blooming. Spring Beauty looks to be at its peak. Large patches of green foliage cover the forest floor bringing promises of future blooms.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is near its peak. The rain has beaten up some flowers while others remain partially closed to protect their pollen. Clusters of the white flowers, each backed by its own large, round, deeply cleft leaf, are quite striking.

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) are probably my favorite early spring wildflower. There's something about the way the clusters of V-shaped flowers are suspended from the arching stem that's both attractive and amusing. They haven't reached their peak yet, this season, so they're about two weeks later than 2010.

A hint of more to come...

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:32:00.001-04:00

Marsh Marigold

Red-tailed Hawk

2011-04-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) are the most common hawk around Kalamazoo. I nearly always see one or more when I'm driving on the highway, either perched in a tree at the edge of a field or circling overhead. I regularly see them on my short commute to K College. They can be found from Canada to Central America.

Mice and other small rodents are their main food source, but they will also eat rabbits or birds. Young hawks with less hunting experience may eat roadkill.

Mobbing is an interesting phenomenon where groups of crows or blackbirds harass a hawk to drive it from its territory. Attacking such a fierce predator seems like it would be suicidal, but the smaller birds have enough maneuverability to make it a successful strategy.

The classic colors of a Red-tailed hawk are a dark head, back and wings with cinnamon-colored tailfeathers with a light underside. There is substantial variation across individual birds and juveniles don't have the red tail which can make them somewhat harder to identify.

The bird pictured above is used in education programs at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

Emerging wildflowers

2011-04-17T07:46:00.005-04:00

April 15 marks the end of the tax season and the beginning of Kalamazoo's wildflower season. It's a good time to look for the early woodland wildflowers: Hepatica, Dutchman's Breeches, Marsh Marigold, and Spring Beauty. Of course, like many things in nature, there is year-to-year variation. In 2010, these flowers were at their peak by April 15. This Spring has been colder (as illustrated by yesterday's snow) and the wildflowers are later. Only a few plants were in bloom at the Kalamazoo Nature Center, but lots more had buds bringing the promise of more flowers next week.

Bloodroot bud (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Trout Lily bud (Erythronium americanum)

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) in bloom.

Natural Michigan part 3 (near Lansing)

2011-04-14T07:30:00.001-04:00

Natural Michigan: A Nature Lover's Guide to 228 Attractions
by Tom Powers
1995

This guidebook has over 200 pages describing natural areas throughout the state, with directions & small maps. In earlier posts, I highlighted areas near Kalamazoo and areas in Southwest Michigan near the Indiana border. These areas, near Lansing, are just over an hour's drive from Kalamazoo.

Natural Areas near Lansing

1. Fox Park
"Activity and this 35-acre Eaton Conty park centers around a long, narrow manmade lake." Beach, playground, 2 miles of trails for hiking or x-country skiing.

Directions:From I-69 take exit 66. Go north on M-100 about 1 mile to Gresham Avenue. West on Gresham to park entrance.
Fee.

Fox Memorial Park
3981 E. Gresham Hwy.
Potterville, MI 48876

2. Fitzgerald County Park
"Recently, geologically speaking, the Grand River cut through the rock and left a mile-log series of magnificent 270-million-year-old sandstone outcroppings." Trails, nature center, picnic areas, athletic fields, sled hill, cross-country ski rentals, canoe rental.

Directions:Take M-43 to Grand Ledge. Turn east on Jefferson Avenue to park entrance.
Fee.

Fitzgerald County Park
133 Fitzgerald Park Drive
Grand Ledge, MI 48837

3. Woldumar Nature Center
"Located on an old farm amid expressways, residential areas and urban sprawl, the 188-acre Woldumar Nature Center is an oasis to both wildlife and people." Trails, nature exhibits, gift shop, nature programs.

Directions: From I-96 take Exit 98B onto Lansing Road North . Proceed through Creyts Road traffic light and bear right at the fork. Woldumar is one-half mile from the light, on the right, or south side, of the road.
$1 trail fee

Woldumar Nature Center
5739 Old Lansing Road
Lansing, MI

4. Riverbend Natural Area
"At Riverbend, there are plenty of opportunities for solitary walks, nature study, photography, or the search for wildflowers and birds along seven trails, which vary in length Timber Doodle Trail to the 1.3 mile Deer Run Trail." Hiking, cross-country skiing.

Directions: From I-69 take I-96 east to US 127. South on US 127 to Holt Road. West 2 miles on Holt to Aurelius. South on Aurelius 3 miles to Nichols Road. 3.5 miles west on Nichols to park entrance.

Riverbend Natural Area
6200 Nichols Road
Holt, MI

5. Legg Park
"The Red Cedar River is relatively small-- a good high school broad jumper could clear it in most places-- swift moving stream that almost twists itself in knots as it pases through deep woods southeast of Okemos." Trails, picnic area, cross-country skiing.

Directions: From E. Lansing, take M-43 (Grand River Avenue) east about 4 miles to Van Atta Road. South on Van Atta 2 miles to entrance.

Legg Park
3891 Van Atta Road
Okemos, MI

6. Baker Woodlot
"Michigan State University's 173-acre Baker Woodlot holds a soul-stirring fragment of the great beech/maple climax forest that once blanketed much of southern Michigan." Trails.
Directions: On MSU's campus in E. Lansing at the intersection of Farm Lane and Service Road.
Baker Woodlot

7. Beal Botanical Garden
"W.J. Beal Garden, located in the heart of the Michigan State University campus, is a living tribute to a long line of talented gardeners and botanists." Garden beds, plant collections, 5000 different kinds of plants.
Directions: On MSU's campus on West Circle Drive next to the Main Library.
Beal Botanical Garden

8. Sanford Natural Area
"Squeezed between the bustling Michigan State University campus on the south and a commercial strip bordering Grand River Avenue on the north is an exceptional wilderness area." Trails, birdwatching, Red Cedar River views, hardwood forest.
Directions: On the northeastern corner of MSU's campus in E. Lansing just south of the intersection of Hagadorn Road and Grand River Avenue.
Sanford Natural Area

9. Red Cedar Natural Area
"The Red Cedar Natural area-- because it's much less accessible [then the Sanford natural area] and, thus, less frequently used-- seems much more remote and wild." hardwood forest, paths, Red Cedar River.
Directions: On the western edge of MSU's campus in E. Lansing, where Kalamazoo Street crosses the Red Cedar River.
Red Cedar Natural Area

10. Fenner Nature Center
"The opportunity for solitude along an extensive system of nature trails within a city limits, plus a wide variety of fascinating exhibits and programs are reasons to visit Fenner Nature Center, a 120-acre city park located on the eastern edge of Lansing."

Directions: From US-127/I-496 in Lansing go south to Trowbridge Road exit, East on Trowbridge to Harrison. Harrison south to Mt Hope Road. West on Mt Hope 1.5 miles to entrance.

Fenner Nature Center
2020 E. Mt. Hope Ave.
Lansing, MI 48910

11. Rose Lake Wildlife Research Center
"The Rose Lake Wildlife Research Center is one of the most underrated and overlooked great birdwatching areas in the state." 231 bird species, 41 mammals, walking, cross country skiing, hunting, fishing, 3,646 acres.

Directions: from Lansing, take I-69 12 miles northeast to exit 94. Turn east onto old M-78, then .5 mile to Upton Road. North on Upton 1.5 miles to Stoll Road. East on Stoll to headquarters.
Rose Lake map [pdf]

Rose Lake Wildlife Research Center
8562 E. Stoll Road
E. Lansing, MI 48823

12. Maple River State Game Area
"The 1,200 acres of the Wetland Wildlife Management Units of the Maple River State Game Area make up the largest wetland complex in central Michigan." Birdwatching, photography, hiking on dikes, observation tower.

Directions: On US-127 about 8 miles north of St Johns, MI. Parking area 1/2 mile north of Maple River. For other parking areas go north to Ranger Road then east or west to first intersection then south to parking.
Maple River State Game Area

13. Brock Park
"Those in the know turn off M-21 and slip under the canopy of thick, towering hardwoods and evergreens that shelter a sprawling, secluded campground and a beautiful picnic area bisected by a bright, swift-moving stream." Picnic areas, trails, camping, cross-country skiing, sledding.
Directions:From Ionia go 3 miles west on M-21.
fee.
Bertha Brock Park
2311 West Bluewater Highway
Ionia, MI 48846

This book may be out of print. Amazon and Barnes & Noble may have copies through their affiliates. I found it at my local library.

Spring Robin

2011-04-10T09:06:00.003-04:00

Robins (Turdus migratorius) are a traditional sign of spring in Michigan. Their preferred habitat, open grassy areas for feeding with nearby trees and bushes for protection, matches typical suburban landscaping, so they are one of the easiest songbirds to see. My lawn has been brightened in recent weeks by groups of robins hunting for worms.

Their colorful breast, cheerful chirping, ease of viewing, and association with Spring make them a very popular bird. In 1931, the Robin Red Breast was named Michigan's State Bird.

While robins are known as Spring birds, some do overwinter in Michigan, which makes them a less reliable indicator than the Red-winged Blackbird or the Turkey Vulture. Their Latin name means "migrating thrush" and most robins do migrate south for the winter and return north in the Spring.

The American Robin is named after the red-breasted European Robin, but they aren't closely related.

Mutant Trilliums

2011-04-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

Trilliums, as their name implies, are plants with three petals and three leaves. On occasion, a genetic mutation creates a trillium flower with multiple petals. These are known as "double blooms" and are prized by some gardeners. I saw the one pictured above growing in the wild at the Kalamazoo Nature Center in May 2010.

Growing a few feet away was this four-petaled trillium, with four leaves-- another genetic rarity. Some people call this a "quadrillium." I don't know if these mutations had a common cause, perhaps coming from the same parent plant.

While these individual plants have unusual appearances, they are still Trillium Grandiflorium (Large Flowered Trillium). I'm curious to see if they bloom again this Spring.

Dowagiac Woods

2011-04-03T07:00:00.001-04:00

Dowagiac Woods, a nature sanctuary protected by the Michigan Nature Association, is one of the best places to see wildflowers in Southwest Michigan. Spring flowers start blooming in April with Hepatica and Bloodroot and continue into May with Blue-eyed Mary and Trillium. More than fifty different kinds of wildflowers bloom in the preserve.

A well-marked trail leads through the woods and crosses Hunter's Creek. In places, the trail can be wet and muddy.

The preserve's eastern boundary is the Dowagiac River, one of the largest coldwater streams in Southern Michigan. The river was dredged and straightened in the 1920s. This created high berms that mostly block views of the river from the sanctuary. In recent years, efforts have been made to restore the natural meanders to the river.

In 2009, the MNA purchased an adjoining tract of land to expand the preserve to 384 acres. You can support the sanctuary by making a contribution to finance the expansion.

Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary
31640 Frost Road
Dowagiac, MI 49047

Directions:
From the town of Dowagiac go west on M-62. Turn left (south) onto
Sink Road. Then left (east) onto Frost Road. A marked parking area is on the left (north) side of Frost road.

Russ Forest is another wildflower destination in the area. (About 13 miles east of Dowagiac Woods.) I'll often visit both on a Spring afternoon.

Michigan Wildflower Viewing

2011-03-31T07:00:00.001-04:00

Michigan's Department of Natural Resources has a brochure listing selected wildflower sites in 29 counties throughout the state. (download Michigan Wildflower Viewing pdf) Many sites are near Kalamazoo. The brochure identifies the habitat and best season for each area.

"Michigan’s wetlands and woodlands present the first displays of wildflowers each year. Blooming begins the first warm days of April and May. Early spring wildflowers include skunk cabbage, marsh marigold, spring beauty, wild garlic, jack-in-the-pulpit, bloodroot, hepatica, and Dutchman’s breeches."

Wildflower Viewing Sites: Southwestern Lower Peninsula

1. Kalamazoo Nature Center
2. Allegan State Game Area
3. Saugatuck Dunes State Park
4. Yankee Springs State Rec. Area and Barry State Game Area
5. Warren Dunes State Park
6. Warren Woods State Park
7. Fernwood Botanical Gardens
8. Love Creek Nature Center
9. Niles MDOT Information Center
10. Sarett Nature Center
11. Crane Pond State Game Area (map pdf)

Western Lower Peninsula

1. Aman Park, M-45, 6 mi. west of Grand Rapids
2. Howard Christensen Nature Center
3. Hoffmaster State Park
4.Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary Manistee
(Nat. Forest, White Cloud Ranger Dist)
5. Hart-Montague Bicycle Trail State Park

*Note: the brochure lists phone numbers for many of these sites but the listing doesn't reflect the change in area codes from 616 to 269

See also:
The DNR's Wildflower Viewing page
My suggestions for Kalamazoo Wildflowers
A big collection of photos of Michigan Wildflowers

Turkey Vulture

2011-03-27T08:17:00.003-04:00

Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) are a reliable sign of Spring as they return to Kalamazoo to eat winter-killed carrion. They will spend the summer in the area, raise their young, and then migrate south for the winter. They are one of Michigan's largest birds of prey and are frequently seen soaring above fields and woods.

Their underwing has a distinctive two-tone pattern-- black at the front and silver in the back. Up close, their bald, red head distinguishes them from hawks or eagles. In flight, their profile is V-shaped with the wing tips above the body.

I've seen dozens of them throughout Southwest Michigan this week. The bird pictured was flying directly over the parking lot at Fort Custer State Recreation Area.

Turkey Vulture Society

Russ Forest

2011-03-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

Russ Forest is one of my favorite places near Kalamazoo for Spring wildflowers. Starting in mid-April, the woods are full of ephemeral wildflowers: Spring Beauty, Dutchman's Breeches, Mayapple, Celadine Poppy, Trillium, and more. The trails are relatively flat, making for an easy walk.

Russ Forest is operated by Cass County and Michigan State University's AgBioResearch department. The park has picnic areas and playground equipment and several miles of wooded trails. Horseback riding is permitted. Dowagiac Creek, which runs through the forest, is known for trout fishing. The forest is also known for big Tulip Poplars.

Fred Russ Forest County Park
Marcellus Highway, eight miles east of Dowagiac
(269) 445-8611 Office

Fred Russ Research Forest (MSU)
20673 Marcellus Highway
Decatur, MI 49045
269-731-4597

Directions to Fred Russ Forest

From US-131 -- Just north of Three Rivers turn west on M-216 (Marcellus highway). Proceed 18 miles, traveling through Marcellus, to the research station office located on the left side. Travel another 1/4 mile to the roadside park entrance.

From I-94 -- Take the Paw Paw M-40 exit (exit 60). Travel south on M-40 through Lawton to Marcellus Highway. Turn west and travel approximately 5 miles to the research station office on the left side. Travel another 1/4 mile to the roadside park entrance.

See also:
Other natural areas in Southwest MI suggested by "Natural Michigan"

Planting time

2011-03-20T07:00:00.001-04:00

Springtime, for many, means vegetable gardening and the first hint of warmer weather can make us eager to start. Starting too early, however, leads to poor results. I try to stick to the dates below (my rough calculations based on the book Square Foot Gardening)

Kalamazoo Earliest Planting Dates

April 10: Peas, spinach (from seed)
April 20: Broccoli, parsley (from transplant)
May 1: Carrots, lettuce, onions (from seed)
May 15: Potatoes
May 31: Tomatoes (transplant), summer squash (transplant or seed), beans (seed)
June 15 Peppers (transplant)

Michigan State Extension has detailed information on gardening in Michigan.

The Grand Rapids Press published an article on last freeze dates in W. Michigan.

Slate Magazine has a series on the Beginner's Garden

Red-bellied woodpecker

2011-03-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

While this Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is much smaller than a Pileated Woodpecker, it's still much bigger than the Downy Woodpeckers that usually visit my suet feeder. Its name is a little misleading since its belly isn't noticeably red while its red cap is very eye-catching. (Other species of woodpeckers also have red heads, so the more obvious feature of this bird might not make the better name.)

Natural Wonders of Michigan

2011-03-13T07:00:00.002-04:00

Natural Wonders of Michigan: A Guide to Parks, Preserves, & Wild Places
by Tom Carney 1995

This guide suggests several dozen natural places to visit throughout the State, divided into 5 sections: Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, Northwest, and Upper Peninsula. The Southwest section has seven natural areas close to Kalamazoo.

Southwest Michigan Natural Wonders

1. E. Genevieve Gillette Nature Center
"Nestled among the sand dunes the Gillete Nature Center is a wonderful attraction, offering both education and entertainment. Situated as it is in the middle of the P. J. Hoffmaster State Park, which adjoins over two miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, and three other state parks within easy striking distances, there is a temptation to treat it as an overnight destination and stick around for a legendary Lake Michigan sunset."

recommended activities:beach, Dune Climb Staircase, Sand Dune Interpretive Center, hiking, camping, spring wildflowers, cross-country skiing
how to get there: From US 31, take exit 4 west on Pontaluna Rd, 3 miles to state park entrance.
general information: open year round, state park fee
P. J. Hoffmaster State Park

2. Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery
"What makes Wolf Lake a special attraction, however, is the fact that the hatchery houses the Michigan Fisheries Interpretive Center. This is one of those spots you wouldn't drive out of your way to visit but you don't want to pass up if you are in the area. The center is well worth the ten-minute drive from Kalamazoo and the hour or so that you'll spend there."

recommended activities: view exhibits, show pond, hatchery
how to get there: From US 131 exit 38-B onto M-43. Take M-43 west 6 miles to Hatchery.
general information: Free. Hours vary.
Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery

3. Warren Dunes State Park
"This is the busiest state park, probably because it offers the complete package: lake, beach, and 'dunal' experience all within a couple of miles of the interstate highway. Easy access also makes this park a desirable stopping spot for visitors from other states who enter at Michigan's southwestern corner."

recommended activities: climb Great Warren Dune, hike, beach
how to get there: From I-94 exit 16 onto Red Arrow Highway, two miles to park entrance
general information: camping & mini-cabins available, state park fee, Warren Woods Natural Area is nearby.
Warren Dunes State Park

4. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary
"In the mid-1920s, influenced by some of the pioneers in the emerging field of wildlife conservation and game management, Kellogg established his own project on beautiful Wintergreen Lake, fourteen miles northwest of Battle Creek. He bought the neglected farmland and had it restored and developed as a bird sanctuary, primarily for waterfowl. This proved to be a fortuitous move, for research eventually showed that Wintergreen Lake sits at the crossroads of three major bird migration routes. By 1928, Kellogg had deeded the the Sanctuary and Experimental Farm to what is now Michigan State University."

recommended activities: bird exhibits, self-guided trail, Birds of Prey display
how to get there: From I-94, exit 95 north to Dickman Rd. West on Dickman/M-96 to village of Augusta. In Augusta, turn north on Webster/42nd street to M-89. West on 89 to 40th street. North on 40th to C Ave. "The route is well marked with signs for the sanctuary." [From Kalamazoo, it would be quicker to take I-94 to 35th street north to M-96, then east to Augusta.]
general information: open daily. admission.
Kellogg Bird Sanctuary

5. Bernard W. Baker Sanctuary
"Encompassing about 900 acres, the Bernard W. Baker Sanctuary is one of the two top spots for viewing sandhill cranes in southern Michigan. Even in 1941, at the time Bernard W. Baker donated the original 491 acres to the Michigan Audubon Society, this spot was a primary nesting areas for sandhill cranes. Much of the development of the sanctuary has been undertaken in an effort to benefit these large, storklike birds."

recommended activities: view sandhill cranes from Kiwanis land (October, November), walk Doty Trail.
how to get there: From I-69 take exit 42 North Drive. Turn west on North Drive, then right on 16 Mile Rd for about 2 miles. Stay left at the split to Junction Rd. Driveway is 1/4 mile on the left.
general information: open year round. no charge.
Baker Sanctuary

6. Yankee Springs Recreation Area
"Currently the Yankee Springs Recreation Area covers over 5,000 acres and adjoins the 15,000-acre Barry State Game Area, creating over 20,000 acres of possibility. As with most places in Michigan, much of the natural appeal of Yankee Springs can be attributed to the 'facelift' the land was given by glaciers thousands of years ago."

recommended activities:Graves Hill overlook, Devil's Soupbowl, hiking, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, North Country Trail, horseback riding, camping, boat on Gun Lake, canoe Fish Lake, Lime, Horseshoe & Tamarack Lakes.
how to get there: From US 131 take exit 61. East 8 miles to park.
general information: state park fee
Yankee Springs Recreation Area

7. Maple River Game Area
"It's easy to catch a glimpse of migrating birds, if you are in the right place at the right time, and the Maple River flooding along US 27 is a prime place. Spring, when birds are in their most colorful breeding plumage, and fall, when the sun's descent in the southern sky urges them on, are the times."
recommended activities: Spring migration (March-May), Fall migration (September-November), observation deck to heron rookery, float the river
how to get there: In Gratiot County, 8 mile north of St Johns. Parking where US 27 crosses the Maple River.
general information: no fees
Maple River Game Area

Available from local libraries, and perhaps from Amazon or other booksellers.

Fred McLinden Nature Trails

2011-03-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

Fred McLinden Nature Trails are about 15 minutes northeast of downtown Kalamazoo. The main trail is a double loop centered on Comstock Creek. The inner loop is relatively flat. The outer loop features a fair climb up from the creek and, after a reasonably level section, a fairly steep downhill back to creek level. A side trail (too steep for me to ski) leads to a view of Campbell Lake.

Besides recreation, this area also serves as a wellfield for Kalamazoo's water system. The trail passes a few concrete structures that protect the water wells and an access road to the pumphouse.

Directions: From I-94 take exit 80, Sprinkle Road. Go north on Sprinkle about 4 miles to E.H Avenue. Go west about 2 miles on H to McLinden parking lot.

Fred McLinden Nature Trails
7405 East H Avenue
Comstock, MI

Red Osier Dogwood

2011-03-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) or Red Twig Dogwood brings a touch of bright color to the late winter landscape. Its small fruits provide food for wildlife and birds. Native Americans used the twigs to make baskets and the bark for dyes.

See a USDA plant guide (pdf) for more information.