The Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) have returned to the Audubon Society's Baker Sanctuary as they migrate south for the winter.
This pretty bog flower is usually called the "Yellow Fringed Orchid" but our local ones are orange. A less common but more romantic name is "Bobwhite’s Moccasin." Platanthera ciliaris is its current Latin name. It's legally protected in Michigan as an endangered species.
Yellow Coneflowers, ratibida pinnata, make a striking impression among the tall prairie grasses.
Starflower, Trientalis borealis, is another wildflower I needed to look up in a guidebook. Its seven petals are really distinctive.
Walking through the woods near the Pere Marquette river, we saw lots of these colorful little flowers. At the time, none of us recognized them, but I found them pretty easily in a fieldguide. Polygala paucifolia are commonly known as the fringed polygala, gaywing milkwort, or flowering wintergreen.
The Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida, is one of Michigan's showiest native trees. The flowers are about the same size as trillium flowers and their blooming season overlaps. Because of its beauty and reasonable size, this native has become a popular garden tree.
Scarlet tanagers are a brilliant bird of the mature forest. They migrate from South America-- Ecuador, Colombia, Peru-- each summer to nest and breed in Michigan and neighboring states.
Trillium grandiflorum's common name is the White Trillium because of its beautiful white flowers. As the flowers age, they take a pink tint. Some even turn a deep red as the petals wilt. 
Cypripedium acaule or Pink Lady's Slipper orchid, is a seasonal beauty. I usually think of them as wetland plants, but this one was growing in sandy soil on a bluff above the Pere Marquette river. Most wild orchids are protected in Michigan.
I'd never found this kind of morel before this weekend and I would have had trouble identifying it if I hadn't read this Northern Country Morels webpage.
The trees are starting to leaf-out which means the early wildflower season in Kalamazoo is coming to an end. Many of the plants that were in bloom two weeks ago have finished for the year and their leaves are already fading. The trillium, phlox, anemone, and blue-eyed Mary are in full flower now, but soon the floor of the woods will be in daylong shade.
Morels are one of the highlights of Spring in Michigan. These distinctive mushrooms only appear for a few weeks each year. Mothers' Day is typically the height of the season around Kalamazoo. I spotted these yesterday at the Kalamazoo Nature Center, which meant I couldn't pick them. This weekend, I'll go morel hunting with friends. Success is never guaranteed, but the walk through woods is always worthwhile. The mushrooms, prepared simply by frying in a little butter, are delicious.
A trout lily by any other name...?
April 15 means income taxes but for me it's a reminder to go look for wildflowers around Kalamazoo. The marsh marigolds, Caltha palustris, were spectacular in the afternoon sun.
As I write this, it's -3° (-20° C) in Kalamazoo. Even the wildlife looks cold. Of course, its much colder on the other side of Lake Michigan.
