Eliza Howell Nature Walk

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  • When Young Praying Mantises Emerge

    The marvelous month of May has arrived in Eliza Howell Park and it is bringing out nature lovers. The forest floor is alive with small ephemeral flowers and some of the elusive colorful warblers are pausing briefly on their 3000-mile annual spring migration from Central America to the North Woods. One of the marvels of […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    May 6, 2022
    Uncategorized
  • First Spring Wildflowers: The Season Begins

    It is always a challenge picking the dates, weeks in advance, for early spring wildflower walks. The challenge is in selecting a time when the short-lived blooms are visible. They are called “ephemerals” for a reason. This year Spring has been colder than average here in Detroit and first flowering is later than normal. But, […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    April 25, 2022
    Uncategorized
    Bloodroot, Dutchman’s Breeches, Spring Beauty, spring wildflowers, Trout Lily
  • Hemp Dogbane: Extended Seed Dispersal

    One of the advantages of walking in the same park regularly — and of taking pictures in different seasons — is that I have the opportunity to see and to review later the ways in which different species develop over the months. As I approached a patch of Hemp Dogbane in Eliza Howell Park this […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    April 15, 2022
    Uncategorized
    Common Dogbane, Hemp Dogbane, Indian Hemp, seed dispersal
  • Cavity Nesting Birds: The Season Begins

    As I indicated in the last post, April is a month for checking the forest floor, looking for and admiring the emerging spring wildflowers. April is also a month for checking dead trees or limbs as well as holes/cavities in live trees. There are approximately 14 bird species that (always or usually) nest in tree […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    April 8, 2022
    Uncategorized
    7 species that nest in cavities
  • Focus on Forest Floor Flowers: April Watch

    One of the annual field trips offered by Detroit Audubon is a spring woodland wild flower walk in Eliza Howell Park. In winter, I select a date for that event, long before I have a sense of how quickly spring will progress. Based on past records, this year’s date is April 23. It’s a cold […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    April 4, 2022
    Uncategorized
    spring ephemerals, spring wildflowers
  • Mourning Cloak: An Unusual Butterfly

    The last week in March was warmer in Detroit in 2021 than it is this year. On March 27 a year ago, I saw the first butterfly of the year in Eliza Howell Park, a Mourning Cloak, definitely one of my favorites. Because it is one of the few butterfly species that spend the winter […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    March 25, 2022
    Uncategorized
    life cycle of Mourning Cloak, Mourning Cloak butterfly
  • Redbud in March, Redbud in April

    Three weeks into March, the Eastern Redbuds in Eliza Howell Park in Detroit still look like they did when the leaves fell last Fall. But three weeks into April, the Redbuds will represent the brightness and beauty of Spring. What a difference one month makes! (The April photos are from April 20, 2021.) The flowers […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    March 18, 2022
    Uncategorized
    redbud in bloom, redbud in seed
  • Praying Mantis Egg Cases: How Many Species?

    Watching Praying Mantises is an annual nature walk activity in Detroit’s Eliza Howell Park in late Summer and very early Fall. When Winter comes, long after the Mantis adults have died and the leaves have fallen, the egg cases (“oothecae”) are much easier to spot. Based on the many oothecae visible this year, the Praying […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    March 13, 2022
    Uncategorized
  • Mourning Doves Are Cooing Again: Paying Attention to a Common Bird

    Now that March is here, there are new signs of emerging Spring almost daily in Eliza Howell Park. One is the cooing sound of the Mourning Dove, a sound not heard for several months. The small-headed, long-tailed Mourning Dove is one of the most common birds in the United States. Mourning Doves have been present […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    March 6, 2022
    Uncategorized
    making cooing sound, Mourning Dove, nesting practices
  • American Sycamore: A Distinctive Tree

    In Winter, when almost all the trees in Eliza Howell Park are leafless, American Sycamore trees stand out, with their attractive multi-colored bark. While some of the Sycamores appear to have been planted for parkland purposes,  more have grown naturally, especially along the river. American Sycamore is native to eastern North America and is often […]

    Eliza Howell nature walks

    February 27, 2022
    Uncategorized
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