-
Birds Forming Breeding Pairs: Winter Watching
Leonard Weber January 15, 2024 Most of my bird watching in winter in Eliza Howell Park involves observations of the ways different species forage for food. I enjoy finding Downy Woodpeckers and White-breasted Nuthatches and Brown Creepers searching crevices of tree bark for insect larvae and eggs, and I try to spot Goldfinches and Tree…
-
Hackberry Trees
Kathleen Garrett January 5, 2024 One of the easiest trees to identify by its bark is the hackberry. This fast-growing, native tree is abundant in the woods at Eliza Howell Park and can be quickly recognized by its raised ridge, often called “corky” bark. The ridges on the hackberry can be so pronounced they cast…
-
Seasonal Bird Variation
Leonard Weber January 2, 2024 This is the beginning of my 20th year of bird study in Eliza Howell Park in Detroit. I have recorded the birds seen here in every month of the past 19 years. This January is the 229 consecutive month, with a total of 2347 different bird-watching days so far. The…
-
Common Ringlet: # 23 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber December 28, 2023 The honor of closing this year’s series on butterflies of Eliza Howell Park goes to Common Ringlet. It is noteworthy for two quite different reasons. 1. Common Ringlet is variable in appearance, even in one location, as is indicated by these Eliza Howell photos. It is small, with a wingspan…
-
Great Spangled Fritillary: # 22 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber December 19, 2023 Great Spangled Fritillary is a conspicuous and quite large * butterfly that can be found every summer in the Eliza Howell Park, visiting meadow wildflowers that bloom here (*wingspan of 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 inches). The word “fritillary” comes from a Latin word and refers to the checkered pattern…
-
Orange Sulphur: # 21 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber December 13, 2023 This series highlighting 23 of the butterflies seen in Eliza Howell Park was started in January 2023. The last ones are scheduled to be posted before the end of December 2023. Orange Sulphur is a common park butterfly, one that can be seen flying quite late in the fall. It…
-
Berries in December: Winter Creeper
Leonard Weber December 5, 2023 In early December walks in Eliza Howell Park, I often pause at several climbing vines growing in the woods along the Rouge River. These vines provide an unusual look in early winter — green leaves and newly ripened berries. This evergreen vine is known by different names in English, including…
-
Marcescence: And Shingle Oak
Every year at this time, when most leaves have fallen in Eliza Howell Park, walkers notice that a few trees hold onto their dead leaves long past the time most have fallen.This phenomenon is known as marcescence. Marcescent leaves are more often found on oaks than on other types of trees. Among oaks, this occurs…
-
A November Morning Walk: 10 Stops
Leonard Weber November 9, 2023 After a cloudy beginning, the sun appeared during my most recent morning nature walk in Eliza Howell Park, presenting an invitation to photo-record some seasonal observations. This is deer rutting or mating season. A new rubbing at this time of the year means that a buck recently scraped the bark…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Eliza Howell Nature Walk 