nature

This is a Great Horned Owl which was chased into my yard by a red-tail hawk. It stayed in a freshly-budded cottonwood tree from late afternoon until after dark. 

Two crows periodically stopped by to harrass the owl, but it did little other than to flinch and hiss at its tormenters. I think it might have been injured by the hawk, but there was no evidence that I could see, other than its unwillingness to leave the tree until after dark.

Click either of the photos to see the rest in the set over at Flickr. Over on YouTube I also have a couple of videos of the crows and the owl. Video 1. Video 2.

Photos taken the day after Christmas at Pickerel Lake in West Michigan. Click the photo above to see the rest of the set on Flickr.

Back in mid-August my girlfriend and I spent an afternoon in Newaygo, walking along the Muskegon river just downstream from the Hardy Dam. The local Boy Scouts worked with Consumer's Power to mark out an interpretive path called the Hardy Dam Rustic Nature Trail.

The trail is short - not quite three miles, round-trip - and is reasonably well marked. When we went the ground was wet from several inches of rain over the previous couple of weeks, so we got a little muddy. Still - a beautiful walk in the woods.

One of the highlights was the discovery of at least a dozen red-backed salamanders. There seemed to be at least one under ever fallen limb. Since they are an indicator species, I take that to mean that the ecology of the Muskegon River is quite healthy.

Click on any of the photos to see the rest of the set on Flickr, or click here to start at the beginning.