Recently we asked for your help in choosing a new theme for our daily email newsletter. The conclusion is that most of our readers prefer the default theme with a very simple design, which features our blog banner on a white background. We’d like to thank all of our readers for their help in deciding […]
Monarch Butterfly Metamorphosis: Part One ~ Changing Casings
The Monarch Butterfly‘s metamorphosis is a journey through clear casings beginning with an egg. A tiny caterpillar carves a hole in a clear intricately etched dome capsule and exits while entering the hairy leafy landscape of its host plant Milkweed. The teeny caterpillar then makes a meal of the nutritious casing and begins chewing its […]
The Sunflower Bed & Breakfast
The nights are becoming chilly here in Brighton, Michigan, USA, but that doesn’t keep the insects from their foraging. After spending the warm days gathering pollen and drinking nectar they decide to spend the night on their dinner plate. I found three earwigs and a bumble bee on a mature sunflower atop an 8-foot tall […]
Southern Spain Part 1 – Coto Doñana with Limosa Holidays
Day 1. Wednesday 12th September 2012 The flight from Heathrow was ahead of time and Stephen met the group at the new terminal building at Gibraltar airport. After walking across the border into Spain we loaded the minibus and headed overland through Jerez to Bonanza and the Algaida on the Guadalquivir River to have lunch […]
Spring & Gluttony
It’s hard not to enjoy a lift in spirits in spring, particularly with the new life that appears. I grew up on a Southland sheep farm, and lambing was my favorite time of year, even though the weather could make it physically demanding at times. Well I’m long past that, but even now watching new […]
The Hummingbirds of Folha Seca
Tucked away inside a rare remnant patch of Brazil’s critically threatened Atlantic rainforests is a slice of paradise called Folha Seca (meaning “dry leaf”). Here Mr Jonas Dabronzo, as kind and intelligent a gentleman as you would ever wish to meet, owns a secluded home that has become a Mecca for hummingbirds and a myriad […]
Birding Prince Edward Point & Presqu’ile Provincial Park – Canada
It was still dark with the night’s chilly draft and drizzling rain sweeping over Ottawa, when a small, dedicated group of birders met at the Park & Ride off Hwy 416 and Bankfield. The drive down to Prince Edward County revealed several species of birds with plenty more greeting us at the point. We were […]
When You Think of a Yellow Bird, What Comes to Mind?
For many people living in North America, my guess would be the Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia). This wood warbler, previously known as Dendroica petechia, possesses the most striking amount of yellow of any wood warbler in North America. I mean this bird is yellow. The Yellow Warbler is abundant and widespread having the broadest distribution […]