nature

Tales of the Turkey Vultures

Oakland County, MI Government 2 Comments

I often see Turkey Vultures soaring overhead in Oakland County but have yet to find their nests; and most likely I never will. Here’s why. These often-maligned carnivorous scavengers that soar gracefully in the sky with an only occasional flap of their wings do not nest in trees as most bird species do. They lay their eggs in hollow logs, caves, cervices, abandoned barns and collapsed structures. Those places are not conducive to humans snooping nor are they very common in Oakland County. But if they existed in the county, they would be very appealing to vultures looking for a nesting site.

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Earth Day: Celebrate and Protect Our World

Oakland County, MI Government Leave a comment

Every April 22 marks the anniversary of the beginning of the environmental movement in 1970. Inspired by student anti-war protests and concerned by environmental pollution, U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson Wisconsin tapped U.S. Rep. Pete McCloskey California to co-chair a movement for teach-ins on college campuses. They enlisted the help of activist Dennis Hayes, to organize the teach-ins. He also formed a national network to promote similar events. The first Earth Day moved 20 million Americans to peacefully protest the environment’s deterioration.

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April Showers Bring More Than May Flowers

Oakland County, MI Government 5 Comments

The spring equinox occurred at 11:06 p.m. March 19 That event marked the official end of winter and welcomed the first day of spring to the Northern Hemisphere.

I forgot for the moment that it was a blustery and cold day with snowflakes falling briefly in northern Oakland County. And I forgot that we are more than likely to get more snow; perhaps even a snowstorm before the final warm up arrives. It’s time to look ahead to what spring will bring and of course, as we all know, April showers will bring more than May flowers.   

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Tales of The Red-tailed Hawk

Oakland County, MI Government 2 Comments

My first introduction to red-tailed hawks occurred when I was about five years old. Back then I would spend hours running about in our fields and woods in rural Wilton, Connecticut. I was already hooked on nature and if it walked, crawled, swam or flew, it was of interest to me. Given the opportunity I still spend hours just exploring, watching, inquiring and discovering nature’s way; and that includes the ways of our red-tailed hawks.

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Bald Eagles Of Oakland County

Oakland County, MI Government 6 Comments

February was an amazing month for the eagle watchers of Oakland County and across much of Southeast Michigan. Seeing a bald eagle is no longer a rare occurrence as it was back when they teetered on the brink of extinction in the late 20th century. Michigan had only four nesting pairs of eagles in the early 1970s so seeing one was a very rare event. Eagle populations had plummeted due to the use of habitat loss and hunting and pesticides, such as DDT. It’s a different world now for these magnificent raptors that recovered under protection from both the Endangered Species and Threatened Species Act in 2007 and the banning of DDT in 1972. They remain federally protected under both the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

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