The Michigan Audubon Blog: all things Michigan birds and conservation. This page includes action alerts, news, and special information, posted by Michigan Audubon staff.
Invasive Species Highlight: Japanese Barberry
Japanese barberry has small, spoon-shaped leaves and sharp thorns along its stem. Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is a woody shrub that spreads (or "escapes") from landscaped plantings. Japanese barberry, despite its known invasive traits, remains frequently cultivated and [...]
Michigan Audubon Supports Proposal 1
For decades, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has been protecting our natural resources in Michigan by directing royalties from the oil and gas industry to fund land conservation and public recreation across Michigan. The amendment of Proposal 1 will [...]
Catching the Birding Bug at the Virtual Michigan Young Birders Camp 2020
Osprey in flight. Photo by Karinne Tennenbaum The pandemic has impacted our lives in many ways. It has forced us to reevaluate our priorities and to reflect on what matters most. Quarantine has helped me realize what [...]
Happiness Is Hawkwatching
By Executive Director Heather Good While I appreciate birds individually and in and of their own right, beauty, ecology, and behavior, birds of prey were one of my early comfort zones in terms of learning bird ID skills. It's not [...]
Bird by Bird Program Continues to Bring Birds to the Classroom
Three years ago we launched our Bird by Bird school program with a fifth-grade teacher at Kinawa Middle School in Okemos, Mich., and this week I met with his current students to talk about Chimney Swifts. There have been [...]
Naturalist Communities Must Work Toward the Inclusion of Others
This piece is written by Michigan Audubon Conservation Intern Molly Engelman. While she is focusing her conservation work at Bernard W. Baker Sanctuary in Bellevue, she is also developing a project to collect stories from a diverse group of [...]
Purple Martins at Lake Lansing: An update from Michigan Audubon colonies
Spring 2020 was unusual for many reasons, and Michigan Audubon is very grateful for the continued efforts of our volunteers on individualized projects based near their homes (staying home to stay safe during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic). [...]
Swift Night Out — How to Conduct a Chimney Swift Survey
Chimney Swifts coming in to roost at sunset. Swift Night Out events may require modification due to Covid-19 this year, but that doesn't mean you have to skip the excitement of seeing hundreds to thousands of Chimney [...]
Native Garden Spotlight: Michigan Audubon Office
When was the last time you visited the Michigan Audubon office building? Most likely it was pre-coronavirus and long before things started to blossom in our outdoor space. If you haven’t visited recently, come check out the late summer [...]
Invasive Species Focus: Autumn Olive
Autumn olive at Bernard W. Baker Sanctuary (2014), pre-restoration and removal of autumn olive stands to improve grassland habitat. As summer peaks and wanes into the fall, Michigan Audubon staff and volunteers shift our focus to controlling [...]