• Tuesday-What'sUP June 4 - 03:50 pm

Don't worry, we're not going to discuss the birds and the bees you might be thinking about, but rather all the different birds that have been visiting the Keweenaw or coming back to stay, along with a beautiful bee shot, too.

Our first four photos today were taken by Joy Ziemnick, who has been doing some intense bird watching it seems. What a great capture the first and the second shots are, with the male Ruby-throated Hummingbird seeming like it is suspended in air and then the female perched on the feeder like a queen.
After those captures, Joy braved getting stung so she could snap this shot of a tri-colored or orange-belted bumblebee. I'm guessing the birds and the bees that feed on nectar are happy to have the flowers blossoming right now, too.
The bird in Joy's fourth photo, is one that I've never seen before, it's called a Magnolia Warbler and according to the range map, it migrates through the Keweenaw and the U.P. is the southern border for their summer (breeding) grounds and on north into Canada. What an interesting looking bird.

The last two photos were sent in by Bill Haller, but he said the credit for taking them goes to his wife, Eloise Haller. The first pair of birds are more common ones to our area here, an Indigo Bunting and a Mourning Dove "breaking seed" together, as Bill described it. Nice to see them sharing the feeding area like that.
Bill and Eloise weren't quite sure what the pretty red bird in the bottom photo was, so they consulted Dana Richter, noted local ornithologist and President of the Copper Country Audubon Club. Dana identified the bird as a “male scarlet tanager, rare to this area and said that he hadn't seen one here in the Keweenaw in years.”

Good bird spotting Joy and Eloise and thank you for sharing them with the rest of us!

Oh wow!! Being a nature lover (well, not snakes), I
love these pictures. I found a dead hummingbird in
my driveway last weekend and it made me so sad.
They're so pretty and we're just in awe of them. I
love every single picture here today! Great job!!!

What a beautiful variety of birds!
I had a rare sighting of a hummingbird last week. I don't have a feeder but it was flitting around the blooming spirea bush out my kitchen window. Such delicate little creatures.:>

These are all beautiful pictures, taming the wild winter that was just not that long ago!

Relaxing set of pix...good job!

Lots of pictures of things I've not seen before. Have never seen the Warbler, the Bunting or the Tanager. The Magnolia Warbler looks like a pretty cranky bird to my untrained eye.

Beautiful photos today! I am also unfamiliar w/the warbler. Very cute! Thanks for the lovely, colorful morning pics!

I so enjoyed all of the wonderful photos today.
Hummingbirds especially fascinate me!

I saw my first Indigo Bunting last week.

Great nature pics!

I want to know what the purple flowers are!

Saw a scarlet tanager a few weeks ago in an apple tree at my
mom's place near Mass City -- wonder if it's the same guy.
Have never seen a magnolia warbler. Thanks for the great
photos!

purple flowers - rhodedenron