puremichigan – Eye of the Wild Photography

Crawdad

Found a little friend hanging out in the water. This is a northern clearwater crayfish. They can be found all over Michigan in rocky streams, lakes, and rivers. There are more than 540 species of crayfish worldwide. They can be found everywhere except in Africa and Antartica. Crayfish have excellent eyesight and can move eachContinueContinue reading “Crawdad”

What is the Buzz?

…..Bees… Bees are extremely important pollinators. They are a vital part of our ecosystems, without them the human population would plumate. About ⅓ of the world’s food production depends on bees to pollinate the crops. Although honeybees are not endangered other bees are. On the IUCN Red list 16 bee species are listed as vulnerable,ContinueContinue reading “What is the Buzz?”

Eagle Snacks

A bald eagle ripping apart and devouring a dead fish in Northern Michigan. Bald eagles live across the United States. They have been the national emblem of the USA since 1782. Despite this, the bald eagle was on the verge of extinction in the 1950s. Illegal hunting, habitat loss and the pesticide DDT were theContinueContinue reading “Eagle Snacks”

The Great Egret

Egrets are members of the heron family. They stand motionless in the water waiting for their prey to come near, then they strike quickly and swallow their prey whole. Today egrets are known as one of the great conservation success stories. During the late 1800s, their population was nearly wiped out due to plume huntingContinueContinue reading “The Great Egret”

….Squirrel…

A cheeky red squirrel munching on a black walnut. What red squirrels lack in size they make up for in personality. These feisty creatures relentlessly defend their territories. They are very vocal, making a variety of calls, rattles, growls, buzzes and chirps.

The Massasauga Rattlesnake

The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake is Michigan’s only venomous snake. They are shy and rarely seen, but this week I was walking on a path through the woods and almost stepped on one. After jumping over the snake mid-step, I backed up and took some photos of this beautiful creature. Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes are listed asContinueContinue reading “The Massasauga Rattlesnake”