The Blue-winged Teal can be found across most of the United States and Canada during the warmer breeding months in freshwater marshes and shallow ponds. This dabbling duck snacks on aquatic insects, crustaceans, and plant material by flipping its rump…

Spot this bird while you can because it is only a migratory visitor to Michigan. The beautifully brownish-red colored Fox Sparrow stops by on its way to summer homes in northern Canada and Alaska or winter residences just south of…

If you’ve ever seen a small, dark shape disappear underwater in one of Michigan’s many water bodies and thought your eyes were playing tricks on you, check again. It might just be this amazing diver. Pied-billed Grebes can stay underwater…

The return of Turkey Vultures has always been one of the first signs of spring for those of us living in northern climates. Turkey Vultures are large dark birds with long, broad wings and red heads. Their wingtips have long…

This medium-sized diving duck is the most plentiful diving duck in North America. The Lesser Scaup has a striking appearance with the male’s yellow eyes, blueish bill, and black and white feathers. When up close the black feathers on the…

If you hope to spot a Common Merganser, look for a large duck with a long body and a red, narrow bill. Breeding males have a dark, iridescent-green head, black back, and a mostly white body. Females and immature males…

Typically seen in Michigan during their spring and fall migration - January through March, October and November - the Rusty Blackbird is a winter resident of the eastern United States. This blackbird can be found in the boreal forests of…

Despite not sharing the mostly black and white color scheme of its close relatives or having the word “woodpecker” in its name, the Northern Flicker does indeed belong to this group of birds. In fact, the flicker is the most…

Like all owls, the Barred Owl is nocturnal, though it is more active during dawn and dusk than other species. This may have to do with it’s biggest rival, the Great Horned Owl. These two species share a majority of…

Looking like a piece of bark come to life, the Brown Creeper hops up the trunks of trees, looking for insects and insect eggs tucked into crevasses in the bark. Streaked brown and buff above, with their white underparts usually…