My First Ever "Whistle Pig"

When first arriving in Michigan I asked many folks in the area if there was a chance of seeing fireflies so late in the season. The fantastical glowing insect is something I have never seen before. Unfortunately I was too late for fireflies but since then I have come across some other exciting (for me) animals.

Biking along the Kalamazoo River Trail one morning I saw ahead of me a furry creature shuffle off the path. It was a perplexing thing. It didn't move like a rabbit, wasn't the color or shape of a badger, and much too large to be a squirrel. After the perfectly healthy versions of the aforementioned creatures were ruled out I began to imagine deformed badgers or the worlds fattest tree squirrel.

Upon reaching the area where my furry mystery scuttled away I failed to find it in the underbrush. I shrugged off the mystery and continued down the path when all of a sudden an animal like a marmot scuttled down a tree to hide after being startled by my passing. I was just as startled to see a marmot-like creature in a tree. It was the same thing I saw scuttle away earlier. Does Michigan even have marmots? Marmots in Washington all live in rocky or mountainous regions. Kalamazoo is neither.

 Hoary marmot, native to the Pacific Northwest. (Source:Wikipedia)

 

 

Using the power of the internet I researched marmots in Michigan. It turns out a member of the marmot family does reside in Michigan. My mystery marmot is more commonly known as a groundhog, woodchuck, or colloquially as whistle pig.

 

Groundhogs are smaller than the marmots we have in the PNW but they have much the same shape. (Source: Wikipedia)

 

The term "whistle pig" comes from the high pitched sound groundhogs and other marmot species produce when frightened. Fun fact: Whistler, British Columbia, Canada is named after the whistling sound of the local marmots.

 

I was quite pleased with my groundhog sighting but the new animals didn't stop there. On my return trip I nearly ran over a box tortoise!

 

Called box tortoise for their ability to completely hide their limbs within their shell.

And they even have such cute little tails!

 

 





 

 



 



 

Kalamazoo Nature Center - A place for work but also groceries!

It has been a week already! Wake up number seven while working for the Kalamazoo Nature Center was at 5:45 this morning. I have already become accustomed to the necessary early mornings. Today I forgot to even set an alarm!

The Banding Barn. I report to work here most mornings. 

Nets are opened each day at 7:15. Every hour until 1:15 we go on net runs to see what has flown in. Between net runs we process the birds, fix old nets, or get some bunny love!

Brownie does not approve of bunny love time each morning. Whitey (who is getting love while I take this picture) puts up with it. 

The Nature Center has a few farm animals that it takes care of during the peak summer season for people to see and summer camp kids to learn from. Most have gone back to the people who donated them for the summer but bunnies and chickens have yet to find a home. That is fine with us! Each morning we feed them, get some loving and and occasionally eggs! 

Free chicken eggs!

From these chickens!

Elsewhere on nature center property are a few apple trees. By far the most popular among us volunteers and interns is a macintosh tree. Everyday I stop by to pick a few apples to snack on. Day before yesterday I picked a grocery bag full to make applesauce. It turned out so well! The apples are so sweet that all I added was a spoonful of molasses and a few dashes of cinnamon.   

Just one low branch of a very large tree. Sometime soon we will bring a car and just go crazy picking all the apples from the high branches. 

Applesauce!!

Everyone here has been so incredibly wonderful. I have learned so much about Kalamazoo and bird banding in the last week. I can't wait to see what else I will learn before I have to leave!

Where in the world is Kalamazoo?

Turns out, Kalamazoo is in southern Michigan. I'm on my way there now to begin an internship with the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory. I will be spending the next seven weeks capturing, taking data from, banding, and releasing songbirds. My compatriots who arrived a few weeks ago banded over 900 birds between August 25 and 31. I have some catching up to do.

While they have been busy working I have been backpacking in the North Cascades and touring the country. Been to two new states thus far on my cross country journey - South Dakota and Minnesota. This evening is the first time I have ever used Central Time.

As a way to mix things up in our long days of driving my mom and I have visited Devils Tower National Monument, Mount Rushmore, and Badlands National Park.

That is one big crystal. Turns out there were once more towers similar to Devils Tower but they are older and have worn down over time. 

Saw my first prairie dogs while driving on the Interstate but got a good look at them when in Devils Tower NM. The monument houses one of the last large prairie dog towns. 

"Great faces, great places" - South Dakota catch phrase

Badlands National Park

We camped in the park. At night we were serenaded by coyotes while the milky way stretched overhead. In the morning meadowlark song filled the air and a bison (difficult to see in this picture) hung around camp. 

"Try it..." -Bison

Bison, black-footed ferrets, and bighorn sheep were all reintroduced in to the park. 

The security team. 

Our sightseeing is mostly over now as we make the final push to Kalamazoo. Approximately ten hours of driving awaits in the morning. Time to get some shut-eye.