Whitefish Point Ice Cave, photo by David Marvin
If you’re collecting Michigan ice caves, you should know that Whitefish Point (up past the Tahquamenon Falls on Lake Superior) has ice caves right now.
View David’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his absolutely stunning Taqhamenon Falls & Whitefish Point – February 28, 2015 slideshow. (seriously, run, don’t walk to see this slideshow!) Lots more from David at his Marvin’s Gardens blog.
More winter wallpaper and more ice caves on Michigan in Pictures.
Coywolves: Coyote & Wolf hybrids in Michigan
March 4, 2015
Hunting on Ice, photo by OnceJakPhoto
The Freep has an article about a new animal that is being seen in Michigan titled Michigan’s mysterious, misunderstood coywolves:
…a unique, still relatively unknown and misunderstood hybrid of coyotes known as eastern coyotes or coywolves. They’re mostly coyote, but contain a small percentage of wolf from an unlikely mating of the two species about a century ago. It may sound like an urban legend, but coywolves exist throughout the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, and have been confirmed in northeast Lower Michigan through blood-testing and DNA analysis.
Coywolves tend to be a little larger and heavier than their western coyote counterparts, but still well below the size of even the smallest North American wolves. They look like coyotes, though observers often note wolflike characteristics in their faces and fur.
…Coyote expert Stan Gehrt, a professor of wildlife ecology at Ohio State University, rejects the term “coywolf.” He doesn’t even like referring to them as hybrids. It leaves the impression that they are a near 50-50 mix of wolf and coyote, and that just isn’t the case, he said.
“They are eastern coyotes,” Gehrt said. “They aren’t really different from other coyotes, other than they have a little bit of genetic difference. I’ve trapped and tracked hundreds of Midwestern coyotes and a pretty good sample of eastern coyotes in Nova Scotia, and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two.”
But those, including biologists, who encountered coywolves up close in the Lower Peninsula say they had some wolflike features.
Read on for more including a photo of an actual Michigan coywolf. If you think you’ve seen a coywolf, you can report it online through the DNR or by calling the DNR’s Gaylord office at 989-732-3541, ext. 5901.
If you’re interested in learning more, Meet the Coywolf from PBS’s Nature is a cool profile of this animal that you can watch online for free.
Jim caught this photo of a coyote on the ice of Grand Traverse Bay last week. View it bigger on Flickr and jump into his slideshow for more icy goodness.
More Michigan wildlife on Michigan in Pictures.
it’s magic you know, never believe it’s not so
March 3, 2015
it’s magic you know, never believe it’s not so, photo by Lake Superior Photo
Shawn says the ice formations of Munising are amazing right now and says she’ll be sharing more soon.
She recommends you check with Munising CVB, the rangers at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore or the Alger County Sheriff to learn if the ice is safe. Ice conditions are constantly shifting, and as you can see, these are massive structures of ice that you want to be pretty darned careful around.
View her photo background bigtacular, visit LakeSuperiorPhoto.com for galleries like Blue Ice and to purchase pictures, and definitely follow Lake Superior Photo on Facebook.
Now about that title, here’s Pilot singing “Magic” … never believe it’s not so.
Frozen February: 2015 3rd coldest February for Michigan
March 2, 2015
Standing against the Greatest Lake, photo by Jay
The Grand Rapids Press reports that February 2015 was the coldest recorded for the city:
If you were alive in 1978, perhaps the similarity was striking.
Grand Rapids’ average temperature last month was 13.3 degrees, making it the coldest February in the city’s recorded weather history — a record dating back 37 years, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was a balmy 14.3 degrees.
Overnight low temperatures dipped below zero eight times throughout the month, with highs not able to warm too much beyond the teens. In fact, the thermometer touched the 30-degree mark only four times when the seasonal average is just around freezing.
The Great Lakes region can thank the frequent blasts of arctic air for these records. Visitors to area beaches, too, should give the colder than normal conditions credit for some spectacular scenes of ice formations and caves along the shore.
Much of the state saw a near record cold as well, which has also pushed Great Lakes ice coverage near 90%.
View Jay’s photo big as the biggest lake and jump into his slideshow for some absolutely stunning shots from the Pictured Rocks shoreline in mid-February.
More winter wallpaper and also more about the Pictured Rocks.
Sunlight Sighting
February 28, 2015
Sunlight Sighting, Frankfort Michigan, photo by Aaron Springer
Today’s photo of the the approach of Frankfort’s North Breakwater was taken a few hundred feet from yesterday’s pic.
View it bigger and see lots more of Aaron’s great Lake Michigan photos on Flickr.
Fence in the sunset for a Friday
February 27, 2015
Fence in the sunset, photo by Noah Sorensen
It looks like we have a little bit of warmer weather on the way, and I hope that everyone has a great weekend!
View Noah’s photo from Frankfort Harbor background bigtacular and follow him at mcsorensens on Instagram for lots more!
Sunsets, snow or winter wallpaper? Michigan in Pictures has them all!
Tahquamenon Falls in the Deep Freeze
February 26, 2015
Frozen Falls in February, photo by Tahquamenon Falls State Park
Tahquamenon Falls State Park shares:
If you ever wanted to see the Upper Falls frozen, here is your chance! The water is flowing beneath the ice, but we have never seen the left side frozen over before. Pretty cool!
Cool indeed … downright COLD in fact!
Click to see the photo bigger and to view other photos people took recently, check out several more shots of the falls as they’ve frozen on the Tahquamenon Falls State Park Facebook, and visit the Park’s page at Michigan.gov.
Lots more about the Tahquamenon Falls on Michigan in Pictures!
