Author Archives: ontheroadwithdec

We have long been home from our trip to Australia but I had one of the “fevers” that seem to be a feature of the island continent, at least there are lots of scary illnesses to read about. My illness was characterized by a modest fever, an encephalitis (a symptom, not a disease), and aContinue reading “The You Yangs and Werribee – Welcome to Australia”

 I know that tourism, especially local tourism, can be both hokey and important. Niagara Falls meets both sides of that description. The town is not too attractive, the roads are poorly maintained, the hotels are average, yet the state park and the falls are compelling. The Niagara River is short but powerful. About 18% ofContinue reading “Niagara Falls; Volume and Width”

Though the Kirtland’s Warbler was the target of the trip there was a great deal to see and enjoy. The following images are a representation (and annotation of the outing). We were impressed with the huge lilacs that were all over central Michigan. We found that central Michigan, like many rural areas, places landscaping ratherContinue reading “The Michigan Woods, etc.”

There are fewer than 1800 male Kirtland’s Warblers in the world. Hopefully, there are about that number of females as well. There have been more than 1600 males for the past three years and the number was as low as 200 males in the 1970’s. This bird is limited to central Michigan’s Jack Pine woodlandsContinue reading “Michigan’s Rare Bird – Kirtland’s Warbler”

We just had a week in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. There are Great Lakes all around Michigan; Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan wash the Lower Peninsula with Lake Superior looming above the Upper Peninsula (which is attached to Wisconsin and never touches the Lower Peninsula). In addition, there are many streams, rivers,  lakes, marshes,Continue reading “Michigan’s Wetlands”

As winter wanes in New England the right whales appear*. They are here coincidentally with a bloom of zooplankton that seems unbothered by the still-cold waters. The whales (and the zooplankton) usually appear in March and move on by mid-April. This year there have been a great many Atlantic Right Whales (more than 200 –Continue reading “Northern Right Whales around Cape Cod”

There is some redundancy with a late October post about Cairns and the Great Barrier – but this speaks a bit more about the reef and its wildlife. The Great Barrier Reef is touted as one of the few landmarks on earth that can be seen from space. In fact this remarkable array of atolls,Continue reading “Underwater In Australia”

Reptiles of the Galapagos Islands There are many iconic creatures of the Galapagos Islands are reptiles. Certainly the Marine Iguana and the tortoises are among these island icons. Of course, there are also the boobies and the Waved Albatross and the energetic and good-tempered sea lions. But the slow moving reptiles are always well representedContinue reading “Reptiles of the Galapagos”

This was to the first blog – but I finished the oceanic-bird page first – so this is second. Over the next ten days I will be posting blogs from several islands in the Galapagos chain. This posting will set the geologic tone for the rest of the posts. The Galapagos are not lush andContinue reading “The Galapagos Islands – #1”