Blog

Nature Notebook – Val’s New Home

Val, the vulture, has received an early Christmas gift…new digs. Her new, modern apartment was a gift from the Kevin Hardke memorial. She will soon have a neighbor, a rehabilitated but non-releasable barred owl, thanks…continue reading

Nature Notebook – Invasive Plant Adaptations

Since the time humans began to establish new homesteads, they have moved plants around the globe. Sometimes the transfer was purposeful…they wanted to have their favorite plants with them. Sometimes the transfer was accidental…like the…continue reading

Nature Notebook – Woodpecker Holes in Houses

Woodpeckers are fascinating birds. They can hear beetle larvae feeding and moving about under the bark of trees. They have long, sticky, barbed tongues to snag those larvae. Their brain can survive 1200Gs of force…continue reading

Nature Notebook – Poisonous Berries

Deadly nightshade, pokeberry, Virginia creeper, wild cherries, bittersweet, elderberry, honeysuckle…these plants are common to southwest Michigan. Their luscious looking fall fruits seem to beckon to fall hikers taking advantage of the recent delightful autumn weather.…continue reading

Nature Notebook – Spider Venom

Once the initial terror of meeting a tarantula has passed, visitors are curious about how tarantulas behave in the wild. Interest in the hunting techniques is second only to questions about the toxicity of the…continue reading

November and December 2016 Announcements

Don’t forget membership support is vital to Sarett Nature Center.  The nature center staff provides quality environmental programs to over 25,000 school age children each year and we need your support.  The Nature Center is…continue reading

Nature Notebook – Skunk Cabbage Fruits

The sight of a chewed fungus is quite common but closer examination revealed that we were looking at a chewed skunk cabbage fruit. The calcium oxalate crystals within this plant’s tissues made this find quite…continue reading

Nature Notebook – Tapetum

On a recent night hike the scouts and I slowly moved our flashlight beams across the creek. Then we saw them…tiny sparkles visible only when light passed over the area. We had found spider eye…continue reading

Nature Notebook – Freshwater Jellyfish

The girls chattered about the jellyfish that they saw while canoeing. Instead of dismissing this as childish whimsy, our naturalist, Mindy, had them direct her to their observation area. Now all of the students were…continue reading

Nature Notebook – Hognose Snake

“When I poked at it with a broomstick, it flattened its head like a cobra,” said the concerned caller. We were able to convince him that, unless he was a toad, he was in no…continue reading