While most of you won’t be seeing the seasonal changes on campus for a while, I’m fortunate to live just a block away. So, every morning that I can, I take a walk. Usually I am looking for bird window strikes to help support Detroit Audubon’s effort to monitor migratory fatalities, but today I wanted to focus on something else . . . life.

Several native sparrow species are still using campus as a rest stop, and today I spooked a woodcock out of the bushes in front of the Law School. A pair of geese are nesting in a planter at McGregor, and today they were joined by a pair of mallard ducks. And a robin has a cozy nest on top of a light fixture in Fountain Court.

And the green! Grass, newly emerging flowers and tree leaves, mosses, lichens – campus is awash in green! Some trees and spring bulbs are also blooming, and our native plant demonstration gardens are coming alive.

Since you can’t be there, I’ll do my best to share this all with you. I don’t have a fancy camera, but hopefully you can still enjoy the colors (the hyacinths smelled wonderful, I wish I could share that!).

Spring on Campus April 19 2020 slide show

Spring-on-Campus-April-19-2020 (wmv format)