Explore Nature!

Hear a frog? Head over to Froggyvoices of Michigan to listen to the calls of the fourteen frog species you might hear in lower Michigan to identify who you might be listening to.

Herping, or going out to look for amphibians and reptiles, is really fun - but it is easy to accidentally harm these delicate animals. Before you go, check out this list of rules for ethical herping. If you do find some herps,  head over to the Michigan Herp Atlas and add to their documentation of amphibian and reptile distributions statewide. The Herp Atlas makes county-level location data publicly accessible, but only you and the administrators have access to the more specific and sensitive location information

Watch wild birds hatch and grow from the comfort of your own home! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Wild Birds Unlimited have a barred owl camera, which is usually active from February-April each year. You can also access live cams for other birds around the world from this site. 

Did you know there are apps that help you identify the cool wildlife you observe, keep a record of what you've seen, and contribute to nation- and worldwide monitoring efforts? Sign up for a free iNaturalist account (for identifying all species, including plants) or an eBird account (for recording bird sightings), or download eBird's sister app Merlin (for identifying birds on the go). Or  learn about more bird counts you can participate in with the Michigan Audubon Society. 

Do you know what a peregrine falcon sounds like? Click on the image below to listen! Also click here if you want to know more about what different calls mean.

Read more about the saga of Ann Arbor's peregrine falcons in these articles from 2006, 2018, and 2022. Read about the tragedy and return of the trumpeter swans in Scio Township. Also read this Michigan Daily article about the thousands of crows that congregate on Michigan's campus each winter.