A group of volunteers from the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo Area Wild Ones gathered at Riverview Launch for a seed separating party. The milkweed seeds will be sent to Monarch Watch for distribution to large habitat restoration projects in the Cornbelt region. Since 1996, monarch populations have had a 90 percent drop. Milkweed, on which female monarch caterpillars lay their eggs, has declined due to the agricultural use of pesticides in the Cornbelt region.
Ashton Hays of Lexington, Kentucky competes in the jumping event on the second day of the Richland Park Horse Trials in Richland, MI. The annual event features riders competing in events sanctioned by the United States Eventing Association, the United States Equestrian Federation and the Federation Equestre Internationale.
Sharron Butler, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, hand-fed two little peregrine falcons that left the nest but made it only as far as the streets of downtown Kalamazoo. The birds test their wings in the safety of a flight cage on her bird rehabilitation facility. She will return them to downtown, where the parent birds can resume their care.