The Indiana Dunes

Study of invasive mussels finds PFAS is nearly everywhere in the Great Lakes | Bridge Michigan A recent report that PFAS contamination is widespread in Great Lakes mussels give a clearer picture of where the chemicals are concentrated.

NOAA's National Mussel Watch Program - which has used invasive zebra + quagga mussels to track contaminants in the #GreatLakes since 1992 - finds that PFAS are ubiquitous in the lakes, with mussels in Lake Michigan having the highest average PFAS concentrations www.bridgemi.com/michigan-env...

The I-65 underpass on the Oak Savannah Trail, which is as far as I got yesterday

You can bring your bike on the South Shore Line and not ride a hundred miles to the Indiana Dunes and/or back, it's totally allowed

A picture of a tree swallow on a branch

Got myself a Nikon Coolpix P950 for a trip overseas…tested it out this past weekend at Indiana Dunes National Park and captured this tree swallow from a ways away.

Palm warbler at the Heron Rookery near Indiana Dunes. #birds

Road tripping and made a pit stop at Indiana Dunes National Park ❤️ love this little park and Lake Michigan! #nationalparkservice #indianadunes
#Roadtrip #beach #greatlakes #travel

NPS#129 : Indiana Dunes National Park. Trails, dunes, beaches, tons of wildflowers and a bevy of bird sightings are making our trip memorable. Oh, and Bark Ranger tags!

Indiana Dunes State Park opens gift shop The Indiana Dunes State Park, one of Northwest Indiana's most visited tourist attractions, is getting into the retail business.

Indiana Dunes State Park opens gift shop
www.nwitimes.com/news/local/a...

Least flycatcher at the Heron Rookery near Indiana Dunes #birds

Woohoo! It's Friday!
Indiana Dunes, midwinter. Me using the frozen dune as a giant slide. The frozen sand was essentially one long piece of sandpaper, by the time I reached the bottom my pants were shredded! 😄
#indianadunes #naturephotography #nature #blueskyphotographers #photography #indiana

Indiana Dunes, midwinter.
Pushed the ISO to add a bit of grain. I like how the lake blends into the dark cloudy sky.
#Indiana #indianadunes #bnw #photography #nature #naturephotography #lakemichigan #photographersofbluesky #blueskyphotographers

Yellow-rumped warbler at the Heron Rookery at Indiana Dunes SP. #birds

I built this shoddy birdhouse for my daughter at the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival and now the birds have reported me to code enforcement.

Indiana Dunes, midwinter.
The dunes in winter are frozen with the spray off Lake Michigan.Pushed the ISO to add grain.
#Indianadunes #photography #b&wphotography #blueskyphotographers #photographersofbluesky #nature #naturephotography #sanddunes #indiana #lakemichigan

Chicago skyline post sunset from the Indiana Dunes

Chicago skyline post sunset from the Indiana Dunes. I think next time I'll come prepared with a second camera for photos during the sunset! #chicago #skyline #sunset

Just got back from the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival—what an incredible experience! Grateful for the love during my Bird Joy talk, time with the Chicago BIPOC Birders, and finally meeting some Indiana Bird Nerds in the wild. #BirdJoy #WiscoBirder #WeOutHere 🗣️🐦🫶

A mink by the river at the heron rookery near Indiana Dunes.

Prothonotary Warbler

Red-bellied woodpecker(?)

Chipping Sparrow

Wood Thrush

Some #birding highlights from the Indiana Dunes Birding Fest <3 I'm only using my phone camera so quality isn't the best but!! Saw some good good birds

Record number of Hoosiers expected to travel for Memorial Day A record 970,000 Hoosiers are expected to travel this Memorial Day weekend, kicking off the busy summer travel season and bringing visitors back in droves to the Indiana Dunes.

A record 970,000 Hoosiers are expected to travel this Memorial Day weekend, kicking off the busy summer travel season and bringing visitors back in droves to the Indiana Dunes.

Chicago skyline sunset from the Indiana Dunes.

First attempt at capturing this. Only happens during two short windows of the year. I'm so happy the planning & weather worked out!

Thanks to @victwav.bsky.social for the assistance in the cold and @cshimala.bsky.social for the inspiration/tips!

Wooden staircase leads down through sandy dunes and sparse trees at Indiana Dunes National Park, with Lake Michigan and the distant Chicago skyline visible under a clear blue sky. The winding boardwalk blends into the natural landscape of rolling hills and greenery.

📍 Dune Succession Trail, Indiana Dunes National Park

#hiking #sanddunes #sand #lakemichigan #indiana #explore #dunesuccessiontrail #midwesthiking #indianadunes #nationalparks#travel #nature #photography

Vivid blue lupines bloom along a sandy dune trail

The lupines at Indiana Dunes National Park are incredible this year. I had a limited time to visit but I think I made the most of it. It was a cloudy day, which disappointed me at first, but the lupines seem to glow even in flat light. 💙

#indianadunesnationalpark
#lupines
#photography
#spring

The comment period for the rule change (FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034) ends tomorrow, so it is critical that you log your objects ASAP if you have not already done so: www.regulations.gov/commenton/FW...

Pitcher's Thistle (Cirsium pitcher) Photographed in Indiana Dunes National Park. This critically endangered species is endemic to the sand dune habitats of the Great Lakes. Photograph © susankirt, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC) , https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/225249705

Two Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia) Photographed near West Beach in Indiana Dunes National Park. Their need for sandy banks often puts them in conflict with humans trampling on around beaches. Photograph © susankirt, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC) , https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/225249705

Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid Platanthera psycodes Photographed in Indiana Dunes National. This small, wetland-loving plant is imperiled in many states, and its range is contracting northward with climate change. Photograph © Anna Braum, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC), https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244396633

Elfin Skimmer Nannothemis bella Photographed in Indiana Dunes National Park’s Pinhook Bog. The smallest dragonfly in the USA, this species cannot exist in habitats that are not bogs. Photograph © Joe Girgente, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC), https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219337213

Stewards of the environment, please comment on the UFSWS's proposed rule change to the Endangered Species Act before tomorrow: bit.ly/44KZOwM

This rule change would remove damage to habitat from the definition of "harm" to endangered species. This is unacceptable: habitat loss = species loss.

Fog ‘tsunami’ rolls across Lake Michigan shoreline in lucky video capture A timelapse video shows the huge, rolling wave of fog in South Haven.

A tsunami up topside from a couple days ago 🌊🌊
(It is my water but in the gaseous state)
www.mlive.com/news/2025/05...

A photo of the Indiana Dunes beach from the top of the Devil's Slide, which is a large and steep sand dune.

@40doodles.bsky.social and I went to the Indiana Dunes today and it was amazing! Highly recommend this gorgeous beach and park. We climbed a very steep dune called the Devil's Slide.

A group of diverse birders smiling and posing together on a concrete walkway with green trees and a cloudy sky in the background at the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival.

Birders standing in a line along a grassy trail in a tallgrass prairie, all looking through binoculars and cameras under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

Dexter taking a selfie with a joyful group of birders behind him, all smiling and throwing up peace signs in the middle of a grassland trail during the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival.

Birders standing in front of the “Reynolds Creek Habitat Restoration Project” sign, smiling and holding birding gear, with prairie grasses and a partly cloudy sky in the background.

Had a rough start to the day with some Joy Jackers, but my Bird Joy got refilled co-leading two BIPOC-only hikes with the Chicago BIPOC Birders at the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival. Birds, community, joy… and treats (they disappeared fast). We a whole VIBE! #BirdJoy #IndianaDunesBirdingFestival 🪶

There are about 800 bird species in the United States. Nearly half of them live in or migrate through the Indiana Dunes.

At the Indiana Dunes Birding Fest. At the Longshore tower, they counted over 1000 blue jays this morning!

Taken on a hike this morning at Indiana Dunes State Park.
#IndianaDunes
#3DunesChallenge

Photo of azalea sphinx

Close up photo of azalea sphinx

Photo of Abbott's sphinx

Photo of Abbott's sphinx

Had two amazing evenings with moths at Indiana dunes birding festival. Here are some highlights...