A Michigan Sampler: Leelanau, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, Manitou Island & Kirtland’s Warbler
May 30 - June 6, 2009 - Bird/Species Trip List
Peg Abbott guide, with 6 participants (Part 1 – Kirtland’s Warbler area) / 9 participants for the Leelanau Peninsula with its excellent Leelanau Conservancy Preserves, state parks and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.

Of note: this trip was designed as a Sampler trip so we enjoyed casual birding alongside hikes, tours of local wineries and historic sites and time for sightseeing and photography. We did record a pretty good list for our efforts and share those results here.

Birds:
Canada Goose - very common throughout the journey but a delight with their large broods of young
Mute Swan – seen in good number, particularly along the lakeshore and in larger bodies of water
Trumpeter Swan – Lynn and Richard got five-star photos of a beautiful pair that we observed at length at Wakeley Lake
Mallard - common
Common Merganser – Richard took time to tease out I.D. on a pair at the beach of Good Harbor
Red-breasted Merganser – our first sightings were quick flyby’s and then we had several other sightings to confirm details
Ruffed Grouse – heard at Wakeley Lake
Wild Turkey – common in open fields, particularly early and late
Common Loon – seen on nest areas, most posted to respect their space
Double-crested Cormorant – seen in abundance on South Manitou and also in the Leland Harbor
Great Blue Heron – seen on a couple of days
Green Heron – seen on the shore of Glenn Lake
Turkey Vulture – seen on four days of our journey
Osprey – seen in the Mio area and on our canoe trip
Bald Eagle – pair seen from the dam overlook of the Au Sable at Mio
Cooper’s Hawk – one soaring individual seen over one of our grand viewpoints
Red-tailed Hawk – lone individuals seen on three days
Killdeer – scattered individuals throughout
Spotted Sandpiper – Au Sable and other smaller rivers
Ruddy Turnstone – on Leland harbor rocks
Ring-billed Gull – the most abundant gulls, large numbers at Leland especially fun to watch at sunset
Herring Gull – scattered throughout, larger numbers en route to and around So. Manitou Island
Greater Black-backed Gull – one individual in with other gulls en route to So. Manitou Island, close to the island
Caspian Tern – we got fairly regular, excellent views of this entertaining hunter, great to watch them dive
Forster’s Tern – seen on one day in a quiet bay of our tour
Mourning Dove – common, esp. in open farm country
Black-billed Cuckoo – Lynn heard our first bird near Glenn Lake and we got good views of this one as it came in to investigate us.  Also heard on Empire Bluffs trail and a few other locations
Common Nighthawk – seen well on our canoe trip on the Au Sable River
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – this species was quite active and we got buzzed a couple times on the trail. A cooperative male perched high on a tall conifer in the parking lot of the Empire Bluffs Trail.
Red-headed Woodpecker – spotted by Richard on the Whaleback Preserve trail. Local guides on So. Manitou Island described a fall out of this species in earlier weeks of migration we would have loved to behold!
Red-bellied Woodpecker – very common, particularly tame near our cabins at Mio
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – heard several places then good views our final day when walking through lush woods at the Finton Preserve
Downy Woodpecker – seen by a few members of the group
Hairy Woodpecker – seen well almost daily, two nests had loud begging young
Northern Flicker – seen on several days
Pileated Woodpecker – HO, Empire Bluffs, Good Harbor trails
Eastern Wood Pewee – seen on several days, best views on the Houdak Dunes trail
Alder Flycatcher – seen on two days
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – open mature woodland at Finton
Eastern Phoebe – a nest stuffed full of babies was found by Richard upon our arrival at the cabins in Mio, adults seen on several other days and its characteristic namesake song was never absent for long
Great-crested Flycatcher – seen and heard on most days
Eastern Kingbird – seen on two days, best views around water areas such as Wakeley Lake
Red-eyed Vireo – very common, seen at every stop in the trail and singing in all woodland and forest habitats
Blue Jay – common, fun!
American Crow – common in good number
Common Raven – first sighting was during our hunt for the Kirtland’s Warblers, one or more seen on most days
Horned Lark – seen in the road in the Amish farm country near Mio
Tree Swallow – common near water areas, the most common swallow encountered
No. Rough-winged Swallow – seen most days, a memorable sighting being birds below us on one of our bluff overlook trails
Cliff Swallow – seen on one day
Barn Swallow – seen daily in small numbers
Black-capped Chickadee – common particularly in deciduous woodlands
White-breasted Nuthatch – seen on two days
Eastern Bluebird -
Hermit Thrush – wonderful views on Hoodak Dunes trail, heard in several other locations
Wood Thrush – seen in Hoodak Dunes area at the start of our hike
American Robin – common and vocal, some feeding large fledged chicks
Gray Catbird – seen near Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitor Ctr. near Empire
Brown Thrasher – heard only, as we watched Kirtland’s Warbler
European Starling – city and farm areas
Cedar Waxwing – seen all days, best looks at flock feeding in fruiting trees at Lighthouse West Preserve
Chestnut-sided Warbler – seen in small number most days. One tame individual perched above us at one of the SBDNP overlooks and sang his heart away
Black-throated Blue Warbler – Empire Bluffs trail provided our best looks, seen in several locations
Yellow-rumped Warbler – common, seen daily
Black-throated Green Warbler – good views particularly in conifer forests, often singing quite high in the canopy
Blackburnian Warbler – beautiful looks on two occasions, one came right down to the ground!
Kirtland’s Warbler – the star attraction of our tour, we had a most cooperative singing male and all of us were thrilled. Ruth and Owen, Michigan residents were pleased to score a first sighting as were most of the group
Prairie Warbler – we had sightings of a close-in singing male on Good Harbor Bay, and heard a second in the distance
Black-and-White Warbler – seen on Whaleback in the lush aspen and cottonwood trees
American Redstart – one of the most common warblers of our trip
Ovenbird – elusive until we lured a few in with the iPod, what a beautiful bird!
Common Yellowthroat – first seen near Glen Lake, then in wetland or shrub areas on a few of the area trails
Scarlet Tanager – great views at Hoodak Dunes and a few other locations
Eastern Towhee – elusive in thick shrubbery, heard only
Chipping Sparrow – very common
Field Sparrow – heard in vicinity of Kirtland’s Warbler and on in the Amish farm area near Mio
Savannah Sparrow – seen on several days, best looks on a fencerow in Amish country
Song Sparrow – common, seen daily
White-throated Sparrow – HO, one day
Dark-eyed Junco – seen on the Whaleback Preserve trail
Northern Cardinal – seen daily
Rose-breasted Grosbeak – such a flashy bird, seen regularly with joy
Indigo Bunting – seen daily often on exposed perches
Bobolink – several groups observed in the Amish farm country
Red-winged Blackbird – common to abundant in appropriate habitat
Eastern Meadowlark – seen in small numbers, open habitat, most days
Brewer’s Blackbird – farm pond area of Amish country
Common Grackle – common throughout
Brown-headed Cowbird – common throughout
Baltimore Oriole – wonderful to hear and see
Purple Finch – Leland area
House Finch – Traverse City, Leland and other locations
American Goldfinch – very common throughout
House Sparrow – very common

 

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