May 14-22, 2025 with Cory Gregory
The Great Lakes State spans from Indiana to the south all the way north up to the boreal forests adjacent to Canada. Because of this impressive latitudinal range, Michigan hosts a wide range of habitats and what that means for birders is that it's a great destination with a varied list full of regional specialties. This spring migration trip aims to tap into this by meandering up the west side of the state before crossing over in the Upper Peninsula, up to Whitefish Point, before coming back south. In the end, this was a great trip filled with lots of birds (almost 190 species!), a great group of birders, and some memorable highlights indeed! Thank you all for coming and joining me on this trip through my old stomping grounds.
Our trip got underway in Grand Rapids before we headed southwest down to Berrien County, a place I spent many years birding as a youngster. Although the first afternoon was mostly driving, we did stop by Warren Dunes State Park and Three Oaks Sewage Ponds before capping off the evening with a lovely dinner in Three Oaks. Post-dinner, we enjoying multiple American Woodcock displaying right behind our hotel! What a way to start the trip!
The next morning, we first birded along the Forest Lawn Road area which turned out to be a species-rich endeavor! In fact, we tallied nearly 50 species in less than 90 minutes. The highlights came fast and furious; a brilliant Indigo Bunting sang overhead, a couple of Henslow's Sparrows and Bobolinks sang from the nearby field, and warblers started to fill out our checklist with additions like Northern Parula, Blue-winged Warbler, and a couple of key targets like Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Cerulean Warbler. We even saw the latter, the Cerulean Warbler, nest-building! Next, we made a quick stop at the Three Oaks Sewage Ponds and tallied half a dozen shorebird species. The nesting Purple Martins were neat to see as were the 30 Semipalmated Plovers! We made our way up to Warren Dunes State Park where we spent the rest of the morning taking a stroll through the woods at Floral Lane. Yellow-breasted Chats sang nearby, a trio of American White Pelicans flew over, a number of different flycatchers were seen nabbing flies, and we added warblers like Hooded Warbler and Magnolia Warbler. Back in the shadows, Wood Thrushes sang and Scarlet Tanagers gave their "chick-burr" calls. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park before taking another walk, this time into a dune blowout to see the Prairie Warbler, a local and hard-to-find species in Michigan. After we got crushing views of the warbler, we did some more woodland birding and added Yellow-throated Vireo, Acadian Flycatcher, and even a Gray-cheeked Thrush. Before long it was time to head north and we did so but not before stopping at Tiscornia Park right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Enjoying dinner at a nearby brewery in South Haven, we wrapped up this great first day!
The Allegan State Game Area was our first destination the next morning and once we got there, we were greeted by Ring-necked Pheasants, a singing Willow Flycatcher, Grasshopper Sparrow, Orchard Oriole, and even a very-rare Blue Grosbeak! Bobolinks sang from a nearby field, Sandhill Cranes bugled in the distance, and Northern House Wrens sang from exposed perches. Farther into the forest there at Allegan, we tallied a different mix including Black-billed Cuckoo, Blue-winged Warbler, and singing Ovenbirds. A nearby riverside was key in tallying a new warbler for us, the gleaming Prothonotary Warbler. Ceruleans sang from overhead, Cliff Swallows swirled around their nests, and a Yellow-throated Vireo gave its burry song. After our lunch in Holland, we made our way north to the Muskegon Wastewater System. After we got done being amazed at how huge this place was, we started birding the outside road around the ponds. We added a variety of waterbirds to our growing list such as Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, and some very handsome Ruddy Ducks. We enjoyed watching the Spotted Sandpipers bobbing along the shore, an American Pipit perched on the rocks, and a fun variety of swallows including nesting Bank Swallows. But after a while, it was time to head north. After driving for the better part of the afternoon, we neared a spot that can be good for Upland Sandpipers... right about the time we spotted one right along the highway! We ended up getting fantastic looks at this interesting shorebird before continuing the rest of the way into Gaylord.
The next day was an important one. It was the day we had devoted to finding and enjoying one of the rarest warblers, the Kirtland's Warbler! Although it was a rainy day in the Jack Pines, we ended up getting point-blank looks at several of these rare and local warblers. Photos were stunning, we even got to watch one sing from right in front of us. A little later, nearby forest provided us a slew of new species for our triplist including Hermit Thrush, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ovenbird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Pine Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager. Who can forget the incredible looks we had at the latter two? A nearby wetland had a flock of Black Terns, some thickets with Northern Waterthrushes, and more warblers like Tennessee Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, and American Redstart. We were passing by a sedgy marsh when I heard some Sedge Wrens singing outside of the car and so we hopped out and eventually were rewarded with great looks. A Black-billed Cuckoo was an added bonus. After our Little Boots lunch, we took a quick look at the Houghton Lake Sewage Ponds, scoring a distant Eared Grebe, and visited a nearby patch of forest that had singing Golden-winged Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, and Alder Flycatcher. We finished out the afternoon with a stop at the lovely Hartwick Pines State Park. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were point-blank, several Brown Creepers were easy to find, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers showed nicely, and Black-throated Green Warblers sang from treetops.
By this point in the trip, we were getting pretty far north. That really hit home the next morning when we birded at and then crossed over the Mackinac Bridge into the Upper Peninsula. Brr! It was pretty chilly but we enjoyed some great birding near the bridge including sightings of Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, and warblers like Magnolia, Blackburnian, Black-throated Blue, Palm, and Yellow-rumped. A real highlight came next when we were able to watch displaying Sharp-tailed Grouse dancing on their lek! Sandhill Cranes and Wild Turkeys were seen along nearby roadsides, and a stop at the Munuscong Potholes netted us a Clay-colored Sparrow on territory. We took a stroll out along the dike at the Munuscong River but it was chilly which kept the activity down, but not before we scored a nice Swamp Sparrow that came out of the cattails and some Sedge Wrens singing nearby. After our lunch in Sault Ste. Marie, we started our scenic drive westward and stopped briefly at the Point Iroquois lighthouse. After a short walk there, we continued our drive up into Paradise where we spent the next couple of nights. A lovely dinner out at Tahquamenon Falls was a great ending to our day.
The well-known Whitefish Point, which juts northward into Lake Superior, was our birding destination the next day. The cold temps continued but that didn't stop us from adding new trip birds like Piping Plover, Dunlin, Common Loon, Peregrine Falcon, Broad-winged Hawk, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, and others. We walked out to the waterbird shack, climbed up to the hawk platform, and took a couple of walks mixed in with stopping and enjoying the crazy-busy birdfeeders. That afternoon, along Farm Truck Trail and the nearby highway, we enjoyed close views of Broad-winged Hawks perched along the road and a family of American Woodcocks slowly bobbing their way across the highway! We allowed time to walk down to see the Tahquamenon Falls which are always spectacular, enjoyed another dinner at the falls, and even scored a Ruffed Grouse on the return drive to Paradise! Late that evening we were graciously allowed to watch as long-time raptor biologists Chris Neri and Nova Mackentley showed us several owls that the research station had recently caught. They showed us many interesting aspects of owl biology while highlighting how important banding data is for the long-term conservation of these birds. Thanks Chris and Nova!
The next morning was a fun one. Main highlight? A gorgeous female Spruce Grouse! We all had outstanding looks at her while she sat quietly next to the road. It took a bit of effort but eventually success! We returned to Whitefish Point for a little bit more birding and enjoyed Cape May, Palm, and Wilson's warblers as well as hundreds of Blue Jays swarming all over the place! We packed up and hit the road, heading for Seney National Wildlife Refuge. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at a lovely roadside park before driving the auto-tour loop at Senery. Although bird diversity was somewhat low, we still enjoyed Sandhill Cranes, Common Loons, nesting Bald Eagles, and some lovely northern boggy habitat. Our next destination was Peninsula Point which reaches south out of the Upper Peninsula into Lake Michigan. Once we arrived, we took a stroll but it was very windy out. Still, we saw Black-and-white Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, and a couple of species of vireos. That night we enjoyed our really nice and new hotel with amazing lake views before calling it a night.
The next morning our main destination was to return to Peninsula Point to see if any new migrants had dropped in. We ended up spending 2-3 hours there, tallying an impressive 50 species! Shorebirds included a very sharp Black-bellied Plover, Dunlin, Semipalmated Plover, and other highlights included several Yellow-bellied Flycatchers and a striking Philadelphia Vireo. We tallied at least 13 species of warblers too, which was a lot of fun! Upon leaving Peninsula Point, we were surprised to find a Northern Mockingbird along a nearby roadside. We spent the rest of that morning driving back towards the straits where we birded at Pointe LaBarbe for a bit. Offshore were some Common Mergansers, Red-breasted Mergansers, and some Canvasback too. Common Terns sat on nearby rocks, and the trees near the point hosted Yellow Warblers, American Redstarts, and Black-throated Green Warblers. Once we crossed over the bridge, heading south, we paused briefly to enjoy looks of some Brewer's Blackbirds, before continuing to Traverse City for the night. After dinner though, we ventured out to find an Eastern Screech-Owl and did just that but only upon returning to the hotel; we found one right behind the hotel!
The next morning, our final one of the trip, was another breezy, chilly one but we drove out to Sleep Bear Dunes regardless. The nearby forest was lush and gorgeous. Although we were met with some road closures at the dunes, we did some exploring and found a couple of neat areas. For example, finally, we were rewarded with some good looks at Nashville Warbler which had been weirdly absent for us. Sadly, before long, it was time to drive south to Grand Rapids where we said our goodbyes and parted ways.
I want to sincerely thank each of you for joining me on this trip through Michigan. I hope you made lots of good memories and came away feeling like you knew Michigan a lot more than you used to. And of course, a big thanks to Maria back in the Austin office. I certainly had fun birding with all of you and hope to do it again soon on another Field Guides adventure. Be safe!
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/371275
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/mic25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Cory Gregory (Curlew)