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Michigan 2008 (1 Viewer)

Phaethon

Phaethon

Well-known member
I noticed the last general posting for Michigan was getting a little stale. Any questions about birding here in the state I'll try to answer. I've been birding here for 35 years other than a 2 year stay in Botswana, Africa.

Allen Chartier's and Jerry Ziarno's "A Birder's Guide to Michigan" is an excellent book for anyone venturing to the state to see Kirtland's Warbler or any of the other northern US species.

Cindy's post below is good for a list of general birding spots across the state.

BA
 
BA, I do not see "Cindy's post below". Perhaps I need to have my glasses checked (just kidding). ;)

It is a good idea to keep these state lists current though. Keep up the good work!

Larry Lade
BirdForum Moderator
 
Phaethon said:
....anyone venturing to the state to see Kirtland's Warbler or any of the other northern US species....

BA
Click to expand...


Hi BA, good idea. I'll "venture" into the area for the Kirtland's Warbler this spring with my brother. As we'll be at Point Pelee before, we may be a bit early. What are our chances around May 18? And which place should we try primarily? I recommended Mio, but is that really better?
 
Robert:

If you go to the area around Mio, Atlanta, or Grayling Michigan you will not miss the Kirtland's Warbler especially if you go on a US Forest Service Tour. The USFWS has a Kirtland's Warbler website. May 18th is a good time to come unless we have a late spring which happened last year but is usually not the case now that the climate is overly warm.
 
Phaethon said:
Robert:

If you go to the area around Mio, Atlanta, or Grayling Michigan you will not miss the Kirtland's Warbler especially if you go on a US Forest Service Tour. The USFWS has a Kirtland's Warbler website. May 18th is a good time to come unless we have a late spring which happened last year but is usually not the case now that the climate is overly warm.
Click to expand...

Thanks, sounds reassuring! We do plan on taking one or two of those tours.
 
good luck, don't forget the other warblers on territory then and the migrants going through Tawas Pt. not very far (about an hour's drive) from the Kirtland's Warbler nesting grounds.
 
Phaethon said:
good luck, don't forget the other warblers on territory then and the migrants going through Tawas Pt. not very far (about an hour's drive) from the Kirtland's Warbler nesting grounds.
Click to expand...

I'm certainly open to other areas, just don't know much about them yet. Thanks for your suggestion. I'll try to find some info about this place. If I'm not successful, I'll try to get back to you. I ordered a book about birding in the Chicago area; maybe it will include sufficient parts of Michigan?
 
Robert:

A must have for any birding trip to Michigan is "A Birders Guide to Michigan" by Allen Chartier and Gerarld Ziarno. This will give you almost all the information you need about Kirtland Warbler sites and other birding areas in the state. Feel free to ask any other questions here. As I mentioned I would highly recommend Tawas Pt. as a nearby migration hotspot and try to get to the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore for breeding decidous forest species as well as some unique Great Lakes scenery. The book on birding in the Chicago area will have no information on Michigan as it is about a three hour drive away and borders Indiana rather than Michigan. If you are stuck in Chicago Morton's Arboretum and other parks have some good birding.
 
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Phaethon said:
Robert:

A must have for any birding trip to Michigan is "A Birders Guide to Michigan" by Allen Chartier and Gerarld Ziarno. ......
Click to expand...


We'll have barely more than two days in Michigan, with most of the time probably around the Kirtland's Warbler areas. So I doubt it would make sense to take along a special book. I might buy it though, as one of my sons lives in Chicago. Means, we'll get into the area every so often, and there should then be time for birding as well.

Thanks for the other suggestions as well, I'll look into those too. Would it make sense to drive up into the Upper Peninsula if we should see the KW on our first try? The second day is meant as a spare, but it might be available for other areas. That's why we only reserve one night in a hotel.
 
Phaethon said:
Robert:

A must have for any birding trip to Michigan is "A Birders Guide to Michigan" by Allen Chartier and Gerarld Ziarno. This will give you almost all the information you need about Kirtland Warbler sites and other birding areas in the state. Feel free to ask any other questions here. As I mentioned I would highly recommend Tawas Pt. as a nearby migration hotspot and try to get to the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore for breeding decidous forest species as well as some unique Great Lakes scenery. ........
Click to expand...

I have a book called "Great Birding in the Great Lakes", by Tom Powers. It claims to provide information on the "50 best birdwatching sites in the Great Lakes States". For Michigan, it shows among several others Tawas Pt, gives some info on the KW areas, but does not mention Sleeping Bear NL. It's a mix of personal report plus some directions. But I assume the ABA guide would be more precise? Is there anyone who knows both books and could comment on a comparison? Or, maybe, we should shift this discussion into the books subforum?
 
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Robert:

I have seen both books, "Great Birding.." is just an appetizer with not much info for Michigan. "A Birder's Guide to Michigan" has 10x as much info and sites for just about any place that would be convenient on your trip. The UP is about 2 1/2 hours north of the Kirtland's areas. I wouldn't know if I would recommend it but it would be helpfull if you had some target species and I could give you some good spots for them.
 
Thanks, BA, I have since ordered the ABA book. I may have more questions after it has arrived. You are absolutely correct with the "appetizer" term, so I'm really looking forward to get the book you recommended.
 
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