Birders Flock To Traverse City for Spring Migration
Each spring, Traverse City witnesses the return of its snowbirds – the hundreds of part-time residents who spend several weeks or months of the year wintering farther south. But they’re not the only birds who start arriving with the spring thaws.
Thanks to its coastal location along the northern shore of Lake Michigan and its many inland lakes, marshes and ponds, this area is also a favorite destination for thousands of migratory birds. Like their human counterparts, some stop for a few days of relaxation and refreshment, but others settle down for the whole summer. Although it’s not one of the traditional “hot spots” of the birding universe, the Traverse City area has enough variety of avian species to satisfy a steady stream of birders – particularly in the spring and early summer.
At the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, birders can find a large variety of songbirds: prairie warblers, pine warblers, Nashville warblers, American redstarts, black-throated blues and even a Blackburnian warbler. Thanks to the efforts of the National Park Service, the lakeshore is also home to a recovering population of piping plovers – tiny shorebirds whose habitat has been wiped out in much of their range.
For birders with less exotic tastes, however, there are plenty of great spots within a few minutes of any Traverse City resort or hotel. Medalie Park, at the south end of Boardman Lake, is a year-round gathering spot for waterfowl – both migrants and year-round residents, including the area’s large population of mute swans. The extensive trail system of the Grand Traverse Commons, the Grand Traverse Education Reserve (which skirts both banks of the Boardman River just south of the city) are also good sites. At the tip of the scenic Old Mission Peninsula there are deep coastal woods where pileated woodpecker and black-throated green warblers can be spotted. In spring, this peninsula is a favorite resting spot for birds of prey, which rest and feed here while preparing to cross Lake Michigan on their spring migration to Canada.
An even larger migration takes place just to the west at the end of the larger Leelanau Peninsula, where the woods and wetlands of the Leelanau State Park provide cover for hundreds of migrating songbirds, raptors and waterfowl. Nearby is the 44-acre Charter Sanctuary, established by veteran birders Jim and Kay Charter as a safe haven for over 130 species of migrating, nesting and resident birds – including black-billed cuckoos, grasshopper sparrows and bobolinks. Next door to the sanctuary is the Charters’ educational center, Saving Birds thru Habitat, which shows private landowners how to adapt backyards, woodlots and vacant property as bird habitat.
To the northeast, the Yuba Creek Natural Area provides an easily accessible overlook from which viewers with scopes or binoculars can keep tabs on a nesting site for bald eagles. A few miles to the north is the Petobego Pond flooding, an excellent site for watching waders and waterbirds, while the nearby Sand Lakes Quiet Area, Skegemog Swamp Pathway, and Grass River Natural Area provide even more opportunities to spot waterfowl and woodland birds.
For birders with less exotic tastes, however, there are plenty of great spots within a few minutes of any Traverse City resort or hotel. Medalie Park, at the south end of Boardman Lake, is a year-round gathering spot for waterfowl – both migrants and year-round residents, including the area’s large population of mute swans. The extensive trail system of the Grand Traverse Commons, the Grand Traverse Education Reserve (which skirts both banks of the Boardman River just south of the city) are also good sites. At the tip of the scenic Old Mission Peninsula there are deep coastal woods where pileated woodpecker and black-throated green warblers can be spotted. In spring, this peninsula is a favorite resting spot for birds of prey, which rest and feed here while preparing to cross Lake Michigan on their spring migration to Canada.
An even larger migration takes place just to the west at the end of the larger Leelanau Peninsula, where the woods and wetlands of the Leelanau State Park provide cover for hundreds of migrating songbirds, raptors and waterfowl. Nearby is the 44-acre Charter Sanctuary, established by veteran birders Jim and Kay Charter as a safe haven for over 130 species of migrating, nesting and resident birds – including black-billed cuckoos, grasshopper sparrows and bobolinks. Next door to the sanctuary is the Charters’ educational center, Saving Birds thru Habitat, which shows private landowners how to adapt backyards, woodlots and vacant property as bird habitat.
To the northeast, the Yuba Creek Natural Area provides an easily accessible overlook from which viewers with scopes or binoculars can keep tabs on a nesting site for bald eagles. A few miles to the north is the Petobego Pond flooding, an excellent site for watching waders and waterbirds, while the nearby Sand Lakes Quiet Area, Skegemog Swamp Pathway, and Grass River Natural Area provide even more opportunities to spot waterfowl and woodland birds.
