Date: 6/2/25 5:23 pm From: Daniel Getman <000002b3a133f539-dmarc-request...> Subject: No MO Sightings-Michigan Trip
We just returned from a 10 day trip to western Michigan, along Lake Michigan. We spent 2 days each in Holland, Traverse City, Beaver Island, Petoskey and Indiana Dunes, IN on the way home. At each city, we spent time visiting each downtown area, doing some wine tasting (lots of Michigan wineries) and selectively, some birding.
We had wonderful weather with temperatures in the 60s and 70s, not windy, and only one day with a couple hours of light rain.
Beaver Island is a 2 hr ferry ride from Charlevoix, MI. It was a very nice island approx 5 miles wide and 12 miles long. Mostly wooded. The previous week they had a birding festival there. Beaver Island has mostly gravel or dirt roads and generally thick woods, with several lakes and many hiking trails. There were a lot of midges insects, which do not bite, and some mosquitoes. So we opted not to do any hikes. We did most of our birding by just stopping along the road and listening - there was quite a few birds singing and providing photo opportunities of several warblers.
We also had a unique opportunity to view a Peregrine Falcon nest site atop a building in Muskegon, MI. I talked to a guy who worked there and he said one of the best aspects of his job is watching the peregrines dive-bomb the gulls. We didn’t see any of that exciting activity, but there were quite a few white feathers on the ground nearby.
We also saw an occupied Common Loon nest box from a rest stop at Birch Lake along Hwy 31 on the way to Charlevoix - a first for us!
While at Indiana Dunes, we hiked the short trail at Miller Woods - very nice, lots of birds. Unfortunately, the occasional train nearby was a little annoying, but worth the birding. We also visited several other areas, including the Great Marsh and the trails around the Nature Center at the Indiana Dunes State Park. The drive along the edge of the Great Marsh is definitely worthwhile.
