From: thomas_pavlik@peoplesoft.com To: "Catherine Carroll" ,birders@umich.edu Date: 08/07/2004 06:09PM Subject: Re: [birders] Request for good birding spot(s) - reply Cathy I usually take the 3rd week of May off and head north. This year I spent most of the that time around Grand Traverse County. Granted, the birding probably won't be as good but here are some ideas. I highly recommend the tip of Mission Peninsula. This is the eastern peninsula northeast of Traverse City. At the end (maybe 20 miles up M-37) is a park. It starts maybe a mile from the end of the peninsula. There are some good paths and access to the water where you may find some shorebirds. I suspect the Eurasian Collared Doves may still be in the neighborhood about 10 miles south of the city. Specifically, the location is at the northeast corner of I-31 and M-37. Drive the neighborhood behind the Rite-Aid drugstore. Good Luck, Tom ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is a tough time of year to find birds up at Traverse City. There are no really good shorebird spots. There are a few decent spots where you can bird for a short time in the immediate vicinity of Traverse City. The public beach in the city may have some Caspian Terns and if you get lucky (and arrive very early in the morning), a shorebird or two. There is a brushy area in the southwest part of the city which has Golden-winged and Blue- winged Warblers nesting (at least some years). I can't describe very well how to get there but there's a parking spot just off Rt 37 when you first reach the main part of the city. You then walk in. Finally, there are some Eurasian Collared Doves apparently nesting (they've been at this location for months) just south of the city. Where Rt 37 comes in at Beitner Rd, turn right, go about 50 ft or so and take the first left into a small subdivision. Check the wires in the sub - as many as 7 birds have been seen here. The best birding spot in this area is not actually in Traverse City. Go to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (fee to get in) which extends into both Benzie and Leelanau Counties. You can park at the ends of some of the roads and walk for miles along the sand, working the woods just inland from the beaches. Olive-sided Flycatchers, Prairie and Pine Warblers, Common Nighthawks are just some of the birds which nest in this area. There should be at least a few shorebirds along the beach if you walk far enough. Piping Plover nests in some numbers here. I think they'll be through nesting for the year but it should be possible to find one somewhere if you look. The most likely locations are the mouth of the Platte River and at Glen Haven Beach. The best walking area is south from the end of Esch Rd. You should walk down the little side road just before the end of Esch Rd and bushwack through the woods a short way to the beach to avoid having to cross the creek Steve Santner ---------------------------------------------------------------- Cathy; Howdy. My experience is in Leelanau county, which is basically the land West and North of Traverse City. August is considered slow for birding, as most have finished nesting and are preparing for migration. Shorebirds should be fair to good. As far as locations, if I had a single day to spend up that way I'd head right to Good Harbor Bay. The beach is quite nice, there's a good area of Dune transition, and there are good NPS trails that head through a well-developed woods, which includes swamp and a stream. I've found a wide variety of wildlife in this area in all seasons. Take M72 West out of TC. Turn right on Maple City road (Co. Rd. 667). Follow this North, through Maple City, to its terminus at M22. Turn left on M22, and then turn right on Bohemian rd. (Co. Rd. 669). Bohemian takes you right to the beach. Just before the beach is a crossroad, Lake Michigan drive. Take this to the right, and go to the end of the road. There's a well-signed trailhead, a couple of picnic tables and an NPS outhouse. One can walk right off the end of the road into the Dune transition (careful, fragile). Prairie warblers have had a colony in this location for at least the past 12 summers. Shorebirds can be found along the water's edge. The woods trail is excellent for all kinds of forest things. I can think of no other place in the area that offers such a concentration of different habitats and wildlife, all within short walking distance. Oh, and the Bay looks over the Manitou passage, with North Manitou island and Pyramid point over the water basically to your left. Cheers Dave Sing ----------------------------------------------------------------- I have a few also not in the city itself. The first is Skegmog Marsh which is east of town take 72 east to 597north this is the road to Rapid City about 3-4 miles down the road will be a sign and parking area on the left-west side of the road, this is a great walk through woods an old rail trail and a walk along a small stream on a raised boardwalk. This area can be found in Delorme pg. 75 B-5 Also east of town is Sand Lake Quiet Area take 72 east to Broomfield Rd. go right-south, follow the road through a series of turns for about 4-5 miles with signage and parking on the left hand side. This area can be found in Delorme pg.75 C-5 And last but not least is Brown Bridge Quiet Area this is southeast of town on Rennie Lake Road unfortunatly I really dont know which roads I take to get there I just know where it is! But Delorme pg.74 C-4 should give you a pretty good idea where it is. Pat