|
Michigan has some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities around. This quarterly newsletter will give you some tips on how to get involved, what to watch for, where to go and the great wildlife conservation work going on across the state. Enjoy!
 Each year, leafless trees and frozen landscapes make winter a great time to glimpse the large, magnificent snowy owl.
Snowy owls breed in the arctic, where they primarily eat lemmings, a small arctic rodent. During their time in Michigan, they eat a variety of prey, including rats, muskrats, waterfowl and fish. You can find snowy owls across the state in open areas such as fields and shorelines. Snowy owls like to perch in conspicuous places and can often be found by scanning high points like hilltops, fence posts and rooftops on the landscape.
Boreal and arctic owls, like the snowy owl, visit Michigan each winter, making January and February the best time to plan an owling trip.
If you are lucky enough to encounter one of these special winter visitors, please remember to keep a respectful distance and follow these best practices to help keep them safe.
Learn more about Michigan’s snowy owls, northern hawk owls, great gray owls and boreal owls and where to find them: Winter Wonderland of Owls.
 Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort - Feb. 4
Piping plovers have only recently returned to nest along all five Great Lakes, and at one time fewer than 20 pairs made the area their summer home. Today, the Great Lakes shoreline hosts around 70 breeding pairs thanks to recovery efforts. Join Audubon Great Lakes, MI Birds, the Detroit Zoo and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Friday, Feb. 4 for a free webinar about the endangered Great Lakes piping plover, the recovery efforts to protect this charismatic shorebird and how you can get involved.
Register for the piping plover webinar. ►
Back from the Brink: A New Model for Kirtland's Warbler Conservation - April 6
Thanks to a decades-long, international recovery effort, the Kirtland's warbler was recently removed from the federal endangered species list. Join Audubon Great Lakes, MI Birds, Kirtland's Warbler Alliance, Bahamas National Trust and American Bird Conservancy for a free webinar celebrating this warbler's conservation success story.
Register for the Kirtland's warbler webinar. ►
Meet Michigan's Stocky Heron: Black-crowned Night Heron - Mar. 30
The stocky and stealthy black-crowned night heron can be found skulking at the water's edge of Michigan's wetlands, which it relies on to thrive. Loss of this critical habitat has contributed to population declines of this species of special concern in Michigan. Join Audubon Great Lakes, MI Birds and the Detroit Zoo for a free webinar all about Michigan's black-crowned night heron.
Register for the black-crowned night heron webinar. ►
 In 2019, the Kirtland’s warbler was removed from the endangered species list. Ongoing efforts by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and a multitude of partners have ensured nesting habitat is, and will continue to be, available for this songbird that nests only in young jack pine stands in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario.
All proceeds from the sale of the wildlife habitat license plate will continue to support the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund and will benefit nongame species like the Kirtland’s warbler.
Since 2006, the wildlife habitat license plate has raised over $3.9 million for the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund.
You can buy the wildlife habitat license plate through the Secretary of State for $35, with $25 of that fee going to the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund.
In addition to the birds that stay in Michigan year-round, we welcome many new visitors from the north in the colder months, making winter an exciting time to watch birds. Learn about which birds to look for and how you can get involved in community science bird counts this winter.
To learn more about Michigan’s birds, visit MI Birds, your one-stop shop for all things birds in Michigan.
|
