Piping Plover Trip Report

7/24/2025

Northern Michigan, June 20-22, 2025

A Trip Introduction by Killian Sullivan

A group of four students from the Ohio Young Birders Club, managed by Black Swamp Bird Observatory, traveled to Michigan to study the state's endangered breeding birds. The field trip began at the University of Michigan Biological Station, where experts discussed the challenges facing Great Lakes Piping Plovers and gave the students a tour of the captive breeding facility. Next, the group explored Douglas Lake by boat, inspecting Common Loon nesting platforms and observing loon families interacting and foraging. On the second day, they visited Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, where they observed Piping Plovers in their stunning natural habitat. The trip concluded at Hartwick Pines State Park with a visit to the young Jack Pine forests, home to the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler. Led by advisor Betsy McCaskey, the trip was an incredible opportunity for students Anya Poe, Joel Stiver, Killian Sullivan, and Winston Troutner.

Piping Plover Trip Report by Anya Poe

My name is Anya Poe. I’m seventeen years old and I’ve been birding for nine years, seven of those with the Ohio Young Birder’s Club (OYBC). This June I was invited to attend a trip to Michigan with the Northwest Tri-state chapter of OYBC. I had never birded in Michigan before and was excited to see how the birds would differ. We met early in the morning at an advisor’s house so that we could arrange for carpooling. My mom and I camped nearby the night before since we were meeting at 5am and didn’t want to wake up at an ungodly hour.
Birding started before the trip had even begun. Our campsite was surrounded by farm fields, a habitat I had rarely birded in. A few minutes of car birding introduced me to the Horned Lark and its lovely jumbled song, as well as the secretive Vesper Sparrow. When we laid down to sleep, the croaks of Great Egrets rattled all through the night, emanating from the darkness of a nearby lake.
In the morning, we set out. My mom drove all of the kids. It was five hours to our first destination and there wasn’t a moment of silence. Everyone buzzed with excitement, sharing stories and asking questions, the words tumbling from our mouths, about places we’ve been, birds we’ve seen, cool behaviors we’ve witnessed, inspiring birders we’ve met, bird books we’ve read. Anything and everything under the sun that had to do with birds. I had never had an experience like that before and was in complete heaven. Everyone was so nice and genuinely interested in hearing about each other’s birding experiences. The trip was two nights and every second possible was packed with birding. Our first destination was the University Of Michigan Biological Station near Pellston, MI, which hosts a captive breeding program for the endangered Piping Plover. We toured the station, seeing babies of all ages and eggs up close, asking lots of questions, and learning the intricacies of how the birds are cared for and how data is taken. I love to hear about successful conservation efforts, such as the Piping Plover captive breeding program which has helped to take the Great Lakes population from 13 nesting pairs in the 1980 to 85 pairs at present.

There was a lake in front of the biological station that contained Common Loon nesting platforms. After the tour, one of the people who built the platforms took us out on a pontoon boat to see the loons. All the babies had already fledged the platforms, so we scanned the water as we zipped past the forested banks. We spotted two different families of loons, each with two parents and two babies. They let us get very close. Loons are one of my favorite birds, so I was very excited to see their fluffy brown young for the first time. We even got to see a baby riding on a parent’s back.

The next day, we set out to find Piping Plovers nesting in the wild. First, we went to an area to meet with one of the nest monitors that works for the University of Michigan Biological Station. A series of monitors check all known active nests daily to see if any are abandoned or at risk. If the nest’s welfare is threatened, they’ll take the eggs back to the station, check viability, and raise them until they’re old enough to be released back into the wild. But, a massive thunderstorm called for a change of plans and we ended up driving three hours to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in order to escape the rain. There, we had the privilege of seeing two families of plovers scuttling through the sand. We got very nice looks at them. All the driving, sun, and biting flies were well worth it.

On our last day, we woke up early to meet Upland Sandpipers. We pulled off on a random dirt road in their preferred habitat after one of us had spotted an individual. We were surprised to see lots of them during our time there, perched on dead trees or gliding high overhead, singing. Their song is magical, softly winding up to a high note and then slowly dropping down again. At the same place we heard Kirtland’s Warblers singing - another species we had hoped to see on the trip and the rarest songbirds in the U.S. After scouring the landscape, we eventually saw several, belting out their songs from the tops of bushes.
Next we headed to Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling, MI, where we would take a Kirtland’s Warbler tour. There had been sightings of Evening Grosbeaks at the nature center’s feeders, so we went to have a look. After enjoying close up views of Red-breasted Nuthatches, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and a Pileated Woodpecker, a beautiful male Evening Grosbeak showed up, flashing his bright yellow plumage. That was the first time I had seen one.
Then, we hopped in our cars to follow our tour guide a short distance to a spot where Kirtland’s Warblers were regularly seen. A young Jack Pine forest that did not disappoint. Kirtland’s Warblers nest on the ground under 5-20 foot tall Jack Pines. This habitat has grown scarce because in order to create it, forest fires must come through to allow for new Jack Pine growth. There wouldn’t be enough small Jack Pines for Kirtland’s Warblers to nest under if it weren’t for these fires. But, since humans have built towns everywhere we must control forest fires to ensure people’s safety. As a result, the Kirtland’s Warbler population plummeted to a mere 400 birds in 1971. Conservationists have worked hard to rectify this problem, cutting down portions of old Jack Pines routinely, so that young ones may take their place. Today there are 4,600 individuals. It was amazing to see this thriving conservation effort in person.
Our final destination was Houghton Lake Flats observation platform in Lake Township, MI, where we saw a variety of wetland birds, including elegant Black Terns soaring above the water. A first for me.
The trip was so much fun and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to see so many beautiful habitats, new bird species, and meet lots of passionate birders. A big thanks to everyone who made this trip possible.

Top to bottom, left to right: Red-breasted Nuthatch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pileated Woodpecker, Evening Grosbeak, Brewer's Blackbird, Black Tern - Photos by Killian Sullivan

My Favorite Parts of the Northern Michigan Trip by Joel Stiver

An unforgettable excursion to the refreshing lakeshores and young, hilly jack pine forests of northern Michigan, provided some fantastic memories with people and new, thrilling looks at multiple bird species that call these diverse habitats home.
While I had many personal highlights throughout the trip, I will name a few of my favorite experiences. Some of these include touring a captive rearing facility for the endangered Piping Plover, hiking the short jack pine forests that present a flourishing population of breeding Kirtland’s Warblers and good numbers of Upland Sandpipers, and of course, watching multiple nesting pairs of Piping Plovers interact with their chicks in the wild. Learning about the enormous amount of data collected by the conservationists caring for the young plovers was inspiring, and studying the ways in which they teach the chicks how to survive in the wild gave me the comfort of knowing these birds were in good hands. The group was even given the opportunity to view a two hour old chick! It was one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen.
After this, seeing plovers successfully breed in their natural habitat in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, was no less than endearing. A magical walk in the early morning hours, the jack pine forests in the north-central part of the state were glowing as the soft sun continued to rise over the landscape. Hearing the sweet song of the ground-nesting Kirtland’s Warbler, was a completely new and wonderful experience. An unbelievable comeback from sitting at just under 200 individuals remaining in the wild, it was unreal and motivating to be walking through a region where ninety-seven percent of the world’s population of around 4,000 breed today. A bizarre and elusive shorebird known as the Upland Sandpiper was constantly flying overhead and sputtering a musical series of high-pitched warbling notes. Engaging in aerial courtship displays, the group eventually could barely see them even through binoculars, as they were ascending hundreds of feet in the air. An honorable mention from the trip, would have to be the Common Loon families the crew was able to watch for quite a while.

Without the Ohio Young Birders Club, and the phenomenal people who are responsible for leading this organization, this trip of a lifetime would not have been possible, and the youth such as myself would not have witnessed these amazing species.

-Joel Stiver