The Michigan Audubon Blog: all things Michigan birds and conservation. This page includes action alerts, news, and special information, posted by Michigan Audubon staff.
August Heat Impacts Lindsay’s Virtual Big Year
August was another slow month in terms of adding to my list, but I was still able to add six new species. I tried chasing some targeted species but wasn't as successful as I was hoping. There were fewer [...]
Double Your Impact with a Matched Gift to the Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary!
The deadline for matched donations has been extended to August 29! Earlier this year, Michigan Audubon launched an ambitious effort to fulfill our vision for the future of the Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary as both a protected habitat and [...]
Lindsay Chased Target Species This July for Virtual Big Year
I spent this month chasing target species and rarities. My target species consisted of the birds still missing from my Michigan checklist. Luckily, the Fantasy Birding website has a target species function to check for recent sightings of birds [...]
Michigan Birding Highlights: What To See in July
This month, we continue to see and hear many young birds. Adults are feeding fledglings, who, despite looking full-grown, are still begging for food as they practice foraging for themselves. Sometimes the vocalizations of young birds can be confusing [...]
From the Executive Director — Summer 2021
Dear Michigan Audubon members and community, In this issue of the Jack Pine Warbler, we share with you some hard-earned good news for birds at the federal level with the protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a bedrock environmental [...]
The Garden Wind Farm: A Conversation With Joe Kaplan
If you've been a Jack Pine Warbler reader since at least the start of the year, you'll recall seeing content focused heavily on what's involved and what's at stake when it comes to wind energy developments in Michigan. To [...]
An Update on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
In the fall of 2020, we featured a story about the federal government halting the Trump administration’s proposed rule changes to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the primary federal law that protects non-game bird species in the United [...]
Sherman W. Garnett and John Fortener Top Their Categories in 2021 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards
A Blue-winged Warbler at Michigan Audubon's Ronald H. Warner Sanctuary in Hastings. Photo by Sherman W. Garnett We are excited to announce that the 2021 Michigan Audubon Photography Awards winners are Sherman W. Garnett in the Jack Pine [...]
Spring Season Breaks Record for Long-eared Owls Banded
It was an excellent year for the spring owl banding at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory (WPBO) in 2021. We were able to band on 69 out of 79 nights from March 15 through May 31. Including previously banded birds, [...]
The View From the Hawk Deck
Last December, after enjoying a wonderful Christmas Bird Count with friends in Keene, New Hampshire, I found myself thinking about wintering raptors. I had spent the fall visiting hawk count sites on the East Coast, Cadillac Mountain in Maine, [...]