• Little Portal Point at sunset. Photo copyright Craig Blacklock

    Pictured Rocks

    National Lakeshore Michigan

  • Fire Ban in Effect

    A FIRE BAN in all drive-in and hike-in campgrounds, effective at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 24. Due to very hazardous conditions, the ban is in effect until further notice.

  • Chapel Road - last quarter mile closed

    The last quarter-mile of Chapel Road is closed due to construction. Only very limited parking available along Chapel Road. Please park at Miners Beach. More »

  • Sable Falls re-opens, Friday, May 25, 5 p.m.

    The trail and stairs to Sable Falls are closed due to a collapse of the stream bank. Work is nearly done, and the trail will re-open for Memorial Day weekend!

Birds

This snowy owl is resting on a rock along the Lake Superior shoreline.

NPS photo

Snowy owl

Habitat for the federally listed endangered Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is found within the Lakeshore. Plovers have nested within the park, most recently in the early 1990's in Grand Marais on the beach north of the Grand Marais Ranger Station. However, the nest was vandalized, and plovers have not nested on park lands since.

Nesting habitat for the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), a State of Michigan Endangered species, is also found in the Lakeshore. Peregrine Falcons were released in the Lakeshore in 1989 and 1991 as part of a Midwest peregrine reintroduction program and have nested successfully in the park for several years since, as well as on nearby Grand Island.

The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nests within the Lakeshore. Three nest territories are known.

State-listed avian species present in the Lakeshore include Common Loon (Gavia immer), Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulean), and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus).

There have been 176 species of birds documented at the Lakeshore. Some reside in the park all year, some are present only in the summer, and others are only observed during migration.

Avian species of interest found within the Lakeshore include upland species such as Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus), Spruce Grouse (Dendragapus canadensis), Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus), and American Woodcock (Scolopax minor); as well as wading birds and waterfowl, including Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), and several species of the orders Anseriformes (geese, ducks and mergansers), Podicipediformes (grebes), and Charadriiformes (gulls and shorebirds). Grouse and woodcock are popular species with Upper Peninsula hunters.

Besides the previously mentioned threatened or endangered species (Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin and Osprey) several species of raptors are found within the park. These species include Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), Barred Owl (Strix varia), and other hawk and owl species.

Other common avian species include Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) with its slightly V-shaped appearance while soaring, several species of Orders Piciformes (woodpeckers) and Passeriformes (perching birds), including numerous warblers and other songbirds.

 
Checklist of Birds of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (pdf)

For the latest updates to this list, please visit www.upbirders.org

Did You Know?

The former Grand Marais Coast Guard Station now serves as a Ranger Station at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

When the 729-foot freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald went down on November 10, 1975, the last land-based communication to the ship was from the Grand Marais Coast Guard Station. This station and the Munising USCG Station are now managed by Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. More...