To: birders@umich.edu From: Karen Markey Subject: [birders] Information on Kirtland's Warbler Tours Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 08:16:39 -0400 Because I've taken the Kirtland's Warbler (KW) tour in Mio several times over the years and I am a Kirtland's Warbler census volunteer, I get email inquiries about KW tours. I'm posting the information now for your information. Also consult information posted at the U. S. Forest Service's Huron-Manistee National Forest web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/kirtland.htm . For the Mio tour, I usuallly drive to Mio in the late afternoon. It is a guaranteed 3-hour drive from my home on the northeast side of Ann Arbor to Mio. I stay at the Mio Motel, phone 989-826-3248. One night's stay is usually between $55 and $70. It is a very nice motel, clean, small refrigerator, microwave, leather couch even!, cable television with The Weather Channel and more, etc. A medium-sized Glenn's grocery store is adjacent the Mio Motel in case you need food or supplies. A nice diner is right across the street in case you need a meal; I believe the diner opens at 6:30 am which may not give you enough time to meet your 7 am tour. (Other motels are the Holiday Motor Inn, 989-826-3743, and the AuSable Valley Motel, 989-826-1737, which is relatively new and has a pool.) Mio is not the world's dining capital so be prepared for diner-type food choices. The U.S. Forest Service Station is directly across the street from the Mio Motel. You go to the Station at 7 am, get a short verbal description from a ranger and watch a film about the warbler and the Forest Service's efforts to increase and maintain its numbers and save its habitat. Then you get into your own car and follow the ranger to a place where a male Kirtland's Warbler is singing. You listen and look and finally see the bird (most of the time). The tour should be over no later than 10 am, usually earlier. The benefit of taking the tour is that the guide knows where male KWs are singing and will sometimes let you walk a few steps into the forest. If you are alone, you CANNOT walk into the forest on your own. It is posted and there are penalties for trespassing on National Forest posted property. If you are on your own, you must park on the road and struggle to see the birds on your own. If you don't see a bird at the 7 am Mio tour, some folks drive to Grayling for the late-morning tour there. I've not taken the Grayling tour but it is a possibility in the event that your Mio tour is unsatisfactory. The earlier in the season that you take a KW tour (late May, very early June), the more likely you are to get an experienced U.S. Forest Service ranger as a guide instead of a brand new, usually very young, summer intern who may or may not know the bird, its song, or how to handle a large group of adults. If you go on a weekday tour, the more likely you are to join a small, manageable group of birders. One year, I was the ONLY person on the tour. The ranger and I endured an incredible thunderstorm and my reward was five stunning singing KWs viewed through the ranger's scope. What a treat! My first year as a census volunteer, I heard about 110 Kirtlands, saw about 11. Those are pretty amazing numbers when you realize that the 2003 census counted about 1,100 singing male Kirtlands last year. Hearing 5% of a species is an amazing feat (assuming one male for every female). Now the rangers give me more difficult sections so I hear and see fewer birds. (I will post a diary of my KW census experiences later in June.) Enjoy your trip to see the Kirtland's Warbler! * * * * * * * * * * * * * Karen Markey Professor School of Information, 304 West Hall, 1085 S. Univ. Ave. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107 USA Voice: 1-734-763-3581; Fax: 1-734-764-2475 Email: ylime@umich.edu Web site: http://www.si.umich.edu/~ylime/index.html --- * birders FAQ - http://www.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/birders_FAQ.html * photo sharing site - http://www.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/se_mich/photos.html * To unsubscribe from birders@umich.edu send a blank message to lyris@listserver.itd.umich.edu with UNSUBSCRIBE BIRDERS as the Subject line. To resubscribe use SUBSCRIBE BIRDERS Your Name.