Oakland County birding locations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Date sent: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 16:42:37 -0500 From: Steve Santner To: "Mencotti, Mike" , birders@umich.edu Subject: Re: Oakland County spots I don't find Oakland County to be as productive an area as might be predicted by the large areas of state lands, and the traffic getting to these spots is terrible. However, almost all of the state areas in the western part of the county have at least something to recommend them. Proud Lake (accessed from the western side) has Pine and Cerulean Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Acadian Flycatcher. I've seen Northern Goshawk (in August) and evidence of Pileated Woodpecker at Holly Rec Area. I know others have found Barred Owl there as well. Highland Rec Area has Cerulean and Hooded Warbler and is one of the more pleasant and diverse areas to bird. There is a metropark (I forget the name - maybe Indian Hills?) near Proud Lake Rec Area which has both Louisiana and Northern Waterthrushes (probably) nesting. I've seen very few field birds in Oakland Co (there are very few fields!) but I have managed to find Bobolink and Horned Lark in the few remaining fields in the northeast corner of the county. Horned Lark also can be found along the road in the waterthrush metropark. I've found almost no marsh birds (rails, bitterns, Marsh Wren) despite the fact that they were found during the breeding bird atlas. I did find one spot with Com Moorhen at a swampy condominium lake (!) in the southwest corner of the county. Kensington is the best spot in the county for waterfowl and is the only spot in Oakland Co where I've seen Bald Eagle. Note that part of Kensington, including most of the nature center area is in Livingston Co. I've not yet found any accessable sewage lagoons and finding shorebirds in this county appears to be almost hopeless. However, I find driving around Oakland County in August looking for drained or drying up lakes to be pretty onerous and maybe I just haven't tried it enough. There certainly are enough lakes in the county to check. Traffic is just too much after about 10:00 AM on weekends. Steve Santner ---------------------------------------------------------------- From: Santner, Steven Sent: Monday, May 03, 2004 11:23 AM To: 'Borneman, Dave' Subject: RE: good birding spots in W. Oakland Co. Dave: I don't have a lot of updates but there actually is a decent rail spot in the county. It's on American Rd, which is reached by turning north off Eleven Mile Rd, east of Inkster Rd. It has up to 4 Soras and at least one Virginia Rail this year along with several Marsh Wrens. It sometimes has shorebirds but is flooded right now and has very little shorebird habitat. The "waterthrush spot" is in fact Indian Springs Metropark, which will have good numbers of migrants on a good "migration day". It has also had Henslow's Sparrow nesting there the past couple of years, along with Bobolink and Horned Lark. I don't know whether the Henslow's is there this year yet. Other good migration spots are Proud Lake - both walking east from the main parking area and also walking west and south from the parking spot at the end of Garden Rd (west off Wixom Rd instead of east to the main parking area). Highland Rec Area can also be good for migrants. The moorhen spot was in fact Robert Long Park (I think that's the name) on 14 Mile adjacent to that condo development referred to. This area sometimes has shorebirds but the moorhens are gone (at least they were the last 2 years) since almost all vegetation was removed from the swampy area where they nested. Holly Rec Area does indeed have Barred Owl (I've now seen one just south of the park) and also is probably a good area for warblers in migration but I don't know of any good hiking trails to get to them. It's been a while since I've been there. Finally, Pileated Woodpecker is expanding in Oakland Co. It can now be found (if you're lucky) at almost any of the woodland spots mentioned above. As you no doubt know, there are now Ospreys in Kensington and the nature center trail there can be good for migrants. There are now also Wild (?) Turkeys in this park also. The nature center area is in Livingston Co rather than Oakland Co but that probably won't stop you! Good luck on your trip Steve Santner ----------------------------------------------------------------- From: Thomas Pavlik Date: Monday, May 03, 2004 Subject: Re: [birders] Good birding locations in W. Oakland Co. Dave, I live about 1.5 miles from Indian Springs so I frequent the place often. I won't repeat Steve's excellent comments but will add a few. The long trail through the woods behind the Nature Center is currently hosting 2 Pileated Woodpeckers. My wife and I saw them working the same stump about a week ago. As luck would have it I find them most frequently at the back of the 4 mile loop. Where Steve mentions Bobolink and Henslow's Sparrow he is referring to the field behind the Tot Lot (follow signs). If you have a mountain bike (or similar) you might want to take the time to ride the 8 mile paved loop. I often take this slow and bird- by-ear until I hear something good. This time of year you should find a handful of warblers. A better warbler and all 'round migrant spot would be the Farmland Trail (close to the Nature Center). Good Luck, Tom