May 16, 2026
Big Day Count
This is our annual all-day find-as-many-bird-species-in-the-county-as-we-can field trip. A few die-hards will spend the entire day together, but most will join and leave the group as they wish. Here is a list of where we'll be and approximately when:
Before 5:00 a.m., meet at the outer gate of Lane's Landing. This is the parking area off Maple Island Road about a mile north of the Wastewater (Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center) entrance at the bottom of the hill where Mosquito Creek goes under Maple Island Road. Be careful here as traffic on Maple Island Road can be fast. The DNR will have the gate open for us this morning even though it’s been closed lately due to tire-dumping on the property.
5:00 - 5:30, driving the mile to the inner Lane's Landing gate with a couple of stops along the way to listen for night birds.
5:30 until dawn, in the parking lot by the inner gate.
First half of the morning, walking the trail up through the Lane's Landing Marsh and the "Prothonotary Woods" to the Muskegon River and back.
Second half of the morning, on the Michigan Department of Natural Resources property (entrance about 1.3 mile north up Maple Island Road from Lane's Landing, 7600 Messinger Road) walking from the headquarters buildings along the Maple River west to the marsh and back.
Lunch (brown bag) near the field office headquarters building. The porch there no longer has benches, so having a lawn or camp chair will be handy, but is not necessary.
First half of the afternoon, on the Wastewater (MCRRC) properties, mostly by car. A walkie-talkie tuned to Channel 11, subchannel 0 can be helpful, but is not necessary.
Second half of the afternoon, unknown, dependent on what species are still needed.
Supper at the McDonald's restaurant in North Muskegon north of the Veterans Memorial Causeway, followed by a walk on the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve.
A brief evening walk near the wesr end of the Snug Harbor parking lot at Muskegon State Park.
Finally, still at Muskegon State Park, a drive to the north side of the Muskegon Channel in hopes of adding a Lake Michigan species or two and likely seeing Purple Martins at the channel.
Open to the public. We hope you can join our group for some or all of this day!
May 21, 2026
Potluck Picnic and Meeting
Snug Harbor Pavilion at Muskegon State Park
The picnic starts at 6:00 p.m. Bring a dish-to-pass, whatever you need for utensils, and your beverage.
The May meeting will be conducted after the meal. There are a couple of important items on our agenda this evening, so we hope all members can attend.
