In May the Muskegon County Nature Club melded with the Muskegon Birding Connection. Both names now refer to the same entity.
For up-to-date information about our activities and events, do a search for Muskegon Birding Connection. When an official website for that name is established, we will post it here. For now, please be aware that this page is no longer active and is no longer the official homepage for our organization.
Keep looking up!
We finally were able to dedicate the George Wickstrom Trail. Several people arrived at the trailhead near the headquarters to the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center on Saturday morning August 16, 2026 for the official ceremonies. Afterward a number of them walked the trail looking for birds and other wildlife.
George would have been happy. His “invitation to walk his trail” remains open to you from now on. Please avail yourself of this opportunity sometime in the future.
Mark Saturday morning August 15 on your calendar. That morning we will have a field trip and hold the long-postponed dedication for the George Wickstrom Trail.
Meet at 8:00 a.m. at the Maple Island Road entrance to the Muskegon County Resource Recycling Center (MCRRC, formerly the Wastewater). From there we will travel by cars (often stepping out to look for birds) around various parts of the MCRRC properties. Having a walkie-talkie tuned to Channel 11, Subchannel 00, can be helpful but is not necessary.
We will eventually park in the headquarters parking lot, dedicate the George Wickstrom Trail which begins there, and walk some or all of the trail after the dedication.
We hope you can be there for this event. The public is welcome.
We had a great bird walk Saturday morning July 18 along the Lost Lake Trail at Muskegon State Park. Thank you to everyone who showed up to enjoy the birds and a big thanks to Jason Carlson for leading the walk!
Mid-July can typically be a slower time of year to see birds, but we ended up seeing a total of 37 species this morning. Highlights included great views of scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings, and a black-throated green warbler that decided to show off for us!
We appreciate all of your support so much! Our passion for birds is why we are here, and we are excited to grow this club and bring more opportunities to you in the future.
Our next field trip will be this Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Muskegon State Park. Meet at 8:00 a.m. at the west end if the Snug Harbor parking lot.
We will begin birding the parking lot area followed by a walk out to Lost Lake. After that, the group will decide what’s next.
This trip will end before noon. The public is welcome. Hope to see you there.
Our June 20, 2026, Field Trip will be at Black Lake Park. Meet Leader Beth Miller at 8:00 a.m. in the parking lot on Wood Road 3/4-mile south of Pontaluna Road. We will bird the creek along the south side, various trails, the Black Lake overlooks, and the butterfly meadow.
The trip will end before noon and is open to the public. We hope to see you there.
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!
UPDATE: With 11 people in the core group, this year’s count was 145 species !
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.
April 18 Field Trip
Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve
Meet at 8:00 Saturday morning April 18 in the parking lot of the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve (2496 Lake Ave. North Muskegon).
We will walk the trails at the preserve looking for whatever spring birds are present. Dress for the weather. The trip will end before noon.
Hope to see you there.
April 21 Program
A Fledgling's Guide to Birding
Tips for Beginners
Cindy Dobrez
Are you interested in learning how to become a birder in addition to being a bird watcher? Don’t know the difference?
As a fledgling birder herself, Cindy has tips, resources, photographs, and funny stories to share. Some people had “spark birds” that drew them into birding. Others, like Cindy, had a spark event. She began to notice nature during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whatever your reason for being intrigued about the hobby of birding, you, too, can soon be on your way from identifying a Tufted Titmouse in your backyard to photographing a Keel-billed Toucan at a gas station in Costa Rica! The obsession is real, and you’ll leave this program with a list of resources to help you on your way. West Michigan is one of the best places in the U.S. for rewarding birding. Don’t miss out.
Cindy Dobrez is a retired school librarian and currently the Vice President of the Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society, starting her seventh year of birding. Her life list stands at 635 and includes birds in all but 14 counties in Michigan, 32 U.S. states, and the countries of Panama, Costa Rica, and Croatia.
List? Did you say List? Music to a birder's ear. Wait until you learn how many types of lists you can make as a birder!
Loutit Library, Grand Haven
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Social Time: 6:00-6:15 p.m.
Program: 6:15-8:00 p.m.
Only four of us birded Dune Harbor Park this morning. We found 33 bird species including Canvasback, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Buffflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Eastern Bluebird, Song Sparrow, and Common Grackle.
It was a very nice, cool morning, enjoyed by all who participated.
March 17 Program
Chimney Swift Conservation
Chad Machinski, Michigan Audubon Society
Facing steep population declines, the Chimney Swift is one urban bird that we should all get behind. In this presentation you will learn the identification and life history of the Chimney Swift along with issues these birds are grappling with. We will also discuss ways that you can help with Chimney Swift conservation, and what Michigan Audubon is doing across the state to help this enigmatic bird.
Chad Machinski’s first love is botany, but he doesn’t deny the intertwining nature of birds, plants, insects, and all other organisms with whom we share the world. As Michigan Audubon’s Conservation Manager, Chad is responsible for the management and care for all twenty Michigan Audubon Sanctuaries around the state and bird specific programs such as Chimney Swift and Purple Martin conservation. In his spare time, Chad enjoys tending to and expanding his native plant garden, collecting plant specimens, and learning more about our natural world.
Loutit Library, Grand Haven
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Social Time: 6:00-6:15 p.m.
Program: 6:15-8:00 p.m
— — —
March 21 Field Trip
Dune Harbor Park
At 8:30 Saturday morning, March 21, 2026, meet our group at the south entrance to Dune Harbor Park (parking lot on north side of Seminole Road about 1/2 mile west of McCracken St.). Notice: There will be a $5.00 parking charge.
Depending on conditions, we will walk all or part of the path encircling the lake looking for early migrant bird species. The path is relatively level and mostly hard-packed. Be sure to dress for the weather.
The trip will end around noon. The public is welcome. We hope to see you there!