THIS WEBSITE IS NO LONGER ACTVE

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, go to:

http://www.facebook.com/mkgbirding

Keep looking up!

George Wickstrom Trail Dedication

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.

August Trip and Trail Dedication

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.

July 18 Field Trip Report

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.

Happy Birding!

- The Muskegon Birding Connection

July Field Trip

     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.

Black Lake Park June 20

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 Events

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 Events

 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.

March Field Trip Report

     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 Events

                                               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!

February Field Trip Report

Eight people found 19 bird species on our February field trip to Pere Marquette Park and the Muskegon Channel.  Nothing unusual, but one highlight was the many Long-tailed Ducks in the channel, some of them occasionally giving their “oldsquaw” call.

February Events

February 17 Program

Rails at Different Scales

Ecological & Evolutionary Drivers of Vocal Behavior in Rallidae

Daniel Goldberg, Biology Department, Grand Valley State University

Secretive marsh birds like rails are difficult to study visually because many species vocalize from within dense vegetation at times that are difficult to survey.  Furthermore, behavioral information is lacking for many species, which poses challenges for rail conservation.

Over the course of his doctoral research, Daniel Goldberg has discovered that Soras do not decrease their vocalization rates following predator calls, and furthermore, that Soras migrating at night during the spring show high site fidelity in choosing stopover locations, but are not more attracted by either Sora calls or habitat cues.  His comparative analysis of the family Rallidae has revealed that about 60% of rail species duet — one of the highest rates of any group of birds — and that this duetting is associated with year-round territory defense by mated pairs, in species that primarily occur in densely to highly vegetated habitats.
Daniel is Assistant Professor of Biology at Grand Valley State University, a role that he began in Fall 2024 after teaching Biology for a year at Albion College.  His research interests span both animal communication and comparative studies of behavioral ecology and the evolution of elaborate signals, which he pursued during his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of California Riverside, and during his Ph.D. at Illinois State University.  He has published research articles on dorsal fin-based courtship displays in freshwater livebearer fishes, parental carrying of offspring on their backs in waterbirds, and vocal behavior and duetting in rails.  At GVSU, he specializes in teaching Ecology, Environmental Science, Ornithology, and Natural History of Vertebrates.

Loutit Library, Grand Haven

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Social Time: 6:00-6:15 p.m.

Program:  6:15-8:00 p.m.

February 21 Field Trip

Muskegon Channel Areas

Ric Pedler

At 8:30 Saturday morning, February 21, 2026, meet our group at Pere Marquette Park south of The Deck restaurant.  The Lake Michigan shoreline can be colder than inland, so be sure to dress for the weather!

Depending on conditions we will look for birds from the base of the south break wall before driving to the east end of the Muskegon Channel by Muskegon Lake.  Later we plan to look for birds at various locations along the south wall of the channel and perhaps further inland.

The trip will end around noon.  The public is welcome.  Hope to see you there!

Christmas Bird Count Compiler Needed

Ric Pedler is dropping his position as organizer and compiler for the City of Muskegon Christmas Bird Count.  He will help anyone who takes over the position in any way he can.  If you can be the coordinator for the December 2026 Muskegon CBC, please let Ric or Beth Miller know.  Thank you.

January 2026 Events

Program Canceled Until April

Due to the bad weather forecast we have canceled our Jan. 20 program until April.