Chris Izworski's daily Michigan birding report turns to Luce County this morning, where fall migration continues to deliver mixed numbers across the county's key wetland and forest systems. The last fourteen days of eBird submissions total forty-eight species on forty-eight checklists, a modest volume that reflects mid-September birding reality in this remote corner of the UP: a steady trickle of reports rather than the crush of activity that comes during peak warblerfall.
Grebes, Ducks, and the Tahquamenon System
The dominant hotspot remains Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Upper Falls, where Common Merganser have been reliably present with ten individuals reported as recently as yesterday. That location has also hosted five Black-throated Green Warblers, five Solitary Sandpipers, and five Canada Geese in the past two weeks. Red-necked Grebe, typically a September sight in Luce County, turned up six individuals at Manitou as of August 30; that species bears watching through the coming week as water temperatures drop and grebes stage before their southbound push. The Tahquamenon drainage remains the county's most consistent producer, and conditions tomorrow, sunny with calm winds and highs near 68, should favor visibility along the water.
The Red-headed Woodpecker Alert
The notable sighting here is two Red-headed Woodpeckers at Crisp Point Road, reported on September 1. That location has generated multiple eBird submissions for that species, flagging it as a current attraction. Red-headed Woodpeckers are never guaranteed in Luce County, and a pair at the same site warrants a deliberate trip if you are chasing that species. Crisp Point Lighthouse itself has also produced five Spruce Grouse, most recently August 31, a reliable late-summer find in the jack pine country near the Lake Superior shore.
Warblers and the Warbler Corridor
Upper Peninsula Trail 45 near Newberry has been the county's secondary hotspot over the past fortnight, turning in five Yellow-rumped Warblers as of September 11, along with three Mallards, three Wood Ducks, two Turkey Vultures, and a single Mallard. The warbler numbers are modest but expected for mid-September, when the early waves have moved through and stragglers are the norm. Golden-crowned Kinglets, two individuals on the River Trail at Paradise on September 11, hint at the boreal influx beginning to materialize as temperatures drop. Another week of cool nights should accelerate that movement.
Gamebirds and Sparse Reporting
Wild Turkey have appeared four times in the past two weeks, most recently yesterday on Michigan 28 near Newberry. Spruce Grouse and Ruffed Grouse are both represented, with three Ruffed Grouse on the River Trail at Paradise on September 11. The gamebird component of the Luce County avifauna is present but thin in the reporting; that often reflects the difficulty of recording these species reliably rather than their actual absence.
Starlings dominate the count sheet with thirty individuals, a reflection of their ubiquity around Newberry and the byway system. They are hardly worth traveling for but they are what is being reported.
Today and Tomorrow
This morning offers a 53 percent chance of rain showers with northwest winds pushing five to fifteen miles per hour. Sunrise arrives at 7:16, with the dawn chorus window running until 8:46. Those conditions are not ideal for extended birding, but the northwest flow might be moving migrants through; check the weedy edges and brushy transitions for sparrows still working south. Tomorrow breaks clear and calm with that southwest breeze, a much better day to visit Tahquamenon Falls State Park or Lake Superior State Forest-Natalie Campground, the county's two highest-hit locations with all-time species totals of 159 and 168 respectively.
Reporting volume in Luce County remains light. If you are in the area today, contribute to the eBird effort and help clarify what is actually moving through this week.
Visit https://birding.chrisizworski.com for the live map and full county data.