Alcona County: April 21, 2026

Chris Izworski's daily Michigan birding report turns to Alcona County this morning, where the past two weeks have delivered exactly what you'd expect from late April in the northern Lower Peninsula: heavy waterfowl movement, shorebirds staging in the marshes, and some legitimate vagrant action mixed in with the expected spring pulse.

Waterfowl and Shorebirds Dominating Van Etten Creek

Clemens Road at Van Etten Creek is the story in Alcona County right now. Greater Yellowlegs are the most recorded species across the county in the past 14 days with 28 individuals, all from Van Etten Creek, most recently yesterday. That's not just a few birds lingering; that's a staging concentration. Eighteen Sandhill Cranes have been recorded at the same location, with sightings as recent as April 13. Wilson's Snipe, another classic spring wetland bird, shows 11 individuals at Van Etten Creek through yesterday. If you're heading to Alcona County today, this is where the shorebird and crane action will be.

The broader waterfowl picture is scattered between Van Etten Creek and Harrisville Harbor. Green-winged Teal at eight individuals, Canada Geese at seven, and Ring-necked Duck at five come mostly from the creek system inland. Harrisville Harbor is the coastal outlet, where Double-crested Cormorants number 11, Common Mergansers eight, Common Goldeneye eight, and Lesser Scaup six. Red-breasted Mergansers show six birds there as well. This is standard April sorting: dabbling ducks and cranes in the marshes, diving ducks and mergansers on the harbor proper.

Vagrants Moving Through

The notable flagged sightings are worth your attention. A Snow Goose has been at Harrisville Harbor on three consecutive days: April 18, 19, and 20. That's the sort of stickiness that suggests a bird settling in rather than passing through. More interesting is the Greater White-fronted Goose action at Van Etten Creek, with six birds reported on both April 13 and April 15. Those dates suggest a flock paused during migration rather than a single bird. Snow Geese also appeared at Van Etten Creek in small groups on April 13 and 15 (four and three birds respectively), indicating that location is a genuine migration funnel for geese off course or delayed.

Evening Grosbeaks, ten birds at Harwood Household on April 18, represent the tail end of whatever winter finch movement occurred this year. That sighting is now three days old, so don't expect to find them in the same yard today.

Turkey Vultures and Spring Clearing

Turkey Vultures show 12 individuals at Swamp Road most recently on April 20, with that species now consistently appearing on spring counts across the county. This is standard phenology: warm-up follows cold snap, thermals strengthen, vultures appear. Today's forecast of 65 degrees and mostly sunny conditions will produce lift, so you might add vultures to your tally if you're doing any general county coverage.

Weather and Timing Today

Conditions are favorable but not spectacular. Southwest winds at 10 miles per hour will be slightly favorable for continued warbler movement, and the sun angle at 65 degrees will produce reasonable thermal conditions. Sunrise is 6:40 AM, with the optimal dawn chorus window running 6:10 to 8:10 AM, giving you a solid 13 hours 43 minutes of daylight to work with. If you're planning fieldwork, the morning before 9 AM will be your best window for song activity, particularly for early arrivals like Pine and Palm Warblers that should be moving through any day now.

County Condition and Recommendation

Ninety-three species in 14 days tells you the county is in active spring mode. The data is concentrated at a handful of hotspots, which means birders are working known locations rather than covering the whole county. Harrisville Harbor sits at the top of the all-time list with 215 species, followed by Sturgeon Point State Park at 192 and Harrisville State Park at 182. For a Tuesday morning in late April focused on shorebirds and lingering waterfowl, Van Etten Creek at Clemens Road is the obvious first stop, followed by Harrisville Harbor if you want to check for that Snow Goose and work through the diver lineup.

See the live map and full county data at https://birding.chrisizworski.com.