Alger County: Waterfowl Staging and Early Migrants on April 21

Chris Izworski's daily Michigan birding report focuses on Alger County this morning, where two weeks of eBird submissions show the county firmly in spring migration mode with waterfowl concentrated at predictable sites and the first warblers filtering in from the south.

Waterfowl Concentration at UPREC North Farm

The standout feature of Alger County birding right now is the massive waterfowl staging at UPREC North Farm, where 335 Canada Geese were documented on April 20. This is the primary aggregation point in the county; the next nearest concentration of large waterbirds is at Grand Marais on the Lake Superior shore. Mallards number 30 at the same site, with Ring-billed Gulls at 15 and smaller counts of Ring-necked Duck and Green-winged Teal. This farm ponds complex is functioning exactly as it should in mid-April: as a holding area for birds moving through the Upper Peninsula. The geese will not linger much longer once conditions on inland lakes improve, so if you want to see large flocks together, UPREC North Farm is your target.

Au Train Beach and the Grand Marais coastal areas are producing the more interesting ducks. American Wigeon peaked at 25 birds on April 18 at Coast Guard Point Road in Grand Marais, paired with 10 Redheads at the same location. Red-breasted Mergansers are present at Au Train Beach, with 9 documented on April 14. These are the sites to work if you want species diversity rather than sheer numbers.

Notable Sighting: Pine Grosbeak

A single Pine Grosbeak was reported on April 17 at Number 23 Road in Chatham, which flags as notable for this county. This is well south of the typical Lake Superior shoreline birding zone and worth noting if you are working that area. However, the single sighting and lack of follow-up reports suggest it may have moved on; treat it as a historical datapoint rather than a reliable target.

Early Warblers and Resident Songbirds

The broader songbird picture remains sparse for late April, which is somewhat surprising. Dark-eyed Juncos are still present at 8 individuals as of today at Michigan 28 in Munising. Redpolls linger at 6 birds as of April 19. Pine Siskins are at 3 birds on April 20. The expected early warblers of this season, Pine and Palm Warblers, are not prominent in the reporting. Yellow-rumped Warblers, always present by late April, do not appear in the top counts either. This may reflect reporting bias rather than actual absence, but it is also possible that the broad front of warblers has not yet reached this far north in Alger County.

Common Grackles are back at the Rumley-Bahrman Farm Ponds with 4 birds on April 20. Northern Cardinals appear sporadically; 2 were at Michigan 28 in Munising today. These are consistent with normal spring timing.

Weather and Timing

Today offers ideal conditions for field work: 52 degrees, sunny, and calm winds at 5 mph from the west. Sunrise is at 6:50 AM with a dawn chorus window from 6:20 to 8:20 AM. Tomorrow will be slightly warmer at 57 degrees with southeast winds shifting toward 0 to 5 mph. Neither day is showing the south or southwest winds that would accelerate warbler push, and neither shows the cloud cover that tends to concentrate singing birds at dawn. The clear, calm conditions favor working the waterfowl sites and hoping to stumble across migrants in the early morning light.

Recommendations for Today

If waterfowl are your primary target, UPREC North Farm is non-negotiable. If you want to diversify and chase early warblers and coastal specialties, Grand Marais offers the better long-term habitat value and sits on Lake Superior, which tends to concentrate migrants. Au Train Beach is a solid third option if you are working the Munising area. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore trails are less productive right now than they will be in two weeks when the full warbler migration arrives.

Eighty-four species reported over 14 days is a respectable pace for this stage of spring in Alger County. Keep an eye on the live map for Pine Warbler and Palm Warbler arrivals; when those reports spike, the broader migration is underway.

For the live county map and full eBird data, visit https://birding.chrisizworski.com.