Chris Izworski's daily Michigan birding report turns to Houghton County this morning, where the sewage ponds system continues to deliver solid activity heading into mid-June. The standout news is what arrived overnight: Hudsonian Whimbrels, three birds at Lake Linden Sewage Ponds as of today, and a Marbled Godwit at the same location. Both are flagged as notable sightings and represent the kind of shorebird push that makes these detention basins essential stops during migration windows. This is the real draw in Houghton County right now, not the expected breeding residents.
Shorebirds and Sewage Ponds
Lake Linden Sewage Ponds continues to dominate the eBird data for Houghton County over the past two weeks. The site has generated 166 total observations and 166 species reports across the entire county, with Lake Linden accounting for a substantial portion of those. The early June timing, combined with the ponds themselves, creates ideal shorebird habitat. You have 50 Tree Swallows working the airspace, 40 Canada Geese on the water, and the typical waterbird infrastructure of Ring-billed Gulls, American Herring Gulls, and assorted dabbling ducks. That baseline activity provides cover and food attraction for transient shorebirds.
The Semipalmated Sandpipers counted at 10 individuals on June 7 are the mainstay of the sandpiper presence. Those birds are heading north still, moving through on the way to breeding grounds in the Arctic. The Hudsonian Whimbrels represent a later-wave migrant, birds that stage heavily around the Great Lakes during spring passage. Three birds is a solid day for whimbrels in early June. The single Marbled Godwit is less predictable; Godwits appear sporadically at these ponds. The American Golden-Plovers reported at Calumet Sewage Lagoons this morning, one individual flagged twice in the eBird system, suggest some movement through the county's secondary detention basins as well.
Breeding Warblers at Paavola Wetlands
Away from the sewage ponds, Paavola Wetlands is showing the songbird activity you expect in early June breeding season. Red-eyed Vireos, 6 individuals as of June 7, are well-established in the deciduous and mixed forest habitat typical of inland Houghton County. American Redstarts, 5 birds, and Nashville Warblers, 4 individuals, round out the warbler census there. These are breeding populations settling into territories. The wetland itself supports Red-winged Blackbirds, counted at 5 on June 7, which are always dense at quality marsh habitat in the UP.
Sturgeon River Road reported 5 Bobolinks on May 31; that observation is now a week old, so it represents early breeding settlement rather than current activity. Bobolinks favor grassland and meadow habitat, and Sturgeon River Road crosses through agricultural and open terrain where these birds reliably nest in Houghton County. The Savannah Sparrows at Lake Linden Sewage Ponds, 4 individuals on June 7, also indicate breeding birds in grassier margins of the detention basin.
Notable Early Season Records
The Green Herons flagged at Nara Nature Park at the Pilgrim River mouth today represent a decent early arrival. Green Herons are regular but not abundant in the county, and they tend to arrive by mid-June. The Bufflehead at Calumet Sewage Lagoons this morning is a stray; Buffleheads are diving ducks that move through the Great Lakes but rarely linger into June. It may indicate a bird held up by weather or a molting individual, or it may simply be an off-course vagrant. Worth noting if you are headed to either sewage pond complex this week.
Weather and the Dawn Chorus Window
Today's forecast calls for 81 degrees and a 44 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with wind only 5 miles per hour from the southeast. The dawn chorus window runs from 5:29 AM to 7:29 AM, and with light southeast winds and overcast conditions likely, the morning should favor breeding songbird vocalization. Tonight brings more thunderstorms, which will suppress activity. Tomorrow stays wet and unsettled with only 0 to 5 miles per hour wind from the east. If you are targeting the breeding warblers and vireos at Paavola Wetlands or the boarder Sturgeon River areas, you want to move early today before the rain system consolidates.
The southeast wind and warm temperatures may hold for another day or two before the system moves through, but the window is closing. The long day length at this latitude, 15 hours and 47 minutes, means you have plenty of light to work with, but the songbirds are most vocal in the morning hours as it is.
Hotspot Recommendations
Lake Linden Sewage Ponds is the destination for shorebirds today. The whimbrels are there now, and the Marbled Godwit justifies a visit in itself. The ponds also deliver whatever small sandpipers are still pushing through on their way north. Calumet Sewage Lagoons is worth a second stop if you have time; the American Golden-Plovers and Bufflehead suggest some diversity in the transient population this morning.
If you are interested in breeding songbirds rather than migrants, Paavola Wetlands remains the high-probability site for warblers and vireos. The conditions this morning favor the dawn chorus, so arrive early.
For live updates and the full county species list, visit https://birding.chrisizworski.com.