Though many people are aware of the Traverse City area's fame for cherries, wineries, lighthouses and spectacular sand dunes, the first annual Leelanau BirdFest is another great reason to visit the area this spring. Held from June 1-5, the event promises to "offer a wide variety of unique field trips including Birding by Tallship, endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers, a 300 acre prairie, and pontoon boat to the Leelanau Conservancy’s Cedar River Preserve. Every field trip, seminar and keynote program reflects our conservation theme." The event is sponsored by a diverse group of organizations including the Leelanau Chamber of Commerce, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan Audubon Society, Leelanau County Parks and Recreation and many more.
Birding highlights in the area include nesting Piping Plover (a federally-listed endangered species), nesting Prairie Warblers, and a wide variety of field species, such as Grasshopper and Vesper Sparrows, in areas of preserved farmland. For more info, you can print a checklist of birds found at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore by clicking here.
To find a full schedule of information and to register for the BirdFest, visit their website.
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