November 15 Field Trip Report

      Eleven people walked around Ottawa Sands County Park Saturday, November 15, on this cloudy windy morning.  They found 31 bird species in about 3 hours.

    Species of note included Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Green-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Hooded and Red-breasted Merganser, Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, American Tree and Song Sparrow.

November Events

November 15 Field Trip

Ottawa Sands County Park

Meet in the parking lot of Ottawa Sands County Park (south side of Northshore Drive about a mile west of Ferrysburg) at 8:00 a.m.  Karl Sineath and Malcolm Oosting- Sineath will lead us around the roads and paths of this newly updated park looking for various bird species in a variety of habitats.  It's easy walking all the way.  This Saturday morning trip will end around noon. 

 November 18 Program

Birding and Wildlife in Montana

at Red Rock Lakes N.W.R.

Ken Cook

Loutit Library, Grand Haven

Social Time:  6:00-6:15 p.m.  Program:  6:15-8:00 p.m.

Located in the lower southwestern corner of Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge was established in the early 1930’s to help protect and restore the Trumpeter Swan population, at that time, a perilous 70 birds.

Join Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society and the Muskegon County Nature Club as Ken Cook shares some breathtaking photographs taken during his recent trip to this scenic but remote area of what some have called the most beautiful refuge in the country.  The picturesque Centennial Mountains provide a striking backdrop for a landscape that presents a very diverse variety of birds, wildlife and vistas in a high meadow environment.

Only a couple hours’ drive from Yellowstone, it’s an area of the country not visited by many people.

A Holland native and graduate of Hope College, Ken has honed his 30-plus year photography passion to specialize in landscapes, nature and wildlife.  He has traveled to many countries to pursue his passion, but currently is focused within North America.  He is a member of the Tulip City Camera Club and a charter member of the North America Nature Photography Association.  You can view his work and/or contact him at:

 www.kencookphotography.com

October Field Trip Report

    Six people found 27 bird species at Black Lake Park on October 11, 2025 (Migratory Bird Day). 

    This cool sunny Saturday morning began with a Cooper’s Hawk flying over us in the parking lot before 8:00 and perching near our cars for a minute.  

    Soon afterward we began a slow walk around the south loop trails.  Robins were everywhere.  White-throated Sparrows and flickers were also abundant.  Other species included Pied-billed Grebe, Eastern Phoebe, Winter Wren, Cedar Waxwing, Purple Finch, White-crowned Sparrow, Eastern Towhee and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

    The trip ended at 10:45.

October Events

Monthly Field Trip

Black Lake Park

NOTICE NEW DATE:  October 11, 2025

    Normally our field trips are held on the third Saturday of the month.  But October 11, 2025, is World Migratory Bird Day, so we're moving our event up one week to be in the field on the same day as birdwatchers around the world.

    Meet at 8:00 Saturday morning, October 11, 2025, in the parking lot of Black Lake Park (Wood Road about half a mile south of Pontaluna Road).  We will walk the trails of the park looking for whatever local or migratory birds we can find.

    This trip will end before noon.  We hope to see you there.

October 21 Program

Loutit Library, Grand Haven

Social Time:  6:00-6:15 p.m.  Program:  6:15-8:00 p.m.

Identiflight: Protecting Endangered Raptors

Throughout the World

Caleb Putnam

    Caleb Putnam will present his exciting work with Identiflight, the world's top AI camera system protecting birds at windfarms worldwide.  Caleb will also speak of his work at Real Birds, especially about backyard habiscaping and bird water features.

    Caleb Putnam is a professional ornithologist and owner of Real Birds LLC.  A lifelong birder, Caleb has exceptional enthusiasm and passion for birds and birding.  He has served on the Michigan Bird Records Committee and is a statewide expositor of eBird as well as a local eBird reviewer for an 11-county area in west lower Michigan.  

    Caleb spent twelve years working for the National Audubon Society as the Important Bird Areas Program Coordinator and two years with Audubon Great Lakes and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as the Michigan Birds Program Coordinator.  He also has spent many years in environmental consulting, especially focusing on wind power and green energy development.

September 20 Field Trip Report

     Five of us birded the south end of Hoffmaster State Park for a couple hours Saturday morning.  There were a few flurries of activity at a sassafras tree beside the picnic pavilion parking lot.  Swainson’s thrushes and several warbler species (including black-and-white, magnolia, and chestnut-sided) flitted around in its branches.

    All told we found 19 bird species including four woodpeckers (flicker, downy, hairy and red-bellied), both nuthatches, and a rose-breasted grosbeak before calling it a day.

September Field Trip and Meeting

 September 20 Field Trip

Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the south parking lot (by the picnic pavilion) of Hoffmaster State Park for our monthly Saturday morning field trip.  We will look for fall birds at various places around the park, exact locations to be determined that morning.  This trip will end around noon.  Hope to see you there!

September 23 Meeting and Program

All members of the Muskegon County Nature Club are invited to the first meeting of the 2025-2026 season.  Meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Loutit Library in Grand Haven.  The meeting will end before the 6:00-6:30 social time before Curtis Dykstra's Birding Slovakia and Central Europe program

August Field Trip

Seven people birded the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center properties on Saturday morning, August 16.  They found 41 bird species (including a Common Raven by the entrance), Wood Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Sandhill Crane, Spotted Sandpiper, both yellowlegs, Pectoral and Least Sandpipers, American Kestrel, Bald Eagle, Horned Lark, Bank-, Tree-, and Barn Swallows, Cedar Waxwing and Bobolink.

(We’re lucky we did not try to have the George Wickstrom Trail dedication this morning as originally scheduled.  Although most of the MCRRC properties were acccessible, the headquarters and trail-head locations were barricaded.)

Black Lake Park Field Trip

On Saturday, the 19th, eight people enjoyed seeing a couple dozen species of birds at Black Lake Park.  One highlight was seeing an adult Common Raven and hearing two juvenile ravens near it.

June 21 Field Trip

Five people walked around the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve for 1-2 hours this warm and VERY windy morning.  Amazingly we found 25 bird species, none remarkable.  We also met a snapping turtle out on the boardwalk!

Big Day Produces 116 Species

Considering the cold, windy conditions on Saturday, May 17, and an abbreviated day (we quit early), our total of 116 Muskegon County bird species was very respectable.  At least ten people participated from 5:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. from Lane’s Landing to State Game Area Headquarters to the Wastewater to Hoffmaster to Black Lake Park.

Notable species included Trumpeter Swan, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, nighthawk, whip-poor-will, hummingbird, American and Least Bittern, Yellow-throated Vireo, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Veery, Cedar Waxwing, Orchard Oriole, Northern Waterthrush, Blue-winged, Black-and-White, Prothonotary, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Black-throated Blue and Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager.

We dipped on both nuthatches.  Go figure!