Michigan Birds 2022: Photos of the Feathered Friends We Saw This Year

We’ve spent most of time traveling Michigan looking for waterfalls, lighthouses, historic sites, and large wildlife. This year we expanded our focus to birdwatching as well, and we were able to find and identify many different birds here in Michigan. This was a big year for birding in the Upper Peninsula with the launch of the Shore to Shore Birding Trail, and on our visits north of the bridge we saw bald eagles, hawks, woodpeckers, cranes, and more. We definitely aren’t experts at identifying birds yet, but online resources like eBird and Audubon.org have been very helpful. Below is a list of some of the places where we had success seeing birds:

Arcadia Marsh – ducks, geese, swans, osprey

Nara Nature Preserve Boardwalk – bald eagle, sparrows, finches

County Road 550, Marquette County – woodpeckers, bald eagle, turkey vulture

Fallasburg Park/Lowell – finches, sparrows, many common backyard birds

Drummond Island – sandhill cranes, grouse

Mackinaw City

Tawas Point State Park – killdeer, kingfisher, gulls

Pigeon Creek Park (Ottawa County)

Seney National Wildlife Refuge – swans, geese

Yuba Creek Natural Area – swallows

I was able to rent a larger zoom lens for my camera for a couple of our trips this year, which made birdwatching easier and led to some great pictures. We will definitely be trying to spot more Michigan birds in 2023 and look forward to checking out new places known for good birdwatching, especially the in the Thumb region and the southeast part of the state. Being surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes makes Michigan one of the best places for birdwatching in the Midwest, and hotspots like Whitefish Point, Tawas Point, Peninsula Point, the Straits of Mackinac, and Saginaw Bay are great spots worth checking out every year. Enjoy the gallery below, let us know if you can identify any of these beautiful birds, and stay tuned next year as we try and do even better!