Come witness the dazzling display of the American woodcock mating dance April 23 near Gladwin in mid-Michigan.

Join the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Ruffed Grouse Society for this free, guided woodcock walk at the Lame Duck Foot Access Area, a DNR-managed Grouse Enhanced Management Site (GEMS).

Participants will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, at the corner of Bowmanville Road and Lame Duck Truck Trail, 15 miles northeast of Gladwin. All ages are welcome. Bring binoculars and a headlamp or flashlight. Be prepared to navigate muddy, uneven ground; the trails are not considered accessible under Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.

RSVP by calling 989-426-9205, Ext. 2267630. Leave a message with your name, contact number and number of participants.

The American woodcock is a plump little migratory shorebird with a long bill for probing earthworms in the forests and fields of eastern North America, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Michigan is a premiere state for woodcock hunting and viewing.

“The male woodcock’s evening display flights are one of the magical natural sights of springtime,” the Cornell Lab notes. “He gives buzzy peent calls from a display area on the ground, then flies upward in a wide spiral. As he gets higher, his wings start to twitter. At a height of 200–350 feet the twittering becomes intermittent, and the bird starts to descend. He zigzags down, chirping as he goes, then lands silently (near a female, if she is present). Once on the ground, he resumes peenting and the display starts over again.”

The makeup date in case of rain for the Gladwin woodcock walk is Thursday, April 30.

Michigamme Highlands conservation easement established

By KERRY HECKMAN
Forest land administrator, Forest Resources Division
Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Deep in the Upper Peninsula’s Huron Mountains, among the wildest of Michigan’s wild places, the rugged Michigamme Highlands is comprised of vast forests, remote lakes, cold trout streams, moose-inhabited swamps and granite outcroppings.

Now, 73,000 acres of what is arguably some of the most important forest land in the Great Lakes region has been protected and is available for Michigan’s residents to enjoy – forever.

With funding entirely from grants and donations, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has acquired a working forest conservation easement to secure these rights for the public while also supporting the state’s forest products industry.

The property The sweeping views are spectacular from the top of Mt. Arvon, which, at 1,979 feet above sea level, is Michigan’s highest natural elevation. Rolling forests stretch for miles until they meet the dark blue waters of Lake Superior. On a clear day, the Abbaye Peninsula can be seen jutting out into the lake in the foreground while the Keweenaw Peninsula dominates the horizon. The Huron Islands can also be seen rising out of the cold Lake Superior waters. Check out a map of the lands the easement covers. Read more

Western birders will enjoy attracting Bullock’s Orioles to your yards (photo by Nancy Christensen).

April is an exciting month when the birds we see changes dramatically from wintering birds to new birds making migration stops – brief or extended – plus the arrival of favorite summer residents like orioles and hummingbirds. April is also a good time to look ahead in a general way to assess our yards with respect to birds, to consider what we can do to improve things ranging from landscaping to feeders to flower gardens. Preparing for birds like orioles and hummingbirds also requires a change of feeders and foods to attract and benefit these popular birds.

It’s not too early to prepare for the arrival of orioles and hummingbirds, which begins later this month in many regions of the country and extends into May in more northern latitudes. Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s a beautiful spring day, so you decide to go for a nice walk around your neighborhood. You are strolling along the sidewalk when suddenly you hear loud chirping near your feet. You look over and see a baby bird lying on the ground near a tree trunk. What should you do? The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has a few tips.

It is not unusual to find a baby bird on the ground during this time of year. Many birds are hatching and often leave their nests before they are able to fly. Some may also be blown out of nests during spring thunderstorms.

“Baby birds usually chirp and call from the nest, waiting for their parents to bring food to them — and sometimes they get excited or agitated, which results in them falling from their perch,” Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Migratory Game Bird Coordinator Jason Jones said.

The most common baby birds that people find are robins (which nest in trees) and swallows (which build their mud nests in eaves and on the sides of houses).

If you find a baby bird on the ground, here is what to know:

Put it back in the nest if it doesn’t have feathers

If the bird is very small and still featherless, you should place it back in its nest. If you can’t find the nest, put the bird on a branch safely out of reach of dogs and cats.

“The baby will squawk, and its parents will find it,” Jones said.

Unlike with some other wildlife species, you don’t need to be concerned about leaving your scent on the bird. Most birds do not have a good sense of smell so if you pick up a baby bird, its parents won’t even know you’ve handled it. Read more

Gear up, grab a friend and download a map before hitting the open roads: Thousands of miles of state forest roads are open to hikers, off-road vehicles and adventure seekers!

Each year on April 1, following the annual road inventory and review, the DNR updates state forest road maps to keep them as accurate as possible. Available in both an interactive online format and as printable PDFs, these maps make it easier to plan your next outing.

Listed here by region are 11,841 miles of Michigan’s forest roads and trails open to ORVs:

• Upper Peninsula: more than 5,752 miles (about 98% of the total mileage).
• Northern Lower Peninsula: more than 6,080 miles (about 84% of the total mileage).
• Southern Lower Peninsula: about 9 miles (about 2.5% of the total mileage).

This is an increase of 31 miles from the state forest roads open to ORVs in 2025. Read more

If hemlock trees on your property show signs of hemlock woolly adelgid infestation, now is a good time to plan for spring treatment of this invasive species. Hemlock woolly adelgid, native to Asia, is known to be present in areas of Allegan, Antrim, Benzie, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa, Van Buren and Washtenaw counties in Michigan. These small insects suck sap from hemlock needles and ultimately can cause tree death.

Insecticides are available to control the insect, and in many cases, landowners can apply them easily by carefully following label instructions and application rate guidance. In Michigan, the label is the law. In some cases, you may need or prefer the services of a licensed pesticide application business.

If one or more trees are infested, make plans to act this year. Read more

Michigan’s wetlands are all aflutter with birds returning to rest and nest, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is encouraging bird-curious people to explore lesser-known public lands during spring birding tours. Led by DNR Wildlife staff, the tours will take you to different viewing locations across wild wetland habitats.

Four tours are planned to help you explore state wildlife areas that we like to call Michigan’s Wetland Wonders. These tours offer a unique opportunity to see a variety of bird species, including diving and dabbling ducks in full breeding plumage, as well as trumpeter and tundra swans, osprey, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, songbirds and more.

All spring birding tours are FREE, and entry to state wildlife areas is also free. These areas are funded by hunting licenses and cared for to preserve wildlife habitat.

Spring birding tour dates and locations are listed below. Read more

Antlers, hides, head mounts and hunting equipment will be in high demand

The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) will auction its inventory of wildlife assets at this weekend’s 2026 Outdoor Expo at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility, about one-half of a mile west of Interstate 17 on Carefree Highway.

Antlers, hides, skulls and wildlife mounts, as well as wildlife artwork and taxidermy — seized through law enforcement investigations, obtained from animals killed in vehicle collisions, or acquired through public donations — will be sold Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29. Items can be purchased individually, by the pound, or through a silent auction (cash or credit card only).

This year the wildlife assets tent will also feature outdoor and hunting gear and will be available for purchase at discounted prices. Items for sale include jackets, boots, tree stands, tables, game scales and so much more. Read more

A Cape May Warbler feeds on red-osier dogwood berries and the insects that the fruits attract (photo by Ryan Sanderson).

There is a new project to help support birds in our yards that informs us how to plant gardens that attract and benefit birds – resident birds, migrating birds, foraging birds, resting birds – even nesting birds. This new outreach project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Garden for Birds,” is bringing birders in the United States and Canada together to better inform us about how the plants that we add to our garden impacts birds and biodiversity. But even more than a “garden,” we are truly talking about landscaping our yard, and like us, birds need food, water, shelter, and safe places to raise their young. To meet these needs, birds require quality habitat.

Garden for Birds is a new resource that helps you plan and plant your own “habitat” that provides areas for birds to forage, rest, and nest, ranging from hummingbirds to thrushes, flycatchers to orioles.

Flowering plants, shrubs, and trees are the foundation of habitat, and together they for an interconnected environment that birds utilize and need. Did you know that 95 to 98 percent of North American songbirds feed insects to their young? And native insects that birds eat need native plants to thrive; then birds fill the role of an “organic pesticide” by foraging for insects attracted to a habitat you encourage. Your garden and yard can be the source of these vital resources that support birds annually. That’s where the Free resource, “Garden for Birds,” comes in. Read more