The 2004 Summer Breeding Bird Survey of the Yellow Dog Plains.
Overview
This is a basic report of the data collected during the 2004 breeding season on the Yellow Dog Plains. The area that was surveyed was a nine square mile area in the Township of Michigamme, Marquette County (T50N, R29W), along the Triple A Road centered at the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River. Additional surveys were conducted to the east and west of this focal area as part of a extended survey into unusual and exceptional habitats of particular interest.
To summarize, there were 94 species of birds recorded within the survey area, with 40 species being confirmed as breeding. An additional 34 species were thought to be probable breeders in the immediate area, but were unable to be confirmed during the survey process.
Methodology
General survey techniques and point counts were used to assess the breeding status of all observed birds on the Yellow Dog Plains survey area. Determination of what species utilize the area for breeding will be modeled after the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas criteria. This format will establish a series of behavior codes to determine the level of breeding intensity of a given species. The categories are arranged in hierarchical order from least certain (possible breeding) to most certain (confirmed breeding). The codes are located and described in the accompanying list of species recorded (latin names to be found there) (Table 1). The number of presumed breeding pairs is also noted in Table 1.
Species Accounts
Bird diversity was noted to be high, on average more species were found utilizing the survey block in the Yellow Dog Plains for breeding than most U.P. blocks surveyed by Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas workers. While some of the high counts of bird species can be attributed to more hours spent surveying the Yellow Dog Plains than a typical Atlas block, the Plains still show a high level of diversity and abundance of species. Eighteen species of birds were found to be exceptionally abundant, with more than twenty five pairs found in the survey area. Of these eighteen species, all but one were confirmed as breeders, with Ovenbird having only a probable breeder status. In descending order the five most common breeders to the plains were- Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Robin and Northern Flicker. Other species with high counts were Red-eyed Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee, Hermit Thrush, Nashville Warbler, Vesper Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow.
There were several species recorded in the Plains that are not necessarily rare or threatened but do require more specialized habitat or remote areas for breeding. Those species included Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Boreal Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Connecticut Warbler and Red Crossbill, all of which are species found in the boreal wetland habitat along the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River. Two other species, Eastern Bluebird and Brewer’s Blackbird use the open areas found in the Plains for their nesting requirements. Also of note were the pairs of American Black Ducks found in the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River. As a declining species they are not yet on any special watch list, but may be placed on such a list in the future.
Endangered, Threatened and Rare Species
While no endangered species were recorded during this year’s survey, several species were recorded that are on the State of Michigan’s Threatened or Special Concern list. There were three species recorded that are on the Threatened list, those being Common Loon, Bald Eagle and Merlin. Of these three, only Merlin was found at probable breeding status with a pair being seen, and thought to be on territory. The other two species, while possibly breeding in the area, were seen as fly-overs only.
Four species were recorded that are on the State’s Species of Special Concern list. Those were- Spruce Grouse (confirmed breeder), Northern Harrier (possible breeder), Upland Sandpiper (confirmed breeder), and Black-backed Woodpecker (possible breeder). The locations of all these species can be found on the grid location map (Table 3).
It should be noted that there are several other species of birds that occur on Michigan’s watch lists that were not recorded during this breeding season but could conceivably be found at this location in the future. These species include American Bittern, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Goshawk (seen near the survey area, but not in it), and Long-eared Owl, all species of special concern. Also possible are Osprey (threatened), and Short-eared Owl (endangered), both species that are known to nest in the Upper Peninsula, but were not recorded on this summer’s surveys.
Special note must also be made of the Kirtland’s Warbler, a federally endangered species, found only to nest in the State of Michigan. The Kirtland’s Warbler is found only in a very specialized habitat, Jack Pine barrens (which cover a majority of the Yellow Dog Plains). While no Kirtland’s Warblers were found on the Yellow Dog Plains during the 2004 breeding season, they have been reported there in the past. They are known to have nested in Marquette County and could conceivably be found on the Yellow Dog Plains. More surveys in the future are needed to determine whether or not Kirtland’s Warblers are using this area for breeding.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Cynthia Pryor for the opportunity to conduct these surveys and all her help and guidance in determining what locations to survey and how to access these areas. Thanks must go to Alexis Raney for reviewing and editing this document and also to Dr. Alec Lindsay for his coordination and assessment of this project.