Hazards to birders in Michigan

Hazards to birders in Michigan are few and include biting insects, traffic, theft in urban areas, certain weather conditions, Poison-ivy and Poison Sumac, Black Bears, and even Moose in some areas, and, in a very few areas, a rattlesnake species. Biting insects are by far the most frequent hazard that birders may encounter. From May through September, mosquitos will be present in any wooded or wetland area statewide. 

Swampy situations and more northern areas are often the worst, and some may want to consider head nets in these areas. Every birder should consider using insect repellent, as mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus have been detected in Michigan. In more northern regions, Black Flies can be a problem in the summer months (June–August), and in some boggy and swampy areas, there can be swarms of them.

Insect repellent is recommended. Ticks are found statewide, most often Wood Ticks and precautions should be taken when walking in tall grassy areas. The much tinier Deer Tick, while less commonly encountered, is a more significant problem as it carries Lyme Disease, which has occurred in Michigan. Tucking your pant legs into your socks and using insect repellent on the socks and wearing long-sleeved shirts in these areas is usually sufficient protection.

Chiggers are relatively rare in Michigan but do occur in summer in drier prairie areas of the southeastern and southwestern corners of the state, though they are infrequently encountered by birders. Toxic vegetation in Michigan consists of two plants, Poison-ivy and Poison Sumac, both of which cause skin irritations and rashes with intense itching. Some people are immune to the effects of the plants’ oils (urushiol), but as one of the editors recently discovered, this immunity is not necessarily permanent!

Poison-ivy is found in shrubby and wooded areas statewide and is quite common. In northern areas, it is often little more than a ground cover, when is sometimes called Poison Oak (which does not occur in Michigan), but in the southernmost areas, it is often a vine that can be as thick as your finger to, exceptionally, as thick as your forearm. Some birds, most notably Northern Flickers, relish Poison-ivy berries in the fall.

Learn to recognize the “hairy” tendrils on the vines of this plant, and the leaf arrangement and shape—”leaflets three, let it be”. Virginia Creeper is similar to Poison-ivy, but typically has five leaflets, a woody vine without hairy tendrils, and often grows even larger. The distribution of Poison Sumac is quite patchy, confined to the Lower Peninsula, and typically restricted to the swampy or boggy lake and pond margins, and is infrequently encountered by birders. The appearance is similar to the very common Staghorn Sumac, but has fewer shinier leaflets, which also lack serrations on the edges.

Staghorn Sumac is infrequently found in the same habitats as Poison Sumac. Black Bears occur through the northern Lower Peninsula and the entire Upper Peninsula, though they are not as common as in many western states, and they are rarely a problem. Bears may be encountered at campgrounds, and precautions should be taken to properly stow food so as not to attract them. In a few areas of the western Upper Peninsula, Moose has been reintroduced and could possibly be encountered, though they are still somewhat rare. Never approach a Moose closely on foot, and never get between a female and her calf.

Michigan has a single venomous reptile, the Eastern Massassauga, a small rattlesnake. The Eastern Massassauga, a Threatened, protected species in Michigan, occurs in the southern two-thirds of the Lower Peninsula and is rarely encountered. It inhabits swamps, bogs, and some marshes, and its distribution is quite patchy. Sites, where the presence of this snake is known, are noted in the text.

Being one of the smallest of rattlesnakes (up to 30" and usually much smaller), the bite of the Eastern Massassauga is most serious only to small infants or the elderly (rarely fatal) but can cause considerable pain and illness even in a healthy adult. Most bites from this relatively even-tempered snake are caused by people attempting to move the snake off a trail.

The snake, while generally tolerant, interprets too much of this activity as harassment and reacts defensively as it would to any threat. The best strategy is to walk around the snake, giving it a wide berth, enjoy the fact that you’re experiencing something that few Michiganders ever have, and by all means leave the snake alone! Certain areas in Michigan, as in all states, are prone to crime.

No birding areas are located in high crime areas, but there are a few where caution is advised, some surprisingly far from urban areas. These few areas are noted in the text. By far the most frequent crime that birders fall victim to, and even this is rare, is theft. Precautions consist largely of making sure you do not leave valuables in sight inside your car. Take your valuables with you, or lock them in the trunk. The few weather-related hazards include snow and cold, thunderstorms, and tornados.

Severe winter conditions can be encountered by birders visiting the Upper Peninsula and even the northern Lower Peninsula, and appropriate precautions should be taken. Driving on unplowed roads is not advised, as getting stranded in deep snow miles from help, with temperatures below zero, could develop into a life-threatening situation. Serious winter trips into these regions mean bringing blankets, candles, extra food, etc. Wind, in combination with cold temperatures, will create wind chill that can cause frostbite on exposed skin in minutes.

Sometimes winter wind chills as low as -20 to -50°F can occur anywhere in the state, most often in the UP. Dangerous thunderstorms and tornados (most frequent in June and July) are easily avoided by birders, as such conditions are usually apparent. In early spring, many of the less-used backcountry roads can become very wet with deep mud-holes that can entrap the unwary birder.

Many of these same roads in sandy areas, particularly those used by ORVs, can be quite soft, sometimes resulting in standard cars becoming stuck. Thoroughly checking out these potentially hazardous conditions may prevent a long, expensive trip to the nearest towing facility. In May 2004, Michigan law was changed regarding pedestrian travel over the state’s beaches.

The law, which applies to beaches on private property, states that private landowners with beachfront property control all the land up to the water’s edge. Thus, the only way to avoid trespassing under this new law is to be in the water! It is unclear how this new law will play out, but for now, it is wise to exercise extra caution when walking on Great Lakes beaches in Michigan to avoid trespassing on private property.

Under most conditions, the breakwalls, piers, and jetties along the lake shorelines are reasonably safe for birding, though it is always a good idea to dress warmly. Be careful where you walk, as large cracks or uneven places in the concrete could cause injury. Dangerous conditions exist on all Great Lakes breakwalls during strong winds and icy conditions. DO NOT walk out on a breakwall if waves are breaking over it, or if it is icy. Falling off the breakwall into the water could result in drowning in strong currents in windy conditions, or death from the rapid onset of hypothermia during icy conditions.

Eurasian Eagle Owl Facts

Extremely variable habitat, from boreal coniferous and mixed deciduous forests to Mediterranean scrub, woody, and grassy steppes; also, rocky and sandy deserts; nests in the Alps up to 2100m (hunting to 2800m), in The Himalayas to 4500m, in Tibetian highlands to 4700m. Palearctic, from continental Europe and Scandinavia east across Russia to C Siberia, Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin , and Japan, in the south to the Mediterranean the region, Turkey, N Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Tibet, China, and Korea.

Plumage considerably darker in humid, oceanic regions than in arid continental areas; size increases from warm regions to cold northern areas or with altitude. Adult (nominate bubo: Europe, south to France, Sicily, Greece, Romania and Ukraine, east to Moscow).

Females, also in flight have the darkest race. Dorsal ground color golden-brown to tawny-buff; crown, mantle, scapular, and underwing-coverts with large black feather tips; hindneck and underparts broadly streaked black (Scandinavian birds are darkest in color). Eyes bright golden-yellow to red-orange; bill greyish-black to black, cere olive-grey; claws black; tarsi and toes densely feathered. Intergrades with slightly smaller and greyer hispanus from the Iberian Peninsula and (formerly) N Africa. Subspecies ruthenus, east of nominate bubo to western Ural river and south to lower Volga basin, and interpositus, south of nominating in Bessarabia, Crimea, Caucasus, Asia Minor, and Iran, are very similar in plumage, slightly greyer or the brown pattern darker, with less or more ochre wash.

Mesoptile (nominate bubo). Down long and soft, scapulars and greater upper wing-coverts like an adult; rusty-buff to dirty cream in color. Eyes pale yellow to pale yellow-orange; cere bluish grey. Juvenile (nominate bubo). Downy, long and soft, pale ochre and dirty cream mesoptile feathers. Eyebrows, the area surrounding eyes, lores and throat white; scapulars, greater upper wing coverts, secondaries and tail feathers like an adult, but narrower, with more pointed tips; primaries invisible or barely visible. Eyes yellow-orange.

Adult (sibiricus: W Siberia and Bashkiria to middle Ob and W Altai, north to limits of the forest). Female, also in flight. Pale ground color mixed cream and off-white or clear white. Crown, hindneck and underparts only narrowly streaked black; limited spots on back, scapular, and upper wing-coverts, indistinctly vermiculated grey, cream or white; belly and flanks finely streaked and vermiculated. Tarsi and toes white. In-flight shows darker upper wing-coverts and dark tips to greater primary coverts. Subspecies yenisseensis of C Siberia has slightly darker plumage, with pale grey and ochre predominating.

Male. Above, much darker and more brownish than yenisseensis; whitish belly more distinctly streaked and barred than sibiricus. 1f Adult (ussuriensis: SE Siberia to NE China, Sakhalin, Hokkaido and S Kuril Islands). Male. Much darker than jakutensis, distinctly darker than sibiricus. Below, more buffish, less whitish, and more streaked and vermiculated. Above, brown markings more extensive and diffuse, white areas are more limited. 1g Adult (kiautschensis: W, C and SE China, E Korea).

Female. Smaller, much darker, tawnier and more rufous than ussuriensis. Plumage duller than in nominating bubo; upperparts paler, more mottled, less heavily marked with brown; below, more ochre and less heavily streaked. Adult (turcomanus: Steppe between Volga and Ural River, east to Transbaikalia). Very pale and yellow race, resembling nikolskii and omissus, with paler streaking and vermiculations, with brown pattern less contrasting.

Adult (hemachalana: Tien Shan and Fergana to Pamir Mountains, north to Kara Tau, south to Baluchistan and Himalayas). Male. A pale and distinctly brown race, similar to swinhoei of S China and to the specifically distinct Rock Eagle Owl Adult (omissus: Turkmenia and adjacent Iran, Chinese Turkestan; intergrades with turcomanus and hemachalana). Male. Typical dessert form. Pale ochre ground color, less rusty than nikolskii; dark markings only slightly developed above and below.