Text and Photos by Alice Van Zoeren

Sleeping Bear Dunes is a great place to go birding.  More than 277 species of birds have been sighted in the park.  Two endangered species nest at Sleeping Bear Dunes: the Piping Plover and the Prairie Warbler. In addition, five threatened species nest in the park: Common Loon, Least Bittern, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, and Merlin. The most active time is from April through July but interesting bird activity can be observed year-round.

Begin your birding trip with a stop at the Sleeping Bear Dunes visitor center in Empire (on M-72 just East of the intersection with M-22) to pick up a park pass, a map and bird check-list.  The bird list will give you detailed information about what birds you might expect to find during the time of year you are visiting. 

Birds are found everywhere in the park. Hike trails through different habitats to observe more species. Here are some good spots to look for birds (listed from north to south):

1. Good Harbor Bay: From April through June and again in August and September this shoreline is a good place to look for migrating shorebirds.  During the summer this is an area where Pine and Prairie Warblers nest.

2. Narada Lake: During summer you may see Common Loons nesting, Bald Eagles, Tree Swallows, Great-crested Flycatchers, Northern Harriers and many other species in this beaver pond and wetland. Many kinds of waterfowl stop here during spring and fall migrations. During the Loon nesting season the lake is closed to all boating to protect the young Loons, however you can pull off M-22 near the guardrail and look out over the water from there.

3. The fields of Port Oneida: In late spring and summer look for field birds along Port Oneida, Kelderhouse, and Baker Roads and along M-22 in that area. You may find Eastern Meadowlarks, American Kestrels, Eastern Bluebirds, Upland Sandpipers and Bobolinks.

4. Glen Haven and Sleeping Bear Point: Watch for waterfowl in the bay, and shorebirds along the shoreline during spring and fall migrations. During summer look for Chimney Swifts, Barn and Bank Swallows in the Glen Haven area, Piping Plovers and Spotted Sandpipers along the shore and Eastern Towhees near the road to the Sleeping Bear Point trailhead. In winter look for waterfowl on Sleeping Bear Bay and small flocks of Snow Buntings and an occasional Snowy Owl on the dunes.

5. The Mill Pond and surrounding area (just north of the Dune Climb): This is a productive area for finding Waterfowl, Great Blue Herons and Green Herons, warblers, swallows and many other birds during the summer. During spring and fall migrations, waterfowl can be found on the Mill Pond and Little Glen Lake.

6. The fields along Norconk Rd.: In summer this is a wonderful place to find open-field birds. Look for Upland Sandpipers, American Kestrels, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks and Eastern Bluebirds. Red-tailed Hawks and Northern Harriers are also sometimes seen here.

7. The trail to the Treat Farm (at the corner of Norconk and Aral Hills Roads): Hike this trail through the woods on May, June and July mornings and evenings to hear the beautiful songs of Hermit and Wood Thrushes. This is also a good place to find Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Ovenbirds.

8. Otter Creek area: Check the Lake Michigan shoreline for Bald Eagles. During May walk along the road that crosses Otter Creek to find migrating warblers.  During summer this is a good place to look for Scarlet Tanagers, Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings.

9. Platte River Mouth: This is the best place to look at shorebirds in the park. During the summer you can find Piping Plovers, Spotted Sandpipers, Caspian Terns, and Killdeer here. Other shorebirds are found along this shore during migration. 

As you enjoy the birds at Sleeping Bear Dunes please help protect them --

• By keeping pets on leashes and obeying the no-pet-zone signs.

• By not feeding wildlife or leaving garbage in the park which attracts predators that also prey on nestlings.

• By keeping away from nests and nesting birds.

Some Special Plants of Sleeping Bear Dunes

Text and Photos by Jack Schultz

Grand vistas, stunning beaches, beautiful forests, and picturesque farm houses – all of which are prominent features of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – draw us back to the area time and again. Other, less easily seen features may also hold a fascination for park visitors if they know about them. For example, do you know the plant called “horsetail” or scouring rush? In the entire world there are only 15 known species of this plant, yet nine of those species are part of the plant life in Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Another, very small and yet readily visible group of plants which are unseen by many visitors is what are called “moonworts” (genus Botrychium). These plants come up from the ground in the spring, then they fruit, and by mid- to late-summer are dried up and virtually disappear. They occur only in very specific habitats, but finding colonies of them can be truly exciting. In general, most moonworts are not even a foot tall and many are only a few inches high. They have a spore-bearing “branch” and a leafy branch.

We’re all familiar with ferns, but did you know that more than 45 different species of them occur in Sleeping Bear country? Some, like the bracken fern, are found nearly everywhere. Most, however, occur in moist habitats. Some, like the ostrich fern or the cinnamon fern, are rather tall (often taller than three feet) and grow as a cluster of fronds which emerge from one point at ground level.  The fronds spread upward and outward so they, collectively, appear almost like a big vase. The tiny bulblet fern is found only in moist, shady places and is so delicate that many people never see it.

A final group is that of the club mosses. These trail along the ground surface and grow in distinctly visible colonies. They rarely rise more than a foot above the soil and that includes the spikes or stalks on which the spores are produced. Some club mosses look like little trees and others seem to hug the ground in an intertwining network of fine branches. They are all special in their own way.

All of these plants belong to a group called Pteridophytes. While one who is botanically inclined might say it is unfair to single out these for discussion, because all of the plant life in Sleeping Bear is interesting, I have done so because we frequently overlook these “oddities of nature.” The park has so many different habitats, as those who hike the trails have found. Each habitat is home to different kinds of plants, and some of the truly unique species may fascinate you if you take the time to become acquainted.

The plants referred to in this article will all be described and illustrated in a new book that is tentatively titled Ferns and Fern Allies of the Sleeping Bear Region. The author, Dr. Daniel Palmer, has compiled great quantities of information about these Pteridophytes and hopes to publish the book in the near future. It should become a handy guide for park visitors and others interested in the botany of Leelanau and Benzie Counties. Jack Schultz is a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. He holds a Ph.D. in forest ecology and frequently leads people on nature walks in northwestern Michigan.

It’s the first day of spring and I’m sitting in my office looking out the window into the woods at a drab landscape with partially melted snow and a temperature of around 30 degrees. I look again in anticipation of the warmth and sunshine that are sure to come to activate the color that lies dormant in the snow-covered ground. In just a few weeks, the snow will be gone and the forest floor will begin to turn green, and soon afterward, the first wildflowers will appear. Among the first are the Bloodroot, Spring Beauty, Yellow Trout Lily, Bellwort, and then the Trillium. There are too many different varieties of flowers in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to name them all, and that is what makes the Lakeshore such a great place to enjoy wildflowers.

No matter what you are doing in the Park — camping, hiking, floating the river, walking the beach — be attentive to the flowers around you, and take a close look. I guarantee that you will be amazed at the natural beauty displayed in the detail of each flower. As you learn more, you will also find the unique place each one plays in this ecosystem.

If you are like me, you’ll want the extra challenge of being able to identify some of the flowers and find out whether they are native or invasive. Grab your camera, pick up a wildflower book at the bookstore, and head for the Park.  If there is a flower you can’t identify with your book, stop by the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center and look through their Wildflower Resource Book. It has most of the flowers that are common in the Park. In addition, check out the wildflower database on our web site sorted by color and season.

So enjoy the flowers. Get out and get a close-up view. Maybe I’ll see you out there! I’m the one with the camera…

Natural Resources In Sleeping Bear Dunes

An Interview With Steve Yancho, Chief of Natural Resources

With over 70,000 acres on the mainland and two islands, North Manitou with 15,00 acres and South Manitou with 5,000 acres, overseeing Natural Resources in the National Lakeshore takes a mighty effort and time. Steve Yancho, Chief of Natural Resources of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, has a big job.   Steve has been at Sleeping Bear since 1978.  Before coming to Sleeping Bear he worked with the National Park Service on Isle Royal National Park and Fire Island National Seashore.  He is assisted at Sleeping Bear Dunes by one full time employee Ken Hyde, one part time employee and seasonal workers depending on the budget for the year.  In 2005 there were 5 Biological Technicians and several Student Intern positions but depending on the budget there may be fewer this year.  Help also comes from other National Parks and government agencies.  For instance, a great deal of help in control of exotic plants comes from the NPS Great Lakes Exotic Plant Management Team stationed near the Apostle Islands National Park in Ashland, Wisconsin.  Other organizations that may assist are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.  At any one time there may be twenty-five to thirty Scientific Research Projects being carried out at Sleeping Bear by the National Park Service, Universities , or private individuals.  Researchers are attracted by the wide variety of habitat types and diversity of plants, animals and geologic features in the Lakeshore.  This variety is also what attracts visitors to the Park.

Ongoing project at Sleeping Bear Dunes include Piping Plover nesting site recovery, eradication programs of exotic invasive plant species such as Garlic Mustard, water quality monitoring ,  restoration of disturbed sites to native habitat and educational programs for the public for such problems as the exotic Zebra Mussel and the Emerald Ash Bore.  The Zebra Mussel is known to be in 4 of the 26 inland lakes in the Park with populations in the Platte and Crystal Rivers as well as Lake Michigan.  The Emerald Ash Bore is within 2.5 miles of the Park boundary and Park personnel are trying their best to keep it off the Manitou Islands.

There are also wildlife issues for species like the White-Tailed Deer , the impact of the exploding population of Cormorants,  and  trying to determine if there is a cougar population in the Park.. Hunting and fishing is regulated under Michigan State Law but special permits from the National Lakeshore are needed to hunt deer on North  Manitou Island .  Keeping the deer population low is important to the health of the habitats on the island.  Attention is also paid to many species of plants and animals listed by the State of Michigan as threatened as well as Federally listed species such as the Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, Pitchers Thistle, Michigan Monkey Flower, and Massasauga Rattlesnake to name a few.

As you can see, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has been charged with a wide reaching and complicated task in the stewardship of Natural Resources.  If you would like more information about the Natural Resources of Sleeping Bear Dunes you can visit the web site at www.nps.gov/slbe and click on Nature and Science.  Information can also be obtained from the Visitor Center in Empire.

Port Oneida Rural Historic District Development
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was founded by an act of Congress in 1970 and shortly thereafter the first attempt at an inventory of buildings in the Port Oneida area was done. The first official survey of historic buildings was completed in 1988.  Several position papers (the first as early as 1980) were written on what to do with historic buildings in Port Oneida . The Port Oneida Historic District covers over 3,400 acres and has over 120 buildings so restoration will take a while, especially if one considers the other areas of the Lakeshore with historic buildings.

Today there are 2 Park Partners presently occupying historic buildings in Port Oneida. Glen Arbor Art Association occupies  the Thoreson Farm,  and Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear  the Charles Olsen Farm . Shielding Tree Nature Center  occupied the Lawr Farm for five years and now has moved to a new location. The Partners have Special Use Permits with the Lakeshore to occupy and contribute to the utilities and up-keep of the buildings. An occupied building will typically last longer.
 

All the restored Port Oneida buildings were brought up to code and occupied because of work done by Park employees, partners, and other volunteers. Costs were paid with funds from NPS, the partners, and grants. The same is true of the buildings that have been stabilized to halt their deterioration.
 

Anyone who would like to read more about the Port Oneida Rural Historic District might find the following work ,available from the Empire Visitor Center Book Store, of interest: Farming at the Waters Edge (published in 1995 by the National Park Service) This work has maps, photos, and tons of information about the Port Oneida Farms.

Check our Port Oneida History page for some very interesting documentation and photos of the Port Oneida Farming District compiled by Tom Van Zoeren. Tom interviewed many family members and owners of the farms who graciously allowed us to publish pictures of the farms when they were active farms and photos of the families who lived there.

Projects Funded by the Friends in 2005

• A new Park bench for Stocking Scenic Drive

• A teachers workshop for interpretation of the Lakeshore

• Interpretive signs for the Cannery Boat exhibit at Glen Haven

• Funds for the stabilization of the historic Treat Farm house

• An Automatic External Defibrillator for D.H. Day Campground

• Funds to rehabilitate the Dune Model Exhibit at the Dune Climb

• Funds to develop a Glen Haven Village History Exhibit in the D.H. Day General Store.

Special Events In The Park This Year

June 3  Trail Day-  Adopt A Trail volunteers will meet with  Park personnel for a work bee.  Location to be determined.

June 24  The 10th Barn Restoration Workshop 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the Michigan Barn Preservation Network at the Ole Olson Farm on Basch Road off M22  5 miles north of Glen Arbor

July 16 Annual Dune Climb Concert 7-9 p.m. an open air concert presented by Glen Arbor Art Association

August 4 and 5  Fifth Annual Port Oneida Fair  10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sponsored by the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes.  See article p.6 this newsletter

August 23 Life-Saving Service Festival (Coast Guard Day) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Maritime Museum grounds at Glen Haven

Sept. 30  Free Fee Day and Coastal Clean up Check at the Visitor Center in Empire for time and place

Oct. 14 and 21 Historic Beach Patrols 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Maritime Museum at Glen Haven.  Search for a shipwreck with a U.S. Life Saving Service surfman

For other events, hikes and Ranger led programs check with the Visitor Center in Empire