Again, we plan to mostly bird, bird, bird. This is a wonderful time on the Island because we will be seeing late migrants as well as breeding birds in a variety of local habitats. Saturday, we plan to divide into three groups for birding (and sub-divide if needed) and rotate the groups through three very good birding sites. These sites are our favorites: the Richter Forest area in the southwest part of the Island, the Jackson Harbor/Carlin's Point area in the northeast and the Big Marsh area in the southeast. All of them include birding at the Green Bay or Lake Michigan shore (http://www.washingtonisland.com/map.asp).

The program and registration offer other details.

Rock Island passage
We will observe various water birds, possibly some raptors on the ride to Rock Island.

Rock Island
A fascinating combination of history and ecology. We will hike to the restored lighthouse celebrating its 150th anniversary. We will see the magnificent Viking Hall built by the inventor Thordarsson, and the graves of early settlers as well as a site of the pre-settlement peoples. We will be moving through the northern hardwood forest experiencing thrushes, warblers and tall ferns as well as the dolomitic shore of white cedars with nearby water birds and gorgeous lake scenery.

Richter Forest/Green Bay
This is a Door County Land Trust property which features Red-headed Woodpeckers during migration. The site sits on Silurian dolomite and features warblers and other neo-tropical migrants (not all warblers are neo-tropical) in the northern hardwood forest, and shore and water birds in nearby Green Bay. Feeder birds are an extra bonus.

Jackson Harbor Ridges/Carlin's Point
This is a Town of Washington property and a State Natural Area. The site features ridge and swale topography and a sand spit pointing into Lake Michigan. Forest and shore/water birds abound with some open field species nearby. Boreal forest patches are warbler favorites.

Big Marsh/Eastside shore
The marsh is a State Natural Area and the park a Town property. The shore consists of old and recent beaches and bedrock pavement backed by postglacial swales. The Big Marsh is one of those swales filled with marl (calcium carbonate) formed by Chara algae. Warblers abound in parts of the marsh. Shore and water birds and raptors can be found at the shore.

Interior wetland and grassland habitats
On the Sunday early morning tour, we should see Bobolinks, Meadowlarks, several other grassland and wetland species, possibly even an Upland Sandpiper.

Plum, Pilot, Detroit islands
We plan to offer bird tours to these islands in the near future