Southwest Michigan birds June 20th

[Cccta at aol.com]

Listers,
   I spent the day in the southwest corner of the state and had the following 
good birds (none of them new for the year, but a bunch of new county birds):

Berrien County

2 singing male PRAIRIE WARBLERS were visible at Warren Dunes State Park. The 
excellent directions from Kip Miller on May 10 are:

". . .I found a couple of Prairie Warblers at a location in the park that 
offers a bit easier access than the "traditional" location along the Blue Jay 
Trail to the far west of Floral Lane. To reach this location enter the park via 
the main entrance and turn right towards the campground after passing the 
entrance booths. Before reaching the campground you'll see a parking area and a 
picnic shelter on the left. Park here and follow the trail leading west into a 
large open dune area. Follow the trail for a couple of hundred yards over level 
terrain until it begins to climb noticeably up a rise. At this point veer left 
off the trail towards the wooded dune ahead and to the left. The birds were 
singing from the brushy habitat at the base of this dune."

DICKCISSEL, HENSLOW'S SPARROW, SEDGE WREN & GRASSHOPPER SPARROW at the west 
end of the Landfill on Forest Lawn Rd southwest of Three Oaks as posted earlier 
by Jon Wuepper

WHITE-EYED VIREO, CERULEAN & YELLOW-THROATED WARBLERS just a little further 
west on Forest Lawn in the woods by the river - also had Acadian Flycatcher 
there. (also posted by J W)

Cass County

I stopped by the field northeast of Cassopolis (you guessed it - Jon Wuepper) 
and found GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and a DICKCISSEL - it was mid afternoon and I 
could not locate the HENSLOW’S SPARROWS or SEDGE WRENS he had.
 Location: "the north side of Kelsey Lake Street, between O’Keefe Road (west) 
and Griffis Road (east). This is in LaGrange Township (T6S; R15 W, section 
#1), 4 miles north of Cassopolis."


Heading northeast from there I had a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW on Marcellus Hwy at 
one of the pig farms between Volinia and Marcellus

Kalamazoo County

I wandered through KZ County trying to get the 12 birds I needed to have a 
hundred there and wound up at the Gourdneck State Game Area southwest of the 
City of Kalamazoo and within a few minutes I had tracked down bird #100 a 
gorgeous male HOODED WARBLER. 

>From the Centre Ave exit off 131 (south of 94) take Angling Rd south and turn 
right into the parking area just after the road turns left and becomes 
Vanderbilt. At the first fork in the trail veer right (along the planted grain 
area), after the 2nd section of planted grain follow the little trail spur to the 
right, that leads into the open conifer woods, the bird was singing a strange, 
abbreviated version of the Hooded song that I didn't even recognize, from the 
deciduous trees to the back right of the conifers. He responded to my 
Screech-Owl whistle (I'm no Karl Overman) and pishing by approaching to about 30 feet 
away.

Good Birding,

Scott Jennex
Ferndale

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