Copper Country Audubon
Michipicoten Island
In 2021 we sent Alison Vilag and Rhoda Johnson to Michipicoten for a October waterbird count. Alison's article on that project is here.
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We first sent Zach Gayk, Greg Cleary and Joseph Youngman to Michipicoten to check and see if we could see incoming raptors crossing eastward from Manitou Island off the Keweenaw peninsula. Over at Manitou we kept seeing small numbers (15 to 25 each morning) of Sharp-shinned Hawks leaving Manitou and disappearing toward the east. We went in May of 2007 and we didn't see many raptors but we saw a major movement of waterbirds migrating NNW seeming to use the west tip of Michipicoten as a waypoint. In October of 2018 we sent Terry Dreeves and Youngman to look at waterbird migration again. For the 2007 trip we have a report to download and for the 2017 trip we have a spreadsheet.
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We traveled to Michipicoten via Hawk Air, a great float-plane service based out of Hawk Junction, Ontario. They dropped us off at Michi Lake where they have a cabin for fly-in fisherman. We had to hike about 3 miles out to the west tip of the island to camp and do our counts out there.
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Youngman counting waterbirds at the NW tip
Youngman in a pretty big sea cave
Cleary and Gayk in front of another big sea cave
May of 2007 had VERY low water levels and we had a cool rock walkway along the north shore
A view of the tombolo at the west end of Michipicoten. Actually, I think its a double tombolo.
Michipicoten Island has a bit of mining history. Here you see a bit of it.
The Hawk Air Beaver coming to fetch us in 2017
View of Michi Lake as we flew in, in 2007
Gayk, Youngman and Cleary at the Michi Lake cabin
Terry Dreves at the count site in October of 2017
