Nearly 70 Bird Species Observed During ‘Big Sit’ at North Point Nature Preserve

Spencer High, a birder from Grand Rapids and friend of Huron Pines, led the annual Birding Big Sit at North Point Nature Preserve which he considers one of his favorite places in Michigan.

Forty friends and neighbors flocked to North Point Nature Preserve May 10 to explore its dense woodlands and exposed shorelines in search of birds during our annual Big Sit.

Situated on a prominence of ancient limestone bedrock jutting into Lake Huron, the 1,400-acre nature preserve serves as a stopover site for birds as they migrate through the Great Lakes Basin each spring. Its remote location and rugged character give birds a place to rest and forage, providing visitors with the opportunity to observe a highly diverse mix of songbirds, raptors and waterfowl as they migrate to their summer breeding range.

Visitors split into groups to explore different areas of the preserve and the nearly windless morning made for great conditions to watch and listen for birds as they flitted through the forest. Each call or movement in the branches made the birders stop and wait for an identifiable song or a flash of characteristic color. Some thumbed through dog-eared field guides or recorded calls on their smartphones to confirm a species identification. Others scanned the trees with their binoculars, gasping at glimpses of a red-headed woodpecker or the iridescent blue shimmer of an indigo bunting.

Cynthia Maas scans the treetops for birds.

Mallary Webb, a birder from the Grand Rapids area, led one of the groups down a forested two-track that morning and answered each distant call with her own in a sing-songy voice. Like many birders, Webb uses a mnemonic technique to match species with their song—ovenbirds, for example, sing “pizza pizza pizza pizza” in ascending volume, making their distinct call easier to remember. Here are other examples of bird song mnemonics.

Webb took up birding in 2019 just months before it exploded in popularity during the pandemic. Her hobby has brought her a deeper appreciation for nature and expanded her friend group.

“I found my people,” she said with a smirk, her baseball cap adorned with embroidered birds.

Participants in the 2025 Birding Big Sit at North Point Nature Preserve

We thank our partners at Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Thunder Bay Audubon Society, and Spencer High and all his birding friends from the Grand Rapids area for leading another successful and fun event. You can see more pictures from the morning and a full species list below.

You can support events like this one, and all our conservation efforts across Northern Michigan, by making a gift today at huronpines.org/donate.

Bryant Eddy, Habitat Project Manager for Huron Pines, with his wife Amber

Ali Gillman watches for birds through her binoculars.

Daryl Beyer, of Alpena, takes in North Point Nature Preserve during our Birding Big Sit.

The cedar forests of North Point

Bonnie Altman (l) and her daughter, Beckie Durfee, both of Alpena, explored the woods and shoreline of North Point Nature Preserve.

Dwarf lake iris, Michigan’s state wildflower

A red-headed woodpecker perches atop a tree. Photo courtesy Linda Girard

Linda Girard and Eddie Chaffer became fast friends as they explored North Point Nature Preserve.

Mallary Webb, of Grand Rapids, helped lead the birding hike.

Cynthia Maas relied on her field guide to help differentiate different warbler species. “It’s a lifelong pursuit,” she said about her birding hobby.

Fossils and stones are held in a hand on the rocky shoreline of North Point.

Ali Gillman brought along her 35mm film camera which traveled the world with her father during his service with the Marines.

2025 Birding Big Sit species list

American crow

American goldfinch

American herring gull

American pipit

American redstart

American robin

bald eagle

Baltimore oriole

bay-breasted warbler

black-and-white warbler

black-capped chickadee

black-throated blue warbler

black-throated green warbler

blue jay

blue-headed vireo

broad-winged hawk

brown creeper

brown thrasher

Canada goose

Cape May warbler

chestnut-sided warbler

common grackle

common loon

common merganser

common raven

double-crested cormorant

downy woodpecker

eastern bluebird

golden-crowned kinglet

green heron

indigo bunting

killdeer

mallard

merlin

Nashville warbler

northern flicker

northern parula

northern waterthrush

orange-crowned warbler

ovenbird

palm warbler

pied-billed grebe

pine siskin

pine warbler

purple finch

red-bellied woodpecker

red-breasted merganser

red-breasted nuthatch

red-headed woodpecker

red-tailed hawk

red-winged blackbird

ring-billed gull

rose-breasted grosbeak

ruby-crowned kinglet

ruby-throated hummingbird

ruffed grouse

song sparrow

swamp sparrow

veery

whimbrel

white-throated sparrow

white-winged scoter

winter wren

wood thrush

woodcock

yellow-rumped warbler