Every year during the fall, millions of birds make trips from their spring and summer breeding grounds up north to their southern wintering grounds, where the migrating birds will wait out the cold Northern winters in a warmer Southern climate. During this migration, Michigan sees tons of birds that are not spotted for the rest of the year.
This makes Fall the perfect time to take a break from stressful schoolwork to go observe these birds in the wild. There are so many parks in the Ann Arbor area that it can be hard to pick which ones to visit. Below is a non-comprehensive list of places to go see some fall birds as a casual or beginner birder.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens ($2.50/Hour parking)
The best spot overall in my opinion has to be the trails at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. It encompasses a wide variety of habitats: a beautiful pond that often hosts Herons, Cranes, Waterfowl, and Shorebirds; a wetland that is a great spot to see Red Winged Black Birds and Flycatchers; a grassland that serves as a great place to spot Mourning Doves, Swallows, and other birds flying over head; and a forest where I have seen all kinds of birds from Indigo Buntings to the elusive Cerulean Warbler.
Cherry Hill Nature Preserve (Free)
Another great location for some fall birding is Cherry Hill Nature Preserve. It is a less known spot, but still beautiful. Birds I have spotted there recently include Tufted Titmice, various Flycatchers, Downy Woodpeckers, and Black Capped Chickadees. Being relatively unpopular makes it a great place to spend some alone time birding. It isn’t perfect, though. Compared to the other places on this list, the amount of birds can be a little lackluster. You won’t find many birds outside of the grassland and path leading out of it.
Kensington Metropark ($10/day)
Kensington Metropark is one of the best spots in South-Eastern Michigan for birding. It has perfect conditions and habitat for seeing waterfowl and woodland birds. A few interesting waterfowl I have seen there recently are the American Wigeon and the Ring Necked Duck. The birds are usually very comfortable near humans, which makes it a great chance to see them close up. The Metropark has some pretty heavy cons though. It is both 30 minutes from Ann Arbor and impossible to get into without a metropark pass ($10 daily pass, or $40 annual pass).
General Tips
Before you go out birding there are a few tools that are useful to have: the Ebird app and Website (ebird.org) for keeping track of your sightings, and the Merlin Bird ID app. Both made by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for birders across the world to use, are phenomenal tools for everyday birding.
