Checklist of Birds of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

 By Scott Hickman

This checklist is composed of all 388 species acceptable as having been observed within Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as of January 6, 2008 according to Michigan Bird Records Committee standards. The sequence of birds in this list follows the American Ornithologists’ Union’s 7th Edition Checklist, 48th Supplement. Species that nest in the U.P. are italicized. "U" indicates uncommon species. Species rarely seen in the U.P. are designated with an "R." Accidental species have been documented just once or only a few times in the U.P., and are indicated by "A." An "E" designates extirpated species, while extinct species are indicated by "t."

January 2008 Update: The list is little changed from last year. The only taxonomic change was to move vultures from their previous position following the herons, ibises, and storks to the beginning of the diurnal raptors in accordance with the change made by the American Ornithologists’ Union’s 48th Supplement to their checklist of North American Birds. Two species, Black-headed Gull and Bell’s Vireo, were added to the list to conform with the listings within the Michigan Bird Records Committee's searchable database on their website. Tropical/Couch’s Kingbird and Boat-tailed/Great-tailed Grackle are now listed in the main body of the list instead of as a postscript in order to follow the practices of the Michigan Bird Records Committee in their structuring of the state checklist.

Waterfowl

Geese, Swans, Ducks & Relatives

Whistling Ducks

____Fulvous Whistling-Duck (A)

Geese & Swans

____Greater White-fronted Goose (R)

____Snow Goose

____Ross’s Goose (A)

____Brant (R)

____Cackling Goose

____Canada Goose

____Mute Swan

____Trumpeter Swan

____Tundra Swan

Ducks & Mergansers

____Wood Duck

____Gadwall

____Eurasian Wigeon (A)

____American Wigeon

____American Black Duck

____Mallard

____Blue-winged Teal

____Northern Shoveler

____Northern Pintail

____Green-winged Teal

____Canvasback

____Redhead

____Ring-necked Duck

____Greater Scaup

____Lesser Scaup

____King Eider (R)

____Common Eider (A)

____Harlequin Duck (U)

____Surf Scoter

____White-winged Scoter

____Black Scoter

____Long-tailed Duck

____Bufflehead

____Common Goldeneye

____Barrow’s Goldeneye (A)

____Hooded Merganser

____Common Merganser

____Red-breasted Merganser

____Ruddy Duck (U)

Fowl

____Ring-necked Pheasant (U)

____Ruffed Grouse

____Spruce Grouse

____Sharp-tailed Grouse

     Greater Prairie-Chicken (E)

____Wild Turkey

____Northern Bobwhite (A)

Loons

____Red-throated Loon

____Pacific Loon (R)

____Common Loon

Grebes

____Pied-billed Grebe

____Horned Grebe

____Red-necked Grebe

____Eared Grebe (R)

____Western Grebe (R)

Pelicans & Cormorants

____American White Pelican

____Brown Pelican (A)

____Double-crested Cormorant

Bitterns, Herons, Egrets, Ibises

Bitterns, Herons & Egrets

____American Bittern

____Least Bittern (R)

____Great Blue Heron

____Great Egret (R)

____Snowy Egret (R)

____Little Blue Heron (A)

____Tricolored Heron (A)

____Cattle Egret (R)

____Green Heron

____Black-crowned Night-Heron (R)

____Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (A)

Ibises

____White Ibis (A)

____Glossy Ibis (A)

____White-faced Ibis (A)

Diurnal Raptors

Vultures

____Black Vulture (A)

____Turkey Vulture

Ospreys, Eagles, Hawks, & Relatives

____Osprey

____Mississippi Kite (A)

____Bald Eagle

____Northern Harrier

____Sharp-shinned Hawk

____Cooper’s Hawk

____Northern Goshawk

____Red-shouldered Hawk

____Broad-winged Hawk

____Short-tailed Hawk (A)

____Swainson‘s Hawk (R)

____Red-tailed Hawk

____Ferruginous Hawk (A)

____Rough-legged Hawk

____Golden Eagle (U)

Falcons

____American Kestrel

____Merlin

____Gyrfalcon (R)

____Peregrine Falcon

____Prairie Falcon (A)

Rails, Cranes & Relatives

Rails, Moorhens, & Coots

____Yellow Rail (R)

____Black Rail (A)

____King Rail (A)

____Virginia Rail

____Sora

____Purple Gallinule (A)

____Common Moorhen (R)

____American Coot

Cranes

____Sandhill Crane

Shorebirds & Relatives

Plovers

____Black-bellied Plover

____American Golden-Plover

____Wilson’s Plover (A)

____Semipalmated Plover

____Piping Plover (U)

____Killdeer

Stilts & Avocets

____American Avocet (R)

Sandpipers & Phalaropes

____Spotted Sandpiper

____Solitary Sandpiper

____Greater Yellowlegs

____Willet (U)

____Lesser Yellowlegs

____Upland Sandpiper

____Whimbrel (U)

____Hudsonian Godwit (U)

____Marbled Godwit (U)

____Ruddy Turnstone

____Red Knot (U)

____Sanderling

____Semipalmated Sandpiper

____Western Sandpiper (R)

____Least Sandpiper

____White-rumped Sandpiper (U)

____Baird’s Sandpiper

____Pectoral Sandpiper

____Purple Sandpiper (R)

____Dunlin

____Stilt Sandpiper (U)

____Buff-breasted Sandpiper (U)

____Ruff (A)

____Short-billed Dowitcher

____Long-billed Dowitcher (R)

____Wilson’s Snipe

____American Woodcock

____Wilson’s Phalarope (U)

____Red-necked Phalarope (R)

____Red Phalarope (R)

Gulls & Terns

____Laughing Gull (R)

____Franklin’s Gull (U)

____Little Gull (R)

____Black-headed Gull (A)

____Bonaparte’s Gull

____Ring-billed Gull

____California Gull (A)

____Herring Gull

____Thayer’s Gull (U)

____Iceland Gull (U)

____Lesser Black-backed Gull (R)

____Slaty-backed Gull (A)

____Glaucous Gull

____Great Black-backed Gull (U)

____Sabine’s Gull (R)

____Black-legged Kittiwake (R)

____Ivory Gull (A)

____Least Tern (A)

____Caspian Tern

____Black Tern

____Common Tern

____Arctic Tern (A)

____Forster’s Tern (U)

Jaegers

____Pomarine Jaeger (R)

____Parasitic Jaeger (U)

____Long-tailed Jaeger (R)

Murres & Relatives

____Ancient Murrelet (A)

Pigeons & Doves

____Rock Pigeon

____Eurasian Collared-Dove (A)

____White-winged Dove (A)

____Mourning Dove

     Passenger Pigeon (t)

____Inca Dove (A)

____Common Ground-Dove (A)

Cuckoos

____Yellow-billed Cuckoo (U)

____Black-billed Cuckoo

Owls

____Barn Owl (A)

____Eastern Screech-Owl (A)

____Great Horned Owl

____Snowy Owl

____Northern Hawk Owl (R)

____Burrowing Owl (A)

____Barred Owl

____Great Gray Owl (U)

____Long-eared Owl

____Short-eared Owl

____Boreal Owl (R)

____Northern Saw-whet Owl

Nighthawks and Nightjars

____Common Nighthawk

____Chuck-will’s Widow (A)

____Whip-poor-will

Swifts & Hummingbirds

____Chimney Swift

____Green Violet-ear (A)

____Broad-billed Hummingbird (A)

____Ruby-throated Hummingbird

____Rufous Hummingbird (A)

Kingfishers

____Belted Kingfisher

Woodpeckers

____Lewis’s Woodpecker (A)

____Red-headed Woodpecker (U)

____Red-bellied Woodpecker

____Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

____Downy Woodpecker

____Hairy Woodpecker

____American Three-toed Woodpecker (R)

____Black-backed Woodpecker

____Northern Flicker

____Pileated Woodpecker

Songbirds

Flycatchers

____Olive-sided Flycatcher

____Eastern Wood-Pewee

____Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

____Acadian Flycatcher (A)

____Alder Flycatcher

____Willow Flycatcher (R)

____Least Flycatcher

____Eastern Phoebe

____Say’s Phoebe (R)

____Vermilion Flycatcher (A)

____Ash-throated Flycatcher (A)

____Great Crested Flycatcher

____Tropical/Couch’s Kingbird (A)

____Western Kingbird (R)

____Eastern Kingbird

____Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (R)

____Fork-tailed Flycatcher (A)

Shrikes

____Loggerhead Shrike (A)

____Northern Shrike

Vireos

____White-eyed Vireo (A)

____Bell’s Vireo (A)

____Yellow-throated Vireo

____Blue-headed Vireo

____Warbling Vireo

____Philadelphia Vireo

____Red-eyed Vireo

Jays, Magpies, & Crows

____Gray Jay

____Blue Jay

____Clark’s Nutcracker (A)

____Black-billed Magpie (A)

____American Crow

____Common Raven

Larks

____Horned Lark

Swallows

____Purple Martin

____Tree Swallow

____Northern Rough-winged Swallow

____Bank Swallow

____Cave Swallow (A)

____Cliff Swallow

____Barn Swallow

Chickadees & Titmice

____Black-capped Chickadee

____Boreal Chickadee

____Tufted Titmouse (R)

Nuthatches

____Red-breasted Nuthatch

____White-breasted Nuthatch

Creepers

____Brown Creeper

Wrens

____Rock Wren (A)

____Carolina Wren (U)

____House Wren

____Winter Wren

____Sedge Wren

____Marsh Wren

Kinglets

____Golden-crowned Kinglet

____Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Gnatcatchers

____Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Thrushes

____Northern Wheatear (A)

____Eastern Bluebird

____Mountain Bluebird (A)

____Townsend’s Solitaire (U)

____Veery

____Gray-cheeked Thrush

____Swainson’s Thrush

____Hermit Thrush

____Wood Thrush

____American Robin

____Varied Thrush (U)

Mimics

____Gray Catbird

____Northern Mockingbird (U)

____Sage Thrasher (A)

____Brown Thrasher

Starlings

____European Starling

Wagtails & Pipits

____White Wagtail (A)

____American Pipit

____Sprague’s Pipit (A)

Waxwings

____Bohemian Waxwing

____Cedar Waxwing

Warblers

____Blue-winged Warbler (R)

____Golden-winged Warbler

____Tennessee Warbler

____Orange-crowned Warbler

____Nashville Warbler

____Virginia’s Warbler (A)

____Northern Parula

____Yellow Warbler

____Chestnut-sided Warbler

____Magnolia Warbler

____Cape May Warbler

____Black-throated Blue Warbler

____Yellow-rumped Warbler

____Black-throated Green Warbler

____Townsend’s Warbler (A)

____Blackburnian Warbler

____Yellow-throated Warbler (A)

____Pine Warbler

____Kirtland’s Warbler (R)

____Prairie Warbler (R)

____Palm Warbler

____Bay-breasted Warbler

____Blackpoll Warbler

____Cerulean Warbler (R)

____Black-and-white Warbler

____American Redstart

____Prothonotary Warbler (A)

____Worm-eating Warbler (A)

____Ovenbird

____Northern Waterthrush

____Louisiana Waterthrush (A)

____Kentucky Warbler (A)

____Connecticut Warbler (U)

____Mourning Warbler

____Common Yellowthroat

____Hooded Warbler (A)

____Wilson’s Warbler

____Canada Warbler

____Yellow-breasted Chat (R)

Tanagers

____Summer Tanager (R)

____Scarlet Tanager

____Western Tanager (A)

Towhees, Sparrows & Relatives

____Green-tailed Towhee (A)

____Spotted Towhee (A)

____Eastern Towhee

____Cassin’s Sparrow (A)

____American Tree Sparrow

____Chipping Sparrow

____Clay-colored Sparrow

____Brewer’s Sparrow (A)

____Field Sparrow

____Vesper Sparrow

____Lark Sparrow (U)

____Black-throated Sparrow (A)

____Lark Bunting (R)

____Savannah Sparrow

____Grasshopper Sparrow (U)

____Henslow’s Sparrow (R)

____Le Conte’s Sparrow (U)

____Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow (A)

____Fox Sparrow

____Song Sparrow

____Lincoln’s Sparrow

____Swamp Sparrow

____White-throated Sparrow

____Harris’s Sparrow (U)

____White-crowned Sparrow

____Golden-crowned Sparrow (A)

____Dark-eyed Junco

____McCown’s Longspur (A)

____Lapland Longspur

____Smith’s Longspur (R)

____Chestnut-collared Longspur (A)

____Snow Bunting

Cardinals & Relatives

____Northern Cardinal

____Rose-breasted Grosbeak

____Blue Grosbeak (A)

____Painted Bunting (R)

____Indigo Bunting

____Dickcissel (R)

Blackbirds & Relatives

____Bobolink

____Red-winged Blackbird

____Eastern Meadowlark

____Western Meadowlark (U)

____Yellow-headed Blackbird (U)

____Rusty Blackbird

____Brewer’s Blackbird

____Common Grackle

____Boat-tailed Grackle (A)

____Brown-headed Cowbird

____Orchard Oriole (R)

____Baltimore Oriole

____Bullock’s Oriole (A)

Finches

____Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (A)

____Pine Grosbeak

____Purple Finch

____House Finch

____Red Crossbill

____White-winged Crossbill

____Common Redpoll

____Hoary Redpoll (U)

____Pine Siskin

____American Goldfinch

____Evening Grosbeak

Old World Sparrows

____House Sparrow

____Eurasian Tree Sparrow (A)

In addition to the 387 species listed above, a Smooth-billed/Groove-billed Ani was reported for Ontonagon Co. in 1992. The MBRC has not taken action on this sighting.

Prepared by, and errors by, Scott Hickman. Adam Byrne, Greg Cleary, Zach Gayk, Skye Haas, and Joe Kaplan provided much appreciated information and/or advice.

Download a copy of Scott’s checklist in MS Word format. (64k, formatted for legal-sized paper.)

Download instructions for printing. (20k)