WhenToBird

Birding spot · Leelanau County, Michigan

Birding at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (south): What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (south) are Ring-billed Gull (76%), Bonaparte's Gull (68%), and Mallard (61%). It is busiest in spring, when 83 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in mid May (92 species). 181 species have been reported here across 1,320 complete checklists from 303 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: low data (3 checklists)Jan 8-14: low data (4 checklists)Jan 15-21: low data (4 checklists)Jan 22-31: low data (2 checklists)Feb 1-7: low data (2 checklists)Feb 8-14: low data (2 checklists)Feb 15-21: low data (3 checklists)Feb 22-28: low data (2 checklists)Mar 1-7: low data (7 checklists)Mar 8-14: 44 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsMar 15-21: 35 species on 5%+ of 32 checklistsMar 22-31: 40 species on 5%+ of 49 checklistsApr 1-7: 54 species on 5%+ of 51 checklistsApr 8-14: 66 species on 5%+ of 79 checklistsApr 15-21: 69 species on 5%+ of 53 checklistsApr 22-30: 86 species on 5%+ of 80 checklistsMay 1-7: 83 species on 5%+ of 63 checklistsMay 8-14: 89 species on 5%+ of 54 checklistsMay 15-21: 92 species on 5%+ of 36 checklistsMay 22-31: 76 species on 5%+ of 74 checklistsJun 1-7: 61 species on 5%+ of 45 checklistsJun 8-14: 60 species on 5%+ of 32 checklistsJun 15-21: 66 species on 5%+ of 34 checklistsJun 22-30: 66 species on 5%+ of 36 checklistsJul 1-7: 55 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsJul 8-14: 57 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsJul 15-21: 63 species on 5%+ of 34 checklistsJul 22-31: 70 species on 5%+ of 38 checklistsAug 1-7: 65 species on 5%+ of 39 checklistsAug 8-14: 66 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsAug 15-21: 57 species on 5%+ of 49 checklistsAug 22-31: 39 species on 5%+ of 41 checklistsSep 1-7: 51 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsSep 8-14: 64 species on 5%+ of 33 checklistsSep 15-21: 58 species on 5%+ of 35 checklistsSep 22-30: 69 species on 5%+ of 38 checklistsOct 1-7: 57 species on 5%+ of 29 checklistsOct 8-14: 53 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsOct 15-21: 54 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsOct 22-31: 60 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsNov 1-7: 39 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsNov 8-14: low data (5 checklists)Nov 15-21: 28 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsNov 22-30: 35 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsDec 1-7: 32 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsDec 8-14: low data (3 checklists)Dec 15-21: low data (1 checklists)Dec 22-31: low data (3 checklists)JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Number of species reported on at least 5% of complete checklists, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

In November: what to expect

  1. 1Ring-billed Gull76%
  2. 2Bonaparte's Gull68%
  3. 3Mallard61%
  4. 4American Crow55%
  5. 5Blue Jay47%
  6. 6Common Merganser39%
  7. 7American Goldfinch32%
  8. 8European Starling29%
  9. 9American Herring Gull26%
  10. 10Bald Eagle26%
  11. 11American Robin24%
  12. 12Black-capped Chickadee24%
  13. 13Common Raven24%
  14. 14Common Goldeneye21%
  15. 15Hooded Merganser21%

Share of complete checklists at this spot that reported the bird in November. The sparkline is the whole year, with this month highlighted.

Season by season

Winter 34 species

  1. Blue Jay68%
  2. American Crow65%
  3. Pileated Woodpecker38%
  4. Cedar Waxwing35%
  5. European Starling33%

Spring 83 species

  1. Mallard82%
  2. Red-winged Blackbird82%
  3. Common Grackle77%
  4. Canada Goose66%
  5. American Robin63%

Summer 67 species

  1. Red-winged Blackbird70%
  2. Green Heron63%
  3. Wood Duck62%
  4. American Robin60%
  5. Common Grackle60%

Fall 60 species

  1. Mallard69%
  2. Blue Jay68%
  3. Great Blue Heron51%
  4. American Crow50%
  5. Ring-billed Gull48%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Michigan.

Nearby spots

Frequency is the share of complete checklists at this location that listed the bird, 2016–2025. Busy places report more of everything, and the weekly chart counts species on at least 5% of checklists so a few stray reports do not inflate it. How to read it.