Songbirds Articles

Discover the Park – Wildlife

A singing wilderness: Songbirds of the Apostle Islands

A singing wilderness: Songbirds of the Apostle Islands

People have been describing bird populations in the Apostle Islands since at least the early 1940s. The first real count of breeding birds occurred in 1977, then the National Park Service began formal monitoring in 1990. There have been slight changes in monitoring methods since that time, but the top three most abundant species have stayed fairly consistent. The most current analyses show the national lakeshore maintains high species diversity and a greater number of increasing species than decreasing ones. These are all good signs, but monitoring helps us keep an ear out for troubling...

A promise of spring in the sounds of chickadee

A promise of spring in the sounds of chickadee

Nothing. No tracks but my own stitched into the dusting of fresh snow that fell last night, white as birch bark. No flittering shadows in the trees, not a sliver of bird song in the air. Winter in the Lakeshore. What sun there is this time of year shines weakly, halfheartedly through the white gauze of clouds, offering not even the slightest pretense of warmth. For nearly a week temperatures in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore have barely risen above zero. The mercury seems painted to the bottom of the thermometer. A shiver runs through me as I stomp my feet for warmth and then listen...