Walking on the Wild Side A look at rare and endangered wildlife at Sleeping Bear Dunes
By Brighid Driscoll Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBD) is a favorite place for locals and tourists in search of stunning views and sun-soaked hikes. However, while we’re snapping Instaworthy skylines, crucial mating, nesting, and migrating are going on behind the scenes. We have a beautiful natural landscape here in northern Michigan, full of forests and beaches that provide essential habitat to wildlife of all kinds. Plants, animals, and insects all live within these landscapes and rely on each other to keep their life cycles in motion. SBD’s busy season is underway, but the park’s staff work hard to protect and monitor the local wildlife throughout the year. Northern Express talked with SBD’s Wildlife Biologist Vince Cavalieri about some of the unique flora and fauna that can be found within the park. To help keep this local wildlife happy and healthy, Cavalieri says to hike the trails with clean boots so invasive plant species don’t spread, keep dogs leashed, and refrain from wandering off the path or into roped-off areas. Look out for these special flora and fauna the next time you’re exploring the park, and take care not to disturb them. They’re as unique and beautiful as the landscape they summer in.
Great Lakes Piping Plover: Arguably the mascot of SBD, Great Lakes piping plovers are set to have a great summer season. In the 1970s, nesting pairs of Great Lakes piping plovers in Michigan dropped to only 11-14 pairs. Last year, 35 pairs were spotted, and Cavalieri is hopeful for continued growth. These tiny, sand-colored birds return to the dunes every year for their mating season. Great Lakes shores are where they nest, especially at the dunes. The birds and their eggs easily blend into their beach surroundings, so certain areas of SBD are roped off to protect them from getting crushed underfoot. With the number of nesting Great Lakes piping plover pairs rising, the conservation efforts for this federally endangered species are paying off.
14 • june 13, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly
Prairie Warbler: Well worth mentioning in the bird world is the prairie warbler, a state endangered bird that resides within the park. These bright yellow and black birds like shrubby areas, forests, and dunes. They seek out dry, old clearings, pines in sandy barrens, and forest edges during their breeding season, making SBD an ideal spot. After their mating and nesting season, the prairie warbler migrates to warmer temperatures in Florida and the Caribbean. Males will return to the same breeding site every year, while the female Prairie Warbler typically doesn’t go to the same spot twice. Climate change has reduced the bird’s habitat range throughout some of the Midwest and South but is stable and improving in Florida, some of the East Coast, and Canada.
Pitcher's Thistle: This federally threatened plant has a bulbous, spiky top with long, narrow leaves. It thrives in hot, sandy, windy areas. “It’s also called dune thistle, and they only occur in Great Lakes dune systems. 90 percent of the Pitcher’s thistle population occurs on dunes around Lake Michigan. There are many at Sleeping Bear Dunes,” says Cavalieri. The plants are a pale, silvery-green color, and when they flower in the spring and summer, they can get anywhere from 1 to 5 feet tall. Interestingly, Pitcher’s thistles only breed once—their lifespan is anywhere from 5 to 8 years, and they flower and go to seed only in their last year.
