US-MI-Dead+Stream+Flooding+SWMA


 * =Birding in Michigan=

Missaukee County
=Dead Stream Flooding State Wildlife Management Area= North Michelson Road Houghton Lake, MI 48629 [|Dead Stream Flooding State Wildlife Management Area map] [|Reedsburg Dam State Forest Campground website]

media type="custom" key="27416758"

Michelson's Landing
Coordinates: 44.3782876, -84.8421335 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Reedsburg Dam boat launch
Coordinates: 44.3600663, -84.8584226 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Dead Stream Flooding State Wildlife Management Area
As you reach the circular drive at the end of North Michelson Road, a small pull-out to the left has a parking area and a crude boat ramp where you can view the Dead Stream Flooding. Dead Stream Flooding is an impoundment of the Reedsburg Dam. At the far end of the pull-out are several large, old willow trees which have hosted nesting Pileated Woodpeckers, and where you might find numbers of warblers during migration. From early April - June, this is an excellent place to view breeding and migratory waterfowl and herons, as well as passerines in the wooded areas along the road. Source: Chartier, Allen T., and Jerry Ziarno. A Birder's Guide To Michigan. Colorado Springs, CO: American Birding Association, 2004. Print.

This flooding is one of the largest managed wetlands in the northern Lower Peninsula. There is a state forest campground near the Reedsburg Dam on the south end of the flooding. No other developments or improvements are found at this site, but the small boat ramps beckon you to a wonderful wilderness experience.

The flooding is usually teeming with wildlife, and with a short trip upstream in a non-motorized boat you can explore the 30,000-acre Dead Stream Swamp-the largest semi-wilderness area in the Lower Peninsula.


 * No motors of any kind are permitted in the dead stream swamp.** Motors are allowed on boats in the flooding or the backwaters of the dam.

The extensive beds of wild rice that grow in the flooding are very attractive to many kinds of waterfowl in the fall. Species that may be seen here include Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, Wood Ducks, Canada Geese, American Black Ducks and Mallards. Scaup, mergansers, and loons are also seen here in the early spring right after the ice breaks up. Spring is a great time to view waterfowl because many of them are in their colorful breeding plumage. An active Bald Eagle nest is visible on the opposite shore from one of the boat ramps.

Eagle viewing is very good during spring and through mid to late June when young eaglets leave their nest. Several Osprey platforms have been placed in the flooding and most of them are used each year by nesting Ospreys. Ospreys are very common sightings on the flooding. **Please do not attempt to approach the Bald Eagle or Osprey nests.** Muskrats, Mink, and River Otters also make this area their home, and may be seen by the stealthy observer.

From [|Dead Stream Flooding SWMA web site]
 * This area is open to public hunting.** Contact the michigan department of natural resources for affected seasons and locations.

|| media type="custom" key="27327284"

media type="custom" key="27326154" || L886577 US US-MI US-MI-143 44.3782876 -84.8421335 Michelson's Landing L2909802 US US-MI US-MI-113 44.3600663 -84.8584226 Reedsburg Dam boat launch