US-MI-Maxton+Plains


 * =Birding in Michigan=

Chippewa County
=Maxton Plains=

The Nature Conservancy
Drummond, Michigan 49726 Maxton Plains Preserve web site

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Maxton Plains
Coordinates: 46.0745566, -83.661573 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Maxton Plains
The 1,210-acre Maxton Plains Preserve, located on Drummond Island in northern Lake Huron, contains a unique and diverse assemblage of natural communities, including alvar, rich conifer swamp, boreal forest, bedrock beach and Great Lakes marsh. The rich conifer swamps are dominated by white cedar. The boreal forest is composed primarily of balsam fir, white spruce, and aspen. Young aspen forests border many of the open alvars. The shoreline areas contain stretches of bedrock beach with scattered strips and pockets of Great Lakes marshes. The Great Lakes marsh at Grand Marais Lake is an exceptionally high quality marsh.

Alvar is a Swedish term used to describe dry grasslands found on limestone pavements. The last glacier receded over 10,000 years ago, leaving no, or only a very thin (up to 10 inches), soil layer over limestone bedrock. Topography of alvar is flat and horizontal plates of bedrock are sometimes exposed-giving the impression of, and earning the name, “pavement” or “limestone pavement.” Areas of pavement alvar are found in central Maxton. On the pavement alvars, the plants grow only in the bedrock joints where soil and sediment collect.

This habitat contains an extremely rich diversity of flora and fauna and hosts a unique mixture of arctic tundra and Great Plains prairie plant species. Eight Michigan state rare plants grow in the alvars. Among these are the prairie smoke, a spring bloomer, and Houghton’s goldenrod, which bloom just as the prairie grasses turn gold in the late summer sun. Little bluestem grass and prairie dropseed grass also thrive in the sparse soil. This site attracts an array of birds, including such rare and threatened species as the upland sandpiper, osprey, northern harrier, sharp-tailed grouse and as many as 160 other species of birds.

Mid-June is the best time to observe the pale-rose blooms of the prairie smoke spread throughout the alvar. In September, the prairie grasses and aspen leaves glow like gold throughout the preserve. We recommend head netting to guard against mosquitoes, black flies, and other insects during the midsummer months. Bring a hat and sunscreen to protect yourself, as the area has little shade. From Maxton Plains Preserve web site



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