US-MI-Houghton+Lake+Flats+Flooding


 * =Birding in Michigan=

Roscommon County
=Houghton Lake Flats Flooding= Old US-27 Houghton Lake, MI 48629 [|Houghton Lake Flats Flooding web site] [|Houghton Lake Flats Flooding map]

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Houghton Lake Flats Flooding
Coordinates: 44.3633663, -84.800437 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Houghton Lake Flats Flooding
From the intersection of M-55 and Old US-27, go north on West Houghton Lake Drive / Old US-27 for 1.8 miles until you get to a gazebo on the west side of the road. This large, flooded marsh is home to numbers of breeding dabbling ducks. Nesting platforms are used by several pairs of Ospreys and Bald Eagles. Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons also breed here.

Approximately 1 mile north of the gazebo there is a Great Blue Heron rookery on the west side of the road. As many as 40 nests have been built in the flooded oaks, with nesting activity beginning in early April. There is no parking area and the two-lane road can be very busy. Please, pull-over along the wide-shoulder of the road to safely view the heron rookery. Source: Chartier, Allen T., and Jerry Ziarno. A Birder's Guide To Michigan. Colorado Springs, CO: American Birding Association, 2004. Print.

This viewing site is a moderately sized wetland on the west edge of Houghton Lake, Michigan’s largest inland lake. Current water levels were created in the late 1950's as part of a mitigation project between Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Department of Transportation when the US-27 freeway was built. US-27 on the west and Old US-27 on the east, plus cross dikes between the two roadways, enclose the marsh on four sides, providing water level management. Levels are managed with pumps and control structures to enhance fish and wetland wildlife habitat. Large birds and other wildlife can be viewed easily from both highways. A parking area, an elevated wildlife observation platform, and a fishing deck have been constructed along Old US-27. Because of the convenience of the observation platform and on-site parking – and the abundant wildlife – Houghton Lake Flats is an excellent place to watch wildlife, and a great place to stop when you don’t have a lot of time to spend.

This managed wetland area is lush with wetland vegetation and wildlife. A quick stop here almost anytime during the spring, summer, and fall will be rewarded with sightings of Osprey, Great Blue Herons, ducks, shorebirds, and marshland songbirds. Great Blue Herons are common here. The herons have established a nesting colony, called a rookery, just to the north on a nearby wetland. Black Terns, an increasingly rare species in Michigan, nest here and may be seen flying low and hovering over the water as they search for food. Several Osprey nesting platforms have been installed in the marsh and are used each year by Ospreys which benefit from the excellent fishing in Houghton Lake. Several Bald Eagle nests are located in the vicinity of the Houghton Lake Flats and eagles are often observed as well. Muskrats, Raccoons, Mink, and River Otters live here year round. They are seen occasionally, most often at dawn. Use binoculars from your car, from the observation decks, or perhaps even take a stroll on the mowed cross dikes on the north and south ends of the flooding to enjoy one of the best and quickest wildlife viewing stops in mid-Michigan.

From [|Houghton Lake Flats Flooding web site]
 * This area is open to public hunting.** Contact the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for affected seasons and locations.

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copr. Jacob Guettler (June 6, 2015) || L611585 US US-MI US-MI-143 44.3633663 -84.800437 Houghton Lake Flats Flooding