74 SIXTEENTH REPORT. 



THE BIRDS OF DICKINSON COUNTY, MICHIGAN/ 



BY FREDERICK M. GAIGE. 



All of the following observations were made in the region about Brown 

 Lake, Dickinson County, in the northern peninsula of Michigan in the 

 summer of 1909. The writer was then attached to a field party sent out 

 by the Michigan Geological and Biological Survey to investigate the biology 

 of the region. The period of observation extended from June 30 to August 

 24 both inclusive, every day of which was devoted to field work. 



HABITATS AND HABITAT DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES. 



The region studied was wild as was shown by the presence there of many 

 of the species which are disappearing in Michigan, e. g., deer, bear, wolf 

 and wildcat. It was in a natural state except that the pine had been re- 

 moved and the plains had recently been swept by a severe fire. Brown 

 Lake is situated in the northern part of Waucedah Township, near the 

 junction of the east and west branches of the Sturgeon River. It is about 

 one mile in length and a half mile wide and is really an enlargement of the 

 East Branch. The latter enters at one end and leaves at another, and 

 shortly after leaving the lake joins the West Branch. The camp was situated 

 near the junction of the streams, and was the permanent headquarters of 

 the party. 



The region about Brown Lake fell into five general habitats: (1) the 

 burned lands; (2) the unburned hardwood forest; (3) the unburned ash 

 and alder thickets; (4) the unburned tamarack, cedar and spruce swamps; 

 (5) the mud flats along the river. These five habitats are briefly described 

 in subsequent paragraphs. 



1. The Burned Lands — The burned pine lands in the region studied are 

 the sandy plains bordering the Sturgeon River and its branches, thus 

 forming a semi-barren strip on both sides of the river with a total width of 

 several miles, which gives place to a hardwood forest on the adjacent mo- 

 raines. Brown Lake lies in this area, as do two smaller lakes, Jackson and 

 Tomahawk. The burn extended to the very edge of these lakes except in 

 the case of the former where in several places large marshes intervened. 

 While most of this burned area was formerly pine forest, there were a few 

 low cedar and spruce swamps in it, which had also been devastated by the 

 fire. The pine land proper had been largely cleared of the pine which had 

 been succeeded by a dense growth of poplars and birches. The fire killed 

 practically all of these, though a few patches, together with several small 

 groves of medium sized pines, still survived. The fire varied much in its 

 intensity and in places the heat had been so great that the old pine stumps 

 were entireh' consumed even to the roots, and the earth left loose and friable 

 with a dull red color, while in other places the trees remained standing, 

 gaunt and dead, blackened at the base and slowly rotting as they stood. 

 Most of the latter were small trees and saplings, with trunks not more than 

 a few inches in diameter and with a height of from ten to thirty feet, but 



iFrom the Michigan Geological and Biological Survey. 



