Deen ee OmNirs Urhis heli N By) 
Kirtland’s Warbler and Northern Michigan 
By Amy G. BALDWIN 
THE WISH TO ADD Kirtland’s warbler to my life-list of birds was realized 
during the Decoration day holiday when Mrs. George Burch and I made 
the trip to Higgins Lake, near Grayling, Mich., with the members of the 
Michigan Audubon Society. 
We took the Indian Trails bus from Cnaaes to Battle Creek and 
enjoyed every mile of the way. Lupine was still very lovely, mixed with 
puccoon, and we saw much of it even beyond Battle Creek. Maples and 
oaks seemed to make up the largest number of the trees we saw as far as 
Kalamazoo, although part of the way we went through large orchards and 
vineyards. Then there seemed to be quite a stretch of country without 
many trees, but fields of grain and crops of different kinds. How good 
it seemed when we began to see pines and birches, for then we knew we 
were nearing our destination where we were to spend four days in the 
out-of-doors of a north country wilderness. It truly was a place of peace, 
where all worry was left behind and the days not long enough to do all one 
would like. Sleep was sweet, smoke-free, and very restful. 
Leaving Chicago on Tuesday morning, we arrived at Battle Creek about 
four o’clock in the afternoon. This allowed us to spend the night there 
with friends and do a little sight-seeing in the morning before joining 
Mr. Brigham and his group at 2:00 P.M. to start the journey north. The 
group at Higgins Lake was made up of members from different parts of 
the state and numbered a little over two hundred when the final count was 
completed at the end of the meeting. 
Our party arrived before dark and those who were camping out set up 
their camps. For the four days of the outing the rest of us were the guests 
of Mr. Martin, director of the Conservation Training School, so the facili- 
ties of the dormitories, dining room and lounge were ours and everything 
was made pleasant for us. The dormitories were equipped with two-decker 
beds, showers, and everything to make us very comfortable; one cold, rainy 
day we even had steam heat. A short walk took us to the dining room 
and lounge, which were connected by the office in the middle. The dining 
room furniture was made by the Indians. 
As we arrived a little earlier than the others we spent the first morning 
getting acquainted and exploring the grounds near at hand. Higgins Lake 
is lovely, with wooded shores; a loon was reported. The flowers were very 
interesting. Several kinds of orchids were found: striped coral, green- 
fringed and ram’s horn orchids, rose pogonia, wild lily of the valley, and 
many others. The stemless lady slipper was fairly common. A rather 
large patch of dwarf sweet william was growing at the edge of some woods 
not far from the highway. It seemed to be unusual in that region and 
was not seen anywhere else. 
A beaver dam was visited by part of the group, while the rest of us 
found a young fawn and were able to hold and pet it. It was two or three 
days old and called ma-a several times, much to our delight. Then it was 
