Michigan Forest Communities - Michigan Association of ...

BIRDS AND MAMMALS ASSOCIATED
WITH FOREST COMMUNITIES
© Rick Baetsen
U
Gray wolf.
nlike plants, which are permanently
rooted in the soil, animals
move from place to place. Large,
wide-ranging birds and mammals may
roam about a territory that encompasses
square miles and several community
types in search of their requirements
for food, water, cover, and breeding.
The territory of small animals is more
confined, usually encompassing just one
or two communities. During the season
when they are travelling between winter
and summer habitats, migrating birds
and mammals can be spotted just about
anywhere. Additionally, some animals
are cosmopolitan in their habitat preferences—their
requirements may be met
in various ways. A black-capped chickadee
or a white-tailed deer could probably
be found in any community
described in this book. Certain other
animals are very picky about their habitat
and, unless migrating, can usually be
found only in it. It is fruitless, for example,
to look for Kirtland’s warblers in
anything but a young jack pine forest or
river otters in uplands far away from a
stream bank or wetland.
Because of their mobility and often
ambiguous habitat preferences, I did
not attempt to identify the animals
most likely to be observed in each of
the state’s 23 forest community types.
Interested bird and animal watchers
can consult Baker (1983), Benyus
(1989), Brewer (1991), and the MI
WILD (Michigan Wildlife Habitats) CD
developed by the Michigan Department
of Natural Resources for more information
on animal habitats.
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