Wisconsin Important Bird Areas

Conserving the most important places for birds

Whitefish Dunes-Shivering Sands

Site Description

This site on the Door Peninsula encompasses Whitefish Dunes State Park, Cave Point County Park, and lands owned by The Nature Conservancy in the Shivering Sands area.  A variety of habitats are present here, ranging from a high-quality beach and dune complex at Whitefish Dunes to cedar swamps to upland deciduous and mixed forests.  It also includes open waters of Lake Michigan.

Ornithological Importance

This site provides breeding habitat for a number of species, including Black-throated Blue Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, and Canada Warbler.  It also receives very heavy use as a stopover site for neotropical migrants, raptors, and short-distance migrants moving along the Lake Michigan shoreline.  Large flocks of diving ducks utilize the open waters of Lake Michigan in the winter.

Whitefish Dunes, photo by Robert Howe

Whitefish Dunes, photo by Robert Howe