Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park
seagull walking on ground
Wildlife
 


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Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is home to some very interesting and rare wildlife. The park features several peregrine falcons which are the fastest birds in the world. They live and nest on the escarpment cliffs. It is very important that these rare birds go undisturbed. Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is also home to a large population of black bears. Seeing these however is more of a random encounter. The rare goshawk also inhabits the park, but predictably in low numbers. Some would even say an animal long thought to be gone from the region still inhabits the remote rocky areas of the park - the cougar. There have been several sightings over the past twenty five years in and around the park. Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park is also home to the legendary wolf.



Bald Eagle: Lake Superior shoreline (especially inlets), larger inland lakes and vantage points from cliffs(Lake of the Clouds, Summit Peak).

Coyote: All over park, especially forest edges and near roads.

Fisher: Deep woods.

Black bear: All over the park.

Deer: All over park

Wolves: Very hard to spot, deep interior of park and winter deer areas.

Bobcat: Present, but difficult to see.

Hawks: High points, Lake of the Clouds.

Loons: Uncommon in the park. Focus on quiet lakes.

Moose: Rare and very uncommon. The Michigan moose herd is in trouble.

Steelhead and salmon: Below barrier falls on streams near Lake Superior in the spring and fall. Observe clear gravel runs while staying out of site.

Brook trout: Most park waters. Be careful not to cast your shadow onto the water.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park offers great opportunities for wildlife photography. For DLSR users, I recommend an ultra wide angle lens due to 95% of the park being forested. This makes for tight areas, making the wide angle very useful. This would be a 10-22 mm lens on a 1.6x crop body, or a 16-35mm lens on a full frame camera. For wildlife, you will want at least 300mm. Due to the dark nature of being in a forest canopy, a tripod or sturdy monopod is a must have.

  

Beautiful mountain scene in northwoods
 

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