29 Seney National Wildlife Refuge 
wildlife viewing
| directions and facility information
Seney is one of the premier wildlife viewing sites in Michigan.
Special features include 7,000 acres of wetlands,
a 9,500-acre bog, and 25,000 acres of wilderness.
Photo: © Ted and Jean Reuther
One of the premier wildlife viewing sites in
the state, Seney National Wildlife Refuge has something to offer wildlife
watchers of all ages and abilities. The refuge totals some 95,000 acres.
Special features include 7,000 acres of managed wetlands, a 9,500-acre
bog, and 25,000 acres of wilderness. There are hiking trails, a
self-guided wildlife auto tour, 70 miles of backcountry biking trails, a
canoe-able wild and scenic river, marked ski trails, hunting, and
fishing. Seney has an excellent visitor center. It offers interpretive
exhibits and slide shows, a children’s “please touch” table, and a
nature-oriented gift and bookshop. The visitor center is open 9 to 5, seven
days a week from May 15 to October 15. Stop in to pick up some of the
many maps, brochures, and interpretive materials that will help you get
the most of your visit to this wildlife viewing haven.
 Wildlife
Viewing
 Photo: © Rick Denomme's
Natural Image
Trumpeter swans were reintroduced to the refuge in the 1990s and have
since flourished. They have an unmistakable loud, trumpet-like call. The
male birds are called cobs, and once mated, trumpeters usually remain
together for life.
 Photo:©
Trumpeter Swan Society
Seney’s list of commonly seen critters reads
like a wildlife watcher’s wish list. There are excellent opportunities to
view bald eagles, common loons, trumpeter swans, ospreys, sandhill
cranes, white-tailed deer, and beavers. Trumpeter swans were reintroduced
to the refuge in the early 1990s. Since then, they have flourished and
now form one of the largest resident flocks in the Midwest. Some lucky
visitors also catch glimpses of black bears, bobcats, river otters, and
moose. Gray wolves are found at Seney, but sightings are rare. All told,
the refuge is home to more than 200 kinds of birds, 45 mammals, and 26
fish.
The 7-mile Marshland Wildlife Drive is a
must for wildlife viewers visiting the refuge. Open dawn to dusk, May
15-October 15, this one-way auto tour route is constructed on the tops of
water control dikes. The route takes visitors alongside open water ponds
and wetlands, sedge meadows, and through forests. These diverse habitats
attract many native and migratory wildlife, many of which can be seen at
close range on both sides of the auto route, and often seen in the pine
stands growing along many of the dikes. The drive has three wheelchair
accessible wildlife observation decks.
These festive wild irises lend splashes of
royal color to the surrounding vibrant green.
The red coats of the British soldiers also
delight the eye!
Photos: Iris © Ted and Jean Reuther;
Britishsoldier © Jean Reuther
Be sure to stop by the visitor center to get
a map of the drive. A 1.4-mile hiking trail that begins at the visitor
center also provides viewing opportunities along dikes and long
boardwalks through rich wildlife habitats. Volunteers and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service staff at the visitor center direct visitors to the best
places to see specific kinds of wildlife.
Eastern kingbirds are known to chase and dive-bomb
larger birds and mammals to protect home and brood.
This fearlessness makes them easy to photograph,
but be sure to duck!
Photo:© Ted and Jean Reuther
During June, July, and August, special
wildlife programs and free tours are held regularly by the Refuge
naturalist and biologists.
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