Since it opened in 1989, the Au Train Songbird Trail has offered a new way to learn bird identification. There are all sorts of guide books out there for telling one bird from another, but this unique audio-guided interpretive trail allows you to learn birds by their songs.

The trail winds through forest and field, along bog and lakeshore, and includes an observation platform on Au Train Lake's Buck Bay. The best time to hear the "woodland concert" is in the morning when the birds are most active, but you can walk the trail any time of the day. You can rent a kit which contains a field guide, a tape and tape player, and binoculars. The tape guides you along the trail and features twenty bird species. In the forested areas, you may see such birds as chickadees, cedar waxwings, nuthatches and warblers. During the May and June, warbler's are abundant. In fact, more than dozen warbler species may be seen including Bay-breasted warblers, magnolia, Nashville, Connecticut, and Wilson's. From atop the observation platform, near the trailhead, you may see ducks, shorebirds, and perhaps even an eagle or osprey.

The kits can be picked up in Au Train at the A & L Grocery, Au Train Grocery or Paulson House Museum. A fourth kit is available at the Ranger District office. For more information call 906-387-3700 or 2512.

Connector trail provides access to the North Country Trail - Munising Segment.

Directions: From Au Train, MI, Take M-28 to H03 (Forest Lake Road) south of Au Train. Travel 4.5 miles, passing through the village of Au Train, and turn east onto FR 2276. You will see a Hiawatha National Forest Recreation Area sign at this intersection. Go 0.5 miles to the next sign and turn left (stay on the pavement) until you enter the campground. Take the first campground loop to the right and you will find the trailhead near campsite #11 and #12.

Several observation areas afford sights of varying species including chickadees, cedar waxwings, nuthatches, eagles, osprey, and herons.