Discover our rare plants, animals, and insects.

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Prairie Smoke can be seen in the Maxton Plains Alvar area on Drummond Island.
While we cannot guarantee that you will see any of the plants and animals we list on this site, we encourage you to take the time to look carefully for them. Everything described below has been found here. The local attitude toward visitors, “Come often, play nicely,” has paid off in the protection of a wide range of unique public places for you to explore. This page showcases from of the rare plants and animals you might enjoy.

​Drummond Island consists of 83,000 acres, about 130 miles of shoreline and twenty-four different biodiversity types. In addition to paved roads, 68% of the land is state-owned, with 117 miles of hikeable off-road trails. You may also enjoy the Heritage Hiking Trail from the rustic campsites of Drummond Island Township Park, the Little Traverse Nature Conservancy, (Williams Nature Preserve Trail) trails and the public hiking trails at The Rock, one of our two golf courses. In addition, discovery may wait around every corner as you boat along every bit of shoreline and across our inland waters (some isolated interior wetlands are surrounded by private land). Many of our Natural Communities are easy to find, easy to get to, and easy to walk through. 
Rare Plants to watch for on Drummond Island
In addition to what you might expect to find flowering here, if you are interested in rare plants, we are proud to claim an unusual number of orchids, an unusual mix of Midwest and alpine plants growing together, and rare ferns. 
Green
​Spleenwort
Asplenium viride
Round-leaved
Orchis
Amerorchis rotundifolia
Maidenhair Spleenwort
Asplenium trichomanes
Calypso Orchid
(a.k.a. Fairy Slipper)
Calypso bulbosa
Ram's Head
Lady's Slipper
Cypripedium arietinum
Laurentian Fragile Fern
Cystopteris laurentiana
Drummond Rockcress
Arabis drummondii
Priarie Smoke
Geum triflorum
Smooth Cliffbrake
Pellaea glabella
Slender-spire Orchid
Piperia unalascensis
Rare Animals and Insects to watch for on Drummond Island
Eight of the thirteen rare animal species recorded during the five-year millennium survey of Michigan’s Great Lakes Islands were located on Drummond Island. These include six animals often associated with water. Three raptors, listed rarest first, are the Merlin, Osprey and Bald Eagle. 
White Admiral
Limenitis arthemis
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger
Yellow Rail
Coturnicops noveboracensis
LeConte's Sparrow
Ammodramus leconteii
Merlin
Falco columbarius
Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly
Somatochlora hineana
American Bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Common Loon
Gavia immer
Northern Harrier
Circus cyaneus 
Deep-throat Vertigo
Vertigo nylanderi
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus
Osprey 
Pandion haliaetus
Red-legged Spittlebug
Prosapia ignipectus
Additional Resources
Michigan Natural Features Inventory - Michigan State University Extension
​For indepth information about the rare plants and animals found on Drummond Island, and elsewhere in Michigan, the Michigan Natural Features Inventory website is a great resource. 

North Huron Birding Trail
Established in 2016, the Norther Huron Birding trail website offers a number of locations for birdwatching on Drummond Island, as well as along the coastline from St. Ignace to Drummond.