American Animals Massachusetts and Michigan

Wildlife of the US states of Massachusetts and Michigan

By Rasma RaistersPublished 2 years ago • 3 min read

Wildlife in Massachusetts

In the US state of Massachusetts, the most common large animals are whitetail deer. Occasionally black bears can be spotted in the western part of the state.

Other animals making their home here include foxes, beavers, raccoons, weasels, skunks, woodchucks, muskrats, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits.

The most common birds are the state bird the black-capped chickadee and the robin. Overall there are over 400 species of birds in the state and 185 annually nest here.

Among the birds you might see are the great black-backed gull, herring gull, purple martin, night-heron, horned lark, piping plover, sparrow, four species of terns, and marsh hawks are found in the coastal dunes and marshes.

Through the help of the federal endangered species regulations the piping plover has recovered and from 138 breeding pairs there are now over 400.

In the deciduous forests of Massachusetts, you can find the pileated woodpecker, warblers, hawks, and owls.

Throughout the state, you can find the wild turkeys.

In the farmlands and meadows are the bobwhite, killdeer, bobolink, eastern meadowlark, and field sparrow. During the wintertime, there are plenty of loon, grebe, and duck.

In the rivers and ponds of Massachusetts, there are native species of fish like brook trout, pickerel, shad, sunfish, and perch. Among the popularly introduced species are rainbow, brown, and lake trout, smallmouth and largemouth bass, black crappie, carp, pike, and tiger muskie. Among the saltwater fish and shellfish are pollock, flounder, haddock, cod, smelt, striped bass, bluefish, clams, scallops, and lobsters.

Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. You can head out there for some white-sided dolphin watching.

You can find boats going out from Gloucester and when whale food is available you can even see some North Atlantic Right Whales with their massive heads and bodies. The season for watching begins in mid-May.

From Cape Cod, you can get boat tours and go whale watching along Stellwagen Bank one of the best whale feeding grounds found off Cape Cod Bay. Other fund cruises include seal cruises where in season you can watch these adorable mammals at play.

Wildlife of Michigan

The US state of Michigan is in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwest. The state has many lakes, grasslands, waterfalls, and forests. It consists of two discontinuous peninsulas connected at the closest point by the Mackinac Bridge.

The Lower Peninsula takes the shape of a mitten and borders the US states of Indiana and Ohio to the south. The Upper Peninsula borders Wisconsin to the west. The rest of Michigan is surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes – Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie.

The sparsely populated northern half of Michigan has all kinds of forest-dwelling wildlife and shorebirds and contains most of the state-run parks and wildlife reserves.

Official State Animal

White-tailed deer

Official State Bird

American Robin

Official State Reptile

Painted turtle

The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is located by Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula. It is the largest state park in Michigan. It has the largest stretches of old-growth hardwood forests in North America.

Here you can see coyotes, foxes, cougars, river otters, beavers, bears, porcupines, moose, and gray wolves.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park near the town of Paradise on the Upper Peninsula is the second largest park in the state. There are winding hiking trails and scenic falls.

Animals making their home here are moose, bears, rodents, and deer.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Michigan is a federally protected area with forests, beaches, dunes, and ancient glacial features.