What to watch: Weird winter waterfowl on Belle Isle
Planet Detroit, March 9, 2023 by Rob Streit
Belle Isle is a birding hotspot year-round, but in the cold months, it offers up the chance to see some out-of-towners from up north. Notes and tips from a local birder. Enjoy reading sections on:
- A refuge for the mind- or ‘How I got into birding’
- Embrace your unicorn
- Don’t worry about expensive equipment
- Develop your ear
- Respect birding ethics
- Respect other birders
- Help birds
- Be aware of migration
- Some insider tips on Belle Isle
Read the full article here.
Great Lakes Moment: The event that saved Humbug Marsh
Great Lakes Now, March 6, 2023 by John Hartig
On that September day in 1998, more than 1,000 rain-soaked and determined people stood up for what they felt was right.
People from all over Michigan and beyond attended the public hearing at Gibraltar Carlson High School, so many that there were traffic jams and the fire marshal had to lock the doors to prevent a larger crowd. The issue at hand was residential development of the last mile of natural shoreline on the U.S. mainland of the Detroit River – Humbug Marsh.
Locally, the saving of Humbug Marsh was viewed as a citizen victory. Indeed, citizens and grassroots organizations like Friends of the Detroit River, Sierra Club, Detroit Audubon and others banded together for nearly ten years in a campaign to preserve Humbug Marsh. But others like Congressman John Dingell, other local elected officials, scientists and natural resource managers also played critical roles. This tremendous public support was a key catalyst in establishing the international wildlife refuge and Humbug Marsh became its cornerstone.
Today, Humbug Marsh is considered an internationally important wetland because of its ecological importance in the Detroit River corridor and the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. Oak trees on site have been aged at over 300 years old and were alive when Cadillac founded Detroit in 1701. Indeed, the Michigan Natural Features Inventory has ranked this community as globally imperiled. It serves as vital habitat for 51 species of fish, over 90 species of plants, 154 species of birds, seven species of reptiles and amphibians and 37 species of dragonflies and damselflies.
Read the full article here.
Detroit Zoo leads coalition to connect habitat restoration efforts across the city
Planet Detroit, January 18, 2023 by Tom Perkins
Detroit Audubon, National Wildlife Federation, Arboretum Detroit and neighborhood groups are working on small and large-scale habitat restoration projects. The challenge is to connect them.
The effort is being carried out by multiple groups and individuals increasingly coordinating to redevelop a system of native habitats across Detroit. Among the restorations are larger neighborhood-scale initiatives like Callahan, “backyard” habitats, and native plant and rain gardens at churches or local businesses.
Some organizers are coordinating with private-public partnerships responsible for the region’s growing number of large-scale green infrastructure projects, like the Detroit Tree Equity Partnership.
The efforts are critical to sustaining local wildlife because native plant habitats attract thousands of species of insects and lifeforms, said Shafkat Khan, director of conservation with the Detroit Zoo, which is taking on a leadership role.
Read the full article here.
From Empty Plots to Thriving Wild Spaces
Children & Nature Network, January 2023 by Rosalind Allen
For many, the dawn of a new year marks a fresh start, rife with opportunity for new beginnings, habits and projects. This week’s feature, about transforming empty plots into thriving wild spaces for children and other members of the community, is all about the possibilities that come with investing time and energy into unattended spaces. Guest columnist Rosalind Allen of the RSPB, the U.K.’s largest nature conservation charity, takes us on a whirlwind tour across the U.S. Among others, she visits Detroit Bird City, who plant native wildflower meadows to beautify and revitalize abandoned city parks, and BLISS Meadows, who tend a community farm, summer camps, and natural woodlands on what was once a vacant lot.
As you consider the next dozen months, envision the year as a garden, and ask yourself, “What seeds do I want to sow?” Make a plan, don your overalls and get to work. You’ll thank yourself as you reap your harvest next winter.
Read the full article here.
Looking for a new winter hobby? Try birdwatching on Belle Isle with Detroit Audubon.
Photo taken by Randiah Camille Green
Detroit Metro Times, January 13, 2023 by Randiah Camille Green
Clouds hung in the sky over Belle Isle on a chilly January morning as a crowd gathered to look for new friends: birds. Birding may seem like a springtime activity, but Detroit Audubon hosts bird watching field trips throughout the winter season. Though winter can be hit or miss, it’s a good reason to get outside instead of being cooped up in the house all winter.
Birding is an activity that takes patience, time, and lots of curiosity, but it can be rewarding in the moments you spot a rare species or connect with like-minded folks. Plus, birding can be beneficial for your mental health.
Read the full article here.
Stateside Podcast: Building a safe space for BIPOC birders
Michigan Radio, October 17, 2022 by Stateside
Despite the fact that birdwatching is a relatively common hobby, birding groups are often overwhelmingly white. Campbell, an avid birder and retired physician, found she was often the only person of color in the various birding groups she joined over the years.
“When I retired, I decided, well, now I’ll have the time. I want to devote that time to changing this,” she said.
And so, this past year, Campbell formed a group called “BIPOC Birders of Michigan” in partnership with Detroit Audubon. She wanted to create a birding group that felt inclusive and relatable to other people of color.
Listen & read the full interview here or click below.
Building a Black birding community in Detroit
Planet Detroit, October 3, 2022 by Rukiya Colvin
According to a 2019 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report, just 6% of birders are Black. In Michigan, Campbell decided to create her own local group for Black birders – BIPOC Birders of Michigan. “I called it BIPOC Birders of Michigan because I wanted to be acknowledged that the goal was to have this statewide,” Campbell says.
Finding a local Audubon chapter willing to work with her took a while. In Michigan, local chapters operate autonomously and are unaffiliated with each other and with the National Audubon Society. At first, Campbell hoped to work with the state chapter, Michigan Audubon, but found a good fit with Detroit Audubon.
BIPOC Birders of Michigan held its inaugural event – Blacks, Browns, and Birds – in early June, leading a bird-watching tour through the trails of Detroit’s Palmer Park and ending with a conversation about the joys and challenges Black Birders face. Detroit Audubon helped distribute flyers among Black communities and loaned equipment for the program.
“Detroit Audubon has undergone what I would describe as a sea change in their entire philosophy of birding and outreach,” April Campbell says. “And they have a number of young new people who are really dedicated to making this work.” She’s also building partnerships with other metro Detroit chapters and continues working with supportive Washtenaw Audubon members.
Read the full article here.
These Native Meadows in Motown Aim to Boost Birdlife and Neighbors’ Well-Being
National Audubon, Fall 2022 by Allison Torres Burtka
A few years ago, Detroit’s Callahan Park was indistinguishable from an abandoned lot, its overgrown turf grass strewn with litter. While the city has been in economic recovery mode since its 2013 bankruptcy, some areas have rebounded more than others, and many of its more than 300 parks look much like Callahan once did.
With two acres planted in 2019, Callahan became the first of five parks transformed through the initial phase of Detroit Bird City, a project led by Detroit Audubon in partnership with the city. The makeovers are a relief for the city’s parks department because the meadows, once established, need little upkeep beyond an annual mowing. For conservationists, they’re an opportunity to create grassland habitat for birds in decline. “A two-acre patch isn’t going to save a species, but it helps,” says Diane Cheklich, a Detroit Audubon board member.
The new habitat will take time to reach its full potential, but Detroit Audubon has already recorded 98 avian species in Callahan Park.
Read the full article here.
The Eagles of Belle Isle
Detroit Is It, July 11, 2022 by Kim Kisner
In February of 2018, two members of the Detroit Audubon Society – Rebecca Minardi and Diane Cheklich – discovered what seemed to be the initial makings of an eagle’s nest – called an aerie – in a large tree near Central Avenue on Belle Isle. Their initial observation turned out to be correct, and the pair of bald eagles had three eaglets in the spring that year and has had baby eaglets each spring since.
Read the full article here.
In Detroit, the long-term fight for biodiversity is bearing fruit (and flowers, and birds, and butterflies…)
Planet Detroit, June 18, 2020 by Jeff Burtka
When invasive species and development overtake prairies, forests, and marshlands in the Detroit area, biodiversity is threatened. But conservation groups are fighting, project by project, to restore some of the region’s natural biodiversity. It’s an effort that requires constant vigilance and takes decades.
“Without these projects, we are losing that habitat where these creatures exist,” says Ava Landgraf, research coordinator for Detroit Audubon. “And without that habitat, they’re going to slowly disappear if we don’t do something about it.”
Read the full article here.
Birds are disappearing. Here’s what we can do about it.
Detroit Free Press, December 6, 2019
Detroit Free Press Op-Ed by Detroit Audubon Safe Passage Committee Members, Diane Cheklich, Heidi Trudell, and Kami Pothukuchi.
Read the article here or download the pdf here.
Detroit Audubon Turns East Side Park Into a Haven for Bird Watchers
Detroit Free Press, September 3, 2019
Micah Walker reports on the Detroit Bird City project and the efforts to restore Callahan Park on the city’s east side into a native grassland ecological space.
Read the article here.
MSU to Study Impact of Natural Habitats on Health of Detroit Residents
Crain’s Detroit Business, August 30, 2019
Sherri Welch reports on our efforts with the city of Detroit, Michigan State University, and the National Insitute of Health to study restored green spaces and their effects on people and the environment.
Read the article here.
Opinion: Citizens Must Speak Out Against Destructive Wetlands Bill
Detroit News, December 7th, 2018
Detroit Audubon President Jim Bull released an opinion piece in the Detroit News about the the need for citizens to call their Michigan House Representative and tell them to oppose SB 1211.
Read the article here.
Opinion: Migratory Bird Protections Under Threat
Detroit News, September 18th, 2018
Detroit Audubon President Jim Bull released an opinion piece in the Detroit News about the importance of, and threats to, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, one of America’s most important pieces of conservation legislation.
Check out the article here.