Belle Isle - construction coming to an end?

It was a beautiful, quiet and calm late morning and early afternoon on Thursday, the 27th at Belle Isle.   Belle Isle looked cleaned up and, it would appear, that most of the heavy equipment work has been completed.  The bridge near the nature trail has been reconstructed and appears to be coming to completion.  Frequent visitors to Belle Isle know that the island, in the hands of the State of Michigan, has been undergoing dramatic change over approximately the past five years. The design of all of those changes, made by all that work, now appear a little clearer habitat-wise.  But, there was a heavy price paid by the trees, birds and other wildlife.  Hopefully, it's all coming to an end soon and Belle Isle will, once again, invite back the birds, invertebrates and other wildlife.     

Near the bridge building, along the Nashua creek, it was very birdy. The water appeared unclean with a red coating of something on its surface, but maybe this red stuff was full of insects. 

Blue Jay

Northern Cardinal

House Finch

Funny photo of Golden-crowned Kinglet

I listed 22 for my eBird count of White-crowned Sparrows but eBird rejected this number saying it was too high for this time of year.  In three different areas White-crowned Sparrows were present in good numbers.  Perhaps 22 is a miscount, but I would ere on the side that it may have been too low.  Above and below, White-throated and White-crowned pecking in the straw mesh used to cover muddy areas.  I'm against this mesh because it traps snakes, frogs, toads and other small animals.  In another area of the park it was easy to see where geese and ducks could become entangled.

I've been critical of the State's construction interference of wildlife habitat, but along the edges of this long, straight stretch of new boardwalk was rich sparrow habitat.  Here I found White-throated, White-crowned, Song, Field and Swamp sparrows and juncos.

Above and three below, Song Sparrow

Above, my favorite of the Song sparrow photos.

White-crowned sparrow in bad light

Swamp sparrow in bad light.

I was most surprised to see a Field sparrow - only the second one I can recall seeing at Belle Isle - each time during the migration window. 

Out of the woods and along the road.

When I first saw this cormorant all alone in the big pond I couldn't make it out.  If I looked at it with my my naked eyes it looked like a Double-crested.  When I looked through my bins it looked small with petite features.  I thought about the hurricane and then Neotropic crossed my mind.  It flew low and away when I got out of my car to fetch my field guide.  I settled on Double-crested and later learned that there was a large group of D-c cormorants hanging out where the common tern colony had formerly been.

This Ring-billed Gull was not going to let go of its prize, a still living crayfish.  It slammed it against the ground and pecked at it.  Then picked it up and waddled around with it before dropping it against the ground again, all while keeping an eye on the lady with the camera.  

Back into the woods.

Perhaps the most fun bird to photograph this visit, even while getting tangled in the undergrowth,  I enjoyed chasing this Hermit Thrush.  It never flew far; just far enough to remain in sight and encourage me to keep bushwhacking.

 

The photo above is a good one for "can you find the ... ?"

... fresh Common Buckeye.  It was my first for the year!

Above, White-crowned sparrow near the Nature Center where there was a large flock feeding on some flower-top seeds.

The one-way westbound road entered from between the Nature Center and the children's playground appears to have been taken out altogether.  Red oaks have been planted in the dark earth left behind.    (The one-way road that ends at the main road and the Blue Heron pond has been completely redone with one lane for cars and the other lane a two-way for bicycles).  If, indeed, the westbound road has been taken out altogether and not just rerouted, uninterrupted habitat will be increased.  Still to early to tell because construction evidence remains suggesting that the area is still being worked on.  Because there has been no rain, I could walk in the deeply rutted dirt to the small trail well known to birders, which thankfully is still intact, and where I found the Hermit Thrush.  

It was a birdy day at Belle Isle - more than any day I can recall in a long time.  The weather was perfect, the park was quiet, the construction seems to be coming to a halt (some unsettled areas still remain) and the ultimate plans for birding and wildlife habitat remain to be discovered.  But, overall, I'm feeling more optimistic about Belle Isle than I have for a long time.  As is now well-known, the biggest victory for Belle Isle has been getting rid of the Grand Prix race.  Thank you Detroit City Council members and all those who worked so hard on this achievement.

While most of the changes to Belle Isle seem to have been made with its human visitors in mind, hopefully Belle Isle will, once again, be a welcoming place for its animal residents and visitors.  There is no such thing as too much animal habitat.

To emphasize the fantastic diversity, the following photos were taken last summer at Belle Isle.  

Eastern Fox Snake (Pantherophis gloydi)

Addendum 11/03/2022:  Rethinking my identification of the snake above after visiting the newly remodeled Belle Isle Nature Center today.  Although the snake above might still be an eastern fox snake; if so and in fact, the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) report that there were only 22 sightings in Wayne County in 2022 and that it is also considered imperiled in the State of Michigan.  So after my Nature Center visit today, I would also like to consider that it may more likely be a Northern Watersnake (Nerodia siphon).  The colors seem more similar to N. watersnake (fox snake splotches color brighter) and couldn't find anything about it's status in the State but at least it's on display in the Nature Center.  Belle Isle has habitat that matches what's needed by both species.  

Terrible photo of the Northern Watersnake in the Nature Center display case. 

Blue Dasher dragonfly - common in southeastern Michigan.

Beaver swimming in Nashua Creek.  During this recent visit I noticed their dam was gone, possibly taken out when the second bridge was removed.  Happily, beavers are persistent little creatures.  

Well, hello there and goodbye!