Conservation Manager Chad Machinski, M.S., joined the Michigan Audubon team in March of 2023 and has made great progress in reviving the stewardship of MA’s sanctuaries and engaging with our dedicated volunteers ever since. To help you stay connected with the work being done, he will be presenting regular online updates about activities going on at them: birds seen or heard, conservation work, improvements, interesting plants, and more.

One day, I’m hearing the chorus frogs singing in their vernal pools and sweating as I’m cutting down autumn olive; the next day, the sanctuaries are silent as snow falls, and I’m bundled up. Spring is coming, albeit in a very teasing manner. It’s an exciting time of year out at the sanctuaries, as we’ll see below.

PHYLLIS HAEHNLE MEMORIAL SANCTUARY

Through the Wildlife Habitat Grant Program, funded by the DNR and dispersed to us by the American Bird Conservancy, we completed four acres of forestry mowing at Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Sanctuary. This area was dominated by black locust, buckthorn, honeysuckle, and box elder, in addition to a few other undesirable trees and shrubs. Getting this area cleared is the first step in restoring the area to oak savanna, a natural community that is now uncommon in Michigan. The aftermath of the mowing can be a little shocking due to the lack of vegetation in the understory, but it’s important to remember this is a process that can take several years — a process that will see more tree removals, fire, seeding of plant species characteristic of oak savannas, and oak planting. We hope this process will eventually result in more species characteristic of oak savannas: birds such as the Red-headed Woodpecker and insects such as the Karner blue butterfly.

Unit 1.04.1 of Haehnle Sanctuary looking east-northeast over 1.04 after forestry mowing by BC Landworks. Photo by Chad Machinski

Unit 1.04.1 of Haehnle Sanctuary looking east over 1.04 after forestry mowing by BC Landworks. Photo by Chad Machinski

CAPITAL CITY BIRD SANCTUARY

Our Capital City Bird Sanctuary saw its first volunteer workday of 2024 in early March. It was great seeing volunteers I hadn’t seen since last fall. We tackled the non-native, invasive privet along Delta River Drive. Future workdays will see us cleaning up trash along the road to keep our sanctuary looking nice, and volunteers will assist me in mapping the troubling invasive fig buttercup. Fig buttercup is an ephemeral invasive plant species that carpets forest floors along waterways, where it easily spreads due to flooding events. This plant outcompetes some of our favorite spring ephemerals, such as trillium, spring beauty, trout lily, bloodroot, and more. It is imperative that we contain its spread.

BERNARD W. BAKER SANCTUARY

Spring was apparent at Bernard W. Baker Sanctuary as a pair of American Kestrels was seen mating near the kestrel nesting box, and the Trumpeter Swan pair was back on the pond. Soon enough, cygnets will follow their parents around, and kestrel chicks will call from the neighboring trees. Volunteer nest box monitor and Michigan Audubon member Alex Johnson has gotten our bluebird and Wood Duck boxes ready for the season, by replacing some and adding more. Soon enough, the bluebirds will build their nests and feed the young.

MARTHA MOTT SANCTUARY

At Martha Mott Sanctuary, volunteers continue to increase the available habitat for bluebirds and other grassland/open forest species by removing autumn olive, honeysuckle, and multiflora rose. Thanks to our friends at the Michigan Bluebird Society, we were awarded four brand-new bluebird nest boxes for use at the sanctuary. No sooner had I finished placing the last box than I spotted a bluebird couple inspecting the first box I installed. This past year, only three boxes remained at Martha Mott, and only one was used by bluebirds. This year, the bluebirds will have a better choice of housing and, hopefully, we will accommodate more pairs.

The southern end of the sanctuary holds some of the most active birding areas of the property. While only a sliver of Hayden Creek and its shrub wetland are part of the sanctuary, they are still visible from the sanctuary. Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Downy Woodpeckers popped around the edge and in and out of the shrubs while a pair of Sandhill Cranes stalked through the water, kicking up vegetation, looking for a snack. A pair of Mallards caught my eye, and I noticed another waterfowl with them. It would turn out to be a Green-winged Teal — a first for the sanctuary!

The new bluebird nest box in Unit 2 of Martha Mott Sanctuary pictured here was one of four awarded to MA through the Michigan Bluebird Society nest box grant program. A bluebird couple was seen checking out this box shortly after the photo was taken. Photo by Chad Machinski

As always, things are moving along and changing at the sanctuaries, whether it’s habitat management or the progression of seasons; one trip to a Michigan Audubon sanctuary is never enough.

To learn more about Michigan Audubon sanctuaries, visit michiganaudubon.org/our-conservation-impact/bird-sanctuaries. If you want to volunteer at a Michigan Audubon sanctuary, please complete the Sanctuary Volunteer Interest Form.

Click here to explore more conservation updates from Chad.

Chad Machinski, MS
Conservation Manager

While Chad’s first love is botany, he doesn’t deny the intertwining nature of birds, plants, insects, and all other organisms we share the world with. His passion for the natural world began in his undergraduate time at the University of Michigan, taking several different forms along the way. His graduate studies at the University of Michigan allowed him to more closely examine the natural communities of Michigan and further understand the complex nature of ecosystems. His work as a Nichols Arboretum Caretaker while in school further enabled him to be directly involved in conservation work as he led workdays removing invasive plant species, performed trail maintenance, and guided tours. Chad can usually be found out in a park in a few ways: binoculars glued to his face, hunched over looking at plants, or flipping logs looking for snakes and salamanders.