Conservation Manager Chad Machinski, M.S., manages 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.
The bird breeding season has begun in Michigan, believe it or not, and the end March saw the beginning of a mad dash to get Sanctuary nest boxes replaced and repaired. My last blog saw the start of that, with boxes going up at the Otis and Capital City Sanctuaries, but that has continued with the Martha Mott and Baker Sanctuaries. In addition, prescribed burn season started and ended since my last blog!
SANCTUARY VISITS
Wood Duck box near Hayden Creek shrub swamp at Martha Mott Sanctuary. Photo by Chad Machinski
On March 21st, a trip out to Martha Mott Sanctuary in Mattawan enabled me to install two nest boxes for Wood Ducks at the southern edge of the Sanctuary that borders Hayden Creek and the shrub swamp around it. Wood Ducks are regularly seen here both in the wetland and flushing from the trees on the Sanctuary where they likely already nest in natural cavities. Adding nest boxes may increase the amount of Wood Ducks using the Sanctuary and provide an insight into their behavior. Our volunteer crew continued to hammer away at Autumn Olive while I cleared the trails of some debris that had fallen due to recent high winds. If you head out to the Sanctuary, please note that a section of the Blue trail has been rerouted due to two large Oaks uprooting and falling across the trail.
If you recall from my last blog I mentioned the Bluebird nest box MM-10, which produced three broods last season. Well, as of April 6th, MM-10 had 5 Bluebird eggs, with nest box Monitor Derek assuming that the first egg was laid on April 2nd, just a few days earlier than 2024; looks like they’re right on pace!
March 26th saw my first visit of the year to the Bernard Baker Sanctuary. Previous visits had been cancelled due to weather, as it tends to go with the first few months of the year. Myself, along with nest box Monitor Alex, put up a new Wood Duck box, two new Bluebird boxes, and replaced a few existing Bluebird boxes. We were also able to take down and clean out the Kestrel box there, which hadn’t been done in some time. We hope the Kestrels will appreciate their cleaned up home! All new nest boxes at our Sanctuaries were funded by the TC Energy Grant.
Baker Sanctuary 3/26/25. Alex Johnson stands next to recently installed Wood Duck nest box. Purchased through the TC Energy Grant. Photo by Chad Machinski
Baker Sanctuary 3/26/25. Photo of two new Bluebird nest boxes installed in Unit S2A, in Southwest section, north of trail. Installed by Alex Johnson and Chad Machinski. Boxes purchased through TC Energy Grant. Photo by Chad Machinski
The following day, March 27th, was a whirlwind of a day. With approximately 60 bare root trees scheduled to go in at Capital City Sanctuary, much prep work was needed before a few of our volunteers arrived. This was hastened by the fact that a prescribed burn was going to be taking place that afternoon at the Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary. After prepping holes and tree protection, I had to leave my volunteers to complete the task on their own as I headed out to the Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary in Hastings to observe the scheduled prescribed burn. A big thank you to my CCBS volunteers who stayed late to finish that task!
That afternoon at the Otis Sanctuary our prescribed burn contractor, Blue Heron Ministries, stewarded two separate burns totaling approximately 15 acres. This included a section of the wet meadow/fen and a section of the grassland. The burns went extremely well and the crew was even able to burn through a dense clump of Autumn Olive in the grassland. After the fires were out and the smoke cleared, Bluebirds returned to perching on their prospective homes, an Eastern Phoebe landed on a crispy shrub, and Killdeer did touch-and-go landings on this newly cleared patch.
The burn at Otis wasn’t the only one of the season, and on April 4th our other contractor Dave Borneman lit the Wooster Road grassland at our Haehnle Sanctuary. This was a 22 acre burn to fulfill our EQIP Grant requirements. Like the Otis burn, this burn was a great success.
Haehnle Sanctuary 5/4/25. Prescribed fire in Wooster Rd. grassland. Photo by Chad Machinski
A week later, I was back at the Haehnle Sanctuary for the annual Spring Workbee, an event organized by the Haehnle Committee Chair to tackle a multitude of projects. Attendees address Garlic Mustard and woody invasive plants, cleared down trees from trails, picked up trash along the road frontage, and all helped install four of the new interpretive signs. These signs were made possible through the Barton J. Ingraham and Gail G. Ingraham Foundation. Haehnle Committee Chair Steve Jerant, wrote a blog on the Jackson Audubon Society website with great photos of the signs. These signs will enhance all visitor experience and we are very excited to have them in place! Big thank you to the Haehnle volunteers helping with not just the sign installation, but all the other work completed at the workbee.
Haehnle Sanctuary 4/12/2025. Sandhill Crane interpretive sign facing NE at edge of mowed seating area near kiosk. Installed by Gary Seigrist and Chad Machinski. Photo by Chad Machinski
Last but not least on the Sanctuary front, students from MSU’s Pre-Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) came out to CCBS on a Saturday in March to help me tackle some of the big Autumn Olive shrubs that have been looming large. Students worked to reduce these shrubs in size so that they can be completely removed via chainsaw (that’s just how big they are!) A big thanks to PVMA!
Purple Martins
I noted in my last blog that Purple Martins had just begun to arrive in Michigan. Many were concerned with this due to the weather we were yet to experience. While more Purple Martins have arrived since, there has not been a big push and the weather has warmed some. I have yet to hear of any reports of die-offs of Purple Martins which can happen if cold or rainy weather extends beyond three days. This is mainly due to the lack of flying insects during this type of weather, causing Purple Martins to starve. This has given me time to get two of the colonies back up at Lake Lansing. In years previous, we had a dedicated volunteer managing two colonies on Lake Lansing. Because they are unable to do so this year, I have taken on the role, which will be a great hands on experience with Purple Martins. Some more effort is still necessary to get the poles fully operational, but it seems I have a little bit of time yet as no Purple Martins have yet to be reported on Lake Lansing this year. If you’re a Purple Martin landlord, please register or reregister your colony with us! We like to know where all the Purple Martins are!
On a personal note…
I have put up a nest box for Black-capped Chickadees at my own home. On April 5th, nest building was documented and has been progressing steadily since! First a layer of moss, then a thicker layer of moss, and the most recent check has revealed a good amount of animal hair and some insulation. I anticipate eggs during the next check! And! I had my first Warbler of the year at my own home: a Pine Warbler! I share this personal bit to say that we should remember that our own homes and yards can serve as great bird habitat.
Black-capped Chickadee nest on 4/5/2025
Black-capped Chickadee nest on 4/9/2025
Black-capped Chickadee nest on 4/12/2025
To learn more about Michigan Audubon sanctuaries, visit michiganaudubon.org/conservation/bird-sanctuaries. If you want to volunteer at a Michigan Audubon sanctuary, please complete the Sanctuary Volunteer Interest Form.
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.