Detroiters Do Science: What we found (so far) in our urban neighborhoods

Since the Detroiters Do Science project began in May, citizen scientists across Metro Detroit have recorded nearly 2500 observations (and counting!) through the iNaturalist app as part of our Nature in Your Neighborhood project. That’s 27 observers and 313 identifiers, who have come up with 990 species so far.

Participants have shared the wide range of species they found in their yards, neighborhoods, and local parks—from the zebra jumping spider (9 observations) to the osprey (4 observations). Among the most common observations were the black swallowtail butterfly (16 observations), common milkweed (13 observations), and chicory (14 observations).

And we’ve decided it would be silly to quit now. There’s still time to get involved with Nature in Your Neighborhood.– we’ll be continuing through the fall.

Here’s how to get involved.

The Midtown naturalist

Detroiter Adam Kranz has recorded more than 702 observations as part of the project–the top observer for June (and winner of a Planet Detroit–Detroiters Do Science t-shirt!). Kranz has been taking pictures of insects, fungi, and plants to identify them for about a decade, and he started using iNaturalist last year. 

Kranz has also leaned on the app’s social network to help identify the things he’s seen.

“Once you get close enough from the algorithm, you can find other people who do actually have that expertise and connect with them,” he explains. He has focused mostly on plant galls, which are abnormal growths on plants.  

Biodiversity on Belle Isle

Erin Parker is nature centers manager at the Belle Isle Nature Center/Detroit Zoological Society, and her work involves helping people connect with nature. She participated in Detroiters Do Science and was especially interested in the diverse moths and butterfly species she noticed on Belle Isle, but hadn’t known much about.

Belle Isle is also home to a plethora of birds. ”I think people are really surprised at the bird diversity we have out here. We have nesting warblers—these tropical migrant birds that come up just for the summer,” Parker says. 

She says projects like Detroiters Do Science help her slow down and pay attention a little bit. Aside from Belle Isle, Parker notes that area cemeteries are significant biodiversity hotspots. 

Holding down nature in Eliza Howell Park

Leonard Weber is a self-taught naturalist who has been observing nature and leading nature walks in Eliza Howell Park for about 15 years, mostly focused on birds. He writes a blog about what he finds, because he likes “sharing my love of nature, and the reality of what is out there, particularly in an urban setting.” 

Baltimore orioles are finishing up nesting now, so they are becoming less visible, Weber says. The most common hawk in the area is the red-tailed hawk, which has a distinctive screech. 

“Hollywood has always used the red-tailed hawk’s scream for whatever kind of raptor they want to show. Even if it’s a bald eagle or something like that, the scream is always that of a red-tailed hawk,” because the other birds’ calls don’t sound as threatening.

“Nature is very cyclical, and so about the same time every year, I see the same things,” Weber said. “And there’s something very satisfying about that. There are long-term changes—climate change is definitely having an effect on it in the longer perspective, but you don’t see that really much year to year.”  

Nature in Rouge Park

After Peggy Dankert bought a house near Rouge Park, she got interested in gardening and learning about native plants, in part through Wild Ones, an organization that advocates the use of native plants in landscaping. Then she started spending more time observing nature in Rouge Park, eventually becoming a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of Rouge Park.

This year, she joined Detroiters Do Science and set out to find five or six new species every day. 

“I just want to capture as many different plant species as I could, because the birds depend on the appropriate plant species being there, and the insects depend on the appropriate plant species there,” Dankert said. “I also wanted to get a better picture of what invasive species were there.” 

Where else to find biodiversity

Along with the parks mentioned above, many other areas in and around Detroit are biodiversity hotspots. Yu Man Lee, a conservation scientist/zoologist with the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI), noted that the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is rich in wetland biodiversity, including birds, amphibians, reptiles, American lotus, and wetland plants.

She added that some other good spots for wetland biodiversity include Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, some of the Huron-Clinton Metroparks, and Grosse Ile Land Conservancy.

In general, places with water are good spots for biodiversity.

“Any kind of stream corridor is going to be important. And then any place that has older, larger, established trees and native trees are important,” Parker explains, adding that trees like or willows are more important for biodiversity than some trees that people plant. “Callery pear is an example of a tree that’s really commonly used as a street tree, but it doesn’t have a lot of value to wildlife here, because they’re not adapted to it.” 

Biodiversity is everywhere. “Maybe you’re in an apartment building with a little window box. I bet if you look at that window box planter, you’re going to find a surprising amount of biodiversity,” Parker said.

Kranz agreed. “It’s just a matter of the closer you look, the more things you find.”

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Some common and lesser-known species

At this time of year, turtles are nesting, many songbirds and wetland birds are nesting, several frogs are breeding, and many insects are emerging, said Yu Man Lee, a conservation scientist/zoologist with the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI). Part of the Michigan State University Extension, MNFI conducts research and field surveys of plants and animals and provides scientific information to guide conservation of Michigan’s biodiversity.

“A lot in the natural world happens in June!” Lee says. “Snakes that lay eggs lay them in late June-early July, including eastern milk snakes and eastern fox snakes.”

Here are some species people might find in and around Detroit at this time of year:

Turtles 

Common: snapping turtles, painted turtles, northern map turtles

Rare: Blanding’s turtle (state special concern)

Frogs and toads

Common: green frog, gray treefrog, spring peeper, wood frog, American toad, northern leopard frog 

Rare: pickerel frog (state special concern)

Snakes

Common: eastern garter snake, northern ribbon snake, eastern milk snake, northern water snake

Rare: eastern fox snake (state threatened), Butler’s garter snake (state special concern)

Wetland birds and waterfowl

Common: red-winged blackbird, great blue heron, great egret, green heron, black-crowned night heron, mallard, blue-winged teal, Canada geese, Virginia rail

Rare: marsh wren (special concern), American bittern (special concern), least bittern (state threatened), osprey (special concern), bald eagle

Other birds

American robin, black-capped chickadee, mourning dove, Baltimore oriole, eastern kingbird, gray catbird, red-tailed hawk, cardinal, blue jay 

Butterflies

Monarchs, cabbage white, black swallowtail, eastern tiger swallowtail, eastern tailed blue, little wood satyr, common wood nymph, Baltimore checkerspot, clouded sulphur, pearl crescent, summer azure, red/white admiral, American copper, eastern tailed blue

Other insects

fireflies, bumblebees, dragonflies, damselflies 

Flowers Black-eyed susan, common milkweed, butterfly milkweed, chicory, daisy fleabane, red clover