… it’s time to take another look at Council Point Park, some four months after the “Project” began.
True to my word, I continue toting my camera to my favorite nature nook, having been enticed to do so after the Mama and baby Robin encounter in June.
But that said, there are many times I walk at Council Point Park and never remove the camera from its pouch.
This long and picture-laden post includes photos of the lingering mess along the Ecorse Creek shoreline, as well as a few familiar and new faces since my last post which recapped the pre-and-post Project destruction on May 8th.
We’ve gone two seasons, Spring and Summer and soon will embark on Fall, but sadly the demolished landscape has not changed, except the weeds are bushier and taller …
… and, if they don’t remove those weeds, wildflowers and tree stumps, we walkers may still enjoy the much-needed buffer from the cold winds and freezing mist that blow across the Creek, often causing black ice and slick conditions, just like we enjoyed from the previously tree-and-bush-lined shoreline.
There may be hope on the horizon.
In September 2022 I befriended a group of volunteers doing routine clean-up of the Ecorse Creek. Each year, the volunteers meet three times over the course of the Summer to clean up the Creek where it flows through the cities of Lincoln Park, Ecorse and Wyandotte. Those guys and gals take canoes and kayaks and pick up garbage – a lot of garbage. Some volunteers are “pickers” that carry huge garbage bags and wield pointy sticks to spear the trash on the shoreline and throughout the Park.
On that September 2022 day I took a lot of photos of those volunteers for a blog post, then sent them to Kelly who maintains the Ecorse Creek Facebook page.
Flash forward to 2024. It was decided that clean-up efforts at the Lincoln Park portion of the Ecorse Creek would not take place in 2024 due to the heavy machinery in/around the entire Creek at Council Point Park.
Then, a few months ago Kelly, who is a bicycle enthusiast, was coordinating a group ride through several Downriver parks and wanted to map out the event in advance. She was horrified when she saw the destruction at Council Point Park and sent me a message bemoaning what she saw. Well, of course, I had to go through my spiel about how the Park and its natural shoreline was decimated by the amphibious vehicle, which not only felled trees with nesting birds and squirrels, but demolished geese nesting areas and plowed through turtles sunning themselves on a log. I relayed my e-mails with our City’s mayor who assured me “yes, this may be hard on animals for a bit but in the long run this project will be good for the wildlife, flow of the water and good for cities from Dearborn Heights to Lincoln Park” I also told Kelly the City promised that “the organization Friends of the Detroit River would plant native plants along the shoreline.”
The Ecorse Creek clean-up efforts are coordinated with the Friends of the Detroit River, so the next day Kelly messaged me and confirmed yes, native plants would indeed be planted along the shoreline once the project was completed, weather permitting.
You saw the weeds and wildflowers, (if Queen Anne’s Lace and Chicory are “wildflowers”). Here’s a close-up of them.
These shoreline weeds and wildflowers took four months to reach this height. So will it take all Summer for those native plants to fill in the barren areas of the shoreline every year going forward? Who knows, but there is even scuttlebutt on the local Residents forum on Facebook, that contractors “messed up” in that they just ravaged everything, when only the dead trees in the Creek and shoreline were to be destroyed.
Well reading that info, if it is true, hurt my heart as you might imagine.
So did the critters make the best of things?
The “wildlife” at the Park eventually returned to their favorite habitat. Harry the Great Blue Heron once again occupies the cement ledge, his original fishing spot, which looks pretty raggedy now.
I walked down the slope to zoom in on him. Harry has his “breeding feathers” or “mating plumage” (long feather plumes on the breast, flanks, and back during breeding season) which you can see in these photos.
Sometimes Harry gets “spooked” and he flies to the other side of the Creek, squawking and screeching his head off.
Part of the joy of walking here is feeding the birds. Yes, Harry is the exception as I don’t carry any fish. 🙂 Rex, the Red-bellied Woodpecker, the Blue Jays, Cardinals and Red-winged Blackbirds all swoop over for peanuts when I lay them on the ground.
This Northern Cardinal flagged me down at the parking lot curb as I was walking into the Park as if to say “I want first dibs on those peanuts!” I gave him some and he posed nicely (but forgot to wipe his beak first).
And, yes, there are groups of squirrels greeting me and begging for peanuts, like before the Project, but I suspect some of the original inhabitants that lost their nests have moved into the neighborhood. Some of these Park “newbies” are likely the offspring who survived the cruel felling of their trees and nests. Their parents have taught them well – “yes, approach The Peanut Lady ‘cuz she won’t bite. Just swish your tail, stand on your haunches and let her take your photo and you’ll be rewarded with treats.”
After all, when you are only a foot tall and the grasscutters haven’t been around to mow, I’m sure they are thinking “what if The Peanut Lady doesn’t see me?”
I’m glad I pass muster with the youngsters … and the long-timers as well.
Since it IS Summer and my Park pals have black walnuts, mulberries and pine cones available at the Park to munch on (sadly the big apple tree has been demolished), I figure if I go to a bigger park, in the Summer months I can skip a day and go directly there to try and beat the heat, especially if I will be walking a lot of miles there. So I have done so on occasion, only for me to return the next day one time and have two walkers confront me in an accusatory tone “you weren’t here and they were attacking us!” What? Behind my tinted eyeglasses I did an eye roll and said “you’re kidding, right? Are you going to be like the woman who carried a switch with her to beat the squirrels away? Then, so terrified of those ‘beasts’ attacking her, that same woman began carrying a golf club to strike them should they stray near her. Personally, I’m more worried about people who walk their dogs in a park where the ordinance says ‘no dogs’ yet they let them off-leash, even pit bulls!”
After my tirade, if it were me, I would have walked away or mumbled “well sorry I mentioned it” but no, they persisted saying “well we had to buy peanuts so they wouldn’t bug us.” I responded “so walk somewhere else then” and turned on my heel and walked the other way. And no, they were not kidding. If I know bad weather is on the way or I won’t be there the next day, I put out extra peanuts or seeds to which one of these walkers said “you’re generous today, so that means you won’t be around I guess.” Grrr. I know I am there when it counts, like in the Fall when they are socking away peanuts for the Winter, or when I precariously pick my way along snowy or icy streets in the ‘hood and along the perimeter path to hand out peanuts and sunflower seeds because I feel sorry for them, especially in the dead of Winter.
Now that the trees are gone along the shoreline I can see this tower across the Creek. One day this large, dark-colored bird perched on the top rail of the tower.
I gawked at it – was it a Cooper’s Hawk? Just what my furry friends need, though those hawks have not been around much this year. I waited patiently and soon it shifted positions and I knew by its profile, it was a Turkey Vulture, so my very-much-alive squirrels were safe. Whew!
There are new furry friends, a pair of groundhogs. Here is one of them taken from the top of the sloped hill. Well, he/she won’t run out of greens, weeds and wildflowers to eat.
The geese have returned from their extended molt spent at Dingell Park or Bishop Park, near the water, safe from predators while they could not fly. The goslings have grown up, no longer “mini-me” versions of their parents, but full-grown geese now, equally full of attitude, just as noisy and messy as their parents and always quick to scam the squirrels and birds out of their peanuts and sunflower seeds I put out for them, which is unfair since grass is plentiful and they have a benefactor you will read about in a few paragraphs.
Soon the Red-winged Blackbirds will migrate South. To me, these birds are the true harbinger of Spring when they arrive in March, filling the still-frosty air with their song. It was always a happy sight when the first Robin of Spring was spotted, but now I see Robins all year around.
We’ve got Tree Swallows at the Park now. I’ve only seen the occasional Tree Swallow in the last 11 years I’ve walked here, but I see at least a dozen swooping down near the Creek for insects daily.
A few weeks ago I arrived at Council Point Park and saw the animal control officer driving on the pathway, so I asked if there was a wild animal running around before I started on the trail. It turned out there WAS a large coyote on the opposite side of the Creek, but the officer was not there for the coyote, but because a resident had complained a large, unleashed pit bull was stalking the squirrels – ahh, a kindred soul and no I didn’t make that complaint.
Speaking of kindred souls …
Kindred souls who appreciate nature and this Park’s collection of critters are people I like. Unlike the walkers who whined about the squirrels supposedly attacking them, there is the elderly couple who has started toting along peanuts to feed the squirrels after calling me an “angel” for doing so and standing with smiles on their faces as they saw the squirrels rushing over to my feet.
For years I have wanted to include photos of what a homeowner, who lives on the fringe of the Park, feeds the Park’s feathered friends year-round. Because it was colorful at this critter feeding set-up, I decided to take photos for this post. The homeowner puts out corn (sprinkled on the ground), suet cakes, seeds and water all year around. At the end of Summer, I always see a Goldfinch or two snacking on some of the Sunflowers he/she plants for them. The header image is one of this homeowner’s Sunflowers.
I took some photos last Fall of the geese flocking to the homeowner’s set-up. These are two of those photos. And the second photo, sometimes critters’ faces tell a lot, i.e. “I’m aghast at my brethren’s uncouth ways!”
[I digressed a bit.]
So anyway, I asked the animal control officer if he knew if the City resident’s still-at-large Ball Python snake, which, according to the owner should not be feared, had been captured yet? He didn’t know, but said “there are more snakes around here than you know.” Gulp. A few years back fellow walkers Henry and Sam were on the walking path when a snake fell out of a tree and landed on Sam’s head I always veered to the other side of the path near that tree after that! Now the tree is gone, so no worries.
I hope you enjoyed this return to Council Point Park – we’ll still have the fine-looking foliage come Fall … too bad it will only be on the other three tree-lined sides of the Park.
This week is Terri’s Color Challenge: Orange and/or Peach, but I’ll be doing mine for Wordless Wednesday.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I’ll give you the peachy-hued trail and a tiny bit of orange in that first sunflower, Linda, LOL. You can still link your WW post to Sunday Stills. I think Autumn has entered the building here. Changes are coming here too!
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Thank you Terri and I did link at the bottom because I think maybe some of my followers who don’t follow you may want to read your post. I have Barn Swallows with orangey-peachy bodies for Wednesday … not that long ago I had Tree Swallows for the Cobalt Blue Challenge. Unbelievably a week ago, I almost turned on the furnace, but right now it is 84 and will be warm all week. We’ve not had rain in September which will likely turn those leaves and bring them down quickly.
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This was a cheery post, even if the park is not back to normal.
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Thanks Anne. I was trying to make the best of what it now looks like … lemonade from lemons. The best part is the critters. The Chickadees are back now too – I always hoped to get them to sit on my hand to eat like the wildlife photographer I follow here in Michigan who does that.
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Seems like the wildlife made the best of it but it sounds like the people in charge are letting everyone down.
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You are right about that Kate and I did fear the critters would just go elsewhere and then, without the wildlife there, I might as well walk in the neighborhood like I did at the beginning of my walking regimen in 2011 until 2013 when I discovered this Park. I am disappointed in what has transpired here. I think the City dropped the ball and when residents now criticize how the shoreline looks, they say “it’s a County issue, not a City issue” but the City should have been monitoring both pre-and-post Project and now it is too late.
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You got some really nice pictures here. I’m so glad the wildlife has returned. I can’t believe those women criticizing you for feeding the wildlife at the park. They are probably the same people who would be outraged when the wildlife moved to their neighborhood and birds built nests on their porch or squirrels got into their attic.
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Thank you Ruth. I am happy the critters have returned and that part of the walk seems like old times. For me, it has always been all about the nature setting that I have on my walk – so I try to shut my eyes to how awful it looks now, but I’m glad the wildlife returned. I was really angry when they said that – there is no reason to fear the squirrels and the squirrels try their luck and beg at most of the walkers, in this park and most parks. They come to me as I’m a sure thing, but most people shake their head, say “sorry” and move on. The squirrels catch on pretty quickly. Those people would be the typical people to complain about wildlife in the ‘hood. Sometimes I chat with people about the weather but for the most part, I am there for the critters and the ambiance (what’s left of it).
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I hope there really is a plan to bring the park back to its (semi-) former beauty. It does seem that the contractors may have gone way beyond their scope of work. I think the city owes their residents an explanation, a timeline, and an idea of what to expect.
And, OMG about the snake falling on someone’s head!
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I am really disappointed how everything has been handled Janis. No one was paying attention or interacting with those contractors. When I saw the surveyor’s marks a month or so before the Project began, I thought it would wreak havoc here.
Scary about the snake! These two guys walk every day at 10:00 a.m. sharp, so after the snake fell on Sam’s head, they told people to tell other walkers who go there earlier to stay from that tree and there was some thick groundcover beneath that tree, so he figured there was a snake’s nest embedded there! The tree is gone, but with the overgrown weeds there, I wonder if people are seeing snakes and that’s what the animal control officer meant? I’m sure the look on my face told him he was sorry he told me that.
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Those weeds don’t look very nice for a park Linda. How sad that it takes volunteers to clean up trash other people make! Harry is one handsome bird with his feathers and all, great pictures of him and all the other birds and squirrels. I bet Harry flies high and when he sees you he spreads the word the nice lady with the peanuts is coming! 🤣
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It is so disheartening to see the Park look this way Diane. It was four months on September 8th since they demolished the Creek side of the Park. I don’t care what native plants they put in there, it is not going to look the same in my opinion, but I am glad that the wildlife is beginning to return.
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At least the birds and animals can return.
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Yes, after the initial destruction, I know some squirrels went into the neighborhood as I see a lot of them when I walk to/from the Park. There weren’t that many in the neighborhood before. But the trees along the Creek, especially in one area, were all occupied by black squirrels. I even had some photos of a lot of them in those trees.
I did forget in this post to mention that the ducks have not been back. Some might still be molting so they go down to Dingell Park. I was at Heritage Park over Labor Day and they have lots of ducks and they were all in “eclipse phase” which is when they all have the same brown plumage and so that might be the case for them – I hope. Once their permanent feathers all grow in, they will look more like themselves. We used to have a lot of ducks here back in the day.
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I forgot to add that yes, Harry the Heron might do a flyover – he has been around there about as long as I have (or he has a body double). 🙂
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See he is following you!
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I think Harry is hoping to get as much publicity as Parker and now he feels he must compete against a groundhog as well. 🙂
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Tell Harry where the snake is, he’ll take care of it!
Yes,that does look like a Turkey Vulture…..with wet wings.
Lots of great shots Linda! In a years time all that extra growth will begin to cover the cut down areas I bet.
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I would like Harry to find it … I’ll even take him a treat if he does. 🙂
A lot of photographers who take photos at all the Metroparks have a Facebook site I follow. Today one of them posted a photo of a huge Northern Water Snake on the Cherry Island Trail where I go all the time. At least it was in the water, but still … on that part of the trail, you walk on a narrow pathway between Lake Erie and a small marshy area.
That Turkey Vulture looked like a flasher or a Dracula holding its wings out like that – it has the perfect spot where no one will bother it. I was glad when I saw its profile and knew it wasn’t a hawk.
Glad you like the photos Wayne – I wish I could get some pics of the Blue Jays and the Red-bellied Woodpecker and now the Chickadees are back, but they always fly down for food and are gone before I get a chance to get a photo.
I hope that the native plants they are going to plant will be good fillers. If they planted native grasses, they would last all Winter, like the reeds (Phragmities) do. Those bushes and weeds at that area grew very quickly and are way taller than me. The Dockweed is everywhere – it fills in like a groundcover, hopefully not harboring snakes!
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snakes are large millipedes without legs and we both know what you think of millipedes!
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Yes, millipedes at least don’t have 100 legs and move at the speed of sound, but any bugs with more legs than me I am not a fan of. 🙂
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Lovely photos, Linda. The squirrels with their snacks are always favorites with me. That groundhog is also a cutie.
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Thank you Rebecca. The squirrels always look so happy when they have their treats don’t they? We had a cool snap last week and they started burying their peanuts already, yet the past two days it’s been the 80s, so I thought they wouldn’t do that, but they still did. They are as confused about our weather as we are! The first time I saw the groundhog, it scurried back into the tall grass and hid, but it is very brave now and just eats grass nonchalantly and without fear of me or any other walker.
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Excellent photography. Wonderful look sunflower. I’m so glad the wildlife has returned. I can’t believe those women.
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Thank you Raj. My favorite park to walk in – the larger parks are nice, but this one I feel I know every inch of the perimeter path and I am glad too that the wildlife has returned. They made me very mad – it is not like the squirrels attacked them … they run up to people looking for food.
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Very nice they didn’t attacked any one.
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This is an interesting update. You have taken some lovely photographs too!
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Thank you Anne – I hope the next update will be more promising as to the landscape, but I’m guessing this late in the year, they’ll just wait until Spring to plant. I’m glad you liked the photographs. This is my favorite place to walk – the larger parks are nice, but there was/is always the familiarity and the ambiance (the latter which I hope will return).
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Nice to see the wildlife is coming back even though it isn’t very pretty yet. 🙂
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Yes, I’m happy for that fact Sandra. For me, the bigger parks are nice, but this smaller Park with its ambiance and walking that perimeter path for now 13 years was special to me and a perfect way to start my day, especially when I was still working. I hope those native plants grow as quickly as these weeds did!
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Poor Harry, standing there surrounded by devastation. Sigh. Nice picture of the cardinal! It’s good to see all your squirrels and their descendants back in the area and up to their old tricks. 🙂 The last squirrel picture is especially adorable. Some people seem bound and determined to stir up trouble over nothing — I’m so sorry you had to deal with their outrageous accusations. Thank goodness most people aren’t like that. How delightful to come across the groundhogs! I wonder if you’ll see them again on Groundhog Day? It still looks like summer there, hard to imagine that autumn is right around the corner. Will those geese be flying south or staying for the winter?
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Barbara, I figured that Harry would find a new fishing hole and not return here again, so I was surprised and delighted when I saw he had returned. He does look very forlorn in this setting, especially when he is across the Creek. This is the first time I got pictures of him with his long breeding feathers. I do think the gray squirrels are the cutest of the three types of squirrels we have here at the Park and this one is cute eating the peanut. I hope the groundhog makes itself as visible once Winter arrives – it will make a nice “Groundhog Day” photo. It won’t run out of greens to munch on for a while, that’s for sure. It was very warm here today, but not too bad humidity-wise. Our geese migrated at one time, especially when I first began walking here, but it’s been a while since they just stay here in Michigan. Same with the Mallards. I’ve not seen any Mallards in several months. That Cardinal made my day!
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You can see a little bit of that patch of skin on Harry’s face turned to neon green to go along with those long breeding plumes.
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Yes – I went back to look at the post. And it’s amazing because 90% of the time the herons look gray to me, making me wonder why anyone would have named them “Great BLUE Heron” but in the right light, you see all the shades of blue. I saw an Egret with breeding plumes earlier this Summer. I’ll include the photo when I write about the walk, but the photo did not do those pretty plumes justice.
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Thank you for this epic tour! It’s a shame what happened to the park, but I love all your critter closeups. 🙂 You are a kind-hearted animal lover and those people who complained? Shame on them! Attacked by squirrels? Seriously?! Excellent capture of the groundhog as well. We don’t often see those around here. Mostly racoons. I wouldn’t want to have geese in my yard, though. As you said, messy, noisy and rude. 😆 They never fly south anymore, either.
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Thank you Debbie! I remember you liked the last tour of the Park post-destruction as well, especially the squirrels. These squirrels are very cute and photogenic and they come close enough that I can get close-ups with the point-and-shoot camera. When they come running toward me or anyone else, they are looking for a handout and that’s it, but these people and their comments floored me. The squirrels are not going to attack them, nor would they attack the woman who carried a big branch, then a golf club, on her walk and, even as much as I interact with the squirrels, some are still timid and will wait until I walk away, then they’ll go get peanuts or seeds. I was surprised to see the groundhog as a new face here at the Park. I’ve only seen a couple in the last 13 years since I began walking here. We had a raccoon last year at the Park and I didn’t have my camera that day, so I went home and got it and it was still under the tree. Our geese always stay over now, likely because we have had such mild Winters lately.
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I enjoyed this post right up until the last couple of paragraphs, when you mentioned snakes falling out of trees. Now there’s an image not soon forgotten! Also, the nerve of those park walkers in confronting you is a little jaw-dropping, as if your charity becomes a daily responsibility. I can understand why people prefer the company of animals over people, sigh…
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Thank you Dave and I had to add the portion about the snakes as it was really on my mind – where did that resident’s snake slither off to? I keep monitoring the link to the lost pets forum and it hasn’t been updated. That snake falling from a tree was a big deal when it happened and the two walkers suggested there was a snake’s nest under the tree. I worry enough about snakes at Lake Erie Metropark and yesterday I learned there was a photographer that saw a huge northern water snake along the Cherry Island Trail where I walk all the time. The audacity to criticize me for taking a break and neglecting the squirrels and the squirrels “attacking” them just floored me. Very uncalled for and I’ve never encountered that type of behavior in the 11 years I’ve walked there. Many times I feel the same way about the company of animals over people!
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I’m so happy to see Harry and the variety of squirrels with you at the park again! I enjoyed reading the update and hearing thoughts about it all.
Hope you are feeling better now that it’s cooler. ❤️
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Thank you TD, I’m glad you liked the update. I tried to make it as positive of a spin as possible, but, without the critters’ return and antics, it would not have been very positive at all. Even if they planted a lot of native plants, it will never restore the ambiance of the tree-lined shoreline and the colorful Fall foliage that will soon be missing along that entire side.
As to the heat, it got cool here over Labor Day weekend and stayed that way for about a week – it was great and I went out several times to large parks, but we are back to the excessive heat again – 84F today and will stay that way for the next week. That is not normal for September in SE Michigan. We have only had 0.06″ of rain in September, so it’s been great to get out daily to walk anyway, but it’s almost drought-like conditions now.
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The black squirrel is beautiful. I see cardinals around here and wonder how they survive when you can’t miss seeing them. Your line about the question of whether Queen Anne’s Lace is a wildflower reminded me of a friend decades ago who insisted it was a flower and put some in her bridal bouquet as a kind of defiant move showing she was a free thinker.
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I think the black squirrels are beautiful, so sleek and glossy looking. That’s funny about your friend Ally – it sounds like something I would do to be different. When I was at Council Point Park the other day, a young woman was gathering “wildflowers” along the Creek shoreline to make what is often called a “ditch bouquet”. She had clippers to snip them off and was very methodical in her choices, which she was arranging in a tote bag as she went along Since I took these photos, there are now wild Daisies and Goldenrod.
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I enjoyed your post, dialogue and photos. All just wonderful. I’m a week late to commenting..yikes.
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Thank you Kirstin – my favorite park and I try not to be too upset when I go there these days. The fact that the critters have returned makes all the difference in the world. I wish I’d had some more bird photos for the post. This morning I put down peanuts and a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a couple of Blue Jays and a female Cardinal flew to the ground right away. That makes me feel good. We had a bad ice storm a couple of years ago and I lost my internet for three days. I was already 14 days behind in Reader – it took me a long time to catch up. On the plus side, I was still working (and from home), so I got a chance to get some reading done since I couldn’t work. 🙂
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No thanks on the snakes!
I loved the shots of the groundhog. I wonder if he is working on a project to predict how many weeks before fall. 🙂
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I’m with you on snakes of any kind JP and the snake that dropped out of the tree had me veering left every time I passed that tree going forward. The groundhog was pretty brazen, standing there munching weeds and grass. I do suspect he is calculating how many weeks ’til he can predict when Spring arrives. Right now, he said his fur was hot and please could we have a cooldown soon?
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