A place where humans and wildlife mingle.

It might seem a little ironic to you that a large wildlife refuge would be located near a major American city like Detroit, but it’s true. There is an International Wildlife Refuge (IWR) just a short 20 minute drive from Detroit’s southernmost border.

Amazingly, this refuge stretches south for 48 miles along the western shoreline of the Detroit River and Lake Erie. It includes islands, marshes, shoals, coastal wetlands, a state park, and lots of waterfront property. It is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is part of the United States Department of the Interior.

For first-time visitors, a stop at the John D. Dingell Jr. Visitor Center is a great place to start. Located in the northern portion of the refuge just south of Detroit, the visitor Center is a user friendly building full of interactive exhibits designed to educate and entertain your whole family. There are also several experienced guides on hand to answer any questions you may have.

On the grounds surrounding the Visitor Center there are over 3 miles of hiking trails, much of which is shaded by a canopy of ‘Old Growth Forest’ trees. These trails provide access to observation decks where you can enjoy the magnificent view of Humbug Island, or just relax on a park bench and take in the sounds of the wildlife in and around Humbug Marsh.

There is access to a kayak launch if you happen to own a kayak. Or, if you like to fish, take a short walk over to the 700 foot long fishing pier that juts out into the river. If you forgot your fishing gear you can borrow a pole or two from the Visitor Center, just ask one of the volunteers for assistance.

Near the fishing pier there are plenty of picnic tables. Keep an eye out for Bald Eagles as you eat, you never know what might fly overhead. I’m not just making that up. Last year I took a picture of a Bald Eagle (below), I was in the parking lot adjacent to the picnic area at the time. In addition to Eagles, there are Osprey, Turkey Vultures, Great Blue Heron, Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, Egrets, and many other birds in the area.

Consisting of more than 6,200 acres of land, the IWR is divided into 30 sections of habitat, known as parcels. These parcels are due mostly to the ‘purchasing process’; the whole refuge was not created at one time, the land was purchased over many years. As you can imagine, this large natural setting is home to quite a variety of wildlife. Here’s the short list of what you might find.

• Golden and Bald Eagles
• Eastern Hognose Snake
• Mallards, Blue-Winged Teal, and Wood Ducks
• Bats
• Muskrat
• Turkey Vultures
• White-rumped Whimbrel
• Black-bellied Plover
• Seagulls and Geese
• White-tailed Deer
• Great Blue Heron
• Egret and Sandhill Crane
• Frogs and Reptiles
• Peregrine Falcon and Hawks
• Turtles

• Ring-tailed Pheasant
• Wild Turkey
• Coyote
• Gray and Red Fox

Well, you get the point, there’s a variety of wildlife to be found in the Detroit River IWR; and we didn’t even talk about the fish, or the migrating birds. Thousands of birds visit the refuge during their annual migration south.

Suffice it to say, the IWR is a bird watchers paradise. But there’s also an abundance of land-bound animals to view too, it just takes a little longer to find them, and I might add, a little luck may be necessary. Ironically, the larger the animal the more difficult it is to find them.

When you do cross paths with a land creature, you may experience, what I call, a ‘Magical Moment’. I had a wonderful encounter with a White-tailed Deer that I’ll never forget. We met in the woods just a few feet from the trail I was on. I approached her slowly and was able to get within 10–12 feet of her.

I couldn’t believe she didn’t run away. She posed for me for at least 4 minutes. I took 17 close up photos. Considering I don’t have an expensive camera I was lucky to capture these images with a simple 300mm lens. I have never been this close to a deer that didn’t immediately run away, it was one of my most memorable encounters with wildlife.

I doubt there are any Moose in the refuge, so a deer will probably be the largest wildlife species you will encounter. Don’t worry, just keep looking, you’re bound to find more wildlife right around the next turn. I usually see quite a few turtles, and occasionally a snake or two during my hikes.

The bottom line is, The Detroit River International Refuge is nirvana for bird watchers, and especially for those who love big birds. I have to say, I’ve never gone to the refuge and not seen a few raptors and/or wading birds. They are very common in the refuge areas I frequent. For the record, the refuge website lists 570 different bird species that frequent the area.

Sometimes you witness a group of birds together in flight, especially when they are migrating. Depending on the species of bird, the name given to a group in flight varies. Geese flying together are known as a Skein. Seagulls, and most other birds, fly in a Flock. Flying Vultures form a group known as a Kettle. Starlings, who fly in a much denser flock than most birds, tend to change direction together in dramatic ways. This aerial display is known as murmuration.

Over the years I’ve witnessed many a murmuration of starlings. It’s actually a common site at street intersections in cities across America. Amazingly, this particularly massive flock of starlings was so large they appeared to be everywhere at once (see photo below). I witnessed this murmuration in the parking lot of the John D. Dingell Jr. Visitor Center 2 years ago.

The starlings put on an exuberant display that lasted several minutes. It was so mesmerizing I feel lucky that I remembered to grab a few photographs. Later, as I was driving home, I thought to myself “I wonder if I have enough quarters to stop by a self-serve car wash… I think I may need to wash my car”.

So I did.

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Thanks for reading my article.

You can follow the Detroit River IWR on Facebook here.

To learn more about the Detroit River IWR visit their website here.

Data Source: In addition to my personal information, most ‘researched’ information was gathered from the websites noted above and from IWR brochures.