US-MI-Grand+Blanc+Commons


 * =Birding in Michigan=

Genesee County
=Grand Blanc Commons= McFarlen Public Library 515 Perry Road Grand Blanc, MI 48439 [|Grand Blanc Parks web site]

media type="custom" key="27483776"

Grand Blanc Commons
Coordinates: 42.9267029, -83.619175 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Grand Blanc Commons
The Grand Blanc Community Commons is a nature preserve of 137.5 acres behind McFarlen Library, 515 Perry Road. Thread Creek runs through the preserve and there are many nature trails present. A bridge allows visitors to cross the creek easily, but the majority of the property has been left as nature intended. Organized groups often gather here for bird-watching and other nature-related activities. Boy Scout Eagle service projects have been completed in the Grand Blanc Commons, resulting in groomed trails, creek clean-ups and fallen, dead tree removals as well as the construction and placement of benches, bird and bat houses.

Once a working farm owned by Joseph and Elizabeth McFarlen, and by other members of their family since the early 1800s, the farm was acquired by the City of Grand Blanc in 1981. Mrs. McFarlen decided to sell the property in 1978 and a purchase agreement, contingent on the rezoning of the land to allow the development of office buildings and apartments, was placed by a local building company. When residents opposed the rezoning, it was denied and the sale did not go through. At this time, residents - many from Indian Hill subdivision – decided to try to purchase the property themselves in order to prevent its development. With the help of the Nature Conservancy, a group that purchases land in danger of development, and a $185,000 grant from the Michigan Land Trust, residents were able to raise enough to meet the $265,000 price tag. The process took three years. The land was then deeded to the City of Grand Blanc and a resolution was passed to ensure that it remain a passive park in perpetuity. From [|Grand Blanc Parks web site]

Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Chimney Swift, Northern Flicker, Great Crested Flycatcher, House Wren, Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwing, Nashville Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak
 * Highlights:**

|| media type="custom" key="27483770"

From [|Grand Blanc Parks web site] || L988075 US US-MI US-MI-049 42.9267029 -83.619175 Grand Blanc Commons