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For The Birds New Discovery Center marks opening Saturday 
By MIKE NORTON Record-Eagle staff writer September 25, 2003 OMENA - To migrating birds, the northern end of the Leelanau Peninsula is one of the great freeway rest stops of North America - a place to stop and catch a good meal before resuming their journey. And the folks who live there are working hard to make sure it stays that way. On Saturday, birders and outdoor enthusiasts from around the region will gather in Omena for the dedication of a new "Habitat Discovery Center" that will teach property owners how to preserve and improve their land for the benefit of birds - both those that live there year-round and the ones that are only visiting. The 1,000-square-foot facility, located on three acres near the 47-acre Charter Bird Sanctuary, will contain exhibits of birds, nests and plants. More important, said founder Kay Charter, it will provide a much-needed space for talks, meetings and classes about bird ecology. Its extensive grounds will illustrate how ordinary homeowners can use native shrubs, plants and grasses to make their own property more bird-friendly. Preserving and restoring desperately needed bird habitat has been Charter's personal crusade for years. Many bird species are in serious decline, particularly the migratory songbirds that travel back and forth between North and South America each year. The main culprit isn't corporate greed or runaway pollution, she explained, but the gradual loss of appropriate habitat as homeowners, businesses and farmers replace needed native plants with exotic species that can't support birds. "A lot of people who care about the environment immediately get political and start contributing to groups like the World Wildlife Fund, without ever thinking about what's going on in their own backyard," said Charter. "But by doing nothing else than using our own property wisely, we can actually restore half of what's already been taken from Mother Nature. And that's a lot." Ten years ago, that conviction led her and her husband, Jim, to create what's now known as the Charter Sanctuary, a small avian paradise near their home at Omena Point. But since 47 acres isn't much of a sanctuary for the millions of migrating birds whose habitat is being threatened, Charter and her fellow bird-lovers also began thinking about ways to teach other property owners how to do the same thing with their own land. Thus was born Saving Birds Through Habitat, a national society whose members work to "protect, enhance and restore" crucial habitat for North American birds and to educate people about ways to create good bird habitats in their own yards, backlots and unused acreage. Today the group numbers some 250 members, from California to Rhode Island, and its nonconfrontational message is being increasingly well-received. The Omena sanctuary has become a popular attraction both for birds and for the people who love to watch them. Each year, hundreds of birders, school groups, Scout troops, garden enthusiasts and amateur naturalists have visited the site to learn about native birds and their needs. But success can have drawbacks. Since the bird sanctuary has no facilities of its own, most of the increasingly frequent bird walks and class discussions have been held in the Charter garage - and there simply isn't room there for larger groups. When a busload of students descended on the place last season, it took them 45 minutes to file through Kay and Jim's bathroom. The new Habitat Discovery Center will solve some of those problems. It will provide much-needed meeting space, give Saving Birds Through Habitat a headquarters of its own, and provide hands-on demonstrations of the planting and landscaping techniques the group is trying to promote. The three-acre property surrounding the building is still taking shape. When finished, it will feature a native plants garden with feeding stations and nesting boxes, an artificial prairie and a wetland with a 100-foot moving stream that flows between two recirculating ponds. Over the past year, the habitat center has also become a popular project for residents of Omena and the surrounding communities, who have donated money, time and expertise to make it a reality. Most of the architects, builders, excavators and suppliers involved in the project, for instance, donated significant portions of their work free of charge. "I'm not particularly crazy about birds, but I'm very interested in providing a place where kids can learn," said retired electrical engineer Walt Gaudette, who installed the wiring in the building. That's one reason for the Sept. 27 dedication, which is intended to show contributors and volunteers what's been done with their help. The keynote speaker for the 2 p.m. event will be Greg Butcher, head of the Audubon Society's Citizen Science Center, and music is being provided by the Northport Community Band and the Village Voices. "This really is the community's center; they're the ones who built it," said Kay Charter. "It is awesome to see how this community has pulled together for this project." This article appeared in the Traverse City Record Eagle |
