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Pheasants of Detroit
How the Motor City got its pheasants and why the community is rallying around the birds
© Becky Matsubara
Because of its abundant open space, Detroit, Michigan has a thriving ring-necked pheasant population. The birds have endeared themselves to many by representing a connection to the natural world. But some worry what upcoming development might mean for pheasants and their future in the city.
This story is from Points North – a podcast about the land, water, and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
BirdNote®
Pheasants of Detroit
Written by Dan Wanschura
This is BirdNote.
[Ring-necked Pheasant calling in Detroit]
Ring-necked Pheasants are usually found in rural fields and grasslands. So you might be surprised to learn there’s a thriving population of them in Detroit, Michigan.
Diane Cheklich: Detroit – with its depopulation – has resulted in a lot of open space that’s gone natural like this. And it’s generated habitat for birds like pheasants.
That’s Diane Cheklich leading a pheasant walk in Detroit. She’s co-producer of the film Pheasants of Detroit.
Diane Cheklich: You don’t see pheasants in New York or Chicago or San Francisco. So it’s sort of a cool thing that’s unique to Detroit.
The birds likely arrived in the Motor City by following railway corridors – direct lines into the city with brushy areas for food and cover. Decades later, pheasants have become a poster child for nature within the city.
[Ring-necked Pheasant calling in Detroit]
Tricia Talley has lived in Detroit her whole life. She tries to embrace development in the city, but also advocates for the things that make her neighborhood unique. That includes the pheasants.
Tricia Talley: So a lot of our concentration was, ‘If you’re going to build housing here, we want the housing to be affordable and we also want to preserve open space.’
That’s why Tricia is part of a movement within Detroit, working to make sure its human and bird populations always have access to natural spaces.
Tricia Talley: So often people think of Detroit of just this hardcore, urban landscape where survival is just difficult. And it’s not like that. I think the pheasants sort of soften the landscape of the neighborhood.
This story is from Points North – a podcast about the land, water, and inhabitants of the Great Lakes. Learn more at birdnote.org. I’m Dan Wanschura.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote August 2023
Narrator: Dan Wanschura
ID# RNPH-02-2023-08-08 RNPH-02
Dan Wanschura
Narrator ProducerSights & Sounds
