Bellow Island, also known as Gull Island, is an island in the

Grand Traverse Bay Grand Traverse Bay is a deep bay of Lake Michigan formed by the Leelanau Peninsula in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is long, wide, and up to deep in spots. It is further divided into two east and west arms by the Ol ...

, a bay of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

, located in Leelanau Township,

Leelanau County Leelanau may refer to a number of articles relating to the region of the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan: Geography Settlements * Leelanau County, Michigan * Leelanau Township, Michigan * Lake Leelanau, Michigan Landforms * Lak ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Bellow Island lies a little over a mile off the coast of

Leelanau Peninsula The Leelanau Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan that extends about from the western side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan. Leelanau County encompasses the entire peninsula. It is often referred to ...

in Northport Bay. The island is preserved as a sanctuary for herring gulls. A deteriorating cottage on south side is the only structure on the island.

History

A cottage was built in 1910 by Edward Taylor Ustick Sr., after he purchased the island. It was designed by prominent

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

architect Jens C. Petersen. The cottage and island ownership passed through his family until 1948 when the house was destroyed by vandals. Tourism by Northport visitors to the island was common in the early 50s, but died off soon after. During the mid-60s, the first discoveries of the pesticide DDT's impact on thinning bird shells occurred on the island. It has been owned and operated by the Leelanau Conservancy since it was donated to them in 1995. The island is now sealed off from the public and no humans are allowed to disturb the nesting birds.

Ecology

The island is an important site for herring gull research, as it is one of the largest nesting herring gull colonies in Northern Michigan. Other major species that nest there include

Double-crested cormorants The double-crested cormorant (''Nannopterum auritum'') is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes, and in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in A ...

and

Ring-billed gulls The ring-billed gull (''Larus delawarensis'') is a medium-sized gull. The genus name is from Latin ''Larus'' which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific ''delawarensis'' refers to the Delaware River. Description ...

. The first discoveries of the pesticide DDT's impact on thinning bird shells occurred on the island through research funded by the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in the mid-60s.

Climate

References

Islands of Lake Michigan in Michigan Uninhabited islands of Michigan {{LeelanauCountyMI-geo-stub