Goose Creek Grasslands Nature Sanctuary, commonly referred to as Goose Creek, is a nature sanctuary located in

Lenawee County, Michigan Lenawee County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 99,423. The county seat is Adrian. The county was created in 1822, from territory partitioned from Monroe County. Its g ...

. It is maintained and preserved by the

Michigan Nature Association Michigan Nature Association is a nonprofit conservation organization established in 1952. It has 176 nature sanctuaries in 58 counties throughout Michigan under its jurisdiction. History In 1951, a bird study group in the Macomb County Mac ...

About the sanctuary

Goose Creek is home to a prairie fen habitat, which is a unique

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

that is found only in the glaciated Midwest.Goose Creek Grasslands
". Michigan Nature Association. More than 200 plant species have been recorded here, including native orchids and

pitcher plant Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...

s, as well as blazing star, sunflowers, and

Joe-Pye weed ''Eutrochium'' is a North American genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are commonly referred to as Joe-Pye weeds. They are native to the United States and Canada, and have non-dissected foliage and pigmented flowe ...

. Many species of birds have also been spotted at Goose Creek. It is not uncommon to see hawks,

meadowlark Meadowlarks are New World grassland birds belonging to genera ''Sturnella'' and ''Leistes''. This group includes seven species of largely insectivorous grassland birds. In all species the male at least has a black or brown back and extensively ...

red-winged blackbird The red-winged blackbird (''Agelaius phoeniceus'') is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North America and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and G ...

s and

yellow warbler The yellow warbler (''Setophaga petechia'') is a New World warbler species. Yellow warblers are the most widespread species in the diverse genus ''Setophaga'', breeding in almost the whole of North America, the Caribbean, and down to northern S ...

s all in one visit.

Gallery

Image:Goose creek landscape.jpg, Landscape photograph of Goose Creek Grasslands Nature Sanctuary

Notes

References

Michigan Nature Association websiteGet To Know A Sanctuary- Goose Creek Grasslands

External links

Protected areas of Lenawee County, Michigan Nature reserves in Michigan {{LenaweeCountyMI-geo-stub