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

Grand Traverse Bay Grand Traverse Bay ( ) is an arm of Lake Michigan, located along the west coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is separated from the rest of Lake Michigan by the Leelanau Peninsula. The bay is some long, ranges from wide, and up ...

, a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

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 depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

, located in Leelanau Township, Leelanau County,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. 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, forming Grand Traverse Bay. It is often referred to as the "little finger" of ...

in Northport Bay. The island is preserved as a sanctuary for

herring gulls Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus ''Larus ''Larus'' is a large genus of gulls with worldwide distribution (by far the greatest species diversity is in the Northern Hemisphere). Many of its species are abundant and w ...

. 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 it partly extends into Leelanau County. The city's population was 15,678 at the 2020 census, while the four-county Traverse C ...

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 and Ring-billed gulls. 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 The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in the mid-60s.

Climate

References

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