As I was birdwatching along Edward Hines Parkway, the road was blocked east of Ann Arbor Trail.
So I stopped at Nankin Mills Interpretive Center. I have wonderful memories of the center for my Girl Scout nature activities and I remember when the mill officially re-opened as an interpretive center in 2001.
Originally built as a grist mill in 1842, the first mill was replaced in the 1860’s with the mill we see today.
Nankin Mills was part of the village industry Henry Ford built along the Rouge River.
The nature center closed in 1980, then re-opened as the park headquarters for Wayne County in the mid-1980’s.
In 2001, it re-opened as the Nankin Mills Interpretive Center and now has three floors of public displays.
And yes, I did get see some birds around the interpretive center: Northern Flicker, American Robin, Downy Woodpecker, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, European Starlings, and Black-capped Chickadees.
