On a brilliant spring morning, a day-long battle for a precious Bluebird box was unfolding at the top of the prairie. John Kutzbach and I watched for about an hour. Last year, in 2014, Bluebirds occupied the box, protected by the gnarly young Bur Oak, for most of the summer. Tree Swallows took over in August 2014. According to the monitoring report of May 19, in 2015, Tree Swallows were again nesting here, having 4 eggs in their nest. But this Saturday morning a pair of Bluebirds had set up house inside the box, with the Swallows circling in the area, launching occasional attacks. It's a hard life, on the prairie. A pair of Baltimore Orioles nesting in the nearby Black Cherry tree were witnesses to the battle. Click on the photo gallery (and the arrows on the right of the photos) to follow this battle for housing. (all photos Gisela Kutzbach)
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Prothonotary warblers are a sight to behold with their dazzling yellow body and head, gleaning insects in the foliage or hopping about on mossy logs. They are unique in their habit of nesting in holes in trees, rather than in the open; they will also nest in birdhouses placed close to the water, as in the Preserve. Today the pair was busy completing their nest. According to the Audubon guide, males arrive on nesting grounds about a week before females and establish territories by singing and vigorous displays. They place small amounts of moss into the nest cavity, building dummy nests, but only the female builds the real nest, filling the cavity nearly to the entrance hole with moss, dry leaves, twigs and bark. Breeding as far north as in Wisconsin is uncommon. Ever since Bill Barker and Mark Trewartha installed tiny birdhouses for Prothonotary Warblers in various places of the Picnic Point marsh to provide nesting opportunities for them, bird enthusiasts have flocked to this place. The name "Prothonotary" originally referred to a group of official scribes in the Catholic Church who wore bright yellow hoods, as this bird appears to do. (see http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/prothonotary-warbler). As part of the Preserve’s 5-year management plan for Eagle Heights Woods, a team of volunteers has begun surveys of trees, saplings, shrubs layer, and ground cover. Ecologist Suzy Will-Wolf, an experti in survey techniques and protocols, Preserve Steward Glenda Denniston, with extensive knowledge of the plant species in the Preserve, and biologist Ann Burgess, offering her skills in documentation and record keeping, have developed a survey plot location scheme, survey protocol details, and methods of documentation. They intend to survey randomly located plots of 100 square meters (including two 1 square meter quadrats within each focusing on ground layer plants) in many locations the central zone. They will do this in spring and then again in summer or early fall to account for spring ephemerals as well as later vegetation. On May 8, they were setting out to sample their 4th plot in the Eagle Heights woods. Results and analysis of their work will provide important information for developing adaptive management strategies for the area. Suzy, Glenda, and Ann are part of the Preserve's Planning and Implementation Committee and work closely with Preserve staff and project manager Adam Gundlach. They are also members of the Friends. The Eagle Heights Woods rejuvenation project is the focus of the Friends current fundraising efforts. All photos Gisela Kutzbach On Tuesday night I went for a sundown walk in the Preserve and enjoyed a few warbler species in the Caretaker's Woods as I experienced the dusking of the woods. Up in the prairie, I followed the wild mutterings of a pair of house wrens and noticed the elm leaves growing fast. I lingered in hopes of hearing the "peent" of a woodcock, and maybe seeing a skydance, but only heard the last calls from a few sparrows. Then on my way to Frautshi Point, I noticed these cup-shaped flowers with droopy tops and blazing green stripes. Jack in the pulpit (Arisaema tryphillum) have some of the most nondescript flowers of our woodland plants. The flower is the dark brown finger sticking up from the middle of the cup. Commonly confused with trillium, jack in the pulpit may have one to three leaves, which are 8 inches long and broader than trillium leaves. While the flowers are drab, the fruits are a cluster of green berries, turning bright red over the summer. These do not spread via their roots (rhizomes) like many other woodland flowers, so you are likely to find only a few here and there. This patch near Lake Mendota is certainly worth a look. -Tom Pearce-
On April 12, Glenda Denniston was surprised to find so many spring flowers already in bloom or buds on her walk through Eastern Bill’s Woods. Hepatica, one of the first ephemerals to blossom in spring, attracted many pollinators. Perhaps the bees came not to find nectar but merely for the gorgeous colors of Hepatica, ranging from white to lavender and a heavenly purple. For hepaticas are self-pollinating, perfect flowers that have both male pollen and female ovaries; they have no need for external pollinators. The path into this gorgeous area of wood spring flowers, planted and tended over many years by Glenda, begins at the service road, across from the Heritage Oak. You can join Glenda on a spring flower walk on May 9, at Frautschi Point, past the Big Oak. All photos G. Denniston. Two Great Horned Owlets, with their fuzzy coats, are in plain sight along Lakeshore Path by the Willow Creek mounds. John Kutzbach of the Friends, along with many others, has been out every day to watch the owl family. This Saturday morning the owlets were huddling together again, watched by the parent. Then one of the fledglings fluttered its wings mightily and flew back to the parent. The owlets are the offspring of the Preserve's Great Horned Owl pair that nested again this year in a hollow tree near the owl nest box behind DeJope Hall that Faye Lorenzsonn installed as a research project. They are rapidly changing from fluffy white to more adult cameouflage colors, and these cuddly yet wild and fierce looking owlets are beginning to use their flight feathers. Yet, they'll keep begging for food for a considerable time. Hannah Deporter, a UW student in Trish O'kane's Nelson Institute Urban Wildlife class, also captured a digiscope picture of one of the owlets, on a walk along the path with Paul Noeldner. Great Horned Owls (Bubo Virginianus) are large owls 16-32 inches high. The owlets appear to be 8-12 inches high when all fluffed up. Come and see yourself, but please observe this beautiful urban wildlife from a respectful distance so they can engage in necessary hunting, feeding and resting behavior.
Even though Painted Turtles hatch from their eggs in September, the turtle hatchlings do not emerge from the nest until the following spring. Baby Painted Turtles do not head to the water and spend the winter at the bottom of ponds as other young turtles do. Instead, they "freeze solid" withstanding temperatures as cold as -10°C under the layer of sand and snow. They produce natural antifreeze that prevents the cells from freezing and becoming damaged. Thus, only the water out outside of the cells is actually frozen. (From: painted Turtle Research in Algonquin Prov. Park)
Madisonians came out in droves, walking and jogging to Picnic Point and enjoying the balmy spring air. When John and I joined in the fun, with binoculars around our necks, people told us with great smiles, “You must see the Sandhill Cranes at the retention ponds,” and “Did you see the Owl at Willow Creek? It’s huge.” Yes we saw a group (that’s a sedge) of 13 cranes fly overhead, and on Thursday evening we saw cranes land in groups of three and four in the marshy Bay area east of the Willow Creek Bridge. The Great Horned Owl roosted watchfully on its favorite branch of the huge silver maple tree trunk he “owns” in the patch of oak savanna by Willow Creek. Then, looking for an early supper, the Owl silently swooped down toward the lake, causing a loud chattering and commotion among the cranes and geese.
Today was different. Cold, northerly winds moved in, breaking up the remaining ice on Lake Mendota and pushing the broken pieces into the southern and eastern shores. The Cranes and other birds kept warm in the reeds and the Great Horned Owl took shelter from the wind behind its thick branch, with an eye half closed much of the time, as if napping. But the tree buds on the tiny branches up high looked ready to burst. Spring is here. Gisela K. |
AuthorGisela Kutzbach and contributors Archives
May 2022
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