This year's warm winter has caused some unusual winter sightings of birds that normally would have migrated south. Likely attracted by the flowing water, this Gray Catbird dumetella carolinensis was seen by David Liebl on January 24, 2020, along University Bay Dr. where the 1918 Marsh drains to the yellow pump house.
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What walk could be more beautiful then through the woods in winter, with the sun reflecting from the snow, long shadows, silence except for snow crunching under boots, little tracks in the white fluff around grasses, and knowing that along these very cliffs, blanketed by the snow, Dutchman's breeches are waiting their turn in early spring.
As often on his walks inside the Preserve and along the lakeshore, David Liebl is presented with beautiful and interesting sights. Along the border of clear ice and water, viewed from Lakeshore path, he saw this gorgeous adult Trumpeter Swan surrounded by likely offspring, immature Trumpeter Swans. In addition to the usual white feather dress reflected brilliantly in the sun and the contrasting black beak, the adult wears a large yellow collar band around it's neck. The number (37C) indicates that it had been banded in Wisconsin, likely when much younger or slimmer, because here the band looks rather tight.
Below, Tundra swans feeding and resting along the thin ice rim of University Bay, and in flight over the open lake after having been flushed off the ice shelf near James Madison Park. On January 8, 2020, Galen and Grace Hasler enjoyed a walk to Picnic Point in the brisk air, with temperatures below freezing and thin floats of ice forming on the Bay. They were surprised by an amazing assemblage of waterfowl feeding and keeping the water open: they reported 116 Canada goose, 115 Tundra swan, 3 American Wigeon, 140 mallards, 6 Bufflehead, 200 Common Goldeneye, 52 Common Mergansers, only 80 American coots, and as bonus sights, 2 Bald eagles and in the woods a Great horned owl. Early in the season there were hundreds of coots on the Bay, often mixed with Buffleheads. Apparently the Goldeneye are now gathering to move on.
Other Friends were also seeking our birds in the Preserve on this fine day. David Liebl, walking in the woods, recorded Blue Jay, Black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, cedar waxwing, Dark-eyed junco, and even an American goldfinch. You can check out eBird Lakeshore Nature Preserve and follow the birds in the Preserve. They make things happen! On December 22, 2019, Cynthia Carlson visited the boat landing at University Bay and captured several Bald Eagles on the ice and in trees with her camera. It was cold but sunny, and a good day for catching fish along the edge of the advancing ice. Chuck Henrikson was also watching. That same weekend, on her usual trek from Shorewood to Picnic Point along the shore past Frautschi Point, Genevieve Murtaugh of the Friends spotted ten Bald Eagles in the air and on trees, and two more at Picnic Point. With her iPhone she was able to photograph adult and immature Bald Eagles surveying the scene from tree tops.
On this brisk November morning, the usual suspects for this season congregated on the Bay, flotillas of American coots, Mallards and Canadian geese, Bufflehead ducks, and in their midst, a muscled Herring gull. the prik prik of the coots was everywhere. Then chaos erupted with shrill warning honks by the geese. Two Bald eagles swooped down from the sky, circling the bay, swerving ever so close to the water surface at the cattail by the Picnic Point peninsula and then lifting again just above tree level — a majestic sight. Meanwhile the coots and all the others hurried toward the safety of the eastern end of the bay. Many other visitors to Preserve on this Saturday morning enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful sights and sounds. Photos and report Gisela Kutzbach. Arlene Koziol tells a story in pictures and words on Monarchs and the other Milkweed connoisseur, the large Milkweed bug, featured in our previous Blog. You can enjoy Arlene's photos of these insects, observed at various locations in 3 counties, on her Flickr site. Here is a sampling on Monarchs. A special treat is the photo of Monarchs roosting on their migration south, captured both in a superb photograph and in the exquisite painting of Arlene's Friend at the Chicago Field Museum, Peggy MacNamara.
In early October, MJ & and Tom Morgan were walking from Steenbock Library to the entrance to Picnic Point along the Lakeshore Path & Tom stopped to look at milkweed bugs. Tom sends us this report and photo of the milkweed bugs that appear when milkweed seeds are ready to burst open their prickly enclosures.
While walking along the Lakeshore Path on October 4th, listening to the cadence of the university’s marching band rehearsing for tomorrow’s game, I saw a seed pod with juvenile nymphs and adults of the large milkweed bug with bright, reddish orange coloration amidst a few, small, yellowish orange aphids. The bugs were feeding on nutritious milkweed seed, storing energy to last through the winter. I marveled at the relentless beauty of this chilly day along University Bay. The progression of life preparing for winter, shared a cadence, albeit on a different time scale, with the choreography of the marching band. Adam Gundlach, who coordinates land management activities in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, started this week "tinkering" with iNaturalist. One of his first posts is this spectacular image of a Cecropia moth, munching its way along a young black walnut (Juglans nigra) stalk and leaves. The larvae of the moth, shown here, typically go through five larval stages (instars). This one on the photos is likely in its 4th or 5th instar. All the black hair of the first stage has disappeared, and the larva is adorned with striking blue, yellow and orange tubercles. It will soon reach maturity and spin a large brown cocoon in which it will overwinter. The giant silk moth, the Cecropia moth, will emerge next year in the early summer. See more information at Wikipedia. Thank you, Adam, for sharing these photos.
On June 17, 2019, Arlene and Jeff Koziol reported the first blue-green algae blooms of the year. The lake temperature was 69°F. The photos of near shore blooms shown here were taken at Raymer's Cove in the Preserve. The bloom extended from Marshall Park boat ramp to Raymer’s cove. Spring Harbor Beach was closed. This year's first cyanobacteria bloom is late compared to last year. It will be of interest to compare dates of lake stratification for these two years. After the winter of uniform water temperatures of 4°C below the ice cover, surface water warms up in spring, and the colder water begins to sink, the spring turnover. Eventually, summer stratification sets in with three layers: the upper, well-mixed warmer water, a middle transitional zone with rapidly decreasing temperatures, the thermocline, and the lowest cold and dark layer, undisturbed and extending to the lake bottom. Last year, the Koziols observed the first bloom at their monitoring site a month earlier, on May 16! Arlene reports, "Our big blooms last year were June 7, 8, 27 and Sept 7th and 15th, 2018. We were late getting out for our measurements of the Mendota Central Deep Hole this year because of bad weather and boat issues. Our first readings at the Deep Hole was June 12th and the lake had already stratified. Last year I was told that the data from the Mendota buoy is not available. Here is a question, yesterday when I looked at the bloom early in the day, the algae seemed to be floating up from a lower level. Below is a little video clip from my phone. Can one tell if it is cyanobacteria?" See more of Arlene's photos on her Flickr Site. |
AuthorGisela Kutzbach and contributors Archives
May 2022
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