A Northwoods Almanac for July 16 – 29, 2010
Loon Flocks in June and July
In late June, Ed Nokes was on High Lake when he saw several groups of loons over the course of the early morning hours. Eventually he observed 12 in one flock: “They swam and fished together for quite a while and then things got a little testy. Some of the loons were driven away from the group and before long, one after another took off for parts unknown.” Two days later the group had grown to 17!
Large groups of loons are quite common later in August as the adults gather together in pre-migratorial flocks. However, late June is too early for loons to be thinking about migration - a good number are often still on nests! Instead, what’s likely occurring is that groups of unmated adults are simply socializing. Since unmated individuals don’t have territories to defend, they are generally at ease around one another.
However, their socializing appears to have territorial implications. When groups like this land in a known territory during the mating and rearing period, biologists believe it means the territorial pair failed to produce young, and the territory is now up for grabs. Individuals from within the group often appear to “test” the mated territorial male or female to see if they can usurp the territory. And even within the group of bachelors, there appears to be hierarchical testing being done.
I called Terry Daulton, a biologist who has worked as part of a team of loon researchers over many years, and she confirmed this general explanation. She also noted that they just finished a count of loons on the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage and found 96 individuals. However, in Terry’s many years of experience on the TFF, an average of only 30 pairs maintain territories on the Flowage. Thus, 36 adult loons appear to be utilizing the flowage, but are not paired up or nesting. Terry said she had seen more territorial disputes taking place than normal, suggesting that loon numbers are quite high on the TFF.
July Bird Songs
Life grows quiet in July, at least from a bird song perspective. If you wake at dawn in early June, you are treated to a wild symphony of song. But awaken at dawn in July, and the symphony is quite muted. Early summer offers only a brief window of time during which males must sing to defend their territories and maintain their pair bonds. Once the first brood has fledged, and if there’s no second nesting brood to defend, most males dramatically reduce their singing.
Turtle-Flambeau Flowage Waterfowl Survey
Every five years, a large group of volunteers do a waterfowl survey of the entire Turtle-Flambeau Flowage, a not insignificant effort given the immense size of the flowage – 14,000 acres with 114 miles of shoreline and 195 islands. The group is divided into many sub-groups, with each assigned a specific route to follow on the Flowage. Preliminary count results are as follows:
*266 mallards, comprised of 30 broods with 181 young, or an average of 6 young/brood. This is the highest count since 1990, and the third highest ever.
*409 hooded mergansers, comprised of 46 broods with 319 young, or an average of 7 young/brood. This was the greatest increase of any species.
*38 wood ducks, comprised of only 2 broods with 10 young. This count, while not impressive, was still the highest number of wood ducks since the survey started in 1980.
*0 Black Ducks reported, a first for the survey.
*195 Canada geese, comprised of 26 broods with 130 young for an average of 5 young/brood. From no geese counted through 1985 to huge increases in 2006 and 2010, geese are doing quite well on the TFF.
*1 brood of common goldeneye (only 1 chick observed with a hen), a first for the TFF survey. Green shell fragments had been found in a nest box in 2008.
*Only 1 blue-winged teal.
*20 red-breasted mergansers, comprised of 13 young in 2 broods. These were the first red-breasted broods ever on survey.
*40 common mergansers were reported on one route. They are normally found on the TFF survey, but this is second highest number ever. No young were reported, and they were only found on the one route.
*96 total non-flying loons, plus many flying loons observed. Seven pair were seen with nine young, or 1.3 young/pair.
Previously, sandhill cranes were either not seen or not counted. In 2010, a total of 28 cranes were counted, including two young.
Twelve Kingfishers were counted, which is normal for the TFF.
Sightings
I had numerous people call or e-mail regarding birds continually pecking their windows. One writer had a tom turkey on his deck pounding on the dining room window with his beak, while others had the more typical sighting of male songbirds hammering their windows. All were almost certainly defending their territories by fighting their own reflections in the windows, and I suspect they all went back to their mates muttering about their competitor’s ability to take a punch. A simple solution is to hang some ribbon in front of the window to break up the reflection.
Marthe and Rex Jones on Twin Island Lake have been lucky enough to have a belted kingfisher pair burrow a nesting cavity into the side of the slope outside their cabin window. The cavity entrance is about 12 feet from their window, so they can watch as the kingfishers zoom in and out.
Marthe and Rex have set up a trail camera to get some photos. Rex noted on 7/4, “around 5:40 AM, I was watching the nest through binoculars. I didn't mean to get up this early on a Sunday morning, but I heard the kingfisher call and figured it might be coming in to take care of some parenting business. The parent that flew in stopped at the entrance, and handed off a four or five inch fish to the other parent. The call patterns between the parents is very interesting. The parent in the nest has a much softer and slower tat tat tat tat call.”
Backstroking Loons
Carol and Dave Koch sent me the following e-mail: “We were watching a loon about 200' from shore, and it seemed to be quite active in the water. It would swim in small circles, rise up out of the water and flap its wings, then settle down for a few seconds and seem to preen. It seemed unusually active, and we wondered if there was something wrong, like an entanglement in fishing line, that was causing it to perform such rapid activity.
“Then, it flipped over on its back, and with its head underwater, did a few strokes with its wings, just like a swimmer doing a backstroke. It stayed in this position, stroking with its wings, for maybe 10 seconds or so. We had binoculars, and even without them, it was easy to see its little feet in the air over its white belly. It repeated this behavior about four or five times, interspersed with its other activities, over a period of perhaps 20 minutes.
“Several times during these activities, the loon propelled itself rapidly underwater, then above water, then back under, using its wings, it seemed, to porpoise through the water much like penguins or dolphins. It repeated this routine at least twice during the other activities, porpoising about four times each time. During all of this, it would continually swim in tight circles using its wings to paddle, along with its feet, I suppose, and it moved very quickly.
“It continued this rapid activity almost non-stop for about 20 minutes or so, then it quieted down and resumed the casual swimming that we normally see.
“So, that's the story. It seemed to us, especially after the backstroke routine, that the loon was just enjoying life and having a good time on the water.”
I have not seen this behavior, so I called Terry Daulton who has been part of Mike Meyer’s local loon research team for many years. Terry noted that she had seen this behavior a number of times over the years, and it was usually associated with preening and bathing. However, why the loons engage in the behavior is unknown.
Summer Wildflowers
Mid-summer wildflowers seem to be blooming at least a week or two ahead of time this year. We saw wild bergamot, butter-and-eggs, swamp candles, fireweed, Joe-Pye weed, and numerous other wildflowers blooming prior to the end of June, flowers that normally would be seen blooming from mid-July onward.
Northern Water Snake
Jennifer Heitz sent me several photos that her daughter Olivia took of a northern water snake attempting to eat a dead bluegill on their Ballard Lake shoreline. Jennifer noted that it tried for at least 15-20 minutes to swallow the fish, but it never succeeded.
The harmless, nonpoisonous northern water snake is our only true water snake. It’s usually seen basking along the water’s edge on a beaver lodge or a downed log, and feeds on cold-blooded vertebrates like frogs, salamanders, and small fish. In turn, it is eaten by numerous predators, including minks, herons, raccoons, northern pike, bass, and red-shouldered hawks.
Northern water snakes are ovoviviparous, a long, tongue-twisting term for animals that produce eggs but retain them inside the female’s body until hatching occurs, so that live offspring are born. The female northern water snake gives birth to an average of 25 live young typically in August. Mothers do not care for their young; as soon as they are born, they’re on their own.
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