A Northwoods Almanac for July 8 – 21,
2016
Sightings: Evening Grosbeak, Bear
Walking on Two Legs, Bear Drinking Problem, Moose, Gray Fox
Mary, Callie, and I were very
surprised to see four evening grosbeaks appear at our feeder on 7/1 – two males
and two females. The male proceeded rather quickly to spike up the feathers on
his crest, bend his tail upward, bow down, raise his head back with his beak
near vertical, and then vibrate his wings rapidly in what was clearly a mating
display. Callie laughed and said he looked like he was having a seizure.
Apparently the female thought so too – she took off without looking back.
I dug into the research that I could
find on evening grosbeaks, and they occasionally do have a second clutch of
eggs. So, this fellow was hoping to get lucky, and perhaps he succeeded, but
not on our watch.
Howard P. in Minocqua sent me a
photo of a sow bear that has been walking all around his yard for weeks on her
hind legs. She brings two cubs along with her as well.
Irma Hunger in
Minocqua sent me this note: “Last week when my son was visiting me from
California, we settled down about 8:00 PM to watch TV when all of a sudden,
he leaped out of the chair yelling. I turned to see what was the matter and was
shocked at the sight of a bear, and I mean a really BIG bear, drinking the
hummingbird feeder dry. When Steve collected himself he took this picture,
which turned out pretty good in spite of all the reflection in the glass. Unfortunately,
he did not get the cute little cub that was with her . . . When the feeder was
empty, she and her baby strolled off into the woods behind the
house. I swear she had a smile of satisfaction on her face.”
Tom Olson sent me a photo on 7/4 of a moose he saw about 2 p.m. on
Little Crab Lake just off S. Crab Lake Road.
Joe Mastalski emailed several close-up photos of gray fox kits in the
Minocqua area that had emerged from under a shed. Fox, both gray and red, are
not uncommon in urban areas and will frequently den under porches, decks or
sheds. The family typically stays around for several months until the young are
old enough to accompany their parents on foraging outings, at which point they
usually move on for good.
Dunn Lake Pines SNA
I had the opportunity last week to
explore the Dunn Lake Pines State Natural Area with several natural areas
conservation biologists from the WDNR. The site extends over 954 acres and
supports a stand of super-canopy
white pine looming above large hemlock, yellow birch, sugar maple, and
basswood. One undisturbed stand lies on the northeast side of Dunn Lake and
extends eastward to include both banks of the Presque Isle River. The steep
slopes support most of the pines, perhaps 75 to 100 trees, many of which are
three feet and larger in diameter. Another old-growth stand lies on an upland
peninsula west of Sanborn Lake. A large, old bald eagle nest is located in one
of the big pines on the northeast
side of Dunn Lake.
The Margaret Dunn family sold a conservation
easement to The Wisconsin Chapter of the Nature Conservancy for 502 acres of
additional land on the northeast end of the SNA. The easement connects the Dunn
Lake SNA to the 971-acre Guido Rahr, Sr. Tenderfoot Forest Preserve,
effectively creating a 2,427-acre ecological reserve. The Tenderfoot Reserve
was purchased by The Nature Conservancy from the Rahr family in 2005.
Prior to selling the land to the Conservancy, the Rahr family had owned
and cared for it for more than 120 years. The preserve is named in honor
of Guido Rahr, Sr., who served on the Wisconsin Conservation Commission in the
1950s and 60s. During those years, his leadership was credited with
making Wisconsin’s Conservation Department, now the WDNR, one of the most
outstanding wildlife agencies in the nation.
The largest white pine we found was 48 inches in diameter, which is as
big as they come these days.
The site is nearly impossible to get to given the private ownership of
lands all around the SNA – we were fortunate to receive access via the good
will of one of the private land owners.
Long Lake Creek/Flambeau Trail
Last
week I paddled a portion of Long Lake Creek, which flows out of Long Lake north
of Mercer. Then a few days later, I paddled a stretch of the Turtle River from
Oxbow Lake to the boat landing in Mercer on Echo Lake. These paddles weren’t
highly significant due to sightings of wildlife along the water, although we
did see and hear many birds. Nor were the trips remarkable for their beauty,
though both the creek and river are quite lovely. Instead, they were noteworthy
historically. The 42-mile-long Flambeau Trail ran from Lake Superior to the
northern tip of Long Lake, a portage referred to as a “120-pause portage,”
meaning the men had to stop and rest 120 times along the way.
Once,
they reached Long Lake, they uncovered their cached canoes, and paddled south
into Long Lake Creek, which flows into the Turtle River. The Turtle River then
widens into Little Oxbow Lake and Oxbow Lake, before flowing into Echo Lake in
Mercer. From there the voyageurs would portage a short distance across what is
now County J on the outskirts of Mercer into Grand Portage (Tank) Lake. A
seasonal village/campsite was located near what is today Carow Park. The
voyageurs may have rested here briefly, then paddled on a creek that flows now
under Hwy. 51 near Mercer’s Chamber of Commerce and then on into Mercer Lake. A
“6 pause” portage was then made south to the Manitowish River where the
voyageurs had a choice: Go upstream and paddle through the Manitowish River
Chain of Lakes to the Trout River and eventually east to trading post at Lac Vieux
Desert, or go downstream to the confluence with the Bear River, and paddle it
upstream to the trading posts at Lac du Flambeau.
The
trip from Long Lake to Lac du Flambeau is hard to measure in river miles given
the many meanders in these rivers, but it’s 38 miles by road. What amazes me is
that on August 2, 1804, Victor Malhiot, the French fur trader who commanded the
ABC fur trade post in Lac du Flambeau from 1804-1806, wrote in his journal that
he and his men paddled the route in less than day, starting at 4 a.m. and
making the trading post at 3 p.m. They would have been paddling “North” canoes,
26-foot-long birchbark canoes four to five
feet wide that could hold a crew of eight men. When filled with men and cargo,
the canoe weighed between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds.
When we paddled
the Turtle River on Monday in our lightweight plastic kayaks, there were many
sections that were only a foot deep, and we were getting caught on rocks. I
can’t fathom how in low water years these large canoes, laden with trade goods,
could get through these waters.
Knowing that the French had paddled this river
for over a century until the mid-1800s, and that Native tribes had likely
paddled it for many centuries before that, venerates the route, the very water.
I like to think of all of these travelers having left “paddle prints” for us to
follow, that though invisible, make the river a fluid archaeological trail.
Every trip down one of these historical rivers gives us a chance to join a long
line of travelers, explorers, traders, and villagers. That’s an association
worth becoming a member.
Celestial Events
July 7 to 26 marks our warmest days of
the year, according to records kept by Woody Hagge in Hazelhurst. We average a
high of 79° and a low of 55°.
On 7/8, look for Jupiter just above
the waxing crescent moon. Jupiter is almost impossible to miss. It’s the
fourth-brightest celestial object, after the sun, moon and Venus. If you have
binoculars (on a tripod) or a telescope, it’s fairly easy to see Jupiter’s four
major moons, which look like pinpricks of light on or near the same plane.
The moon can guide your eye to Mars (plus Saturn and the bright star
Antares) for several evenings, centered on or near 7/14. Then watch for the
moon to sail by Saturn on 7/15.
As of 7/16, our days are growing shorter by two minutes every day. Look
for the full moon on 7/19.
For planet watching in July, all the
action is after dusk. Look for Mercury and Venus very low in the
west-northwest, Mars in the south, Jupiter in the west, and Saturn in the
south.
On 7/20/1969, Neil Armstrong left
the first human footprint on the moon.
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