A Northwoods Almanac for Dec. 8 – 21, 2017
Latest Numbers on Snowy Owls
As of 11/29, approximately
105 individual snowy owls have been reported in 44 Wisconsin counties. This is
the largest total of snowy owls as of this date in the last eight years. To see where the birds have been sighted in
Wisconsin, go to Wisconsin eBird at http://ebird.org/content/wi/, click “explore data,” click “species maps,” enter “snowy owl,” and
then enter the date range (Oct. to Dec. 2017).
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| snowy owl photo by Dick Lemanski |
Northern Highlands
Citizen Science Network
In this momentary time bubble of
anti-science, a group of citizens who believe wholeheartedly in science has
arisen to try to fill the void left by unfilled state position vacancies, position
cuts, and reduced funding. Dr. Mike Meyer, retired research scientist for the
WDNR, convened a meeting of area citizens last week to share current
opportunities for citizens to be engaged in scientific research, and then to
facilitate discussion of what a Northern Highlands Citizen Science Network
could become.
Nearly 100
people attended, including many leaders of ongoing citizen monitoring projects.
Data from over 20 monitoring programs were shared, along with the myriad of
ways to get involved.
We heard
about water-based projects like the Citizen Lake Monitoring Network which began
in 1986 and which now has over 1,000 volunteers who measure water clarity,
water chemistry, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and duration of ice cover, as
well as mapping aquatic invasive species and native plants on lakes all around
the state. The data is used to show trends in water quality and biological
communities, and thus understand and better manage individual lakes. Nearly 150
lakes in Vilas County have been monitored, and the data for each lake over all
these years is available online.
We heard
from the Wisconsin Action Volunteers who take many of the same measures on the
32,000 miles of Wisconsin’s perennial rivers and
streams. Given the legal requirements of the WDNR to report the environmental
status of all of our streams and rivers, citizen monitoring help in obtaining
the data is essential.
We heard
about Loon Watch Monitoring, Mussel Monitoring, the Wisconsin Turtle Survey,
and the Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey which began in 1981 and is the longest
running frog survey in the nation.
And we heard from the Wisconsin
Healthy Lakes Project which analyzes all the monitoring data and helps
individual lakeshore owners, lake associations, and public agencies apply the
science on their properties.
On the
land-based side of things, we heard from the Iron County Citizen Science
Project which includes an American marten study that was undertaken by Mercer
and Hurley high school students. We heard from the Volunteer Carnivore Tracking
Program, the Wisconsin Odonata (dragonfly/damselfly) Survey, the Wisconsin Bat
Monitoring Program, the Hunter Wildlife Survey, the Wisconsin Master Naturalist
Program, the Wisconsin Rare Plant Monitoring Program, the Wisconsin Breeding
Bird Atlas, and more.
Of the 20+ programs that were
shared, many are coordinated through the Wisconsin Citizen-based Monitoring
Network. The WCBM Network brings together citizens and professional scientists
to work together in monitoring and evaluating Wisconsin’s natural resources,
and helps to provide technical and financial support.
I was surprised when a friend from
Michigan who was also attending the meeting said she was doing online searches
for equivalent programs in Michigan and found few to none. Apparently, citizens
in Wisconsin are still doing a lot of important work compared to other states.
The good
news behind the data collection is we require long-term data that can inform
long-term decision-making. We’re all in this for the long haul. When the
political pendulum swings back to respecting science, as it must, then with the
help of citizen monitoring we’ll have the data necessary to honestly confront
future issues.
New Loon Insights
Dr. Walter
Piper in a 12/4/17 online post (see www.loonproject.org) reports that he’s
discovered two new predictors for why loons may abandon their nests: lake size
and the age of the nesting female. Dr. Piper just finished submitting a paper
presenting evidence that large black fly hatches and their subsequent
harassment of nesting loons can cause nest abandonment.
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| loon covered with black flies, photo by Bob Kovar |
However, in looking at
all his data, he also found two unexpected factors: “First, pairs on large lakes are less prone to nest
abandonment than pairs on small lakes. Second, pairs containing an old female
are far more likely to abandon a nest owing to black flies than are pairs
containing young females.”
Why? Piper speculates that it’s all about energetics. Regarding lake size, he notes, “Large lakes provide more food than small lakes, so loon
pairs on large lakes should be in better health and condition than those on
small lakes. Well-fed, healthy adults with strong immune systems should be
better able to cope with the blood loss and exposure to blood-borne pathogens.”
As for why older females
are more likely to abandon their nests, he conjectures, “Old females senesce . . . it stands to reason that old
females are in poorer body condition and are more likely to abandon nests when
attacked viciously by black flies. Reproductive decline among old females is
widespread in animals, and the tendency of old female loons to abandon nests
more readily seems consistent with that pattern.”
Dr. Piper has studied loons
on nearly 200 lakes in Oneida County since 1993. He along with Dr. Mike Meyer,
retired wildlife toxicologist for the WDNR, lead the way nationally with their
research on loon behavior, reproduction, habitat selection, migration, and the
impacts of mercury and various diseases. Their exceptional scientific work has
placed northcentral Wisconsin at the epicenter of loon research.
Alan Haney - Science on Tap
Speaking of loons, Alan
Haney, Emeritus Professor of Forestry at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens
Point, and an ecologist with over 40 years of field experience spoke at
November’s Science on Tap in Minocqua. When asked about which local bird species
may be extirpated from our area due to climate change, he noted that common
loons are very likely to be extirpated from Wisconsin by 2050. This brought an
audible gasp from the audience who I suspect hadn’t fully considered the
impact of warming temperatures on our northern lakes.
Audubon’s Birds and Climate Change
Report in 2014 noted that the common loon breeding range is likely to shrink
56% by 2080, shifting well north of Wisconsin. Loons are also projected to lose
75% of their current winter range with warming waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
Nest
cameras have shown that incubating loons start to pant at 75°F, which is their
normal response to warmer temperatures. As temperatures rise, adults
spend more time off the nest to cool off, leaving the eggs prone to predators.
In addition, preliminary research indicates that the porosity of egg shells
changes at high temperatures, which can negatively affect the developing egg.
Climate models also predict an increase in large rain events, something we’ve already
seen in the Northwoods and around the country, which can lead to more flooded
nests.
A
loon stressed by heat, high parasite loads, mercury, and changes in food
resources will likely be more vulnerable to infection and less resistant to the
effects of stress. In addition, diseases may be introduced from further south,
exposing loons and other wildlife to new pathogens to which they have no resistance. In 2015, for instance, a common loon in New England was found dead from
avian malaria, the first known case of a loon dying of the tropical disease.
It’s all about
location, location, location – or habitat, habitat, habitat. As
habitats change, birds have to move to another place with the right conditions
for them. As waters continue to warm, loons will have little choice but to move
further north.
Winter Solstice
Winter solstice occurs on 12/21
this year, and it means different things to different people. It marks the day
with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night, but it also marks
the beginning of lengthening days and shortening nights. It’s considered the official start of winter, though in the
Northwoods, we all know winter started quite a while ago.
It also signals a rebirth, a
reawakening, a cause for celebration. Many Neolithic archaeological sites such
as Stonehenge in England and Newgrange in Ireland were aligned to capture the
sun perfectly on the winter and summer solstice, indicating how profoundly
significant those astronomical events were to them. The reversal of the sun’s
ebbing offered promise ahead. The year was considered completed, and a rebirth
was now at hand even though they knew January and February would still bring
tremendous hardships.
Latitude determines just how dark
your winter solstice will be. The length of the day in Minocqua will be 8 hours
and 39 minutes. But further north in Fairbanks, Alaska, they’ll only see 3
hours and 41 minutes. However, in Honolulu, where they’ll experience 10 hours
and 50 minutes of daylight, they could be sun-bathing!
Below the equator, the opposite is
true, of course – it’s summer solstice. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, they’ll
feel the sun’s warmth for 14 hours and 28 minutes. In Melbourne, Australia,
they’ll see even more sunshine – 14 hours and 47 minutes worth.
The short days may influence some
to seek airfare to the southern hemisphere, but remember, this is the rebirth.
The sun will slowly rise earlier and set later, and there’s definitely promise in that.
Christmas Bird Counts
The 25th annual
Manitowish Waters Christmas Bird Count takes place on 12/16, while the 21st
annual Minocqua Christmas Bird Count takes place on 12/14. If on those days you
see suspicious looking people eyeballing your bird feeders with binoculars,
this will be the reason.
Celestial Events
From 12/5 to 12/14, the year’s earliest sunsets will occur at 4:14 On 12/15, the sun will
finally begin setting one minute later every day.
Look before
dawn for Mars and Jupiter bright in the east.
In the late
evening of 12/13 and early morning of 12/14, look for the peak Geminid meteor
shower. This shower can reach 120 meteors per hour, so this is worth bundling
up for.
Quote for the Week
“The solstice once was an occasion for awe,
when the ancient pleaded with the sun to refrain from vanishing into outer
darkness. Year after year the prayers were answered. The sun did turn back form
the abyss . . . [Today] we are confident that the sun will turn back from the
abyss, but we aren’t at all sure what man will do next.” Hal Borland
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