A Northwoods Almanac for 11/22 – 12/5/24
Sightings – Blue-spotted Salamander, Tufted Titmouse, Trumpeter Swans
Scott Ruesch in Harshaw had two excellent sightings to report. First, a tufted titmouse appeared at one of his feeders on 10/20. Tufted titmice remain a southern Wisconsin breeding species, but are expected to eventually breed up here as climate change impacts continue.
And second, he spotted a blue-spotted salamander in early November hanging out on his driveway. This individual “should” have been well into hibernation had it read the books describing its normal behavior.
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| blue-spotted salamander, photo by Scott Ruesch |
Bob Von Holdt in Presque Isle has been following a family of trumpeter swans all summer and emailed and sent a photo on 11/12: “All 6 cygnets have survived as of today.”
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| trumpeter swan cygnets, photo by Bob Von Hold |
Mark Pittman on Lake Content (just below Big St. Germain Lake) had more to report on trumpeter swans: “We have way more Trumpeter Swans than years past. Some days, upwards of 50. They seem to segregate in small family groups all around the lake. The thing I’m curious about is the fact that there are several mallards aggressively feeding very closely with most every group of swans. Sometimes 8 to10 mallards. Perhaps bits of deep water vegetation the swans pull up is a treat for the mallards?”
A later email from Mark noted, “Our lake has an abundance of wild celery (aka eelgrass). The swans seem to be fond of that.”
Wild celery (Vallisneria americana) is indeed a choice aquatic plant that nearly all waterfowl absolutely love. And it provides shade, shelter and spawning habitat for a wide variety of fishes and invertebrates, so even more food is made available for those waterfowl who consume prey.
The plant looks nothing like the celery we grow in our gardens – it’s a submersed plant whose super-thin, ribbon-like leaves are nearly transparent, almost like cellophane. But it’s said to taste like celery. I haven’t tried it, so I can’t confirm this, but hence the name.
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| wild celery |
Why So Many Trumpeter Swans on Pipke Pond? – An Explanation
In my last column, I mentioned the large concentration of trumpeter swans on Pipke Pond in Presque Isle, and I wondered why so many were gathering there. Eric Benn responded with a very thorough explanation, which I’ll very briefly summarize here.
In 2021, a water control structure on the south pond failed, resulting in the pond draining completely within a few weeks. The DNR issued an administrative order to the town describing how the repair work needed to be done according to statute and various legal rulings.
A committee to address the issue was eventually formed in later 2022 and began working with an engineering firm to design the repair. The committee then applied for a WDNR grant to pay for one-half of the project and received it this year, with the work to commence in 2025.
In the meantime, some work had been done to hold the water in the pond. The south pond had very little water in it until this spring, and it gradually filled nearly all the way up. The exposed soils and the low water led to a very healthy growth of vegetation along the shoreline and in the shallows.
Eric feels this aquatic vegetation has been the draw for the swans and other waterfowl, but suspects that when the structure is finally brought into compliance, that the consistent higher water will result in less forage, and thus fewer birds.
Time will tell, of course, but swans eat an enormous amount of vegetation, and this fall they appear to have been the beneficiaries of an unexpected but exceptional food base.
Wounded Deer
On 11/3, Greg Bassett in Hazelhurst sent me this note along with a distressing photo of a deer with an arrow protruding from just below its eye and coming out the side of its neck: “John, this poor girl came to our yard earlier this week and continues to show about once a day. I thought if you can use the pictures in your article it might be a way to remind hunters to do a better job of placing their shots and following up after their shots to prevent this kind of misery for their targets. She is able to eat and the DNR rep who called me back said he had a case like this about a year ago and the deer has been spotted recently and seems to be doing okay – the arrow had come out and the wound has healed. Nevertheless, a clean kill is still the most important part of hunting!! We are keeping our eyes on this doe, and I have a friend who can put her down if it looks like she is struggling.”
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| Wounded deer, photo by Greg Bassett |
Greg’s email led me to wonder how many deer during our archery and gun deer hunts are wounded and/or die later from wounding. I knew who to ask – Keith McCaffery. Why Keith? Keith began as a research biologist with the Forest Wildlife Research Group of the Wisconsin Conservation Department (later DNR) in 1963 and conducted deer and ruffed grouse habitat projects until his retirement in 2000. He served as the State Deer Biologist during that time, and continues to contribute to our understanding of deer biology and best management practices. It’s fair to say that no one knows more about Wisconsin’s deer than Keith.
So, Keith sent me an article he’d written on the subject in 2019, and here’s my short summary:
“Literature on firearm “crippling” is quite abundant and some of it dates to the 1940s. Some of this information is based on hunter questionnaires and some is based on ground checks.
“However, a couple of the best sources come from Wisconsin and are based on ground checks following deer hunts. A series of surveys was conducted in central Wisconsin during the 1950s and 1960s . . . The pooled results of 11 such surveys indicated that the unretrieved wounding mortality averaged 6.7% as great as the counted harvest. Adding strength to these results was corroboration provided by the long-term (1963 to 1989) demonstration hunts at the Sandhill Wildlife Area, also in central Wisconsin . . . Again, the un-retrieved wounding mortality averaged 6.6% as great as the counted harvest.
“The most intensive study of bowhunting to date occurred at Camp Ripley in the 1990s. Here, detailed post-hunt exit-interviews and close examination of harvested deer found that 87% of the deer reported to have been hit were retrieved. Only 13% went unaccounted for and many of these deer were believed to have survived.”
Other studies from many other states specifically on archery wounding-loss provide an array of loss percentages, but nearly all suggest a loss below 10%.
Keith’s final thoughts on the matter are perhaps most important. “No wild creature dies peacefully between starched bed sheets. All death in the wild is violent by human standards whether it is caused by starvation, predation, or projectile. And, while we might bemoan what appears to be ‘waste’ when we lose a deer, we should remember that nothing really goes to waste in the woods. Something usually benefits from a dead deer. The beneficiary may be an admired scavenger like a bald eagle or a lesser noticed chickadee. Still, we have an obligation to hunt as humanely as possible.”
My hope is for a good hunt with sharp-eyed hunters and accurate shots.
Winter Finch Forecast
The Finch Research Network in Ontario recently put out its 26th Annual Winter Finch Forecast, which analyzes cone crops across Canada to predict whether various species of finches will be able to remain in Canada because of good cone crops, or if they’ll need to migrate south to find food.
Food abundance is the key for winter bird survival, not winter temperature. When we want to find out inside information on someone, the mantra is always “follow the money.” For birds, the insider info comes from a different mantra – “follow the food.”
So, here’s a quick summary of their predictions based on cone and fruit availability:
Pine grosbeak: Most pine grosbeaks should remain in the boreal forest areas, but areas around Lake Superior and particularly northern Minnesota may see a larger movement as a weaker cone crop in northwestern Ontario is consumed.
Purple finch: Purple finches have already been moving south, as reported by Hawk Ridge at Duluth, Minnesota. The majority should leave Canada with a moderate flight that will go well south to the Great Plains and southern United States.
Redpoll: First this news. In 2024, Common Redpoll, Hoary Redpoll and the Lesser Redpoll in Europe have all been lumped into the same species, now just called Redpoll.
As for their predicted presence this winter, redpolls focus on birch and alder seeds, as well as seeds from weedy fields, and the boreal forest appears to have average to above crops of both birch and alders. So, the finch forecast predicts little overall movement south, but hedge their bets by noting that fires and pests created some holes in the seed crop success, so we may see some southbound birds.
Pine siskin: The forecast says, “Many Pine Siskins will remain in the boreal and western mountains this winter. [But] areas from Manitoba eastward affected by Spruce Budworm infestations have a poor cone crop.” So, some siskins may have no choice but to come our way, but it sounds minimal.
White-winged Crossbills: The Finch Forecast says most white-winged crossbills should stay in the boreal forest due to good white spruce cone crops. However, on 11/9, Ryan Brady from Washburn posted this: “This morning I tallied a state record 1,322 White-winged Crossbills migrating along the south shore near Herbster, WI. In 4.5 hours, flock after flock chattered on their way, mostly in groups of 15-30 birds, sometimes high over the lake, and only occasionally dipping down to sample nearby spruces. This species was not expected to dip south much this winter but clearly they are vacating the eastern boreal forest and moving west in big numbers right now. Whether they stick around will depend on how much food they find here, but at least for now look for them primarily at spruces, hemlocks, and tamaracks in the northern half of the state.”
Evening grosbeak: The forecast says there should be a moderate flight of evening grosbeaks southward this fall. Evening grosbeaks are the most rapidly declining songbird in North America for reasons that are still unclear.
2024 Warmest Year on Record?
Scientists with the European Union’s climate monitoring program say they are “virtually certain” that 2024 will become the warmest year on record. It will also probably be the first full calendar year when temperatures rose more than 1.5° C, or 2.7° F, above the preindustrial average – a critical line signaling that Earth is crossing into territory where some extreme climate effects may be irreversible.
Celestial Events
The average ice-up date for 37-acre Foster Lake in Hazelhurst is 11/27, according to 48 years of data kept by Woody Hagge. Small, shallow lakes typically ice-up much earlier than large, deep lakes, so there’s a good two weeks of variability for this date depending on the lake.
New moon on 12/1. Look after dusk on 12/4 for Venus two degrees above the waxing moon.
Quote for the Week
The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see. – Dr. Robert Holden
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