A Northwoods Almanac for 12/6-19, 2024  

 

Losing Loons

            From Walter Piper’s blog post (https://loonproject.org/2024/11/18/not-giving-up/) on 11/18/24: “Wisconsin breeding [loon] pairs fledge 26% fewer chicks now than they did 25 years ago. Our more limited data from Minnesota indicate low breeding success there as well. 

            “But . . . loss of chicks while under their parents' care is less of an issue than the escalating die-off of young adult loons after they leave the breeding grounds. Survival in this later stage of the life history is down over 80%. Of 99 chicks that we banded in 1998, 1999, and 2000, we had resighted 38 (38%) as adults by 2004. In contrast, we have reobserved as adults only 9 of 155 chicks (6%) banded between 2018 and 2020.

            “These young loons are also the future. From their ranks come replacements for breeders that die each year. So young adults . . . are essential to population stability.

            “We have lost several of our traditional territories in Wisconsin during the past few years. We did not find breeding pairs on Bridge, East Horsehead, Hildebrand, Miller, Oneida-East, Pickerel-North, Tom Doyle, Swamp, or Muskellunge (Lincoln Co.) in 2024 . . . Still, there has not been a wholesale loss of territorial pairs in the Upper Midwest, which one might have expected from the high mortality of young adults. So while we have far fewer young nonbreeders milling around, the decline in the territorial loon population is, as yet, small.

            “Thus, the loon population might be more resilient than we had feared. We have long known that the majority of young loons that return to the breeding grounds never settle on a territory. Perhaps the die-off of young adults merely reduces their number to those few that would normally claim territories anyway. It is a hopeful thought!

            “I am connecting with water quality specialists in Wisconsin and Minnesota in hopes of learning why we are losing water clarity in July, which harms loon chicks. And I am searching feverishly – both on the breeding grounds and in Florida, where most of our birds winter – for the cause of the high mortality in young adults. These are not quixotic quests. I feel that people who love loons in the Upper Midwest will step up and help them if we can pinpoint the factors that endanger their population.”

            If you care about loons, and you are looking for an excellent scientific study to donate to, may I recommend Walter Piper’s efforts - https://loonproject.org/donate/.

common loon, photo by Bev Engstrom

Snowy Owl Numbers

            Ryan Brady, DNR conservation biologist from Washburn, tracks the number of snowy owl sightings in Wisconsin each year. For the winter of 2023-24, he tallied 24 individual snowy owls in the state, the lowest number in the last decade.

            In 2022-23, for comparison, 36 snowies were documented in the state, while 140 were recorded in 2021-22. More than 200 were documented in the big irruption years of 2013, 2014, and 2017.

            As of November 25, 11 owls have been reported statewide, including several along the Great Lakes shorelines and others at inland locations such as Wausau and Eau Claire. This fall’s total is below that of a typical irruption year, suggesting it may be an “average” year. More should be arriving, but typically not here in the Northwoods – we’re the wrong habitat. They typically are seen at large lakefronts (Lake Michigan, for instance), farm fields and even wide open developed areas like airports.

            "Our last irruption was 2021-22,” according to Brady. “If the approximately four- to five-year cycle holds up – and that’s a big if – then next year or the year after should see a higher pulse of birds."

eBird map of snowy owl sightings as of 11/28/24

            But . . . you never know. Ryan just shared (11/28) a photo of a snowy perched on top of the roof of an Arby’s in Ashland. If the snowies are already staking out the fast food joints, it might be a banner year after all.

 

the snowy owl on the peak of Arby's in Ashland

Bear Hunt Totals

            Hunters registered 4,285 black bears during the 2024 Wisconsin bear hunting season, according to preliminary data released by the Department of Natural Resources.

            The five-week season was marked by a high statewide success rate of 37%, up from 24% last year and the 31% five-year rate. The 2024 bear kill exceeded the statewide target by 11% and represents a 46% year-over-year increase.

            The last two seasons were substantially different primarily due to a huge acorn crop in 2023, according to DNR reports. The natural food source reduced the effectiveness of bait placed by hunters last year, illustrating just one of the many reasons why hunt numbers for any species can vary from year to year.  

            Wisconsin has an estimated 23,000 black bears.

 

Book Ideas for Christmas

            Looking for great books about nature to give for Christmas? Here are some recommendations:

The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees – Douglas Tallamy 

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World – Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth – Zoë Schlanger 

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us – Ed Yong

The Backyard Bird Chronicles – Amy Tan

The Seed Keeper – Diane Wilson

Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters with the Great Northern Diver – Dr. James Paruk

The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature – J. Drew Lanham

 

Gear Ideas for Christmas

            I’m always advocating for people to upgrade their binoculars from that old non-waterproof, heavy pair that was handed down to you when you were a kid. So, what to know? Model numbers on binoculars essentially tell you their magnification power and the size of the objective lens (basically how much light the lens lets in). In 8x42 binoculars, for example, “8” is the magnification power and “42” is the diameter in millimeters of the objective lenses. A ratio of magnification to objective lens of at least 1:5 is what you want. Too small a ratio and less light enters the binocs, which makes for poorer viewing.  

            An eight-power magnification is generally ideal, because going any higher, like to a 10 power, makes for a heavier binocular that is harder to hold steady, and which also has a smaller field of view for actually finding that little warbler high in that hemlock that is making you crazy.

            You can certainly buy more compact binocs that are lighter to carry – Mary and I each have a pair of these, too (8x28). But the quality suffers because less light enters the lens.

            Make sure the binocs are waterproof, fog-proof, and rubber coated. Now you can take them out in your kayak or fishing boat and not worry about dropping them in the water. 

            Also, be sure the pair has adjustable eyepieces that twist out. If you wear glasses, you want the eyepieces twisted in, which keeps the binocs at the right distance from your eye. If you don’t wear glasses, you want the eyepieces twisted out, otherwise you may only see blackness because the lenses are too close to your eyes. It’s called “eye relief,” and you want 11mm or more.

            You can go far into the weeds on the lens materials and coatings, but know that newer “roof prism” models are lighter and smaller  than older “porro prism” models.

            Finally, buy from a company that offers a lifetime guarantee no matter what foolish thing you do to your binocs. I’ve utilized my lifetime guarantee four times now for reasons too embarrassing to divulge. Vortex, a Wisconsin company, offers this guarantee, and I’ve been very grateful.

 

Other Optics to Consider as Gifts

            Buy a folding glass hand lens for looking at plants and feathers, as well as the splinter in your finger. They come in different magnification powers, but a 10 power is plenty. I also like to buy one that comes with a LED light, which really helps seeing some flowers or mushrooms in a dark woods. 

            Buy a cheap one, as we have many times, and you get what you pay for. Spend at least $20 on one, and you’ll be much happier in the long run. They’re called “magnifying loupes” by most companies. Opticron and Bausch & Lomb make good ones, as do many other companies.

            On the other end of optical pleasures, consider going big and getting a spotting scope. If you live on a lake and enjoy watching birds and other wildlife out on the water, you will absolutely love having a scope. Again, Vortex makes scopes – Mary and I have an 11x33 zoom scope, which is compact and light for traveling compared to the much heavier 20x60 scopes. And ours came with that lifetime guarantee, too, which in this case, I’ve only had to use once. Dropping things gets easier as you age.

 

Celestial Events

            The peak Geminid meteor shower occurs in the predawn of 12/13. This can be a big one – 50 to 120 per hour, though the nearly full moon will be hard to block out.  An asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon is responsible for the Geminid meteor shower, but it’s still not known how material from the asteroid’s surface, or interior, is released into the meteoroid stream. 

            Our earliest sunsets of the year – 4:14 p.m. – already began on 12/5 and will continue at that time until 12/14, whereupon the sun will start setting later on 12/15. 

            12/14 also marks the date when in 1972, Eugene Cernan left the last human footprint on the moon (Apollo 17). Since the moon has virtually no atmosphere – and thus no erosion – his prints may last indefinitely. Hard to believe no human has set foot on the moon for 52 years!

            December’s full moon – the Cold/Long Night/Popping Trees Moon/Little Spirit – occurs on the 15^th. It’s the highest and northernmost of all moonrises in 2024.

            Most of the best planet watching in December occurs in the early evening. Look for Venus low in the SSW, Mars rising in the ENE after 6 p.m., Jupiter low in the ENE, and Saturn in the South. Mars will be just below the waning gibbous moon on 12/18. 

 

Thought for the Week

            “Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximizing scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.” - Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times