A
Northwoods Almanac for 10/3 – 10/16/14
Pillaging
Robins
In
mid-September, our largest mountain ash tree was laden with orange-red berries,
the key word in this sentence being “was.” A flock of robins arrived on 9/15 and,
in just one day, stripped the tree bare.
Mary and I were both distressed by this
and actually tried to shoo them away numerous times, not because we don’t like
robins, but because our mountain ashes provide a great lure for winter birds
visiting from Canada. Pine grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks, bohemian waxwings and
others love the fruits, and in turn, we love to see them. Now the mountain ash
won’t look any more appetizing than any other bare-limbed tree on our property.
I have to laugh at myself for not wanting
the robins to eat the fruits prior to their migration – after all, they need to
eat, too. Who am I to value a winter pine grosbeak over an autumn robin? But
since robins are perhaps the most versatile foraging bird in North America, I’d
like them to eat something less necessary for our wintering birds. After all,
one study of their stomach contents found fruits of 50 genera and invertebrates
from more than 100 families, illustrating how robins can live just about
everywhere, and can eat just about everything, from worms in summer suburban
lawns to seeds from trees on mountain peaks. They forage in the air snatching
insects, grab fruits off vines, lift leaves on the forest floor to find
invertebrates, and even partake of an occasional frog or fish or snake.
It would be one thing if they had no
choice but to eat the mountain ash berries in order to migrate. Their theft is
like someone eating all the canned goods that you put up for the winter, when
they could have eaten the fresh greens in the garden.
Enough whining on my part. Robins are
on the move south, as evidenced by the huge numbers that have already been
counted at Hawk Ridge in Duluth. They only go as far south as necessary to get
beyond the heavy snows, so they are a common wintering species in states like
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, forming large roosting flocks from which they
track sources of berries. They move throughout the winter after they’ve
decimated nearby food resources, thus their
Latin species name migratorius
means “wandering” as well as “migratory,” a highly appropriate description for
their winter behavior.
Hawk
Ridge Visits
Last week, Mary and I, along with a
group from Nicolet College, traveled up the North Shore of Minnesota, stopping
at Duluth’s Hawk Ridge on the way there and back. On 9/17, we arrived at the
ridge at 12:30, but cloud cover and a strong easterly wind whipped up just as
we got there. As the hawk counters noted on their website, “Clear and calm
early this morning with mild temperatures. A pretty good flight before the wind
shift killed it.”
Still, they counted 2,451 broad-winged
hawks among the total of 2,941 raptors! While we missed the big numbers, we got
numerous good views of sharp-shinned hawks. An additional 8,222 migrating
non-raptors flew over the ridge that day, including 5,835 blue jays.
We came back through Duluth on 9/20 and
had what appeared to be the perfect conditions for a great flight. The previous
two days had easterly winds, resulting in miserly counts of 39 and 80 total
birds. So the birds were stacked up and waiting to go when the wind shifted to
the west-northwest. We got up on the ridge by 10:30 and stayed until 1:00. We
were treated to excellent and frequent views of low-flying sharp-shinned hawks,
as well as numerous eagles, turkey vultures, northern harriers, broad-winged
hawks, and kestrels, and one each of a peregrine falcon, a red-tailed hawk, and
a Cooper’s hawk. But we had to leave by 1:00 to make it home. And that was too
bad, because as the counters noted on the website, “A wonderful flight really
ramped up in the last few hours of the day. Excellent diversity. Great looks at
multiple low broad-winged hawk kettles in addition to a couple of adult
Swainson's hawks and a subadult golden eagle.” The total for the day was 2,783
broad-winged hawks along with 934 sharp-shinned hawks. They also counted 5,095
migrating non-raptors, including 3,331 blue jays and 747 American robins.
The next day took the cake, however,
with perfect northwest winds producing a huge flight of 7,219 broad-winged hawks.
The counters described it as an “overwhelming flight of birds. For a while in
late morning, thousands of non-raptors mixed with thousands of raptors, a
counter’s worst nightmare.” They also counted 17,633 migrating non-raptors,
including 5,259 unidentified warblers and 2,166 white-throated sparrows (record
high count).
Those are the days one dreams of
observing, and we missed it by one day! Still, we saw more hawks on our two
visits than most people see in a lifetime. The days were lovely, the camaraderie
excellent, and the birds beautiful in flight – what better way to spend autumn
afternoons!
North
Shore Shorebirds – Pipits and Sanderlings
The
highlight of our birding along the North Shore of Minnesota was our time in and
around Grand Marais. We stayed at the incredible Naniboujou hotel, which was
worth the trip alone, but which also sits right on Lake Superior adjoining the
Brule River where it empties into the lake. Here we had good views of a
semi-palmated plover and a black-bellied plover, and incredible views of
sanderlings, which one morning walked within a few feet of where we were
standing, apparently unfazed by our presence.
Sanderlings, a small, plump sandpiper,
breed on the high-arctic tundra, their circumpolar breeding range extending from
the Canadian Arctic to Greenland and arctic Siberia. In North America, it
winters in relatively small numbers along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf
coasts, but most winter in Central and South America. They typically forage on
sandy beaches, running quickly ahead of incoming waves and chasing after
receding ones, probing the sand for food. Their average migration distance covers
77° of latitude with some flying more than 6,000 miles to reach temperate South
America!
We also had close-up and lengthy views
of American pipits, a species Mary and I had never seen before. A small flock
foraged continuously on the shoreline rocks, and it took us over an hour to
finally figure out what they were – so much for any pretense of expertise in
birding!
Pipits are one of a very few species of
ground-inhabiting songbirds that breed at high altitudes in alpine meadows and
on the arctic tundra. They winter in the southern U.S. and down into Central
America, so we see them only briefly in spring and fall migration.
Sightings
– Spotted Salamander
Ron and Pam Ahles on the Pike-Round Lake
Chain sent me a photo on 9/22 of a spotted salamander that was crossing their driveway.
They noted that it was the first one they had ever seen.
Salamanders
are a secretive group, so it’s not surprising Ron and Pam have never seen one –
we rarely see them as well.
The spotted
salamander spends most of its time underground, under logs, or in heavy
groundcover vegetation, but warm, rainy nights often encourage them to move
overground. Given the time of year, this one may have been heading for its
hibernation site, but it’s a bit early – the literature says they go
underground later in October. They appear to
not be freeze tolerant, so they don’t really "hibernate," but rather
find somewhere to spend the winter that doesn't freeze, perhaps in abandoned
small mammal burrows or other soil openings below the frost line.
The females
mate in ephemeral woodland ponds very shortly after the ice goes off in a “mass
nuptial orgy” and lay their eggs. After about 60 days, perhaps around the end
of June, the larvae hatch and then metamorphose typically in mid-August.
We
should be thankful for salamander populations, because in their aquatic larval
stage, they consume vast quantities of mosquito larvae and other small
invertebrates. “So what,” some might say – there can’t be enough of them to
matter since very few people ever see them. But researchers say they have a
very high density in deciduous forests – over 1,000 per acre – which far
exceeds the biomass of breeding birds, and equals that of small mammals.
Wisconsin
Conservationist of the Year – Matt Dallman
Matt
Dallman, The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Conservation for Northern
Wisconsin, was named Conservationist of the Year by the Gathering Waters
Conservancy. Matt’s office is in Minocqua, where he has worked for many years
helping to protect northern forests and waters. He’s negotiated some very
challenging land deals, earning a trusted reputation with diverse interest
groups and individuals. This is a prestigious award and well deserved – kudos
to Matt.
Mushroom
of the Week – Barometer Earthstar
Our most
interesting recent mushroom find was a barometer earthstar on the Cascade River
State Park hiking trail near Lutsen, Minnesota. The outer layer of the mushroom
splits into rays like a star and is topped by a small, whitish globe-like
structure which contains the spores. What’s amazing about this mushroom is that
it responds to changes in the weather, much like a barometer. In dry weather,
the rays close tightly, while in wet weather, the rays open, bend back, and
raise up the spore sac so the rain can help disperse the spores.
Celestial
Events – Lunar Eclipse!
A total
lunar eclipse will occur during the full moon on 10/8, beginning at 3:27 AM and
reaching full eclipse from 5:27 to 6:22 AM at which point the moon will be
close to the horizon and soon to set at 7 AM.
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