A Northwoods Almanac for 12/23/16 –
1/5/17
Sightings – Sandhill
Cranes, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Robins, Bohemian Waxwings
An estimated
30,000 sandhill cranes were seen migrating over Chicago on 12/7, sending
birders and non-birders alike into great excitement. The cranes rarely land in
Chicago, instead resting up at
the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana before winging
their way to their winter homes in Georgia and Florida. On 12/14, the official
count of sandhills still at Jasper-Pulaski reached 17,600. Cranes used to
migrate earlier than this, but their migration has become later over many years
now due to warming autumn weather.
Colleen Henrich in Lake Tomahawk
sent me a photo of a red-bellied woodpecker that has been frequenting her
feeders all winter.
Sarah Krembs in Manitowish Waters
sent me a photo of a robin eating crabapples in her yard on 12/15. We spied a robin near our feeders in
Manitowish on 12/18, which I suspect was feeding on our crabapple trees as
well.
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| American robin photo by Sarah Krembs |
A flock of perhaps 40 bohemian waxwings have been working
on our crabapple trees in the last week. This has also been a particularly
exceptional year for brilliant red winterberries (Ilex verticillata), which are common on wetland edges, and I wonder
if the waxwings and robins might be eating those as well.
Christmas Bird Counts
The
Minocqua Christmas Bird Count took place on 12/17 on a lovely morning which
began at -17°F and climbed ever so slowly to -2° by mid-afternoon. Whoever
claimed that birders were sane? Not me. This is, however, just standard
operating procedure for any Northwoods outdoor enthusiast, whether he/she be a
skier, an ice angler, a snowshoer, or a birder. Over 20 years ago, I helped out
on a Christmas bird count near Saxon when it was a similar temperature. I can’t
say that I fondly remember the morning, what little I could see of it through
the iced-up windows in the car. Stepping outside for a clear view was
marvelous, for the minute or so we could tolerate it. We were all bundled up in
our high-tech clothing trying to spot songbirds, some as tiny as a quarter
ounce in weight who somehow had more resilience, by far – very far – than we
did.
I was
unable to participate in the Minocqua count last week – a recent knee surgery
put me on the sidelines. But by the time you read this, we’ll have completed
the Manitowish Waters Count which we rescheduled for 12/21 when the
temperatures are supposed to be in the mid-20’s, a veritable cakewalk for
winter birding.
Highlights
from the Minocqua count supplied by intrepid organizer Donna Roche include
cedar waxwings in Woodruff eating mountain ash berries (see Mark Westphal’s
photo), a robin also eating mountain ash berries, and the inclusion of our four
wintering woodpeckers (downy, hairy, pileated, red-bellied) by every counter in
their assigned areas. Red-bellied woodpeckers, historically a southern
Wisconsin woodpecker, remain quite uncommon, so their presence is notable.
 |
| cedar waxwing photo by Mark Westphal |
The Rhinelander Christmas Bird Count
took place a day later on 12/18, which was only slightly warmer. Ace birder Vanessa
Haese-Lehman wrote, “The highlight
of the Rhinelander count has to be the seven robins we found feasting on small
crabapples. Boy, did they look different . . . the most puffed up I've ever
seen a robin. The crabapples were frozen solid, but the birds just downed them
anyway. We also had two black ducks along with 44 mallards at the open water
near the DNR station.” She further noted the complete lack of winter finches –
no redpolls, grosbeaks, or crossbills, which is a common story so far this
winter.
Isle Royale Wolves
On 12/16, the U.S. National
Park Service (NPS) announced a surprising change in its usual hands-off
management for Isle Royale, proposing plans to introduce 20 to 30 new wolves
over the next three years. Only two highly inbred wolves remain on the island,
a father and his daughter, born two years apart to the same mother. The two wolves are
more inbred than any known wild wolves, and have reached a genetic dead end,
being more inbred than some infamous royal dynasties.
The plan to introduce new
wolves was one of four alternatives considered for Isle Royale as part of an
environmental impact statement. In 2014, NPS decided against new wolf introduction,
but after an intense public commenting period, they’ve changed course, though
the reintroduction likely won’t happen until the winter of 2018–19. Another
90-day required public comment period is currently underway.
Since 1958, researchers have tracked the fate of
wolves and their moose prey on the island in the world’s longest running
predator-prey study, one that many of us read about and debated in our college
ecology classes.
One of the important reasons for re-establishing
the wolf population is the likelihood of a runaway moose population with no
predators to keep them in check. Isle Royale’s moose number has continued to
grow at an average annual rate of 19% since 2012, when wolf predation
essentially stopped. Individual moose browse some 50 to 60 lbs. of vegetation a
day during the winter. Multiply that times the current population of 1300
moose, and their appetite will not only profoundly impact the overall Isle
Royale ecosystem, but also result in their overpopulation, overbrowsing of
their habitat, and ultimate starvation.
Ice-Up
While we recently experienced a
number of below-average temperature days, this autumn and early winter have
been warm overall. The Manitowish River froze over at our
home in Manitowish on 12/16 – a late date. It typically ices up in late
November.
As
for regional ice-up on our northern lakes, I always look to Woody Hagge’s data
on Foster Lake in Hazelhurst to give me the best picture. Foster
froze on December 10th, the 4th latest freeze in the last 41 years.
Woody notes that the last two years have shifted the 41-year average ice-up
date on Foster Lake to more than one
full day later and nearly
three full days since 1997.
Looking at only the last 19 years (1998 through 2016), the average
ice-up date for Foster Lake would be December 1st (1.3) or 8 days later than the 22-year average from
1976 through 1997 which was Nov. 23. The 41-year average ice-up date for
Foster is now November 28.
At 39 acres with a maximum depth of 38 feet, Foster Lake is broadly
representative of many of the modest-sized lakes in our area, though there are
many other factors influencing ice-up beyond the size and depth of a lake.
Winter Solstice/Celestial Events
Winter solstice officially
occurred two days ago on 12/21, but it’s a long slog to where we see a whole
lot more sunshine. Yesterday, 12/22, marked the last of our year’s shortest
days – a mere 8 hours and 39 minutes. Today, we gain almost a minute, the first
time since June 20, and we continue to gain nearly one minute every day until
the New Year when we will be blessed with all of 8 hours and 44 minutes of
daylight. In the meanwhile, our sunrises are stalled out at 7:40 a.m. until
Jan. 8 when the sun will rise one minute
earlier. It’s a slow change, but a welcome one.
The ringed planet
Saturn sits very low in the southeastern sky before dawn. On Tuesday, December
27, the old crescent moon will rest 5 degrees above the planet. The best
viewing times are between 6:15 and 7:15 am local time.
Bird
Protection Fund Disburses $60,000 to Priority Projects
The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin is distributing
almost $60,000 from the Bird Protection Fund (BPF) to eight
priority bird conservation projects for use in 2017. Funds come
from program grants and contributions, fundraising field trips, and
the Great Wisconsin Birdathon. Here’s a breakdown of where the money is going
this year:
$7,500
to the Wisconsin Bird Monitoring Program, for personnel to
monitor marsh birds, raptors, nightjars, and more.
$6,500
to the Wisconsin Stopover Initiative for programs
supporting migratory bird stopover habitat protection.
$6,000
for personnel in the Important Bird Areas-Southern Forests & Greater
Prairie Chicken programs.
Two birding teams in this area did
their part by participating in the Great Wisconsin Birdathon. Our Northern Highlands
team started
our birdathon at 4 a.m. on 5/22 in the moonlit fog on Little Turtle
Flowage and ended at 9:30 p.m., having counted a total of 117 species
while driving from the Mercer area to Lake Tomahawk, about 40 miles. A few days
later, the North Lakeland Discovery Center team counted a similar number of
species as well. Between us, we raised over $5,000.
Thoughts for the New
Year
“Reverence is an attitude of honoring Life . . . Whether a
person is reverent depends essentially upon whether he or she accepts the
principles of the sacredness of Life, any way that he or she defines sacred.
Reverence is also simply the experience of accepting that all Life is, in and
of itself, of value.” – Gary Zukav
“We need beauty because it makes us ache to be worthy of
it.” – Mary Oliver
Please share
your outdoor sightings and thoughts: call 715-476-2828, e-mail at manitowish@centurytel.net, snail-mail at 4245N Hwy. 47, Mercer,
WI, or see my blog at www.manitowishriver.blogspot.com.
