A Northwoods Almanac for 11/23 – 12/6/18
Early Ice-Up
The long-term forecast that said November would have above-average temperatures sure missed the mark. Numerous small lakes and marshes have iced-up already. Woody Hagge sent me this note about 39-acre Foster Lake in Hazelhurst, a seepage lake that is broadly representative of average area lakes: “Foster Lake froze-over on November 14 (night of November 13-14). November 14 is the earliest freeze-up date since 1995 when the lake froze on November 11. November 14 is the 4th earliest ice-up date since I started keeping records 43 years ago (7 Nov. 1991 and 8 Nov. 1976 were the earliest).” (Note: the latest ice-up occurred on 12/28/2015.)
The average autumn ice-up on Foster Lake over the last 42 years has been 11/27. This is two weeks early. The average date has been steadily climbing in the last 30 years, so this is a good reversal of that trend, however momentary it may be in the overall trend.
The average duration of ice cover on Foster is 140 days, or 20 weeks from now. That’s April 16 if you’re already waiting.
Our larger lakes ice-up significantly later in the fall and ice-out later in the spring, Trout Lake or Fence Lake usually taking the honor.
One last statistic: Given that we had such a late spring this year and ice-out was May 7th on Foster Lake, 2018 was the shortest open water season since Woody started keeping records – 193 days. The average open water season lasts 225 days, with the longest season lasting 265 days in 2015.
Sightings – Evening Grosbeaks, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Bobwhites
On 11/16, Jim Schuppel on Fish Trap Rd. in Park Falls had 14 evening grosbeaks visiting his feeders, while a friend in Washburn reported 17 at his feeders on 11/13. Watch for them this winter – this may be one of our best winters for seeing them in the last 20 years.
Several individuals contacted me with sightings of red-bellied woodpeckers at their feeders and wondered about their abundance in our area. In the southeastern U.S., it’s the most abundant woodpecker, but in the Northwoods, red-bellied woodpeckers remain quite uncommon. It was once thought that the tension zone in Wisconsin was its northernmost limit, but since the 1960s, the species has been moving northward likely due to maturing forests and an increase in backyard feeders. We had individuals visiting our feeders in Manitowish a few years ago, and we had one for a few days this summer, but they remain relatively rare the further north you go (see the range map).
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| red-bellied woodpecker rang map |
Jinny Swartout sent me a photo of nine northern bobwhites eating seed beneath one of her feeders in Minocqua. Perhaps if you were in southern Wisconsin, this wouldn’t be too unusual, but northern bobwhite aren’t really a northern species – their northernmost range is central Wisconsin. Jinny’s birds are likely a release, planned or otherwise, of pen-raised birds by a hunter training his dogs.
And Mary and I were sighted cross-country skiing on 11/15, though we could easily have been skiing as of 11/12. Early snow that’s staying -yay!
Historical Aerial Photos
Zach Wilson sent me this link to aerial photos taken in Wisconsin in 1937 and 1938:
https://maps.sco.wisc.edu/WHAIFinder/#7/44.750/-89.750. Click on where you live to see what it looked like 80 years ago!
We live in Manitowish in Mary’s grandparent’s home (John and Ann Nutter) that they bought in 1922. We were always told about the bridge that Grandpa Nutter built across the Manitowish River before Highway 47 existed. Well, it’s here in one of the 1938 photos, which is a treasure for us to see.
Check out the website - you might find something equally interesting about your family or about the landscape where you now live.
Bird Feeders
Now’s the time to have your bird feeders stocked. Some folks question whether to start feeding birds if their family plans on going away for a few weeks (or more) in the winter. Won’t the birds starve? The simple answer is no.
Birds have an assortment of places they check for food, and if your feeder is empty, they’ll move on to a restaurant that’s still serving.
There is some concern that birds may be staying further north, or expanding their rangesfurther north, in response to how much food is available at feeding stations. After all, an estimated 50 million households in the U.S. and Canada buy bird seed every year, creating a $4 billion market.
Other concerns exist as well such as fostering dependency, altering natural distribution, density and migration patterns, facilitating the spread of disease, increasing birds hitting windows, and increasing the risk of death from cats and other predators also attracted to feeders.
These are many of the same concerns expressed for feeding deer, bears, or any other wildlife, though I would contend that the feeding of large mammals has far greater negative consequences due to their habitat altering capabilities.
But as for bird feeding, I honestly don’t know if there’s a clear answer to whether it is good or bad. In our relatively unpopulated area, my sense is we’re doing significantly more good than harm. But perhaps the “good” is even more about the gain in our appreciation and understanding of birds than it is in the food we offer. Our love of birds leads to caring more about conserving habitats and minimizing our direct environmental impacts, and that alone is a major “good”.
Humungous Fungus More Humungous Than Thought
Researchers have just discovered that the “humungous fungus” first found 25 years ago in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has gotten much, much larger. When it was first discovered, the mammoth honey mushroom (Armillaria gallica) was estimated to cover 36 acres and weigh about 220,000 pounds. Researchers now estimate the fungus spreads across 168 acres and weights at least 850,000 pounds.
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| photo by Thomas Meyer |
They also now believe the specimen to be 2,500 years old, although the fungus could actually be much older.
Honey mushrooms, like most fungi, produce mushrooms above the ground, but most of the organism is composed of a network of underground tendrils called mycelium, which branch out looking for new food sources. This is how they can sometimes grow to such gargantuan sizes. In fact, the largest known fungus in the world, an Armillaria ostoyaefound in Oregon, covers an area of about 2.5 square miles.
Celestial Events
We were in Marquette, MI, last weekend, and on Sunday we watched the sunrise over Lake Superior. Venus dominated the southeastern sky. No other stars were visible as the sky lightened, but Venus was brilliant. This makes sense since at -4.6 magnitude, no other celestial object is brighter other than the full moon, which is -13 magnitude.
The magnitude scale is logarithmic, which if you remember your high school math as well as I do, means little to you. So, here’s the take-away: A difference of 1 in magnitude corresponds to a change in brightness by a factor of 2.51. Each additional difference of 1 in magnitude is then multiplied by 2.51. So, a difference of 2 magnitudes is 6.3 times brighter; 3 magnitudes is 15.8 times brighter; 4 magnitudes is 39.8 times brighter; 5 magnitudes difference is 100 times brighter, etc.
The brightest star in the night sky is Sirius at -1.5 magnitude, a full 3 magnitudes less than Venus. So, the planet Venus is about 16 times brighter than the brightest star in our sky. That’s bright!
The full moon occurred last night, 11/22, but is still 99% illuminated tonight, 11/23.
On 11/26, the average high temperature in Minocqua drops to 32° for the first time since March 5. Minocqua averages 100 days with high temperatures for the day at or below freezing.
On 11/28, Venus reaches its greatest brilliance for the year at -4.8 magnitude.
On 12/3, look before sunrise for Venus about 4 degrees below the waning crescent moon.
We are well on our way to winter solstice, but the days are growing shorter at a much reduced rate – only one minute per day now (thank goodness!).
On 12/6, look before sunrise for Mercury about 2 degrees below the waning crescent moon.
For planet watching in December, before sunrise look for Mercury and Venus in the southeast (look much later in month for Jupiter emerging in the east-southeast).
After sunset, look in the south for Mars, which then sets in the west around midnight.
Thought for the Week
“Earth may be alive: not as the ancients saw her – a sentient Goddess with a purpose and foresight – but alive like a tree. A tree that quietly exists, never moving except to sway in the wind, yet endlessly conversing with the sunlight and the soil. Using sunlight and water and nutrient minerals to grow and change. But all done so imperceptibly, that to me the old oak tree on the green is the same as it was when I was a child.” James Lovelock
Please share your outdoor sightings and thoughts: call 715-476-2828, e-mail at manitowish@centurytel.net, snail-mail at 4245N State Highway 47, Mercer, WI
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