A Northwoods Almanac for 4/5 – 18, 2019 by John Bates
First-of-the-Years!
Every March into May, we celebrate our first-of-the-year (FOY) sightings of various birds, flowers, and other life forms. Over the winter, these had migrated, died-back, hibernated, or were just plain impossible to find. Their return or revival carries the same emotional pleasure as seeing an old friend after a long absence. We watch for them impatiently, and when they arrive, celebrate their resilience in surviving another winter and their kindness in stopping by our homes once again.
Mary and I were in Arizona from 3/13-3/26, so we missed some arrivals, but daughter Callie noted that American robins, red-winged blackbirds, and common grackles all appeared on 3/24.
Waterfowl have also been streaming in as the ice goes off our rivers and marshes. Trumpeter swans and Canada geese are always among the first to arrive, along with diving ducks like common goldeneyes, scaups, hooded mergansers, and buffleheads.
Tundra swans have also been migrating through, heading for their far northern breeding grounds. Physically differentiating tundras from trumpeter swans is nuanced, so pay attention to their voices. The trumpeters “trumpet” while the tundras sound a bit like geese or baying dogs. Given that trumpeters nest here, they are usually the default swan for our area, but at this time of the year, confusion with tundras is common.
Ann and Eric Benn have had common redpolls visiting their feeders in Presque Isle since mid-February. The number has steadily grown, and now they have 40 to 50 coming each day, which is rather remarkable given the dearth of redpolls the rest of us experienced this winter.
3/19: Helen Schoebel reported her first robin in Hazelhurst.
3/21: Red-winged blackbirds and and grackles appeared at Mary Madsen’s home in Presque Isle.
3/24: Margo Perkins on Rosalind Lake sent a photo of a long-tailed weasel that was racing around her yard.
3/28: FOY turkey vulture above Hwy. 47.
4/1: FOY northern harrier in Powell Marsh.
4/1: Rod Sharka sent me a great photo of a tom turkey displaying in his yard near Land O’Lakes.
4/2: FOY sandhill cranes calling from the marsh below our house.
Ice-off
The ice went off the Manitowish River below our house on 3/28. The river fully iced-over on 1/10, making for a rather short ice season of 73 days.
Lake ice remains pretty solid, so we’ll need some warm weather and strong winds before the lakes open. Average ice-off for modest lakes in our area is around April 16, at least according to Woody Hagge’s 46 years of ice-out data on Foster lake in Hazelhurst. Shallow, small lakes will open up earlier, while larger, deeper lakes will open up later.
Arizona Birds
Mary and I organized a birding trip to southeastern Arizona through the North Lakeland Discovery Center from 3/21 to 3/25, and we returned last week a little tanned and bird-happy. Eleven participants and our guide joined us in Tucson, and then we headed southeast toward the Mexican border, staying in Bisbee, then in Madera Canyon, and finally back in Tucson.
This was the second trip we’ve organized to this internationally-known birding area. To give you an idea of the number of birders who visit this place, one of our stops was at the Paton Center, a privately-owned home recently purchased by the Tucson Audubon Society. The home is a simple ranch style set in a neighborhood in the tiny town of Patagonia. But for four decades the family has put out seed feeders and hummingbird feeders, and in 2018 alone, over 15,000 people visited those feeders. The overall annual economic impact of people who come to Arizona to watch birds is $1.4 billion. Yes, billion.
There were people at Paton’s from all over the U.S. when we visited, and part of the pleasure of being there, besides the birds, is meeting all these folks. 213 species of birds have been recorded on Paton’s small lot, many of which are specialties of the region, breeding mostly in Mexico and Central America and barely reaching across the U.S. border.
Southeastern Arizona is so remarkable because it lies at the crossroads of five major biogeographic regions. The combination of mild climate, proximity to the Mexican border, 9000-foot mountains and the last free-flowing river in the Southwest, make southeastern Arizona a premier hotspot for rare and unusual birds, animals, and plants. The area may be best known for having the greatest diversity of hummingbird species in the U.S. At least thirteen species can be found in the southeastern corner of Arizona each year, and almost half of the hummingbird species found there are rare to unheard of elsewhere in the U.S.
Our group tallied 124 bird species, while Mary and I upped our individual total to 134 by going out a week early to scout the area with our oldest daughter Eowyn.
Our personal highlights before the group arrived were Montezuma quail, elegant trogon, and blue-throated hummingbird – all “lifer” birds for us.
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| elegant trogon |
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| blue-throated hummingbird |
Members of our group all got numerous life-birds as well. We all saw six species of hummingbirds as well as had superb views of zone-tailed hawks, gray hawks, six species of woodpeckers, Scott’s and hooded orioles, hepatic tanagers, lazuli buntings – the list goes on and on.
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| broad-billed hummingbird photo by Inge Fraser |
We had so many views of vermillion flycatchers and broad-billed hummingbirds that after a while we didn’t bother to look at them through our binoculars, amply demonstrating how quickly we humans can become accustomed to, and find routine, just about anything.
And demonstrating the continent-wide range of some birds, four of the most common birds we saw were ruby-crowned kinglets, white-crowned sparrows, pine siskins, and yellow-rumped warblers, all species we regularly see in the Northwoods either in migration or nesting.
Arizona Mammals
Mary, Eowyn, and I also had some unique experiences with Arizona mammals. We stayed one night in Paradise, AZ, a tiny cluster of houses up a mountain road near the New Mexico border. At about 4:30 in the morning, we awoke to raucous squealing and screeching beneath our bedroom floor, and shortly thereafter the smell of skunk permeated the floorboards. Turns out that female skunks often spray an overly amorous male who just won’t take no for an answer. Unfortunately, the preferred mating site was apparently a hole under our bedroom. Males travel miles to mate with as many females as possible, cads that they are. Hopefully, smelly fellow moved on to find a more accepting mate.
BTW, if you or your pet get sprayed, the best formula for removing the smell is a mixture of 1 quart hydrogen peroxide, half a cup of baking soda, and one tablespoon of dish soap.
Earlier that evening, we had been told to watch our hummingbird feeder for the appearance of a ringtail cat, which is not a cat at all but a relative of raccoons. It appeared as advertised shortly after dark and proceeded to empty the sugar water from the feeder by tipping it into its mouth. The cabin had a red light we could shine on the feeder, and we got many pictures of the otherwise reclusive ringtail with its long, bushy, banded tail which it uses for balance on rock ledges and cliffs. Apparently, ringtails have a sweet tooth and eat saguaro and prickly pear fruit, as well as visiting hummingbird feeders after dark.
Then there were the eight javelinas, also known as collared peccary, that wandered into some feeders that we were watching at a bed and breakfast. From a distance, they resembled wild boars, and up close, well, they still resembled wild boars, but small, “cuter” ones, if a wild pig-like animal can be considered cute. They nosed around under the feeders, vacuuming up the spilled seeds, grunting and snorting, and eventually wandered away.
And perhaps most interestingly of all, we had a band of perhaps 40 white-nosed coati roost in a tree next to our cabin in Madera Canyon, AZ. In the middle of the night, individuals made various piercing sounds that startled us awake every time. I have no idea what they were communicating, but we were very thankful we knew they were up there or we might have thought many things were being killed.
The next morning, they came down one-by-one out of the tree, crossed a horizontal branch that bridged the nearby creek, and off they went. Related to ringtails and raccoons, these omnivores are masterful, agile climbers in trees.
So, if you haven’t visited southeastern Arizona in late March when cabin fever is reaching peak levels in northern Wisconsin, you might consider it. There are professional guides galore for hire in the area if you want to identify birds and plants. The scenery is exceptional, and did I mention the temperature? 60 to 75 degrees, and dry every day. As I write this today in Manitowish, the snow is flurrying outside my window, which, of course, is our version of spring on April Fools Day.
Celestial Events
New moon tonight, 4/5. We’re also up to 13 hours of daylight as of today.
Planet watching in April is all about getting up early. Before dawn, look in the east for Venus and in the east-southeast for both Jupiter and Saturn. Mars is visible in the west after dusk, but sets before midnight.
April 12thmarks the 58thanniversary of Russia’s Yuri Gagarin’s flight into space in 1961, the first human to enter space.
Thought for the Week
“There is no glory in star or blossom till looked upon by a loving eye; there is no fragrance in April breezes till breathed with joy as they wander by.” – William Cullen Bryant
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, or see my blog at www.manitowishriver.blogspot.com.
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