A Northwoods Almanac for May 31, 2019

A Northwoods Almanac for May 31 - June 13 , 2019  

Fawns!

The last week in May marks the time when fawns are typically born in northern Wisconsin. Keep in mind that fawns produce little scent to attract predators and their instinct for their first two weeks of life is to be as invisible as possible by lying still. They typically stay perfectly still even when threatened or when simply approached.The mothers increase their fawns’ likelihood of survival by only feeding them a few times a day and moving them around to new spots from day to day to reduce their scent in any given place. 

photo by Hannah Dana

So, if you see a fawn that you think is abandoned, it’s most likely laying still because that’s their evolved strategy for survival. The doe will almost always come back unless it has been injured or killed. 

However, if you feel strongly that a fawn has in fact been abandoned and it may be in trouble, call a professional rehabber first to get his or her thoughts. Don’t feed the fawn, and don’t move it unless it’s laying in a roadway. Our three local wildlife rehabilitation centers are Northwoods Wildlife Center in Minocqua (715-356-7400),Wild Instincts in Newbold (715-362-9453), and Raptor Education Group in Antigo (715-623-4015).

Wildlife Rehab

Here’s just one example of why you should support our local wildlife rehab centers, this from Marge Gibson at the Raptor Education Group in Antigo in late April:

“It has been several days of critical cases being admitted. Coming on top of the starvation situation due to the spring/winter snow storm, we are hoping for a few calm days ahead soon to allow us to catch our breath. 

“We admitted an adult male Bald Eagle with lead poisoning and a wing fracture from Wood County . . . 

“Yesterday, David Edlund noticed a young Trumpeter Swan with a wing injury. He called the DNR Tip line for help . . . The swan was rushed to REGI with a serious wing injury and lead poisoning. She had emergency surgery soon after she arrived at REGI and is now recovering. She is also being treated for lead poisoning.

“A Rough-legged Hawk, an arctic species, was found along a road side in Central WI unable to fly. She was very thin. X-rays revealed she had been shot and had lead poisoning. This is a law enforcement case and we cannot comment on it further. However, if you know of someone that shoots hawks, eagles or other native birds, PLEASE call the DNR Tip Line at 1-800-847-9367. You can remain anonymous . . . 

“We admitted an adult Saw-whet owl that was found not moving during severe weather in Stevens Point. Thanks to the great folks that found and rescued him from certain death . . . He is recovering. 

“We admitted an adult Red-tailed Hawk and a Short-eared Owl during the severe weather. The Red-tailed Hawk was in respiratory distress - pneumonia. She is recovering as well and doing well. Thanks to the folks that found her and got her help. The Short-eared Owl was hit by a car and sustained internal injuries. He is not yet eating on his own but improving. 

“Our patients from the snow storm and horrid “spring” weather are improving and on the road to recovery. They are all eating on their own now so are less labor intensive than when earlier in their starvation condition. It is great to see then downing food with great excitement now and gaining strength. Thank you again to everyone that helped in so many ways. You are all wildlife heroes.”

High Water Levels!

            Most local lakes and rivers are experiencing very high water levels this spring. The Manitowish River where we live, for instance, is in full flood stage despite the early snowmelt waters being held back to fill the Manitowish Chain of Lakes.

The Great Lakes are experiencing equally high waters. According to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released on May 24, Lake Superior is sitting at about 15 inches higher than historical averages for May, and 9 inches higher than it was this time last year. Lakes Superior and Erie are all currently above record monthly highs (Lake Erie is 26 inches over its long-term average), while Lake Ontario is tied for its record monthly high, and Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are just 2 inches below their record highs.Lake Ontario has really come up this spring – it’s currently 20 inches higher than the previous year’s level!

Over the past 50 years, water levels have varied from year to year and decade to decade over most of the lakes. One year can be well below normal, while the next year can be well above normal. However, between 1999-2014, the lakes experienced an unprecedented period when water levels for Lake Michigan, Huron and Superior fell below their long-term average for 15 years.In fact, in January 2013, Lake Michigan and Huron set all-time record lows surpassing the previous record low from March of 1964.​

            But levels have been trending upward since 2013, the year when pleasure boats were stranded, cargo vessels were forced to lighten loads, wetlands dried up, and various conspiracy theorists speculated that water was somehow being siphoned off and sent to the parched West.

This is quite a shift going from one extreme to the other. The concerns with the record high water levels this year are about an increase in erosion along the lakeshores during storms and an increase in property damage due to the high water. 

The forecast for June is mixed. Lake Superior is predicted to rise another 3 inches and Lake Michigan and Huron are predicted to rise 2 inches. However, Lake Erie and Ontario are expected to fall 2 inches and 1 inch respectively.

Sightings

            5/15: Dan Carney spotted his first Nashville warbler of the year in Hazelhurst. 

5/22:Hanna Dana sent a lovely photo of a new-born fawn in Arbor Vitae. She noted in her email: “This morning I noticed a ‘lump’ under a small spruce tree in my front yard. I assumed it was something which had blown there during last night's storm. When I got close to the tree I realized the ‘lump’ was a new-born fawn. I know does often leave their new-born for hours at a time but this mother was gone all day and well into the evening. I called the Northwoods Wildlife Center and was told to call back in the morning if the fawn was still there and they would send someone to take it to the Center.  Some does will leave their fawns for up to 24 hours. Just before nightfall, the doe returned and the fawn, which had seemed lifeless prior to that, stood and nursed. The two sauntered into the woods, and I was fortunate to witness how the story ended.”  

            Also that day, Marlene Rasmussen on Upper Springstead Lake put out sugar water not in her hummingbird feeder but in a dog dish, and three warblers came and drank from it – a Cape May, a magnolia, and a yellow-rumped. I immediately tried the same trick, and haven’t had a bird yet! Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. 

            5/26: Mark Westphal photographed a pair of American white pelicans on Powell Marsh on 5/26.

photo by Mark Westphal

            That same day, I finally heard my first red-eyed vireos, a very common species that should have been back 10 days ago. And between birding at two sites, I was also able to record 15 different warbler species.

5/28: We had an amazing burst of color at our feeders on 5/28 – a scarlet tanager on our suet feeders, Baltimore orioles on our oranges, an indigo bunting cleaning up seeds on our deck, purple finches and American goldfinches eating from our tube feeders, and a cardinal singing in our yard. 

  

young male indigo bunting not fully "blued" out

Birdathon

            On May 21, I joined a team of birders (the “Up North Hammerheads”) for the annual Wisconsin Birdathon, an event sponsored by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative. It’s an annual walkathon-style fundraiser that has raised over $400,000 since 2012 for bird conservation and research. The way it works is that folks donate money to a team either directly or based on the number of birds they identify that day.

            The top team last year counted 195 species, a phenomenal number requiring nearly all 24 hours in the day, great planning, tons of driving, and expert/obsessed birders. Our team does the count it in a more laid-back fashion, focusing on a few areas within Oneida, Vilas, and Iron Counties, and taking our time enjoying one another, the site, and the day.

            This day we recorded 94 species, a very respectable number given how late our spring has been up here – there were numerous common species that we failed to find simply because they hadn’t returned yet! Most importantly, the team has raised nearly $2,000 to help fund various bird protection initiatives, and we had a lot of fun together – a good combo, don’t you think?

Blooming Time

            Our pear, plum, and Juneberry trees came suddenly into full bloom on 5/26 – what a difference a warm day with full sun can make in the spring.

Celestial Events

            As of June 1, we’ll be blessed with 15 hours and 30 minutes of daylight, with summer solstice only three weeks away.

            The new moon occurs on 6/3. Look after dusk on 6/5 for Mars just above the waxing sliver of a moon.

            We have ten days in a row of our earliest sunrises of the year beginning on 6/11 and ending on 6/20 – the sun comes up on those days at 5:08 a.m. 

Thought for the Week

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” ―Rachel Carson