A Northwoods Almanac for March 18 – 31, 2022

 A Northwoods Almanac for March 18 – 31, 2022  

 

Spring Equinox and the Return of Red-winged Blackbirds 

            Over our 38 years of living in Manitowish, male red-winged blackbirds have returned nearly every year right around spring equinox. We live on the edge of a large wetland along the Manitowish River that is prime breeding habitat for red-wings, so the real estate mantra of “location, location, location” reverberates in red-wings every bit as much as it does in humans. They arrive commonly at this time even though snow and cold weather still prevail.

            Red-winged blackbirds are among the earliest migrating songbirds to return in spring, sharing that title with grackles, robins, and starlings. I’d like to say they are harbingers of spring, but it’s like a commercial touting a movie that’s coming out a month or two later. Spring, or what we loosely refer to as spring in the North Country, is still a long ways off.

            Red-winged males arrive around three weeks before the females. Part of that is due to the fact females typically migrate longer distances in autumn than males. The female populations located near the Great Lakes migrate nearly 140 miles farther south, so they have a longer flight back. Plus, females require a higher protein diet to lay eggs, so there’s little point returning to their breeding grounds before insects begin to hatch.

            But the males’ risky early return is mostly about establishing themselves as the “owners” of the best territories. Red-wings are known for their polygynous social system – a dozen or more females are not uncommonly observed nesting on the territory of a single male. One study in Washington state showed 33 females nesting in a single male’s territory! This large harem, if you will, makes them one of the most highly polygynous of all bird species.

            Territory owners, however, don’t necessarily sire all of the nestlings on their territories. Females, as well as the males, will copulate with more than one partner during a breeding season. “It’s not at all unusual for one brood to be sired by two or more males,” says Ken Yasukawa, professor emeritus of biology of Beloit College. “On my study area in Wisconsin, about one third of young were sired by males other than the territory owner.”

            The fancy term for this is “polygynandrous,” meaning both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season. 

            Others may simply call it promiscuous, fickle, unfaithful, or, dare I suggest, immoral!

            But the red-wings don’t care what the righteous among us call them. Attracting the most females means a better chance of passing on their red-winged genes to the next generation. 

            The males will fiercely defend their territories during the breeding season. In fact, over a quarter of the male’s time is spent vigorously defending his territory from other males and predators, not hesitating to attack much larger animals, including people.

            The attacks don’t always require a physical confrontation. Lots of fights are resolved quickly via the flashing of their red shoulder patches. The patches are used like epaulets on a soldier’s uniform to distinguish rank – the more bars and stars, the higher the rank.

            In the world of red-wings, rank is conferred via the size and brightness of the red patch – the bigger and brighter, the higher the rank. The patches serve both to defend territories and attract females. If you see two males side-by-side showing their epaulets, they’re likely on the boundaries of their territories. If you see two males next to each other with one showing his red patch and the other concealing his, the territorial male is the one revealing the patch, and the other is the trespasser.

            We see this all the time at our feeders – one male flashing his vivid red patch under the feeder, and the other males covering their patches so only a yellow line appears, conveying a clear message of submission – we bow to thee.

            The males also sing a blue streak in the early spring mornings, singing at a rate of 10 songs a minute, all to demonstrate another measure of vigor, status and strength. He with the loudest voice typically prevails. 

            The red-wings distinct “konk-la-reee,” often with an ending trill, will soon be ringing across the wetlands, and for Mary and me, it’s greatly welcome, suggesting at last that spring may be on some distant horizon.

 

Owl Activity

            We have three quite common nesting species of owls in the Northwoods: northern saw-whet, barred, and great horned. We also have four other owl species that are at the other end of the nesting spectrum, highly uncommon to rare: short-eared, eastern screech, great gray, and long-eared. And we have three species that are rare winter visitors: snowy, northern hawk, and boreal.  

            As I wrote in an earlier column, great horned owls should be incubating eggs now, with a hatch date likely in early to mid-April. 

            Barred owls follow a later breeding calendar, laying their eggs sometime between late March and mid-April, with an incubating time of about a month. So, their hatch date is late-April to mid-May. They call during all months of the year, but most frequently from February to mid-March, so hopefully some of you have been hearing them recently. 

            You may also soon be hearing the night-time advertising call of northern saw-whets, a call that is a monotonous series of whistled notes on a constant pitch, often likened to the beeping sounds made by a dumptrack backing up, except the saw-whet call continues every second for ten or more minutes before pausing.  

            Some folks are reporting local owl action. Debbie and Randy Augustinak in Land O’Lakes sent me a note and a photo on 2/26 regarding a northern saw-whet owl that was mousing under their feeders at daybreak. They noted, “He was quite approachable,” a common behavior of saw-whets who for some reason don’t seem to fear humans. When I cautioned that seeing an owl in late winter at your bird feeders is often a sign of starvation, they replied, “The good news is we do see lots of mice and voles there, usually when we click on the yard light at night, so maybe he got lucky. He hung around all day in the bright sunshine until we left for church around 3 p.m. He was gone when we got home at 5 p.m.”

            Sterling Strathe in the Eagle River area shared a beautiful photo he took of a barred owl near his feeders on 3/5. He commented, “Watched this ‘guy??’ miss a red squirrel this afternoon.” His question mark regarding the gender makes sense, because there’s no way to visually tell the genders apart, a truism for most owl species.

            As for snowy owls, 143 were reported in January in 54 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, but none that I’m aware of are currently in Vilas, Oneida, or Iron counties.

 

Black Bears

            We’re getting closer to the time when black bears will be leaving their dens. According to Lynn Rogers, a well-known bear researcher in Minnesota, males are typically the first to leave their dens, often in late March around here. However, when they leave depends on snow depth, and our current snow is still quite substantial.

            The females emerge later in April. Currently, many are actively nursing cubs which weighed less than one pound when born, but which will weigh more than 5.5 pounds when they leave the den with the mother. 

            Black bears breed in June or early July, but by utilizing delayed implantation, embryonic growth does not begin until five months after breeding. The period of active pregnancy then lasts only about six weeks, and the cubs are born in late January or early February. 

How to Tell a Coyote from a Wolf

            Bev Engstrom shared a great photo of a coyote near her home on the Wisconsin River, which always brings up the question of how to tell a coyote from a wolf. It’s difficult! Here are three keys to look for:

Size:    Coyotes are much shorter, standing 20 to 22 inches; wolves stand 27 to 33 inches. 

            Coyotes are 3.5 to 4.5 feet in length; wolves are 5 to 6 feet in length. 

            Coyotes weigh 25 to 40 pounds; wolves weigh 60 to 120 pounds. 

            Coyote tracks average  2.5 inches in length; wolf tracks are 4 to 5 inches long.

Ears:    Coyotes have proportionally longer ears with pointed tips. Wolves have shorter and more rounded ears.

Snout: A wolf has a broad, more rounded snout, while a coyote has a narrow and pointier snout.

            Unless you have a coyote and a wolf standing near each other, however, these can be relatively subtle differences. I find it often quite difficult to distinguish between a coyote and a wolf, particularly if it’s a brief sighting, the animal is far away, or if the lighting is poor.

            Look at Bev’s photo and see in particular the small size, narrow face and pointy ears.

 

Celestial Events

            The full moon occurs tomorrow night, March 18. Two names are most often attributed to it: the “Sap or Maple Sugar Moon” and the “Crust on Snow Moon.” 

            The official vernal equinox takes place on March 20 when the sun travels directly above the equator. We’re now the recipients of longer days than nights – hallelujah! “Spring” lasts 92 days according to the calendar, but don’t believe it for a second.

            Look to the southeastern horizon before dawn in late March through early April to spot a tri-planetary tango of Venus, Mars, and Saturn all clustered close together. On 3/29, look for Venus just two degrees above Saturn. On 3/30, look for Jupiter four degrees above the waning crescent moon.

 

Ice Storm and Crust Snow

            The ice storm that hit our area on 3/5 left a hard crust on top of some pretty deep snow. For deer, this is really an exhausting time of the year as they posthole through the crust. On the other hand, light animals with big feet – aka a snowshoe hare – they’ve found nirvana. 

 

Thought for the Week

             All knowledge is local, all knowledge is partial. – Ursula K. Le Guin 

And along those same lines: No matter how intently one studies the hundred little dramas of the woods and meadows, one can never learn all the salient facts about any one of them. – Aldo Leopold

 

A Northwoods Almanac for March 4 – 17, 2022

 A Northwoods Almanac for March 4 – 17, 2022   

 

March Madness 

            Our northern winter slowly wanes in March, often with so many blusters and bluffs that one can easily be driven into the dreaded state of cabin fever. The sun may be higher and the days longer, but spring usually advances at a snail’s pace. The month can feel like it will never give way to warmth. 

            So, I thought I’d write a column to raise our collective spirits. It’s about three women in Mozambique, Africa, who are farmers and also heroines. My wife Mary has been working on an international exhibit about women and water, and she’s woven a portrait of these women as part of it. Here’s their story:

            

Mozambique and Gorongosa National Park

            Stories of water don’t just have to be about a river or lake or ocean. How about the stories of water giving life to family farms? 

            Mary’s portrait illustrates three women, Vaida Furanguene, Fatianca Paulino, and Querida Baringuinha, who during a civil war in Mozambique carryied water at night up a mountainside in Gorongosa National Park to water newly planted coffee plants. 

Vaida Furanguene, Fatianca Paulino, and Querida Baringuinha

Mary Burns' weaving of the women

            To understand their story, we have to step back.

            Gorongosa National Park was once touted as one of Africa’s most spectacular national parks, with massive herds of wildlife roaming its Rift Valley grasslands and woodlands. One of the most biodiverse places on Earth, Edward O. Wilson claimed that Gorongosa was “ecologically the most diverse park in the world.” 

            Gorongosa was established in 1921 as a hunting reserve for the ruling Portuguese. It was established by removing the people who once had shared the landscape with wildlife. 

            By 1960, when first designated a national park, Gorongosa was still a popular holiday destination for the wealthy. Black Mozambicans were not welcome, unless they worked there or were given a special invitation. 

            Then the Marxist Front for the Liberation of Mozambique drove the Portuguese from Mozambique in 1975, and a brutal single-party socialist government was established. Villagers were forced to relocate into towns or communes. Dissidents were placed in “re-education camps” or convicted in show trials, and many were executed. Within two years, these oppressive measures inspired the formation of the Mozambique Resistance Movement (RENAMO), supported by the governments of South Africa and Rhodesia.

            The conflict that erupted turned into one of the longest, most brutal, and destructive civil wars in recent decades. Over the course of 15 years (1977–1992), more than 1 million people were killed in the fighting, thousands were tortured, and 5 million were driven from their homes.             RENAMO established its headquarters near Gorongosa, which, situated near the geographic center of the country, offered a strategic location, plus refuge and food for the rebels. 

            During the war, wildlife populations declined by 90–99%, and continued to decline thereafter partially as a result of post-war poverty. Hungry people needed food, and groups needing cash saw elephant ivory, zebra pelts and others as potential sources of money from the illegal wildlife trade.

            A ceasefire halted the war in 1992, but poaching continued, and people in surrounding communities set traps for whatever edible animals remained. 

            By 1995, the park itself was a dangerous place, not because of the large animals that had been nearly exterminated, but because of landmines.  

            By the turn of the century, Gorongosa National Park had been wrecked. 

            Aerial wildlife counts noted a near-total collapse of wildlife. From 1972 to 2001, cape buffaloes declined from 13,000 to 15. Wildebeest fell from 6,400 to 1. Hippos from 3,500 to 44. Zebras from 3,300 to 12. Hyenas, black and white rhinos, and wild dogs all fell to 0. And elephants and lions were reduced by 80 to 90%.

            Wildlife recovery began in 2008, coinciding with a public and private co-management agreement called the Gorongosa Restoration Project (GRP), a joint partnership between the government of Mozambique and the Carr Foundation, which to this day is still supported by American philanthropist Greg Carr and the government. 

            At the time, the glory of Gorongosa, however, was a forgotten memory. Mozambicans told Carr, “Don’t bother. There’s nothing there anymore.” 

            Carr and the GRP team, however, had a different perspective. They knew the one species that was most important to the recovery of the park and its ecosystems – Homo sapiens. The human population surrounding the park was about 250,000, and most subsisted on less than one dollar per day. To be successful in the long run, Gorongosa would have to prove to be more valuable as an intact preserve than as farmland, timberland, and hunting land. For any conservation area to survive, embracing the communities that live around the park and ensuring they benefit from the park is critical. When the GRP team was asked by the local community, “Are you here to plant trees or help people?” The answer was “both.” 

            It was clear that Gorongosa had to become a “human rights park,” too, which meant generating tangible benefits for the local people via health care, education, agronomy, and economic development, as well as protecting its landscape, its waters, and its biological diversity. The goal was to turn what was a battlefield into a “Park of Peace.”

            The people living on the mountain were no stranger to hardship. They were doing their best to survive in the face of conflict using traditional methods of farming maize and other low-value crops. This meant they frequently needed new fertile ground and would move up the mountain and cut down the forests. 

            Recovery was therefore slow. Park warden Pedro Muagura, who grew up in the area, remembers in the years following the war, “You used to walk for a day and see perhaps just one warthog.” 

            Then, in 2010, the highlands of Mount Gorongosa (about 3,000 feet) were added to the park. The mountain’s rainforest receives about 80 inches of rain per year that feeds the rivers winding through the area. Water from the mountain is the lifeblood of the Gorongosa ecosystem. 

            But across the lower elevations, local people continued cutting, burning, and farming. They had little choice – feeding one’s family will always take precedence over conservation.

            What to do? 

            Pedro Muagura had a radical idea: Why not grow coffee on mountainside plots that had already been deforested? It could be shade-grown, beneath replanted native trees, giving local people a bit of income as well as restoring the forest. 

            The problem was no one was growing coffee in Mozambique. As a member of the restoration team said, “Imagine trying to convince a group of poor farmers who don’t know you to plant a crop that they’ve never heard of, has no nutritional value, and takes three years to start producing. After sampling the crop, the farmers find it bitter and kind of burned. Adding to this challenge – this area is the heart of the rebel movement that has been fighting with the government for decades and fighting was still ongoing.”          

            Nevertheless, park staff, nearly all Mozambicans, taught farmers to care for the delicate coffee plants. In addition to 2,200 coffee plants, 90 hardwood rainforest trees were planted on each hectare that would eventually shade each orchard. To provide the farmers with a living while waiting on returns from the coffee plantation, they also provided seedlings of vegetables like carrots, kale, and peppers, and training in how to grow them.

            RENAMO, however, continued as a political and paramilitary organization, and its conflict with the government flared up again in 2013–2014, causing the temporary closure of the park and forcing GRP personnel off the mountain. 

            And here, finally, is where the three women you see in the portrait – Vaida Furanguene, Fatianca Paulino, and Querida Baringuinha, all farmers – come into the picture. The local farmers had embraced the coffee enterprise, but the new plants needed to be watered and the rebels held the top of Mount Gorongosa. No one felt safe going up there in the daylight. These woman carried water on their heads up the mountain in the dark of night for nearly a year to save the plants.

            And today, more than 600 local farmers are involved in the Gorongosa Project. The aim is to grow arabica coffee under shade trees in agroforestry systems through the park, simultaneously regenerating the rainforest and generating sustainable income for local agricultural communities. 

            The park currently has about 480 acres of farmland, which are reliably producing coffees. Another 240 acres will be planted every year for the next eight years, with the aim of hitting a total of 2,400 acres by the late 2020s. Over 500,000 coffee bushes have been planted among over 100,000 native rainforest trees. The hope is to restore nearly 20,000 acres of rainforest around and within the farmland, using coffee production as the catalyst for more regenerative opportunities on the mountain.

            Small farmers are also directly benefiting from new honey and cashew programs. Mozambique’s first organic cashew processing facilities is in the design phase and will employ 1,000 people, fundamentally transforming the opportunities available around Gorongosa.

             Perhaps most exciting biologically is that the coffee forests are bringing the biodiversity back. Ongoing research projects are proving that only a few years after establishment, these ‘agroforests’ shelter up to 80% of the biodiversity found in the rainforest. By 2018 when the last aerial wildlife survey was conducted, large herbivore populations had recovered by 95%. Gorongosa today is home to at least 100,000 animals.

            Illegal hunting and trapping remains an issue, though it’s been profoundly curtailed. Rangers have removed 27,000 snares and traps, and 260 new park rangers (249 men and 11 women) were trained, resulting in increased law enforcement capacity and a 72% decrease in wildlife poaching incidents. While the restoration was helped along by the reintroduction of some wildlife, 95% of Gorongosa’s restoration happened naturally. Nature, when allowed to heal itself, was able to do most of the work on her own. 

            Equally exciting is the work being done to educate girls. When you educate a girl, you not only get the biggest jump in the socioeconomic status of a community, but also the best chance for long-term success in nature conservation. Because when a girl gets a high school education, her chances of becoming pregnant in her youth drop drastically and her chances of employment skyrocket. 

            The GRP team knows that women are the fulcrum. If the human population in the buffer zone continues to grow unabated, by way of early marriage of girls and large families, no effort within the park boundaries will be sufficient to protect its landscape and fauna. Greg Carr notes, “If girls are in school and women have opportunities, then they will have two-child families . . This is where human development and conservation merge. Rights for women and children, poverty alleviation – is what Africa needs to save its national parks.” 

            So, buy a bag of coffee from Mozambique (go to https://ourgorongosa.com or locally). Fully 100 percent of the proceeds support the protection of the rainforest. By doing so, you will help preserve an African equivalent of Yellowstone National Park, but also support education for girls and save some of the most iconic wildlife species on the planet, a triple win. 

            The coffee project’s 10-year goal is to be the majority funder of Gorongosa National Park, using business as a sustainable finance mechanism for conservation and human development. They’ve launched online sales, with dreams of being in offices and on supermarket shelves across North America.

            You remember the three women at the beginning of this story? Part and parcel of all this was that they overcame fear during a civil war to water the first coffee plants. Who would have thought water heroes could be found in a coffee plantation, but indeed Vaida Furanguene, Fatianca Paulino, and Querida Baringuinha are just that.

 

Thought for the Week

            “I’d love to see others in my family grow coffee. It offers us a source of hope.” - Querida Baringuinha