A Northwoods Almanac for September 2-15, 2022

 A Northwoods Almanac for September 2 – 15, 2022  

 

Albino Hummingbird

            On 8/13, Cydney Welter sent me a photo of an albino ruby-throated hummingbird taken by Jolie Wood from Mosinee at her lake cabin rental in the Boulder Junction area. Jolie and friends saw it for the first time on 8/11, and it stayed around through 8/13 when she went home. Cydney noted, “It has not been to her feeders, but loves her bee balm plants.”

photo by Jolie Wood

            Over 300 species of North American birds and animals, from whales to snails, have been recorded as having some form of albinism or its many variants. In humans, about one in 20,000 people have one type or another of albinism. Mammalogists estimate that one in 10,000 wild mammal births results in a true albino. In birds, one study of 30,000 wild birds captured in mist nets in Southern California found only 17 displaying some degree of albinism, or one in 1,764 birds.

            Note this from the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation: “A common myth is that people with albinism have red eyes. Although lighting conditions can allow the blood vessels at the back of the eye to be seen, which can cause the eyes to look reddish or violet, most people with albinism have blue eyes, and some have hazel or brown eyes. There are different types of albinism and the amount of pigment in the eyes varies.”

            The same holds true for birds or mammals. Relative to the white deer seen so frequently in our area, these are indeed albinos despite the fact that their eyes are not red, but rather are a greenish-blue. Years ago, I contacted Dr. William Oetting at the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Minnesota to determine if our local white deer were indeed albinos. I sent him close-up pictures of two of the deer, and through a series of correspondences, he concluded, “Without confirming this with molecular testing, both of these deer have tyrosinase negative oculocutaneous albinism. There is a lack of pigment in the hair, skin and eyes of both deer.  A close-up of the eye of the yearling shows a lack of pigment in the iris (green-blue).”

 

Nighthawk Migration

            Late August into early September is the time to observe nighthawks in migration in the early evening. Jennifer Heitz reported seeing dozens of nighthawks over the Wisconsin River near Tomahawk on 8/26 around 6 p.m., and the next night, a handful over Ballard Lake. She noted, “They’re so beautiful. I know fall is coming when I see them.”

photo by Bev Engstrom

            As of 8/28, the nighthawk migration has yet to come into full swing, so by the time you read this on 9/2, there may still be numerous nighthawks coming through.

            Over the last two weeks of August, thousands of nighthawks typically fly over Duluth like clockwork during their marathon migration to South America. It's the largest known migratory concentration of the common nighthawk in the world. The reason they concentrate through Duluth is Lake Superior, because birds don't like flying over such a huge body of cold water. So, when nighthawks from all over western Canada migrate south and east, they eventually hit the big lake, and when they do, they veer to the right, eventually flying over Duluth. Counts over the last 13 years have usually totaled between 20,000 and 25,000.
            In Canada, the population is estimated to be declining 6.6 percent per year, but that isn’t what’s been seen so far over Duluth. The expectation, however, is that the counters will see a major drop in upcoming years, which is why counts like this are so important to document actual numbers.

            So, as I encourage readers every late summer into early autumn, keep an eye on the sky during early evenings for nighthawks. Their erratic flight is a telltale identification trait, as is the bold white bar on the underside of each narrow wing.

 

Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN

            September is THE month for seeing enormous numbers of raptors migrating over hawk Ridge in Duluth, while August acts as the prelude to the big flights. As of 8/28, 4,030 birds had been observed flying over Hawk Ridge, including 84 species. 

            The counters tally not only raptors, but songbirds. Cedar waxwings have dominated the count to date at 1,399, with nighthawks coming in a distant second at 594. Bald eagles have led the raptors in numbers with 177.

            The big numbers come in mid-September when broad-winged hawks make their annual push south. Broad-winged hawks are one of the few raptor species known to deliberately migrate in large groups, often observed in “kettles” composed of thousands of individuals that usually develop in very specific weather conditions. The record daily high was 101,698 on 9/15/2003!

            Most other raptors, like sharp-shinned hawks, migrate singly or in in small groups. Still, the record daily high for sharpies was 2,515 on 9/24/2017, so other raptors can come through in large numbers, too. 

            Raptors come through in October as well. The record daily high for red-tailed hawks took place on 10/24/1994 with 3,988 observed.

            Over the entire autumn, the total numbers are really impressive. From 1991 to 2013, Hawk Ridge’s fall migration averaged 76,000 migrating raptors.

            Of course, most birds migrate at night, and aren’t seen by the hawk counters. But sophisticated radar technology now makes it possible to estimate the number of birds flying over an area on a given night. So, on the Hawk Ridge website, click on “BirdCast,” which will take you to a page that estimates the total number of birds that migrated over St. Louis County on any given evening, as well as telling you what altitude, flying direction, and speed they were flying at, and the expected species that were likely part of that migration. For instance, on the evening of 8/27 into the early morning of 8/28, 15,700 birds were estimated to have crossed St. Louis county that night, most of whom were flying at an altitude between 1,000 and 1,500 feet, and at a flight speed from 15 to 35 mph, with the peak of the migration occurring from 10 p.m. to midnight.

 

North American Hawk Count

            If you’re interested in knowing about when and where all raptor migration is occurring across North America, go to the Hawk Migration Association of North America's website which has raptor migration count data and site profiles for over 300 North American hawkwatch sites. Here you can find hawkwatch sites by site name or location, as well as view hawkwatch profiles, their maps and data, and more.

            So, for instance, on 8/26, the Corpus Christi, Texas, hawkwatch counted 9,238 Mississippi kites passing over their count site, along with 10 swallow-tailed kites, 33 broad-winged hawks, 2 Cooper’s hawks, and one Harris’s hawk.

            The next day, 8/27, in Veracruz, Mexico, 4,445 Mississippi kites were observed cruising by their hawk watch site, along with 2 ospreys. 

            Go to https://hawkcount.org to look at all the daily reports across the continent from Oregon to Maine, and north to south from various sites in Canada to Panama.

 

Sweet Fern

            Sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina) grows prolifically in our area in sandy, wide-open, sun-lit places. One can tell at a glance the poor quality of a soil by the presence of sweet fern. But sweet fern fills a necessary niche. By colonizing logging roads, old fields, and other disturbed sites, sweet fern helps to stabilize the soil. Sweet fern also fixes nitrogen, meaning it can convert nitrogen from the air rather than taking it from the soil, and so improves the soil it’s found on. Like other plant pioneers, sweet fern makes the bed for future plant species to grow in.   

photo by John Bates

            If you're looking for fern-like qualities, like spores, you aren't going to find them – it’s a flowering shrub. Sweet fern produces separate male and female flowers in the spring before the leaves appear, the male flower clustered at the end of the branches in short catkins, and the female flower found below. The fruit is a green bur-like structure that reminds me a little of a mace, a medieval weapon with a spiked metal head.

            Crush the highly aromatic leaves, and you might smell something akin to sage, and indeed its other common name is “Indian sage.”  

            I learned recently that in the time before refrigeration, Ojibwe people kept their blueberry harvest fresh by lining their birchbark storage containers with sweet fern, which often grows right alongside blueberries. The leaves of sweet fern apparently produce a compound called gallic acid, which is a potent anti-microbial and keeps harmful bacteria like salmonella from growing on the berries. I’ve read that its Ojibwe name is “giba`iganiminzh,” meaning “it covers the berries.”

            Sweet fern once had a host of medicinal uses – as an external lineament for bruises and for rheumatism, or taken internally for colic, to cure diarrhea and dysentery, or drunk simply as a tea. The Mohegans applied the cooled tea to cure the rashes of poison ivy. The crushed and dried leaves fragrantly scented pillows and clothing as well, and were used by American Indians to flavor meat. I have heard of its use for bronchial ailments, and its "Vicks"-like smell would seem to support that usage.  

            And when added to a fire, the smoke supposedly will help keep away mosquitos and horse flies, though I’ve never tried this.

            

July Warmth

            July 2022 was the third warmest in the 128-year record for the contiguous U.S., according to NOAA. Generally, temperatures were above average and/or record-warm across nearly all of the Lower 48, with Texas having its warmest July, May-July and April-July on record. 

 

Thought for the Week

            “We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.” – Anais Nin