A Northwoods Almanac for October 13 – 26, 2023

 A Northwoods Almanac for October 13 – 26, 2023  

 

Lady Bugs!

            We had three very warm days at the beginning of October, and the lady bugs (aka Asian multicolored ladybeetles) responded in droves. I last wrote about them in 2015, but I also wrote about them in 1998, 2000, and 2001 when they were an occupying force that caught every ones’ attention.

They came by the hundreds this time to our home, showing up all at once as if they had all read the same bus schedule. And in a manner of speaking, they did. If Asian lady beetles want everyone to get together, they don’t text; they simply emit aggregation pheromones, a chemical signal that is like a narcotic for them. The actual amount of pheromone that is emitted is astonishingly small – as little as a billionth of a gram. In response, the ladybugs typically gather in rock-concert-size crowds on the sides of houses that are exposed to full sun, find a crack to crawl in, and then go into a hibernation-like state called diapause. 

multicolored lady beetle

Homes exposed to sun tend to warm up more during the day compared to those nestled in forest shade, a characteristic apparently well understood by the cold-blooded ladybugs. Our house has a perfect southern exposure across the wetlands bordering the Manitowish River, and thus is a great site for photovoltaic cells and wintering ladybugs.

One would think that the birds would have a heyday cleaning-up on the ladybugs, but these beetles are toxic and generally unpalatable. Their bright coloration is thought to have evolved as a warning signal to be heeded by birds and other predators, but failing that, they offer an even more conspicuous warning. If a ladybug is threatened, it discharges a bitter, amber-colored fluid from its legs that is laced with astringent and odiferous chemicals. In winter, the collective odor of a bevy of lady bugs, whether in a house or under the leaves, serves as an ample warning to small mammals like shrews and voles that they need to go elsewhere for a digestible meal.

            This species was imported from China and Japan by the USDA in the late 1970s to control pecan aphids in Louisiana. Apparently no one dreamed they would thrive as they have, because the insects were also released in Nova Scotia, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Washington and Pennsylvania between 1978 and 1981. They arrived in Wisconsin in 1992.

            The good news, of course, is that ladybugs are beneficial in the summer. A single beetle eats thousands of aphids and other plant-damaging pests. 

            In the fall, however, they become a nuisance, and the only way to defeat them is by caulking the bejeesus (that’s the technical term) out of your house before they arrive. Once inside, if you crush them, they will stain any fabrics and emit a bitter smell. So, you’re left with the only option of vacuuming them up and disposing of them quickly before they leave your vacuum with a foul odor.

 

Chukar!

            On 10/3, I was driving along Powell Rd. near Manitowish Waters when I saw a small grouse-like bird along the shoulder of the road. I glassed it through my binocs, and saw that it was a chukar, only the third one I’ve ever seen in the Northwoods. I inched the car forward and got within 15 feet of it. Unfortunately, all I had along to photograph it was my old iPhone6, so the photos turned out grainy. I’ve included one from a professional photographer instead, so you can see the unique coloration and patterning.

            Chukars are chunky gamebirds native to dry, mountainous areas from Greece to China. In 1893, they were first introduced into North America for sport shooting by a fellow named Blaisdell when he shipped five pairs to Illinois from Karachi, India (now Pakistan). Further introductions eventually followed, and between 1931 and 1970, roughly 795,000 Chukars were released in 41 states in the U.S. (including Hawaii), and 10,600 birds were released in 6 Canadian provinces.

chukar natural range map

Large numbers of birds were also stocked in environments totally unsuitable for them (e.g., 85,000 birds were released in Minnesota, 28,000 in Nebraska, and 43,000 in Wisconsin).

However, they did well in most western states. In 1968, 37 years after the initial organized release effort in North America and Hawaii, chukar had become established in 10 western states, Hawaii, and British Columbia.

Hunters wanted more, of course, so between 1968 and 1996, approximately 130,000 additional game farm and wild trapped birds were released in California, Oregon, Utah, and Nevada to expand distribution and augment populations severely decimated by unusually heavy winter snows. These releases brought the total number of birds released in North America and Hawaii to approximately 936,000, of which 682,000 had been released in states and provinces where they became established.

The  upshot? Chukar has become a favorite of western sportsmen and ranks first in harvest among upland game birds in Nevada and Oregon, second in Washington, and third in Idaho.

Introduced species most often have unintended negative consequences, but chukars apparently haven’t had a major negative impact because they thrive in environments that most other creatures avoid. Their habitat of choice is a sparse, arid, overgrazed mountainside like those found in the Great Basin of the western U.S. and north through eastern Oregon, western Idaho, and eastern Washington. Chukars occasionally inhabit some agricultural lands adjacent to rocky canyons or mountainous areas, but they thrive on the overgrazed open ranges of the West where no agriculture exists, and they eat the leaves and seeds of annual and perennial grasses (primarily the introduced cheatgrass).

They didn’t survive their introduction into Wisconsin, so none breed here. But hunters occasionally release them to train their dogs or as part of a paid hunting experience, and that’s likely the source of this chukar currently trying to figure out how to live within the Powell Marsh Wildlife Management Area.

 

Forest Lodge and Fairyland State Natural Area

            Mary and I led a hike in the last week of September at Forest Lodge near Cable in Bayfield County. If you’re not familiar with the story of Forest Lodge, in 1999, the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest accepted a gracious donation from Mary Griggs Burke of her 872-acre Forest Lodge estate with an obligation to “provide environmental research and educational programs on or related to the Mary Livingston Griggs Special Management Area.” Special Management Areas (SMAs) are established to protect and foster public use and enjoyment of areas with outstanding scenic, historical, geological, botanical, or other special characteristics. 

There are four congressionally designated Special Management Areas on the 872-acre property:

1-    Mary Livingston Griggs Historical SMA. This fifty-acre area consists of the twelve historic lodge buildings and grounds. 

2-    Fairyland Research Natural Area. These 32-acres of old-growth Eastern hemlocks are used only for research study, observation, monitoring, and educational activities.

3-    Mary Griggs Burke Scenic SMA. This area includes the extensive undeveloped Lake Namekagon shoreline with some excellent stands of older hemlock. 

4-    Mary Griggs Burke Botanical SMA. Here are an additional 600 acres of second growth forest including the Forest Lodge Nature Trail.

Mary was the third generation owner of Forest Lodge, which was originally owned by the Northern Wisconsin Lumber Company. In 1902, Crawford Livingston purchased 100 acres of the lakeshore property for hunting and vacation purposes. Crawford Livingston’s daughter Mary Livingston Griggs and granddaughter Mary Griggs Burke continued to maintain and expand the property until Mary Burke’s death in 2012 when all 872 acres of Forest Lodge were entirely gifted to the U.S. Forest Service.

In 2002, Forest Lodge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 2013, Forest Lodge has been in a transition period, having been closed to the public and now open – but with very limited facilities – due to the condition and ongoing restoration of the buildings. Public educational programs began in 2016 for the first time in the property’s history.

Northland College serves as the operator of Forest Lodge and coordinates the use of its facilities. One of Mary Burke’s foundations endowed Northland College’s Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation to operate on campus in Ashland and at Forest Lodge. The Center focuses on scientific research, communication, and leadership on water issues in the Great Lakes region and beyond. The Burke Center specializes in “translating” science to the general public, government agencies, NGOs, agriculture, and the private sector.

It's a very special place. Contact Northland College to see what workshops, conferences, courses, and/or interpretive tours they may be conducting.

 

September Temperatures Worldwide

Early analyses show global warmth surged far above previous records in September, even further than what scientists said seemed like astonishing increases in July and August. The planet’s average temperature shattered the previous September record by more than half a degree Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit), which is the largest monthly margin ever observed.

Temperatures around the world last month were at levels closer to normal for July according to separate data analyses by European and Japanese climate scientists.

September’s average temperature was about 0.88 degrees Celsius (1.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above 1991-2020 levels — or about 1.7 degrees Celsius (3.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal from before industrialization and the widespread use of fossil fuels.

 

Partial Solar Eclipse!

            The new moon occurs on 10/14, as does an annular solar eclipse where the moon’s disk is slightly smaller than the sun’s disk, leaving the outer edge of the sun visible – the “ring of fire”.  The eclipse begins in our area at 10:36 a.m., reaches maximum eclipse at 11:52 a.m., and ends at 1:13 p.m. 

You must wear protective eyewear to observe this! Ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun. The only safe way to look directly at an eclipse is through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or handheld solar viewers. Here is a website for purchasing one: https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters.

            We’ll only see about 40% of the eclipse – the main path begins in Oregon, arches down to Texas, then continues south into South America. This eclipse is the warm-up act for the spectacle of the nest total solar eclipse which will occur on April 8. 2024.

 

Other Celestial Events 

On 10/21, look for the peak of the Orionid meteor shower – best in predawn hours.

On 10/24, look after dusk for Saturn 3 degrees north of the waxing gibbous moon.

 

Thought for the Week

“And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves.” – Virginia Wolf

            

Please share your outdoor sightings and thoughts: e-mail me at manitowish@centurytel.net, call 715-476-2828, snail-mail at 4245N State Highway 47, Mercer, WI, or see my blog at www.manitowishriver.blogspot.com.