Thanks to the NRCS for the funding and for RES for the excellent work in burning the conservancy on Saturday, April 16th. Looking forward to seeing how the prairie (and the grassland birds) play out this year!
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My brother Mike and I braved -2C temps this morning at the start of the annual Crane Count. We saw eight cranes but most interesting among the 35 species were the three short-eared owls that circled over our heads on the Inner Peace Trail by the two osprey nesting boxes. By the time my cold hands had the camera ready, their radius had expanded and the picture below is poor. Shortly after, we came upon a river otter on land on the dike path by the osprey box closest to the Bark River. The buffleheads were also active...so there's one photo of an owl and a video of the buffleheads. The female seems able to stay under the water longer than the male. We've opened up views to the ponds by cutting back some of the willows and other trees as well as adding an elevated lookout to the northeast corner with views of the Bark River and northeast pond. Great early spring migratory waterfowl viewing. It's a hike to get there and you should wear boots as there are a few wet and muddy spots, but the waterfowl didn't scatter as the do by the Trumpeter blind. Two short video links below from the conservancy. The first is a short one of the Trumpeter swan cygnet that is the first confirmed breeding in Jefferson County, WI. With very low water levels, only the two dike ponds have sufficient water. The Trumpeters were by the Blackbird Blind on the east of the dike path. The second video is a little over a minute and shows one of the ABC's badgers on the drumlin hill behind the parking lot. Warning - This one doesn't end well for one of the visitors. Summer birding can be rather blase compared to migratory seasons, but Louise Venne & Michael Yablick ID 24 species on a hot Independence Day yesterday at the ABC. That includes a pair of Trumpeter swans with a baby (above), wood ducks with babies, a sandhill crane, dickcissels and several common yellowthroats. The breeding swans are a first in Jefferson County! Thanks Louise and Michael!
Aquatic plants don't show when water levels are low. So....we no go with the Discovering Aquatic Plants event slated for June 26th. Mark your calendars for July 23rd (Friday night at 7PM) for a discussion led by Bill Quackenbush, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer from the Ho-Chunk Nation. Bill will share background on First Nations people relation with white deer and other white/albino animals. We will walk the Inner Peace trail at dusk, stopping to hear from Mr. Quackenbush. On our walk back to the parking lot, we will try to identify the various firefly species on the prairie.
The ABC's 200th bird species was a Ruddy Turnstone thanks to Tim Hahn. It was ID on May 14th which happens to be National Chicken Dance Day, though the Turnstone is a stocky colorful shorebird. With unusually low water levels, a large variety of shorebirds have been viewable from the Trumpeter blind (facing east). Dunlins and short-billed dowitchers (below), semipalmated plovers, least sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, solitary sandpiper, Wilson's phalarope and lessor yellowlegs were all spotted on May 15th in the Natural Resources Foundation hike, led by Aaron Stutz and Mike Adam.
Thanks to Rich, Steve and Cody for erecting the second blind facing east and to Cody's Whitewater High School class for building the structure. It makes for excellent shorebirding viewing given the low water levels.
Over 300 pictures of animals in March. The lead shows six river otters playing in the bubbling springs pool. This is a 90 second montage. Most were equally split between river otters and racoons (daily visitors), but there are a few of coyote, a pheasant, skunk, possum and a weasel. |
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