DNR Mammal Ecologist J Paul White conducted a two week survey with two detector units (placed by the Trumpeter Blind and the northeast corner berm) in July.  The units detected sounds from seven of the eight bat species in Wisconsin including the Evening Bat which is new to the state as of 2016.  Compared to surveys done in 2010 and 2018 for shorter periods and closer to the Bark River, there were more Hoary and Silver-Haired bats and less Little Browns this year than in the past.  Little Browns have been hit harder by the white-nose syndrome than other species which may explain the difference.  In 2010 and 2018, five and four species were noted...so if there were seven, it's an encouraging sign. Of the seven, Big Brown, Hoary and Silver-Haired were prolific while the Hoary, Little Brown and Evening Bats were less commonly heard and the Eastern Red, while noted as present, was infrequent and could have been a misidentification.  

The only bat not heard was the Northern Long-Eared Bat which is both state threatened and federally endangered. 

For the third time in the last four years, our breeding pair of Trumpeters swans successfully hatched some cygnets.  Unlike in 2021 & 2023 when the nest was hidden in the cattails, in 2024 the trumpeter couple took over the Yellow-Headed Blackbird island on the pond where the Blackbird Blind resides.  They tore down the vegetation, fought off some Canadian Geese who wanted the spot for themselves and were successful in having seven cygnets!  

The State of Wisconsin held its once a year field school on archaeology in part at our conservancy on May 16th.  Roughly 25 students and two professors, led by Seth Schneider from UW-Milwaukee, spent the morning reviewing artifacts and shovel testing at the ABC.  They found about a dozen objects that had been worked.  Most were flakes but there was a broken knife in the mix.  See below for some pics.  When added to another eight objects found previously (mostly better defined pieces like projectile points, scrapers or fire-cracked rocks, this was enough for Seth to classify this as a site of Native American encampment and he is seeking designation from the state as such on their registry. 

The above Rock Of Unusual Structure (ROUS) was partially unveiled after a March 24 burn of the woods, quite close to the marshlands.  Rolled uphill, it acts as the base rock for a cairn where the trail divides before the woods coming from the parking lot.

The rock at the cairn’s base is called a Xenolith.  It has a migratory story as interesting as most birds at the conservancy.  It is made up of lava flow from the earth’s crust, ‘assembled’ in the Lake Superior area and ‘transported’ south, likely through the Wisconsin Glacial Episode over 10,000 years ago.
 
A Xenolith is created by a volcanic explosion of sorts…magma rises to the Earth’s surface through cracks/pipes between the Earth’s crust and mantle. As the molten material rises, it tears off bits and pieces from the magma pipe made up of basalt or finely grained mudstone, siltstone or shale.  These bits and pieces get coated in magma (think berries wrapped in a chocolate fondue).  As the magma cools, the 'fondue' burns its way through rocks and often burns out entirely.  Occasionally the ‘berries’ in this example survive in a diminutive state and remain embedded inside the new igneous rock layer.  That’s the black rock above.  Known as a Batholith, this lucky lady started miles below our surface and came down from the US/Canada border to be with you today.   Be nice to her.  She’s had a hard life. 

The ABC is available on several social media platforms.  Parden our dust and lack of sophistication.  I'd rather be on the trails or enhancing the ecosystem than behind the PC...but am trying to offer some options for those who want to live ABC vicariously.

The biggest update is a YouTube Channel that has about fifteen of the videos taken over the last few years.

     Website:                   www.adamconservancy.com
     Facebook:                ABC4Nature
     Instagram:               adamconservancy
     YouTube Channel:     @adambirdingconservancy or via the link below
     Email:                      [email protected]

The ABC access rules are changing for 2024.  I've asked visitors to assent to certain restrictions regarding liability and safe practices in interacting with people, plants and animals by joining the ABC Club on the last tab in this website.  
Have decided to drop the front end requirement of accepting the terms but they remain in force.  These is a sign at the trailhead from the parking lot dictating these terms (and they are found on the "About ABC" tab herein.)
As part of the 2023 ABC recap newsletter, I will be asking all ABC club members if they want to continue to receive a newsletter through replying back to me.  Else I will drop you from the list.  With over 550 Club members, I'm not sure how many still want to receive updates.
More timely updates will be available on Facebook and perhaps on Instagram, but algorithms limit the reach of the audience.
Lastly, I'm allowing dogs on leash only for the first time, but only outside the breeding season which is September 1st to April 14th.   Clean up after your dog.  This is on a trial basis and will be pulled if there are issues.
Happy Holidays to everyone!

The ABC is hosting a Wisconet weather system to the east of the parking lot near the fence line by the trail that heads to the Blackbird Blind.  This system measures soil conditions, solar flux and radiation, temps and rainfall, wind conditions, etc.  Data is uploaded every five minutes to a database and helps scientists, farmers and weather enthusiasts track conditions over time.  The goal is to have a Wisconet system in every county in Wisconsin - the ABC is hosting Jefferson County's system.​

Channel 12's interview on the program with footage of the trumpeter swam family flyover and a nice interview with neighbor Mark Hoffman are in the link below:

We were fortunate  to have a trumpeter couple have six cygnets along with several wood duck and hooded merganser families this spring.  That's in addition to the most bobolinks, eastern meadowlarks and dickcissels I've seen in the eight years we've had the conservancy.  The burn last year may have helped.  Check out the video below...

Wild bees, which includes bumble bee species, pollinate 35% of crops and 85% of all flowering plants.  Jade Kochanski from UW-Madison has been studying the impact on these bees following prescribed burns.  The ABC is one of her subject sites.

In years past, her team has found the endangered Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee and last year saw American bumble bees at the conservancy.

While she is early in her research, Jade's initial conclusions show that prescribed burns are not detrimental to bumble bee communities.  For more details on her findings (with some pictures and charts), please click on the link below.

The ABC is willing to host more research studies or school groups for visits.  Please contact me by following the "Join" tab to get in touch.