Ripples 10/20/22

Posted on by October 19, 2022

Written by Kennedy Zittel, Assistant Naturalist

Recently, the usual bird chirping noises coming from the bird feeder outside of my office window have been frequently interrupted by very loud calls. Looking out the window, I am greeted by a bright blue feathered bird…well… we will talk about the whole “blue” thing later. But for now, just know that the bird interrupting the quiet chirping is a Blue Jay.

photo of Blue JayBlue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) are members of the Corvidae family (including crows and ravens). They can be found not only in deciduous and coniferous forests but can be found throughout residential areas too. They feed on seeds and nuts (they love acorns) but also will eat fruits, arthropods, and even small vertebrates on occasion. 

They are large songbirds, measuring around 9-12 inches from bill to tail, and weigh around 2.5-3.5 ounces (70-100 grams) with a wingspan of 13-17 inches. They have a crest on their head, that they can raise and lower depending on their mood. How cool is that? If the blue jay is excited or agitated it will have its crest fully raised. If scared, they bristle their crest outwards. If they are hanging out amongst other blue jays or resting their crest will be flattened down. 

Though a bit startling to hear while working at your desk, a blue jay’s talkative nature can be pretty beneficial to other bird species. They call out if they see a predator within their territory, thus giving smaller birds time to act accordingly. Blue jays often will chase away predatory birds like hawks and owls. If an owl roosts near a blue jay nest, the jays will mob the owl until it leaves the area. Weirdly enough, blue jays can also impersonate the calls of raptors, especially red-shouldered hawk and red-tailed hawk calls, researchers think this behavior is either to tell if another hawk is in the vicinity or is potentially used to scare away other birds near food sources. They can mimic those calls so well that it is often hard to tell which is which!

Besides their raptor mimic calls, blue jays make a wide variety of sounds. Like other corvids, they can even mimic human speech! Their most commonly recognized call is their alarm call, which is a very loud gull-like scream. They also make a “jayer-jayer” call that increases with speed as the bird becomes more agitated. The “jayer-jayer” call helps gather other blue jays to band together to go mob potential predators. If hanging out amongst other jays, they use quieter calls, one of which is said to sound like a rusty pump given its squeaky nature. 

What if I told you that a blue jay isn’t actually blue? Well, it’s true! The blue coloration is not due to the color pigments in the feathers, but actually because of the way the light bounces off of them. When light hits their feathers, all colors are absorbed except blue, thus the blue color is reflected, making your eyes see their feather as blue. Unlike cardinals, whose feathers are truly red due to the pigment of the feathers being red. If you were to crush up each of their feathers, a cardinal’s feather would have a red powder whereas if a blue jay feather is crushed up the powder will be brown. 

Another weird thing about blue jays is their migration, or lack thereof… sort of. Some blue jays are present throughout winter throughout all parts of their population range. Some migrate. Some individuals will migrate south one year, stay north the next, but then migrate the following year. No one seems to know why these birds choose to migrate when they do, though it does seem that younger blue jays are more likely to migrate than adults. 

Though a bit of a change from the usual quiet chirping at the feeder, I do enjoy seeing the Blue Jay visit. Blue jays, like their crow and raven cousins, are very smart, and it is always fun watching them explore the feeder area. The not-so-blue, Blue Jay is a welcomed sight and sound at the feeders.

photo from Wikipedia

Ripples 10/13/22

Posted on by October 18, 2022
photo of leaves changing colorWe’ve had it good so far this autumn. Bird migration and the seasonal die-back of plants are still the most notable aspects of the season, and both are advancing at a swift pace now. Bird migration began in July, and increased in August.  Many birds which travel the farthest south- some of the warblers, swallows, sandpipers- start their travels early, and are difficult to see when all the leaves are still on the trees. Birdwatching this time of year takes extra patience because many birds are not as colorful now as they were earlier, they don’t sing like they do during nesting season, and the creep through the foliage which hides them well.  We hardly notice the first migrants’ movements, and many of the birds are found here during the summer so it’s hard to tell the difference.
 
By late August, though, birds not found here earlier start showing up. Swainson’s thrushes can be abundant, having come all the way from British Columbia.  Gray-checked thrushes often show up at the same time. There are many warblers about, species that nest here and those from farther north.  During bird banding this fall, we caught Nashville, magnolia, and other warblers from the north, along with Philadelphia vireos, catbirds, and others. At times in September the catbirds seemed to be mewing from every shrub.
 
In mid-late September hawks were migrating high overhead, while robins invaded in huge numbers. Flickers, sapsuckers, brown creepers, and ruby and golden-crowned kinglets were numerous. Each night, millions of songbirds flew overhead in the dark, only their peeping gives them away. Then, white crowned and white-throated sparrows came, as more summer birds like hummingbirds departed. At the end of the month, juncos started to arrive, signaling that colder weather is not far off.  
 
Now, the white-crowned and white-throats are thinking about moving on. There are still lots of robins, catbirds, wrens, and other hardier summer birds, but more juncos are arriving, and soon we will start to see the winter ducks out on Lake Michigan. Any day now, saw-whet owls will show up, and we are just barely ready to catch and band some as they move through.
 
All of these changes flow like a great current of living things. Even if one isn’t outdoors for long periods, if you pay attention you can catch glimpses of the changes every day. While Florida has had hurricanes, we have golden warm afternoons, with beautiful leaves and trees loaded with birds. The older you get, the more you appreciate Wisconsin, Manitowoc County, and our lakeshore.  Appreciate and enjoy what we have, and protect it.  And enjoy the change of season.
 
 
Photo- fall colors at Dunes, by our staff. 

Ripples 10/6/22

Posted on by October 6, 2022

Ripples by Haley Vanne, Woodland Dunes summer intern

My summer internship at Woodland Dunes was filled with endless amphibian finds including wood and leopard frogs, toads, spring peepers, and even the occasional salamander! While these little guys would typically come and go in a hurry, I’d like to share an interesting household find of mine that doesn’t mind our company. My family refers to him as “Porch Frog.”

photo of gray tree frogSightings of this beautiful eastern gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor) began around 4 years ago. We had been living in our newly built house for a couple years and our landscaping was becoming more established. My mom and I would occasionally spot a tree frog perched upon the porch railing, about 1 sq. inch in size. Our property consists of agricultural land yielding absolutely zero shade, so it seemed rather unlikely for this species to seek shelter at such a location. Nonetheless, tree frogs would return year after year. In spring, I began to make the correlation that perhaps there is only one tree frog that we’ve been seeing.

We joked about it at first, but I’ve only ever seen one around the house at a time, and always in the same few spots. By the time I began to question it, the frog was still appearing like clockwork and had doubled in size. Putting this silly theory to the test, I made sure to take pictures during my tree frog encounters. I was amazed to find that the markings were the same!

He was incredibly calm compared to our regular encounters with sporadic creatures while planting trees at Woodland Dunes. (The Dunes interns are typically a whole lot more excited to meet frogs and toads than they are to see us.) When I carry Porch Frog, he has no problem remaining calmly perched atop my hand as I walk about our yard.

Porch Frog is chameleon-like in how he changes color with temperature or substrate color. Background color for Eastern Gray Tree Frogs varies from gray to green with blackish mottling.

I am incredibly grateful to have had such a unique opportunity to experience this reoccurring phenomenon that is Porch Frog. He is truly a special creature, and I hope he will continue to reappear in warm Wisconsin seasons to come!

photo of gray tree frog by Nancy Nabak

Ripples 9/29/22

Posted on by September 28, 2022
photo of mature bald eagleThe onset of autumn is both sobering and joyful. Although the change in season reminds us of challenging times to come, the delight of cool weather energizes us and, for me, makes being outdoors more enjoyable. Rather than tolerating heat, humidity, and mosquitoes, we again become aware of the beautiful things around us as we work or recreate outdoors. Sometimes I think I am perhaps too aware, as I am perhaps the slowest walker in the group, wanting to look at all the birds, plants, fungi etc. around me. I often don’t know what they are, but their infinite forms are fascinating.
 
Fall also sounds different than other seasons. Instead of prominent mating calls of birds of spring and summer, now there are subtle songs and call notes as migrants scour the bushes for berries and bugs. Tiny peeps of golden-crowned kinglets in constant motion in the bushes. Swainson’s thrushes, unseen in the foliage, but uttering their “Quick, Quick” call notes.  Constant “Tato chip” notes from goldfinches.  “Yank, Yank” from the red-breasted nuthatches. Almost continuous honks from Canada geese as they either migrate or move back and forth from farm fields to the Lake. The last crickets and grasshoppers, chirping and rasping, unless it’s too cold to do so.  Outside we are bathed in these soothing sounds, which compliment the beautiful colors soon to come.
 
Where I live, aside from night migrating birds, the first calls I hear in the morning, sometimes before dawn, are the chirps of a bald eagle.  The same is true in the evening- an eagle calls late each day, often after dark.  A pair nests nearby, and I am very fortunate to see them daily.  There is also an eagle nest near Woodland Dunes, so it’s not unusual to see them there also. They often perch with a view of rivers or the Lake, watching for signs of fish and other prey.  
 
Since the 1960’s when their population was decimated by DDT in the environment, the removal of that chemical from use has allowed eagles and other raptors to restore their population. This year, for the first time in many years, bald eagle nests were found in every county in Wisconsin. There are several in Manitowoc County. Habitat is suitable for them here- lots of water with fish, road-killed animals to scavenge, some large trees in which to nest.  There are limits, however- lots of people so the possibility of nest disturbance, disturbed land not suitable for them, road traffic, etc.  However, things are good enough for some nesting to take place.
 
This year, however, there was another factor- avian influenza.  While we don’t see the flu as a major threat, to wild animals without access to modern medicine, a virus like that can be deadly and often is.  Bald eagles don’t flock for most of the year so don’t transmit disease like some birds do, but they can pick up things like influenza from infected animals they consume.  Avian influenza took a heavy toll on some water birds like terns, shorebirds, and waterfowl. As those birds weakened, they were more easily taken by raptors such as eagles, who during nesting season bring food items back to their young. Although the adults might survive influenza, young birds may be more susceptible. As a result, many eagle nests failed this year, according to observers who monitor eagle nests each year. I help monitor a couple of eagle nests in the county, and it appeared that both failed, meaning the young did not survive.  In the case of the nest near my home, it appeared that eggs were laid, young hatched and were being fed, but after a few weeks the adults stopped feeding and the young were no longer seen in the nest.  Adults still hung around the nest, usually perched on a nearby branch, but they just sat looking toward the nest and I imagine its grim contents. It was a heartbreaking scene. As a parent, it was hard to imagine how that felt to those birds.  
 
However, life is hard, and eagles seem to know that.  They live a long time and raise many young, few of which survive to become parents themselves.  The eagles at the nests I watch continue to be there, soaring, fishing, calling each day as the seasons change, and I anticipate come February they will give it another try, hopefully in the absence of so much disease. It would be good to see young eagles again as next summer progresses. I don’t know if eagles are hopeful, or if their behaviors are just programmed by instinct. But I choose to be hopeful, and I look forward to watching my eagle neighbors as the seasons change.

photo: adult Bald eagle
 
 

Ripples 9/22/22

Posted on by September 21, 2022
photo of veeryIn the past, I’ve talked about how our bodies are in fact ecosystems, inhabited by all sorts of other species, mostly microscopic, in addition to our own cells.  Some find the idea to be disgusting, but its the way it is- we are constantly interacting with other organisms around, and in us.  Usually it’s not a problem, in fact many are beneficial to us.  Recently, however, I’ve been occupied by a virus that shall not be named (thinking of Harry Potter), but that you all know.  As I do not wish to share this with my lovely wife, I am at present in the dog house- literally, the dog and I are living in our pop-up camper in the back yard.  
 
I love camping.  What I enjoy most is being immersed in nature 24 hours a day.  Even if I’m not feeling well, nature is endlessly fascinating.  And I am reminded that even in my back yard, there is more to nature than I realize on a normal day.
 
I’m used to seeing what goes on during the day- birds at the feeder, squirrels, butterflies on the flowers, the sounds of grasshoppers, etc.  But it’s easy to forget what happens at night until you experience it again.
 
First, I am fortunate that I live in the country and have just a few neighbors nearby and lots of wild land around.  And the Manitowoc River is nearby.  A good place for wildlife and opportunities to experience it.  As I settle in at dusk, I hear little peeps from high in the sky- migrating songbirds starting their nightly journey south.  Unlike their territorial songs in spring and summer, or even their usual call notes, all these birds sound the same to me- simply uttering peeps as they fly.  I know there are many birds up there, flying at night when the winds are calm.  One night a couple of weeks ago it was estimated that 48 million passed over Wisconsin.  I am not aware of that many, but I hear a bird every few seconds flying over.  At about 6 am they begin to descend to rest and feed.  I listened to one bird peeping from high up, gradually coming down to the bushes next to me.  Then it began calling the typical notes of a veery.  I wonder from how far north it came- Michigan, Canada?  I admire their amazing abilities.
 
Every night we hear owls around our house.  Screech owls, and great horned owls.  Never at the same time- I assumed that the little screech were wary of the great horneds, as the larger owls prey on the smaller.  However, on one night I first heard an unidentified bird, which then changed its call to a great horned (I assume it was young).  That was joined by a second great horned in the same place.  Then I heard first one, then two screech owls calling, moving around.  Eventually they came to the area where the great horneds were, and all four owls were calling at the same time.  I don’t think the large owls paid any attention, and after a while the screech owls moved off.  
 
A bit later that night, a train came into town, and as soon as it’s horn sounded a pack of coyotes responded with a variety of yips and howls.  While many people are coyote-haters, I will never be.  I enjoy hearing and seeing them, and understand that they are important parts of our ecosystems.  I also admire their ability to survive in the face of constant hunting.  I consider myself lucky to hear them, and enjoy sharing the land with them.

As dawn comes the usual birds return to the feeders, and the world appears ‘normal’ again.  Maybe I was not lucky in my illness, but as a result have been blessed with experiencing wildlife again in a different way.

 
photo- veery, from wikipedia