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During morning hours these soggy days, joggers and walkers are greeted by a cacophony of sounds in the Preserve. In particular, at the Pond Marsh, half-way between the entrance and the point along the Frautschi Bay shore, a multitude of birds are filling the air with jubilant sounds of spring and new life to come. Listen to the soundscape recorded by Katrina Martin and note the two sandhill cranes claiming their nesting area in Angela Currie's photo, framed by in vivid red by the osier dogwood.
03/21/21 Soundscape at Pond Marsh. Movie Katrina Martin
03/27/21 Sandhill cranes at Pond Marsh. Photo Angela Currie.
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Seeing a bluebird in spring brings good fortune - that is the lore. Along with Eastern Bluebirds, a small crew of the Friends citizen scientists, who were opening up the Purple Martin House for the season on March 14, also saw juvenile and an adult pair of Red-tailed Hawks, Song Sparrows singing nearby, Turkey Vultures circling overhead and other signs of Spring.
 Sandhill cranes at the Class of 1918 Marsh, with view toward University Bay. Photo Arlene Koziol ,Koziol On her walk along Lakeshore Path on March 5, Arlene Koziol spotted two sandhill cranes at the marsh, fairly close to the location of the big snow pile. She believes they had just arrived from their arduous migration because she could approach them very closely while they were foraging for worms in the soft ground. Please look up Arlene's Flickr site for some short movies. The Phenology Calendar for March on the Home page is filled with notices of spring arrivals and appearances - from opossums to painted turtles, to bluebirds and buffleheads. Hawks are also in abundance, hunting from their perches for small rodents like chipmunks, voles and more. David Liebl is once again walking Bill's Woods for his bird monitoring project in this area. He reports on a Red-tailed hawk who managed a good lunch today. The photos are taken from Daivd's personal checklist on e-bird. David further reports "You may notice the piles of bark underneath the ash trees. Woodpeckers seem to have discovered the Emerald Ash Borer larvae. I assume those trees are (or will soon be) dead. Also, I noticed what looked like the remains of coyotes feeding on a rabbit along the footpath between archeology pit and the top of the service drive." Pease tell us what you observes on your walks in March in the Preserve, either as Comment or in email to [email protected].  Red-tailed hawk in Bill's Woods, hunting. Photo David Liebl.  Cardinals braving the snow, two males and two females. Photo Chuck Henrikson Chuck Henrikson put together a marvelous collection of birds in the Preserve in winter, as part of his Virtual Winter Birding Field Trip. Here is a symphony in white and red, snow and cardinals. There is still time to enjoy the Chuck's walk, on your next outing to the Preserve. CLICK HERE.
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AuthorGisela Kutzbach and contributors Archives
May 2022
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Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
P.O. Box 5534 Madison, WI 53705 UW-Madison Lakeshore Nature Preserve website Documents |
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