On November 18, David Liebl recorded these Tundra Swans on University bay. The brilliantly white swans, with their black beaks in elegant contrast, had been sighted earlier this month, but here are the photos. The swan population on the bay usually increases once there is an ice shelf. And, occasionally the rare Trumpeter Swan will join the Tundras, recognizable by its loud honking call and often by a numbered yellow neck band. So Thanksgiving is the time to walk at Picnic Point and stop at the boat landing at the Bay to view the swans and other waterfowl. 

The Tundra Swans in the photos may have come all the way from the Colville River delta along the northern coastline of Alaska, and are now taking advantage of plenty of food in the Bay  – until Lake Mendota freezes. From here they would fly on to their wintering grounds in the Chesapeake Bay, completing the longest migration route for Tundra Swans, about 4200 miles. Their migration might take longer than their nesting time in Alaska. 

Barn swallows are abundant in the United States and most parts of the world. They prefer to live in semi-open country and typically build their mud nests on human structures, such as barns, eaves, garages, under bridges, and so on. It is rare to find them in natural habitats. So it is special to have some small colonies in the Preserve, where barn swallows nest in the sheltered crevices of the vertical cliff near Raymer’s Cove. 
 
Arlene Koziol photographed how both parents feed their babies, stuffing insects into gaping beaks. The nestlings leave the nest after about 3 weeks. The barn swallows dart gracefully low over the ground or water surface and catch insects in flight. Their long tail is deeply forked, and they dazzle the observer with their flashy cobalt blue upper parts. See Arlene’s Flickr site.  

Glenda Denniston reported that she found a new plant in the NE Corner of Bills Woods this July: "I was worried it might be a new invasive but couldn’t figure out what it was. Roma Lenehan came over with a piece of the same plant from the same place. I got more serious about it and have identified it as Small-flowered leaf-cup (Polymnia canadensis). It’s a native. I know we didn’t plant it and it’s a pretty conservative species. .... Interesting to me is the fact that the particular spot where we’ve found it is a place where Hydrophyllum appendiculatum, Great waterleaf, is doing especially well. I have read that the two plants often are found in the same habitats."

After Glenda submitted the plant to the UW Herbarium for identification, she received this positive reply from Ken Cameron, Prof of Botany and director of the UW Herbarium: "Dear Glenda, That’s a great find!  You are correct that it’s been collected east and west of Dane Co, plus a few scattered locations to the north. … Thanks for the information."

Adam Gundlach, Preserve Field Project Coordinator, added information about a origin of the plant in this location. The plant had been deliberately introduced into the Preserve almost a decade ago: "I found a record from 2012 of Polymnia purchased from Prairie Moon Nursery. ... Beauty aside, ecologically speaking, we were likely trying to add diversity to the seed mix sown over shady areas we are often left with after clearing brush under dense canopy. Polymnia is attractive to pollinators, shade tolerant, and helps round out the late bloom period."
 

This is a female Rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) on Woodland Joe-Pye Weed in the savanna restoration area around Second Oak, Frautschi.  I took the photo on July 13. 

I went there at the request of the DNR person who oversees Bumble Bee Brigade, as a follow up to a photo I submitted to them last year.  They’re asking this of all people who had recorded Rusty patched bumble bees last year, to see if they were still present at these documented sites. ​

A Willow Flycatcher is bringing food to its nest with four young, photographed by David Liebl near the entrance to Picnic Point. During season of rearing their young, birds in the Preserve waste little time for singing and concentrate on bringing food to their always hungry nestlings. Feeding mainly insects, both parent flycatchers bring food to their young. The nestlings grow quickly and are ready for their first flight in 12-14 days after hatching. 

Glenda Denniston has been pulling and bagging Garlic mustard and other invasives pretty much daily all season and in many areas. One of the perks of her labors, she says, "is seeing critters that otherwise would have escaped my notice." Here are a few of them.

On her daily rounds of weeding and observing in the Preserve, Glenda Denniston enjoys monitoring the smaller creatures,  such as frogs, dragonflies, butterflies and others. Here are a few of her photos. Insects have emerged in full force, after being delayed for some time because of needed prescribed burnings of the prairie this spring. Notice the beautiful markings and the green/blue eyes of the cobra clubtail, named clubtail for the enlarged abdomen tip. they can be found at large rivers and lakeshores and are most abundant in June. 

This Eastern tiger swallowtail photographed by Glenda is not the usually yellow variety of tiger swallow tails. Females can range in color from the yellow of the male to an almost solid bluish-black. The black form of the eastern tiger swallow tail may be an example of deceptive coloration,  mimicring a butterfly with unpleasant taste.

On her frequent walks in upper Bill's Woods, amongst the multitude of wildflowers that Glenda Denniston planted here over many years, she spotted this wild turkey hen enjoying the blue bells