On January 8, 2020, Galen and Grace Hasler enjoyed a walk to Picnic Point in the brisk air, with temperatures below freezing and thin floats of ice forming on the Bay. They were surprised by an amazing assemblage of waterfowl feeding and keeping the water open: they reported 116 Canada goose, 115 Tundra swan, 3 American Wigeon, 140 mallards, 6 Bufflehead, 200 Common Goldeneye, 52 Common Mergansers, only 80 American coots, and as bonus sights, 2 Bald eagles and in the woods a Great horned owl. Early in the season there were hundreds of coots on the Bay, often mixed with Buffleheads. Apparently the Goldeneye are now gathering to move on.

Other Friends were also seeking our birds in the Preserve on this fine day. David Liebl, walking in the woods, recorded Blue Jay, Black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, cedar waxwing, Dark-eyed junco, and even an American goldfinch. You can check out eBird Lakeshore Nature Preserve and follow the birds in the Preserve. They make things happen!

On December 22, 2019, Cynthia Carlson visited the boat landing at University Bay and captured several Bald Eagles on the ice and in trees with her camera. It was cold but sunny, and a good day for catching fish along the edge of the advancing ice. Chuck Henrikson was also watching. 

That same weekend, on her usual trek from Shorewood to Picnic Point along the shore past Frautschi Point,  Genevieve Murtaugh of the Friends spotted ten Bald Eagles in the air and on trees, and two more at Picnic Point. With her iPhone she was able to photograph adult and immature Bald Eagles surveying the scene from tree tops. 

On this brisk November morning, the usual suspects for this season congregated on the Bay, flotillas of American coots, Mallards and Canadian geese, Bufflehead ducks, and in their midst, a muscled Herring gull. the prik prik of the coots was everywhere. Then chaos erupted with shrill warning honks by the geese. Two Bald eagles swooped down from the sky, circling the bay, swerving ever so close to the water surface at the cattail by the Picnic Point peninsula and then lifting again just above tree level — a majestic sight. Meanwhile the coots and all the others hurried toward the safety of the eastern end of the bay. Many other visitors to Preserve on this Saturday morning enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful sights and sounds. Photos and report Gisela Kutzbach.

Adam Gundlach, who coordinates land management activities in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, started this week "tinkering" with iNaturalist. One of his first posts is this spectacular image of a Cecropia moth, munching its way along a young black walnut (Juglans nigra) stalk and leaves. The larvae of the moth, shown here, typically go through five larval stages (instars). This one on the photos is likely in its 4th or 5th instar. All the black hair of the first stage has disappeared, and the larva is adorned with striking blue, yellow and orange tubercles. It will soon reach maturity and spin a large brown cocoon in which it will overwinter. The giant silk moth, the Cecropia moth, will emerge next year in the early summer. See more information at Wikipedia. Thank you, Adam, for sharing these photos.

​Last year, the Koziols observed the first bloom at their monitoring site a month earlier, on May 16!  Arlene reports, "Our big blooms last year were June 7, 8, 27 and Sept 7th and 15th, 2018. We were late getting out for our measurements of the Mendota Central Deep Hole this year because of bad weather and boat issues. Our first readings at the Deep Hole was June 12th and the lake had already stratified. Last year I was told that the data from the Mendota buoy is not available. 
Here is a question, yesterday when I looked at the bloom early in the day, the algae seemed to be floating up from a lower level. Below is a little video clip from my phone. Can one tell if it is cyanobacteria?"

See more of Arlene's photos on her Flickr Site.

This deer and her fawn were spotted in the Preserve last week. David Liebl provided the photo.