On a blustery Sunday afternoon about 90 enthusiastic nature friends and families attended the 6th Annual hands-on Nature Exploration Stations at Picnic Point, organized by the Friends of the Preserve. Visitors stopped at four exploration stations to learn from experts about rocks and fossils, trees, birds, and effigy mounds in the Preserve. Each visitor received an 8-page booklet with explanations and hands-on activities at each station. Children engaged in related activities at each station. Our expert leaders shared their knowledge and enthusiasm for the Preserve. 

Doris Dubielzig of the Friends coordinated the work of the four Exploration Station leaders and their student assistants. Tom Zinnen, UW organizer of this campus-wide event, strongly supported our efforts. Preserve staff was also consulted in preparing for this event. All in all 20 volunteers contributed their time and talents. Report by Gisela Kutzbach
​
Geologic gems: David Mickelson and Carol McCartney, assisted by Scot Moss
Tree treasures: Diane Dempsey and Stefanie Wilbrand
Birding Basics: Carolyn Byers and Paul Noeldner
Mound makers: Amy Rosebrough
Greeters; Kennedy Gilchrist, Gisela Kutzbach  
Student volunteers: Olympia Mathiaparanam plus 7 students from Bradley Hall: Paige Nelson (Geology station 1), Erik Zetina and Ekaterina Kabev (Tree station 2), Weijia Can and Jacob Fauble (Birds station 3), Ron Li and Chris Massey (mound station 4)
Photographs Gisela Kutzbach and Paul Noeldner. 

Station 1: Geologic Gems. Examples of rocks from around Wisconsin, including sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks, metamorphic rocks, as well as iron ore, coral and more. The exhibit also included bore samples of various types of rocks, which showed how rock layers were formed over time. Children enjoyed free samples of Wisconsin's state rock, which is granite. There was also a key and bingo game to many types of rocks in the distinctive rock wall that frames the entrance of Picnic Point. Resources provided by UW Extension, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey.

Station 2: Tree Treasures. Visitors could hone their skills in identifying trees in winter, based on the appearance of tree trunks, the shape of small tree twigs and buds, and leaf litter on the forest floor. Visitors also learned about how Native Americans used the tree treasurers of the forest and had a chance to built their on paper (birch) basket. Resources provided by Diane Dempsey, UW Arboretum naturalist.

Station 4. Mound Makers. Located at Fire circle 2, just past the linear and conical mounds along the path. All mounds were used to mark gravesites. The early mounds, mostly conical and linear, were used for burial of people of significance.  Most of the effigy mounds, built in the shape of animals, birds, spirits and people from about 750-1000 AD, were used for burials of bone "bundles", representing the remains of up to 60 people. The prominent cone mound near the isthmus of Picnic Point was also used as a group "bundle" burial site for many people. The effigy mound builders were ancestors of today's Ho-Chunk and other nations.

​About 85 people attended the 16th Annual Meeting of the Friends, held at the Arboretum Visitor Center on a cold and icy winter day in April, to hear retired Wisconsin State Archeologist  Bob Birmingham speak about the mound-building culture in the Four Lakes region (see the summary below).
Outgoing president Gisela Kutzbach reviewed the work of the Friends in 2017, highlighting the many people who have made volunteer contributions during the year and thanking the members for the support they provide with time and money. Contributions include: field trips, raising and planting native plants, garlic mustard removal, and citizen science in the form of plant monitoring, birding, bat monitoring, bluebird trail and purple martin house support. In addition, the Friends have made significant financial contributions, supporting five Prairie Partner Interns since 2007, as well as direct contributions to the stewardship of the Preserve and other projects. She emphasized the good cooperation we have with with the Preserve staff.

Gary Brown, UW Director of the Lakeshore Preserve, introduced the Preserve staff: Laura Wyatt, Bryn Scriver and Adam Gundlach. He reported that the University continued to support the work at the Preserve without budget cuts. One major project last year was the renovation of Fire Circle 3 with the donation from an alumnus.
Adam Gundlach, field project coordinator of the Preserve, summarized the restoration work in Eagle Heights Woods since 2014, with the financial support of the Friends EHW fundraiser.  The work has included vegetation surveys, hazard tree removal to protect trail users and the mounds, trail reconfiguration to reduce erosion and impact to the mounds, brush removal and prescribed fires. The staff has provided tours at the site for the Friends and for classes. Continuing work planned for the site includes: ongoing brush removal, resprout control, oak regeneration, trail management and improvements to the herbaceous layer.
 
The Friends thanked departing Board members Carolyn Byers, Galen Hasler, and Mike Parsen for their excellent services for the Friends and the Preserve and elected new  Board members Lillian Tong and Steve Sellwood, and returning Board members Gisela Kutzbach, Olympia Mathiaparanam, and Mitchell  Thomas. The crowd enjoyed the appetizers and deserts as well as informative poster exhibits. Doris Dubielzig, Vice president, was the excellent MC for the meeting, and Carolyn Byers and Glenda Denniston recorded the event in photos.

About 24 people including several students and minorities enjoyed the every 4th Sunday Bird and Nature Outing led by Chuck Hendrikson, who makes this walks fun, educational, and memorable.Additional participants joined in along the way. Avid birder Chuck Henrikson led the outing with a quiz style introduction to common Wisconsin species with an accommodating Red-tailed Hawk perched nearby.  Shared Madison FUN adult and kids binoculars were handed out to the group before setting out to look for birds along Picnic Point and around the Biocore Prairie.  Birds were plentiful enough to warrant many stops along the way and participants enjoyed helping spot and identify an interesting mix of waterfowl on University Bay.  After a return loop around Picnic Point Lagoon and the Biocore Prairie, everyone enjoyed a stop at the end to see a magnificent Barred Owl sitting quietly, almost invisible next to the trunk of a big pine in Bills Woods near the trail exit. Excited participants let out an audible "Oh!" and some even jumped up and down when they first saw the sleepy owl 'up close' in full glory through shared spotting scopes. The outing contInued for an extra half hour while a number of nature recreation passers by also got extended looks at the owl through the scopes and many captured digiscope photos with their cellphones.

Thanks Chuck Henrikson for leading and the bird report, regular participant Chuck Keleny for helping with the scopes and sharing the great Barred Owl sighting, and Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve board members Peter Fisher and Pat Becker for helping facilitate the outing!  
And a big Thank You to our resident pair of Barred Owls for being such good Ambassadors for the Preserve!  

Below is an eBird checklist based on Chuck's bird list and the group's observations.  

Sunday, January 7 was a perfect day for a field trip and the subject was animal tracking in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve.  More than 25 interested hikers took advantage of a fresh fallen snow and mild temperatures to join leader UW Professor and wildlife ecologist David Drake as they looked for tracks in the snow and other signs of the winter movement of the many species of animals in the Preserve. David discussed the habits of coyotes, foxes and other mammals in the winter and ways of detecting their activities otherwise not available in the other seasons.  As the hikers progressed toward the lake, they were treated to owl sightings while looking for evidence of the movement and habits of foxes and coyotes and other small mammals within the Preserve.  He described the various programs within UW that trap, tag and release animals for habitat research and showed the group the “bait piles” and snares used by the researchers.  One treat was the opportunity to see a beaver tail up close, a sight that many, including the kids in attendance, had never experienced. 
 
Along the way, David explained how to determine whether animal tracks belong to cats, e.g. bobcats – hint – cats retract claws in the snow, most other mammals do not.  And how to tell if the tracks belong to dogs or coyotes – hint – dogs wander and generally have a splayed print, coyotes travel in a straight line to conserve energy. Please visit Prof Drake's Urban Wildlife website to learn more about this fascinating project and how YOU can get started supporting wildlife in your backyard.
 
David sprinkled stories of Aldo Leopold as he described how to keep notes about nature, whether it includes animal sightings or conditions encountered when hiking.  When the field trip was finished, the group was chilled but totally satisfied, as everyone felt that the take-away was well worth the effort on this wonderful day in the Preserve. Paul Quinlan and Peter Fisher were the field trip hosts of the Friends. Peter also provided all photos.

Mitchell Thomas, a third-year veterinary student at UW–Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine and student member of the Friends Board, loves taking his dog River on a stroll in the Preserve. And River loves to take in the sights and the warmth of the stone wall at Picnic Points.