Chuck Henrikson and I greeted each other in the parking lot at 1:10. Sandhill Cranes flew from the marsh to the lake (Their flight & calls recall Jonny Quest's pterodactyl, kind of). We posted a FUN lawn sign and my orange bike pennant near the kiosk, and Chuck staffed the kiosk while I used the FUN little red wagon to take the fire-making and hot chocolate making bins to Fire Circle 2. We welcomed a group of 30 at 1:32, described FLNP, LNP and FUN, and introduced Chuck. The sign-up sheet was sent around while Chuck coaxed everyone into a Jens Jensen full circle. I also distributed FUN binoculars to interested folks. The group totaled 34 as we departed and headed east through the pedestrian baffle/entry. The path had areas with standing water but no deep puddles. Chuck led the group with many stops for water birds (two bald eagles on the thin ice of Willow Bay; Canada geese, various gulls, mallards in the liquid water). One participant noted a redtail hawk circling over the Waisman Center (impressive optics). Chuck demonstrated the Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell University, including calling up the calls of whitebreasted nuthatch and the cardinal. One of the Merlin calls for the cardinal is distinct from any I've ever heard a cardinal make around here. I noticed that a tree was in bloom (already!) with catkins but no showy petals, so possibly a maple of some sort (maybe red maple?) Chuck gradually led the group to the Swimming Beach; I peeled off at Fire Circle 2 and helped Yara Al-Rayyan's younger brother start the fire (about 2:45). Chuck led some of the group to the fire, the partial group staying til about 3:30.
He compiled his bird list in a notebook, using his system of abbreviations (often, two letters + two letters). Yara's brothers drowned the fire around 3:45 and I stayed a bit to put un-used logs back under the log shed. Report by Tom Zinnen, photos by Tom Zinnen and Chuck Henrikson.
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Master Naturalist Paul Noeldner, founder and pied piper of the Friends of Urban Nature (FUN) fieldtrips, organizes our 4th Sunday outings. Falling on Christmas Eve this year, a good-humored group happy to get out of the kitchen and into nature gathered in a light mist amid mild temperatures at the entrance to Picnic Point. Paul welcomed the 30 attendees and invited them to share their names and their favorite places in the Preserve. While some visitors were returning to the Preserve after many years elsewhere, a few locals were entering it for the first time. After introductions by President Will Vuyk and Past President Doris Dubielzig, we walked up the service road past Bill’s Woods, where Will described plans for the new Visitor’s Center. Our next stop was at the Biocore Prairie. There, Friends student board member Yara Al-Rayyan reviewed the history and significance of this tallgrass prairie. Yara is enrolled in the undergraduate Biocore Honors Program. In 1997, Biocore students and staff first planted the prairie on an abandoned and contaminated field. The 11-acre parcel now provides a site for classes and for undergraduate research projects. We walked down the road through Caretaker’s Woods to the old, unused bath house at the end of Picnic Point Marsh. On this quiet side of the Point, some families investigated the sandy beach, while Will Vuyk captivated the group with a description of the two species of frogs that live in the Marsh. The Eastern gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) and Cope’s gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis), which look identical, can be distinguished by their calls and by observation of their red blood cells. Cope’s gray treefrog (H. chrysoscelis) has 24 chromosomes (2n), while the Eastern gray treefrog (H. versicolor) has 48 (4n)! Paul pulled up their calls on his cellphone and we were thrilled to hear the differences between the two frog calls. Paul then spoke of his hopes for the stone Bath House, which was designed by noted local architect William Kaeser. Kaeser was an admirer of Frank Lloyd Wright though he never studied directly with great man. The attractive building, constructed in 1968, was never used for its intended purpose and is now a locked storage unit. Paul has long contended that it would be a great location for nature and outreach activities.
Walking back toward the Picnic Point entrance, on the right just beyond Fire Circle #2, are five additional mounds. The mound building era is consistent with the age of the ancient canoe recovered from Lake Mendota in November 2021. Doris suggests that the canoe maker(s) would also have been of the mound builder people. After the vegetation covering them dies in the winter, the mounds can be seen more easily from the trail. Guided by a map drawn by Daniel Einstein, retired Historic & Cultural Resources Manager, the children were challenged to find the mounds. By this time, people were eager to gather around the fire at Fire Circle #2, drink Paul Noeldner-provided hot chocolate and toast marshmallows for s’mores, and gaze on University Bay. Playing his euphonium, Paul led the festive group in some Christmas carols. It was a joyous and friendly way to end the year. Our monthly 4th Sunday Bird and Nature Adventures are co-sponsored by the Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve (http://friendslakeshorepreserve.org), Badgerland Birding Alliance and the Madison Friends of Urban Nature (FUN). Contact Paul Noeldner at (608) 698-0104, paul_noeldner@hotmail.com. Report written by Doris Dubielzig. Photos taken by Paul Noeldner and Will Vuyk.
On Sunday afternoon November 26 about 20 bird lovers of various ages and skill levels including some UW students enjoyed a "Fun Fall Birding" Bird and Nature Adventure and the season's first beautiful fresh white snowfall at the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve with popular bird guide Chuck Henrikson to see awesome Tundra Swans with 8 foot wingspans, Buffleheads, Loons and other colorful migrating waterfowl, and Wisconsin winter favorites like bright red Cardinals, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Tree Sparrows and White-breasted Nuthatch, and gathered for hot cocoa around a Picnic Point campfire after the walk. A highlight was a huge Bald Eagle that soared by creating its own white swirling snow flurry of dozens of scattering Herring Gulls in its wake.
Report and photos by Paul Noelder The Geologic History of the Preserve and Madison Lakes field trip took place on 11/5/2023. The trip was led by Phil Fauble of the Wisconsin DNR. There were 19 attendees. The trip included observation and discussion of geological features at Raymer's Cove and Eagle Heights Woods. Report and photos by Steve Sellwood
On Saturday, November 4, 2023, the Friends of Lakeshore Nature Preserve hosted a tour of the Ho-Chunk Effigy Mounds that are still visible and discussion of those that were destroyed on campus. We met at the Washburn Observatory and the weather was perfect, crisp, and clean with a blue sky and bright sun. Our tour had approximately 45 participants and was guided by Amy Rosebrough, a State Archeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society. Dr. Rosebrough is the leading expert on Wisconsin Effigy Mounds and their cultural significance to the Ho-Chunk and other tribes of the state of Wisconsin. Having studied effigy mounds of Wisconsin for her PhD here at UW Madison in the Department of Anthropology, she has amassed a lifetime of knowledge that she gladly shares. She is author of two books on Effigy Mounds of Wisconsin. Her first is a 2003 book, “Water panthers, bears, and thunderbirds: Exploring Wisconsin’s Effigy Mounds”, which is for young readers with suggested activities to encourage students to engage with the effigy mounds of Wisconsin in every county. Her second, is co-authored with retired effigy mound expert, Robert Birmingham in 2017, “Indian Mounds of Wisconsin”. For those of you who missed the tour, I found this great video of her explaining much of what we learned from her. This video is almost a decade old, but the information is just as valid (https://www.c-span.org/video/?322375-1/native-american-effigy-mounds.) She also gave a Wednesday Nite at the Lab in 2018 (https://youtu.be/JDn_frvo_i0?si=QFl-F6_yrTkEgqdy). Dr. Rosebrough told many stories of discovery and archeological logistics, including the wonders of LiDAR, and the recent findings of the 1,000 and 3,000 year old canoes that were pulled from Lake Mendota. She shared with us the significance of the four lakes region to the Ho-Chunk, the glacial drumlins that were perfect for effigy mound positions overlooking the water, and some of the history of Ho-Chunk village life right here on UW Madison campus. She passed around a hand-held replica of one of the canoes, along with many other photos, maps, and timetables, as she talked to us with an amplifier. The highlight of the tour was a visit to the newly installed bird-shaped effigy sculpture “Effigy: Bird Form” made in 1997 by Professor Emeritus Truman Lowe, memorializing the loss Indigenous burial mounds on campus but still celebrates Indigenous traditions. You can read more about the history of this particular sculpture and how it came to be installed on campus this year: https://facilities.fpm.wisc.edu/truman-lowe-sculpture-event-on-sept-15/. After stopping by a partially intact eagle-shaped mound near the greenhouses of Soil Sciences, we continued down the hill towards the west of campus to large partially intact crane effigy mound that sits between the new student Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center and Lake Mendota and the trail. There she explained to us the difficulty in how to preserve, yet respect, the effigy mounds. What kinds of signage is appropriate? How to take out the current historical marker? What kinds of landscape management does it require? Prairie or turfgrass? How do we let people passing by know what exists there while also respecting its purpose of a burial mound to blend into the natural world and only show itself in the spring after a prairie burn? Our guests were full of questions, concerns, and generally deeply grateful for the chance to learn so much about the effigy mounds right here on campus from such an expert. After what seemed only like 30 minutes, our two-hour tour came to an end at the new Ho-Chunk clan circle (https://news.wisc.edu/ho-chunk-clan-circle-dedicated/), which has a statue for each of the Ho-Chunk clans and sits between the new recreation center and Lake Mendota. There she thanked us for our attention, but more importantly thanked the Ho-Chunk for sharing their knowledge with us. She reminded us all about how important it is for us to go forward working together with the Ho-Chunk nation here on UW Madison campus as it is literally their sacred burial grounds that we have our offices, classrooms, labs, and fitness centers.
Report and photos by Ingrid Jordon-Thaden. With the last remaining hues of fall drifting away, field trip leader Paul Quinlan, Madison Parks Conservation Resources Supervisor, led a group on a tree walk around the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Before setting foot on the trail, Paul painted a vivid picture of the layers of ecological history in the land we stood on. He then led us from one tree to another, showing us how to tell different types of trees apart. Examining the bark and the shape of the leaves are two ways for identifying trees. Did you know that white oak has rounded leaves and red oak has pointed tips on their leaves (like a hook!). Our attention shifted to the encroachment of invasive species. Paul pointed out the menace of Buckthorn and the ominous signs of Emerald Ash. As the trip concluded, participants were encouraged to continue exploring with a reminder that one doesn't have to be an expert to start identifying trees. Report and photos by Diana Tapia Ramon
A NATURAL SPIRAL OF WORDSAbout a dozen people including a number of UW students participated in the October 22 "Poetry in the Preserve" 4th Sunday of the month Bird and Nature Adventure at the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Stunning Fall colors with a blue sky and bright sunshine created a perfect day for a meditative nature walk along University Bay. Friends of the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve FLNP Chairperson Will Vuyk led the group to several scenic spots where volunteers read aloud some of the beautiful and thoughtful poems collected from the Friends' "Its In Our Nature" Poetry Nights and used the new Poetry Trail signposts where people can stop anytime and scan a QR code to view and listen to the poems. Along the way a pair of Bard Owls sang their sonorous poetry from the woods and rafts of Coots thrashed the water into sparkles as people jotted poetic words they liked on post it notes. After the walk everyone gathered around a campfire to weave their words together and collectively created a special spiral shaped poem in honor of a magical day at the Preserve Report and photos by Paul Noeldner.
On Sunday, October 8th, we embarked on a forest bathing journey led by Seth McGee. Our adventure began at the Frautschi Point parking lot, the gateway to the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Seth encouraged us to let our curiosity guide the way as we ventured deeper into the preserve. He shared insights about the origins of the practice of forest bathing, explaining how most recently, in the late 1970s, Japanese government scientists formalized the intentional and widespread practice of immersing oneself in the healing embrace of the forest, known as "Shinrin-yoku." As we walked through the preserve, we discussed the connection between humans and nature and the myriad benefits of being in natural environments. The collective energy of the forest enveloped us as we walked. Our group embraced the essence of forest bathing by intentionally slowing down, cultivating calmness, and observing the forest with a heightened sense of awareness. Seth's guidance encouraged us to experience the forest deliberately, appreciating the subtle wonders that nature had to offer. Seth expertly engaged our senses, inviting us to explore the forest's rich tapestry. We savored the earthy scent of walnut seeds and tasted the seeds and leaves of native plants. The forest, once a passive backdrop, became a multisensory experience, heightening our connection to the natural world. Throughout our journey, we were serenaded by the songs of countless birds, from warblers to finches. As our forest bathing excursion neared its conclusion, Seth handed each of us a guide sheet and we all individually ventured into the forest on our own. This solitary experience enabled us to practice forest bathing philosophy and techniques learned during the trip.
Our forest bathing field trip led by Seth McGee was a truly enriching and transformative experience. Through intentional mindfulness, sensory engagement, and a deeper connection with the forest, we experienced the healing power of nature, reminding us that in nature, we find not only beauty but also solace for our minds and spirits. Report and photos by Yara AL-Rayyan On Sunday September 24, 2023 from 1:30 to 3:00, 53 folks on the Fall Fungi Fieldtrip led by Marie Trest of the UW Department of Botany, and starting at Picnic Point Stone Gate. We gathered at 1:30 at the kiosk; the weather was sunny and 76. I collected a list of names. The participants included several families with young children, clusters of UW students, and retirees. Marie noted that the drought over the past couple of months meant that the variety and number of mushrooms on the forest floor might be low relative to a normal year. She explained that collecting in the Preserve is not allowed unless one has a permit, which she has. Her approach was to allow participants to search for mushrooms for 10-15 minutes, and then we would gather together and she would talk us through the samples the group had found. We did this at two different places, both within 100 yards of each other, both along the roadway leading into the Preserve from the Stone Gate. With 50-some people that meant we had 100 eyes and 500 fingers looking and probing for fungi on or in the soil, on fallen logs, and on branches & leaves in the trees & shrubs. This approach yielded an array of examples. These included fleshy fungi (in both ascomycota and basidiomycota) and woody ‘shelf fungi’. The size or distribution of mushrooms is not a reliable indicator of how extensive the fungus mycelium spreads in the soil. By one reckoning, an Armillaria fungus growing in forest soil in Oregon is the single largest organism found so far on Earth. One way to help identify fungi is to take a spore print, but this technique requires several hours and is usually done in the lab more than in the field. Some participants found slime molds growing on dead wood; biologists consider the slime molds to be protists rather than fungi. In the woods, some fungi are saprophytes—they breakdown and rot dead wood and leaves in the forest or grasslands. Other fungi can be pathogens that attack the leaves, stems or roots of living plants. Significant examples of fungal diseases that have transformed our landscape include the Chestnut Blight, the Dutch Elm Disease (both are introduced pathogens) as well as Oak Wilt. Other pathogens cause mostly just leaf lesions without much harm, such as the Tar Spot fungus of maple. If we were collecting at night, we would likely see that some fungi are bioluminescent – the phosphorescent ones can give off light called foxfire—and others are fluorescent – if you shine UV light on these, they reflect a glow at a wavelength different from the UV light you shine on them. In addition to the fungi that make fruiting bodies we call mushrooms, other fungi can produce spores (including asexual spores) directly from the hyphae or ‘threads’ of the mycelium. Mycologists can collect airborne spores using air-sampling traps (see timepoint 6:15 of this video) followed by identifying the spores using microscopes or even by molecular techniques.
Furthermore, the mushrooms include yeasts, and while yeasts don’t make hyphal threads or mushroomy fruiting bodies, on occasion you can see yeast growing extensively on the cross-section wood of freshly-cut stems or trunks of pruned branches or stumps; the yeast feast on sugars that exude from the phloem of the stubs of the lopped-off branches. Finally, one participant found what at first appeared to be long white mushroom, but proved to be the flower & curved stalk of Indian pipe, which is a parasitic, colorless plant. Report and photos by Tom Zinnen. The September 17, 2023, Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Fall Bird Field Trip was amazing because a rain shower the previous night had caused a group of night-migrating neotropical birds to "fall out." A "fall out" is an unusual event that is exciting for bird watchers. Hundreds of birds were migrating and suddenly they ran into rain and were forced to the ground, leaving hundreds of birds wherever they landed in the dark. The birds seen on the field trip were lucky to land at a migratory stopover in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Jill Feldkamp and Roma Lenehan led the group, looking up at shadowy birds in the trees near the first oak. They proceeded along the Big Oak Trail to the Second Oak and the Biocore Prairie edge and then to the Eagle Heights Gardens. Even in these open areas, warblers were everywhere - in the little oaks and other bushes, the native plants, and even in the non-native grass near the water utility. In addition to warblers, there were many flickers and other larger birds flying around When not looking at birds, Ingrid Jordon-Thaden, Friends Board Host, explained about autumn seed dispersal of Great St. John’s Wort as well as about Black Knot, a disease found on fruit trees. Participants enjoyed learning about these plants when not watching birds. Several UW grad and undergrad students enjoyed the birds they saw, especially several hummingbirds feeding at cannas. They said that they liked the time outside away from their books and computers. At least 40 bird species were found. Highlights included good views of flying Redtailed Hawk, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Flicker, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Eight warbler species were seen multiple times by various people including multiple Black-and-white and Palm Warblers. Many Tennessee, Nashville, and Magnolia Warblers flitted everywhere. Four Chipping Sparrows and 2 Lincoln's Sparrows were found in the Eagle Heights Gardens. A couple of very lucky people saw the Merlin, a small swift falcon, fly across the grassland, possibly looking at the many warblers. The leaders hoped that everyone enjoyed this rare phenomenon which dramatized the abundance of our migrating birds. Report by Roma Lenehan and Jill Feldkamp, photos by Ingrid Jordon-Thaden. |
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