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Martins and Bluebirds - 28 May 2023

5/29/2023

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Jeff Koziol opens up a bluebird box for the group to see while a purple martin flies over his head to the purple martin house in the background.
Leaders Jeff Koziol and Chuck Henrikson led 14 attendees on a tour of the bluebird and purple martin houses the Friends have maintained around the Biocore Prairie. We also saw many other birds along the way, including yellow warblers, gold finches, common yellowthroat, a rose breasted grosbeak, song sparrows, turkey vultures, and a yellow-billed cuckoo. 
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Many of the bluebird boxes were occupied by nesting tree swallows. Tree swallows are a protected native species and cannot be removed. House sparrows, on the other hand, are removed from bluebird boxes if found there. Jeff has also added a metal skirt below each box to prevent predators like raccoons and snakes (if there are any!) from predating on nesting birds. Sometimes ants can infest the boxes too. Jeff has found that bike grease or anti-seize compound, when lathered on the pole, can prevent ants from climbing up it. 
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Two of the bluebird boxes we looked at were indeed occupied by bluebirds! Swallow eggs are white, so these blue eggs are a telltale sign of successfully nesting bluebirds. 
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At the end of the trip, we made our way to the purple martin house where Chuck lowered the whole contraption to eye level. When we looked in Gourd A, we found a female purple martin and five eggs inside. Chuck gently tilted the gourd so everyone could peak inside! All the while, many adult and subadult martins swooped and chattered above our heads.
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After our quick peak inside the gourd, mama, eggs, and the whole house were cranked back to their previous height intact. The only critter who seemed especially disgruntled about the whole ordeal was the vole living under the martin house ladder. After four scurrying escapes, the vole finally had its home restored when the field trip ended and we all dispersed to enjoy our long Memorial Day weekends. 
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Report and photos by Will Vuyk.
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Amazing Audible Amphibians - 20 May 2023

5/21/2023

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Leader Rori Paloski (third from left) explains how to distinguish frog calls. Photo by Glenda Denniston.
On this gorgeous Saturday evening, a stream of excitement flowed into the Preserve. Apart from the smiles, laughter, and crackling weekend fires, however, were the sounds of a different party taking place in the marsh. Seven of us joined DNR herpetologist and UW Madison PhD student Rori Paloski to learn about these boisterous spring gatherings and the amazing audible amphibians behind them.
There are eleven species of frog and one species of toad consistently found in Wisconsin. All of these species can be distinguished by their calls, which are easy to listen for during mating season from early spring into summer. Some species, like wood frogs, chorus frogs, and spring peepers, freeze completely solid during the winter and can start calling soon after melt in early April. Other species, like the green frog and American bullfrog, start later in June and July. This year the American toads had already finished their mating by the time of our field trip on May 20th, but we were just in time for the gray and Cope’s gray tree frogs.
Rori told us that the two tree frog species are practically indistinguishable by appearance alone. The only way to reliably tell them apart is by their calls. The Cope's gray tree frog has a faster, "more insect-like" trill than the slower, "more bird-like" trill of the gray tree frog. Surprisingly, the gray tree frog has twice as many chromosomes as the Cope's gray tree frog, making a blood test the one sure-fire way to identify a physical specimen.
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A grey (or Cope's grey) tree frog on its way to the marsh to mate. Photos by Glenda Denniston.
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While well-camouflaged from above, this tree frog has bright yellow patches underneath! Photo by Glenda Denniston.
Both gray and Cope's gray tree frogs were calling in the marsh by Lot 60 when we arrived, giving us the opportunity to hear them side-by-side and practice our call discernment skills. One tree frog even hopped right over to us on the path, allowing us to marvel at the bright yellow patches on its underside. While this individual is currently green, these tree frogs can change the color of their skin to best camouflage with their surroundings. Whether this particular frog was a Cope's gray or a gray tree frog we will never know!
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Will and Rori looking at tadpoles pulled from a minnow trap. Photo by Signe Holtz.
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The second green frog tadpole. Photo by Glenda Denniston.
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This green frog tadpole has little legs! Photo by Signe Holtz.
Using a minnow trap provided by the Jessica Hua Lab for the Friends of Amphibians community science initiative, Will Vuyk was also able to find some green frog tadpoles in the Lot 60 marsh. Green frogs overwinter in tadpole form after hatching in July. These ones are likely close to a year old and will soon metamorphose into frogs. One even had visible back legs! Rori explained that the front legs form underneath the skin and can sometimes be felt before they break through. We will be listening close for adult green frog calls in the coming months. The calls sound like the deep thrum of a loose banjo string or large rubber band.
At the Picnic Point marsh we heard more tree frogs, and discovered the results of the recently-finished American toad mating period. Hundreds (maybe thousands?) of little American toad tadpoles wriggled in the minnow trap Will had placed the day before. Unlike green frog tadpoles, American toad tadpoles metamorphose into tiny adult toads the same season they hatch. Soon the Preserve will be hopping in multitudes of these extremely small "penny toads".  Once the tree frogs finish with their mating period, their tadpoles too will join the other toad and frog tadpoles in the Preserve's wetlands. 
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Toad tadpoles from the Picnic Point Marsh. Photo by Glenda Denniston.
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Will returning captured tadpoles back to the marsh. Photo by Glenda Denniston.
Frogs and toads are abundant and integral members of our native Wisconsin ecosystems. They are also very susceptible to human impacts on the landscape including water quality degradation, chemical pollution, invasive pathogens and urban infrastructure. The more we can learn about our amphibian neighbors the better we can learn to live alongside them. If listening for adult frogs and toads, and searching for tadpoles like we did in this field trip sounds fun to you, take a look at our Citizen Science page to see how you can help with our ongoing "Friends of Amphibians" project!
Report by Will Vuyk. Photos by Glenda Denniston and Signe Holtz. 
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Warblers of Frautschi Point - 17 May 2023

5/21/2023

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Spotting birds at the top of Raymer's Cove.
Led by Jill Feldkamp and Roma Lenehan, this group of 18 sharp-eyed birders documented 46 species on their walk through the trails of Frautschi Point out to Raymer's Cove. Despite sub-optimal conditions for birding that morning, Leader Jill Feldkamp reported that "I think everyone has a good time and saw enough birds to keep them happy." See the E-Bird report below:
> UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve--Frautschi Point
> May 17, 2023
> 9:03 AM
> Traveling
> 2.00 miles
> 120 Minutes
> All birds reported? No
> Comments: Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 2.17.1 Build 2.17.3
> 
> 2 Wood Duck
> 2 Mallard
> 1 Wild Turkey
> 2 Mourning Dove
> 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
> 1 Ring-billed Gull
> 1 Turkey Vulture
> 1 Red-tailed Hawk
> 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker
> 1 Downy Woodpecker
> 1 Hairy Woodpecker
> 2 Eastern Wood-Pewee
> 1 Eastern Phoebe
> 6 Great Crested Flycatcher
> 3 Warbling Vireo
> 8 Red-eyed Vireo
> 2 Blue Jay
> 1 American Crow
> 4 Black-capped Chickadee
> 3 Tufted Titmouse
> 10 Purple Martin
> 3 Tree Swallow
> 12 Bank Swallow
> 12 Barn Swallow
> 2 Cliff Swallow
> 1 White-breasted Nuthatch
> 3 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
> 6 House Wren

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Looking for birds at the water's edge. Raymer's Cove.
> 6 Gray Catbird
> 1 Veery
> 5 American Robin
> X American Goldfinch
> 2 Song Sparrow
> 6 Baltimore Oriole
> 5 Red-winged Blackbird
> 2 Brown-headed Cowbird
> 3 Tennessee Warbler
> 12 American Redstart
> 1 Northern Parula
> 1 Magnolia Warbler
> 12 Yellow Warbler
> 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
> 2 Scarlet Tanager
> 2 Northern Cardinal
> 3 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
> 3 Indigo Bunting
> 
> Number of Taxa: 46
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Leader Roma Lenehan (middle) pointing out a bird.
Report and photos by Steve Sellwood.
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Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
 P.O. Box 5534
 Madison, WI 53705 

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Related websites:
UW Nelson Institute
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Groundswell Conservancy
Pleasant Valley Conservancy
Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Friends of Amphibians
​Friends of Cherokee Marsh
Friends of Olin Turville

Wild Warner Park
  • Home
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