On the road again

Memorial Day weekend involved an easterly road trip for our friends' wedding in Lynchburg,Virginia (Congratulations, Chris and Casey!).  The whirlwind holiday weekend featured gorgeous sunny weather, a very beautiful family homestead and outdoor wedding (Scott was a groomsman), a quick visit with some of our friends in Christiansburg (thanks, guys!), delicious southern delicacies (in VA and to go), and about 40 hours total in the car due to the holiday traffic.  On the return drive, we added in a few stops at points of interest to break up the trip:

• Point Pleasant, WV: Mothman monument and the site of the 1967 Silver Bridge collapse (you may know the 2002 Richard Gere film The Mothman Prophecies); also the site of the Battle of Point Pleasant [1774] at Tu-Endie-Wei State Park)
• Rio Grande, OH: Bob Evans' farm (Bob's homestead and site of the first restaurant)
• Battle Ground, IN: Tippecanoe Battlefield Park [1811], and 
• Whiting, IN: Bulldog Brewing Company for a dinner break.

Creepy Mothman, Point Pleasant, West Virginia

(I can't believe we pulled over to see this...actually, I can't believe this exists in the first place)

 

Bob Evans' Farm, Rio Grande, Ohio

Needless to say, after the long drive, busy weekend, and long (even though it was short) work week, we ended up taking a break this weekend to catch up.  Teddy had a great time during his first boarding stay at Animal House while we were away (when I called last Saturday to check on him, he was busy swimming in the pool during daycare) and brought home an excellent "report card."

Back to the Upper Midwest part of the blog...Today we revisited High Cliff State Park on Lake Winnebago and brought Teddy along for his first day-out adventure with us.  We had a picnic lunch, took a 3 mile hike along Lime Kiln and Red Bird Trails, and then went fishing for a little bit in the Butterfly Pond (no luck).  It was a nice, sunny day today despite the cooler temperatures, so it made for a good day to bring Teddy along.  It rained quite a bit last week, and especially Friday night into Saturday, so both weekend days only warmed up to about 60 degrees.  Teddy is currently snoring, tuckered out from a great day.

Fishing in Butterfly Pond, High Cliff State Park

Great Wisconsin Birdathon 2015

The Great Wisconsin Birdathon provides an opportunity for individuals and teams to raise money for bird conservation programs in Wisconsin, and have some fun at the same time by attempting to see as many bird species as possible in a single day (birders refer to this as Big Day, similar to a Big Year).  The Birdathon is a joint effort among multiple partners and organized by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.  In addition to the fundraising effort, species data is collected from participants, which helps with monitoring bird populations.

One of my co-workers decided to organize a team as a fun team-building exercise and provide a good opportunity to get together outside of work (even wildlife biologists consider birding to be fun, although it's closely job related).  We decided on May 15-16, 2015 as our 24-hour period to catch birding at the peak of migration through the region (Birdathon rules dictate that any24 hour period between April 15 and June 15 can be selected).  The plan was to bird beginning at 6:30 PM Friday evening and finish by early afternoon the next day to give everyone a chance to enjoy the rest of their weekend.

On Friday evening, we had a team of four (plus two kidlings along for the ride).  We started birding at the office to get some of the "easy" birds in the prairie surrounding the building.  En route to Sensiba Wildlife Area, we noted a bald eagle on a nest (biologist insider info!), as well as wild turkeys and sandhill cranes.  We had a great evening birding walk at Sensiba- the place was buzzing with so many birds it was hard to hear.  New ones for me included the sora, marsh wren, and swamp sparrow.  By the end of the evening, with the kids' help, we had noted 51 species on our checklist- although surprisingly no night birds (e.g., owls, nightjars).

Bright and early Saturday morning, four team members from the night before plus 2 more were ready to go.  Our first stop of the morning was Point au Sable Nature Reserve, a neat peninsula that juts out into Green Bay owned and managed by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.  The preserve has no maintained trails and is really only used for research and preservation purposes, plus it is right on the water offering a number of different habitats to survey (the link above has a neat aerial photo of the property).  We had a great morning there and ended up staying for over 3 hours even though we had other stops planned.  Highlights included tons of up-close warbler sightings (Canada, Wilson's and Tennessee were all new for me), finding a sparrow nest (see below), and watching a pair of blue-gray gnatcatchers building their nest out of lichen.  The other team members got REALLY fired up about a perfect view of a prothonotary warbler- apparently further north than typical (I have heard them before in Virginia, but such a close up look was still really awesome).  Nothing like getting a bunch of bird nerds hooting and hollering in the woods!

 Point au Sable shoreline along Green Bay

 Can you find the nest?  The only reason we did is one team member flushed the adult off the nest when he walked by.

A closer up with some of the vegetation brushed back- well concealed!

Team Green Bay Quackers watching and listening for new birds

After Point au Sable, we made a few more stops along the Green Bay shoreline, the UWGB campus arboretum, and at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.  At each stop, we added a few more birds to our list.  At the sanctuary, we picked up a number of ducks and even observed a red-tailed hawk feeding on a gosling, much to the dismay of some of the visitors.   We concluded our day at a known peregrine falcon nest site along the Fox River near the Sanctuary- no luck.

After 9 hours of active birding in the field, we observed 102 different species!  We were all pretty excited to break into the triple digits.  It was definite the Biggest Day for me, plus it was a real treat to learn from so many knowledgeable biologists and bird enthusiasts.  The weather was great and we were out at the perfect time to catch the migrants.  I learned so much about the area and the local birds, and I'm excited to keep birding this year.

We rounded out the weekend with a walk on the Mountain-Bay State Trail and were treated to great views of the large-flowered trillium all along the wet areas along both sides of the trail.  The photo really doesn't do enough justice, but I had to document the view somehow!

Sturgeon Bay

Last weekend was Scott's birthday weekend, so we decided a day trip was in order.  Even though the weather was a little iffy, we drove up to Sturgeon Bay in Door County.  We had never been to the actual downtown- most of the time we were just driving through to other attractions on the Upper Door Peninsula.  Downtown Sturgeon Bay was really nice with lots of shops and cafes.  We had a nice lunch at Door County Fire Company, a bar/restaurant in an old fire station right downtown.  After lunch, we checked out an antique store and stopped in Starboard Brewing Company, a new microbrewery with a nautical theme which opened about 6 months ago. The owner was really nice and we got to talking to him as we sampled beers.  Next thing we know, his mom comes in and Scott recognizes her from a recent meeting he attended for work.  She works for Door County Land Trust, so we started talking conservation and birds with her.  Small world!

After the microbrewery, we took a ride out to the bayshore to see Sherwood Point Lighthouse.  One of the neat features in Door County is the 7-mile Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal through the middle of the Peninsula.  The canal, build in the late 1800s, was designed to allow ships passage in and out of the Port of Green Bay without the danger of passing through Porte des Morts or Death's Door (the straight in between Door Peninsula and Washington Island, WI).   The narrow road back to the lighthouse along the ship canal was full of vacation cabins right on the water.  Sherwood Point Light is still in operation and not open to the public, so we checked it out from the road.  The ritzy house right next door is for sale if anyone is interested (Update: Listing price is $859,900!).

Sherwood Point Lighthouse, Sturgeon Bay

Since we were so close to Potawatomi State Park, we swung in there to hike a few more miles on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.  We visited last fall and hiked part of the trail to the eastern terminus on Sawyer Harbor (of Green Bay), so this time we continued from where we left off walking toward the Town of Sturgeon Bay to the park boundary (about 2.5 miles).  It was windy, but comfortable, and the park was mostly deserted except for a few fishermen out on the water.  We completed the segment within the park and turned around to head back to the car before the rain finally came in.

April snow showers bring May flowers

We finally have warm temperatures, green grass and spring flowers!  The longest awaited spring arrived with the calendar.  May is here!

The last couple of weekends have each included a long walk on the Mountain-Bay Trail.  We usually walk a quieter section further out of town that has more scenery and lots of wildlife- we always see deer, turkey, and even had a barred owl yesterday evening.  We startled the owl off the ground near a wet area and had a great view in a nearby tree.  Teddy has a blast sniffing out all of the deer trails. 

Moonrise along Mountain-Bay Trail

We also visited a couple new local wineries, including Duck Creek Vineyard & Winery in Denmark and Kerrigan Brothers Winery in Freedom.  Neat story about Freedom- in the mid-1830s, a freed black slave named James Andrew Jackson was one of the founding members of the town.  The townspeople wanted to name the town "Jackson" in his honor.  He declined, simply stating that the town should be called Freedom.

Yesterday we visited a Civil War exhibit titled "When Neenah Came Marching Home" sponsored by the Neenah Historical Society at the Smith Octagon House in the City of Neenah.  Side note- if you ever happen to pay attention to manhole covers...check one out the next time you think about it because many of them were produced at the Neenah Foundry.  The exhibit highlighted the experiences of 300 men from Neenah that fought in the Civil War, and especially what life was like when the survivors arrived home (84 of the 300 died in the war).  A lot of people don't realize that Wisconsin was a state at the time, and a number of soldiers served and contributed significantly to the Union campaign.  One notable Neenah veteran you may recognize- Pvt. Charles B. Clark, who later became a founder of Kimberly & Clark and a local politician.  The exhibit was small but very interesting- a good event to kick off Scott's birthday week.  One highlight was a regimental 35 star flag, found many years later on a shelf stuffed into a shopping bag, and carefully restored for its preservation.

 When Neenah Came Marching Home exhibit

 Octagon House, Neenah

Regimental flag and C.B. Clark's frock coat

Neenah Lighthouse at Kimberly Point on Lake Winnebago

I am looking forward to participating in the Great Wisconsin Birdathon with a group of coworkers on May 15th and 16th.  We will spend 24 hours (well, not a full 24 hours- we are going home to sleep in between!) identifying as many species of birds that we can in the Green Bay Area.  We have a number of visits planned to places that you have already read about, such as Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, Sensiba Wildlife Area,  and Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve to attempt to view lots of waterfowl, wading birds, warblers, and forest and grassland birds at the height of migration.  The event serves to raise money for important bird programs in the state, from Bird City Wisconsin to the Breeding Bird Atlas to conservation programs for endangered birds such as the Kirkland's warbler.  If you would like to support my team, the Green Bay Quackers, in our effort to raise money for bird conservation, please visit my fundraising page here.  Donations can be a flat rate in advance OR a pledge for each species that we observe on Birdathon day.  A donation of any amount makes a big difference for the birds of Wisconsin!