Muddy Mississippi

We were looking for a quick summer weekend trip to a new place and settled on a visit to the southwestern part of Wisconsin.  There were a few parks in the area that we wanted to see and thought it would be a nice change of scenery to visit the Mississippi River region.  We took the day off and headed out on Friday morning making our way through a heavy downpour to the southwest.  By the time we reached our lunch rest stop at Vintage Brewing in Sauk City, the rain had slowed to a drizzle.  We enjoyed a nice lunch and beers and stopped at a park alongside the Wisconsin River in neighboring Prairie du Sac.  From there, we followed a winding country highway alongside the river heading downstream.  Just in time, the sun finally started to come out.  Upon arrival at Prairie du Chien (chien is French for dog), where the Wisconsin River empties into the Mississippi River, we stopped at the Fort Crawford Museum to tour the exhibits at the former site of a pre-Civil War fort established by Colonial settlers.  Much of the fort is no longer there, but there were some interesting exhibits about the history of the site and region, including many on medical advancements since a famous military surgeon, Dr. William Beaumont, was stationed at the fort and conducted many long-term medical research projects (and also he interestingly did a stint at Fort Howard in Green Bay).

Fort Crawford Museum, Prairie du Chien

After the museum, we headed to Wyalusing State Park to do some hiking and check out some scenic views or the river.  The weather was pretty hot so we kept our hikes short, but enjoyed the views (and some trains passing by down along the river) and also stopped to see the monument to the passenger pigeon.  I was excited to see it as recognition of the human caused demise (extinction) of a species that used to be extremely common throughout the Midwest.  Conservationist Aldo Leopold was present at the dedication of this monument and offered his words at the unveiling, now captured in his essay On a Monument to the Pigeon.  Dr. Stan Temple gave some moving words at the rededication of the monument in 2014 for some more context (read more here).  We were surprised that despite the Friday late afternoon visit that we pretty much had the place to ourselves and rarely saw anyone else.

Passenger pigeon monument at Wyalusing State Park

Views from Wyalusing State Park- Wisconsin River delta as it flows into the Upper Mississippi River

After refueling and stopping for some snacks, we headed across the bridge over the Mississippi River to Marquette, Iowa and to our hotel for the weekend.  Marquette was a pretty small, quaint riverside fishing and waterway shipping village where most attractions were really close by. Including a paddleboat casino!

Casino Queen riverboat, Marquette, Iowa

The next morning, we took a short walk along the river and saw a huge purple martin colony.  Next we drove up the road a few miles to Effigy Mounds National Monument.  We enjoyed a nice hike along the North Unit of the property and learned about effigy mounds that were built by Woodland Indians (hunter-gatherer tribes) who relied on these lands from around 800-1,400 years ago.  The mounds are a few feet tall- earlier versions were conical and later developed to formation in the likeness of an animal- often bears.  These mounds were very common in southern Wisconsin and neighboring states, and were believed to be related to spiritual ceremonies and group identification, as well as burial structures. Unfortunately a lot of them have been destroyed as a result of development and land use practices. The park had some areas mowed around the mounds to get a good view, but it was easy to see how they could be missed if not clearly defined.  Definitely a good learning (and nature) experience.

Effigy Mounds National Monument, Harper's Ferry, Iowa

After the hike, we stopped at Old Man River Restaurant and Brewery in neighboring McGregor, Iowa.  It turns out there was a car show going on so the touristy town was bustling, but we had no problem getting a patio seat and enjoyed a nice lunch and beers.  Later, we stopped in a couple of antique shops back in Marquette and visited Eagles Landing Winery for some wine and music (excellent peach wine slushy!).  Later that evening, we had a very nice sunset boat ride with live bluegrass music on the river with Maiden Voyage Tours.  We saw several sites from the water, learned about shipping of cargo (mostly grain) on the river, and lots of bald eagles and other birds.  The sunset was pretty awesome too.

Pontoon sunset cruise on the Upper Mississippi River- Wisconsin/Iowa border

So many bald eagles! And a beautiful sunset.

On Sunday morning, we opted for a hike on the South Unit of Effigy Mounds National Monument to the Marching Bear Group of mounds (for an aerial view).  This unit is less often visited as compared to the North Unit, but was an enjoyable hike up the hill and we got to see some bird-shaped mounds as part of that larger complex of bears.  Not many other people around  After the hike, we started making our way back northwest, stopping in Madison (Wisconsin's state capital) for beers at Youngblood Beer Company right downtown and lunch at Scott's favorite Chinese place Ichiban Sichuan Restaurant.  Nice weekend trip- the ol' Upper Mississippi did not disappoint!

Marching Bear Group on the South Unit at Effigy Mounds National Monument

Drinks on the patio checking out the State Capitol, Madison

No Coat November

We thought the camping season was over with our late season trip up to the Porkies, but Mother Nature gave us a treat in early November that could not be missed.  Record breaking warmth- multiple days with highs in the 60s (and lows in the mid-40s!!) arrived during the first week of November.  That week would have been one of my busiest field work weeks of the year with our annual wild rice seeding, but we moved it up this year for, get this...better weather.  Very funny to miss it by a week.  Yes, it was colder the week before when we seeded, but at least there was no ice!

The first weekend in November presented an opportunity for some recreation and excellent camping weather with temperatures more like September than November.  We decided to head up the road to Door County with bikes and camping gear for a last hurrah.  The first stop was a 12 mile bike ride on the Ahnapee State Trail, a rail to trail which we haven't visited in quite awhile.  It was odd to be riding in a thin long sleeved t-shirt with all the leaves down, but it was great- not too many people on the trail and great views throughout.  After biking, we visited Bridge Up Brewing and Sonny's Pizza in Sturgeon Bay for a beverage on the patio and take out Greek deep dish pizza, which was excellent.  Also caught the draw bridge going up for a boat to pass through!  We arrived at the Peninsula State Park Tennison Bay campground next, and there was no problem getting a walk up campsite for 2 nights- and in fact, we pretty much had the immediate area to ourselves.  A camping dream come true!  That was also a little weird given that Peninsula is the most visited state park in Wisconsin and the hundreds of campsites are usually completely full throughout the summer.  Navigating the "winter camping" procedures was a little more challenging (self-registering, which restrooms are open, where to get the heated "winter water"), but it got sorted out eventually.  Of course the sun sets at about 4:15 PM, so we got things set up and took a quick ride down to the bay to watch the sunset, then it was dinner and campfire in the dark before early bedtime.  It was very comfortable sleeping with such nice temperatures, but we did have some raccoon visitors to the campsite who tried to open the truck cap to no avail!

Pizza and brews in Sturgeon Bay

Tennison Bay campground and sunset over Green Bay, Peninsula State Park

The next day we hit the bike trail along the Sunset Bike Route in the morning to get ahead of any crowds.  It was fantastic- nearly no one else encountered on the trails, gorgeous views, and a little bit of challenging hilly terrain (yes, flatlanders say things like that!).  We stopped in at the Eagle Bluff lighthouse on the route, which was boarded up for the season.  After biking we stopped at the newly constructed accessible observation tower (which Scott had a hand in acquiring the wood to build through his work) and took a ride further north on "the Island" (we previously learned this is local vernacular for the Door Peninsula north of Sturgeon Bay, which is technically an island because you have to cross a bridge over the shipping channel).  We stopped at Island Orchard Cider's takeout window to buy a few bottles of very delicious hard cider made from apples from Washington Island.  So good!  Next was a walk at The Nature Conservancy's Mink River Estuary Preserve, which we passed haphazardly but had never been to before.  We weren't really prepared and didn't know where exactly to go, but it was a nice hike anyway and we saw a few people out on the trails.  Next was a beer break at Door County Brewing Company over on the lake side (Lake Michigan proper) in Bailey's Harbor.  Interestingly, the weather was much cooler and cloudy over there (lake effect clouds), which really dropped the temperature for sitting comfortably outside.  They did have a nice fire going so that helped a little.  One group of bikers were in shorts and were absolutely freezing so they didn't stay long.  After a bit, we picked up takeout dinner from our favorite restaurant Coyote Roadhouse and took sandwiches back to the campsite for early dinner.  Another sunset, and another long dark night (with less raccoon activity).

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, Peninsula State Park

Nicolet Bay, Peninsula State Park

Sunset at Tennison Bay, Green Bay, Lake Michigan

One of the interesting experiences camping at Peninsula was the habituated wildlife.  These are packed campgrounds and the wildlife seems to know that people are suckers for feeding them or they can easily steal food and trash.  Before we left, one of the resident turkeys literally walked right up to us, and got really excited when I moved a grocery bag around thinking I was feeding him.  I had to chase him off to get him away from the truck.  A red breasted nuthatch also flew up to me and landed right on my finger the day before (Snow White moment!), and several chickadees hung around regularly.  While it's cool to see wildlife up close, this is a bad sign for the animals.  They become so dependent on people that they don't learn to take care of themselves.  Plus it's dangerous such that they could unintentionally hurt someone or be hurt themselves.  I hope they make it through the tough winter.

Tennison Bay campground's way too friendly turkey.

The next morning, it was up early to pack up and head home.  What a nice reprieve and a more positive camping trip for the end of the season!

On the tribal lands of the Pottawatomi, Menominee, and Odawa peoples. https://native-land.ca/ 

An owl adventure

For the last two years, we had a pair of nesting barred owls in our yard.  It has been so fun to watch them and hear them regularly during the nesting season.  It's amazing too how comfortable they are in a neighborhood with all the sights and sounds of kids playing, lawn mowing, cars, etc.  We were glad to start seeing the owls again in the early spring (first sighting on March 19) calling to each other and hanging out together.  In April, we started only seeing one, suspecting that the female was sitting on a nest.  They chose a nesting box in our next door neighbor's yard both years- interestingly enough, one that was in a little bit of disrepair and was missing the roof.  It turns out that barred owls like a box design with only 1/4 roof, so it was the perfect spot!  A sighting of the male bringing food to the box confirmed our suspicions.  By early May, we could hear young inside the box begging for food.  We had one really interesting night where I think we watched them hunting and bringing food to the box for hours.  They seemed to be very good hunters and were quiet and stealthy bringing their deliveries to the nest.

Beginning on May 17, we had a pretty significant weather event with lots of rain, high winds, and flooding.  It ended up raining pretty hard for nearly 3 days and winds were extremely gusty out of the north, which means they were a lot colder.  On a Monday morning in the middle of the storm, our neighbor called us first thing and said that his box fell off the tree and to the ground.  We immediately went over and found an owlet seeking shelter under the remains of the now broken nesting box.  He was reasonably protected, but the ground was very wet and there was enough of a chill in the air.  We called in some extra advice and decided that we would build a makeshift nest for Owlet to get him/her off the ground and back up safely in the tree.  I knew from my experience interning with a wildlife rehabilitation center in New Jersey that putting nestlings in a basket (with drainage) near the original nest site is the best way to reunite them with the parents.  As much as we want to help, parental care is the number 1 best option for all wildlife.  The parental instinct to feed and care is so strong that often they can overcome their hesitancy about the new nesting situation.  It's also a myth that birds will abandon their young if people touch them- most birds do not have a sense of smell (the turkey vulture is the exception to find carrion) and can't "smell"/tell that their young have been handled.  We gathered the needed materials for the nest and went back over for the operation, and Owlet was right where we left him.

The makeshift nest consisted of pine boughs in the bottom of a dollar store basket that I use for garden tool storage bungee-ed into Scott's tree stand that he uses for hunting.  We set it up about 10 feet up the tree in the pouring rain, and put a wooden roof overhead and a wooden platform in front of the basket.  It looked pretty good.  I knew when I went to get Owlet that would be an important moment.  If he fought me to protect himself, he likely was in good health, so as much as I love owls, I knew that's the preferred way this could go.  If he was lethargic, the situation could have been more serious.  I donned some gloves and picked him up to place in a box for the ride up the ladder to the tree stand and luckily he was very lively flapping his wings and biting me.  Aside from being a little wet, he seemed fine.  The parents were also still in the area and watching us intently.  We placed him up in his new nest and he sat quietly there for the rest of the day, occasionally shaking himself dry under his new roof and preening his feathers.  The most important aspect of the operation was that the parents needed to accept the makeshift nest and come back to feed, as he was still entirely dependent on their care.  We saw the parents around, but did not catch them coming to feed.  I also didn't hear them when I went out with Teddy before bed.  

The next morning, I went out right away and confirmed Owlet was in the nest.  He seemed very alert and watched me watch him with my binoculars from a reasonable distance.  I set up the spotting scope inside to watch the nest while I ate breakfast, and just happened to catch the parent silently come to the nest with food.  YES!  I knew this was a very good sign for the little Owlet.  He spent the rest of the day in his basket nest, just looking around and watching the world go by.  On the third morning, he was still there and just as alert.  As we again watched him while having breakfast, Scott noted that he was standing up on the edge of the basket and was worried he would fall.  Next, he was out of the basket and on the platform.  Next he awkwardly flew down to the ground!  This also was a great sign.  Owlet left the nest under his own power this time, which meant he was ready to fledge.  This is a critical time in the life cycle of a young bird when they are mobile enough to leave the nest and explore but cannot fly yet.  We watched him walk all around, climb logs, and explore his surroundings.  As you can imagine, this is a dangerous time for young birds because they cannot fly away from danger and instinctively stay quiet and hide to protect themselves.  The parents still provide constant care and will still feed him for a few more weeks as he learns his way.  We have been seeing less and less of the owl family now as they move away from their nesting site.  We hope Owlet is enjoying his new freedom!  And we'll be helping to build a new nesting box if they decide to come back next year.

Parent bringing a mole to the nest on May 6.  Photo by Scott.

Owlet's box fell during a spring storm on May 18, but he knew to stay inside!

Photo by Scott.

Appearing a little ruffled, but unharmed and lively during return to the makeshift nest.  Photo by Scott.

Owlet's new temporary home in the same tree.  Owlet curiously watched the photographer.  Photo by Scott.

Grainy photo through the window when parent came by to feed at the makeshift nest during early morning on May 19.  

Owlet decides it's time to go on May 20, this time he leaves under his own power!  Photo by Scott.

The remnants of Owlet's temporary nest, including poo near the bottom of the photo, a regurgitated pellet near the top, and bird parts throughout.

An evening with the cranes

I signed up for an evening program at Navarino Nature Center, about 40 minutes west of Green Bay, to see the sandhill cranes congregate at the end of the day in early October. We arrived at the nature center barely in time right at 6 PM and the group hurried out to the trailhead overlooking Pikes Peak flowage. There were many cranes calling when we arrived- they tend to congregate in larger groups this time of year to prepare to move south when conditions warrant. We saw a later stage of migration a few years ago down on the Wisconsin River with Aldo Leopold Foundation. 

We walked about half of a mile up a ridge trail to an observation deck. Our guide was the director of the center who shared lots of details about the nature center upcoming events, the wildlife area, and the cranes. At dusk, many of the cranes flew right over our heads to find a spot in the flowage for the night. There were up to a couple of thousand cranes, along with lots of geese and mallards in the wetlands. It was a nice evening to just watch it get dark and enjoy the sounds of the marsh. As it was finally getting dark, we walked the trail back to the vehicles and were on our way back to the old grind.

Backyard visitors: Part 2

Well, we (they) fledged an owlet! One night we saw a form standing on top of the nesting box where we had guessed the barred owl nest was located. And sure enough, there was a little owlet standing there! He would glance around at all the neighborhood sounds, but stayed there for a few days. Once a baby bird leaves the nest, they are called a fledgling.  This guy would have been too young to feed himself and not a great flier just yet.  So they hang around the nest site and the parents will still feed them and watch out for them.  We did see the parents chase off another intruder owl that flew in.  They snapped their bills at him and a minor fight ensued until the interloper moved on.

Both parents were together often (they have the same plumage, but the female is the larger one) watching over the owlet and watching us as well as preening and feeding each other. So cool to have an up close and personal chance to share the neighborhood with them. After a few days, the owlet was no longer at the box and the parents started moving around more and were visible to us less often. Hope the young owlet continues to learn about his new home and is enjoying our woods.  And I hope they return to nest in our neighbor's box again next winter.

 Adult hunting for frogs and toads at dusk.

Backyard visitors

As you might imagine, spring comes rather late for us in Wisconsin.  The wait is long, but the reward is great.  Lately the weather has been cool and wet, but the backyard is an captivating place this spring with all the birds (and other wildlife) that visit.  Especially exciting this year is a barred owl pair (and presumably a nest!).  The two owls have stayed very close by for a few months, reliably since about March although they are around regularly throughout the year.  I also heard young calling (begging for food) on several nights earlier in the spring (a pretty eerie screeching), but have yet to definitively locate the nest.  It is very likely they are using an owl nest box in my next door neighbor's yard since we have seen an owl entering the box a couple of times.  Just about every evening the pair wakes up, calling back and forth to each other with their "Who cooks for you...who cooks for you all?" call, or some portion of it.  I always laugh when they just do the emphasized "ALLLL" trill note since it sounds like a lazy whine.

Their antics provide some reliable entertainment for us to listen and watch them in the evenings (sometimes for an hour or more before dark).  Teddy hears them and has seen them fly before, but is much more interested in the deer and turkeys than the owls.  The second photo below Scott took of one of the owls when it was checking out Teddy.  He's too big to be bothered with, but too small to be much of a disturbance.  It's pretty wild how the owls could care less about traffic, lawn mowing, kids playing, dogs barking, the distant shooting range, and all kinds of neighborhood noise.  I asked my neighbors if they had even seen the owls in their yard- they hadn't noticed!  Aside from the owls' very distinctive call, they also often sit close by or even together.  Their flight is nearly silent, but movement is easily detected because of their size.  When they are sitting still (and now as the leaves finally emerge), they are really hard to see due to their cryptic colors.

My eyes are peeled for the young to come out of the box.  Hopefully we will have a few more owls to watch very soon!

Check out the barred owl profile on All About Birds for more photos and owl calls.  I have been trying to take a video of their evening routine to at least capture their calls- no luck yet!

Watching intently, but rarely disturbed by all the neighborhood activity.

Barred owl trying to figure out Teddy.  Photo by Scott.

Always near by, but incredibly camouflaged.  Can you find the owl?  Photo by Scott.

Leopold Weekend in Madison

2019 is the 70th anniversary of the publication of A Sand County Almanac, by Wisconsin conservationist Aldo Leopold.  Leopold is considered the father of wildlife management and an absolute favorite author of mine, so it has been just my luck to be close enough to many special events plus the Leopold Family Shack to learn more about his life and writing.  But there was one place connected to Leopold that I hadn't really explored yet- Leopold was the first professor of game (wildlife, conservation) management (anywhere!) and where did he teach?  University of Wisconsin in Madison.  I heard about an exhibit of some of his papers honoring the 70th anniversary of the book publication, but was disappointed initially to see that the exhibit was only open during the week at the UW-Madison library's special collections.  Lucky for me, I caught news of a special presentation and opening of the exhibit on the last Saturday of March, so I couldn't miss it!

We drove down to Madison (Wisconsin's capital city) on Saturday morning, and of course had to stop for lunch and a beer or two on the way (The Lone Girl Brewing Company in Waunakee and Working Draft Beer Company in Madison).  We arrived on the UW-Madison campus in the early afternoon and stopped in another library building to see one of John's Muir inventions (his study desk) on display.  It was pretty windy and cold so we didn't walk around for too long.  Once we go to the library and found the exhibit, I had to go through everything twice since there was just so much information and so many unique documents to see and read.  The collection included books, hand drawn maps, journals, photos, and personal items.  It was really special to see these up close and organized in such a way to highlight some of the unique details and experiences of Leopold's life.  For example, one section highlighted some communications in establishing Leopold's job with the university, including his offer letter and photos of the first department offices (which was located in a house near campus!).  After exhibit viewing time, there was an excellent presentation by Curt Meine, Leopold's biographer, about the making of A Sand County Almanac.  We also had the chance to talk with a number of folks connected to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and we got to meet Aldo's granddaughter.  Really awesome experience!

Round River and personal journals describing time traveling

Leopold's binoculars

Letter from Teddy Roosevelt, who heard about Leopold's involvement in a game protection association in New Mexico

Course catalog with game management listed.  First wildlife class ever!

Handwritten draft of The Good Oak.  Many of Leopold's hand written drafts were discarded after they were typed, but one of his grad students thought to pull them out of the trash and save them.

Icy Lake Mendota views from campus

After finishing up on campus, we drove by Aldo Leopold's house just a few blocks away on Van Hise Avenue.  No photo there since a different family lives there now and it was creepy enough to pull up in front of their house and stare for a few minutes.  After stopping by the family home, we had to hit the UW Arboretum where Aldo worked extensively while he was at the university.  The arboretum is touted as the first ecological restoration effort to bring back plants and habitats that were once there.  The university acquired the farmland during Leopold's tenure, and a number of notable folks since then have worked hard to implement different practices and bring back native species and communities right in the city.  Really beautiful property- we enjoyed a walk around Curtis Prairie and the Leopold Pines.  Would be great to go back when the prairie is in bloom!

Curtis Prairie at UW-Madison Arboretum, the birthplace of ecological restoration

The Leopold Pines, planted in the 1930s by the CCC

Arboretum turkeys!

After the arboretum, it was time for another beer/root beer- this time at newly opened Delta Beer Lab owned by a 2018 Appalachian Trail thru hiker.  I was excited to see a map of the trail and the guy's gear displayed in a corner- reminded me of Virginia!  Then it was time for dinner at Scott's favorite eatery in Madison- Ichibahn Sichuan Restaurant.  Scott often travels to Madison for work, so he knows his way around pretty well!

Delta Beer Lab is owned by a 2018 AT thru hiker!

The next morning, we spent some time shopping at the REI store in Madison, before taking a 30 minute ride to the southwest of Madison to visit New Glarus Brewing Company.  New Glarus is one of the most popular breweries in Wisconsin, and their main to claim to fame (aside from good beers) is that their beer is only sold within the state ("Drink Indigenous").  New Glarus (the town) has a strong Swiss heritage, so there are a number of shops and restaurants with the theme, as well as the architecture of the downtown.  The brewery complex looks like a Swiss Chateau and of course had the whole tourist experience- tours, gift shop, beer store, and tasting room.  We did a tasting and bought some specialty beers to take home before hitting the road back to Green Bay.  A fun weekend in Madison!

New Glarus Brewing Company