Feb 2001 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society

8/9/2019 Feb 2001 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society

1/8

The Karner Blue But t erf lyWhy t he big f uss over such a lit t le crit ter?

Free Public Program

What: David Lien on the KarnerBlue Butterfly H abitat Conservation

Plan.

When: Tuesday, Februar y 20, 2001

7:00 p.m. - Refreshments

7:30 p.m. - Program

Where: Bolz Aud itorium, Meriter

Hospital, 124 Brooks St. Madison

Parking: Meriter Hospital paid

parking ram p across the street, on

the street, or Lot 51 north of Regent

and Mills St.

The Karner blue has a w ingspan

of barely one-inch, and as its name

implies, is mostly blue in color. It is

totally depend ent on w ild lupines in

its larval stage. It typically lives in

dry, sandy op enings, usu ally found

in oak savann as, jack pine barrens,

and d une or sandplain comm unities

across mu ch of central and north-

west Wisconsin.

These barrens have d eclined dra-

matically over the past several

decades. The loss and fragmentationof its savanna barrens h abitat due to

development, agriculture and silvi-

culture is the primary cause of the

Karner Blues decline. It is now on

the federal endangered species list.

While most sp ecies seem to r ely

on the stability and even continued

isolation of their habitat, the Karner

Blue d epends on d isturbances like

fire, timber h arvest and planting,

and herbicide treatment.

Disturban ce restarts plan t succes-

sion, thus accommodating the lightloving needs of the Karner s lup ine

host.

After nearly six years of work, the

DNR and 26 other pu blic and p rivate

partners have begun imp lementing

an extensive, statewide habitat con-

servation plan based on the un usual

unique needs of the butterfly. The

plan integrates butterfly conserva-

tion with existing land use to help

ensure the long-term protection of

the Karner blue bu tterfly across more

than 260,000 acres in Wisconsin.

Dave Lentz is the WDNRs Karner

Blue Habitat Conservation Plan

Implementation Coordinator. Since

1995, Dave has gu ided the Karner

blue butterfly H CP development

process, and n ow, ad ministers the

statewide permit and coordinates the

efforts of 27 pa rtners in im plemen t-

ing the H CP across Wisconsin.

Join us to learn more abou t this

uniqu e butterfly and the historic

partnership d eveloped to save it.To learn m ore abou t the Wisconsin

Karner Blue Butterfly H abitat

Conservation Plan, visit the DNRs

website

http:/ / www .dnr.state.wi.us/ org/ la

nd/ er/ publications/ karner / karn-

er.htm o r by calling th e Karner Blue

Hotline at 877-4KARNER (877/ 452-

7637).

This program is co-sponsored by

the Un iversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Depar tmen t of Wildlife Ecology.

You are invited to m eet withMadison Aud ubon board m embers

and friends at the pre-program din-

ner at Paisans Restauran t beginning

at 5:15 p.m . Please call the office at

608/ 255-BIRD (255-2473) if you have

questions.

March m eeting: Ricky Lien on u rban

geese

THE AUDUBON

NEWSLETTER

OF THE

MADISON

AUDUBONSOCIETY

222 S. Hamilt on St . / Madison, WI 53703 / 255-BIRD / ht tp://madisonaudubon.org FEBRUARY 2001

CAWS needs new edit orPat Ready, CAWS Editor

Do you wan t to work on this

award winning new sletter? Do you

have a couple hours per month to

ded icate to MAS? Then this may be

the volu nteer job for you . A little

editing from email messages is all

thats need ed each mon th. Seeking a

smooth transition, I am willing to

assist/ train for a couple of issues.

Anyone interested in this MAS

Board and volunteer position shou ld

contact the MAS office at 255-2473,

email: [email protected] orcall me for details at 873-1703, eves.

Also in this issue:

Winter field trips, p. 2

Great Backyard Bird Coun t, p. 3

Christmas Bird Coun t Results, p. 4

Adop ting a Prairie, p. 6


2/8

Z027xCH

MADISON AUDUBON SOCIETYPresid ent: Joanne Her fel, 241-8009Vice-presid ent: Am y McDan iel, 238-0450

Goose Pond Resident Natu ralists:

Mark and Sue Martin, 635-4160

Editors : Pat & Deb Read y, 873-1703

pr ead y@ku .com

Graph ic design: Pat Ready

Printed by Roemer Printing

The mission of the Madison Aud ubon

Society is to educate our m embers and the

public about the natural world an d the

threats that n atura l systems are facing, to

engage in advocacy to preserve and p rotect

these systems, and to develop and maintain

sanctuaries to save and restore natural

habitat.

JOIN M ADISON AUDUBONStudent/ Senior: $15

Introductory membership: $20

Basic: $35

Foreign: Add $10 in US fund s.

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE Z IP

____I do not w ish to receive AUDUBON maga-zine

____The National Audubon Society occasional-

ly makes its mem bership list available to care-

fully selected organizations w hose mailings

you might find of interest. To have your n ame

omitted from this list, please check here.

P lease en c lo se y o u r ch eck p ay ab le to

Nat io n a l Au d u b o n So c ie ty an d mai l to

Madison Audubon Society, 222 S. Hamilton St.

#1 , Madison , WI 53703. Memb ership s are

shared with National Audubon and all mem-

bers receive Audubon magazine.

Late w inter f ield trips forbirding enjoymentSatu rday, Feb . 24: Late Winter Birds

or Very Early Sprin g Birds

On th is morning trip w e will leisure-

ly drive the roads of northern Dane

and Southern Columbia counties. This

trip w ill go north to Goose Pond , the

MacKensie Center and maybe Mu dLake. Arou nd Goose Pond w ell search

for snow buntings, longspu rs, hawks

and the elusive snowy owl. At the

MacKensie Cen ter w ell check feeders

and woods for nuthatches, crossbills,

woodpeckers and other woodland

birds. At Mud Lake, we may hike a

trail searching for ow ls.

Meet to carpool and leave at 7:00

a.m. in the pa rking lot of the Kohls

superm arket at the intersection of

Allen Boulevard and Century Ave.

(Hwy M) in Midd leton. Dress warmlyas we w ill walk some and it is likely to

be cold. Bring binocu lars and a spot-

ting scope if you h ave one. Also bring

a snack as the trip w ill last 4-5 hour s to

about n oon. Call trip leader Aaron

Stutz at 232-1756 if you have ques-

tions.

Friday, March 9th: NIGH T OWLS

Al Shea w ill lead th is evening trip to

call and listen for winter ow ls at vari-

ous locations in Dane County. The trip

will last three to four hours. There is

a limit of 15 participants.

To join th is trip, call the M.A.S.

office at 255-BIRD (2473), leave your

name, telephone number and how

many p eople are in your group

(maximu m 4 peop le per group). Al

Shea w ill call you back to let you

know if you are registered for thetrip. Preference will be given to

those who have not p reviously been

on one of Als owl trip s.

The weather sensitive nature of

owl listening may resu lt in post-

ponem ent of this trip to Sun day

evening, March 12. Registered p ar-

ticipan ts will carpool at 7 p.m. at the

shelter in UW Park ing Lot 60 at the

north end o f Walnu t Street. We will

CAWS Newslet ter Subscript ions AvailableI am not a m ember of National Audu bon, but am interested in receiving

The Aud ubon CAWS newsletter to stay informed of chap ter activities. Ive

enclosed $10.00 payable to Madison Au du bon Society to cover printing an d

mailing for one ann ual year.

Mail to: Mad ison Au du bon Soc., 222 S. Ham ilton St. Suite # 1, Madison,

WI 53703

THE AUDUBON CAWS is publishedSeptember through July by:

Madison Audubon Society,

222 S. Ha milton St.,

Mad ison, WI 53703,

(608) 255-BIRD (2473).

Bird ing hot line, 255-BIRM.

Madison Audu bon Web Page:

http:/ / madisonaudubon.org

E-mail: masoffice@mailbag .com

E-mail services donated by Berbee

Contribu tion dead line is Febru ary 12

for the March issue, for which items

may be sent to Pat Ready, 1210

Oakw ood Ct., Stough ton, WI 53589.

pr [email protected]

meet regard less of the weather, so

dress warmly. Riders are expected to

share expenses with car d rivers.

Satu rday, March 10: EARLY

SPRING MIGRANTS

Steve Thiesen w ill lead t his early

morning field trip to Mud Lake in

McFarland . Mud Lake is usually the

first body of water to thaw in our

area, so it attracts good concentra -tions of early spring m igrants, espe-

cially wa terfowl.

We will meet at 7 a.m. near

McDonalds at South Towne off the

South Beltline or m eet at 7:15 a.m. at

the south end of Lewis Lane in

McFarland. Wear w aterproof

footwear, dress warm ly and bring a

scope if you h ave one. If you have

qu estions, call Steve at 873-3323.


3/8

Garden Expo February 9-11A natu ralist from MAS will be pr esenting two seminars entitled

Tallgrass Prairie Restoration at the Gard en Expo at the Dane Coun ty

Expo Center, Febru ary 9-11.

Exhibitors have d isplays set up and some have items for sale in the m ain

hall. Seminars run concurrent Friday evening through Sun day afternoon. A

variety of gardening topics are covered including n atural landscaping,

annuals, perennials, pruning, planning, fertilizing, flowers, birds and bor-

ders to name a few.

Seminar s that m ay be of interest to MAS mem bers includ e:Native Landscaping Prairie Ridge Nu rsery

Attract Birds to Your Backyard Chickad ee Depot

Wild Bird H aven Wild Birds Unlimited

Organ ic Fertilizers & Lawn Car e Z.W. Gard ens

Comp osting Dane Co. Public Works

4 Seasons of Interest in the Gard en Jun g Seed Co.

The Garden Expo is presen ted by Wisconsin Public

Television, Friends of WHA, and UW Extension. For

curren t information on a ll seminars, visit the WPT

Web site at www .wpt.org/ garden

Participate in the GreatBackyard Bird CountBy John Bianchi - N AS

It is well known that man y bird

species are show ing p opu lation

declines due to hab itat loss or other

hum an imp acts. Now , people of all

ages and backgrounds can help mon-

itor bird p opu lations by participating

in the 4th annu al Great BackyardBird Cou nt, Febru ary 16-19, 2001.

A p roject of the Cornell Lab of

Ornithology and the N ational

Aud ubon Society with funding p ro-

vided in p art by Wild Birds

Unlimited and Ford Motor

Compan y, and sp onsored locally by

the Madison Au du bon Society, the

Great Backyard Bird Coun t (GBBC)

combines high -tech tools w ith citi-

zen-science observations of bird s.

The GBBC asks families, individu als,

classrooms, and commun ity groups,

to count the num ber and kinds of

birds th at visit their feeders, local

parks, schoolyards, and other areas

du ring any or all of the four count

days.

Begu n in 1998, the GBBC has

engaged mor e than 100,000 people of

all ages and skill levels in the effort

to keep common birds comm on. We

are asking everyone, everywhere in

North America to take a few minutes

to tell us wh at birds they see on anyor all of the coun t days, says John

Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell

Lab of Orn ithology. By tracking

changes in bird d istribution an d

abund ance over time, such a vast

da tabase can serve as the S.O.S. sig-

nal for species that m ay be in trou -

ble. Because the GBBC charts find-

ing in r eal time, scientists have

already mad e connections between

weather patterns and bird move-

men ts. For the last few years,

American Robins ap pear farthernorth th an typ ically expected, in

areas where snow cover w as scant or

non-existent. Such correlations m ay

be suggestive of global warm ing or

other broad-scale weather changes.

This years GBBC w ill again collect

information about snow depth .

To participate in the Great

Backyard Bird Count, count the high-

est num ber of each bird species seen

at one time (to ensure birds are not

counted more than once) and keep

track of the amou nt of time spent

counting. You mu st enter your

report online by compu ter. Log on to

Birdsource at ww w.birdsource.org

and click on the app ropriate state of

prov ince for a checklist of the most

frequently reported in that region.

Add your own data. Results are

up dated hourly in the forms of ani-

mated m aps and colorful graphs for

all to view. Participants w ill be able

to see almost immediately how their

observations fit into the continent-

wide perspective. Find ings from pre-

vious years are also available at the

site.

The GBBC w eb site also includes

useful information to make partici-pation easy and enjoyable. There is a

vocabulary section, bird-watching

and bird-feeding tips, bird vocaliza-

tions, and m ore. Edu cators will find

the bibliography and geography sec-

tions especially hand y, as well as the

suggestions for conducting the

count w ith groups of kids. For those

tired of winter and read y for spring,

there will be tips abou t planning

and preparing for the spring birdgarden.

The Great Backyard Bird Coun t

is a terrific way for ind ividuals, fam-

ilies, schools and commun ity group s

to contribute to a better und erstand-

ing of birds, says Frank Gill,

National Audubons senior vice

pr esident for science. In retu rn, they

learn more about birds in the

pr ocess. I can think of no better w ay

to spend a little time on a late-winter

day.

Instructions for par ticipating canbe found at ww w.birdsource.org.

Jonathan Wilde Art onDisplay

Local artist and MA S mem ber

Jonathan Wilde w ill have a show of

his paintings at the Broden Gallery

from February 2 through February

28. Jonathan has contributed n um er-

ous p aintings for the MAS Art Fair

held ann ually at Olbrich Gardens in

May. The Broden Gallery is located

at 218 N. Henr y St. in Mad ison.


4/8

Christmas Bird Count2000By Mark and Sue Martin

Overall, 102 species were found on

the counts, compared to 108 found

last year an d 105 the two years prior.

The cold December w eather and

deep snow resulted in fewer m iles

walked and birds seen. How ever, it

was interesting to find many species

and good n um bers of some species

Counts reported are Mad ison

(MAD), Carol And erson, Tony

Kalenic, and Al Shea (owl compiler)

compiler(s); Poynette (POY) Mark

and Sue Martin; Sauk City (S.C.)Nancy Raffetto; Baraboo (BOO) Ken

Wood; Mount Horeb (MTH) Earl

Brand t; and Waterloo (WA) Kevin

Kearns. The comp ilers wou ld like to

thank all of the p articipants w ho con-

tributed their time and effort to make

the coun ts successful.

For more information on th e 70

statewide Christmas counts, see the

spring issue of the Wisconsin Society

of Ornithologys Passenger Pigeon.

Starting th is year, coun ts could be

entered and subm itted to the

National Aud ubon Society by com-

pu ter. You can check out count data

for this year and the last 100 years at

http:/ / birdsource.cornell.edu.

Madison Aud ubon Society provid-

ed fund ing for the Madison and

Poynette counts so that the results

could be included in the National

Aud ubon report. Species not found

on count day but found three days

before or after are rep resented by X.

If this is the ChristmasBird Count , w here theheck is the snow ??by Kathy Miner

And wh ats with th is bird list, any-

way? Elepaio, amakih i, Iiwi, pueo?

Whatever happ ened to cardinals,

chickadees, crows and nuth atches?

OK, now that I have you r attention(I hope) I supp ose it w as app ropri-

ate that w e first spotted the notice on

Dec. 25th. On a dream v acation to

Hawaii, glancing at a bulletin board

outside the tiny natural history muse-

um and shop in Kokee State Park on

the island of Kauai, my h usband and

I saw a flyer advertising the 2000

Christmas Bird Cou nt.

Saturd ay, Dec. 30, starting at 7

a.m., it said. Meet here on the

por ch. But first, come to the training

session on Wed., Dec. 27 in Waimea.Irresistible! A little over a week ear-

lier I had participated in the Mad ison

CBC. What a kick to help with anoth-

er one two w eeks later, four thou sand

miles away! Go ahead, said my

spouse, who know s when to hold em

and wh en to fold em. Ill bring a

book and w ait for you here on the

bench.

Wednesday evening found u s in the

neighbor hood center in the little

coastal town of Waimea. Marsha

Erickson, the executive director of Hu io Laka, the non pro fit organization

that oversees the Kokee Natu ral

History Museum, w elcomed everyone

and briefly described th e CBC and its

50-year history, stressing its citizen-

based, informal structu re. She also

explained that since the N ational

Aud ubon Society has gone extinct

on Kauai, Hu i o Laka spon sors and

facilitates the CBC there. (National

Aud ubon d oes thrive on the island s of

Oahu and Haw aii.)

Next on the p rogram w as Jim

Denny, a resident of Kauai who is a

wildlife ph otographer and bird enth u-

siast. Jim has published many articles

and photos, most recently the book

The Birds of Kauai (University of

Hawaii Press, 1999). A video is cur-

rently in prod uction. Jim explained

that there are two count circles on

Kauaione in the mountains of

Kokee and one on th e western shore

of the island . The latter usually gar-

ners the greatest num ber of bird

species. It generally includ es such

familiar (to these Midw estern eyes,

anyw ay) birds as m allards, Northern

shovelers and pintails along with the

more exotic brown and red-footed

boobies, Laysan a lbatrosses and

wed ge-tailed shearwaters, among

many others. The mountain circle

usu ally d oes not report as high aspecies coun t but does includ e more

rare bird s, in p articular several of the

famous H awaiian honeycreepers,

descended from a single ancestral

species of finch and differentiated

over many generations through an

evolutionary p rocess known as

ad aptive radiation. Jim also delin-

eated the basic rules of the CBC.

Next we were treated to Jims slide

photograp hs and video, to acquaint

us w ith more than 50 of the bird

species we were likely to encounter.After a short Q & A session, p relimi-

nary area assignments w ere made

and the meeting adjourned .

The bed & breakfast wh ere we

were staying was nearly an h ours

dr ive from Kokee State Park, so Don

and I set our alarms for 5:15 Satu rday

morning. We were out the door

before six. The Big Dipper hun g low

in the northeastern sky as we trav-

eled u p the wind ing canyon road.

Arriving at Kokee a few minu tes

before 7:00, we w ere glad w e hadheeded Marshas adv ice and dressed

in layersits chilly in th e mou ntains

in the morning!

I signed up to cover the Pihea

trail, a stretch d escribed as mu dd y,

with bad footing and steep slopes in

some areas. The grou p leader for

our little band of three turned ou t to

be Al Kingsbury of Talkeetna,

Alaska, whose niece, Jud y, is the

ranger at the UW-Madison

Arboretum! Al grew up in

Shorewood and h e and his wife

Leilani are both UW graduates.

Theyve been on an extended volun-

teer program in Kokee and h ad p ar-

ticipated in th e 1998 CBC there.

What w as that about six degrees of

separation, anyw ay?

Don never got to spend his leisure-

ly morning on the porch w ith a good

book. He was recruited into another

group at the last minute, and found

himself tallying bird s as his two com-

panions called out names and nu m-

bers.

My team found 13 species of

birdsincluding a pueo, or

Haw aiian short-eared owl. Needless

to say, many of the birds we saw

wer e lifers for me! Dons grou p

tallied 15 species. Grand total was

2624 birds, 41 species, comp ared to

3,700 birds, 42 species in the 1999count. (Lists available on request.)

Honestly now, can you th ink of a bet-

ter way to sp end a late-December d ay

than tramping the Haw aiian mou n-

tains and peering into lush foliage,

hoping for a glimpse of a nuku pu u

or a pua iohi? Not I, said the little

red apapane.


5/8

PECIES MAD POY SC BOO MTH WA

ied bill Grebe 1

reat Blue Heron 6 2 5 1 2

undra Swan 2

ute Swan 9

anada Goose 7698 116 220 77 8 445

reen-winged Teal 1 1

merican Black Duck 96 1 3 2 2

allard 3837 160 1010 648 63 551

orthern Sh oveler 194

adwall 144 21 1

merican Wigeon 7

anvasback 2 3

ing-necked Duck 5 1

sser Scaup 4 1

ommon Goldeneye 41 45 45 12

ufflehead 4

ood ed Merganser 21

ommon Merganser 35 171 337 7

uddy Duck 16

urkey Vulture 1 1ald Eagle 16 8 75 7 6 2

orthern Harrier 1 1 1 1 8

arp-shinned Hawk 11 4 3 2 9 1

oopers Hawk 24 10 5 4 5 5

ccipiter sp. 1

ed-shouldered Hawk 1

ed-tailed Hawk 127 66 45 54 83 49

ough-legged Hawk 7 31 34 30 30 4

merican Kestrel 7 7 10 3 12 8

erlin 1

ray Partridge 19 23

ing-necked Pheasant 7 20 3 2 31 10

uffed Grouse 1 2ild Turkey 38 91 236 181 286 2

. Bobwhite Quail 7 17

merican Coot 534

ndhill Crane 2

ommon Snipe 10 5 4 1 2

merican Woodcock 1

ing-billed Gull 31 1 31

erring Gull 158 13 4

hayers Gull 1

laucous Gull 1

ock Dove 643 518 434 114 312 292

ourning Dove 843 504 424 103 165

astern Screech Owl 71 3 1 1

reat Horned Owl 16 1 5 2 1

owy Owl X

arred Owl 2 1 2 1

ng-eared Owl 1

ort-eared Owl 1 2 X

. Saw-whet Owl 1

lted Kingfisher 4 1 2 1 1 1

ed-headed Woodpkr 1 2 1 7

ed-bellied Woodpkr 100 51 49 51 82 18

.-b ellied Sap su ck er X

owny Woodpkr. 281 99 89 101 137 40

SPECIES MAD POY SC BOO MTH WA

Hairy Woodpkr. 85 34 21 20 51 7

Northern Flicker 5 8 6 4 2 3

Pileated Woodpkr. 1 8 7 3

Horned Lark 80 345 381 315 229 814

Blue Jay 288 281 266 203 339 51

American Crow 2326 1215 965 691 1130 540

Blk.-cpd Chickadee 1039 401 310 302 419 165

Tufted Titmouse 10 35 13 13 56 6

Red-breasted Nuthatch 7 18 1 13 6

White-brsted . Nuthatch231 138 6 75 149 34

Brown Creeper 21 3 1 2 1 1

Carolina Wren 2

Golden-crned . Kinglet 21 3 6

Eastern Bluebird 1 38 9

Hermit Thrush 4 1 1

American Robin 349 134 47 2

Gray Catbird 2

Brown Thrasher 1

Cedar Waxwing 210 160 116 394 6 2

Northern Shrike 5 3European Starling 3046 871 602 322 1015 1747

Northern Cardinal 536 280 397 206 427 86

Eastern Towhee 1 1 1

Am. Tree Sparrow 1515 1243 1037 430 789 967

Fox Sparrow 2 2 1

Song Sparrow 95 19 22 2 19 13

Swamp Sparrow 23 3

White-thrtd . Sparrow 46 7 4 5 1

White-crned. Sparrow X

Dark-eyed Junco 2182 1434 1445 873 1509 984

Lapland Longspur 528 2081 3 10 97

Snow Bunting 30 516 67 46 21 116

Red-winged Blackbird 409 2 1Meadowlark sp. 1 1

Rusty Blackbird 6

Common Grackle 2

Brwn-headed Cowbird 98

Purple Finch 74 70 51 27 X

House Finch 883 274 199 214 172 84

Red Crossbill 2

Common Redpoll 3 8

Pine Siskin 51 3 16 16 4

American Goldfinch 728 375 239 241 521 51

Evening Grosbeaks 2

House Sparrow 2014 1056 390 267 783 923

Count Day Species 81 66 56 53 55 49

Field Observers 77 20 29 12 53 12

Feeder Observers 15 20 1 4 24 1

Parties 22 10 14 5 24 7

Date: December 16 30 23 27 30 17

Madison Audubon 2000 Christmas Bird Count Results


6/8

How To Adopt A Prairieby Susan Slap nick, Volunteer

Everything is hitched to everything

else. John Muir

A mysterious little book with a d ark

blue cover lay on the seat next to me

when I climbed into my truck to go

home. Whats this? I was hot and

happ y after having given two hou rs

saying hello and listening - a very pr i-vate introduction to the flowering face

of my adop ted prairie. I had seen her

before, ash black or crispy gold in d if-

ferent seasons, but then she was Goose

Pond Sanctuary, not family.

In early July of last year I received an

e-mail from Mark and Sue Martin ask-

ing if I would be interested in adop ting

a prairie at Goose Pond . They said it

would involve keeping an eye on the

planting, map ping p rairie species for

seed collecting, spotting an d removing

problem species such as parsnip , sweet

clover, bur dock and reed canary grass.

In so many words, they said that since

Im around Goose Pond a lot anyway,

they thought I would like to be

involved w ith a specific site, one that

is in maintenance mode - in particu-

lar, the 1993 fall planting that currently

forms the western-most border of

prairies surrounding the hou se and

outbuildings.

I wanted to say yes imm ediately. I

felt the w ay one gets (or is gotten by) anew puppy after boldly going to just

look, but I waited un til the next day

to express my enthusiasm and agree-

ment.

Before opening it, I imagined the lit-

tle blue book on the seat next to me to

be filled with poetry and life lessons - a

gift of wisdom from a friend. But its

pages were empty. When I picked it

up , a single sheet fell out containing a

note that read: Dear Susan , please use

this book to record your m emories and

events in your adop ted prairie. Markand I call it Susans Prairie in your

honor! Best - Sue Martin. It seems I

imagined right in the first place.

The first entry, July 16, 2000: Climb

the hill west of the hou se and look to

the setting sun . Ten acres of prairie

marks the nor thwest edge of the land

currently planted to tallgrass at Goose

Pond . From above, the m osaic in July

is splattered yellow with coneflowers

and sunflowers. Monarda is beginning

to bring purple, and Canad a thistle is

going from p urp le to fluffy. I clip some

of the heads of the latter and won der if

I am encouraging or d iscouraging th is

alien.

I walk the lower mow ed path, bug

juice on ankles and ear tips. One

Queen Anns lace clipped , several

curly dock clipp ed for looksPerhaps

I can adopt this association of plants,bugs and birds (and mamm als, frogs,

toads, snakes hiding from the hot sun

this afternoon) by getting rid of a few

weeds - the alien invasives.

Adopt: To take into ones family,

and raise as ones own . Thats what

the d ictionary says. I can see already

that the meaning of that word needs to

be nudged a little. After several

months of seed collecting, w eeding,

wading through leg-grabbing tangles

of grasses and forbs, smearing mos-

quito bod ies across my sw eaty fore-head , Ive concluded that adopt

embod ies the concept: to participate

in.

The July 16th entry concludes: I

will attempt to take this comm unity

into my family - but more likely, this

community will take me into its - if I

am fortunate. Who will be the

adop tee? I am glad ou r first formal

hours together were private. No other

hum ans could be seen or heard from

about 4 to 6 on this very warm Sunday

afternoon.The little blue book takes me back to

August 19, 2000: I have vacationed in

Yosemite and recovered. Visiting

Susans Prairie for on ly the second

time, I feel like a neglectful parent. Sue

says that the interns pulled weeds here

last week...I saw a kettle of vultures

north of the pond as I was applying

mosqu ito lotion coming up the hill.

Pheasants were clucking everywhere,

weather was overcast and cool.

Baptisia and milk vetch are ready to

collect. Culvers root and nodding

wild onion seem plentiful throughout,

but are not yet ripe. Glade m allow is

maturing, showy sunflowers are just

beginning to op en. Multitudes of stiff

goldenrod are first coming into bloom,

and yellow stam ens of Indian grass

are dan gling in a gentle breeze. Gaura

biennis blooms in patches, show y

goldenrod is beginning. Ironweed and

Joepye w eed are finishing, but not

ready to pick - they are fairly common

along the western edge. I managed to

pu ll a few w hite sweet clover - the

ground was qu ite wet. Evening prim-

rose is scattered everyw here, heads of

pale pu rple coneflower are not yet

ready. Single, lacy wild qu inine heads

appear in bloom throughout. Cup

plant and prairie dock flower over-

head , and I find w hat I call a compass

dock - a true Silphium hybrid - nearthe western ed ge. Asters (New

England and heath) are just beginning.

This place is very rich

In August I start collecting seed for

fall plan tings (Baptisia, milk vetch). My

prairie has matured into a lush tangle

of beauty. From August 25, 2000: I

slog through very thick growth in the

northw est section - like I was u nder

water from the w aist down.

Mosquitoes are loving m e. A couple

big birds scare up as I search.

Something else too, but it never show sitself. I see many large flattened bed-

rooms where deer likely sleep. The

glade mallow has been picked by ani-

mal or hum an, I wonder? As on

Wednesday, my boots get wet in the

grass walking back to the house after

sunset. As soon as the temperature

drops a couple of degrees, the moisture

settles out on the vegetation. When I

return with m y offering of seed, Mark

shows me trays of drying milk vetch

and pou nds of seed Sue cleaned... He

takes me back up into the prairie with aflashlight to show m e ox eye sun -

flower, says itll be blooming and

ripening for the next month. I will

return on Sund ay, if its dry.

Im sta lking clones of grass leaf gold-

enrod and heads of rattlesnake master

in October. Walking is easier - many

stems have weakened and fallen after

the first frost. Baptisia and milk vetch

pod s that I m issed earlier become visi-

ble. October 21, 2000: I feel bad th at I

didnt get it all when they were m y

pr ime collecting targets. I also feel

good that I left some for m y prairie... I

hope to begin attacking p atches of

canary grass a fter fall planting at Goose

Pond is complete. What is the feel of

my p rairie in the winter?

I see ahead that in the spring Ill

blow the du st off the little blue book

and begin filling more empty pages

with sun and w armth, colors and

sound s and smells - and gifts of wis-

dom. I have been adopted.


7/8

YES, I want to make theGoose Pond vision a reali-ty. Here is my contributionto the Goose PondCampaign.

[ ] Acre Maker. $1,000 or more tobuy and restore another acre ofland at Goose Pond.

[ ] Half-Acre Maker. $500-$999 tobuy and restore another half-acre of land at Goose Pond.

[ ] Adopt An Acre. I pledge $100a year for three years ($300total) toward Goose Pondrestoration. Here is my firstinstallment.

[ ] Nest Egg. I pledge $50 a yearfor three years($150 total).Here is my first installment.

[ ] My Ow n Vision. $ tohelp as much as possible.

Name

Address

In Memory of

In Honor of

For Gifts Honoring Another: SendAcknowledgement to (name andaddress)

Contributions will be acknowledgednear the Goose Pond InformationBoard as follows: $1,000 or more-name to appear on a permanentplaque; $250-$999-name to appearon engraved paving brick.

Acknowledge in MadisonAudubon Society Newsletter

Do not acknowledge in MadisonAudubon Society Newsletter

Make checks payable to MadisonAudubon Society and mail to:Madison Audubon Society, 222 S.Hamilton Street, Suite #1, Madison,WI 53703

Tax deductible to the extentallowed by law.

Madison Audubon Societysfinancial statement is availableupon request.

Donations help startthe New yearACRE MAKER

Thomas Schmit

Dorothy Klinefelter

Joy Froelich

ADOPT AN ACRE

HALF-ACRE MAKER

Arthu r & Susan Lloyd

In memory of the parents of Bernadine

Peterson

Bernadine Peterson

NEST EGG

Amy Ihlenfeldt

Walter Keough

Tom Helgeson

MY OWN VISIO N

Terry & Marty EvansonNan cy Pullen

George Strother & Mary Benes

Timothy Eisele

Larry & Betty ONeal

Joseph ine Darling

Sherrie & Bill Garret t

John W. Thomp son, Architect

In memory of Diane J. Flakas

Walter Kugler, Jr.

In Memory of David Holm

Willamette Indu stries, Inc., East

Coast Development Lab

In Memory of Scott Kruse

Nora Cu sack

In memory of Elbert & Agnes Watkins

Cur t & Arlys CaslavkaIn Memory of Donald C. Worel

George & Shirley Austin

Arlys Caslavka

Crestwood Elementary

Barb & Mitch Desp en

Friends of Don Worel at DoIt

William & Sarah H amilton

Pam & Kirk Krueger

Bettina Lipm an

Bill & Ginny Nelson

Catherine Pu isto & Co-Workers

Mary-Beth Rolland & Peter Hughes

Mar lys & Joe SloupDavid Sulman

David & Laurie Sun d

Julian & Dorothy Sund

Lee Wilcox

In Memory of John R. Shaw

Barbara D. Shaw

Snow buntings, longspurs and meadowlarks feed along the drive to Goose Pond.


8/8

2/01

Madison Audubon Society, Inc.Joanne Herfel, President222 S. Hamilton St. Suite #1Madison, WI 53703

Non-profit organizationU.S. Postage PaidPermit No. 1831

Madison, Wisconsin

1321 E. Mifflin St.Madison, WI 53703(608) 256-1066

MAS Calendarat a Glance

Tues. Feb. 20 MAS Meeting &

Program , p. 1

Sat. Feb. 24 Late Winter Birds, p . 2

Fri. Mar. 9 Night Ow ls, p. 2Sat. Mar. 10 Early Spring Migrants, p. 2

Tues . Mar. 20 MAS Meeting &Program

POPULATION & HABITATBy Rhond a Dix

Grant Will Make Ilt is Video AvailableWere you lucky enough to have h eard Dr. H ugh Iltis talk at the Madison

Aud ubon O ctober meeting? He spoke to a standing room only crowdand is

it any wond er?!

Dr. Iltis, an ou tspoken scientist, has a message. It is a message that even the

media rarely tackles. The topic is human overpopu lation an d how it relates to

the environment, to w ar, to poverty, and to technology.

Dr. Iltis is a Renaissance man with an impr essive list of credentials to back

this up. H ere are some of them:

Listed in Whos Who in America

Co-founder of The Natu re ConservancyWisconsin Chapter

1990 Feinstone Environmen tal Awar d, SUNY, Syracuse

1992 Na tional Wildlife Federation Special Achievemen t Award

1994 Distinquished Achievement Aw ard , Society of Conservation Biology

1996 Botanical Society Merit Award

1998 Botan ist of the Year, Society of Economic Botan y.

Because of a $1550 National Aud ubon grant aw arded to the Popu lation an d

Habitat Comm ittee of Madison Au du bon, the video of the October talk w ill

soon be available for pu rchase. Teachers an d civic group s will be especiallyinterested. More details will be available in an u pcoming Mad ison Au du bon

CAWS.

Special t alk by Kathleen FalkCapitol Comm unity Citizens Noon Luncheon features Dane Cou nty

Executive Kathleen Falk speaking about h er Farms and Neighborhoods

Initiative on Tuesday Mar ch 13th at th e Wilson Street Grill, 217 South

Hamilton St, Mad ison. Reserve your place by telephoning Wayne Bigelow a t

274-8472. Du tch Treat lu nch.

Documents

Feb 2001 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society