Red Wing Nature Notes

For the last couple of weeks there have been more deer in our yard than usual. I am sure this is because the white oaks have been dropping their acorns and the deer come to feed on them. At night you can hear the acorns falling through the leaves and hitting the ground.

Something about nature that is difficult to fully appreciate is the meaning of timing. Bruce mentioned in a previous post that finches nest according to when thistles bloom. I see this as an example of how plants seem to take turns bearing fruit and specific animals live with a rythm that allows them to take advantage of this timing.

The white oaks are nearly done dropping their acorns now and you might wonder what the next course will be on the late summer menu. I noticed this morning that some red oaks are just starting to drop their acorns. In a few weeks they will be done. We will have to pay attention to see what comes next.

White oak and red oak  are general catagories that describe many species of trees. White oaks have rounded lobes on the leaves where the group of trees that fall into the catagory of red oak have leaves that are more pointy. The most common white oak around my house is the burr oak. The cups that hold the acorns of the burr oak look like burs.

A question to anyone who might know:

We planted a maple tree in our yard two years ago which we purchased from Sargent’s Nursery. It seems healthy, but I notice the bark around the trunk about a foot off the ground looks loose and dead. Does anybody know what this is and if it is cause for concern?

Chickens have been part of our life this summer. We bought seven hens in April and they are just begining to lay eggs now. It seems everything in nature wants to eat chickens. We worry about Great Horned owls, coyotes, racoons and weasels. We’ve managed to lose only one chicken so far. It is ironic that the the damage was caused by a cat, a creature that probably survied in the wild for less than a week.

Barn cats occasionally make their way across the field from the neighboring farm. They are never around very long. I have seen evidence that they get eaten by coyotes.

It seems unatural that hens lay eggs without any help from a rooster. They will lay almost one egg a day until the days get too short. It seems nature still has a hold on chickens, they remember that the short days of winter are no time to be laying eggs.

To counter this we have solar lights that collect the sun during the day and shine into the roost at night. The structure in the photo is a little coop called a “chicken tractor”. It has no bottom, wheels on one end and handles on the other like a wheel barrow. It can be moved around the yard so we never have to shovel chicken manure. The back of the tractor has a little door to access the nesting box for gathering eggs.

Early Monday morning following the heavy boat traffic from the weekend, I decided to paddle my canoe into the Wisconsin backwaters at the head of Lake Pepin to check on the white pelicans and any evidence of the arrival of the fall season.  By launching my canoe early, I hoped to avoid paddling across the main channel  and being  challenged by huge wakes resulting from large cruisers travelling up and down the river.  Surprisingly, I still encountered one large boat.  Equally surprising, the operator of the boat slowed down and the resulting wake was only three feet high instead of the usual six footers.

Once in the backwaters, I found several small flocks of pelicans gathered here and there.  However, the large flocks of several hundred that I reported last week, appeared to have moved on downriver on their migration.  One of the photos that I have included is of a flock resting on a small island in view of the Bay City water tower.

I am frequently asked how to distinguish an adult from a young pelican.  Hopefully my second photo will show you the difference.  Adults have a bright orange bill while the young possess a pink flesh colored bill.

As I was paddling around the very shallow backwaters, large carp would be frequently spooked and crash into the bottom of my canoe.  If lost in thought, such activity can easily startle a person.  In addition to the smaller flocks of pelicans, there were several other signs that the fall bird migration had commenced.  I observed many great blue herons and an occasional great egret.  Incidentally, in the past week, I have seen numerous egrets feeding in the shallow waters along the shore of Mud lake near highway 61 heading into Wisconsin.

My most surprising observation was that beaver are already beginning to gather their stash of  willows for a winter food supply.  These willow saplings will be transported and piled near the entrance of their lodge.  Once the ice freezes on the river, they can still get to this underwater food supply.

Changing the subject.  For those of your who like to harvest some of nature’s bounty, the wild plums are now ripe.  For years, I have gathered these fruits which can be made into excellent jam or sauce.  Look for these plum trees along the edge of the woods or on fence lines.

Finally, I have included another view of the butterfly that I posted last week.  Thank you to those who responded with their suggestions on identification.  Because of range and coloration, I am leaning towards the female eastern tiger swallowtail.  On a related matter, I read this week that a study conducted by the U of M has found the monarch population in Minnesota to be down by 38% this summer.

I’ve been mowing 60 acres or so of field recently. The land neighbors our land and belongs to my brother. It has been out of crop production since my father bought it thirty five years ago.  To fulfill the requirements of the set-aside contract it must be mowed periodically. The land is not planted in crops, never the less it is very productive in a different way. All of these are cell phone photos.

When I’m mowing I sit for hours watching vegitation fold under the tractor and get chewed up by the Brush Hog. I have become aware what looks like grassy expanse of fields is a patchwork of different environments.

There are patches of fine grass that would make a nice lawn if you kept it mowed, other damper areas suppor a wide, thick bladed grass that lays down under it’s own weight, the mower bogs and I have to shift to a lower gear to get through it. There are large patches of yellow cone flowers and thistles. There are areas that have been over-run by wild parsnip…

I’ve wanted to watch coyotes for some time. Since it is so common to hear them at night its only natural to want a good look at one. But it has been almost imposible to get more than a glimpse, because the coyotes are like ninja. They move through the landscape but you don’t see them.

A couple days ago I was mowing through a patch of raspberries thinking about what a waste it was to simply mow them down when I saw a buck and a doe along the field edge watching me. It was interesting that they watched my progress for some time and didn’t run until I was quite close. I crested the next rise to see another expanse of field before me and there were two coyotes sitting in my path.

As I got closer they stood up and watched me like they hoped I might just drive by so they wouldn’t have to move. Seems like I caught the ninjas at break time. Finally they trotted into the woods. On my next cirlce around the field fifteen minutes later both the deer and the coyotes were back in their previous positions.

So far I’ve spent about ten hours on the tractor, swallows follow me swooping to catch the insects I stir up. I’m covering every inch of grassy land. I mow over small ash trees, oaks, cherry and thorny locust trees. They make a loud chunking noise as the brush hog grinds them up.

In previous posts I have mentioned a grassy area that seems like it would be ideal to lay down in and take a nap. I’ve also mentioned that every plant in this areas seems to have ants on it. It is clear to me now it would be a big mistake to lay down in this grass. There are hundreds of ant hills, some of them several feet across. Some of them are are like towers of dirt held together by grass. The Brush hog blows them to bits leaving a scar of dirt in the field crawling with ants carrying larva to safety.

There are other areas of soft ground. When the tractor tires sink in them rodents(voles, I think) scurry away in every direction. Sometimes these areas no longer have rodents, but the sod has been turned over as if someone with a spade or shovel has been through turning over the sod.

Initially I thought these must be caused by coyotes seeking the voles and I think this is partially right, but I am wondering if we might have a population of badgers in the area. There are many active and inactive holes eight to ten inches across with large of piles of dirt next to them.

I’d be very curious to know if anyone knows about badgers. I would like to figure out what is making the holes. It would also be interesting to find out what mouse-like rodent lives in colonies just under the surface of grassy fields– Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Throughout most of the summer, there have been a small number of non-breeding adult white pelicans that have been hanging around the backwaters at the head of Lake Pepin.  These majestic birds with a nine foot wingspan have been taking advantage of the low water conditions of the river because it makes the catching of fish so much easier.  Unlike the brown pelican that is very common along the Gulf Coast which dive for fish, the white pelicans form long lines and herd their prey into shallow water to catch them.

 In the past ten days, the number of pelicans have increased into the hundreds at the head of the lake.  Elmer Sprick, a friend from Lake City and a fellow admirer of nature’s wonders, recently reported sighting hundreds of pelicans flying between the mouth of Wells Creek and the mouth of the Rush River near Maiden Rock. These birds originate from a broad area and congregate here in preparation of their migration to the wintering grounds along the Gulf Coast.  As long as the water levels remain low and they can find plenty of fish to eat, they will remain in the area as late as the end of October.

Last Saturday while conducting my hike at Frontenac State Park, we came across a most unusual flowering plant called Indian-Pipe (Monotropa uniflora).  What makes this plant different is that it doesn’t contain chlorophyll.  It is a saprophyte and receives it’s nourishment by feeding on roots of photosynthetic trees.

The last week to ten day I have seen several twin fawns tagging along the their mothers.  They are getting big enough that the does are leading them out of the protection of the woods and into open fields.  Despite the fact that the fawns are growing, many still have their white spots.

In my last post of August 5th, I featured the blooming of the spotted touch-me-not along the Cannon river.  This plant is commonly known as “jewelweed”.  That names is derived when droplets from rain or a heavy dew form jewels on the plant when in full sunlight.

As you hike local trails or drive township roads lately, you should come across two new wild flowers that are in full bloom.  First is the Spotted Joe-Pye-Weed (Eupatorium macutum) which grows best along streams or wetlands.  Joe Pye was an Indian practitioner from New England who gained fame by curing typhus with joe-pye-weed. It is still used today in a number of ways by several Native American tribes.

The other commonly seen colorful wild flower is Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) and grows best in a prairie habitat.  This plant is known for it’s fragrance and is a source of oil of thyme.  Native Americans have long recognized this plant for it’s helpful herbal qualities.

To conclude this post, I recently managed to photograph a swallowtail butterfly feeding on the orange colored blossom of the butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa).  Once again I need help with identification.  I have narrowed it down to either an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (intermediate female) or a Black Swallowtail.  Does anyone want to contribute their ideas?  Thanks…

I no sooner pressed send on my computer than I had a call from John Wollenberg who is the Assistant Manager for the Lac qui Parle Wlidlife Management Area near Watson, Minnesota.  He informed me that at Marsh lake they have one of the largest nesting colonies of white pelicans in the upper midwest.  This year they had approximately 13,000 nesting pairs of birds.  Once the young birds fledge, they leave the rookeries within a week.  That would explain the rapid build up of birds around here in the past few days.

Today our Mayor John Howe stopped by my house with an eyed click beetle, common name for members of the widespread beetle family Elateridae. Also called elater beetle, the click beetle has a hinge across the front of the body that allows it to flex, and a spine-and-groove arrangement on the underside of the body that provides a snapping mechanism. When a click beetle is turned on its back it cannot right itself by rolling onto its short legs. It arches its body upward so that only the ends touch the ground, then straightens suddenly, causing the spine to slide into the groove. This sends the beetle spinning through the air and produces a loud click. If the beetle lands on its back again it repeats the performance. A click beetle also snaps its body when it is picked up, which may cause the predator to drop it. The markings on its back appear to be two large eyes. Click beetles have long, flat bodies, generally rectangular, but curved at the ends. They range in length from 1/4 in. to 4 in. (6.4–102 mm); most are black or brown. Most adults are nocturnal leaf-eaters. The larvae, called wireworms, are destructive to a large variety of plants including corn and grains. Some tropical click beetles are brilliantly luminescent. Click beetles are classified in the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Coleoptera, family Elateridae. The eyed click beetle does not appear to normaly live in this area, so is this part of their natural area? If it is not normal the second question would be how did it get here?