Nature News

Watch this page for weekly Bird happenings at Goose Pond, What's Happening in the Prairies, Nesting Bird Activities, and other Nature News!

Alliance Meeting

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This is where song lyrics go

We might sing at our reunion

Or we might not

Mânoa he u`i nô i ka`u `ike
I ka pi`o mai a ke ânuenue

Waikîkî i ke kai mâlamalama
He wai ho`oheno a ka pu`uwai

Nu`uanu i ka makani lawe mâlie
I ke `ala o nêia pua o ka `awapuhi

Makiki ka home o nâ manu
He u`i ke ea mai i ka lani
Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana
O`ahu ka `âina o ke aloha

Just click on 'edit this page' below to make changes. You can copy text from another application and paste it into the text windows here. Don't worry, if you make a mistake you can come back here and fix it.

Also, the song lyrics page isn't available to classmates yet. It will be made available when its all good.

Song title 3

Lyrics 3

Spring Comes to the Sanctuary

We help the prairie come to life with renewed vigor and less competition

Just as the Native Americans burned the prairie to ensure a lush spring growth for the bison, present day prairie managers carry out prescribed burns periodically to enhance growth of the native prairie grasses and forbs and keep out the woody, weedy invading species. To be successful, a burn has to be conducted under certain conditions (dry plant matter and atmosphere) and, by an experienced crew.

It all came together on April 15, 2006. Conditions were right that morning - a slight breeze from the east kept the smoke from blowing across Goose Pond Road, the bright sun and relatively low humidity enveloped the surface so Nature's age-old tool could do its job. Fire-fighters bearing back packs of water and garbed in protective clothing planned their positions and attack procedure, as their supply tank of more water was on the truck ready for kick-off at 9:00 a.m. on the Bicentennial Prairie at Goose Pond Sanctuary.

By 9:30 a.m. the roaring, crackling, smoking line of blaze was marching from the west toward Goose Pond road under the quarterbacking of Resident Manager Mark Martin. Co-Manager Sue Martin and her burn team were on duty protecting the borders and structures. Within an hour the prairie was a smoldering black carpet.

With fresh supply of water the team departed for other prairie parcels on the north side of Goose Pond, and without stopping for lunch went on to Sue Ames Prairie on the east side of the east pond. In all, they burned an 55 acres restored prairie. Two weeks later the prairie has changed her dress to a fresh green, showing only a few tiny black polka dots as the fresh shoots reached for the sun and blocked one's view of the charred earth.

But the carpet was far from smooth as foot-high earthen humps were exposed to be seen only for a short time when not covered by the summer's foliage - the ant hills! How busy these tiny insects must be to have turned and reconstructed the prairie soil in this fashion. Six weeks fly by and about five inches of rain and lengthening days bring the first blossoms to the prairie by late May.

On Sue Ames prairie the prolific blooms of Golden Alexander create a sunny yellow glow on the prairie, while Spiderwort adds its touch of deep blue to the palette. To help make the Madison Audubon Sanctuary prairies more useful and inviting to visitors, a driveway and parking lot has been created at each of the various sites - the western prairie and the northern prairie at Goose Pond, Kampen Prairie on Hopkins Road, the Erstad Prairie on Harvey Road, and the Otsego Marsh on Old F. Hiking trails will be developed on each of the sites.

Swans, Geese and Ducks Are Showing Off at Goose Pond - posted 3/26/2006

Resident Manager, Mark Martin, tallied up the count on the waterfowl stopping at Goose Pond and reported on March 23 as follows:

Today there are 402 tundra swans at Goose Pond. At 5:30 p.m. we counted 26 on the east pond and 360 on the west pond. A few minutes later 16 more swans came in from the south after feeding. Prior counts on March 19 found 117 swans and on March 20, we had 252 swans on the pond.

Most mornings all the geese and swans have been standing on ice. Water conditions at Goose Pond are low and there is no water in "temporary" wetlands in the local area. Moisture from the melting snows and rain has gone directly into the ground. However, lower water conditions have provided the swans with easy feeding, as they feed on arrowhead tubers on the pond bottom. Much of the time, the swans are close to Goose Pond Road.

About 1,500 geese are present including some white fronted geese. The geese spend a lot of time feeding in the surrounding corn fields. Duck numbers have been low.

PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR unless parked at the information area (scope and kiosk) on our drive (Prairie Lane). DO NOT WALK OFF OF THE DRIVEWAY OR WALK DOWN THE RAILROAD TRACKS AS THIS FLUSHES THE BIRDS.

The swan numbers will likely continue to increase in the next few days - we hope you get a chance to visit us this spring.

Cackling Goose - What's That? - posted 3/26/2006

When a knowledgeable birder identified a cackling goose on the Pond last fall, we volunteers had to ask "What's that?" Pat Ready found some information for us. It follows:

One of the newer challenges facing birders is the identification of Cackling Goose, which was split from Canada Goose last year. Cackling Goose includes several of the smaller forms (or subspecies), including Richardson's (a.k.a. Hutchins's) Goose -- which is probably the form we are most likely to encounter here in Wisconsin.

We have had some discussion about this ID challenge previously on Wisbirdn, but it has been a while. There are several good web pages that deal with this identification issue, including the one by David Sibley: http://www.sibleyguides.com/canada_cackling.htm

Tom Schultz commented: Note the very small size of these birds (compare with the larger Canada Geese that are nearby in some of the shots)--they are really only about the same size as a Mallard!

Note also the stubby little bill, the relatively short neck, and the paler, more contrasting feather edges on the upperparts (wing coverts and scapulars).

With respect to the relative bill length, look for a short bill that is only about as long as the distance from the base of the bill (at the cheeks) to the eye. The bill of a Canada Goose will typically be proportionately longer -- maybe equal to 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 times the distance from the base of the bill (at the cheeks) to the eye.

- Tom Schultz

Cackling geese have been reported in the Goose Pond area already this spring. Perhaps you can find some.

Snowy Owl Appears - posted 1/5/2006

A young male Snowy Owl came down from the north and made his appearance in the Goose Pond area in time to be counted in the Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 31, 2005.

Goose Pond Resident Naturalist, Mark Martin, explains that experience has shown that a Snowy Owl appears in the area only one year in several, supposedly when its food supply becomes short in its home territory. It will probably move about locally for a few days, and then establish a territory over which it might hunt for a few months in the winter.

This year’s first sighting was just south of Goose Pond Sanctuary; it is most easily found when it is perched high on a utility pole or branch, but sometimes can be seen on the ground when it has caught its prey. Viewers are encouraged to appreciate this big, beautiful temporary visitor, but to remember that the hungry creature is here to hunt, and keep at a distance when it is found on the ground.

Read more about Snowy Owl in our earlier posting below.

Snow Birds Coming? - posted 12/13/2005

The good snow cover this fall brings a promise of some snow birds that we don't see every year.

SNOW BUNTING - from Birds of America

Only in the depth of winter do they drift on down into the northern United States to haunt the snow-swept hillsides of the farms, and the bleak and stormy shores of New England at the bleakest and stormiest season. They are no much whiter than other Sparrows that they seem indeed like animated gusts of arctic weather as they pass along over the ground, the rear birds drifting on over to the front of the advancing ranks. ...They keep pretty closely in flocks numbering from a dozen or so to several hundred, and, though they spread over the ground a good deal in running about after seeds, they fly compactly, and wheel all together.

John Burroughs rises to his best literature as he speaks of this bird (Far and Near).

The only one of our winter birds that really seems a part of the winter, that seems to be born of the whirling snow, and to be happiest when storms drive thickest and coldest, is the Snow Bunting, the real snow bird, with plumage copied from the fields where the drifts hide all but the tops of the tallest weeds, large spaces of pure white touched here and there with black and gray and brown. Its twittering call and chirrup coming out of the white obscurity is the sweetest and happiest of all winter bird sounds. It is like the laughter of little children. ...The Snow Bunting feeds almost exclusively from the ground...Small seeds -- pigweed, ragweed, and all kinds of grass -- are his chief foods."

In "Bird Neighbors", Neltje Blanchon wrote, in 1909, about the Snowflake -- called also Snow Bunting: "These snowflakes are the "true spirits of the snowstorm" says Thoreau. They are animated beings that ride upon it, and have their life in it. By comparison with the climate of the arctic regions, no doubt our hardiest winter weather seems luxuriously mild to them. We associate them only with those wonderful midwinter days when sky, fields, and woods alike are white, and a "hard, dull bitterness of cold" drives every other bird and beast to shelter. It is said they often pass the night buried beneath the snow. They have been seen to dive beneath it so escape a hawk." Whirling about in the drifting snow to catch the seeds on the tallest stalks that the wind in the open meadows uncovers, the snowflakes suggest a lot of dead leaves being blown through the all-pervading whiteness. Beautiful soft brown, gray, and predominating black-and-white coloring distinguish these capricious visitors from the slaty junco, the "snowbird" more commonly known. They are, indeed the only birds we have that are nearly white; and rarely, if ever, do they rise far above the ground their plumage so admirably imitates." The same source describes the bird as follows: SNOWFLAKE. Called also Snow Bunting, Whitebird, Snowbird, Snow Lark. Length: 7 to 7.5 inches. About one fourth smaller than the robin. Male and female -- Head, neck and beneath soiled white, with a few reddish-brown feathers on top of head, and suggesting an imperfect collar. Above, grayish brown obsoletely streaked with black, the markings being most conspicuous in a band between shoulders. Lower tail feathers black; others, white and all edged with white. Wings brown, white, and gray. Plumage unusually variable. In summer dress (in arctic regions) the bird is almost white. Range - Circumpolar regions to Kentucky (in winter only).

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl appears in the Goose Pond area in some years. Although it appears only as a single bird, its size makes it as impressive as a whole flock of Snow Buntings. Otherwise named as the Great White Owl, at 24 inches long it is as large as the Great Horned Owl. Sanctuary resident manager Mark Martin says it is expected this year and he is on the lookout for it.

Birds of America describes it as follows:

Length, 24 inches; spread of wings, 60 inches. Color white with dark spots. Ear-tufts almost or quite lacking; 4 or 5 outer primaries notched or cut away on inner webs near tips; feet densely covered with hair-like feathers, hiding the black claws.

Color -- adult male: entire plumage, pure white, sometimes nearly immaculate but usually broken with transverse spots or bars of clear slaty brown on crown, back, and shoulders, the wings and tail feathers with subliminal spots of dusky; under parts, usually marked on abdomen, sides, and flanks with narrow bars of clear slaty brown, but sometimes wholly absent; bill black...Adult female: much darker than the adult male, only the face, foreneck, center of breast, and the feet being immaculate; portions being heavily barred with dark brown brownish-slate; the crown and hindneck spotted with same. So swift is its flight that it is able to overtake even Grouse in flight.

Migrating Visitors at Goose Pond - posted 11/23/2005

Scoping Goose Pond on Oct. 29th - posted 11/9/2005

Patience and persistence pay off when perusing the pond.

At last we can view the waterfowl that are frequenting our sanctuary pond now that the emergent foliage has died back to expose the water, and the migrant visitors are resting and feeding on our offerings. At first glance it seems we are seeing only a gaggle of geese and a massing of mallards, but tarry a while and look closely.

On Saturday, Oct. 29th, with a bright afternoon sun and a slight southern breeze, scopers found that some of our usual visitors had found our Sanctuary once again. In among the Canada Geese and Mallards we spied the white head of a Snow Goose in the blue phase, and then a Northern Pintail duck. But before long, ten Pintails were counted. Someone reported a Green-winged Teal’s iridescent head shining and soon 30 of its relatives became visible. Look closely at the geese; someone found a Cackling Goose (known also as Richardson’s Goose).

The day had been chosen for a scoping event because experience had taught that the Tundra Swans usually appeared the last weekend in October or early November. The largest of our annual guests, these beautiful snow-white aviators provide a spectacular sight when large groups stop to feed on arrowhead tubers. They stay until water freezes before they resume their long flight to Chesapeake Bay. But this year’s mild autumn weather had encouraged them to linger farther to the northwest in North Dakota and we were not able to welcome them that day. They are yet to come. Four swans were seen Monday morning, and a few more another day, but more are expected any day. They may not stay long; be advised to go to greet them when the word is out that they have arrived.

Volunteers were ready with extra viewing scopes set up to help the humans identify the various species and to adjust the scopes for the little bird watchers to get acquainted. As we checked out the gathering we found some other interesting feathered fauna. The list included Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, a possible Eurasian Wigeon but identification was not confirmed, American Coots, Ring-billed Gulls, Sandhill Cranes, and Killdeer in and near the water.

Like white confetti blowing in the wind, a flock of little snow buntings fluttered past us. Also flying by in the air were a Horned Lark, flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, a Cowbird, and two Red-tailed Hawks. And Ring-necked Pheasants made their presence known in the field around us.

Watching the movements of the birds is an added pleasure as one rests beside the pond. When many of the geese that had been out feeding in the cornfields during the day return in flocks to rest on the Pond, it is interesting to study their aerodynamic maneuvers as they drop out of the sky. And when our noisy tractor, returning with its seed stripper full of collected prairie seed, passed on Goose Pond Road, the geese at that end took wing to hop over to the west end of Goose Pond. The flock of gulls that looked like a snowbank in the distant field flew over and landed with their own particular grace.

Perhaps we will have some more mild days – take time to enjoy these sights. Sunset brings the geese in from the fields to spend the night on the Pond; it provides a colorful backdrop for the alighting flocks. It’s free. The public is welcome on Prairie Lane.

Prairie Flowers

Butterfly Weed – and other milkweeds
Editor’s Choice – By Dorothy Haines
Photos by Susan Slapnick

Ever since I was thrilled at my first view of a brilliant splash of shades of orange growing as a solitary clump in the bare sand in the Wisconsin River area years ago, my favorite “prairie flower” has been the butterfly weed. This most brilliant of the milkweeds is now accenting the color palette of the Sanctuary prairies. Search it out and take a close look — you will see why it is so impressive, even though it is named a “weed” From a distance it is beautiful, but as a close-up of its myriad of tiny flowerets with variously shaded parts it is intriguing.

The magnificent yellow-orange flower clusters are born on a single hairy stem that branches at the top and may be up to two feet tall. There may be several clusters about two-four inches in diameter, but each flower is a tiny composition one-third inch across. The five sepals are bent back and curved, while the petals are upright, surrounding the nectar-producing flower, which attracts the butterflies. It grows bushier as it gets older.

Butterfly weed is a member of the milkweed family that includes the much larger common milkweed with a pale flower; the tall, thin purple-flowered marsh milkweed, and several other smaller members with white or green flowerets. The state-threatened wooly milkweed is also found on a prairie remnant at Goose Pond. This rare milkweed is long-lived and no pods have been observed.

Butterfly weed differs from its relatives in that the juice produced when the stem is damaged is watery rather than the sticky milky sap in the others. It has a long taproot that helps it withstand droughts. Like its relatives, it produces its seed attached to silky filaments and packed in a pod. Only a few of the flowers actually produce a pod, which is narrow, hairy and shaped like a spindle. If all the flowers were pollinated all the pods were be too heavy for the plant to support.

Legend has it that pioneers and native Americans used boiled butterfly weed roots to treat diarrhea, asthma and other respiratory illnesses, while other references mention its use as a cure for warts and skin problems. One of its common names is pleurisy root, indicating another medical use.

The botanical name for the milkweed is Asclepius. Who named it for this Greek mythological god of healing and why is unknown to this author.As a member of the milkweed family, butterfly weed is important to the Monarch butterfly. Monarchs need milkweed to survive. The butterfly lays its eggs on milkweed plants. The growing larvae (caterpillars) eat milkweed leaves. These leaves contain toxins – poisonous chemicals, which don’t hurt the caterpillar, but they do make the caterpillar poisonous to most predators. Because it eats milkweed leaves as a caterpillar, the monarch butterfly is also poisonous to insect-eating predators.

As you hike through the local prairies seek out this interesting, distinguished plant, and watch for the milkweed seedpods in the fall.

Enjoy the individuals

Look for the diversity

On a short walk through two Goose Pond Prairies on July 9, 2005, Artist Gloria Welniak and Editor Dorothy Haines were able to list and photograph a number of prairie blooms. Each week is a different collection. Take a leisurely stroll through the summer prairie with a wildflower book and see how many you can find.

We were able to identify the following: spiderwort, daisy fleabane, cinquefoil, yarrow, rudbeckia (black-eyed su san) , hoary vervain, thimbleweed, rattlesnake master, prairie gray-headed coneflower, pale purple coneflower, prairie wild indigo, wild quinine, white prairie clover, purple prairie clover, lead plant, bergamot, ox-eye sunflower, common milkweed, Queen Anne’s lace.

In the process, Gloria also found a bird’s nest neatly woven of grasses and attached to a prairie plant near the ground. No wonder the farmers’ hay harvests are a danger to these grassland birds!

The traveling guests have gone. Who is still here?

BLUE-WINGED TEAL

Aside from the mallards, the most common duck at Goose Pond is the Blue-winged Teal. Twenty pairs were found nesting in the Madison Audubon Sanctuary in late May, 2005. The drake (male) teal is easy to identify by looking for the white crescent-shaped marking on the head in front of the eyes. They have a slate gray head and neck and blackish crown. The breast and sidesare tan with dark brown speckles and there is a white spot on the side of the rump. Female blue-winged teal have a brownish gray head with a darker crown and eye-stripe.

So why is it named blue-winged? The blue in the wings is obvious when the bird is in flight, but not when it is at rest on the water. Most of the upper wing coverts are blue-gray, the secondaries form an iridescent green speculum, according to description by Ducks Unlimited.The teals’ nesting and feeding habitat is just what Goose Pond provides – wetland areas within grasslands. They dabble to feed on vegetative parts of aquatic plants (algae, duckweeds, pondweeds, etc.), seeds (sedges, pondweeds, grasses, etc.) and large amounts of aquatic invertebrates found in shallowly flooded wetlands.

Teal measure 14 to 16 inches in length and weigh 0.8 to 1.0 lbs. They migrate from the prairie pothole region to wintering areas in the Florida, the Caribbean Islands, the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, Mexico, and Central and South America. Blue-wings begin migration in southern Wisconsin in mid-September and early October when small flocks are frequently seen. They are one of the first fall migrants to stop over at Goose Pond.

Northern Shoveler

The migrant waterfowl have flown on to the north, but there are still a lot of ducks on the pond.Some of them will make their homes here for the summer; we hope they like the habitat we have provided for them. Ducks like to feed on the muddy bottom of the pond, but they build their nests among the vegetation on solid ground.

Watching them in the pond is an opportunity to get acquainted with them. They often congregate in the weedy patches near the shore line, especially in the corners. They are easily identified by their large, spade-shaped bill; the male is striking with a large patch of chestnut hue on his sides. There are three known nests of shovelers around Goose Pond. Who will be the first to spot the ducklings on the pond?

Here is more information, provided by Ducks Unlimited.

Average length Male 19.4in Female 19in

Average weight Male 1.5 lbs. Female 1.4 lbs.

Breeding	Northern shovelers breed in the parklands, short- and mixed-grass prairies of Canada, and the grasslands of the north central USA. They prefer shallow marshes that are mud-bottomed and rich in invertebrate life. Nest sites are generally located on the ground in grassy areas lacking woody cover and away from open water. Female northern shovelers lay an average of 9 eggs.
Migrating and Wintering	Northern shovelers fly from the prairie pothole region through the Pacific or Central Flyway, with major stopover areas in the Great Salt Lake, Malheur Basin, and Carson Sink. They winter in California, coastal Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico, and the north and central highlands of Mexico. Wintering habitat includes fresh and brackish coastal marshes, and ponds. Saltwater wetlands are generally avoided. Northern shovelers are common winter visitor to Central America, the Caribbean and northern Colombia, and are found occasionally in Trinidad (Scott and Carbonell, 1986).
Population	Northern shoveler populations have shown a fluctuating but consistent rise since the 1950s. The 2001 breeding population survey was 3.3 million birds, which is well above the North American Waterfowl Management Plan target population of 2 million.
Food habits	Northern shovelers feed by dabbling and sifting in shallow water. Seeds of sedges, bulrushes, saw grass, smartweeds, pondweeds, algae, and duckweeds, also aquatic insects, mollusks, and crustaceans are consumed by filtering water which is taken in at the bill tip and jetted out at the base.
Description	Perhaps the most visible diagnostic characteristic of the northern shoveler is its large, spoon shaped bill, which widens towards the tip and creates a shape unique among North American waterfowl. Male northern shovelers have an iridescent green head and neck, white chest and breast, and chestnut belly and sides. They have a white stripe extending from the breast along the margin of the gray-brown back, and white flank spots. The wings have a gray-blue shoulder patch, which is separated from a brilliant green speculum by a tapered white stripe. The bill is black in breeding plumage and the legs and feet are orange. During display male will utter a repeated liquid, hollow "g-dunk g-dunk g-dunk" often in flight as well as from water. Female northern shovelers have a light brownish head with a blackish crown, and a brownish speckled body. The upper wing coverts are grayish-blue, the greater secondary coverts are tipped with white, and the secondaries are brown with a slight greenish sheen. The bill is olive-green, with fleshy-orange in the gape area, and speckled with black dots.

Ruddy Duck

Several Ruddy Duck pairs are finding the habitat around Goose Pond to be a good place to call home, and have set up housekeeping here. Some of them are lounging about on the water during the day.

As you look out over the pond, you can easily spot the Ruddy Ducks by color, shape, and their perky, sharp pointed tail feathers that are usually held spread out and straight up in a fan shape. The male’s color is mainly a brilliant rusty-brown body, with black head and a bright white patch on the throat and sides of the head. The bill is bright sky blue, slightly curved upward with a downward curve at the tip. Females have a grayish brown plumage and dark gray bill. The shape is distinctive as a chunky body, and stubby wings. It is about 15 inches long.

Look quick, because the bird you are viewing may disappear in a second!. They dive to feed on pondweeds, algae, and seeds on sedges, smartweeds, and grasses. They also eat aquatic insects and their larvae, and during the breeding season they feed mainly on invertebrates. Like grebes, they have the ability to lose buoyancy and submerge by compressing the air out of their feathers. They construct nests in cattail and bulrush over water; females lay an average of 8 eggs.

Who are the sanctuary residents?

Nesting Waterfowl

Waterfowl returned to Goose Pond this spring with the above average water levels. The Martins estimated 36 pairs of mallards, 22 pairs of blue-winged teal, 3 pairs of northern shovelers, 1 pair of gadwalls, 4 pairs of green-winged teal and 1 pair of wood ducks. Heisley Lewiston (summer intern) counted 2 (female) ruddy ducks. On some days 7-9 ruddy duck males were present but only two females.

Almost 20 nests (mallards and blue-winged teal) were found at Goose Pond and a couple hens are still late in incubation in mid-July. Five duck broods were seen at Goose Pond at one time in June but now most of the broods are on the west pond that is covered with arrowhead vegetation making brood observation difficult.

Frogs

Mark and Sue Foote-Martin completed the third and final 2005 frog count in Southern Columbia County. The-10 stop count began at MAS’s Otsego Marsh and the 10th stop was at Goose Pond. Two stops were at Schoenberg’s Marsh

	Ostego Marsh	Schoeneberg?s Marsh	Goose Pond
Chorus Frog	2	2	3
Spring Peeper	2	1	1
Leopard Frog			1
American Toad	2	1	3
Eastern Gray Tree Frog		2
Copes Gray Tree Frog	3	3	3
Green Frog	1	3	2

Two Events at Goose Pond on June 25th

June is Invasive Species Awareness Month

Help Celebrate at Goose Pond Saturday, June 25, 2005

June is Invasive Species Awareness MonthHelp Celebrate at Goose Pond Saturday, June 25, 2005. Wisconsin is celebrating Invasive Species Awareness Month in June. Amy Staffen, former Goose Pond Intern, is the Invasive Species Education Coordinator. Organizations are encouraged to conduct workshops, field trips, and provide opportunities to learn about the impact of invasive species. To learn more about other events check out http://invasivespecies.wi.gov/awareness or contact Amy at astaffen@tnc.org.

Madison Audubon will celebrate Invasive Species Awareness month at Goose Pond on Saturday June 25, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. We will learn about control efforts for invasive species at Goose Pond and spend some time searching for and removing wild parsnip. Dress in long sleeves, long pants, and sturdy shoes. Cold refreshments will be served.

Focus on the Prairie Blossoms Begins June 25

By Dorothy Haines

A new group to focus on the prairie blooms will also gather at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 25, at Goose Pond. This will be the sprouting of a project to seek out the blooming forbs along the hiking trails, place identifying markers, photograph the blooms, and incidentally learn about the varied species and how to photograph them. Participants of all ages are invited, and families can divide between this group and the Invasive Species group announced above.

Families and children are urged to attend. Assistance with digital photography of flowers will be provided. Results of this meeting and announcements of future treks will be announced right here on the Madison Audubon web site. Call Dorothy Haines at 221-1948 for more information.

May 2, 2005

Two weeks of warm weather in early April primed us to write about spring warblers and the joys of pausing at pond-side to ponder the wonders of the season. But those hopes were dashed when the cold, blustery north wind on April 23 sent the volunteers scurrying to provide shelter for the audience expected for the celebration of the Goose Pond Sanctuary’s planned outdoor celebration that afternoon.

We were celebrating the addition of 116 acres to the northern side of out property –- the largest single purchase the Sanctuary had made to date and a crucial preservation to prevent an urban development on our northern horizon. In a few hours, the shed was cleaned inside and out of debris left by the previous owners, chairs to seat the audience and tables to display information and offer refreshments were brought in, and the surrounding weeds mowed down to attest to our neatness instincts.

From the shelter of the car on May Day , we enjoyed watching the large flocks of Bonaparte’s gulls following the farmer’s land-tilling equipment as it criss-crossed the field around the east pond. The entire flock rises and falls in white waves as they move about from pond to freshly turned soil to find their “piece d’resistance” for the day. Resident Naturalist Sue Martin tells us that they are “very ‘light’ in body structure and look much like a tern. They are on their way to the boreal forests of Canada to nest in pine trees! Very interesting little birds.”

If you can add any “nature news” you observed in the Goose Pond Sanctuaries please send your description to dhaines@charter.net. Or U.S. Mail to Dorothy Haines, 6010 Jeffrey Circle, Monona, WI 53716. I will appreciate learning of your interest, because this weekly column is a new venture for this old editor.

Dorothy Haines

Waterfowl Count on Saturday April 16, 2005

Mark and Sue Martin, Resident Managers

Canada Goose	1,600
Mallard	48
Northern Pintail	2
Northern Shoveler	30
Blue-Winged Teal	47
Green-Winged Teal	34
Redhead	5
Ring-Necked Duck	8
Lesser Scaup	6
Ruddy Duck	74
Bufflehead	10
Pied-Billed Grebes	2
Northern Harrier	1
American Coot	64
Wood Ducks	2
Total	1,933

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