Advertisement That is something like the more standard tool used by many dedicated bird photographers and researchers to get closer to birds — the portable blind. Like my car, it is a place where the one can remain more or less hidden while birds get familiar with it and then approach. Most blinds used this way are camouflaged, tent-like structures like those used by many turkey hunters.
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A male prothonotary warbler guards the area around the nest from other birds on an island on the Black River’s Catgut Slough. Check out the Ridgerunner Reports photo gallery to see more pictures by Jim Solberg.
Photo by Jim Solberg |
Earlier in June, Tim Collins, a bird expert from La Crosse, invited me to use a blind he had set up on an island to observe a very special nesting situation. Tim had become involved with a project to set out artificial nests for a spectacularly colored little bird, the prothonotary warbler.
I had heard of them often whenever I was with dedicated birders. It seemed that sooner or later the name of that bird would come up in loving tones as local or migrating birds were being discussed.
I had never knowingly seen one, though sightings were said to occur on Goose Island south of La Crosse, where I visit often. So I was eager to accept Tim’s generous offer. We launched a boat from his dock and motored up Catgut Slough off the Black River to an island where he had placed some of the nest boxes.
The special boxes were recently designed and constructed by Jack Hauser from Minneapolis. He made some out of wood but the nesting “boxes” that seemed to attract the warblers best had been made from old Metamucil bottles. A hole was carved out and the jars were painted like birch bark and hung from trees on the islands. Unlike most other warblers, the PW prefers to nest in a tree cavity.
Tim monitored eight of those nest boxes along Catgut Slough while 10 more were being monitored on Goose Island. Some of Tim’s nest boxes had attracted wrens and tree swallows, but at least two were occupied by the prothonotary warblers this year. Tim led me to a blind he had set up near one of the nests where a pair of PWs had just hatched a clutch of young.
While Tim went fishing, I spent a delightful half-hour in the blind watching the pair of birds as they quickly moved back to do their duty. The brilliant yellow male spent most of the time patrolling the area around the nest vigorously chasing away any birds that dared to enter the danger zone. In a short period, he had chased away several robins, wrens, grackles and redwing blackbirds.
In the meantime, the female spent her time catching caterpillars, other insects and spiders for her young. Occasionally, the male would interrupt his guard duty to also bring in a bug or two. Surprisingly, the female was almost as brightly colored as the male, and when I first saw her I assumed I was looking at the male.
I almost regretted when Tim returned from catching a few walleyes, but soon after we got back to the dock it clouded up and a slight rain started to fall. I felt very privileged to share some time with the beautiful little warblers and their growing family. A little more than a week later, Tim called to say that the young PWs had already fledged and left the nest.
Clearwater’s creepy crawlers
Last week, I was invited to share in a completely different sort of outdoor experience. Sandy Musolf, a retired Onalaska teacher and now education coordinator at Clearwater Farm, asked me to come to the last session of her summer Creepy Crawly Insect class at the farm for first through third graders from the Onalaska School District.
The enrichment class is held on the farm premises, where the children get to experience learning in a rustic outdoor setting. They not only learned about insects but got over their initial fear of farm animals, the big typical Midwestern dairy barn and the predatory instincts of the two friendly working cats on the farm.
Musolf has noticed that children attending the outdoor classes at the farm often leave with skills and attitudes that will cross over into regular classroom situations and sometimes even inspire potential careers as veterinarians or biologists.
After introductions and a chance to show me what they had learned during the week, we all went outside to search for creepy crawlies in the yard, under rocks and in the nearby grasslands. At first, things went rather slow, but when we waded into the tall grass and swept with our insects nets, we began to come up with all sorts of interesting life forms.
It was very inspiring to me as a former teacher myself to see the enthusiasm of these city kids getting so fired up about grasshoppers, damselflies and other multi-legged critters in the great outdoors.
It was also very exciting to see that such a valuable bit of Americana has been preserved in the heart of Onalaska for children of all ages. It gives everyone in the community a chance to experience firsthand a rapidly disappearing part of our Midwestern farm heritage.
Musolf said the nonprofit organization plans to hold more classes and programs on the farm for both children and adults. You can find out more about these opportunities at clearwaterfarmfoundation.org
Whaditiz
They were purple coneflowers, a species of echinacea.
Contact Jim Solberg at nitefrogger@charter.net or (608) 782-2560.
