Fall Bird Migration: Sighting, Care and Feeding

 Guest post by Barb Duerksen, KVR Instructor 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Photo by Jack Bartholmai.

It’s fall and birds are on the move. Cold weather means fewer insects, so the birds that depend entirely on insects for staying alive must migrate–they fly south to find enough to eat.

October and November are exciting months for people who enjoy seeing birds that are flying in from farther north. Some are species that we can find only during the time of migration. 

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a migrant that I’ve seen along the roadsides recently. They are olive-colored with white wing bars and a white eye ring. They are small and energetic, flying quickly through the shrubs, weeds, and trees, searching for food and flicking their wings almost constantly. In fall the kinglets are quiet, except for a soft two-noted “jidit” call. The ruby-colored spot on top of the male’s head is usually hidden in fall. When they come back through in the spring, the males display that bright red spot, and sing a sweet warbly song. (Listen to the song and call here by clicking on the Audio button.) Most Kinglets will be gone by the end of October. They will spend the winter in the southern United States and Mexico.

 

Tundra Swan. Photo by Dan Jackson.

Waterbirds are another group of birds that migrate. They live on or near water, so when it gets cold enough for the water to freeze, they fly south to warmer places. Late October through November is a good time to find geese, swans, and many different species of ducks on ponds and rivers. Tundra Swans are huge white birds with long necks that nest in the far north Arctic tundra. When the weather turns cold, many of them fly south and east, some stopping at resting places like the Mississippi River for a time while they tank up for the rest of the flight. Many spend the winter in the Chesapeake Bay area on the east coast. Goose Island and south along the Mississippi River are good places to find hundreds of these swans in November and sometimes into early December, depending on when freezing temperatures arrive. They call constantly during migration, a high musical “hoo hoo” sound. When you hear that, look up, and you’ll see a flock of big white birds heading south east. Sometimes they migrate at night. (Listen to their call here by pressing the Audio button.)

 

Dark-eyed Junco. Photo by Dan Jackson.

The birds that can stay alive eating seeds don’t need to leave when the insects disappear. They can usually find food all winter. These birds stay here year-round and are appropriately called resident birds. Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, cardinals, Blue Jays, goldfinches, some sparrows, and many of the woodpeckers are residents who stay here through the winter. Some birds like Dark-eyed Juncos and Purple Finches fly here from the north and stay for the winter. Putting up a bird feeder in the yard is a good way to enjoy the familiar birds and learn about the new species that arrive for the winter. Birds do have a harder time finding food when there is lots of snow on the ground and it gets very cold. It is important when there is nasty weather to keep the feeders full. 

Here are some things to consider when you set out to feed birds:

Placement: Keep the feeder within 3 feet or farther than 30 feet from your window to avoid birds crashing into the window.

Cover: Put the feeder near some cover, so the smaller birds have a place to hide when predators come along. If you put a post in the ground near the feeder now before the ground freezes, you can tie your used Christmas tree to the post

Sanitation: Keep your feeders clean so birds don’t get diseases.

Safety/Predators: If you live where there are lots of outdoor cats, it’s really not a good idea to put up a feeder.

For more information about feeding birds: Visit Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s All About Birds site.  

What to feed the birds?  A simple way to start is to put out black oil sunflower seeds and a suet feeder. Most of the birds we have here in the winter like the sunflower seeds.  Woodpeckers especially like suet. You can buy suet blocks at the feed stores, or raw suet from a meat locker. You should only use the raw suet when the weather is cold, as it can get messy and turn rancid in warn weather.

 

Red-bellied Woodpecker. Photo by Dan Jackson.

Here are some birding activity ideas to inspire you to get out as we move through the fall season.

• Spend a little time outdoors on a walk or sitting still. Listen for bird calls. If you hear chickadees, look nearby for other species. Sometimes migrant birds follow the chickadees on their feeding routes. 

• After the leaves are gone and before there’s snow on the ground, the world can seem drab and gloomy. Maybe it’s time to celebrate drab. Bundle up, go out, find 10 things that you would consider drab, and take another look.

• Spend some time learning about Audubon's 121st Christmas Bird Count that will be conducted between the dates of Monday, December 14, 2020 through Tuesday, January 5, 2021. This is a great way to get involved in citizen science. 

 

Driftless Dark Skies: Autumnal Stargazing

 Guest post by John Heasley, KVR AstroEducator and owner of Driftless Stargazing

Photo of the Milky Way by Stephen Deutsch

We enjoy awesome starry skies in the Driftless. Late fall is an excellent time to be amazed by them. The skies darken earlier and the nights are longer. The Sun sets before 5pm and the sky is fully dark by 6:30pm. Mosquitoes are gone. Humidity is lower. The stars are brighter in the crisp skies. And it’s such a safe outdoor activity. Yes it’s colder, but we know how to dress for the weather. Kiddos lose heat at a faster rate, so bundle them up. You won’t be moving much, so layer for about 20 degrees cooler than the temperature.

You can stargaze wherever you are. If you want darker skies, check out our many public areas such as Kickapoo Valley Reserve, Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, Wildcat Mountain, Wyalusing, Sidie Hollow, and Duck Egg. We can be awed by the starry skies so much much more away from the glow of artificial lights. Remember that there are simple steps we can take to preserve this heritage.  International Dark-Sky Association has done the research and makes it easy to do.

Telescopes are wonderful, but you really don’t need one. There’s much to see with our unaided eyes.  Many of us already have binoculars, and we can see even more with them. They really bring out the color of stars. It’s fun to track the Moon as it rises a little later each evening and goes through all its phases during the month. Binoculars let you explore its craters and plains and mountains even better.  Venture into the sights and sounds and smells of the nocturnal world by walking when the Moon is full.  The Full Frost Moon lights up the landscape on November 29-30 and the Full Yule Moon shines down on us December 28-30. If you’re out early the morning of November 30, you might even notice a little dimming of the Moon as it passes through the shadow of the Earth in a penumbral eclipse. NASA has excellent activities such as keeping a Moon Observation Journal and sharing Moon Myths from Around the World.

Planets are easy to spot. They are generally brighter than the stars, and they don’t twinkle as much. They can be found somewhere along an arc that rises in the east, passes high in the south, and sets in the west. Venus “the morning star” is brilliant in the east before sunrise. It’s lovely with the Waning Crescent Moon on November 12 and 13 (when you might see Mercury below it) and again on December 12 and 13. Jupiter and Saturn are close together in the southwest after sunset. Jupiter is the brighter of the two and Saturn is to its left. Watch as they draw closer together until they meet in a Great Conjunction on December 21, the evening of the winter solstice. This happens only every twenty years. The Waxing Crescent Moon passes by them November 18 and 19 and again on December 16 and 17. Mars is especially bright this season and glows like an ember in the southern sky.  The Waxing Gibbous Moon meets up with the Red Planet on November 25 and December 23.

When we think of meteor showers, most of us think of the Perseids in August. But there are two great showers yet this year: the Leonids on November 16/17 and the Geminids on December 13/14. No moonlight interferes with them in 2020. Bundle up, bring a warm beverage, get comfy on a lounge chair, and look up. These bright streaks of comet dust can show up in any part of the sky. They peak after midnight, but there are quite a few to see in the evening an hour or so after sunset.

When you’re gazing at stars, it’s fun to “connect the dots”. Humans from many cultures all over the planet have seen different people, animals, and things in the sky. You should feel free to create your own and tell their stories. In the last century, the International Astronomical Union has recognized 88 constellations, about 60 of them visible from Wisconsin. Some, such as Orion the Hunter, look like their namesakes. Others, such as Aquarius the Water Bearer, require much more imagination. Use your sky map to learn one a week, and you’ll know the sky in just about a year.

There’s much more to see in the sky including galaxies and clusters and nebulas. And plenty of guides to help us. EarthSky Tonight and Driftless Stargazing give daily updates. Sky and Telescope’s This Week’s Sky at a Glance gives a great overview. Skymaps.com has a free map to print off every month. Bring it outside, turn it so the direction you are facing is at the bottom, and have fun identifying constellations and discovering galaxies and star clusters. Consider connecting with your local astronomy club such as Starsplitters of Wyalusing or La Crosse Area Astronomical Society.

KVR AstroEducators

One thing I especially miss in 2020 is sharing astronomy programs and star parties at KVR.  It is reassuring to know that folks can still be looking up together even as we keep safely apart.  Head out and enjoy the skies of fall and winter,  There’s a whole cosmos to discover.

John Heasley is an astronomy educator and stargazer who enjoys connecting people with the cosmos. He volunteers with NASA/JPL as a Solar System Ambassador and the International Astronomical Union as a Dark Sky Ambassador. For more information about stargazing in southwest WI, like Driftless Stargazing LLC on Facebook and find out whenever there's something awesome happening in the skies. Driftless Dark Skies appears monthly in the Voice of the River Valley.

Indigenous Peoples' Day 2020

Today in Wisconsin we honor Indigenous Peoples' Day. We encourage you to learn more about the sovereign nations in our region. 

Wisconsin First Nations 

A collection of resources with accurate and authentic educational material for teaching and learning about the American Indian Nations of Wisconsin, including links to each of the websites for each nation. 

The Ways 

An ongoing series of stories and resources about the Native communities around the Great Lakes.

Tribal Histories - PBS Wisconsin 

Tribal storytellers share the culture and oral traditions that have shaped their communities across generations. Stories from each of the eleven federally recognized tribes and bands in Wisconsin, plus one tribe seeking to regain its federal status.

Outdoor Learning Highlight: North Crawford Schools

Teachers and students around the country (and world!) are getting outdoors during school hours to do some of their work. And while we've known for years (long before this pandemic) that learning outdoors has many benefits, it is always so inspiring to see it first hand.

This week's outdoor learning highlight:  North Crawford Schools

Perhaps no one says it better than North Crawford Art Teacher, Brandie Myhre. "As a PreK-12 art teacher, I love taking all of my students, from varying ages and classes, outdoors to learn. It is amazing to watch nature provoke curiosity, and how observation becomes the forefront of learning. The world is limitless, and we are free to be gobbled up by nature. Taking a big, deep breath becomes easier, and life is less about the work that we have to do, and more about the work that we want to do. There is more joy, more laughter, and more time for unstructured play."

Here is one way Brandie is engaging her high school students outdoors.  Blind Photography! High school students taking photography class have been spending time outside in the school garden, using their senses to capture images. Inspired by the work of Pete Eckert, students closed their eyes and used touch, smell, and hearing to find objects to turn into compelling captures with their iPads. In this photo, a student is slowly moving around the garden, using his hands to guide him to an interesting subject. This photography class will continue to utilize the outdoor spaces for shooting macro and landscape photography in the coming months. 

North Crawford's Pre-K class consistently utilizes the outdoor space and sets up daily in the school garden to conduct class. In this photo, Pre-K students in art class are using crayons as a resist to make designs on a sheet of paper. The following week students will use watercolors to paint over the crayon, and attach streamers, and roll their paper to create a windsock! 

2nd Grade Plant ID 

Mrs. Kruizenga's 2nd grade class talked about chlorophyll in the leaves and why they change colors, after which the class spent time in the school forest using the Seek app to identify plant species.

2nd Grade Hill Rolling

And best of of all? After plant identification, students enjoy unstructured play! 

Students and teachers everywhere are experiencing the joys of learning outdoors.  

"Teaching outside allows kids to experience the natural world in an authentic way, to inquire about, explore and answer their own questions. They experience joy, comradery and a level of comfort not always found in a building. The outdoor classroom lends itself to children not having to depend on the teacher entirely to present a subject or topic, explain how to explore it and ask questions that may otherwise seem arbitrary and meaningless to a young mind. They are free to learn in their own way." Jamie Bearrows - North Crawford Interventionist - Reading Specialist 

Fall Foraging in the KVR

Guest Post by KVR Instructor Nicholas WazeeGale

The vibrant colors, shorter days, and cool nights signal to all our senses that Autumn is here. It may seem that with all the plant life fading away, nature’s abundance is going with it, but the truth is just the opposite to the forager. As many plants are readying for the cold they create so many of the best and most hearty foods of the seasons. Roots and tubers, nuts and some seeds, certain greens, a fruit or two, and many mushrooms all offer us much to look forward to.

Many folks do some foraging at one time or another during the year. Morels, black raspberries, that asparagus patch down the road, or perhaps hickory nuts get us out there to seek nature’s bounty in the woods and fields. And though this activity has gained much popularity in recent years, it is obviously nothing new to folks of older times, be they Native Americans who originally held these lands or older farm families of the area.

Here are just a few local plants and fungi that you may want to be keeping an eye out for in the weeks to come.

Elm Oyster Mushroom

There are more mushrooms coming out than you can shake a stick at, but I would hope we have outgrown that behavior. Wondrous though they are they can seem overwhelming to sort out, especially if you are looking to identify and confirm one for edibility. As with many things there are some that are unique enough for beginners to take on. One that I teach during this season is the Elm Oyster, a robust white mushroom that sprouts from wounds on live trees this time of year. You can come to know this mushroom well, for it has some good recognizable features like a tough stalk and gills that stop just short of the stalk. Between these features and it’s growing habits, many come to find it comfortable to identify. Mushrooms are definitely a more difficult aspect of foraging, but with proper education they can safely add much diversity and richness to your cuisine, and a great deal of enjoyment to your walks!

Jerusalem Artichoke

                     

Jerusalem Artichoke is a tall and robust stalked plant of creek-side meadows. It is one of many wild sunflowers of our area, and looks not unlike a slender version of our garden sunflowers with multiple smaller yellow flower heads. It is now wrapping up its flowering, but the stalks are still there and the trick to confirming that you have found this fine friend of the forager is in the more slender but sunflower-like lanceolate leaves and the distinctly rough stalk. The edible treasure is underground around the base of the stalk. This plant grows elongated segmented tubers that taste earthy, nutty and sweet. They are formed now, and tasty, but get more digestible as the plant dies back.

Walnuts

Black Walnut trees have a reputation as a nuisance for the mess the nuts make or the chemical alterations to the soil they make to reduce competition. However if you are looking for something that is relatively easy to identify and stock up on for the winter months, here’s your willing guide. With tall stature, long divided leaves turning yellow, and soon to be piles of round green hulled nuts, you should be able to find a walnut tree nearby. Many may have had their flowers nipped by frost this year, but some ought still to produce nuts. This nut needs to be hulled (all unprotected hands will be stained dark brown), rinsed, dried and cured for later cold season cracking. Drying must be done in a single layer of nuts in a sunny, airy, yet squirrel free spot for a week or two, and then the curing can be done with them in boxes, two or three nuts deep for at least a month in an indoor location. Walnuts need a hard crack but have a large meat and a distinctive flavor and richness.

Foraging is a connecting, rewarding, and habit-forming outdoor activity, but it comes with some serious responsibility. Always know with certainty what you are harvesting and consuming, and cross reference between field guides when learning something new. Make sure those who teach you are knowledgeable and eat what they teach. Always eat small amounts of any wild food, particularly mushrooms, the first time you try them. Harvest responsible amounts of these plants and fungi as some species are uncommon or reproduce slowly, and we must respect these organisms, their natural communities, and others of our kind who forage. After covering these cautions it is also very important to have fun and enjoy the adventure of foraging! What better way to participate in nature and get to observe and learn so much of what is out there than a lifelong natural world treasure hunt! We were literally made for it. And I truly believe that those who forage with care inevitably become some of the most aware and concerned advocates for wild places.

If you are interested in learning more there are many directions to go. You can get some good guides, like Sam Thayer’s books on wild edibles which are filled with great stories and information. You can find credible edibles classes near you, like my upcoming class with the Driftless Folk School. Also, seeking out groups in your area that do foraging is potentially a good way to learn from knowledgeable and experienced foragers. And feel free to check out my Instagram posts that are frequently edibles-related during these seasons @nicholas.wazee.gale

Outdoor Learning Highlight: Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School

Photo by Drew Shonka

With school now in session and a couple of weeks under students' and teachers' belts, we thought it would be exciting to highlight some of the great outdoor learning we know schools in our community are embracing.  

Our first stop:  Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School!

This fall students at Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School (PRWS) meet with their classmates and teachers in fully outdoor open-air classrooms based at the school's Growing for Good  greenhouse facility (formerly the Flower Basket), on their playground, in their outdoor kindergartens or their one-acre woodlot, all right in the city of Viroqua.  

When schools closed last spring in response to the coronavirus pandemic parents and faculty at PRWS formed a back-to-school task force that worked all summer to find safe and effective ways to bring students and teachers back to the classroom.

Robin Kottke, PRWS Development Director says, "Our primary goals this year include in-person learning and doing our part to keep our school and broader communities safe and well. Meeting outdoors is a great way to do both!  The opportunity to add open-air classrooms and integrate outdoor education more fully into our curriculum has no doubt been a silver lining of these challenging times.  We hope to sustain our outdoor learning commitment well beyond these pandemic times."

Photo by Drew Shonka

Learning outdoors can take many shapes, from a free-reading hour sitting in the grass to doing third grade science in the local park, to spending entire days learning outdoors, we know that one thing is always true: the impact on children's health and well being, academic performance and development are overwhelmingly positive. Now, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, parents and educators are calling for schools to take class outdoors. And PRWS is doing just that!

Photo by Drew Shonka

Carrie Treviranus, PRWS Grade 5 Teacher, reflects on the first two weeks, "What I like about outdoor learning is the way we enter into our activity, deeply and fully, because that is what we have prepared for and gathered for. There is actually less distraction. We do less darting about here and there, doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We open our books, unroll our pencil rolls, and settle in for a steady go of it. This is what we have nourished ourselves for, carefully dressed and packed our bags, and arrived at these remote spaces to do. It’s game on, and this is our work: to be present. Nature invites us to be awake."

Photo by Drew Shonka

 

If you are an educator or community member who would like more information about how to connect your school with KVR's education outreach program, please send an email to kickapoo.reserve@gmail.com. We can customize support to meet your needs during this challenging time. 

What's NEW at the Forest School?

The Kickapoo Valley Forest School team has been working to bring some great informational events to the community this fall. There will be monthly opportunities to learn more about forest schooling online via Zoom and in-person at the KVR.

Join us on the following dates:

Tuesday, September 22, 7:30 pm. Email kvfs@lafarge.k12.wi.us to register and you will be sent a link to the virtual roundtable discussion with the KVFS leadership team on the topic, What is a Forest School? There will be a Q & A to follow a brief presentation.

Saturday, September 26, 10 am - 1 pm at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Visit the KVR for a fun self-guided/self-paced tour and opportunity to meet Julia Buckingham, our lead teacher, at a point along the trail. She will be available from 10 am - 1 pm, but you are welcome to complete the tour at any time. Email kvfs@lafarge.k12.wi.us to register and you'll be sent a map and directions. This event is free if you attend during the 10 am - 1 pm time and park at the Visitor Center parking lot (S3661 State Highway 131, La Farge, WI 54639). If you and your family decide to visit another time, there is a self-registration station in the building by the Visitor Center. 

In other news, KVFS has a website in-progress and social media spaces for you to follow. Visit us on Facebook and Instagram @KickapooValleyForestSchool and on Twitter @KVForestSchool We appreciate all the follows, likes, and shares as we work to get the news out about KVFS. We encourage you to send us your email for upcoming newsletters about KVFS and forest schooling.

Finally, we will reveal our new logo this week, and we'd love for you to guess which forest animal we chose! Visit our Facebook page for daily hints and the big reveal later this week. Stay tuned!