By Liam Guenin, summer intern
This time of year is a personal favorite of mine for many reasons, one of them being that it’s a great time for foraging. Currently in the US, there isn’t any real need to forage for food due to there being pretty much every food you can imagine at your local Walmart. However, many people, such as myself, don’t forage for need- they forage to feel a connection to the Earth while also having some tasty snacks along the way. I love foraging for all sorts of fungi, leaves, and roots, but to me, nothing compares to picking berries straight off of a plant and putting them directly into my mouth.
Although eating the things you forage for yourself on the spot is super satisfying and wonderful, I have also found that making jams and pies out of foraged berries can be even more rewarding. This can also be great for giving gifts to friends and loved ones. A lot of the things that you forage can also be given to your non-human friends. Recently, the other interns and I (aptly named the Woodland Goons) learned that our education turtles Sheldon and Sergio possess a fondness for berries. Now when we go out in the field to plant trees or do maintenance on the trails, we have to keep an eye out for wild strawberries and raspberries so that we can give the turtles a little treat at the end of the day.
Foraging is not only an inexpensive way to get fresh local berries for your education turtles, it also has many other proven benefits to you and the environment. For example, wild plants have been shown to have higher levels of vitamins and minerals than their farmed counterparts. In addition, by forgoing grocery stores and commercial farming operations, you can greatly reduce your carbon footprint. It has also been shown that being outside in nature for just 20 minutes a day decreases stress and anxiety levels. There are countless positive reasons to go out and forage, but the biggest reason I do it is just because it’s a really fun activity to do.
At the end of the day, foraging is probably not the answer to all of your problems. However, if you find yourself with nothing to do on a nice summer day, I would strongly recommend giving it a try. It is a great way to get out of the house and learn about your local ecosystem while picking up some small bites to eat along the way.
Editor’s note: Woodland Dunes does not allow foraging of any type on the preserve to reduce visitors straying off our trails and endangering sensitive plant and animal life here. State parks do allow foraging, so if this intrigues you, give it a try in one of their locations.
Photo: turtle eating red and dwarf raspberries
By Mary Kennedy, summer intern
Birds are all around us, but it can take a moment for individuals to stop and recognize the multitudes around them. This can apply to all ages, and specifically, the calls and songs that they make.
As a child and even into my adulthood I have spent little time listening to the sounds and songs of birds. Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to help with the Woodland Dunes Little Wings Program which focused on birds seen and heard around Wisconsin. The children that attended this program were 4 to 5 years old. At this age, they are filled with curiosity and this leads to discoveries. In the case of this program, the discovery was of a variety of birds that surrounded their local backyards. I asked a couple of kids if they were familiar with the sight of them and they answered, “Yes.” They had all previously seen the birds before, but just were not completely sure about the name or sound that each one made.
The interactive activities at the program helped to develop further their comprehension of the sounds of birds and the role of what birds do. One of the activities focused on listening to the calls of birds such as the Black-Capped Chickadees, Crows, Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Cardinals, and more. This was presented as a game and one in which they had to listen and then act out the bird call and fly like a bird. Some of their favorite calls included “cheeseburger” of the Black-Capped Chickadee, and “purty, purty, purty” of the Northern Cardinal. This attuned the kids to tap into the skill of being observant and present in what could be heard. Then the kids took their newfound skills to Cattail Trail to become fully immersed in the experience of seeing and hearing birds.
I am always amazed at how fast children can catch on, even the younger ones. Having the ability to tap into your senses provides for an experiential learning environment. This was apparent while on the Cattail boardwalk, the kids were yelling out the call of the Red-Winged Blackbird. This call sounds like a shrill voice yelling, “VOTE FOR ME.” It was fun to watch the kids try and attract the birds with this phrase. As silly as that sounds, it helped the children retain a piece of information that they will most likely remember for years to come.
These mnemonics for contrasting calls have also been helpful for me as I start to hone in on my bird calls. As the kids learned in this program, I was also learning. Having the opportunity to teach these kids gives me an insight into what they already know and the newfound knowledge that they gain. A transition that helps them to further grow their minds. They can then pass this along to fellow peers or even to individuals like myself, who are not local to the area. There is a new appreciation for these birds not only by me but also by these children who had the experience of attending this wonderful program.
photo of Mary with campers by Natalie McNeely
By Kennedy Zittel, naturalist
When I arrived to the Nature Center this past Tuesday, I opened my car door and the songs of birds filled the air, an excellent day for a bird survey.
I decided to walk Cattail Trail, a quick walk to beat the upcoming summer heat that day. At the beginning of the trail, I heard the songs of an Eastern bluebird, Indigo bunting, and Veery, what an exciting start to the survey! I stopped to watch dozens of green and leopard frog tadpoles swim around the edges of the pond. I smiled as I passed by the pile of pond dipping nets, thinking about how excited the children would be to see all of those tadpoles during the pond dipping program later than morning.
I walked past some shrubs that were bursting with berries when the leaves began to rustle. I stopped in time to witness two cedar waxwings enjoying a berry-filled breakfast. Amongst the berry-filled shrubs were a handful of robins and catbirds too – calling out to one another about how delicious their breakfast was, I am sure.
I stopped to listen to a far-off call, the unmistakable call of the Red-eyed vireo came from the nearby forest. A flash of brown below the boardwalk caught my attention, a Song sparrow hopped from one clump of grass to the next.
Entering the alder thicket offered even more bird calls and sightings. I saw yellow flashes of common yellowthroats, yellow warblers, and goldfinches as they bounced branch- to- branch. A group of grackles flew overhead, squawking at one another as they searched for a place to land. A downy woodpecker perched atop a dead alder tree, surveying the marsh as I was.
I continued down the boardwalk, glancing up at the row of Mourning doves on the telephone wire soaking up the increasingly hot sunshine. I passed by mink and raccoon scat, signs that birds weren’t the only animals enjoying this trail. Two Barn swallows darted through the air, catching insects with each swoop.
The open marsh changed to dense cattails, where the loud calls of Red-winged blackbirds and Swamp sparrows echoed through the marsh. While I used my binoculars to watch the Osprey sitting on the river nest platform, I heard a crow call off in the distance. The cattails swished back and forth in the breeze, and I continued on towards the end of the trail.
The end of the boardwalk was full of River otter scat, humans aren’t the only ones that like to use the kayak launch to slide into the water. The bubbly song of the Marsh wrens rang out from the cattails – such a loud song from such a tiny little bird! Two geese honked while paddling away towards the West Twin River. Glancing down at the water I watched little fish swim by while I listened to the sound of green frogs croaking and hopping into the water.
I ended my survey. I spent only 20 minutes out on the trail, yet I saw a total of 21 different bird species, 2 amphibians, signs of 3 mammals, some fish, and dozens of different plants. What a great way to start the day!
photo of Downy woodpecker by Kennedy Zittel
Ripples from the Dunes by Jim Knickelbine
I
n the mid-1960’s Bernie Brouchoud had a dream. Based on his observations and bird banding experience, the wooded area between Two Rivers and Manitowoc was a special place for birds. He spent a lot of time in the area, and wanted to start a nature preserve as a bird and wildflower sanctuary. He also knew he would have to convince many others to help in that effort. He needed to prove what he knew about the bird population there. So back then, ten years before there was a Woodland Dunes, he obtained permission (maybe), and began doing bird counts during the summer nesting season to show people how many birds might nest in the preserve. He and John Woodcock walked predetermined routes in the proposed preserve and counted the bird species and how many of each were present. They even mapped where each bird was located and included other wildlife observations.
This was an impressive effort, involving 14 different routes, bushwhacking through swamp and meadow, along roads, and even down the railroad track that spanned the width of the area, and along the West Twin River by canoe. The entire survey took weeks each year, after which, Bernie would cheerfully compile results. He would also include observations of other birds seen during the nesting season incidentally. Each year the list was about 110 bird species, a remarkable number for a single, though extensive, property during a non-migratory season. They would find a dozen or so species of warblers here- birds that people usually think of as migratory visitors, not residents.
In those early days, the focus of Woodland Dunes was much more on research, and as time wore on, the activities at the center became more numerous and diverse. It became difficult to spend so much time on the summer bird surveys, and we needed to find other ways to do them (which gave us a good sampling of the bird population), but didn’t require walking the entire 1500 acres. We adopted a point-count system as is used in many professional bird surveys- more than 30 observation points were identified in the preserve. Trained staff or volunteers visit each point once or more during the nesting season to look and listen for birds for 10 minutes. Points are numbered and an effort is made to visit exactly the same places each year. Many are located at easy-to-find spots at trail intersections and such. The survey still involves walking and observing much of the preserve, and those sample points are consistent.
We’re finishing the summer counts now. The last few years, we still find around 100 species of birds. We’ve lost a few species, but they are ones that have declined everywhere. Personally, I look forward to these surveys, a summer snapshot of our birdlife. We do them early in the morning, and walk the trails accompanied often by a few hundred enthusiastic mosquito friends. The quiet early morning in a forest is often a magical time when one is reminded why Bernie, and those who helped found the nature center, were motivated to do so – thus protecting this place. Experiencing the trails like that takes one to unexpected places. The deep swamp with a white-throated sparrow or winter wren singing in the distance reminds me of camping in northern places like the Sylvania Wilderness, not just a few minutes from Manitowoc and Two Rivers.
Yes, there are bugs, but a head net and light jacket keep them off. Their buzzing is a small annoyance and price to pay in order to experience the unexpected wonders of early summer and early daytimes. Every time I have participated in these surveys, I have experienced nature that I didn’t expect, and I am happy that I’m there. I’m sure the staff at the nature center would agree.
Nesting season seems chaotic, the birds singing from all around at the same time. Enjoy this. Allow it to lure you outdoors and to discover. Soon, their parenting done, birds will again become quiet and sneaky. Although, that presents a different invitation to discover.
photo- the Ice Age Trail at Woodland Dunes on an early morning bird survey by Jim Knickelbine
By Natalie McNeely, summer intern
Since coming to Woodland Dunes as a summer intern, I have learned about many flora and fauna species. I have participated in many activities, from bird banding and bee surveying to star-gazing, walking along the trails with summer camps, and the “50 Hikes” program. I’ve also learned about and have seen so many new species. So, I encourage you to come to one of the 50 Hikes programs because it’s been a great way to learn more about the trails, and no two hikes are the same.
I have also read through some of the Woodland Dunes archive articles here. While looking at the past newsletters, I found the June 1998 Dunesletter, Volume 92, which stood out to me as it mentioned a particular animal that can be seen all over the preserve at this time of year. This animal has been fun to point out in the past week of education programming as we studied gross things in nature. This section was fittingly named, as it was titled, “Who’s Been Spitting in the Field.” The article highlights the spittlebug that turns into a froghopper, which is separately named because the spittlebug nymph has a distinctive life compared to its adult froghopper. As mentioned in a section of the article:
There are several species of spittlebugs, with different species selecting different plant species (shrubs and herbaceous plants only) for food. Adults lay eggs in the plant stems or in the sheaths of grasses, and the eggs hatch the following spring – one generation each year. A nymph’s spittle comes from special abdominal glands, which exude fluid from the digestive tract mixed with a gummy substance. As the “goo” is released, air bubbles are added to it. The spittle is very durable, and you’ll stay head-down on the plant stem; as spit is formed, it tends to flow over their bodies, protecting them from desiccation and concealing them nicely- so nicely that most people have no idea there is a bug inside!
Spittlebugs and froghoppers are rather fun creatures, and once you realize what you’re looking for, you can easily find lots of them when hiking around. So, I encourage you to look for the bugs that are “spitting in the field” and see if you can even find the green little nymph inside the spittle.
Photo: Spittlebugs on aster leaves along Willow trail by Natalie McNeely