Where is the Best Place to Eagle Watch

The forecast was for 50 degree weather.  The latest news story said that an estimated 167 eagles were in the area.  This area is supposed to be the best place to see wintering Bald Eagles in the US outside of  Alaska. So it was with great expectation that we left for the Great River Road near Grafton, Illinois to eagle-watch.

We were not alone!  As soon as we left Alton, Illinois, heading north the first cars were pulled over to get a better look at eagles on the ice in the Mississippi River.  I was amazed at the amount of ice on the river and the back up of barges apparently waiting to get through the locks.

We pulled over many times to get a closer look ourselves.  My iphone does not give an accurate picture of what I saw through binoculars, but we quickly had the search image in our minds.  We could tell the buoys (which were dark but much larger), from the chunks of wood (which were dark but didn't move) and could identify eagles (dark spots on the ice).
Here is a view through the iphone:

There is an eagle in this picture.  Can you spot it?  There were also eagles flying on the thermals against the bluffs and perched in trees across the river.  In all, in the nearly 20 mile stretch of river from Alton, Illinois to Pere Marquette State Park, we counted 81 eagles....an awesome sight.  Seeing one of these majestic birds is an awesome experience, but 81 is an experience of a lifetime.  I have never seen so many of these birds in one place.

This image is from the IDNR web site for Pere Marquette State Park:
 

To top off the experience, we decided to hike some trails at Pere Marquette State Park.  We stayed on the bluff trails along the river and were treated to an eagle flying right in front of us just above the trees.  It was also fun to explore the large tree stumps or climb the rocks.  After the many days of winter snow and cold, it felt like spring to be out on this day and I felt like a kid. What an awesome day.

Where is the best place to see eagles in the continental US?
For me, The Great River Road, in January!  I will visit again next year when the winter blues hit.

A Day in the Woods

I was inspired by a video of a year in the woods.  I thought I would try to see what a day in the woods looked like.

Let me know what you think!

Sub-zero Hike Reveals One of Nature's Mysteries

The thermometer was not to reach zero, but I decided to take a quick walk in the woods anyway.  According to the news, I would get frostbite in less than 30 minutes.  From the inside, the bright blue sky and white blanket of snow were calling me.  So I bundled up and headed out.

The blue sky looked bluer than I had seen in many weeks.


And I liked the way the sun bouncing off of the trees created shadows in snow.

 
There were no other tracks ahead of me so it was an adventure. 


What would I discover?  Where were all the animals?  The previous day, with warmer temperatures, I had seen many squirrels scampering about.  Today none were visible.


I headed down the familiar trail to the ravine, my favorite place on the property.  The place where my husband had discarded deer heads from his chronic wasting disease project.  Many animals had visited this place in the past, so I was anxious to see what would happen after a foot of snow had covered the heads.

As I approached, I saw tracks!  But with the deep snow, they were hard to identify.  And it looked like 3 separate tracks indicating 3 separate animals.

All three continued over the trail and into the ravine.  As I looked below, I saw one of the heads had been pulled out of the snow drift.  Due to the size of track, its meandering course, and knowledge of animals of the area, I thought these were bobcat tracks.  My husband had seen 3 similar size cats earlier, probably siblings.  Where are these animals living on our property?  I wanted to find out.  So I back tracked, following the meanderings through woods. 

This proved more difficult than I thought, however.  It was still very cold, and the tracks went through some brambles covered with snow.  They also continued for quite a ways.  With the drifts, brambles and cold, it was hard going.  I started to wonder about the size of a bobcat's territory.  Maybe I couldn't follow this trail for that long.  I saw several spots of "yellow snow", indicating I was within the territory of these cats.

Finally, I was rewarded with the site!  The mystery...where do the bobcats live....was solved.  There were many tracks around the base of this old dead snag.  The base was huge and many dead logs on the forest floor at this point.  It was located at the edge of our property, next to an open field.  Across the field, I saw tracks as well.  Good hunting grounds for the cats.

Now that I know where they are, I can't wait for warmer weather and better visibility.  Maybe I'll set up a tent near the site to get a better look at these marvelous creatures.

But now it was time to head home.  I no longer followed the bobcat tracks but had to blaze a trail of my own through the brambles and snow drifts.  This was hard going, and I was getting cold.

Finally, I saw the house ahead of me.  I was glad that I had braved the elements, solved some mysteries, and made plans to visit again, but now it was time for that warm bowl of soup and a hot cup of coffee.  Mmmmm good.

Bird song wonders

Yesterday was a weather day in the midwest.  We woke up to snow....all day it snowed.  And cold.  That is not unusual. It is often snowy and cold in this region.  However the snow was impressive...almost 11 inches in one day.  And the cold has been oppressive overnight..real temp below zero.
But before it all got so bad, I took a walk in this winter "wonderland".  I could barely see where I was going, but I trudged through the snow drifts along the familiar path.  This is how it looked:

I marveled at the activity of the birds.  They flocked to our feeders in great numbers: chickadees, titmice, cardinals, juncos, woodpeckers, and more.

I wanted to get some exercise before hunkering down in the house, so I followed the familiar trail  through the woods.

Since the blowing snow made opening the eyes difficult, I found myself focusing on the sounds.  Many birds were chirping in the woods.  At the edge of the woods, near a ravine where my husband's CWD project is decaying slowly--AKA rotting deer heads---I heard a sound that should have been familiar.  I had seen and heard several red tailed hawks in this area since the dumping of the heads.  But this was a little off.  It sounded like a red tail, but then again it didn't.  As I approached I saw what had been making the noise---a blue jay.  How remarkable.  This bird has the ability to sound like other birds of the forest, a common trait of corvids (family: Corvidae).  This includes crows, magpies, and ravens, and they are considered by some to be the most intelligent birds.
Although I had read about this ability to mimic sounds, I had never had such a direct experience.  I wonder what caused this jay to call in this way today?  I wonder what the red tail thinks when it hears that sound?  I wonder what other species it can imitate?
As I left the area, the jay returned to the "normal" jay call.  I wonder if I will have this experience again?  I hope so!

Tribute to a Nature Lover

It's that time of year to look back.  When I do, I look back at my mom who recently passed away at the age of 90.  I would like to dedicate my blog to her and her memory.  I may not write as often as I would like--life, work, the commute-- all get in the way sometimes, but I am hopeful to do more in the coming year.  If nothing else, as a tribute to my mom, a life long nature lover.

My mom was my nature guru....no, it isn't that she knew so much about nature, it is that she LOVED so much.  Growing up, our family enjoyed many nature experiences together.  We would go on early morning breakfast picnics in the city park and evening walks too.  In the summer we would camp in state and national parks, being the cheap way for a family of five to travel.  I vividly remember the trip to the Tetons where bears ransacked the neighboring campsite.  Or the evening star gazing in the Black Hills.  Those stars were the biggest I had ever seen.  Or sitting on the dock at Lake Okoboji watching my glasses fall to the lake bottom!

Although I grew up in a big city, these outings in the parks led me to college studies in nature...ornithology, limnology, mammalogy, etc. and eventually to my career.  As I got older and had a family of my own, I began sharing nature with my children just as mom had shared with me and my siblings.  We stopped to watch an eagle on our way to school, sat by the river to see sandhill cranes, or traveled to the ocean to observe the strange life in the coastal waters.

With my mom's passing, it was my daughter who pointed out that she still lives.  She lives in the memories of those nature experiences, big and small.  She lives when I look at the clouds at sunset.  She would say, "That's gorgeous!".  She lives when the trees sway in the wind..."dance" as she would say.  And she lives when I take my grandchild on a walk through the woods... smelling the skunk, feeling the moss, or watching the birds.

Sharing nature with children is a passion of mine, a passion ignited by a wonderful woman who not only loved nature, but loved sharing it with others.  So, I dedicate this blog...this sharing ...to her.  In this new year, won't you share nature with someone you love?

If a leaf falls, does it make a sound?

We have all heard the saying about trees, and even watched the cute commercial showing a tree talking as it fell.  That is what I was thinking about today as I walked one of our paths through the woods.  The path was covered in leaves making it impossible to hear anything but the sound of leaves crunching underfoot as I walked.

When I stopped I heard the familiar sounds of the woods, the crow "cawing" in the distance, the woodpecker "pecking" a tree near me, and the chickadee's unforgettable chickadee song.
I continued along the path and wondered how did the early settlers and natives do it...how did they walk in the woods in the fall?  I tried to be quiet, but to no avail.

I love the fall, but the noise was starting to get to me.  I wondered how much longer til all the leaves were on the ground.  Then it might be worthwhile raking the trail.  I looked up and saw some trees with no leaves, but many still had a long way to go.

I think those leaves will be making a sound for a long time to come!

Nature IQ

What is your nature IQ?  I mean, what do you know about nature and how did you learn it?

I was raised in a big city with few real nature experiences while my husband grew up in a rural setting and spent most of his childhood in the woods. I have been trying to catch up with him ever since we met.  I love nature, don't get me wrong, but that is a different question.

Recently I took my 2 year old granddaughter for a walk in the woods.  As we headed down the path she pointed to the edge of the trail and said, "That's moss!"

She was right.  My husband had pointed it out to her weeks earlier.  The reason for her correct identification and familiarity with nature struck me.  I had been in a third grade classroom working with students out of field guides.  One of the guides mentioned moss, and several of the students said they didn't know what that was.

What did this 2 year old have that the third graders did not??  A nature IQ.  And how did she get it.....I would say, direct experiences with nature.  There is no substitute.  But haven't the third graders been outdoors where moss occurred?  Probably.  In this case, the difference was the presence of an adult that fostered the appreciation and knowledge of what was in plain sight.

In the words of Rachel Carson, "“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”

My granddaughter knows moss (and a whole lot more). But what she doesn't yet know is this: she is lucky to have had the companionship of an adult who shared with her the mystery of the natural world.  One day, she will know this.  Right now, all she knows is the fun she has with "pa pa".