Imagine

A dusty keyboard taps while a shiny black mouse clicks over and over again. My stomach is gurgling from too much morning coffee and my mind is silently pacing on what topic I should write. I step outside to collect my thoughts and then it hits me: imagine a world with no bird song.

As a child, I would often ride my twelve speed bicycle two miles down to grandmother’s house. The times we shared together were mostly spent outdoors in her front yard or along the magical-forested trail at Herman Park. Today, as an adult the most constant sights and sounds I can recall from those times are bird songs.

Ornithologist’s (a person who studies birds) categorize bird music into two distinct groups, one is named a call and the other is termed a song. Calls are non-melodious and are often composed of short notes. Bird calls are often used to alert other birds and to contact other birds. In contrast, bird songs are more musical and complex than bird calls. Songs are used to attract mates and also for protecting a territory. Both bird calls and bird songs are produced by an organ called the syrnx.

The syrnx is located near the base of the bird’s trachea and contains many expandable membrane fibers. Unlike mammals, birds do not have any vocal cords and make their songs by air pressure and membrane vibrations in the syrnx. Through this process, birds are able to both create and alter the pitch/frequency of their song. Since many birds do not have a strong sense of smell they must rely upon their acute sense of sound to survive.

The most effective way I teach children and myself bird songs is to simply put words to them; this learning technique relies heavily on the use of mnemonics. Mnemonics are words or phrases used in helping a person better remember something. An example of mnemonics would be learning the ABC’s through singing the ABC song ,or using the world HOMES to recall the names of the Great Lakes (Heron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior).

People are always intrigued when I use bird mnemoics on hikes. I tell them an open set of ears and a creative mind is all one truly needs to learn how to call and identify bird songs. Cheeseburger, cheeseburger says the Black Capped Chickadee as the kids giggle; what cheer, what cheer, cheer, cheer, sings the bright red male Northern Cardinal.

Birds add enjoyment and can increase our quality of life, they also can be indicators of the environment or “a sort of litmus paper” as renowned ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson would say. No matter the human commotion, electrical fuzz or mechanical racket; bird song is and will always be, incessantly beautiful.

I can not imagine a world without bird song. Can you?

Osborne 5k Fun Run

The annual Osborne 5k Fun Run will be held Sept. 17th at Osborne Nature Center.  The course will take runners through the trails at Osborne and cross the shallow Volga River twice.  Funds generated from this event will be used in the Osborne Partners for Education Endowment. This endowment ensures that outdoor education programs at Osborne will continue to be given to students and adults in the area. Forms are available at the Nature Center or online at http://www.claytoncountyconservation.org/

Showy Lady Slipper

The Pink Lady Slipper belongs to the Orchid Family.  The stem is typically 1-2ft tall. The leaves grow up to 7 inches long and 4 inches wide.  The hairs on the stem and leaves contain an acid  that has been known to cause a rash on human skin.  The plant typically has only one to two flowers or "slippers" that give off a fragrance to attract pollinators. This beautiful flower is becoming very rare in Iowa and is currently listed on the state's threatened species list. After much searching, I found this Showy Lady Slipper blooming in Clayton County during the first week of June.

Fawn at Osborne

A young White Tailed Deer Fawn was born at Osborne and has been up and moving around. Visit the park soon to see if you can find her white spots hidden amongst the grass.

Turkey River Poetry

In stillness of the night


A waxing moon shines over the devils elbow,

Crystal rays of light break through the summertime haze of a hot June night.

Two white pines form an ancient window into the past

While sculptures of limestone pose,

above layers of shifting clay.



The Turkey River flows freely through these bends,

Carving rocks, nourishing all that is green-

A constant coolant to a feverish machine,

She wonders if one day we can make amends-
and stop filling her home with silt-laden sands.

At Cape Carp,

Shifting sands inspire conscious minds-

Kindred spirits heal together.

Native stories are delivered

From the moon-lit Turkey River,

A resource caught between natural piety and human peril-


Tonight her petition glitters under the June moon tan:

To form a unified voice and make a human connected stand

Against the impoverishment of a naturally connected land.

Field Trip Season

The spring school field trip season has concluded at Osborne-time to focus on the junior naturalist camps coming up next week. During the month of May, the Osborne Nature Center hosted over 20 field trips to the park. Certain days were double booked with kids and one day was even triple booked!  As crazy as these days can be, I always remember them when it is a freezing day during the cold month of January and I am inside wishing for a warm spring day to be out teaching the kids.

Raptor Nestlings

We have had both Great Horned Owls nest and Red-Tail Hawks nest at Osborne Nature Center near the Volga River.  A Great Horned Owlet (young owl) was spotted two weeks ago in his nest and had nearly all his flight feathers. Two Red-Tail Hawk Nestlings have also been observed and will be leaving the next within the next two weeks. Stop in the office to inquire about the nest location.

Grape Jam

A friend of mine from Elkader recently reported the stores in Clayton County were running low on grape jam.  This comes during a time when Baltimore Oriole's are flocking to hummingbird feeders and grape jam feeders by the dozens. Several avid birder's in the county have reported seeing the most Oriole's in years, one couple reported they needed to fill their grape jam feeders nearly 4 times a day!  The less common Orchard Oriole has also been spotted at several jam feeders. So now is the time to brighten up your day! Set some grape or rasberry jam out in a small container and watch the color come your way.

Is spring here

Although it does not fully feel like spring has arrived yet, reports of grey mushrooms and nesting bluebirds have come through the Osborne Welcome  and Nature Center. Last week, while checking our bluebird boxes, I found two bluebirds who were sitting on a full brood of eggs. I also have noticed several species of warblers coming through the area including the easy to spot yellow rumped warbler. This bird is easy to identify by the bright yellow patch on its rump-hence its name.  Regardless of the dreary weather, the signs are fastly approaching-letting us know spring is here.

Junior Naturalist Camp 2011

The Junior Naturalist Camp season has started at Osborne Nature Center. The Junior Naturalist Camp is held during the summer at Osborne. The camp is open to Clayton County 6-8th grade students. The Junior Naturalist program focuses on exploring nature and the environment. Activities are led by Naturalists at Osborne Center, local resource specialists and sportsmen. Each grade level has a different theme and participates in a variety of activities. Some activities include: geocaching, canoeing, tubing, archery, night hikes, Bird ID, and survival skills. Sign up quickly as the deadline is May 18, 2011.

For more information simply vist the LINK below for a copy of the Junior Naturalist Brochure.

http://www.claytoncountyconservation.org/JNPbrochure11.pdf

Northern Mockingbird

This past weekend I was able to observe or Northern Mockingbird on the east side of Colesburg. This was a life bird for me, which means I had never seen it before. After several minuets of watching the bird and using my field guide I was able to i.d. it.  Northern Mockingbirds are not common in Northeast Iowa, their home range is further south and east. However, the birds are wanderer's and often can travel long distances looking for food. The bird may most be famous for its song, which can mimic dozens of other animals and human sounds. Mockingbirds are also known to sing at night. 

Cheers, to you finding a bird you've never seen!

Binoculars

Recently, through an Alpine Grant and various donations from residents and buisnesses in Elkader, we were able to purchase 20 pairs of Eagle Optics Binoculars to use for both school programs and public programs.  This has been a goal for over a year for me and I am very thankfull and excited to use them in the programs. We also purchased 10 Bird Field Guides so the children will be able to observe birds and identify them through use of field guides.  Introducing children to wildlife through up-close eyes is a great way to get them started on the life long path of observing and caring for the natural environment.  The best part is birds can be found anywhere outdoors, no matter if your watching through a bus window, a classroom window, or out on the playground, students can see something tangible  in nature and learn to identify/classify it.

Clayton Ridge Outdoor Classroom

Two weeks ago the Clayton Ridge Sixth Grade finally got their outdoor class seeded with prairie.  The project took place two days before the first snowfall and was accomplished with the help of Clayton County Naturalists and Pheasants Forever.  The students will be using the leftover prairie seeds in their classrooms with hopes they can plant the plugs back into the prairie later next spring.

carolina wren

A Carolina Wren was spotted at the Osborne Nature Center last week. This bird is not typically found here often in the winter and I was delighted to see it flitting under the bushes and in front of my office.

Winter Poetry

Classroom programs are in fullswing-hence the delay in a blog post.  The naturalists are giving several presentations a day to the schools in Clayton County. This weekend I took some time away and visited a friends cabin.  The poem was later composed, recollecting my experiences that snowy weekend.

slabs of snow bellow off the stemmed oak branches
breaking like a snare, booming like a bass
they tumble flawlessly to the ground
succumbing to the weight that makes all things whole
startling, yet comforting music up on the ridge

dogwood branches bending to touch their toes
creating a webbed umbrella right under my nose
the skittish junco wears his arctic tuxedo,
dancing on the crystal ground
he feasts on the few seeds around

the snowfall is vastly thick
turning the valley into a milky way
like frosted sugar,
snow sweetens the appearance of every living thing

snowflakes,
quiet music on the ridge
each one crafted separately
inseparable in the joy they bring
facing up to the winter sky
snowflakes tickle my beard
glimmer in my transparent eye

silence is complimented by a curious bird
flitting beside me, he sings chickadeeedee
brash voice of the red bellied woodpecker
alerts a squirrel who is prancing in the snow below
a sudden bustling crash,
then a grumbling splash
echoes across in pine creek
has one of pine sentinels
succumb to its snow match?

with majestic black wings,
breaking the white snow-cladding sky
an eagle leaves the pines,
singing her shivering song.
sky is darkening and
the ghostly snow urges me along.

jubilantly, in this darkened coliseum
barred owls hoot.
the triumphant echo announces their gladiator presence.
I applaud back
while a nervous shrew scurries under my feet,
bid you well my friend.

a symphony of coyotes
turns this valley into a captive amphitheatre of luring beauty
I can not see the coyotes
Yet,
through the milky glow of the snowy nighttime woods
I feel their sacred song and I dance.

Project AWARE

Exciting News!

Project Aware will be coming to Northeast Iowa next July.  Project AWARE stands for (A Watershed Awareness River Expedition) last year the group removed over 9 tons of trash from the Nishnabotna Rivers in Southwest Iowa.  Project Aware is funded by the IDNR and their are objects are to increase awareness about water quality issues, engage Iowa's citizen volunteers in a river cleanup and empower them to give something back to Iowa's watersheds.  There will be  many ways to get involved both through sponsorship and with the actual river cleanup next July. More details about the event will be presented next spring.



http://www.iowadnr.gov/volunteer/aware/files/aware_faq.pdf
http://www.iowadnr.gov/volunteer/aware/seeforyourself.html

Outdoor Classroom

Work has begun on the Outdoor Classroom at Clayton Ridge Middle School in Garnavillo, Iowa.  The science teacher had expressed interest in starting something where the students could be outside and he could have fires. I took this as a warm invitation to get the ball rolling.  After having several consultants tour the site, we decided to seek some information from the students themselves.

The 6th grade class was spread out in the proposed classroom area and asked to write/draw what they would want the area to look like, based upon their information and other conservationists; we decided to thin the area and restore it back into native prairie.

The next step was to spray a few patches of broomegrass and locate funding sources for the seeds.  The local Clayton County Pheasants Forever chapter said they would be glad to help with seed purchase.  After the area was sprayed and browned up, Clayton County Conservation staff burned the selected patches.

Today, the 6th grade students spent an hour of their class clearing the prairire area of trees/brush.  The tree logs are being used as outdoor seating and the honeysuckle bushes were made into a brush pile for wildlife cover.  In a few weeks, the same 6th grade class will do a fall prairie seeding. This will be achieved through having the students handseed the burned area and letting the frost/snow work the seed down into the ground.  By growing prairie plants in their classrooms, the students will continue the work of this project throughout the winter.  We are all hopefull some results may come to light next year!!!

Native Trout in Iowa

Most people laugh when I tell them we have one species of Native Trout in Iowa: the Brook Trout.  This trout was orginally found in spring-fed streams of Northeast Iowa.  Early settlers of Iowa refered to this species as the "stream trout" or "mountain trout" with few descriptions of its physical characteristics.  Today, the trout can be found in several streams in Northeast Iowa, native reproduction still occurs in three of Iowa's 100  fishable trout streams in Northeast Iowa. In these three trout steams, the Brook Trout has enough consistent natural reproduction to maintain a viable population without any stocking.

Binoculars

We are currently looking for available binoculars or funding sources to help with the purchase of binoculars. Currently, the naturalists present over 350 classroom programs a year to local clayton county students, and facilitate nearly 50 field trips a year. The binoculars would be used often in these two settings to provide students with life and observation skills and give each student the enjoyment of seeing wildlife upclose. If you or anyone you know could help, please contact the Osborne Nature Center.

Iowa Water and Land Legacy

On November 2, you will have a chance to give something back to Natural Resoruces in Iowa.

Question 1. on the ballet will ask you to vote on Iowa's Water and Land Legacy.  Iowa's Water and Land Legacy is an "outdoor recreation trust fund, created with the purpose of protecting and enhancing water quality, natural areas in the state including parks, trails, fish and wildlife habitat, and conserving agricultural soils in the state."  This is NOT a tax increase, the revenue from this fund will come from allocating 3/8 of a one cent from sales tax revenue the next time Iowa Legislature approves a sales tax.

 "53% of Iowa’s waters rate “poor.” In addition, while agriculture is the backbone of Iowa’s economy, Iowa loses an average of 5 tons of soil per acre each year due to erosion. Currently, Iowa ranks 47th out of 50 states in conservation spending, Iowa ranks 48th out of 50 states in public hunting/fishing property" quoted from from Iowa Water and Land Legacy
For more information please visit:  http://www.iowaswaterandlandlegacy.org