New Signage (Above Left) Thanks in Part to Cody Watson and His Students at Whitewater High

New Signage (Above Left) Thanks in Part to Cody Watson and His Students at Whitewater High

/ Adam Birding Conservancy
1702 Findlay Rd, Whitewater, WI
2016 Year in Review
2 February 17
/
Greetings and Happy World Wetlands Day!
This newsletter is going out to members of the ABC Club and others who have been involved in the progress of the Adam Birding Conservancy. Read on for an update on progress in 2016, some goals for 2017 and areas where you could assist if interested.
Top 5 Accomplishments in 2016
  1. New Signage (above left) thanks in part to Cody Watson and his students at Whitewater High School.
  2. Mowed trails throughout the year – Upland Prairie and Dike Path were mowed regularly thanks to the gracious help of neighbor Rich Rozelle.
  3. No more telephone poles – except for two used for our feathered friends…courtesy of WE Energies.
  4. Bird nesting sites were added…
  • An Osprey nest along the northwest corner of the Dike Path with materials provided by Professor Bruce Eshelman and hung thanks to WE Energies.
  • Three cameo Prothonotary Warbler bird houses were placed along the Bark River, courtesy of Dan Schneider.
  • Ten very attractive bluebird houses were placed around the property thanks to neighbor Rich Rozelle.
  • I also put up several bluebird houses that attracted some swallows and a wood duck house that had a family of hooded mergansers.
  1. Habitat management is starting, albeit slowly…
  • Buckthorn removal in the woods with the help of Drew Ballantyne.
  • Misc. trees were taken out and sprayed on the Upland and Sandwich Prairie with the help of Derek Adam.
  • Sand willows and Canadian Thistle treatments were applied with the help of the Prairie Enthusiasts.
  • Tim Eidenlifted about a hundred muskrats out of the property in the winter of 2015-16 and has taken another several dozen raccoon out this winter.
  • Wild Parsnip & Sweet Clover pulling (painfully slow here.)
/ Looking Ahead to 2017
  1. A Wildlife Viewing Blind in the big pond by the Dike Path thanks to Cody Watson and his students at Whitewater High School and a short pier withbench will go by the small pond near the dike with Mike Adam’s help.
  2. Tallgrass Restorations aims to burn nearly the entire parcel in the spring. Fire breaks were put in this past fall. If accomplished, it will be the first burn since most of the property was put in a Wetlands Reserve Program permanent easement in 2010.
  3. UW-Whitewater professors and their studentshave some awesome things in store - Mr. Eshelman is researching small mammals (jumping mice), Ms. Rhine has an Advanced Composition class focusing on the property, Mr. Tippery is doing plant research, Ms. Davis brings her class to do birding, etc.
  4. Doug Grall, a local beekeeper, may be putting in some colonies onsecluded spots on the property.
  5. Post-burn and providing the water levels are low enough, Rich Rozelle may add some more walking paths around the property. I will alsocontinue cutting some with my brushcutter.
  6. More targeted invasive work if resources are available. Last year was a good start. Post-burn work on sweet clover, Canada thistle, buckthorn re-growth, sand willows, wild parsnip, narrow-leaf cattails and small patches of Phragmites would give fragile natives a chance.

All Creatures Great and Small
Birds….
  • Four new birds were sighted in 2016 (Common Goldeneye, Eared Grebe, Common Gallinule and Trumpeter swans). At 169 species, the ABC ranks as the fourth hottest E-Bird spot in Jefferson County.
  • One of the four pack of trumpeters hung out much of the summer and a pair of whooping cranes were frequent visitors for a few weeks.
  • After finding five sandhill cranes nests on Crane Count day, a trail cam took over 2,500 pictures of one of the nesting pairs over a span of six days until waters receded and a coon spoiled the party (time lapse video is on the web site).
  • Thanks to Cynthia Bridges, Aaron Stutz, Mike Adam, Dan Schneider and others who log in E-Bird. Please record your finds; would be nice to get to 200 species someday.
Other Creatures…
  • UW Whitewater students, led by Dr. Bruce Eshelman, have been conducting some surveys and have trapped and releasing least weasels, voles and Zapas (North American jumping mice) in the prairie.
  • A river otter was caught on one of our trail cams outside his den.
  • Ample deer, turtles, frogs, crayfish, snakes, dragonflies and damselflies and other animals utilize the ABC.
/ Trumpeter Swans jpg
Trumpeter Swans

Pheasant’s Nest /
Crane’s Nest

River Otter /
Deer by Abe in the Woods
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Plants and Trees…
  • The Plant and tree inventory list continues to grow (up to 143 species) thanks to the expertise of Dr. Nic Tippery, my friend and former classmate Sarah Schultz and Clay Fraser. I’m way out of my element here (i.e.-apologies in advance if any of this is wrong), but 2016 finds that were high on the coefficient of conservatism list include white campion and grass-leaved arrowhead.
  • Zach Kastern led a team of Prairie Enthusiasts who opened the canopy for our big bur oak (“Abe”).
  • Various prairie seeds were harvested and spread throughout the property, thanks in part to Walter Mirk, Dale Karow and other gracious volunteers from The Prairie Enthusiasts.
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Gadwalls /

How You Can Help
 With an eye to the future, I’m seeking to set up an advisory board that would meet a few times a year in Whitewater to weigh in on management plans. In addition, I am interested in individuals willing to serve as site stewards or subject matter experts. These volunteers can help formalize the process of species identification, progression over time and habitat enhancement as well as assist in maintenance efforts if their schedules permit. Beyond birds and plants, getting inventories of butterflies, frogs, turtles, etc. would be helpful in assessing where resources could be deployed. 
 The ABC set up an endowment through the Natural Resources Foundation to offset some of the costs for habitat work and site improvements. I would like to put more effort into destroying the reed canary, narrow-leaf cattails and assorted trees that are expanding beyond the swamp/prairie confluence and pushing into the ponds and out and up into the prairie lands.A long-term goal is to set up an off-road parking lot in the flat land not in the WRP easement. See me for details.
Thanks for your interest and for the help and support you provide to the ABC. Stay in touch!
Dave Adam
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