Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sincerely,
Joanne Herfel
MAS President
Loons will preen themselves for a few minutes and then rise up and stretch
Bringing the Outdoors In with vigorous wing flapping. All photos by Patrick Ready
What’s in your backyard? Kids love collect-
ing (and throwing) rocks, going belly down Loons Take to Area Lakes
to probe insects and belly up to count cloud By Patrick Ready
creatures—but what about birds? At what Every October and November, Common
age did you discover a lone feather, observe a Loons migrate through the Madison area. One
good place to see them is on Lake Monona
hovering hummingbird, or gather your first
along the causeway near Monona Terrace.
robin’s nest (oops!)? There, loons are likely to be spotted in the
Wildlife watching is the most popular and middle of the lake, often swimming in closer
fastest growing outdoor activity in the U.S. to shore while feeding. At this time of the year, Mock-yoddle? No sound made so
And birds are everywhere and accessible to they are in their drab winter plummage. Despite this may just be a yawn.
all, young and old, rich and poor, in the big their muted colors, they are fun to observe as
city and out in the country. But the electronic they dive and resurface, stretching and preen-
generation may need a little nudge before ing between submersions.
fledging. One afternoon recently, I observed their body
language to learn precisely when to get the
So we’re starting up a great new program
best action shots. Because they can begin
for kids and their parents. The Bird Mentor this rise and stretch at any given moment,
Program supplies everything needed for a I watched one that had been preening for
Directing traffic? A high five?
classroom/community group birding expe- several minutes. Following this preening, the
rience: a bird identification photo CD and loon stretched his wings out straight above the
PowerPoint of 32 common Wisconsin birds water, then flapped constantly while expand-
and their habitats, fifteen pairs of binoculars ing his body outward and upward as though
(wow!), a spotting scope, three field guides, intending to stand on top of the water’s sur-
poster, and even a Teacher’s Guide for face. This whole procedure took approximately
5 to 6 seconds. Soon it was apparent that if I
grades 4-8. All we need are a few “passenger
were to get a decent photograph, I ‘d have to
pigeons” to bring the message home. To learn have to be quick with my camera.
more please join us for an informal evening This fall, take a few minutes to watch the
of fun, refreshments, and information sharing loons as they continue to move south, stop-
at the November Education meeting ping on area lakes before the lakes freeze up.
For the time and place of the November Watch as they travel tirelessly to spend the The "Beach ball move." Body expan-
Education meeting or more information long winter season on the Atlantic and gulf sion during the rise and stretch.
about the MAS Birding Kit Program please coastal waters, returning north in late March
call Cindy at (608) 835-9746. and early April when you can again see them
on the lakes here. Then you will see them in
Also, mark your calendar for January 23
their striking black and white breeding plum-
when the education committee will hold an mage. This is a bird that you won’t soon forget.
open house for both the Birding Kit Program
and the MAS Speakers Bureau. Please see the For more information on Wiscinsin loons
article in this month’s newsletter for com- go to loonwatch@northland.edu .
plete details about the MAS Education Open
House.
The Audubon CAWS November 2006
Early Fall at YES, I want to make
Madison Audubon Society’s
Goose Pond vision a reality. Here is my
By Mark and Sue Martin contribution to the Wildlife
In mid-September, seed Sanctuaries Campaign.
collecting volunteers in
Sue Ames Prairie flushed [ ] Acre Maker. $2,000 or more to buy
an American Bittern from and restore another acre of land.
the prairie. We could not [ ]H
alf-Acre Maker. $1000-$1999.
remember flushing an [ ]Q
uarter-Acre Maker. $500-$999.
American Bittern from our
prairie restorations and [ ] Adopt An Acre. I pledge $100 a year
for three years ($300 total) toward
thought that maybe the bird
sanctuaries restoration.
was migrating, got confused
Buck and Hunter in a relaxing moment Here is my first installment.
and landed in the restored
prairie instead of the pond about a quarter mile away. A week later, again at Sue Ames [ ]N
est Egg. I pledge $50 a year for
Prairie, seed collectors flushed another American Bittern. The following week, another three years($150 total). Here is my
first installment.
bittern flushed from the prairie, and this one made a beeline to Goose Pond. It would
be interesting to know if the same bittern was flushed each time. [ ]M
y Own Vision. $ ____ to help as
We spotted another wetland dependent species, the Sora rail, six times in much as possible.
prairie restorations in September. Rails usually are secretive and are not easy to [ ]M
y Gift. $ ____ for MAS Program
flush. We wonder how many rails use the mesic prairie restorations. Support (i.e. Education & Newsletter)
Siberian geranium was added this year to the Goose Pond floral list. The plant Direct my gift to:
was collected along a fence line and the seed head looked like a geranium. This
exotic has only been reported from Dane and Sauk counties. Our goal next year [ ] Where it will help the most
is to collect a plant for the U.W. Herbarium and then to eliminate this invasive [ ]E
ndowment fund to restore and
species from Goose Pond. maintain the sanctuaries
On a sad note, Buck, our nine-year old golden retriever, passed away from [ ] Land acquisition at Faville Grove
complications due to cancer. He was active and in no pain up until the last [ ] Land acquisition at Goose Pond
afternoon. Buck liked to greet seed collecting volunteers and especially enjoyed [ ] MAS Program Support
taking their gloves, caps, and unprotected sandwiches. He will be missed by all
Name _________________________
of us. We are talking about getting a new puppy in the near future. Hunter, our
one-year old golden, would like another brother. We will keep you posted on Address ______________________
any additions to the Goose Pond family.
On a glad note, we hope you visit Goose Pond in November to view the In Memory of __________________
migrating waterfowl, especially the tundra swans. Water levels are ideal for
In Honor of ___________________
swans to feed on the abundant arrowhead tubers.
For Gifts Honoring Another: Send
Autumnal Funding Acknowledgement to:
Madison Audubon Wishlist Donations made September 1 Name _________________________
Please take a moment to look over our
wishlist. We greatly appreciate any dona-
through September 30 Address ______________________
tions, or leads to contributions, of the fol- ______________________________
lowing items. ACRE MAKER Contributions will be acknowledged near
Desktop Computer (to run Windows XP) Frederick Ott the Madison Information Board at Goose
Flat Panel LCD display (energy efficient!) Pond as follows: $1,000 or more-name
Digital (LCD) projector HALF-ACRE MAKER to appear on a permanent plaque; $250-
Quality binoculars Curt and Arlys Caslavka $999-name to appear on engraved pav-
ing brick.
Gator utility vehicle
Thank you. MY OWN VISION [ ]D
o not acknowledge in Madison
Jean Casper Audubon Society Newsletter
Eleanor Wagner Make checks payable to:
Photo submissions Madison Audubon Society
If you have quality photos of birds, prairie GIFTS IN HONOR OF A PERSON
vistas or plants and would like to submit In Honor of Margaret Van Alstyne Mail to: Madison Audubon Society,
them for use in the CAWS, please email Robert and Nancy Dott 222 S. Hamilton Street, Suite #1,
them in JPG format (reasonable file size) to: AND, HONORING THE USE OF Madison, WI 53703
pready@tds.net. Prints can be mailed to JOHN BIRD’S GOLF CART Gift is tax deductible to the extent allowed
Pat Ready, 1210 Oakwood Ct., Stoughton, Anonymous by law. Madison Audubon Society’s financial
WI 53589 statement is available upon request.
11/06