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No, not THAT newt
Jean has been out and about again…this time on the hunt for salamanders!
Getting the traps ready
Last year, Margaret asked a question I had never even thought about. Why don’t we see salamanders here? Until recently, with the creation of the north ephemeral pool and the prairie pothole, the answer may have had a bit to do with lack of reproductive habitat. The Lynch wetland is full of predacious fish and birds, making it difficult for salamanders to reproduce there. But the prairie should have provided good habitat for mature salamanders. The real answer probably lies in the intensive agriculture that took place here for years. But before we set about reintroducing the tiger salamander, we wanted to establish that they actually aren’t here.
Christopher wades in to set the traps
Don brought out his minnow traps and showed Margaret, Joe, Christopher and I how to use them. Basically, they are little metal screen buckets that snap together, with a funnel on either end. The funnel is submerged just beneath the surface, allowing plenty of space above it for animals to access air if they need to.
Critters, including fish, frogs, snakes and salamanders funnel in and have trouble finding the way back out. Daily checks will provide a record of what species live in the water. Christopher volunteered to go out into the water and set the traps for us. He set some in the north ephemeral pool and some in the Lynch wetland shallows. We don’t actually expect evidence of salamanders at the Lynch wetland, but it has been so dry since we established the prairie pothole that there wasn’t enough water there to place the funnel underneath the water.
Marsh marigolds in bloom
I was delighted to find the marsh marigolds we planted last year were blooming at the prairie pothole. I wasn’t really expecting that, because it has been so dry there. It’s the first time I’ve seen them on the property.
~Jean Wiedenheft
Sure Signs of Spring
Two sure signs of spring here today. The first came when I got out of my car this morning and started across the parking lot towards the barn. Birds were chirping away when I heard something that made me smile….
BIRDIE-BIRDIE-BIRDIE, BIRDIE-BIRDIE-BIRDIE
Years ago, I remember my dad telling me that cardinals had two different songs – one for winter and one for summer. The winter one was just a hard, sharp CHIRP that was repeated and repeated and repeated. It always kind of reminded me of someone poking me in the arm reminding me it’s winter. But when spring came, the cardinal’s call turned to something that, to us, sounded like he was calling out “birdie-birdie-birdie, birdie-birdie-birdie”. I don’t always notice right away when the call changes from summer to winter but my ears definitely perk up when I hear that first triple “birdie” call. I know spring is here.
The second sign – I have finished putting the summer camp schedule up on the website! Haven’t got all the individual dates up on the calendar yet but everything is listed on the camp page under the ACTIVITIES header (or just click here) and registrations are open! Pretty soon they’ll be filling the pools!
Don’t forget to get your Maple Syrup Festival tickets! It’s just a few days away now!!
Critter Cam
Jean took the Flip Cam out to the apiary to check in on our bees. Take a look!
What Happens When We Don’t Have Winter?
We’ve been getting lots of calls from people wondering how this unusually warm winter is going to affect their trees and plants. Will we have sap for maple syrup? What if my trees bud and it gets cold again? I have spring flowers already coming up…what should I do? Director Rich Patterson gives us his thoughts…
Many people have called the Nature Center asking how our long string of mild days and nights is impacting plants and wildlife. It’s not easy to simply answer except that native plants and wildlife have lived here for thousands, hundreds of thousands, and….in some cases…..millions of years. During that long history with Iowa’s climate, they’ve likely experienced severe cold, heat, dryness, wetness, wind, and anything else nature can hurl at them. Anything vulnerable disappeared long ago. So, the long-term impact of short bursts of unusual weather on natives is probably small.
Warm weather helps many animals, especially those that need to move around and forage on the ground. Deer, pheasants, cottontail rabbits and many other species are likely helped by warm weather.
The impact on plants is less clear. Generally native trees come through a mild winter just fine. Fruit and ornamental trees are another story. They may be programmed by nature to break dormancy when warm weather comes and then suffer if the temperature plunges. So, days of mild weather gets sap flowing and if a massive cold front roars through and the mercury drops to 20 below overnight tree deaths are possible.
Only time will tell the full impact of warm weather.
Hawk(eye) Season
A Cedar Rapids resident brought us these spectacular photos taken in her yard of a young red-tailed hawk. She brought them to us for identification, thinking the hawk was too large to be a red-tail but Naturalist Jan Aiels identified it as an immature red-tailed hawk. Jan tells us red-tailed hawks are one of Iowa’s largest and most common buteos seen soaring over fields and pastures. Adults have a distinctive rusty red tail. The hawk in the photo is an immature red-tail that will grow its rusty red tail by the time it is three years old and mature. Both females and male red-tails look alike. If you are fortunate to see them together, the female will be the larger of the pair. Immature hawks often appear larger than mature hawks as they have extra layers of feathers to help them stay aloft as they learn to fly and hunt. As they mature, they shed out these “training wheels” and become the sleek, aerodynamic hunting experts we see throughout the country.
Hawks build a 28-38 inch nest of sticks in the top branches of either deciduous or pine trees. A mated pair will use the same nest year after year, adding a new layer of sticks each spring. The nest is lined with the bark of cedar, grapevine, moss or sprigs of pine. Three to five eggs are laid which incubate for 28-35 days. The young hawks fledge or leave the nest in four to six weeks and become independent from their parents in mid- to late summer. It appears that this beautiful immature already has excellent hunting skills! Our homeowner reports the hawk allowed her to get quite close and was not aggressive, almost posing as she photographed it. I can see why…he/she’s a beauty! Thanks for sharing your photos with us!
