August-September 2013 All programs and activities are open to the public Vol. 34, No. 2

P.O. Box 184, Oshkosh, WI 54903 � Published eight times a year Editor: Janet Wissink, 7035 Mountain Rd., Pickett, WI 54964 � 920-589-2602 � wiss@centurytel.net

Check our website for up-to-date information: www.winaudubon.org

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Calendar of Events

Aug. 27: Swift Night out

Sept. 15: Monarchs

Sept. 21: September Bird Count

Oct. 5: Work Day at Sullivan’s Woods, 9-12, Contact Dave Moon at 235-4429 / djmoon@northnet.net

Nov. 21: Bees in Your Backyard

From the Quiz Master:From the Quiz Master:From the Quiz Master:From the Quiz Master: I am the loud insect with stiff membranous wings, that sings from the tree top on a hot August evening. My 15 second song starts softly, gets louder then tapers off. I get my common name from Sirius, the dog star in the constellation Canis Major, which is prominent in the southern sky during my peak singing time. You are more likely to hear rather than see me. What am I?

(The answer can be found in this newsletter, if you look closely.)

Sound interesting? This bird tracking effort is actually a continent-wide program held to raise awareness and encourage interest in Chimney Swifts. Anyone is welcome to participate and learn about Chimney Swifts. Join us outside on the west side of Merrill School on Kentucky St. If you can, bring a chair, binoculars or scope. As the days of summer inevitably tick away and the swifts have finished raising their young, these awesome aerial acrobats begin to congregate in communal roosts prior to their migration in the fall. (Chimney Swifts migrate as far as the Upper Amazon Basin!) Some roosts may consist of an extended family group of a half dozen birds or so, but the larger sites can host hundreds or even thousands of swifts. We will gather half an hour before sunset and count birds as they dive into the chimney. The data will then be reported to the Wisconsin Chimney Swift Working Group and the national Swift Night Out databases. Chimney Swift numbers are on the decline and therefore citizen reported data are more important than ever in monitoring this population. Because of changes made to our landscape and loss of historical habitat, swifts rely almost entirely on man-made structures for nest and roost sites. Our chimneys are their homes. Chimney Swifts eat nearly one third of their own weight in flying insects, including pests, every day! They are protected by Federal law. For details on what you can do and to see an amazing video, click on http://dnr.wi.gov/news/Weekly/?id=390#art2.

Swift Night OutSwift Night OutSwift Night OutSwift Night Out Tuesday, August 27 — 7:15 pm

Merrill School, 108 W. New York Ave., Oshkosh Meet outside on the west side of the school on Kentucky St.

Migrat ingMigrat ingMigrat ingMigrat ing

MonarchMonarchMonarchMonarchssss

Sun., Sept. 15 — 1:00 pm

Winnebago County Community Park, Shelter #1

Members: Free Non-members: $5/adult $3/child (17 & under)

Randy Korb, The Frog Guy, will be giving a program on Monarch Butterflies! Some biologists call the monarch butterfly the “most interesting insect in the world.” During this program, participants learn the life cycle by seeing and holding monarch eggs, larvae, pupae and adults. They discover butterfly and plant ecology using the monarch/milkweed relationship as an example. We discuss the North America migration and see video clips of monarchs in their over-wintering habitats in Mexico. We participate in the migration by tagging monarchs and releasing them.

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Quiz Answer: Dog-day cicada, Tibicen canicularis

Photo by Anita Carpenter.

“Project Rhosgobel” is the nickname for the outdoor native wildlife housing enclosure that I have been carefully planning, fundraising, and soon to be building at my residence in the Town of Menasha. Why the name Rhosgobel (Ross-go-bell)? Well, my mentor, Rebekah Weiss, names the wildlife enclosures at Aves Wildlife Alliance in honor of dedicated conservationists like Aldo Leopold, John Muir, etc. Not wanting to scoop potential names for Aves’ future enclosures, I took a geekier route that still represented my conceptual vision. Rhosgobel is Tolkien for “russet home or enclosure”. It is thought to be the residence of fictional Middle Earth wizard, Radagast the Brown. Radagast means “tender of beasts”, and in another name variation, “lover of birds”. The purpose of the enclosure is to provide licensed wildlife rehabilitation for Wisconsin native raptor, song bird, and small mammal patients prior to their release back into the wild. The enclosure will include two cages designed under the recommended housing guidelines set by the International Wildlife Rehabilitators Council and the US National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association. Besides assisting with the public need for wildlife care, the home based enclosure provides for my personal growth as a budding licensed wildlife rehabilitator. I will now be able to provide daily patient care beyond the nursing and animal husbandry volunteered at outside organizations. My interest in wildlife care started as a child observing my father handle, build temporary caging, and attempt to feed an injured hawk and later a pheasant while waiting to transfer the birds to what I’m assuming were wildlife rehabilitators. Four years ago while exploring a midlife career change during a seasonal job layoff; I recognized that education and a new career as a veterinary technician could provide a pathway back towards my childhood interest in wildlife care. Three years ago, I applied and became a volunteer at Aves Wildlife Alliance in Neenah. Currently, I have my own state wildlife rehabilitation license, and I continue to mentor under Aves Wildlife Alliance. I also enjoy a rewarding career as a micromanaging certified veterinary technician at St. Bernard’s Animal Clinic in Van Dyne. And now I am able to help nurture my own two daughters with their interests in wildlife care. Wildlife rehabilitation is generally an unpaid field, and the costs are covered by the individual rehabilitators and donations from the public. Project Rhosgobel is no different, and I have been fortunate to receive generous donations from our Winnebago Audubon Society, Waverly Masonic Lodge, and numerous veterinary clients. I am still in need of additional funding, and likely some rough carpentry assistance. I will also gratefully recycle certain household items including: old aquariums (for mice housing), fake trees, and yard bags of your discarded pine needles. Note: If you would like to support Tim’s project, you may send a check made payable to Winnebago Audubon. Please note in memo “Project Rhosgobel” and mail to: PO Box 184, Oshkosh, WI 54903.

Project RhosgobelProject RhosgobelProject RhosgobelProject Rhosgobel By Tim Kneeland

SEPTEMBER BIRD COUNT—Sept. 21

On this annual bird count observers record all birds seen or heard within a fifteen mile diameter circle around Oshkosh on one day (24 hour period). In addition to the count day, species seen during the count week (3 days before and 3 days after the count day) but not recorded on the count day are also included in the results. The final results are submitted to the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. Anyone can participate in the bird count. The amount of time that you wish to commit is up to you. You can watch your feeders/yard for an hour or all day. For the more dedicated birder, surveying one of the 13 county areas in the count circle is also an option. For more information on the count or if interested in surveying an area in the count circle, contact Tom Ziebell at cziebell@new.rr.com or 920-312-1976.

REMEMBERING JAN MOLDENHAUER

Long-time Winnebago Audubon member Jan Moldenhauer recently passed away. In 2011, she was presented with a well-deserved Meritorious Service Award at our annual Spring Banquet for her dedicated service and support of the p r i nc i p l es of env i r onm ent a l stewardship and conservation. Jan Moldenhauer passionately supported efforts to protect and improve the environment in our area for decades. She grew up in Milwaukee and graduated from college in Illinois. After a lifetime of teaching, she finished her career at UWO. Always active in sports, she was still swimming and playing tennis. Every summer she taught sailing at a camp in Canada. She was an active member of Winnebago Audubon, having served as a Director (1994-98 and 2001-06); Secretary (1998-2001); and Friend of Sullivan’s Woods (1997-2006). Jan was a fundraiser extraordinaire for our annual Birdathon which supports environmental projects and education in the community. Her willingness to help was invaluable to our organization. Thank you Jan. We will miss you. She was actively involved with other organizations in the area, including Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited. Writing letters to the editor and politicians, speaking at citizen input hearings and traveling to Madison to speak to our legislature, were all part of her everyday efforts. If you wish to make a donation to Winnebago Audubon Society in her memory, please make check payable to Winnebago Audubon, Note “Jan” in the memor, and mail to: PO Box 184, Oshkosh, WI 54903. We are considering purchasing a bench to place along the Fox River on the UWO Campus or a Memorial Tree. Read a Tribute to Jan by Fox Valley Sierra Group : http://wisconsin.sierraclub.org/foxvalley/janmoldenhauer.pdf

Badger Tracks Badger Tracks Badger Tracks Badger Tracks by Anita Carpenter

On my daily walk one August morning, I challenged myself to really slow down and look for evidence of insects. These insect signs could include chewed, folded or discolored leaves; chewed, drilled or excavated holes in leaves, wood, seeds or soil; galls; cocoons; eggs, and the list goes on. What I discovered was absolutely mind-boggling. Insect evidence was everywhere. I quickly realized that trying to identify what-caused-what would be a daunting task. For example, a circular hole in an oak leaf was probably caused by a different insect than one that chewed a hole in a maple leaf. Plus holes of different sizes and shapes may have been created by different insects. And, of course, the insects were nowhere to be seen. Then the surprise of the day presented itself. I chanced upon some grape leaves with neat circular cutouts along the edges. Could it be? Yes, this was the work of leaf-cutter bees, an insect I wasn’t sure even lived in Wisconsin. I was ecstatic! Besides, it was insect evidence I could easily identify. Leaf-cutter bees are solitary bees which means they don’t live in hives or colonies. They belong to the insect order Hymenoptera, and family Megachilidae which numbers about 650 species in North America including orchard mason bees (see Badger Tracks May 2010). About the size of a honey bee but more slender, leaf-cutter bees are black and covered with minute black hairs. To reliably identify a bee as a leaf-cutter bee from all the other industrious bees flying around, one needs to look at the venation on its front wings and notice that the two submarginal cells are about equal in length. That is well and good but absolutely impossible to see on a fast-flying bee. What you may be able to notice is that a female leaf-cutter bee carries pollen on the underside of her abdomen rather than on her hind legs as most bees do. The pollen carrying structure is a thick brush of fairly long hairs called a scopa. Another clue to aid in identification is that the underside of her abdomen and the scopa may be bright yellow which is the feature that gives rise to its colloquial name of jelly belly bees. Leaf-cutter bees nest in holes in the ground or in cavities in wood. Females do all the work. After each nest site is excavated to about 1 cm in depth, she lines it with neatly cut pieces of leaves. Each cell is then provisioned

with pollen and one egg is laid. The nest is sealed. Bees emerge the following year. To cut and gather a leaf, the bee stands on the leaf. With sharp jaws, she rapidly chews a perfect circle or oval around herself. When the piece breaks free, she carries it off. I measured several of the cutout circles which averaged 1 cm in diameter. The oblong cuts, like the circular cuts, were all fairly uniform and measured 1.5 cm in length. During nest construction she stuffs a few circular leaves in the bottom of the nest tube. She uses the oblong cuts to line the sides and packs circular pieces in the top to seal the cavity. To actually find a leaf-cutter bee at work may be challenging, but with a little bit of luck, you may find one. Finding a cut leaf may be a bit easier for the evidence remains behind to be discovered. Once you do find a cut

leaf, you’ll realize that nothing else resembles it on the landscape and, therefore, identification is easy. Later that morning, I also found neatly cut circles and ovals on staghorn sumac leaves where oval cuts outnumbered circular cuts. Even if I didn’t see the bees, it was nice to know they are around. My next challenge is to record what different kinds of leaves leaf-cutter bees use.

A CUT ABOVE THE REST

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Neatly cut circles and ovals on staghorn sumac leaves. Photo by Anita Carpenter.

WHOOPING CRANES AT WHITE RIVER MARSH

The public can view the Operation Migration ultra-light aircraft with the young whooping cranes as they learn to fly at their training grounds at the White River Marsh State Wildlife Area west of Berlin. The viewing area is on the

corner of County Road D and Mile Road. Park along County Road D. The flight path is 1/4 mile north of Rustic Road (White River Marsh Road) and is 3 miles north of Princeton. The young cranes are not flying just yet,

but should be soon. The training flights take place on a daily basis, weather permitting. Visit http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/ for more information or call Frank Zuern, 920-231-3443.

Whooping Crane Festival, Sept. 13-15, Berlin, http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2013/05/03/2013-whooping-crane-festival/

NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE

PAID OSHKOSH WI PERMIT NO 90

Winnebago Audubon Society Mission Statement: Advance the mission of the National Audubon Society to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity through grassroots efforts of community outreach and advocacy.

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OFFICERS President: Janet Wissink 920-589-2602 / wiss@centurytel.net

Vice President: OPEN Secretary: Evelyn Meuret 920-573-7828 / evelynmeuret57@att.net

Treasurer: Carla Hansen 920-233-1129 / carlajhansen@sbcglobal.net DIRECTORS Anita Carpenter, 920-233-6677 Zaiga Freivalds 920-233-5914 / zaigam@charter.net Dave Hanke 920-688-2907 Dave Moon 920-235-4429 / djmoon@northnet.net Pat Nichols 920-426-0261 / patnichols@earthlink.net

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Welcome to Welcome to Welcome to Welcome to Winnebago AudubonWinnebago AudubonWinnebago AudubonWinnebago Audubon

A special thank you to all those who are renewing again this year as well. You are invited to participate in

activities of your local Winnebago Audubon chapter. It's a great way to meet like-minded people and to enjoy

what nature has to offer.

If you are a new member of National or the Chapter and haven’t seen your name here in the last couple of issues, please contact

Pat Nichols, Membership Chair (email me at: patnichols@earthlink.net)

Wendy Berg Nancy Finn

Linton Guenther Sandra Habeck Robert Harmon

Hein Family Marianne Kettelaut

Gerald Konrad Larry Lang

Jayne Martin

Mike Meyer Nancy Samida Michael Sawall

Marvin Summerville Michelle Tollefson

Joanne Walker Tom Wex

James Williamson Amy Wondra