Audubon Action Center

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"Bat Sounds" Presentation

Have you ever heard a bat? 
Where do they live and why would we want bats living near us? 
Do they eat anything besides mosquitos? 
What do we need to know to stay safe around them?
 

Rich Novy has been doing acoustical bat surveys in Northeast WI this summer.  He'll give a presentation to answer these and other questions, then lead us outside with his bat detector to hear the bats living at Barkhausen.  Picnic tables available--you are welcome to bring your supper beforehand.
Free event for older children and adults sponsored by N.E. WI Audubon.
No pre-registration needed.

September 18, 5:00-7:00pm at Barkhausen

Directions: The Barkhausen Interpretive Center, 2024 Lakeview Dr (Cty J). 3 miles north of Green Bay off Hwy 41/141.  Take the Lineville exit East, turn left (north) on Lakeview Drive--the park entrance is 1/4 mile on the right.


Salamander Monitoring

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped monitor wetland pools and ephemeral ponds for salamanders. It was, as always, an exciting time trying to guess when the salamanders would start moving from their winter spots to the breeding ponds.

A number of volunteers from last year participated:
Carl, as always, was our anchor pin in the Shivering Sands area of Door County. For the first time he had Spotted Salamanders in addition to the Blue-Spotted Salamanders that are usually present, and was glad to see the wood frog population rebound (347 of them).

Addie and her son were able to coordinate their schedule with the salamanders at Bubolz this year after a slow start in 2009, but still didn't get any in their traps. They did find plenty of minnows and bugs to make it interesting enough that they monitored for both an early and later rain period.

Jess tried again at Mosquito Hill, but the ephemeral ponds dried up before the spring rains, so no luck there. She'll persist next year to try to locate the breeding spot for the salamanders they know are present.

Stacy says Onedia had success this year, so sometimes it pays to keep trying.

Juniper tried a new site: the Chaffey Waterfowl Production Area, near Gillett. Only 1 of the 5 ponds had salamanders. She was intrigued by the tiny fairy shrimp in several of the ponds.

We were happy to welcome a number of new monitors:
Cody and Adam made a dedicated team, monitoring at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary for a full month, but just weren't able to trap any salamanders. The geese took issue with the traps, so this site likely won't be easily surveyed.

Andrea risked slipping in over her boot tops to monitor at Barkhausen. No salamanders, but there were green frog tadpoles.

Phil had more Spring Peepers than salamanders in his traps at Pope Lake State Natural Area--but at least he had salamanders! (Blue-Spotted).

Chris and Anna monitored the Rat River Wildlife Area. Plenty of mud minnows, some sticklebacks were found in the traps, chorus frogs calling nearby, and a large wood frog egg mass. With this first year's experience, they now have a good idea of what to look for, for next year's site.

Ashley monitored 1000 Islands at Kaukauna. The traps were trashed by someone the first night, but she repaired them and persisted. Then the dam released a lot of water and the pools that were isolated became part of the river. No salamanders found, but she'll be checking for other possible sites for next year.

When the statewide results are compiled, we'll get the results here.

Background

2008 marked the first year of the Wisconsin Salamander Survey (WSS,) a joint initiative of the Wisconsin Audubon Council, Inc. and the Citizen-based Monitoring Network of Wisconsin. Nearly all of the 52 volunteer citizen monitors were members of one of 15 Audubon chapters throughout the state. Nine chapter coordinators worked directly with their monitors to supply them with traps, data sheets, training information, and answer questions or concerns. The Wisconsin Audubon Council received a small grant from the Citizen-based Monitoring Network of Wisconsin to pay for project expenses. This survey brings attention to these secretive creatures, gives wildlife managers much-needed distribution data, and promotes the value of wetlands and woodland pools.

Habitat

If you would like to know whether you have good wetlands for salamanders, check out Maine Audubon. They received a Together Green grant to get citizens involved in vernal pool/ephemeral pond protection. They have several well-written guides linked on the right sidebar of this site.

Red-shouldered Hawk Research

NEW Audubon has supported research on the nesting ecology of red-shouldered hawks for a number of years. It is a threatened species in Wisconsin, depending on large stands of mature hardwoods, wetland woods or mixed hardwoods and conifers. Its population is much reduced in the northern part of its range though it was once one of the most common hawks in eastern United States.

redshouldered hawk

An adult Red-shouldered hawk, photo taken by Dan Helgeson.

John and Eugene Jacobs have been the principal investigators for this study, and have included university students and others for the field work. To see a summary of several of their annual reports, click here.

Birds and Lead

Update your Tackle!

  • 26 species of water birds are impacted by poisoning from remains of lead fishing tackle. Up to half of adult loon deaths can be attributed to lead poisoning. One lead sinker or jig head or a couple of lead shot can kill an adult loon, eagle, or swan from lead poisoning. 
  • A high number of Trumpeter Swan deaths is caused by lead.
  • Bald Eagles can be poisoned from fragments of lead bullets in carcasses they feed on. Humans may also be affected by these minute fragments, though we generally aren't exposed to the same levels. as eagles.
  • Lead shot on trap and skeet shooting ranges can accumulate to hazardous levels. Birds using the area when humans have left can ingest lead.
  • Sinkers are easily ingested by birds.
  • Lead can be toxic to birds even at low levels of exposure, and damages the nervous system, leading to paralysis and death. Sublethal effects include neurological, tissue, and organ damage, and reproductive impairment

If you know someone who hunts or fishes, give them a gift of nontoxic ammunition and lead-free tackle. Click on the card to see it full size. If you can't find nontoxic tackle at your local store, check the Raptor Education Group site.

GetTheLeadOut

Bird City Wisconsin

"Making our communities healthy for birds...and people"

Full details for Bird City Wisconsin are here.

Milwaukee Audubon Society is heading the development of Bird City Wisconsin, modeled on the successful nationwide program Tree City USA.

They received an $8,000 Together Green grant funded by Toyota for this partnership among Milwaukee Audubon Society, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Wisconsin Audubon Council, the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin for developing the criteria for Bird City recognition, and preparing for a public launch of the program in 2010.

Bird City Wisconsin participants can learn how to protect and manage green space, landscape with native plants in backyards and parks, adopt architecture and lighting systems that reduce collisions, and many other tools hospitable to breeding, wintering, and migrating birds which seek safe places to spend time and find food.

bird city logo

Green Bay has begun the application for Bird City.

Let us know if your city or town also is applying for Bird City, and we'll link to your activities.

Other Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN AUDUBON SOCIETY
PO Box 1, Green Bay, WI 54305