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The Red Tail Newsletter for March 2024
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"Assessing How Signs Build Awareness of Creeks, Rivers, and Watersheds in Iowa"
Join us for the next Prairie Rapids Audubon Society meeting on March 12, at 7:00 PM in the lower level of the First Presbyterian Church in Cedar Falls. The program for the evening features Steve Hopkins, Nonpoint Source Coordinator Iowa Department of Natural Resources. To join the meeting virtually, click this Zoom link; meeting ID is 581 087 8571 and the passcode is 1999.
Do you know the name of your local creek? Do you know where it flows? Do you know what watershed you live in? A 2015 statewide survey of Iowans about water quality issues showed that many Iowans are not familiar with and, in some cases, do not even know the name of their local creek.
Iowa DNR has worked with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to install creek signs on federal and state highways as a way to raise awareness of creeks and their watersheds in areas where DNR was funding watershed projects to improve water quality. In an effort to expand the effort, in 2022 DNR created a small grant program for counties, called the “DNR County Creek Sign Grant Program”, to provide funding for the installation of creek, river, and watershed signs on county roads. Through the first round of the grant program, over 24 counties were awarded funding, and the new signs were installed on county roads in 2023. In February of 2024 DNR launched a second round of the “County Creek Sign Grant Program”, with applications due on April 1, 2024.
Steve's presentation will provide background information about the role of signs as part of education and outreach for watershed projects, will discuss feedback from watershed staff about the role of signs, and will show examples of creek, river, and watershed signs installed in Iowa.
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February 13 Meeting Minutes
No pancakes were being served on this Shrove Tuesday, February 13, 2024, as President Tom Schilke called the meeting of the Prairie Rapids Audubon Society to order at 7:05 p.m. Thirty-eight individuals were in attendance with 8 more joining online. If you were unable to join us that night check out the Zoom recording on the PRAS website gopras.org. It’s always a pleasant experience to stick around after the program and chat with friends over food and drink. However, our treat providers have been dwindling. Please consider donating to our fellowship.
When we gathered for our February meeting, the 2024 Great Backyard Bird Count was a future event. Did you take part on any or all of the count days, Feb. 16-19? If you did, your results were among the 298,000 checklists submitted and 7,842 species observed across 253 subregions. That is impressive! Way to go, Citizen Scientists! If you’d like to view some of the awesome photos of birds from around the world, go to birdcount.org.
The silent auction was stocked with a varied array of bird and nature related items and collected $93. The Little House donation box held $21 to be added to the Pat Delegardelle memorial fund. Francis Moore, PRAS treasurer, reported a balance of $9,344.49 in our bank account. Grants from our six-county service area are due March 15th. The board will soon be deciding where a large portion of that money will be distributed. The Bird Feed Fund is now a negative $558.87. Feeders have continued to be filled at our designated areas but donations would be really appreciated.
Recently our PRAS board met with two of our area legislators to discuss topics of concern relating to birds and nature in general. We also wanted to know how to best reach our representatives/senators. Best practices include phone calls, sending a post card (make your message short and to the point) and even inviting them to coffee. A DON’T is signing on to a pre-written letter from an organization. Those communications tend to get tossed aside. And the very best thing you can do is VOTE! Knock on some doors if you are so inclined to help your candidate get re-elected.
Our local birders are reporting the very photogenic saw-whet owl again this year. Kildeer, trumpeter swans and bluebirds are also making appearances. Keep your eyes and ears tuned for early spring migrants as well as the winter visitors that will be leaving soon.
Connie Mutel, one of Iowa’s Nature Champions, brought to us her vast knowledge of Iowa’s natural history as tonight’s featured speaker. Having previously written 14 books and publications focusing on nature, the environment and history she turned her attention to her latest volume, Tending Iowa’s Land: The Search for a Sustainable Future. Connie began by giving us three points about Iowa’s history:
1. This landscape 300 years ago was a wilderness unrivaled on any continent with great biodiversity.
2. When European settlement began about 200 years ago it began to go through a dramatic change, one of history’s most rapid and extreme land transformations.
3. There is hope for the future.
Leaping ahead to statistics from this past year of 2023, Connie emphasized problems were blatant. Record high air temperatures were recorded along with the highest ocean temps. Record weather disasters occurred with 28 happening in the United States and 63 more globally. (Since this PRAS meeting Iowa has recorded its record high temperature for February in many cities.)
After laying out the problem of climate change and briefly sharing the scope of her previous books and those of several other authors, Connie went on to explain her latest book, Tending Iowa’s Land. It is an edited collection from 28 authors covering the topics of soil, water, air and life. Once again, she emphasized how Iowa has transformed from a tallgrass prairie that covered about 80% of the state for the last 9,000 years to a place covered with row crops. The prairies were highly productive, complex ecosystems. They contained an abundance of both plant and animal species that were co-dependent on each other. Grasses and forbs developed dense root systems reaching 10’-20’ deep creating fluffy soils, the topsoil averaged a depth of 16” and Iowa had the distinction of having 25% of the world’s best soil. Microorganisms, fungi and insects working with the plants produced the equivalent of a “tropical rainforest upside down.” The prairie was able to soak up rain water and erosion was uncommon. There were more wetlands, lakes, ponds, streams, potholes, bogs, fens, forests, etc., to support wildlife. Finally, prairies are a very effective “carbon sink.” With 2/3 of their mass underground, CO2 is stored in plant roots.
Connie shared how things were about to change dramatically around 1830 and the beginning of Euro-American settlement. Rather than using the well-functioning prairie to their advantage, the settlers imported European systems that included overgrazing, tiling, logging and plowing. The prairies were nearly gone by 1900.
Perhaps without realizing the outcomes of their actions, the results for the early Iowans were devastating. Soils were compacted, organisms killed and organic matter lost. The soil couldn’t hold moisture as readily increasing erosion, pollution and flooding. Carbon dioxide that had been stored in organic matter was released into the atmosphere. Biodiversity suffered losses on many levels.
In the first half of the 20th century, work animals were replaced with tractors, creating the need for fossil fuels. Additionally, more pastures and hayfields were plowed under. The last half of the century had everything on the farm getting bigger, specialized and industrialized. Livestock moved almost entirely into buildings (CAFOs). Row crops, mostly corn and soybeans, leave soil bare most of the year and require synthetic chemicals to keep them growing well. Four billion pounds of nitrogen fertilizer a year are used in Iowa alone on corn crops but with the side effect of killing soil microbes. As a final insult pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are applied that not only attack the harmful organisms but the beneficial ones, as well. Many of these chemicals also end up in our water supply.
Farms have become “industrial” businesses with much of the crop going into ethanol and biofuels. These crops are heavily subsidized by the government. However, Connie stressed, “THIS IS NOT EVERYONE.” Groups such as the Practical Farmers of Iowa are treating their land and livestock in much more sustainable ways.
The results of industrialized farming are what you’d expect: more erosion, flooding, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, release of CO2 into the atmosphere, extreme weather and many more stressors on our ecosystem. Since Iowa became a state, it has lost ½ of its topsoil while agriculture contributes 1/3 of our total greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. As Connie stated, “Iowa’s problems are the world’s, and the world’s problems are Iowa’s.”
So, the question remains, “What can we do?” We need to remember our problems are not natural, are part of a global trend, and our current actions are not sufficient. Connie encouraged us to:
• Read more and listen. Connie’s book is an excellent source to get the perspective of many Iowa authors.
• Contact your legislators about legislation that you think is both good and bad.
• Actively engage by voting.
• Belong to groups that promote conservation efforts.
Connie reminded us to share our grief and fear and to share those feelings with others. Get outside, get to know nature. There is hope. Thank you, Connie, for your motivation and bringing your knowledge to us. - Submitted by Kris Rash.
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Laura Walter, who works at UNI's Tallgrass Prairie Center, recently sighted ten trumpeter swans on the biggest of the Panther Ponds. This pond is part of a wetland demonstration park on land between the university and city neighborhoods. Photo by Laura Walter.
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The Landing
“Hey Zock, way to go! Let me get my phone out and get some photos of you landing it.” I had just hooked into a large, hefty brown trout and it was putting up a good fight. My old friend John (Snoopy) and I had just entered the stream for an evening of fly fishing. The gently flowing clear water flowed around some old railroad pilings that created some nice holes for trout. An occasional boulder and sunken logs created even deeper water that made wading difficult in spots. Thick overhanging tag alders shaded much of the stream, another challenge for fishing with dry flies in the dark.
It had been at least 20+ years from the last time either of us had been up north in Wisconsin to get together to fish. John had acquired his late brother “Black Dave’s” cabin and renovated it - a great place to stay - just like the old days. We had done some scouting and plenty of reminiscing to get ready for our first fishing opportunity. As we pulled into a sandy cul-de-sac we had always called “The Landing,” I was surprised that with all the changes in the world, little had changed. Oh sure, there were more cabins and people, but this area had remained protected, much as I remembered it as a teenager.
The only signs of human activity were a small amount of litter, ATV tracks, and and old white plastic chair left along the stream bank with a couple of empty bird feeders hung nearby. It was here, by some more old pilings, that we crossed the stream to look for a way to get back to a stretch of water named “Trickles.” We had nicknames for most of the stretches we fished and the people we knew - friends and family alike. When we talked about guys like “Big Little,” “Egghead” and his little brother, “Yolkhead,” we knew exactly who they were.
The owner of the chair was seated in it when we returned. It was someone John hadn’t seen in decades. No longer able to walk easily, he enjoyed the calmness of the stream and just taking in the peace of the woods and water. He was a talker. He told stories of sneaking in to “The Rez” and the big fish they caught, and of the logging history of the area. As you have it, the pilings we fished (see photo) by were set in place over 150 years ago to span the stream for a narrow gauge railroad that send timber to market and on to Chicago. The giant white pines of the era were all leveled first. When those were gone, then all the hardwoods were taken. Farmers finished clearing the land, and when most of those efforts failed, aspen grew, which eventually spurred the growth of the paper industry. Where I was standing had once been a vast cut over wasteland evidenced by old photos of grizzled loggers standing by giant stumps and triumphantly atop wagon loads of huge logs.
Not far from where I stood, the Peshtigo Fire of 1871 incinerated nearly 1.5 million acres of land and 18 towns, killing 1200 to 2400 people. Slash and burn techniques used by farmers and railroads had kept continual small fires going. Under hot dry drought conditions, similar to today, an unstoppable firestorm resulted when high winds suddenly arrived. History remembers the Chicago Fire that occurred on the same day, destroying a third of the city and killing mourned 300 people. Ironically, it was built much from the very pines cut from the forests of Wisconsin. Much of the razed land was eventually purchased for public use. The forests regrew and the streams regained their vigor. Protections are in place to keep it that way.
As darkness began to entomb us, we switched to a larger more visible fly. Now the fishing would be mostly by feel, sound, and instinct. A soft “thup” was all I heard followed by an explosion of water and the zing of John’s line cutting the surface. The large trout he hooked leaped skyward once, and then again, putting up the good fight. I stood back, balanced in deep water watching the action and preparing a netting attempt. He jumped again, slamming into my ribs and breaking the line. The silence of the night returned as quick as a switch being flipped. The fish was back in his lair below, leaving us barely able to speak. Perhaps the big brown is related to "Ol’ Whiskers,” the fish of legend - never caught, its mouth lined with its own trophies of flies taken from guys like us.
I hope to return to The Landing to try again - to listen to the water wrap around my waders, toss a fly, and be grateful. There are places in Iowa like this, though less protected, yet memorable in their own right. We should better protect our natural areas. This month’s speaker will share how positive actions in water quality can improve our waterways. All are welcome, and bring a friend. -- Tom Schilke
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In the Sky During March
March will be an interesting month in the sky. Very bright Jupiter will be unmistakable in the western sky, and fast-moving Mercury will make its best evening appearance for the year during the last half of the month. Look for it in the early evening, low in the western sky to the lower right of Jupiter. The only other planet that will be visible is Mars, and it will be low in the eastern morning sky climbing very slowly up and away from the Sun.
The bright stars of winter will be following Jupiter as they all drift slowly westward and prepare to leave the sky until next fall. Central in this group is Orion (the Hunter) with his unmistakable belt of three bright, evenly-spaced stars. His two shoulders of bright Betelgeuse and another moderately bright star and below his belt, his two knees (or feet) of bright Rigel and another reasonable bright star make this constellation really look like a human figure in the sky. It is not hard to imagine it as a mighty hunter when you include lines of dim stars above Betelgeuse that form his club (or sword), beside his other shoulder that form a shield (or hide), and three stars below his belt that form a sword.
The stories about Orion are varied and fragmentary, but in one he helped found the seaport of Messina on the northeastern corner of the island of Sicily. He smoothed out the rugged land to form the harbor and flat land for the city. Orion is still held in high regard and is the symbol of the city. A statue of him and his hunting dog tops a beautiful fountain in the city square--see the photo below this story.
You can find Orion’s hunting dogs by extending a line from his belt down to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and the jeweled collar (or nose) of Canis Major (the Great Dog). Once you have found Sirius, look to its upper left for the bright star Procyon, the only bright star in the small, dim constellation Canis Minor (the Little Dog). Sirius is very bright not only because it is a hot, bright star, but it is also only 8.6 lightyears from Earth. In antiquity, it had its heliacal rising, when it first could be seen rising before the Sun, during the summer. According to astrology, stars and planets are at their most powerful at their heliacal rising, and it was thought that Sirius added its heat to the Sun and made the summers hot. Although Sirius no longer has its heliacal rising in the summer, the hottest days are still referred to as the “dog days of summer” after Sirius, the dog star.
Observing Highlights
March 3 - The Moon will be very close to Antares, the bright reddish heart of Scorpius (the Scorpion), after they rise at about 2:00 a.m. and until sunrise.
March 13 - The Moon will be close to the upper right of very bright Jupiter.
March 15 - The Moon will be to the upper right of Aldebaran, the bright reddish eye of Taurus (the Bull).
March 18 - The Moon will be close to the right of Pollux and farther to the lower right of Castor in Gemini (the Twins).
March 19 - Spring arrives in the northern hemisphere with vernal equinox at 10:06 p.m. CDT. On this day, everyone will have 12 hours of daylight, and the Sun will rise straight in the east and set straight in the west (except at the poles).
March 21 - The Moon will be close to Regulus, the bright heart of Leo (the Lion).
March 24 - Fast-moving Mercury will be at its highest point for this evening appearance, the best of the year. It will still be low in the western sky. Look for it about 45 minutes after sunset.
March 25 - The Moon will be above Spica, the brightest star in Virgo (the Maiden) after they rise at about 9:00.
March 30 - The Moon will again be near Antares in Scorpius (the Scorpion) after they rise just after midnight. Since the Moon orbits the Earth in 27 1/3 days, it can pass the same star twice in a month.
Moon Phase Date Rises Highest Point Sets When Visible
Last quarter March 3 Midnight Sunrise Noon A.M.
New Moon March 10 Sunrise Noon Sunset Not visible
First quarter March 16 Noon Sunset Midnight P.M.
Full moon March 25 Sunset Midnight Sunrise All night
*Dates and times are approximate.
Sources: StarDate, Jan-Feb. 2024. Vol. 52, No. 1; SkyandTelescope.org; Wikipedia.org, the online encyclopedia.
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Nature and Climate
It is generally understood that carbon pollution is changing our climate and negatively impacting some native species. One example is the decrease in Monarch butterflies caused, in part, by continuing drought that limits food during migration. However, the opposite is also happening. Nature can reduce the amount of climate change. For example, healthy forests remove great amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in tree biomass and soils.
Grasslands remove even more carbon from the atmosphere than forests, and most of it is stored underground in the massive roots of prairie vegetation. This is enhanced by bison, whose grazing stimulates the growth of new, fast-growing plants that remove even more carbon. In addition, bison hooves penetrate the soil, aerating it, and causing the growth of new vegetation and more carbon removal.
Even the lowly freshwater clam, or mussel, has an important role. They filter large amounts of water each day, making waterways cleaner. This helps provide habitat for many other aquatic organisms, promoting biodiversity and ecosystem balance. Healthy ecosystems remove more atmospheric carbon than degraded ones.
By conserving our natural systems, we can help rehabilitate our planet and reduce the amount of climate change. -- David Voigts
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Tales From the Trail and Nerdy Birdy
Tales from the Trail and Nerdy Birdy are fun monthly programs at Hartman. Tales from the Trail members read and discuss a different nature-themed book each month. Nerdy Birdy attendees learn about and discuss all kinds of bird topics. Keep watch at BlackHawkCountyParks.com under the Event menu to learn about upcoming books and topics and to register.
2nd Sunday Speaker Series
The speaker for March 24 (yeah, it's not the 2nd Sunday...the March edition is postponed to the 24th because there will be a whole lotta pancakes being thrown on the second Sunday!) is eclipse enthusiast and Waterloo teacher Stacey Snyder. Stacey is a trained NSTA/SSI Solar Eclipse Partner and will share knowledge she gained during her training to help you prepare for the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. You'll learn about what is happening in the cosmos for this to be occurring as well as tips to view the eclipse safely. There is no charge for this event and registration is not necessary. 2:00 PM in the Hartman Community Room. No registration required and there's no cost.
Bricks for Birds
Honor a family member, friend, organization, or business AND help feed all of the neighborhood birds that live at Hartman Reserve through he Bricks for Birds fundraiser. Many of these engraved bricks have already been installed in Pollinator Parkway, behind the West Wing of the Interpretive Center near the bird feeders. Bricks are installed every year in May -- deadline to order for this year's installation is March 20. Download an order form at HartmanReserve.org or stop by the Nature Center to complete a form. Proceeds from this fundraiser will used to purchase bird seed for the feeders and maintain the display.
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To see Conservation news, programs, and events at Hartman Reserve and throughout Black Hawk County, visit Conservation website at www.blackhawkcountyparks.com.
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This month's gallery features photos by Al Sundt. The term “nuthatch” comes from “nut hacker,” reflecting the bird’s unique method of opening nuts. They jam nuts into crevices and then hammer at them to access the tasty contents. Other old country names include “mud dabbler” and “mud stopper,” which highlight the nuthatch’s curious habit of plastering mud around its nest entrance, even if it's the correct size. Nuthatches are the only species that can walk both up and down a tree!
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Vote for Your Favorite Photo
Cornell Labs received over 4,000 entries into this year's BirdSpotter Photo Contest, and they've narrowed it down to the top 10. Now it's time for you to vote for your favorite photo. Your vote also enters you into a drawing where five lucky winners will be awarded a $50 Bird Academy gift certificate! Voting ends March 18, 2024. Vote here.
The Science of Murmurations
Why do flocks of birds swoop and swirl together in the sky? A biologist explains the science of murmurations in this article.
Register for a Free Webinar March 7
Join American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation next Thursday, March 7th, at 2pm MT/4pm ET for a FREE webinar! Register here. The hosts will discuss how conserving habitat for beneficial invertebrates, birds, and other grasshopper predators, is part of the solution for keeping grasshopper populations manageable public lands in the Western United States without the use of pesticides. If you can't make the webinar live, RSVP now and they will send you a recording to enjoy when the time is right for you.
A History of Bird Group Names
Is a group of owls call a stare of owls? Or a parliament of owls? Did you know that a group of jays is called a party of jays?! Here is a fun article about how groups of birds got their names.
Leucistic Pileated Woodpecker
Check out this 9-year-old video of a leucistic Pileated woodpecker at Hartman Reserve, captured by PRAS member Tom Moon. Beautiful bird!
Bird Song Map
The Minnesota DNR has created a fun little audio map of common birds and their songs (partial map shown below). Click on a bird in the map and you'll hear it's most recognizable song. Fun way to learn for the young and young at heart.
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