Winter? Spring? Sprinter! | |
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In this issue:
- Sky Dance
- In the News: Ghost Streams
- Evening Lecture Series
- Upcoming Programs
- Programs for Young Children!
- Staff Accolades
- Tales From the Trails: Reflections From the Sap Stove
- Greenways: From Scraps to Snacks!
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Sky Dance
In his 1948 classic, A Sand County Almanac, conservationist Aldo Leopold chronicled seasonal events and other reflections over his years of wildlife ecology. His essay, “Sky Dance,” introduces the reader to the intricate spring ritual of a curious bird, Scolopax minor, also known by some of these other names: Timberdoodle, Bogsucker, Labrador Twister, Night Partridge, and the American Woodcock. (Photo by Louis Brodeur)
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These migratory birds travel between their winter home throughout the Gulf of Mexico and their nesting grounds in the eastern United States, and into southern Canada. With a long, flexible bill, they probe moist soils for earthworms and invertebrates. | |
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Their cryptic coloration hides them well in open grassy areas as they feed or incubate their ground nests. Can you find the woodcock in the photo above? (Photo by Asbed Iskedjian) | |
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Leopold’s Sky Dance details the courtship display that the males perform to impress the females. “Suddenly the peenting ceases and the bird flutters skyward in a series of wide spirals, emitting a musical twitter. Up and up he goes, the spirals steeper and smaller, the twittering louder and louder, until the performer is only a speck in the sky. Then, without warning, he tumbles like a crippled plane, giving voice in a soft liquid warble that a March bluebird might envy. At a few feet from the ground he levels off and returns to his peenting ground, usually to the exact spot where the performance began, and there resumes his peenting.”
You can view a male woodcock peenting in this video..
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It is not unusual for us to occasionally host woodcocks on our campus in open grassy areas, such as the Community Organic Garden or the Old Field. They typically arrive in Michigan in mid-March, but this year is a very different year, weather wise.
After the hottest February on record, many bird species are arriving here earlier than usual. Reports of woodcock began last month. As a species, woodcock are in decline, possibly related to natural forest succession combined with habitat loss due to development. Their heavy diet of earthworms makes them vulnerable to poisoning by lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals. We’ll just have to wait and see what the rest of their nesting season reveals.
Check out the Detroit Bird Alliance’s woodcock program at Oakwoods Metropark to view this spring ritual!
Friday, March 22 at 7 p.m.: Detroit Bird Alliance Woodcock Watch
Leaders: Jim Bull and Bruce Szczechowski
Right at dusk, this peculiar-looking sandpiper with a long beak and large eyes does its spectacular aerial courtship display in open areas. We'll meet at the Oakwoods Metropark Nature Center and then walk together to view the Woodcock's display. To learn more and to register, click here.
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In the News: Ghost Streams
Our Director, Dr. Jacob Napieralski, and his students have been doing some research on ghost streams in Detroit. When heavy rain pours, buried ghost streams flow, contributing to flooding in Detroit’s most vulnerable neighborhoods and causing significant damage, University of Michigan-Dearborn researchers found. More than 200 miles of buried creeks and wetlands across Detroit’s landscape have been mapped over the last year-and-a-half.
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The EIC staff presents a series of monthly programs. Staff members, as well as local speakers, will offer talks on topics of their own interests related to environmental themes. The talks are presented in Room 119 inside the EIC. Casual walks in the Environmental Study Area will be offered after the talks.
Here are the speakers and their topics:
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Rouge River Revived
Speaker – Dr. John Hartig, Visiting Scholar at the University of Windsor
Date – Thursday, March 28
Time – 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Dr. John Hartig is an accomplished Great Lakes scientist and serves as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Windsor's Great Lakes Institute of Environmental Research. He is a recognized leader in conservation and sustainability. He sits on the Board of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and is chair of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan's Great Lakes Way Advisory Committee. In addition to Rouge River Revived, Dr. Hartig has authored several other books dealing with water stewardship and community awareness, not to mention the many scientific articles in publication.
Please register for this program.
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Spring Ephemeral Wildflowers
Speaker - Dale Browne, EIC Staff Naturalist
Date – Thursday, April 25
Time – 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Mushroom Identification 101
Speaker – Mike Solomon, EIC Staff Naturalist
Date – Thursday, May 25
Time – 5:00-6:00 p.m.
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"Beware the Ides of March"
Evening Walk
Friday, March 15, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Fear not--The Ides of March actually has a non-threatening history. Ides simply referred to the first full moon of a given month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. (This month it will be on the 25th.) Come enjoy a "sprinter" walk through the Study Area with EIC naturalists. Dress for the weather, whatever it may be... Please register for this program.
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Maple Syrup Boil Down!
Saturday, March 9, Two walks: 1-2:30, 1:30-3:00 p.m.
How do we choose the correct tree for making maple syrup? What do we do with the sap in the buckets? How is maple syrup made? Find out the answers to these questions and more on a walk to the sugar bush, then gather around the stove in the "outdoor kitchen" for a taste of last year's "liquid sunshine." Please register for this program.
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Bi-weekly Programs
Nature Walks for Mental Health Winter 2024
Schedule: 3:00-3:45 p.m. on March 19th and the final walk & celebration on April 2nd.
Relax, unwind, and get outside; with brief guided meditations, and 45-minute nature walks. You will be entered into a raffle for each event you attend, where winners will be announced at the final walk and celebration. Please dress appropriately for walking outdoors. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, email [email protected]. Please RSVP
Art in Nature Winter 2024
Schedule: 2:30-3:30 p.m. on March 21st and April 18th.
Guided nature walks include art demonstrations, tips, and prompts. Art supplies available upon request, or bring your own. There will also be opportunities to submit your artwork to be displayed in an Art Showcase in April. Please dress appropriately for sitting outdoors. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, email [email protected]. Please RSVP
Photography Walks Winter 2024
Schedule: 2:30-3:30 p.m. on April 4th.
Take a hike with an EIC Naturalist and Nature Photographer! Bring your own cameras and accessories, we supply the scenery. There will also be opportunities to submit your photos to be displayed in a Photography Showcase in April. Please dress appropriately for walking outdoors. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, email [email protected]. Please RSVP
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Programs for Young Children | |
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Join us for an hour of fun!
Free & open to the public. Best for children 7 and under. Meet in the EIC Exhibit Area.
Music & Bubbles, Observe Wildlife, Nature Themed Books, Crafts or Activities
Wednesdays from 4:00-5:00 p.m.,
March 13th, April 24th.
For adults bringing children of various ages, there is an option for older kids (7+) to enjoy a nature walk with an EIC naturalist while younger kids. Please register for this program.
Children's Arts & Crafts Workshop
Welcome to children of all ages. Each workshop will have an environmental focus. All supplies will be provided.
4:00-5:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 26th, & Tuesday, April 16th.
Meet in Room 118 - see you there!
Contact Alexis Kott ([email protected]) for more information on these programs. Please register for this program.
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Dale Browne is Outstanding!
Of course, we knew that, and now the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) does, too! Dale will receive the Sandy McBeath Part-time/Seasonal Outstanding Interpreter Award at the upcoming regional interpreters workshop in Ann Arbor this month. We are so pleased that Dale is receiving this well deserved recognition!
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Reflections From the Sap Stove
(Photos by Jim Simek)
The long hours spent preparing maple syrup outdoors, day after day and over a stretch of several weeks, offer a wonderful opportunity to experience the arrival of spring.
Out by the sap stove, the sights and sounds of spring’s arrival come in many forms. Perhaps foremost of these is migrating birdlife taking advantage of southerly winds that help them move north. Some of these pause in their journeys to rest and feed in the Environmental Study Area.
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This year, flocks of newly arrived Red-winged Blackbirds were already present by the time we made our first batch of syrup. The “konk-a-ree” calls of dozens of male redwings in the woods nearby made for a unique kind of music. | |
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Later, on March 4, I heard the my first Killdeer of the spring—as I almost always do while making syrup—calling “kill-dee” “kill-dee” as it flew overhead.
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Other bird sounds heralding spring’s arrival can be heard among the year-round resident birdlife of the Environmental Study Area. The “peter-peter-peter” song of the male Tufted Titmouse is especially characteristic of maple tapping season. In my forty years of making maple syrup, I have hardly ever experienced a sap season without the company of their calls. That’s because titmice first set aside their nesting territories during the late days of February and into March. Sometimes, instead of hearing titmice singing “peter-peter,” I fancy hearing them singing “maple-maple.”
Looking up while making syrup on days with southerly winds also can reveal quieter news of spring’s arrival on the wing. That is how I usually see my first Turkey Vulture of the year as it soars northward.
The delightfully unhurried activity of making maple syrup outdoors can enliven our experience of seasonal transition. For a sampling of that, consider joining our staff on Saturday, March 9 for a maple syrup tour. We’re likely to experience some of the sights and sounds of spring that add a special sweetness to the syrup-making experience.
-Rick Simek
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From Scraps to Snacks!
I don’t know about you, but when the weather begins to warm, I can think of only one thing:
planting my garden! While it may be too early yet to get your seeds or plants in the ground, according to the USDA, I will share with you a few ways you can “stretch your green thumb” before the growing season truly begins.
Kitchen scraps are well-known to make wonderful, nutritious compost to nourish your growing seedlings. However, some scraps can also be useful to start entire plants, themselves!
One of my personal favorite ways to accomplish this “second life” of kitchen ingredients, is to save green onions or scallions, and sprout them. When cutting, leave the bottom inch of the onion intact and place it upright in a shallow dish of water in a sunny place, like a windowsill. Change the water every 2-3 days and, soon, you should see the beginnings of tiny roots and a new green shoot starting to grow. Let the new shoot grow for a couple of weeks, then plant it in a small pot of soil, or your garden, once the danger of frost has passed. If you harvest by just snipping the top of the plant about an inch above the ground, you can enjoy fresh green onions for free all summer long!
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Another great example of a scrap that can be turned into a complete plant is the humble potato! Potatoes that have sprouted, or that have visible growth from the “eyes” can be planted directly in the ground (or even in buckets!) for a bountiful harvest of fresh potatoes! | |
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My personal favorite way to start a crop from scraps is with fresh basil! If you cut the stem about an inch below a node (where 2 leaves sprout from the stem), and trim all but the top 2 leaves, and place this upright in a shallow dish of water, over a week or two, the cutting will likely grow roots! You can plant this rooted cutting in soil, and treat it just like a seedling. Here’s the amazing part: you can take cuttings from this new basil plant the same way, and have renewable basil for months, or even years!
Consider trying these tricks to keep your “inner farmer” busy, and incorporate more fresh-grown, local, and cheap food into your meals. Or, conduct an experiment with your own different types of kitchen scraps, and let us know how it turns out!
-Mike Solomon, EIC Naturalist
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Venturing outdoors and encountering nature is good for your health. Our trails are accessible, so please visit our Environmental Study Area. Stay engaged in learning activities and check out our Remote Learning Activities & Resources page for ideas to create a “Neighborhood Nature Journal” and “Family Nature Walk” activities!
We also hope to see you in person at our upcoming programs!
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Please remember...
The EIC Environmental Study Area is open daily from sunrise to sunset. We would like to remind nature-goers that fishing on site is prohibited and to leave bikes and dogs at home because they cause disruption and stress to the EIC wildlife.
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