Green-winged Teal

North America’s smallest waterfowl carries a descriptive, charming name. Male green-winged teal sport a chestnut brown head with an iridescent green streak that appears to run through their eyes, have gray bodies, and sport a beige patch near the tail. A vertical white stripe on their sides is a prominent field identification mark. Females are mottled brown in color, and both sexes have an iridescent green wing speculum, for which they are named. The green-winged teal is a common migrant and uncommon summer resident at Goose Pond Sanctuary. In November 2008, we counted a record high count of 550 individuals at Goose Pond. We frequently find green wings feeding in shallow water for seeds and aquatic invertebrates along with northern shovelers.

Female (left) and male (right) green-winged teal. Photo by USFWS

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Green-winged Teal are numerous and their population has increased over recent decades, according to waterfowl surveys conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They estimated the North American breeding population in 2015 was at least 4 million, almost double the long-term average… Most of the population breeds in Canada and Alaska, where relatively remote and inaccessible nesting areas buffer this species from habitat losses farther south caused by agricultural and urban development.”

Green-winged teal range map, courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s allaboutbirds.org

Volunteers have been busy surveying birds for the Breeding Bird Atlas II that is ending this summer. One of our goals this year at Goose Pond was to confirm green-winged teal, the smallest waterfowl species in North America. Brand Smith recently confirmed nesting trumpeter swans, the largest waterfowl species in North America, about three miles away at Schoeneburg Marsh/Erstad Prairie.

One of the four photos taken in the past five years of a breeding female green-winged teal in Wisconsin. Photo by Richard Armstrong

Comments from our June 20th Breeding Bird Atlas report:

“We have small numbers of green-wings nesting at Goose Pond every year. Usually we do not see the broods due to the emergent arrowhead. The water is too high for arrowheads at this time and broods are easier to see. Mark was walking along a wetland edge south of the Kampen Road residence when a female green-winged flushed and did a detraction display. The green on the speculum was visible without field glasses from 25 feet. Could see at least six young… Mark went back for the field glasses and this time saw the female and a male about 20 yards from the female. This spring we had two pairs and two males but have not seen any green wings since about mid-May. What a pleasant surprise.” 

Later that evening we searched for more waterfowl broods and were pleased to find six broods of blue-winged teal along with broods of mallards, northern shovelers, and hooded mergansers. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states that “The male green-winged teal defends its mate from copulation attempts by other males, then deserts the female once incubation is underway. A few hours after they hatch, the chicks can swim, dive, walk, and forage for themselves, although the female continues to brood them at night and to protect them when the weather turns cold.”  It is interesting that we saw the male nearby even after the eggs hatched. We have also noticed one male blue-winged teal interacting with a brood and female.

A green-winged teal male hangs out at Goose Pond, near the female and brood, an unusual behavior for this species. Photo by Richard Armstrong

Ours is the first green wing confirmation in Columbia County and the nineteenth confirmation state-wide.  In Breeding Bird Atlas I (1995-2000), Brand confirmed the only brood of green wings in Columbia County at Grassy Lake State Wildlife Area, and greens wings were confirmed in 35 blocks. Most bird books show that green wings only migrate through Wisconsin on their range maps.  We assume that the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II data will be used in the future to update summer range maps.

We hope you visit Goose Pond Sanctuary this summer to see ducklings and other wetland bird broods. Abundant water has receded little due to above normal rainfall including 5.7 inches of rain in the past week, and wildlife viewing opportunities are excellent.  

Thanks to Richard Armstrong for taking photos to document the green-winged teal.

Written by Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary resident co-managers

Cover photo by USFWS

Wilson's Snipe

To begin discussing a Wilson's Snipe one must start with its call (listen to it here). Haunting and eerie in composition, the snipe's signature perhaps reflects human feelings towards the areas it inhabits: wetlands and bogs, marshes and swamps. These are marginal areas of little apparent use, though the snipe uses its bombastic winnowing on these grounds to attract mates and scare away predators. Its call is in fact not a call or vocalization, but rather the passage of air through primary feathers as the bird swirls through its wetland residency. 

I knew the call of a snipe long before I knew that a snipe made the call. It seemed amazing that such a call could come from such a shorebird. Short and stocky, with a long straight bill used for probing invertebrates, the snipe appears diminutive and awkward. Yet once flushed, the birds zig-zag in flight and incite riotous calls from nearby Sandhill Cranes and Red-winged Blackbirds. Mallards fly from the springs where a few days ago three snipe flushed as I approached a relatively fresh deer carcass. No doubt these birds were taking advantage of the invertebrates doing the work of cleaning the deer. 

Two Wilson’s snipes stand in shallow wetlands, one with just its long beak underwater rooting for bugs. Photo by Arlene Koziol

Wilson's Snipe are named for Alexander Wilson, a famous ornithologist. The bird's Latin name (Gallinigo delicata) means “resembling a hen.” This likely refers to the heavy chest of the snipe. Huge pectoral muscles account for one quarter of the bird's weight and help it to achieve speeds of up to 60 miles per hour in flight. The etymology of the word “sniper” originates from British soldiers hunting snipe in India, where they were said “to snipe” these erratic and winnowing birds.

Here at Faville Grove, you can't snipe the Wilson's Snipe, though you can enjoy their winnowing calls if you can find them. The wet prairies offer excellent habitat for the snipe, and standing on the south-easternmost exposure of Waterloo Quartzite listening for snipe makes for an excellent spring evening as they migrate through in great numbers.

A Faville Grove wetland, complete with iconic flora and fauna! Photo by Drew Harry

During the Faville Grove summer, it’s been thought that the snipe are absent from the prairies here, moving to more northern areas of Wisconsin. However, in the past few weeks I’ve listened at the ledge on evenings as the snipe continue winnowing. About a week and a half ago, the interns and I were making our way through the wet prairie of the Lowlands South. Upon reaching an open area that had dried down from standing water earlier in the year, I noticed a short “puff ball” running along the ground. Quickly snapping pictures, my mind reeled as to the identity of the species, but a hint quickly flashed from the nearby cattails—an adult Wilson’s snipe!

The little puff ball in action. Photo by Drew Harry

Reviewing my pictures confirmed that the young fledgling was indeed a snipe. Rare nesters in southeastern Wisconsin, this is the first Breeding Bird Atlas conformation for Jefferson County, and a wonderful addition to the summer breeding birds of Faville Grove.

Written by Drew Harry, Faville Grove Sanctuary land steward

Cover photo by Arlene Koziol

Red-shouldered Hawk Banding

June 6 was a beautiful day to spend outdoors learning about the state -threatened red-shouldered hawk and helping band young red-shoulders. We were very fortunate to have Wisconsin’s red-shouldered experts, the Jacob brothers, Gene and John, come to the red-shouldered hotspot in Columbia County to band young. http://www.raptorresearch.com/ and  https://raptorservices.rezgo.com/

The goal was to remove the chicks from the nest, place them safely in a cloth bag, and lower them down for banding and taking scientific measurements, and return them back to the nest.

Video by Arlene Koziol

Team members joining the Jacob brothers included Mark Martin, Graham Steinhauer, and Tanner Pettit (summer intern) from Goose Pond Sanctuary; Goose Pond volunteers Arlene Koziol, Brand Smith, and Bob Bennicoff; MAS board members and photographers David Rihn and Pat Eagan; local resident Cole Hollander; and Savanna Grayless from the DNR Columbia County Wildlife staff.

We began at the first nest located 53 feet high up in a shagbark hickory tree located 20 feet from the front porch of a home in the Wisconsin River forested floodplain of Portage. The brothers are very safety-oriented and spent some time analyzing how to approach the nest.  A 10-foot vine of poison ivy on the tree truck presented a challenge, however they had a 12-foot long ladder that could help them get them above the ivy.  The thick and shaggy bark also presented a challenge for climbing up the trunk. They decided to not climb the trunk but climb a rope if they could propel and position the rope over a limb about four feet over the nest. 

Red-shouldered hawk chicks in the nest. Photo by David Rihn

They assembled their fancy device, a seven-foot long slingshot, and skillfully shot a thin lead rope over the desired limb on the first try, an activity that can sometimes takes an hour to get into place.

While getting a larger rope safely secured Mark asked which of the young team members was going to climb.  John, the older brother and the oldest of everyone present, brought a smile to three of the four younger people when he said that he would climb this nest.  This was John’s first climb of the year.  Everyone was impressed and learned that it takes a strong person and someone not afraid of heights to make the climb. 

John was exhausted when he reached the nest and very disappointed that he could not reach the young and get in a better position. While at the nest an adult brought in food for the young and after noticing John began swooped around. John was wearing a hard hat but luckily the adult did not hit him. 

John approaching the nest. Photo by Arlene Koziol

It took John about one minute to descend compared to many minutes to pull himself up the rope. He stated that he was done climbing for the day.

Before lunch Gene suggested that the rope be left in place in case the second nest was not active. John stayed behind to rest and eat his picnic lunch on the front porch.

After lunch we headed to the next location about 1/3 mile away.  This nest was in a swamp white oak 47 feet from the ground and about 30 feet from buildings. Team members were helping get the safety ropes in place when someone spotted a fledgling hawk in the water below the nest. Only its head and part of one wing was not submerged. We all thought the young bird was close to death, however Brand Smith quickly called the Four Lakes Wildlife Center in Madison to see if we could bring it to them for care.

Red-shouldered hawk nestling recovering from a near drowning. Photo by Arlene Koziol

The bird was dried off and placed on a towel in the sun to recover. On close examination by John, he found the crop almost full and thought that the bird would survive without assistance. It was exciting to see the chick recover, move its wings and start chirping. John banded the bird and the young male was ready to return to the nest.

Gene harnessed up and ascended the tree, negotiating a number of limbs as he climbed. Only one young hawk was present in the nest and it was lowered down to the team who banded the bird and Gene placed both safely back into the nest.

Back at the first nest, John and Graham had been talking and John asked Graham if he would like to make the climb. Graham was waiting for John to ask him! Graham has climbing experience and with coaching from John, it did not take him long to reach the nest. He was also in a good position at the nest and three young were lowered to the ground, banded, and safely returned to the nest. Graham was pumped to be able to help out and John hopes that he will become a “raptor climber.”

Graham Steinhauer made it to the first nest! Photo by Mark Martin

Additional information:

• The banding data is used by the Bird Banding Laboratory. From their website: the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) is an integrated scientific program established in 1920 supporting the collection, archiving, management and dissemination of information from banded and marked birds in North America. This information is used to monitor the status and trends of resident and migratory bird populations. Because birds are good indicators of the health of the environment, the status and trends of bird populations are critical for identifying and understanding many ecological issues and for developing effective science, management and conservation practices.

• The Jacob brothers began studying raptors in the early 1970’s. Madison Audubon Society is helping fund their red-shoulder research that includes attaching transmitters to study migration, home ranges, and learn about the ecology of these forest raptors. John’s red-shouldered study area is in northeast Wisconsin and Gene’s study area is in central Wisconsin near Stevens Point. Note that Gene bands saw-whet owls in October at Linwood Spring Research Station. The station is open for visitors by reservation.

• DNR conducted red-shouldered surveys using calls from 2010 to 2012, however there were no survey routes in Columbia County.  Most of the surveys were along floodplain forest river systems like the Lower Wisconsin, Black River, Wolf, and Chippewa Rivers. The first year volunteers found 110 red-shoulders on 23 routes.

• On the first Breeding Bird Atlas in Columbia County only one pair of red-shouldered hawks was found and listed as “probably breeding.” Back then, we did not know how to locate red-shoulders.

• This year we decided to conduct special red-shouldered surveys for the Breeding Bird Atlas II, and Brand Smith took the lead with assistance from Mark, Sue, Graham, Bob Bennicoff, Dory Owen, JD Arnston, Bill Smith, Jane Furchgott, Nydia Klien, and Richard Staffen. Everyone has good memories of the survey days. One day team members were out and Brand and others located the first nest that we banded at. After that, some team members changed teams.  Dory was with Brand and ask what the plan was. Brand stated “we should be on the lookout for nests.” Within one minute Dory exclaimed, “There is a nest!” This was the second red-shouldered nest we banded at. Jane, Bill, and Rich surveyed the Baraboo River floodplain forest where the Baraboo enters the Wisconsin River. Their highlight was finding 10 red-shoulders and three nests.  Brand also confirmed nesting when he observed a red-shoulder carrying a frog to a nest. The Jacob brothers mentioned that frogs are a major prey item. Another day, Brand and Bob really enjoyed canoeing a mile on a road near the Wisconsin River with water four-foot deep in some areas.

• Thanks to the hard work of our atlas team we confirmed eight nests in six atlas blocks over 14 river miles and wonder how many nests were missed? Atlas volunteers have only confirmed four nests in 92 miles of Lower Wisconsin River.  

THANK YOU to Gene, John, and Graham and team members for making this a memorable day, to everyone who helped locate red-shoulders, and to the landowners for allowing us to band the young.

Written by Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary resident co-managers and Arlene Koziol, Madison Audubon volunteer and conservation photographer

Cover photo by Arlene Koziol

Eastern Kingbird

The Eastern Kingbird, a delightful bird to watch on June mornings, marks open areas with its broad tail feathers, notched at the bottom with white. To watch a kingbird is to see a bird puppeted about as it moves from a snag, hawks a group of insects, and returns to that same perch. Last year I witnessed the delightful presence of recently fledged kingbirds on a power line along North Shore Road. The parent bird went one by one and delivered food to each fledgling—a precise and delicate process.

Photo by Arlene Koziol

Kingbirds can be found in open habitats, from savannas to prairies to orchards, across much of the United States, including all of Wisconsin. Constructing haphazard nests in shrbus and trees, the birds will defend those nests and territories from nearly every intruder. Aggressiveness of breeding birds is a common sight, and dazzling aerial maneuvers often ensue. In flight, the kingbird’s tail will regularly fan out, as the bird hovers, twists, and maneuvers chaotically.

Its Latin name Tyrannus means tyrant or despot, and the kingbird lives up to this with its defense of its nest from brown-headed cowbirds, blue jays, and hawks. You can find kingbirds at Faville Grove in most open habitats with a scattering of trees. Watch for their distinctive white tail tip and kiting flights in grassy areas.

Photo by OHFalcon72

Written by Drew Harry, Faville Grove Sanctuary land steward

Cover photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren