Northern Goshawk

The northern goshawk is a fierce bird, the largest of the Accipiter genus in Wisconsin. With a Holarctic distribution, the goshawk glides through coniferous and hardwood forests of boreal and northern temperate regions across the world. The face of northern goshawks is dark grey, with a white eyebrow slashing across its side, contrasting its red eyes. The belly is finely barred grey in adults.

Juvenile goshawk in the nest, photo by Andrey Gulivanov

Goshawks in Wisconsin prefer mature forest, and will often find the largest tree in a tract to place their nest. Hunters of the forest, these birds tend to prefer open understories free of brush where they can hunt with more airspace. For Wisconsin birds, diet includes ruffed grouse, red squirrel, blue jay, crow, and eastern chipmunk. A majority of the North American breeding population of goshawks resides in Canada, but most northern Wisconsin counties have nesting pairs, and the birds will migrate into Wisconsin in great numbers every 8-10 years when the abundance of ruffed grouse and snowshoe hare declines in the Canadian boreal forest.

Nesting pairs will produce 2 to 4 eggs, though research from northern Wisconsin suggests that the fisher (a small carnivore of the weasel family) will prey upon goshawk eggs and reduce reproductive potential. Nests in northeastern Wisconsin that produced 2.3 fledged young per nest from 1971-1981 only produced 1.3 fledged young per nest from 1982 to 1992 as fisher populations increased. Goshawks are known to fiercely defend nests, but fishers ambush the nest as can humans. Goshawks are valuable in falconry, and multiple nests in Wisconsin were found to be illegally captured for this purpose. For an excellent read about a singular goshawk, you might check out H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald’s memoir about raising her goshawk Mabel.

The fierce look of a northern goshawk, photo by Zweer de Bruin

There remains some concern about the future of the goshawk in Wisconsin. As a northern bird, climate change may push this species to the brink. Even under the most conservative estimate of 1.5 degrees Celsius warming, the goshawk is projected to lose its entire breeding range in northern Wisconsin and most of the eastern United States, according to Audubon’s “Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink.” The northern goshawk ranks as one of 44 high vulnerability species in Wisconsin.

These fierce accipiters should be enjoyed while they still inhabit Wisconsin. A quick look at current sightings on eBird reveals birds at Wehr Nature Center near Milwaukee and at UW-Madison’s Arboretum.

Written by Drew Harry, Faville Grove Sanctuary land steward

Cover photo by Martha de Jong-Lantink

Common Raven

Common raven photo by Mick Thompson

The highlight for the annual Poynette Christmas Bird Count (CBC) held on January 4 was finding the first common raven in the 49 year history of the count. Diane and Becki Tomlinson had reported hearing a pair of ravens this fall from the woods that runs east of the DNR MacKenzie Environmental Education Center for about 1.25 miles. Finding the bird was a focus for this CBC. In the morning Jeff and Caleb Lang surveyed for birds in that area, but were not able to find any ravens.

After lunch Dory Owen and Galen Hasler headed to the MacKenzie Center to look and listen for ravens. Dory and Galen had hardly gotten out of the car when they heard a raven calling. There was a Boy Scout troop exploring the MacKenzie Center, and Dory immediately deputized them to help find the raven. After scouring the woods for a short time, a pair of confused looking Boy Scouts exclaimed, “We found it!” Dory followed them down a trail to an enclosure marked Common Raven. This was a captive exhibit bird. We did not think National Audubon Society would accept that observation even though Dory took a short video, and we had 100% documentation. 

Mark then called Becki Tomlinson who took a hike in the wooded area on Tomlinson land, and a calling raven flew over her within the hour. The first “wild raven” for the Poynette Christmas Count was in the record book!

The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology writes about ravens that, “ravens are the largest-bodied of all passerines… This large, black, majestic bird is geographically and ecologically one of the most widespread naturally occurring birds in the world. It is distributed throughout major portions of North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and in all terrestrial biomes except tropical rain forests. The North American Breeding Bird Survey found raven numbers to be increasing from 1966-2014, and Partners In Flight estimated the global raven population at 20 million birds with about 1.8 million in the United States.

Common raven range map, courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology

In the 1991 publication Wisconsin Birdlife, Samuel Robbins Jr. wrote that, "The earliest settlers found common ravens present throughout most of the state, wherever forests prevailed. Hoy recorded them at Racine where they sometimes outnumbered crows." It is likely that they were widespread throughout southern Wisconsin, especially in the southwest and along Lake Michigan. Ravens were much more restricted by 1900, and they were only found in the north and central regions save for a few outlying observations in the south. By the 1940's their range contracted even further into the northern third of Wisconsin. 

eBird map of common raven breeding. Black = confirmed, dark purple = probable. See more: https://ebird.org/atlaswi/map/comrav

In the recently completed Breeding Bird Atlas II, observers in Columbia County confirmed ravens nesting in four blocks, probably nesting in two blocks, and possibly nesting in two more blocks. These observations are the southernmost raven records in Wisconsin and a southern expansion from current range maps.

In May of 2016, Mark, Heather Iznalaco, and Jim and Kathy Shurts were doing a Birdathon. They stopped north of Rio along a red and white pine plantation to listen for ravens since Mark and Sue had heard then in the local area. “We just got out of the car and a raven was calling from the pines. Mark secured permission for the group to hike the pines and look for the raven nest. We were lining up and spread out ready to start walking when Mark saw a raven sitting on a stick nest in the pines about 30 yards from the road.”

In Columbia County crows are more common than ravens.  If we see large black birds and can not hear them we assume they are crows.  Ravens are a large, thick-necked bird with a hefty bill, a shaggy neck, and wedge-shaped tail. While appearances are similar at a distance, the low gurgling calls of a raven are easily distinguished from the crow’s familiar CAW! 

The raven seen on the Poynette CBC is 5.5 miles north of Goose Pond.  Ravens can fly long distances in their daily movements, and we hope to have someone report a raven at Goose Pond and add it to the bird checklist as bird species number 264.

Written by Mark Martin and Sue Foote-Martin, Goose Pond resident managers, and Graham Steinhauer,  land steward

• Cool Facts from Cornell Lab of Ornithology

  • The Common Raven is an acrobatic flier, often doing rolls and somersaults in the air. One bird was seen flying upside down for more than a half-mile. Young birds are fond of playing games with sticks, repeatedly dropping them, then diving to catch them in midair.

  • Common Ravens are smart, which makes them dangerous predators. They sometimes work in pairs to raid seabird colonies, with one bird distracting an incubating adult and the other waiting to grab an egg or chick as soon as it’s uncovered. They’ve been seen waiting in trees as ewes give birth, then attacking the newborn lambs.

  • They also use their intellect to put together cause and effect. A study in Wyoming discovered that during hunting season, the sound of a gunshot draws ravens in to investigate a presumed carcass, whereas the birds ignore sounds that are just as loud but harmless, such as an air horn or a car door slamming.

  • This species has long been a part of the folklore of many cultures. Native Americans of the Northwest revere ravens as being the creator of earth, moon, sun, and stars, but also regard it as trickster and cheater. 

  • People the world over sense a certain kind of personality in ravens. Edgar Allan Poe clearly found them a little creepy. The captive ravens at the Tower of London are beloved and perhaps a little feared: legend has it that if they ever leave the tower, the British Empire will crumble. Native people of the Pacific Northwest regard the raven as an incurable trickster, bringing fire to people by stealing it from the sun, and stealing salmon only to drop them in rivers all over the world.

Whooping Crane

Each year in Wisconsin, the chances increase that people across the state will see a whooping crane. Locally, reports surface almost every spring and fall, with whooping cranes mixing in with flocks of sandhill cranes. Just this last spring, a neighbor spotted a whooping crane down Prairie Lane, and though the reported bird was not technically within Faville Grove Sanctuary boundaries, it was right next door, finding stopover habitat along the Crawfish River. The conservation of the whooping crane marks a pivotal success story for North America’s tallest bird.

Whooping crane family. Photo by USFWS Midwest Region

For the most endangered crane in the world, a trip to the brink was almost a given during the start of the twentieth century in America when prairies were plowed, marshes drained, and market hunting boomed. By the mid-1940’s, the population had dropped to just 21 birds. Estimates indicate that the population prior to European invasion was interestingly only one to two thousand birds.

Federal action helped save the birds. In 1967, a captive breeding program started at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland. Many of the captive-reared birds were successfully reintroduced into the wild population, which had breeding grounds in Canada at Wood Buffalo National Park, and overwintered on the Texas coast at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

A whooping crane and two sandhill cranes. Photo by USFWS Midwest Region

Although population numbers were increasing, the eggs raised at Patuxent were still being poured into one basket. The lone wild population of whooping cranes were vulnerable to catastrophic events—whims of weather, predators, or trigger-happy humans. A new flock had to be produced, and initial tests with whooping cranes  following sandhill cranes on migration failed. Whooping cranes became romantically interested in sandhills, and female whooping cranes became uninterested in breeding entirely.

Bold steps over the next few years led to the production of a new breeding ground at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. Once translocated and acclimated, the birds there were led by a manned ultralight aircraft; they had to be taught how to migrate! This learned migration has been successful, and the birds followed the aircraft to Florida, then returned of their own volition the next spring.

Operation Migration in action. Photo by USFWS Midwest Region, 2011

The captive rearing of birds to be introduced into the wild also took an unexpected turn. In order for the birds to avoid imprinting on humans, the humans had to dress as whooping cranes, donning white robes with long sleeves, where a beak would protrude from the human’s hand to feed the young colts. The work of rearing the young in captivity was conducted at Patuxent as well as the International Crane Foundation.

A captive whooping crane at International Crane Foundation

Today, whooping crane numbers stand at around 600 birds, with a number of different populations, including non-migratory populations in Louisiana and Florida. While drastic interventions to save the bird were successful, those birds that have been introduced into the wild have struggled to reproduce. Reproductive output of these birds is very low, and they seem to lack good enough parenting skills to protect their young. For this reason, as well as budget cuts, the program at Patuxent was closed. In addition, the ultralight aircraft flight, known as Operation Migration, has also stopped. Captive rearing and introduction programs continue at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin and at the Calgary Zoo in Canada.

Former interns at Faville Grove have now worked to help save the whooping crane, working with captive birds at the International Crane Foundation. They have continued Aldo Leopold’s legacy of conservation at Faville Grove, to perpetuate the crane marsh, as Leopold says in his essay “Marshland Elegy” (written about Sandhill cranes but nonetheless applicable).

On motionless wing they emerge from the lifting mists, sweep a final arc of the sky, and settle in the clangorous descending spirals to their feeding grounds. A new day has begun on the crane marsh.

Written by Drew Harry, Faville Grove Sanctuary land steward

'Tis the season for snowy owls

If snowy owls come and spend the winter with us, they usually arrive around the first of the new year. This year UW Arlington Research Farms manager Mike Bertram called and reported the first snowy owl on the morning of December 11th. It did not take long for us to confirm his sighting. Snowy owls usually sit at the same location all day and begin hunting near dark.

Arlene Koziol, a dedicated wildlife photographer based in Madison and who you see featured all over the Madison Audubon website, had recently asked if we had been seeing any snowy owls. We alerted her of the recent observation and the next evening she posted some of her photos of the new bird to her Flickr page. 

Snowy owl take-off. Photo by Arlene Koziol

Snowy basking in sun. Photo by Arlene Koziol

The snowy who has been hanging around UW Farms. Photo by Richard Armstrong.

Snowies feel at home in the flat expanse of corn fields, which mimic the openness of the tundra. Photo by Richard Armstrong.

The winters of 2013 and 2014 were major invasion years for snowy owls. We remember one account where someone saw 75 snowys while standing in the same spot along the east coast in Canada. It didn’t take long for a group of biologist with an interest and knowledge about tracking technology to form Project SNOWstorm. 

Project SNOWstorm scientist Dave Brinker and team have refined their light-weight tracking backpack worn by the owl. The pack contains a solar panel, battery, GPS unit, and cell phone for calling in. Brinker is a SNOWstorm co-founder who grew up in Racine and studied at UW-Green Bay. Dave works as a biologist for Maryland DNR.

In 2014, we inquired about catching and “backpacking” an owl in the Goose Pond area and learned that it would cost $3,000 for the transmitter. Thanks to generous MAS members we raised the transmitter funds and Gene Jacobs, master bird bander and raptor biologist from Stevens Point was ready to catch a local owl if possible. Gene is the only person in Wisconsin with authority to capture and place transmitters on snowy owls.

Gene caught a young male snowy owl at the Central Wisconsin Airport, removing it from dangerous runway areas.  He placed a transmitter on “Goose Pond” on February 13, 2015 as part of a relocation project to see if the owl would stay around or head to another airport.  Mark was thrilled to release the owl at the UW Farms. Read more about that project here.

Mark Martin releases “Goose Pond” the snowy owl near its namesake, Goose Pond Sanctuary. Photo by Arlene Koziol

Peggy Macnamara, Artist in residence at the Field Museum, with Mark holding the painting she created of the experience. Photo by Arlene Koziol

Arlington stares right at the camera. Photo by David Rihn

Our second owl, also a young male named “Arlington” was caught on January 4, 2018 along with another owl that was banded and named Quarry. Goose Pond volunteer Gerry Bennicoff will never forget releasing Arlington at in the dark on a cold winter night. Arlington provided hourly locations include his travels around southern Wisconsin and unfortunately was hit by a vehicle in late April in northeast Minnesota. Read more about Arlington’s story here.

In January 2019, our partners at Buena Vista March caught and released another snowy owl named “Coddington” who was outfitted with Arlington’s refurbished transmitter, paid for by Madison Audubon donors. Coddington made a narrow escape when he was rescued from a manure pit in a barn in central Wisconsin by the farm family who lived there. Coddington was rehabbed with the Raptor Education Group, Inc. (REGI), and his transmitter once again held back and refurbished for future use.

Coddington, the snowy owl. Photo by Brad Zinda

Now, we are almost ready for a THIRD go-round with this transmitter, hoping to outfit the snowy owl hanging around Goose Pond Sanctuary and the UW Farms right now. Based on the wing molt shown in Arlene’s photos, Dave Brinker was able to determine the owl is a 30 month old female. Our goal is to trap her and release her with a transmitter. However, adults are difficult to trap.

Photo by Arlene Koziol, annotations for aging the bird.

Photo by Arlene Koziol, annotations for aging.

Project SNOWstorm will have transmitted about 100 owls by the end of this winter and provides interesting and frequent updates on their project. We especially liked the story of Buckeye.

We will be providing updates if we trap an owl. The owl has been seen about 2 miles southeast of Goose Pond in the local area of Highway K, Badger Lane and Ramsey Road. Late afternoon is an excellent time to look for snowys since they usually become active at dusk and move to hunting perches. 

The owl track near this pile of rock pigeon feathers gives a good indication of what happened here. Photo by Graham Steinhauer.

One afternoon Richard Armstrong reported that the owl was feeding on a larger prey item for over an hour. We mentioned that it could be a rock pigeon. Richard replied that he “had not seen any rock pigeons around”. Graham and Richard checked the next day and found a pile of rock pigeon feathers.

One easy was to locate a snowy owl is to look for parked vehicles. Owl watchers should not impact traffic, trespass off the road, or get out of their vehicles if the owl is close by.  If you see some bad behavior let us know by calling Mark at 608-333-9645.

Volunteers are welcome to search for snowys two days before Gene would trap and on trapping day. Please send us snowy owl observations including locations and photos (goosep@madisonaudubon.org). Enjoy the snowys this winter.

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

Bay-breasted Warbler

Tomorrow, the winter solstice in Wisconsin welcomes the shortest day of the year, clocking in at 8 hours 59 minutes. Half the world over, in the Panama Canal sits Barro Colorado Island, almost 6 square miles of some of the most-studied tropical forest in the world (the Smithsonian houses a research institute on the island). Tomorrow, the day length on Barro Colorado will last over 11 hours and 30 minutes.  On this island you may find Bay-breasted warblers, foraging through the rainforest in mixed flocks.

Bay-breasted warbler, photo by Dave Inman

The Bay-breasted warbler is a common migrant through Wisconsin each year. On certain days in May these birds seem to swarm through the state. This past May I was on the Crawfish River kayaking and witnessed over two dozen Bay-breasted warblers in just a half hour. Breathtaking in their foraging and plumage, these warblers hop and hover in a flurry of activity, all the while adorning the trees with their decorative chestnut breasts and flanks and cream underparts and rear cheek.

Canadian boreal forests are prime breeding habitat for Bay-breasted warblers. These birds will utilize spruce trees, placing a nest in the bottom third of the tree, and taking advantage of spruce budworm outbreaks for a great source of nutrition for both parents and young. Wisconsin’s Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Wisconsin remarks, “This is one that got away!” since no breeding was documented in the first Atlas. In Wisconsin’s recently completed second Atlas, no Bay-breasted warblers were documented, even as probable breeders. While northern Wisconsin has suitable boreal habitat in certain areas, these are not massive tracts like the Canadian boreal forest, and accessing many of these swampy areas can be extremely difficult. Confounding the effort of finding breeding Bay-breasted warblers in Wisconsin is the fact of climate change—as the climate warms these birds may abandon more southern boreal forests.

Bay-breasted warbler, photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

Back at Barro Colorado Island, researchers found that Bay-breasted warblers were not specialist foragers on their wintering grounds. While the birds specialize on spruce budworm on breeding grounds, they can be found in Panama anywhere from roadsides to lawns to garbage cans. I like to think about their sun-drenched wintering grounds as daylight wanes at Faville Grove.

Written by Drew Harry, Faville Grove Sanctuary land steward

Cover photo by Stan Lupo