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I have not seen any Canada goose goslings yet this Spring, and it sure seems like time. On my way to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha I drive by a lot of habitat where there are nesting geese, but have not witnessed any goslings floating behind mom.
How about you? Maybe I am just to busy admiring all the common egrets. I took this photo just a couple of days ago along the Wabasha/Nelson dike road. There were a total of 37 common egrets in the area of the photo.
Enjoy, the sun is coming out again!
Scott Mehus
Naturalist and golden eagle aficionado
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Well, we sure have been spoiled with the early nice weather, but as we discussed before, even the plants have been spoiled! I was sure nervous the other night when the forecasters were threatening a freeze warning. So being a Nervous Nellie and not wanting to lose any of my precious lilies, I spent about an hour pulling every blanket, coat, sweatshirt and rug to cover all of my lilies. I probably could have got by without covering them, but I spend a lot of time caring for them, so I hated to take any chances, plus I did find ice in a wheelbarrow in my backyard, so it did get cold! I can’t wait for the lilies to start blooming so that I can share the photos of them with you.
With the cold weather and therefore a lack of bugs I was also very concerned about my purple martins of which over 30 have returned to the gourds that I have placed out for them. Cold wet weather can be very detrimental for them, so hopefully they make it through the next week of cold weather.
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What an early Spring we are having this year!! I have lilacs in full bloom in my yard right now, we typically expect them to be in full bloom around Mothers Day weekend, but this year they will all be spent by then. While checking out my rhubarb plants in the back yard earlier this week I discovered a morel mushroom growing. That is the first time I have had one growing in my yard. I resisted the urge to pick it, hoping that by leaving it, it will let it’s cousins know that this would be a great place to take up residence!! Once they come I will gladly pick them to eat. I guess the old folk adage to look for morels when the lilacs are blooming is true, at least in my yard it is.
My tulips are just about done for the season, it sure is nice to have them bring some color into our lives in the spring.
Scott Mehus
Naturalist and golden eagle aficionado
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I just recently noticed that (my) Purple Martins are back. I saw the first male on April 8th and another male appeared the next day and 2 females arrived this weekend. I have been a martin landlord for about six years now and the first birds usually arrive back between the 5th and 8th of April, so once again they are right on track. I have 24 martin gourds set up so I have a lot more martins to come back in the next month. I will let you know the progress as the season progresses.
On my way to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha this morning I saw my first dead turtle on the road. This is always so frustrating to see!! I know that sometimes it is unavoidable, but on too many occasions have I seen people purposely swerve to HIT the turtles. I will chat more about watching for turtles as we get more into “Why did the turtle cross the road season”.
There have been large flocks of American White Pelicans flying over the National Eagle Center the last couple of days. These birds are fascinating to watch as they soar on thermals, at one point they are visible and then turn slightly and they disappear.
This is an exciting time of the year to get out and enjoy Spring at its fullest!!!
Scott Mehus
Naturalist and Golden Eagle Aficionado
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[cid:3352296323_2144551] Photo Credit to David Fredrickson. The photo was taken in Buffalo County WI in January 2010. Scott Mehus, Golden Eagle Expert at the National Eagle Center, has observed golden eagles in our area regularly going after fox and gray squirrels, eastern cottontails, and wild turkeys. Mehus has witnessed them going after white-tailed deer occasionally. These are typically younger birds who are desperate to catch a meal. Unfortunately Scott is not a photographer so he had no proof of them going after deer in our area to show people.
“The golden eagle going after the very frightened looking deer is approximately two years of age,” said Mehus.
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GOLDEN EAGLE TO BE RELEASED WITH SATELLITE TRANSMITTER
At 12:30pm, on March 25th, 2010, the National Eagle Center and Audubon Minnesota are happy to announce that they will be releasing a golden eagle with a satellite-linked radio tracking device. The release will take place near Fairchild, Wisconsin,(southeast of Eau Claire) near to the place where the bird was recovered. Seeing the apparently injured bird on Highway 10, a concerned citizen notified the local DNR warden who transported the bird to White Pine Wildlife Rehabilitation Center near Fall Creek, Wisconsin. Since March 9th, 2010 this adult female golden eagle has been undergoing rehabilitation at The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine. This release is part of an on-going research project investigating wintering golden eagles in the bluff land region.
The Golden Eagle Research Project aims to better understand the biology and management needs of this population of golden eagles and works with landowners and the public to educate and encourage appropriate habitat conservation and restoration in the Mississippi River Valley. By releasing a golden eagle known to use this area as winter habitat with a satellite transmitter, researchers hope to learn more about the possible migration routes and breeding areas for this population of golden eagles. With these goals in mind, researchers plan to trap and release up to six golden eagles with radio tracking devices over the course of the three-plus year project.
According to Scott Mehus of the National Eagle Center, volunteer observers recorded nearly 100 golden eagles in the coulees and bluffs in the Mississippi River valley in Minnesota, Wisconsin and northeast Iowa during the 2010 Wintering Golden Eagle Survey. “This wintering population”, says Mark Martell of Audubon Minnesota, “apparently does not mix with the much larger and better known population of wintering and breeding bald eagles found in the same area.” The breeding origin of these wintering golden eagles is unknown, and little is understood about their migration routes and habitat use during the winter.
The National Eagle Center and Audubon Minnesota released a golden eagle in March, 2009 with a satellite-linked radio tracking device. You can follow that bird, nicknamed ‘Whitey’, at Audubon Minnesota (mn.audubon.org ) and find other information on this research project at the National Eagle Center’s website (nationaleaglecenter.org).
The Golden Eagle Research Project is under the partnership of the National Eagle Center and Audubon Minnesota, with support from Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources, as well as United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Winona District and the Schmidt Foundation.
