Sprung!

It has been an amazing last few weeks here at Whiterock Conservancy--the change of seasons has nearly completed, and while it isn't technically summer yet, it is sure starting to feel more like it. The shorebirds have mostly moved on, but the migratory warblers are still hanging around, the deafening frog chorus has lessened, but the tadpoles in our wetlands are growing by the day! The spring ephemeral wildflowers have mostly all gone to seed, but their foliage is still a little green. Finding all of the little clues about seasonal change is happening is one of my favorite things in life-when the little brown bats are breeding or when the wood betony is blooming-this is called understanding the phenology of a particular plant, animal, or fungi.

Phenology: the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate.

I've been keeping track of the phenology at Whiterock Conservancy lately, or as much as I can of it. It's been an amazing amount of information to collect--observing and recording all of the birds and plants and animals I see ever few days. A great excuse to get outside and have an adventure, keeping track of the phenology of the world around helps you to get to know the changes that take place on the landscape. Once you begin to engage and see all of the different happenings: Nest-making behavior of the Great blue heron (March 25) the first Red-sided garter snake sitting on a rock (April 6), the first American redstart flitting around in the canopy (May 12), the last snow trillium blooming on Whiterock Bluff (April 28), the last patch of big yellow morels (May 22)......the list goes on an on.
If you haven't tried keeping track of the activity in your neighborhood, give it a whirl. At minimum, it will help you to realize how VERY much is actually going on out in the natural world. And it will also help you to want to be a part of it, through active observation and general awe....
Enjoy!

Birders come to Whiterock!

This morning, a group from the Iowa Ornithologist's Union annual meeting came down to the Whiterock area for a field trip. This was the quintessential perfect morning for playing outside-- with crisp blue skies, warm sun and a cool breeze. The group of birders was wonderful, everyone so enthusiastic about getting outside, observing wonderful winged creatures, and exploring a new part of Iowa--I was surprised at how few of the folks had ever been to Whiterock Conservancy--but I'm sure they'll be back to bird again soon!

We met up at the Home Farm and headed east on Hwy 141, checking out the Riis Farm wetlands just north of the highway. Here we found several handfuls of Canada geese and a few ducks, but also ran across Semipalmated plover, Least sandpiper, Spotted sandpiper, Baird's sandpiper, and Lesser Yellowlegs. We moved on to the campground, and watched as a group of migrating Northern Rough-winged swallows used the Bank swallow colonial nest in the Whiterock outcrop. In the next few weeks, the Bank swallows will show up and kick the Northern rough-winged crew out.
We headed up the south side of the river on the Long Farm and found a few morels and an Eastern Bluebird, striking blue against a green backdrop. It was hard to keep my eyes in the trees and sky looking for birds while the mushrooms were starting to pop, but we'll have time this week to go mushroom hunting. Prothonotary, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped, and Northern Parula warblers were all sighted on the Long Farm--each an exciting spring find! We got great looks at a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a male Eastern Towhee, both singing loudly from perches, and observed Red-bellied woodpeckers engaged in courtship behavior, flirting and flitting through the trees on the Long Creek ridge.

Besides staring at every flying object, we also took time to discuss the plant communities on the property, primarily the wetland seeps that we passed by, where right now, a profusion of marsh marigolds are blooming and the fiddleheads of sensitive ferns are starting to come up and the chorus frogs are doing what they do best. The birdsfoot violets were blooming up on Long Creek ridge, along with pussytoes and a handful of spring woodland ephemeral plants like bloodroot, Dutchman's breeches, and woodland phlox.

Next we headed over to McCord's Pond--and right away heard a swamp sparrow singing. American coot, Wood Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Lesser scaup, and Northern shovelers are still around and a Kingfisher hovered and dive-bombed for us. We also ran across one of my most favorite birds, the Yellow-headed Blackbird--such a delight to see and hear!

I left the group as they headed north to go visit Dunbar Slough Wildlife Management Area for another few hours--I'm sure that they will find a host of wonderful grassland and wetland birds up there. We spent about three hours tromping and driving around the Whiterock area and saw 80+ birds on May 2--what a great morning!!
I'm headed up to Webster City this afternoon to attend the Iowa Rivers Revival annual conference, and I'm quite excited to share that Coon Rapids will be named as the IRR River Town of the Year for 2009!! I'm hoping to stop on the way and see a White-faced Ibis a friend gave me a tip about--I didn't think things could get any better!