This fall has been wild and alive with great animals, great projects, and great events. We (Mark and Sue) were honored to be awarded the 2021 Harold “Bud” Jordahl Lifetime Achievement Award from Gathering Waters on Sept. 15. This award is really a testimony to the people we work with and places we have come to love. We’re happy that we’ve been able to do our part to make a difference in Wisconsin.
Colby the Peregrine Falcon (photo by Al Roske).
The following day on Sept. 16, a record number of Peregrine Falcons were reported at Goose Pond (two!). A Peregrine was photographed 10 days later to reveal color bands on its ankle. We checked with Greg Septon who banded this bird—turns out it was "Colby," a four-year old male banded on May 31, 2017 at the MG&E Power Plant in Madison. It’s not uncommon to spot a migrating Peregrine at Goose Pond hunting ducks and shorebirds. This year, one was reported flushing shorebirds, including a Hudsonian Godwit. We hope the Godwit out-maneuvered the fast-flying Peregrine.
Our pond webcam continues to document incredible footage of activity in and around Goose Pond, making these sights accessible to anyone, anywhere with an internet connection. Some of the most fun identifications from the camera this fall include American White Pelican and three Ibis (Glossy or White-faced), as well as white-tailed deer and Bald Eagles. The pond cam has helped folks like Carole Wilson connect with Goose Pond on an almost-daily basis:
"Many thanks to you and the volunteers for keeping this webcam going—I have it on much of the day, even at work, as the background noise of the birds is wonderfully calming! I have gotten friends out of state tuning in, and my father, who has dementia, enjoys watching the birds, even though he lives in North Carolina. I'm a member of both the Madison and National Audubon Societies, and it's great to see my donation promoting awareness of birds and the benefits of this wonderful sanctuary!"
Thank you to our volunteers who keep this camera running! You can tune in any time at madisonaudubon.org/pond-cam.
We enjoyed seeing and tagging migrating monarchs at the sanctuary again this fall. With help from staff, volunteers, and field trip attendees, we were able to tag 1,113 monarchs this fall, bringing our total to 7,428 butterflies tagged at Goose Pond Sanctuary since 2012! Jim Otto opened and closed the season, tagging the first monarch on Aug. 28 and the last on Sept. 28. A few stragglers came through on Oct. 2, and the last monarch was seen on Oct. 9 at Erstad Prairie. Overall, the season was slower than average, but numbers were still high enough for excellent tagging days during early September. As in past years, showy goldenrod was the most popular item on the menu. Over 95% of all monarchs netted during its peak bloom were captured on this highly sought-after plant. If you don't have showy goldenrod in your garden, we highly recommend it!
Looking forward, we are excited to coordinate the 2021 Poynette Christmas Bird Count (CBC) again this year. Since beginning in 1971, just one year was missed so this will be the 50th Poynette CBC. The count will be held on Friday Dec. 31. We welcome feeder and field counters to join us in surveying 177 square miles near Goose Pond. If you would like to help with this count, please contact Mark at goosep@madisonaudubon.org or 608-333-9645.
We welcome you to come out to Goose Pond this winter to hike or snowshoe the trails or search for winter birds and animal tracks. You never know what you're going to find out here!
written by Mark Martin & Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond resident sanctuary managers; and Graham Steinhauer, resident land steward at Goose Pond Sanctuary.
Cover image: A tagged orange Monarch Butterfly is released back into the green prairie back in September 2021 (photo by Kaitlin Svabek).
