Goose Pond Sanctuary Update – May 7, 2024

Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance’s Goose Pond Sanctuary always has a ton going on. Bird conservation, habitat restoration, research, and outreach are always in season here. Learn more about Goose Pond through the update below, by visiting our Goose Pond webpage, or by exploring our Goose Pond StoryMap.

Nesting Season Begins

Songbird Boxes

Last year, the 128 songbird boxes between Goose Pond, Erstad Prairie, and Otsego Marsh helped fledge 343 Tree Swallows, 20 House Wrens, and 9 Eastern Bluebirds. This year, we installed two new trails of fourteen boxes each at the Manthe Farm and at the Benade Tract to provide additional nesting cavities. Most of the boxes amongst Goose Pond’s tallgrass prairies are claimed by Tree Swallows, but occasionally a pair of Eastern Bluebirds may take up residence at boxes close to shorter grass and a few trees. Last year, the new trail at Otsego Marsh housed all the House Wrens and Eastern Bluebirds, and will likely continue to host the highest diversity of residents due to the mixture of grassland and woodland habitat.

In order to provide this many nesting boxes, we rely on our dutiful volunteer-monitors to clean out the boxes in early spring, evict mice and non-native House Sparrows, report any maintenance the boxes need, and of course, to record the number of nesting pairs and young birds our boxes support. We also called on our volunteers to help fold and install 178 Noel predator guards to reduce raccoon predation at our boxes. Thanks to everyone involved!

Brand Smith holding female American Kestrel before releasing her.* Emma Raasch

American Kestrel Boxes

In addition to songbird boxes, we have ten American Kestrel nest boxes at Goose Pond, one at Otsego Marsh, and four at Schoenberg Marsh near Erstad Prairie (out of 218 boxes monitored by Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance volunteers). American Kestrels prefer open habitat filled with prey like small mammals and grasshoppers. Providing high quality grassland habitat ensures that boxes at our properties are consistently occupied.

This year, kestrels started claiming their boxes as early as February 10th, and by April 7th, one pair had laid six eggs! That box marked the start of the 2024 kestrel banding season, and was the earliest nester on record for SoWBA’s American Kestrel Program. On April 9th, Brand Smith (SoWBA American Kestrel Project Coordinator) and Emma captured the adult female, and discovered that she has nested in that box for the past two years.

To see inside the nest and life of American Kestrels, check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s American Kestrel Cam at Neil Rettig and Laura Johnson’s property in Prairie Du Chien.

*Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance’s American Kestrel banding program is part of an effort to study an important species that is declining across North America. Federally-permitted researchers safely band and recapture kestrels to study the species over time. All banding, marking, and sampling is conducted under established protocols and under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued from the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory.

Duck Boxes

We also provide boxes for Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers which both require cavities to nest. Unlike our kestrel and songbird boxes, the duck boxes are monitored for occupancy at the end of the nesting season by looking for the remains of egg shells. Thanks for Mark and Jenny McGinley for diligently cleaning out boxes and replacing wood shavings when there is strong ice. Nearly all of the boxes at Otsego Marsh appear occupied this year. Like many things this spring, we were surprised by early arrivals. While checking the two duck boxes at the wetland at the Benade Tract on March 19th, Emma was met by the quizzical eyes of a female Hooded Merganser. Through the whole interaction, the mother duck did not budge, which made us wonder if she was already incubating eggs.

Queens Emerge and an Exciting Bumble Bee Update

Birds are not the only arrival we look forward to in spring, and this year, the bumble bees didn’t make us wait too long. According to UW-Madison’s Bumble Bees of Wisconsin, common eastern bumble bees are some of the earliest queens to emerge in late April or early May, but we saw our first common eastern bumble bee on March 15th at Otsego Marsh.

Last year we started an iNaturalist project to compile a species list of bees at our properties. In one year, our volunteers documented 18 species of bees, twelve of which were bumble bees. A special thanks goes to Jim Otto and Carolyn Chee, who made over half of the total observations of the year. However, one observation was particularly exciting: Jim Otto photographed an unknown bumble bee at Erstad prairie that was later identified as a southern plains bumble bee, a new county record. Jim’s observation was only the third record of this species in Wisconsin, and all of those sightings were reported in 2023.

Opportunities, Articles, and More

Check out Goose Pond Sanctuary’s recent Friday Feathered Features: 2024 Annual Midwest Crane Count (4/26), Ring-necked Duck (4/5), Gray Partridge (3/15), 2024 Great Backyard Bird Count (2/23), 45 Years of Ring-necked Pheasant Observations (2/2)
To learn more about fire ecology and prescribed fire as a management tool, register for UWSP’s Prescribed Fire for Forest Management Webinar Series (monthly on Wednesdays 8:30-10 AM; recordings available)
To hear what’s happening in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, check out Tom and Mary Lou Nicholls' eNature Report NO. 278. You can also sign up to receive their reports.
The Reckless Wrens Birdathon Team will be participating in the Great Wisconsin Birdathon from May 10-11. Half of the funds raised will go to the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin’s Bird Protection Fund and the other half will go to the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. If you’d like to join or donate, see our team page.
Check out A Record Setting Birdathon for the Reckless Wrens to hear about last year’s birdathon!

Jim Otto and the Survey of Everything

*American Lady at Otsego Marsh. Jim Otto*

There is a particularly familiar white car that rolls around Goose Pond, Otsego Marsh, and Erstad Prairie. No, it's not the mailman or even a neighbor. It's Jim Otto! He frequents all three properties in search of plants and all species of wildlife, though Jim has a particular fascination with insects. He has reported dozens of dragonfly or damselfly species at five sites, 11 species of bumble bees including the ultra-rare southern plains bumble bee (mentioned above) and at least a dozen butterflies that are new to our species lists. As of the end of February, Jim has 117 species at Otsego Marsh (121 iNaturalist observations), 103 at Erstad (109), and 203 (234) at Goose Pond. Thanks Jim, and keep up the good work!

Frog and Toad Survey Run #1 2024

Although enthusiasm for frogs and toads is stereotypically centered around children, it's clear that some of us never grow out of it. We're not sure how you could, considering their high level of cuteness and charisma. Mark and Sue have participated in a ten stop DNR Frog and Toad Survey route that includes Goose Pond, Otsego Marsh, and Schoeneberg Marsh since 1984. On April 30, Mark, Emma, Miles, Calla, and Graham conducted the count for the early period. There are three periods per year: early, mid, and late.

Recent rains, temperatures in the 60s, overcast skies, and a light drizzle made for an ideal survey night. Calla and Graham reported a deafening (this is a good thing) chorus of spring peepers on Thiele Road and saw 50+ toads, five tree frogs (Copes and eastern), and four chorus frogs on Goose Pond road between the east and west ponds. Unfortunately, they also found at least 15 American toads that were killed by cars. Please be careful near wetlands on rainy nights in late spring or early summer! By the next morning they were gone, probably consumed by mink, opossums, or raccoons. In total we found six species between all ten survey stops.

Dorothy Haines Passed at 102 Years on Earth Day

*Matt Reetz, Mark Martin, Dorothy Haines, Sue Foote-Martin, and Randy Haines on the Browne Prairie Bench. Calla Norris*

Dorothy Haines was a long-time Madison Audubon member and volunteer. Among her many accomplishments were duties such as helping with Scope Days at Goose Pond, promoting and seeking to involve people in the organization, as well as being the newsletter editor, historian, and seed sale and art fair volunteer.

Dorothy introduced Mark and Sue at a meeting in Madison involving the establishment of Dane County's first Sandhill Crane count.

Dorothy’s Celebration of Life will be held at the Dean House in Monona on Wednesday May 15th from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The service can be viewed on Zoom at this link. Read Dorothy’s obituary here.

Goose Pond’s First Prescribed Fire Workshop

Workshop attendees prepare for live fire exercise. *Graham Steinhauer*

Goose Pond Sanctuary hosted a prescribed fire workshop to train 13 folks who are new to the field. Fire is critical to the maintenance of most Wisconsin habitats, but it requires a very particular skill set. The workshop featured an indoor portion focused on fire behavior and fire effects, and an outdoor portion focused on tools, equipment, spot fire training, and burning breaks. Attendees watched an Introduction to Prescribed Fire presentation by Emma which highlights the most important aspects of prescribed fire beforehand. Trained volunteers are essential to this aspect of our work, and we are excited to have thirteen more volunteers who are well equipped to join us on prescribed fires.

Research shows that frequent dormant season burning is the best way to develop and maintain high quality prairie and savanna habitats. We were able to start our spring season at Hopkins Road Prairie on March 2nd, much earlier than usual, due to abnormally warm weather, and our last fire was on April 25th at Ankenbrandt Prairie. In total we burned 146 acres over 12 units this spring. Volunteer response was excellent, and thanks so much to all who attended! When you visit the burned areas of Goose Pond, Otsego Marsh, or Erstad Prairie this summer, they'll be lush, green, and filled with happy plants.

Progress at Otsego Marsh

*Installing the Otsego Marsh bat box with volunteers. Mark Martin*

Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance acquired 80 acres at Otsego Marsh back in 1984 from The Nature Conservancy. We added 36 acres to the property in 2021 which is called the Reierson Tract (for now). Since its purchase, the habitat value of the Reierson Tract has greatly improved with the help of Goose Pond staff and volunteers. We've cut brush, burned two areas, and planted prairie, wetland, and savanna seed mixes. The 16-acre prairie, planted in March of 2023, is already attracting grassland bird species like Savanna Sparrows, Dickcissels, and Rough-legged Hawks. Duck boxes, songbird boxes, a kestrel box, and a double bat box now provide housing for a variety of species.

Over the last month, LMS Construction added a new parking lot on the Reierson Tract and refurbished the existing one on the west side of the road. This will improve access for us, volunteers, and adult visitors. About twenty-eight classes from Discovery Charter School visit Otsego Marsh annually, and the parking lots will provide safe landing zones for buses and the students they carry. LMS Construction also hauled away scrap metal that littered the property. Old wagon frames, cattle fencing, two destroyed corn cribs, and other bits and pieces added up to 7,500 pounds of metal!

Although we've made great progress on the Reierson Tract, there is still much to do. This year we're going to install a trail loop and add better signage which will further increase public access and education. Maintenance mowing, invasive species removal, and interseeding are also on the list for 2024.

Written by Graham Steinhauer, Resident Land Steward, gsteinhauer@swibirds.org, Mark and Susan Foote Martin, Sanctuary Managers, goosep@swibirds.org, and Emma Raasch, Ecological Restoration and Research Technician, eraasch@swibirds.org

Cover photo: Prairie smoke and pasquflower in bloom at Goose Pond Sanctuary. Photo by Emma Raasch