| 1. Manager Martin demonstrates how to scarify baptisia seeds to improve the germination. | |
| 2. Containers of different species of forbs are lined up for measuring and mixing. | |
| 3. Some of the seed requires threshing by hand. | |
| 4. The mechanical stripper swept fluffy gray goldenrod seeds off the prairie and deposited them on a tarp.. | |
| 5. The loaded tarp is hauled to the hay mow to be mixed with the grass seed that has been deposited on the floor. | |
| 6. The barn is a scene of bagged clean prairie seeds. | |
| 7. The white buckets are used in many ways for mixing and hauling. | |
| 8. Shovels serve as mixing implements in big piles of grass seed. | |
| 9. Some seeds are sifted by hand to remove the chaff. | |
| 10. Seed mixes are loaded in the trucks to go to the planting site. | |
| 11. The volunteer crew breaks for a quick lunch on a comfortably warm day. | |
| 12. In the planting field at Erstad Prairie nine plots have been marked out with orange cones and buckets of seed have been placed in each plot. Manager Martin explains the project here is to plant over the vegetation of an existing acreage that had been planted years ago to Nebraska prairie seed that didn't last in Wisconsin climate. The crew is divided into nine pairs, and each pair assigned to spread their allotted seeds evenly over their plot. | |
| 13. With sweeping arm motions handfuls of precious native tiny prairie seeds are spread on this corner of land that is adjacent to the large marshland protected by the u.S. Fish band Wildlife Service. | |
| 14. A view toward the marsh across Harvey Road, which is now closed and will be abandoned and returned to wetland that is preferred habitat for many migrating and nesting birds. | |
| 15. Mr. Erstad, one of the former owners of the land that became the Erstad Prairie joined the group in appreciation and significance of a prairie restoration. | |
| 16. The sturdy permanent gate blocking Harvey Road, serves as a good setting for a group photo. | |
2009 Erstad Prairie Planting Crew | |
Send your Nature News comments, questions and observations to Dorothy at dhaines@charter.net!
Stay tuned!
 | This is a brief photo introduction to the Browne Prairie in its first year of full bloom.This information and interpretive pictures are also posted at a kiosk display that you will see when you arrive. |
| Take Hwy 51 north of Madison until it turns west toward Arlington. Go west about two miles and turn left (south) on Goose Pond Road for about a mile, then turn right (west) on Kampen Road. There is a parking area at Browne Prairie on the left side of Kampen Road, just past Goose Pond and the railroad tracks. |  |
 | A mowed hiking trail invites you into the prairie, Mark and Sue just mowed it last week. |
| Enjoy the aesthetics of the prairie, and get up close to marvel at the variety and detail of dozens of different species of prairie plants. Since this is a relatively new prairie, each year will bring even more growth and beauty. |  |
 |  |
 | The plant on the left is Hoary Vervain. To learn more about these plants and Madison Audubon's restoration efforts, make sure you check the CAWS newsletter and this website for events at Goose Pond and opportunities to participate. Beginners can join in helping with seed collecting every Saturday in the fall. |
| Take a break at the hill top bench and enjoy the vista and the quiet sounds of the prairie and birds all around you. |  |
 | These restored prairies are very important in helping to support and expand populations of birds that have been impacted by loss of habitat such as this Clay-colored Sparrow (photo by Sally Keyel). |
| As you return to the trail, watch for signs of noctural activity such as these Badger holes. Badgers frequently dig holes in pursuit of small animals. When they make their burrows they are careful to conceal the location. |  |
 | Also watch for signs of the rich insect life in the prarie, such as this Black Swallow Tail. |
| A circular trail brings you back to the parking area. Are you ready to go see it for yourself? |  |
Click here for the Goose Pond Tour information brochure to learn more, and a map to the location
by Dorothy Hainse (dhaines@charter.net)
Is June the Wedding Month?
It’s June 19th. The prairies at Goose Pond are decked out in the bridal white for the occasion. The Meadow Rue is in full bloom for the summer solstice, with its lacy train at its best in the south-west corner of the Hopkins Road Prairie. Towering over it all is the sturdy Baptisia, also in white, the sentinel of the prairie. Golden Alexanders are the silk scarf wrapped around gown of white and green. The deep blues of the spiderwort clumps fulfill the bride’s request for “something blue”. And tucked into a couple of pockets like fancy hankies are small, low-to-the ground white patches of Canada Anemone.
Visitors who imagine prairie only as dressed in the purple and yellow of summer-fall should take their cameras – real or imaginary – to the Hopkins Road Prairie in June and walk south on the mowed trail to its corner. From there look back up the hill to the north. Now – in late June.
There is a parking lot, and it’s only a short walk down the trail to the south corner. If you want more you can walk all the way around, or take the hiking trails through midst of it all and enjoy some distant views from the hill tops.
Following is an exerpt from a visitor trail guide that will be available onsite for visitors, prepared by Gail Martinelli and Dorothy Haines. The blooming species will change week by week, and the mowed trails will be there to entice you to come back and find and identify new blooms.
Head south from the parking lot on the 1- mile mowed hiking trail around the prairie’s outer boundary. This guide will take you to the half-way point on the trail’s east/west section. This first stretch of the trail is a rich introduction to what’s to come – a prairie plant preview.
Wonder. Enjoy! Here is the rolling prairie landscape that greeted the early settlers. They called it Empire Prairie, a canvas with an ever changing palette of color.Consider the other wildlife that abounds in continuing co-existence with the eye-catching beauty of the vegetation: the insects that provide for pollination, the mammals and the birds. Watch for them.
Then follow the trails back to where you started – straight around the boundary, or Branches that wind through. Hone your awareness of other species -- birds and butterflies and other insects, of course. But also, in spring and early summer tent caterpillars are found in cherry trees along the northern fence line. Predators, such as raccoons, skunks, and coyotes, -- mostly unseen in daytime – search at night for small mammals and eggs, while red-tail hawks soar overhead. Watch for Turkey Vultures soaring over the fields or resting on the prairie’s rock pile.
“Every 10 days there are 20 new prairie plant species blooming.” Aldo Leopold
Come back to Hopkins Road Prairie and other Goose Pond Sanctuaries as the seasons progress. You won’t want to miss the show of an incredible diversity of life --the royal hues of Purple Coneflower, the sun glow of Yellow Coneflower, Black-eyed Susan, various sunflowers, feathery Beebalm, the Asters and Goldenrods of fall, and Little and Big Blue Stem and Indian grasses that provide the warp and woof of the prairie carpet while tinting the whole prairie in soft earth colors for the winter. .
By next week the colors of the prairie will show their strength, as the buds of the Pale Purple Coneflowers don their bright skirts and begin to dance in the wind.
Come on back! Again and again!
The mesmerizing, evocative, thought-provoking experience of a successful prairie fire is conveyed in words by Goose Pond volunteer Susan Slapnick after her active participation in the midst of it all in April (photos follow).
Also don't miss the three articles below by UW Madison English students about their participation in Madison Audubon activities! The first is about a day at Goose Pond helping with the prairie burns. The second and third are about several experiences including the wonder of the prairie and an early morning field trip. This was a great experience for these students, and their writeups are much appreciated!
Prairie Fire 2009
by Susan Slapnick
Fire – soft crackle, then heat rising,
Blazing, blistering, scorching searing flames,
Twirling torches –
A temple of orange fingers reaching upward,
Running, flying, consuming –
Ripping through the landscape,
A thunderous tempest
Roaring with fury –
The voice of the prairie returning.
Smoke – white, black, green, gray swirls –
A living, whirling, ephemeral skyscraper city
Arising from tornadoes of fire climbing into the clouds,
Moving for miles,
Becoming the wind, becoming the sky.
Stinging, blinding, clinging –
Wonderfully fragrant, evocative,
Lingering smoke –
The breath of the prairie returned.
Prescribed burn permits are issued by the Fire Control Ranger of the Division of Forestry of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Most of our burns are carried out between the middle of March and the end of April. Every February our spring burn plan is submitted to the Ranger. In addition, oral authorization from the Ranger must be obtained on the day of the burn. This year at Goose Pond Sanctuary, which over the past year experienced too much water in the form of flood and blizzards, and record breaking precipitation in March, was restricted from conducting some of its planned burns because of dry, windy conditions in April. Just before green-up two of the large burns were accomplished on April 18.
Some photos from the sidelines, accomplished with telephoto equipment, may help the reader get the picture. (But we can’t convey here the crackling sound or the smoke aroma for the ears and nose.)
Equipment used for the events includes:
Here are some pictures showing how the prairies are managed with fire
The Bicentennial prairie was torched at the west end and a gentle breeze took the fire and smoke east to Goose Pond road in about ten minutes. 
After the burn was over, the ant hills were exposed.
The crew gathered to pose after the burn. 
Susan Slapnick , prairie burn volunteer 
Mule carries water to the burn
Sue Ames Prairie burn as seen from Kampen Rd.
Sue Ames Prairie burn as seen from Hopkins Rd.
To learn more about the need for prairie prescribed burns, and other details, visit Pleasant Valley Conservancy.
College kids and Saturday mornings don’t mix. Today, I defied the odds. At 8 am, lunch packed, I left the city and drove into true Wisconsin, into Goose Pond.
Today we would be performing a controlled burn; I was given the proper gear, including retardant suit and facial gear, and journeyed in an old Ford truck. We arrived at Sue Ames, a tall-grass prairie, and stepped out. To begin the burning process, an area is marked off, mowed and raked to set up a fire block. The fire is started, and split to encircle the area, so that it burns inwards. The edges are watered and problematic flames swatted out, making an ashen perimeter, let the flames build upon each other, and self-extinguish out in the middle away from hazards. As the fire blazed I was lost in a pyromaniac’s dream of fifteen-foot fire tornadoes. This process continues until it is finished.
So Mark, a resident manager, ignited the prairie, and the party began. Two teams started, each with a water truck, hose man, spotter, igniter, and swatters. As hose man, I discovered that fire is hot. College textbook don’t singe hair. In an hour I switched from hose to swatter and made sure old embers didn’t ignite unwanted areas. In 3 hours we replenished over ten acres of prairie soil by seed germination and unwanted plant removal. We packed the fire gear and headed back to prepare for round two of prairie restoration: fence removal. One hour, a lot of sweat, and 75 yards of fence later I left.
In the car, I recollected the day’s events. It was an exhilarating experience and personalized the work done at Goose Pond. I can now appreciate the Audubon’s work; appreciate the strides to support Wisconsin’s natural plants and wildlife.
Over the course of the semester, I had the opportunity to volunteer with Madison Audubon Society as a part of my UW-Madison English 201 class. The course included a service-learning component, which means that in addition to the regular schoolwork, I had a volunteering requirement to fulfill. The class topic is English composition, and one idea of the course was to see how different forms of written communication are used in the real world.
Students were instructed to try and do some form of written work for our organizations. For Madison Audubon, I was able to write an article about one of the many field trips offered, Beginning Birding. It was a great experience, and I really look forward to attending another field trip. Aside from writing assignments, I was able to partake in some other activities with Madison Audubon that were really enjoyable. I helped out with Madison Audubon’s information table at the Garden Expo in mid-February. I hadn’t realized how gardening and birding were related until I witnessed the endless stream of questions from people passing by our booth.
Another great experience was a visit to Goose Pond and the surrounding prairie. It was amazing how much work Madison Audubon has done to restore the farmland back to prairie. The natural prairies were beautiful and I can only imagine what the terrain looked like before European settlement.
I was also fortunate enough to volunteer at the Art Fair in May. I was amazed to see all of the vendors from around the Midwest convene in that one area and display their artwork. The range of art present included paintings, sculptures, jewelry, clothing, woven baskets, and pretty much anything else you could imagine. It was a really fun and rewarding experience to be a part of the Art Fair.
Overall, I would have to say that I greatly enjoyed my time volunteering for Madison Audubon Society. I have never met as many people dedicated to a cause they believe in as I have at Madison Audubon. It was truly inspiring to see them work with such positive attitudes. Madison Audubon is a wonderful organization with admirable goals and is a prime example of being the change you wish to see in the world. I cannot accurately express how grateful I am for my experiences at Madison Audubon Society.
It was a gloomy morning and unusually dark at 7:00, mostly due to the overcast sky. As I waited for my ride, I checked to make sure I had my binoculars. The sky looked ready to downpour, but the trip leader, Allen Holzhueter, had said he would be there rain or shine.
It’s a short drive to Picnic Point from campus, but the sky kept getting darker as we got closer to our destination. We arrived to find Allen and a few other birdwatchers. Allen decided that we should stick close to the parking lot, in the event that the weather became uncooperative.
Allen directed our view toward a tree on the edge of a marsh. In it are various types of warblers and wrens clustered together with their respective species. Without even leaving the parking lot, we saw 10 different species. To the novice birdwatcher like myself, this was a revelation. Before this excursion, birds were just that – birds. I didn’t know anything about birds or their differences. I could tell a robin from a goose and a cardinal, but after that my bird related knowledge severely drops off. All other birds were small, oftentimes brown creatures that chirped and sang songs in the morning.
We continued on, hugging the edge of a tree-lined marsh, stopping every 20 yards or so to watch more birds. We saw geese, grackles, song sparrows, barn swallows, red-winged blackbirds, a goldfinch, a great egret, some green-winged teal ducks, and we heard a sora rail, but never saw it. The most amazing part of all this to me, the first time birdwatcher, is that we encountered all of these birds in under an hour!
Our trip was cut short by the thunderstorm and we had only been bird watching for 45 minutes. We had barely left the parking lot. It was amazing to me how many different kinds of birds there were living all around me that I had never noticed before. I would have loved to explore further and see what else we could have found, but I guess that will have to wait until the next Beginning Birding trip.
The author is a UW-Madison student enrolled in English 201 who participated in a service learning experience with Madison Audubon Society during Spring Semester 2009.
| Come and See Lots of Migrant Activity! | |||||
| Species | Mar 24 | Apr 04 | Apr 11 | Apr 19 | Apr 25 |
| White-fronted Goose | 12 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Canada Goose | 3300 | 3500 | 3000 | 20 | 4 |
| Tundra Swan | 17 | ||||
| Wood Duck | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Gadwall | |||||
| Am. Widgeon | 2 | 2 | |||
| Black Duck | |||||
| Mallard | 120 | 120 | 78 | 80 | 59 |
| Blue-winged Teal | 12 | 16 | 9 | 45 | 112 |
| Northern Shoveler | 24 | 25 | 12 | 16 | 16 |
| Northern Pintail | |||||
| Green-winged Teal | 17 | 14 | 2 | 6 | |
| Redhead | 12 | 2 | 8 | 4 | |
| Ring-necked Duck | 10 | 30 | 45 | 50 | 55 |
| Lesser Scaup | 195 | 150 | 150 | 165 | 85 |
| Bufflehead | 45 | 36 | 75 | 50 | 72 |
| Common Merganser | 1 | ||||
| Ruddy Duck | 50 | 50 | 110 | 190 | 114 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 13 |
| American Coot | 55 | 135 | 155 | 177 | 252 |
| Sandhill Crane | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Bonaparte's Gull | 520 | ||||
The record snows of the winter were melting into memories, so we paid a visit to Goose Pond on a record warm day, March 5, 2009.
Water is puddling on top of the ice in the pond and the color contrast of the muskrat houses gives us a chance to see that there are more such constructions than we notice when the vegetation emerges.
Sanctuary Manager Mark Martin came by on his way home for dinner after a day in the field on his regular job. We chatted in the car and he explained that there are no waterfowl on the watery pond is because there is still a couple of inches of ice there. He said that recorded ice-out dates vary, but center around the third week of March. What will it be this year, following our long sub-zero cold spell and multiple extended snow falls. – we wonder.
“But we will have lots of ducks, because there is still a lot of water all around in the fields. We have been seeing cranes and geese flying over. And two male marsh hawks. There have been about a hundred tree sparrows feeding in the bird food planting.” A red fox in the yard one day, and eight deer on Valentine’s Day were memorable sights of the winter, Mark added, commenting that the deer don’t come to the prairie in deep snow. The swans usually come the last week in March, so we will be watching for them in addition to the geese and ducks. Mark will soon be posting the weekly waterfowl count on the Kiosk on Prairie Lane.
On Saturday, March 7, Mark e-mailed this missile:
Curt and Arlys Caslavka saw a Snowy Owl (very white bird) on the SE side of the small village of Dane in Dane County this afternoon at about 4:30 p.m. ...
I took a drive about 6:00 p.m. around Goose Pond Sanctuary (one mile south of Arlington in Columbia County) with our two golden retrievers (Snap and Hunter). I was looking at the muskrats that were feeding on the edge of the ice along Goose Pond Road. The two goldens spotted a Snowy Owl (very white bird) sitting on the "dead end" sign at the end of Prairie Lane. The owl flushed about 20 yards and landed on one of the large metal birds that we call Prairie Peacocks. We headed home to get Sue but first stopped to tell a family who was parked along Goose Pond Road about the owl. The family and the kids were busy watching the muskrats and had not seen the owl. We also saw a Great Horned Owl at the end of our driveway on Kampen Road as we went back to get Sue. The family saw the Snowy Owl fly to the east pond and we saw it sitting on a duck blind. Sue counted 22 muskrats on the west pond along the road and I counted 8 muskrats on the west pond. Last fall we counted 30 muskrat houses and a trapper on the east pond trapped 18 muskrats. Our guess is that both owls will be dining on muskrats tonight.
Probably an inch of rain fell today at Goose Pond and there is significant runoff. The water is about 7 inches below the record level from the heavy rains last June. However with all the runoff and forecast for .75 inches of rain tomorrow water levels may approach the record level again.
At this time Goose Pond is still ice covered with only a handful of geese. We saw our first pair of mallards today
By phone on Tuesday, March 10, after a day of rain, Mark added:
The Snowy owl is still around on the Sanctuary prairies. Forty-seven muskrats were counted today. The water is high -- about up to the high mark of last summer.
Stay tuned!
