An Exciting River Find...

 

On a September 28^th Manitowish River canoe trip, Discovery Center staff and participants came across an interesting & elusive critter infrequently found in Vilas County.  We were putting in at the Hwy 51 bridge-landing area, when Maria saw a small round critter swim over her foot. Upon further inspection, it was identified as an Eastern spiny softshelled turtle hatchling!  The state DNR set their status in WI as common but declining, and only existing in a small portion of Vilas. Spiny softshells are found in larger rivers and lakes that tend to have muddy or sandy bottoms. The young turtles bury themselves in this substrate to blend in and remain concealed when they are not moving about the water. They eat many different things, including fish, invertebrates, mollusks, and carrion.

After showing the young critter to trip participants, Maria released the turtle back into the river.  About four years ago, another Discovery Center staff member was canoeing past that same point and came across an adult spiny softshell laying eggs in the gravel at the landing. What an exciting Northwoods find!

Interview Leads to a Naturalist’s Reflection

As part of a school project, I was recently interviewed by fifth grade SOAR charter school students.  SOAR (School of Options & Applied Research) is a first year fifth thru seventh grade charter school in nearby Land O’ Lakes.  Their recent curricula finds students researching a famous environmentalist, creating a timeline of their achievements, and dressing up as that person at a Living Natural History Museum program.  Another assignment was to interview a local environmentalist; and my niece Sofia, a fifth grader, chose to interview me as a naturalist. 

She had 31 questions that ranged from my background to why I chose to go into this profession. It was fun for me, as I have not reflected on some of these topics for a long time. One of her questions really made me think about why I do what I do…  She asked: “When was the first time you volunteered for the environment?”  It took me a minute, and soon I realized I hadn’t done anything until almost out of college! Growing up, I wasn’t exposed to such opportunities and didn’t realize my interest in the natural world until, ironically, I left the Northwoods and my passion really came to life.  Now I'm back in the Northwoods and upon further reflecting on Sofia's interview questions, I came to understand on a different level why I love doing what I do... going into schools, working with young students, exposing them to the natural world and getting them involved in projects that get them out there, learning and respecting our area…  I wish I had had those experiences and opportunities as a young person.  And, now I am ever-so-thankful to be able to provide these opportunities to young people today. 
 

Upon a Harvest Moon

Shine On Harvest Moon
By Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth (1903)

Shine on, shine on harvest moon
Up in the sky,
I ain’t had no lovin’
Since January, February, June or July
Snow time ain’t no time to stay
Outdoors and spoon,
So shine on, shine on harvest moon,
For me and my gal.

------------------------

 



The Harvest Moon, the full moon nearest to the autumnal equinox, came upon us September 18-19. So, what is it that makes the harvest moon unique among full moons?

You might have noticed the Harvest Moon rising around sunset a few days in a row. On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. However, when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox, the moon rises 30-35 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest Moon. This is due to the moon’s orbital path making a narrower angle with the evening horizon which results in shorter than usual moon rising times.

The mystique surrounding the Harvest Moon leads to thoughts of bigger, brighter & more colorful/orange moons. This illusion (the "Moon Illusion") is due to the location of the moon near the horizon. When you look at the horizon, you are looking through a greater thickness of the Earth’s atmosphere than when looking overhead. All atmosphere scatters blue light (causing the sky to look blue to us). Also, the greater the thickness of atmosphere at the horizon, the greater the amount of red light passing through which thus gives the moon an orange color as it rises. 

The Harvest Moon was likely named by farmers, who could harvest their crops long into the night with the help of the lengthier moonlight.


What's That Smell??

Recently, while leading a hike down the Discovery Center's Interpretive Trail, we came upon a fungus I had never seen.  At first glance, I thought it was a discarded cigarette. When I went to pick it up, I realized that was quite the wrong first impression.  It was, indeed, a fungus! 

I held it up for the group, and that is when we noticed it….the smell of rotting meat (and dare I say, poop!).  I quickly looked it up in my guide and we identified it as Stinkhorn fungus.  It had a skinny, spongy body & a slimy brown tip.  Come to find, the tip is the foul smelling part (at least to us); however it proves quite attractive to insects.  These insects visit the smelly tip, and then carry off the fungi's reproductive spores. 

Stinkhorn fungi are found on the ground or on rotten wood (we found this one on a rotting Aspen tree), and grow August-October. Look closely at this photograph and you will notice an American carrion beetle near the tip -- we ID'ed at least four others around the fungus.  What a cool find and fun to learn together about an organism new to us all!

Photo by Licia Johnson - Discovery Center Staff. 

You Otter Check This Out!

“What’s that in the water over by that log?” said a woman squinting out the side of the pontoon boat at a small brownish shape protruding from the choppy waters of Rest Lake. 

“I think it’s just a stump sticking out of the water,” said her husband, quickly dismissing the brown object. 

The woman produced a pair of binoculars to study the supposed stump more carefully. “Look, it’s moving! It’s a muskrat.  No look.  You really ought to check this out.” she said, beckoning with a free hand while keeping eyes glued to the binoculars and the scene in the water below. “It keeps diving down under the water and then coming back up again, and its body is really long.  I think it’s an otter!”

At idle speed we carefully navigated the pontoon boat a little closer to the sleek, mocha brown colored animal.  It was indeed an otter, and not just one.  There were three otters playfully arching out of the water and diving below to find food. 

One of the otters came up from the water below with a fish in its mouth and swam toward a log sticking out into the water from the shore.  There on the log, it began to tear the fish into bite sized pieces. 

River otters consume 2.5lbs of fish, crayfish, amphibians, mussels, snails, and aquatic insects each day.  These members of the order Carnivora belong in the Mustelidae family along with weasels and badgers.  Unregulated trapping and habitat degradation in the late 19^th/early 20^th century nearly eradicated river otters from large portions of their historic range in North America.  In 1915 the seasonal harvest was discontinued in Wisconsin for a few years and the river otter population began to make a comeback.  Now these playful animals, nicknamed waterdogs, are found in many rivers and lakes in our backyard.  They are a welcomed sight on our Rest Lake pontoon tours and Manitowish River paddles. 

- Heather Lumpkin, Research and Monitoring Coordinator

Connecting with Nature through Silent Sports

This summer, the Discovery Center has been offering free weekly drop-in silent sport activities that not only connect silent sport enthusiasts, but provide opportunities for participants to connect with nature in unique ways.  Each activity this summer has provided us with a special glimpse of the Northwoods.  (Unfortunately, cameras have not always been handy.)

While biking on Papoose Lake Road (7/19), a small red fox trotted across the road just a few feet in front of us and while hiking at the WinManTrails (7/26), we observed a variety of berries, including pin cherries, chokecherries, and bright red elderberries.

Caption: Red elderberry

 

Paddling a section of the Manitowish River (8/2) led to a close encounter with a large, camouflaged snapping turtle basking in the sun and hiking at the Van Vliet Hemlocks (8/9) provided us with an up-close look at numerous species of fungi, including bioluminescent blue stain fungi, shiny varnish fungi, and both orange and white varieties of coral fungi.

Caption: Coral fungi (Photo by Peter Rebholz)

 

Our most unusual find came during a kayak paddle on Tamarack Lake (8/16).  Floating just under the surface were large circular masses of bryozoa, also known as moss animals.  In freshwater environments, these colonial microorganisms often secrete a mass of gelatinous material, which can cause them to be confused with eggs.  More information on bryozoa can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryozoa.

 

Caption: Bryozoa

 

As we have experienced this summer, every adventure in the Northwoods can lead to an exciting discovery. The Discovery Center’s drop-in silent sport activities will continue into the fall season on Fridays - who knows what else we will find!

Howling at the Wolves!

You cup your hands around your mouth, tilt your head back, and let out a long, low howl echo out into the shadowy forest and clear star-filled sky.  And, you wait for the majestic return howl of a wild wolf...

 

 

A radio collared wolf was located within a mile of the location from where this photo was taken -- just the day before.  We anxiously await and hope this wolf and its pack will respond with a howl. After letting out five loud howls, you strain your ears into the silence that fills the air.  As you listen carefully, you begin to notice the night sounds: the faint rustle of leaves that might indicate the movement of small mammals, insects, or amphibians on the forest floor; in the distance, the rhythmic, unrelenting calling of a Whip-poor-will; overhead, the mechanical squeaking and chirping of bats as they wing their way around your head.  And then...

Your intense focus is interrupted by the howl of a Gray Wolf whose solo howl is soon joined by the howl of other adult wolves and the higher pitched "yipping howls" of pups.  This is the unforgettable experience many wolf howl participants seek when they participate in a wolf howling program at the Discovery Center.  Though wolf howling groups are not assured a response from a wolf, the experience of being out at night in the territory of a wolf pack is, nonetheless, unforgettable. 

This summer Discovery Center wolf howl participants have lifted their voices to howl at three of the known wolf packs in the area around the Discovery Center - and have received a response once thus far.  Wolves are territorial, and use howls to communicate within a pack and with nearby packs.  Wolf howling surveys make use of this form of communication, prompting wolves in the area to respond through a series of human howls scripted by a wolf howl survey protocol.  Data from these wolf howl adventures and other wolf howl surveys around the state are submitted to the Wisconsin DNR and used to monitor the size and reproductive success of wolf packs. 

 

We begin a wolf howl evening with an interactive wolf ecology presentation and opportunities to examine the diet of Wisconsin wolves, explore the status of statewide wolf populations, and feel the sagittal crest on a wolf skull which provides surface area for attachment of powerful jaw muscles. 

 

 Wolf Ecology presentation by Research and Monitoring Coordinator Heather Lumpkin

 

Examining the difference between wolf and coyote pelts and skulls during the wolf ecology presentation.

 

There is still time to participate in a wolf howl this season.  Our wolf howl programs fill quickly, so be sure to Register Soon: Friday, September 13, and Saturdays, September 28 and October 19. 

 

And, for more on wolves, visit the Timber Wolf Alliance via WEB or FACEBOOK or contact me at TWA@DiscoveryCenter.net. The Timber Wolf Alliance is an affiliate organization within the umbrella of the North Lakeland Discovery Center.  Its mission is to use education and science-based information to promote an ecologically-functional wolf population within areas of suitable habitat.

 - Heather Lumpkin, Research and Monitoring Coordinator