Adam Birding Conservancy1702 Findlay Rd, Whitewater, WI

2017 Year in Review2 February 18

www.adamconservancy.com

Greetings and Happy World Wetlands Day! Same format as last year with updated content and pictures.

This newsletter is going out to members of the ABC Club and others who have been involved in the progress of the Adam Birding Conservancy.

Top 5 Accomplishments in 20171. Much of the upland prairie was burned for the first time on

April 24th, thanks to funding from the NRCS and to the efforts of Jordan and his team at Tallgrass Restorations.

2. A Wildlife Viewing Blind in the big pond by the Dike Path was added thanks to Cody Watson and his students at Whitewater High School.

3. Trail development expands…a big thanks to neighbor Rich Rozelle for maintaining the Upland Prairie and Dike Paths and for establishing the Inner Peace trail and the wildlife blind spur. New signage was added in December.

4. Habitat management continues, albeit slowly… Zach Kastern and his ATV worked wonders in spraying Wild

Parsnip and Sweet Clover. The cottonwood trees in the upland prairie and the sand

willows obstructing views of the ponds from the Dike Path were cut and sprayed following the burn.

Forestry management continued with spraying of Buckthorn re-sprouts and the opening of the canopy near the larger bur oaks (thanks to Zach, Sarah, Tim & Mike).

Tim Eiden lifted another 40 muskrats out of the property the past few months and bagged several dozen raccoon and some coyote in early 2017.

5. Educational Partnerships grow…with both UW-Whitewater and UW-Madison ecology/natural resources-related professors and their students (see at right for more details).

Looking Ahead to 20181. UW-Whitewater and UW-Madison professors and their

students continue to use the ABC for research and for projects – new efforts in 2017 included a UW-Madison capstone project on fen restoration led by Dr. David Bart, and UW-Whitewater led prairie seed collection by Dr. Marjorie Rhine and drone-based mapping by Dr. Eric Compas.

2. The ABC will host its first Natural Resources Foundation field trip in early May, showcasing spring migratory birds and the early season prairie flowers.

3. We’ve partnered with the app StriveOn to provide an audio and visual tour of the property. As you walk the Inner Peace trail, the app will autoplay an audio and make available pictures and text of the area you are in..

4. Doug Grall, a local beekeeper, may be putting in some colonies on secluded spots on the property.

5. A greater focus on habitat management…including more targeted invasive work. Sweet clover, Canada thistle, buckthorn re-growth, sand willows, wild parsnip, narrow-leaf cattails and small patches of Phragmites are the priority.

Birds…. Eight new birds were sighted in 2017, bringing the

total to 176 species. That ranks the ABC as the fourth hottest E-Bird spot in Jefferson County which less than half the checklists of the other leading sites in the area.1. Golden-crowned Kinglet2. Long-billed Dowitcher3. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker4. Hermit Thrush5. Orange-crowned Warbler6. Magnolia Warbler7. Black-crowned Night-Heron 8. Greater White-fronted Goose

Thanks to Aaron Stutz, Mike Adam, Dan Schneider and others who log in E-Bird. Please record your finds as it helps in habitat management. It would be nice to get to 200 species someday.

Other Creatures… Ample deer, turtles, frogs, crayfish, snakes,

dragonflies and damselflies and other animals utilize the ABC.

Plants and Trees… The Plant and tree inventory list has expanded to

152 different species. With the help of Sarah Schulz, we are trying to complete a Floristic Quality Assessment in 2018.

Pied-Billed Grebe Compass Plant

Prairie Blazingstar

Buck Snapping Turtle

How You Can Help Please contact me if you are interested in removing invasive plants or have other areas where your time and talents could be of use to maintain and better the ABC. The ABC set up an endowment through the Natural Resources Foundation to offset some of the costs for habitat work and site improvements along with a long-term goal to set up an off-road parking lot in the flat land to the south by the drumlin. Contact me for more information.Most of all, please enjoy the property and be good to the animals, plants and people you encounter on the trail!

Thanks for your interest and for the help and support you provide to the ABC. Stay in touch! Dave Adam 4dwadam@gmail.com