Prairie Works

For my own part, I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree near the river, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labour of the fishing hawk; and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

With all this injustice, he is never in good case, but, like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides, he is a rank coward: the little king bird not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the king birds from our country….

I am on this account not displeased that the figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a turkey. For the truth the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America… he is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on.

Well put, Ben. Interesting to note that both of these birds went into near extinxtion during the 1900′s and both are enjoying great resurgences right now. The Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), is in great numbers here in Northwest Illinois. It is very common to see flocks of several dozen at a time. We offer exactly what they want here. A seamless blend of woodlands, crop fields, grasslands and sheltered ravines. It hard to think of them not being here. However, at the turn of last century there were no Turkeys to be found in this area due to unregulated hunting and the loss of habitat. The state of Illinois began re-introducing Turkeys into their former habitats in the late 1950′s and the first Turkey’s to be released in Northwest Illinois came during the winter of 1980, when 8 hens and 5 gobblers were let go. Amazingly, this population grew so quickly that by 1985 a hunting season was created. Today, JoDaviess county regularly tops the list in harvested birds during Turkey season.

Today, American citizens are most familiar with the domesticated Turkey that is served at Thanksgiving and most of the population is not able to observe these big birds as regularly as we do in the Driftless Area. Now we are seeing thier range expanding and someday all areas that had them at once before, will have them again.

But, what if Ben Franklin’s wish to have it as our national symbol was granted. Would the Turkey have ever been eliminated? Would the Bald Eagle’s comeback been a priority?

After 225 years since Ben Franklin’s letter to his daughter received no attention, let us celebrate the large bird that we take for granted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Turkey  The Wikipedia offering

http://www.jdcf.org/guardians/field/field_n77.htm  Doug Dufford’s great article about Turkeys in Jo Daviess County

There are parts of our living world that are in such great abundance that it is difficult to imagine without it. Consumables such as air and water could fall in this category; but how about living creatures. How about the American Robin, the most common bird in North America. Do you think it could ever vanish and go extinct? Probably not but this is exactly what happened to the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) 100 years ago. Once the most numerous bird in our hemisphere it became extinct within 100 years of human intervention and it may be the only species in which the exact time of extinction is known. 

The Passenger Pigeon once had flocks so large that it would darken the sky for hours as they passed. It comprised 40% of all birds that existed in the 1800′s. The nesting colonies covered as large as 850 square miles of forest. A bird population that has no comparibles, it is hard to fathom these large quantities today. Many factors contributed to the demise of the Passenger Pigeon which included: Hunting for it’s food, using it as fertilizer, shooting for sport, habitat destruction and disease. Many creative and cruel methods were used to kill the bird as it began to harm valuable crops when agriculture came to the frontier.

The last Passenger Pigeons to exist in the wild were at Babcock Wisconsin 1899 and Pike County Ohio where it was eliminated on March 24, 1900. Martha, who was held in captivity at the Cincinati Zoo died at 1:00 P.M. on September 1st 1914. At that time it joined the ranks of many others living creatures to become only an American memory.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_Pigeon Wikipedia

http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/passpig.htm The Smithsonian

I often feature natural areas within a reasonable distance from Northwest Illinois. However, there are some places that are so unique and fascinating that they must be included as an option. In 2005 the Natural Areas Association had its annual meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska. We decided to attend four days of seminars and then head off for a week, exploring the great Nebraska Sandhills that we had heard so much about. Since our first trip it has served as a close destination 550 miles west on route 20.

The Nebraska Sandhills are not kown by many, other than botanists and cattlemen. It plays second fiddle to the Kansas Flint Hills as the best representation of pre-settlement vegetation on a large scale. The Nebraska Sandhills is an area of 19,600 square miles (1/4 of the state) of sand dunes that are covered in native grasses and forbs with clean lakes and marshes scattered between. Early on, settlers realized that the land could not be farmed and it immediatly became an area conducive only to light grazing. In 1904 the Kincaid Act was passed and it allowed homesteaders to claim 640 acres (a square mile or one section), much more than the 160 acres previously defined by the Homestead Act of 1862. The act was created specifically for the sandhills region and is responsible for the hugeness of the land holdings there today. It is now one of the most remote areas of the United States. So sparse, in fact, that Cherry County is similar in size to West Virginia, while holding only 6,098 people, half of which reside in Valentine, NE. This results in a population density of one person per 1.02 square miles. Only areas of the backcountry in Alaska and North Dakota can compare. Land is discussed in sections and the term “acre” brings up odd looks.

Because of these extremes you have an ecosystem that is largely intact. The cattle density is very low due to the fragility of the sand dunes. The ranchers know very well the damage that can be done once a sand “blow out” occurs. Some of the prairie species that occur in the shortgrass and sandy prairies in the Midwest are also found here and feed the prized cattle. The extensive root systems and sandy soils assist in filtering water of the Ogallala aquifer, the worlds largest, which lies beneath the endless sand dunes. Exotic plants make up only 7 percent of the entire flora here - an amazingly low number when compared to the fertility of the Midwest. The area also supports large numbers of birds and mammals, it is the namesake to the Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) and Forbes magazine called Grand Island, NE the number one destination in the world for bird watchers. 

If you travel to the Sandhills region be prepared to not see many people, fill up with gas when you have the opportunity, not sleep at Holiday Inns (we slept at someone’s house once) and be overwelmed by its vastness and ranching traditions. You will also realize that windmill repair and maintenence is an actual industry here. There are several campgrounds and B&Bs throughout and recreational opportunities available, especially near Valentine.

I will never forget the pleasure I had when a hungry sales shark was trying to sell me a timeshare in Orlando, Florida. She asked me where I enjoyed vacationing the most and where I took my last vacation. I didn’t realize that honesty was also the best way to end her sales pitch. The Nebraska Sandhills are located within an easy 9 hour drive from Galena, IL off of route 20.

 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na0809.html National Geographic Article

http://www.thenebraskasandhills.com/index.html 

The National Audubon Society released a survey in June that our country’s most common bird species are declining at an alarming rate. The data compiled is based on the famous Christmas Bird Count which has taken place every winter for 107 years by us, the citizens. Twenty of our most common birds have declined on an average of 68% - some as high as 80% – since 1967.

Of the twenty common species the Northern Bobwhite has seen the greatest decline at 82% and finishing at number 20 is the Ruffed Grouse at a 54% decline. In between, beloved birds in decline include: Evening Grosbeak, Boreal Chickadee, Meadowlark, Field Sparrow, Grackle, Whip-poor-will, and the Northern Pintail duck.

Why is this happening? Audubon points towards urban sprawl, an increase of invasive species, intensive agriculture practices and habitat fragmentation. Veryln Klinkenborg of the New York Times wrote a great article on the matter a few weeks ago. She wrote, “The Audubon Society portrait of common bird species in decline is really a report on who humans are. Let me offer a proposition about Homo sapiens. We are the only species on earth capable of an ethical awareness of other species and, thus, the only species capable of happily ignoring that awareness. I don’t suppose that most Americans would actively kill a whippoorwill if they had the chance. Yet in the past 40 years its number has dropped by 1.6 million. We look around us, expecting the rest of the world’s occupants to adapt to the changes that we have caused, when, in fact, we have the right to expect adaptation only from ourselves.”

The report certainly has offered a lot for analysis and maybe not just about birds. Read the full report here: http://www.audubon.org/