Kankakee Sands: A smattering of birds from a recent visit

A large tract of restored prairie stretches into the distance at the Kankakee Sands, owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy. I spent five days in and around this northwestern Indiana site at the tail end of June, my third visit here to date. It is an amazing area full of biodiversity, as evidenced by my spending the better part of a week in a preserve that is "only" 8,400 acres. On my prior visits, I only allotted a day or three, and that wasn't nearly enough time.

John Howard, Laura Hughes, and Linda Romine came over for the first half of this excursion. All are expert field workers with expertise in a wide variety of subjects. We hit insects hard during that time and found lots of notable subjects. We even mothed two of those nights and came up with some moths new to us all. The latter half of my trip, I focused heavily on birds. As the time change meant that what would normally be 6 am to my internal clock was 5 am. That meant a few VERY early mornings to be in position at first light, a necessary evil of chasing birds. But it was well worth it, and I'll share a few of those species below.

The Kankakee manager is Trevor Edmonson and he is a most helpful fellow. Few conservation organizations manage their holdings with the sophistication of The Nature Conservancy, and Trevor exemplifies this biodiversity-focused management attitude. He and his staff are extremely helpful to visitors, and he even offered his email to those interested in visiting Kankakee: trevor.edmonson@tnc.org

An Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) rests atop a thorny snarl of blackberries between bouts of singing. There are scads of bird photography opportunities here, of species both common - like this one - and not so common, at least to those of us that live to the east.

This Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii) spent some time in this thicket singing its charismatic jumbled song. While pretty common at Kankakee - the most frequent vireo in the preserve, along with Warbling Vireo (V. gilvus) - Bell's Vireo quickly drops off to the east. This is one of the easternmost sites in which Bell's Vireo is easily found in numbers.

What I said about the vireo above largely applies to Dickcissel (Spiza americana). The little cardinalids are abundant at Kankakee but rapidly decrease in frequency to the east. Their chattered mechanical songs were the dominant part of the avian soundscape in most spots that I visited. In this shot, a Dickcissel sings from the emergent stalk of a Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum), a giant prairie sunflower. The plant is at its eastern range limit here.

An adult male Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) strikes a pose in a Rattlesnake-master (Eryngium yuccifolium). This species is far more common at Kankakee Sands than its better-known brethren, the Baltimore Oriole (I. galbula). Orchard Orioles frequent open country interspersed with scattered trees and shrubby copses, and the males' loud whistled songs, often ending on an upslurred note, give them away. This bird was mated and had a nest nearby. Interesting but by no means unique was the presence of a "helper" - a first-year male. I've probably seen this a half-dozen times. The young male will assist with the feeding of chicks and seems to be completely accepted by his elders.

Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) are very common at Kankakee, but nonetheless I was quite pleased to find an active nest about 20 feet up in a scrubby oak. The parents were busily feeding an unknown number of chicks. I staked myself in good light and attempted to photograph the powerful flycatchers as they returned with food for the young. This bird is sallying after a Rose Chafer Beetle (I think, they were common) and a split second after I made this image, the beetle was caught. It was promptly taken to the nest and fed to a chick.

A Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) sings on a distant fence post. As an aside, this is part of the fence that hems in a massive pasture, in which a herd of about 100 Bison range in. They look quite at home on this great plain.

Bobwhite have pretty much vanished in my region (Ohio), victims of a large-scale shift to industrial agriculture and the attendant annihilation of habitat. They're easy to find at Kankakee and I heard the iconic whistles of the little quail in many areas.

If you like sparrows - and who doesn't! - Kankakee Sands is the place for you. A Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) perches on a fence row, a very common singing spot for the grassland species. This might be the most common nesting sparrow here but is by no means the only species. Stablemates include Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythropthalmus), Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina), Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), Vesper Sparrow (Poocetes gramineus), Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus), Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), Henslow's Sparrow (Centronyx henslowii - VERY common), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), and Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza geaorgiana).

Ten species of breeding sparrows! Include migrant and wintering species, and the Kankakee sparrow list balloons to about 19 species! In all, over 240 species of birds have been documented at Kankakee Sands.

Cleveland's City Mission donates valuable land

In a wonderful fit of irony, as I was composing my last post on the invasive grass Phragmites australis and its takeover of Mentor Marsh in the lower reaches of the Grand River, Randy Edwards wrote with exciting news from the upper reaches of the Grand River. Randy is the media relations manager for the Ohio Chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), an organization that protects and conserves some of the best lands in the state.

The Upper Grand River and vicinity is about as close to wilderness as you'll find in northeastern Ohio. Not only is the stream one of Ohio's most pristine waterways, but terrestrial habitats along the river corridor are diverse, largely intact, and full of biodiversity including many rare species.

This map depicts the jigsaw puzzle of protected lands along part of the Grand, with the centerpiece being the 1300-acre Morgan Swamp. Morgan is owned by TNC, and is a fantastically wild and swampy place that is a treasure trove of wetland diversity. The sinuous course of the Grand River is outlined in blue.

Land protection efforts began along the Grand in 1956, when the Ohio Division of Wildlife began acquisition for the Grand River Wildlife Area, which now totals nearly 7,500 acres. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History made its inaugural purchase in 1982 of an area now known as the Grand River Terraces. And, of course, TNC has added large and significant holdings to the total.

In 2009, the Ohio Chapter of TNC purchased a vital add-on to Morgan Swamp - 200 acres from City Mission, a Cleveland-based charity which owned a camp adjacent to the swamp. And now comes news that City Mission has donated the remaining 58 acres of the camp property to TNC, completing acquisition of critical streamside acreage in the Morgan Swamp region.

This donation is a charitable gift of the highest order, and helps to ensure that Ohioans far into the future will have wildlands along the Grand River. The positive ramifications of protecting land along the Grand are numerous and varied, and I want to share a few of the area's highlights below. Many thanks to Ian Adams for the use of a few of his stunning photos. Ian is one of the country's best photographers of natural history; check him out RIGHT HERE.

Photo: Ian Adams

Morgan Swamp features one of Ohio's best hemlock swamps. Such habitat is exceedingly rare this far south, and supports many species of rare plants and animals. Boreal breeding birds such as Hermit Thrush and Winter Wren occur here, along with over 100 other nesting bird species.

Photo: Jim McCormac

Scores of unusual plants occur in Morgan Swamp, including a half-dozen species of orchids. This is Crane-fly Orchid, Tipularia discolor. Its ghostly white spires of flowers push from the humus of the forest floor in mid-summer, when they are hard to see in the dimly lit understory. The flowers are noctodorous: they produce a fragrance only at night, which lures moth pollinators.

Photo: Ian Adams

A soggy lowland is brightened by emerald Royal Ferns, Osmunda regalis. Ohio has lost over 90% of its pre-settlement wetlands, and conservation of our remaining bogs, fens, swamps, and marshes is vital. Biological diversity spikes enormously in such places, and their value is not just to the curious naturalist. Wetlands reduce downstream flooding, improve aquifers, provide breeding habitat for long-distance migrant Neoptropical birds, and harbor an incredible array of flora.

Photo: Jim McCormac

Several species of salamanders breed in Morgan Swamp's wetlands, including Spotted Salamanders. The Spotted Salamander is one of a group known as "mole salamanders", as they spend nearly all of their lives subterraneously, tunneling through the soil. When triggered by the first warm rainy nights of spring, Spotted Salamanders and others of their ilk burst from the ground and engage in a fantastic overland migration to age-old woodland pools where they court, mate, and lay eggs.

Photo: Jim McCormac

High on the flashy list of rare plants is the gaudy Turk's-cap Lily, Lilium superbum. It's worth a mid-summer trip to Ashtabula County and Morgan Swamp just to see this jaw-dropper. A vigorous Turk's-cap can tower well over your head and the plant's pendant pedicels might support a dozen of the fawn-speckled orange blooms.

Photo: Ian Adams

Central to all of the land protection efforts in this region is the Grand River. In recognition of the stream's outstanding attributes, it has been designated a State and National Wild and Scenic River. Permanently protecting riparian lands such as the newly donated City Mission property helps to protect water quality of streams. And ensuring the waters of the Grand River stay clean and healthy has consequences far beyond Ashtabula County and Ohio. The Grand dumps its waters into Lake Erie, which is a world class perch and walleye fishery, and fishing alone generates tens of millions of dollars annually, and fish depend upon clean water.

A number of highly sensitive organisms live within the waters of the Grand River, and this plant is certainly one of the oddest. It is Riverweed, Podostemum ceratophyllum, and it is a true flowering vascular plant. By way of adhesive discs, the Riverweed attaches itself to rocks in swiftly flowing riffles, and grows under the water. The Grand supports Ohio's only known population of Riverweed. This species has disappeared in many places due to water quality degradation.

Photo: Illinois Department of Natural Resources

A staggering 74 species of fish have been found in the Grand River, including the little charmer above. It's a Sand Darter, and these tiny bottom-dwelling fish are utterly dependent upon clean sandy stream bottoms. If excessive siltation enters the stream and smothers the sand with a layer of mud, it's curtains for the Sand Darter, and it has disappeared in many parts of its range.

Without doubt, the Grand River and its corridor ranks near the top of Ohio's natural treasures. Major thanks are due the City Mission for helping to ensure that this resource is protected well into the future.

Warblers of the Underwater World

When I first began my career, I had the good fortune to make many trips afield with Ted Cavender and Dan Rice, two of the top fish guys in Ohio. Once they saw I was truly interested in stream ecology and fish, they let me serve as labor on fields trip far and wide. In the process, I got to see nearly all of Ohio's fish, and learn them pretty well.

But that's been a while, and circumstances haven't let me look for fish in a serious way for a long time. For a few years, though, I've been threatening to make concrete plans with Mac Albin, another true fish guru, to work some riffles in Big Darby Creek. Finally, today was the day, and we couldn't have picked a better one. Warm air temperatures and low water levels made conditions for catching fish just perfect. And we're not talking Smallmouth Bass or Bluegill - oh, no, much more interesting piscine targets than those were our goal.

Our main quarry were darters. These are tiny members of the perch family, and they mostly lack air bladders and thus can't float. So one doesn't often notice darters, and you've pretty much got to make a special effort to find them. And darters truly are the warblers of the depths. At this time of year, males brighten up and their colors rival just about anything one might find in aquaria. Reds, oranges, blues, greens, you name it - darters are a rainbow palette of showiness.

Big Darby Creek, in Battelle-Darby Metropark. This 8,000-acre park protects large swaths of the Big and Little Darby Creeks, one of North America's standout river systems, and one of Ohio's most significant natural resources. More species of fish occur in these waters than any other Ohio stream, including many very rare ones.

For our subjects, we're going to have to go underwater, into rapidly flowing riffles like the one above. You see, most darters are torrent specialists, uniquely equipped to negotiate the unending rush of chutes and rapids. In some places, it is nearly impossible to find purchase and remain erect and holding a seine, so forceful is the sweep of the water. But if you can, there will be darters down there.

Mac Albin, left, aquatic ecologist for Franklin County Metroparks, and Anthony Sasson, freshwater conservation coordinator for The Nature Conservancy. They may be the two most knowledgeable people around whan it comes to the Darby Creeks, and it was a treat to spend time in the water with them. We spent about three hours working just one riffle and some assoicated habitats, and scored big time. In all, we got ten species of darters, most in good numbers. This would be like finding 30 species of warblers in one day in Ohio. For those darter listers among you, we had: Rainbow Darter, Bluebreast Darter, Spotted Darter, Tippecanoe Darter, Greenside Darter, Orangethroat Darter, Banded Darter, Johnny Darter, Variegate Darter, and Logperch.

Of course, a healthy stream has much more than darters. We dredged up this robust hellgrammite, which is the larval form of the dobsonfly. Fishermen love 'em for bait. They've got a decent pair of pinchers, and this one gave Anthony a good nip. Wish I had caught that on film!

Stonerollers, Campostoma anomalum. Fish are not easy to observe, and concerted efforts have to be made to check them out. Thus, most people don't know much about what lurks under water. These Stonerollers are males in their breeding finery. Just like birds, the males of many fish take on brighter colors and a gaudier appearance for a short while during the breeding period, which for many stream species is right now. Stonerollers are bottom-dwelling minnows, and normally don't look like much. But for a few weeks, the male's dorsal fin becomes infused with bright color, bluish-white warts known as tubercles appear on the head, and even the eye color seems to get brighter. In essence, they become real showstoppers.

Darters are aptly named. This is a Rainbow Darter, Etheostoma caeruleum, in habitat. They lack air bladders, and thus don't float. But this serves them well, and helps darters to anchor themselves to the cobble of stream bottoms in swiftly flowing riffles. There, they dart about with quick, abrupt movements, capturing an array of tiny macroinvertebrates and other stream life. Their stiff pectoral fins - fanned out to the sides in the above shot - are used as props, and help to hold the darter in place.

It isn't difficult to see how this species got the name Rainbow Darter. Breeding males are absolutely striking, enriched with bold greens, blues, and reddish-orange.

Although they appear exotic, like something that should be in a saltwater aquarium, Rainbow Darters can be quite common in appropriate habitat. Mac and Anthony seined up about 400 of them today.

Part of a male Variegate Darter, Etheostoma variatum, in breeding condition. The transition to breeding condition is triggered by water temperature. I think Mac told me that Variegates come into color when water temperatures hit about 48 degrees. This is another common species, and one that gets fairly large by Etheostoma darters standards. A whopper might stretch the tape to three or four inches. This is an extremely colorful darter; almost makes you blink and rub your eyes! Variegates are found only in Ohio River drainages in Ohio.

Variegate Darter on stream bottom cobble. Darters are especially sensitive to degradation of stream systems, as they require clear waters and clean substrates. Muck the stream up with too much sediment, and darters will vanish. Big Darby remains fairly pristine, in no small measure due to the hard work of Franklin County Metroparks and The Nature Conservancy. As Columbus and surrounding areas continue to grow, it will be increasingly difficult to protect the Darby, though. Hopefully we are up to it, and decision-makers can recognize the global significance of the stream, and its value to central Ohio.

I shot off 345 photos today, and a fair number were keepers. I'll share other underwater warblers as the week progresses, including a few of the real rarities.