Morning at the Feeders

By: Alex Peterson, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

Looking to increase your bird identification knowledge? Consider signing up for one of our Morning at the Feeders program! This program is hosted by our Citizen Science & Education Director, Jeanette Kelly, and our AmeriCorps Avian Field Technician, Luke Trittlewitz. As the temperatures increase and we get closer to spring, less birds are coming to the feeders. This is due to food being  easier to find naturally. However, we can still see a large variety of other bird species that visit our feeders!

During the program, attendees are provided with binoculars to use and a bird book to reference. Luke assisted in pointing out the birds, and gave tips on different ways to identify them.  Three of the species that were popular at feeders during the last program were different species of woodpeckers; Hairy woodpecker, Downy woodpecker, and Red-bellied woodpecker. Hairy and Downy woodpeckers look very similar, except the Downy woodpecker’s beak is about half as long as its head, whereas the beak of the Hairy woodpecker is twice as long. 

Other birds that made an appearance at the feeders were Blue jays, Mourning doves, Northern cardinals, American goldfinches and Dark-eyed juncos. At Beaver Creek Reserve, we also see a lot of American goldfinches, and they are the most common bird that is banded here during our weekly bird banding on Tuesdays. If you’re interested in attending our next Morning at the Feeders program or any of our other bird related events, visit our program calendar for upcoming opportunities! 

Best of 2024: Beaver Creek Reserve

By: Alex Peterson, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

Every year, Volume One conducts a poll for the most noteworthy and enjoyable organizations, locations, and events in the Chippewa Valley. The “Best of” categories have a wide variety of awards that range anywhere from Best Place to Best Employer to Best Thing We Should Make Happen Soon and more. This year, Beaver Creek Reserve received 9 awards and we want to talk about it!

Our cross-country ski trails won first place in the category, Best Trail for Cross-Country Skiing; this is the seventh year in a row that we have received this award! Our cross-country ski trails are located on our north campus and offer different paths for individuals of all skill levels. Besides our cross-country ski trails, our hiking trails overall received second place in the Best Trail for Hiking category. Our hiking trails run across both our north and south campuses and provide hikers with beautiful sights and a great way to spend time outside. 

Beaver Creek received first place in the Best Place to Take Your Kids category. This comes as no surprise given all the fun activities that we provide for younger explorers and nature enthusiasts. Going along with this theme, we also placed second in the Best Local Holiday Gift Idea for Kids category, referring to our annual membership. Finally, we received third-place in the Best Place for a Kid’s Birthday Party category. Beaver Creek is a great place to celebrate your kid’s birthday, what’s better than cake and nature?

Beyond all these award-winning activities, Beaver Creek is a great place to connect with nature. By hiking the trails, watching birds, or having a butterfly land on you in our Butterfly House, you can experience firsthand how amazing nature truly is. We have received multiple awards because of the way people interact and appreciate all the unique experiences we have to offer:

 

• Second-place in the Best Location For Wedding and Engagement Photos

• Third-place in Best Thing (referring to Beaver Creek Reserve’s Butterfly House)

• Third place in Best Tour/Tourist Attraction

• Third place in Most Beautiful Spot

If you want to check out the other categories for the “Best of” poll, you can visit Volume One’s website for more information.

Explore, Learn, Discover, Enjoying Beaver Creek During the Winter Months

By: Alex Peterson, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

Every season brings unique opportunities here at Beaver Creek Reserve. Events from bird banding to Family Nature Club to Morning at the Feeders are examples that show there is always something new to experience. If you happen to miss an event, forget to register, or if an event is already full, there is still much to do! During a normal winter season, we have activities that don’t require registration such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing for visitors of all skill levels to enjoy. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been as much snow this year, so the regular variety of activities has decreased. We are still hopeful to get at least one good snowfall within the upcoming weeks!

In addition to our normal winter recreation, there are 9 miles of trails that span across both our north and south campuses that can be hiked. Our trails offer beautiful views of the creek itself, along with the woods, and wildlife that may be spotted along the way. Just a short distance from the Wise Nature Center, there are 2 outdoor play spaces for children to explore, called Nature Nooks. Each Nook has a fun theme and are all connected to one another by our Storybook Hiking trail. 

If the weather isn’t cooperating or you have a small child, we offer indoor exploring opportunities as well. The Wise Nature Center is the home to our Discovery Room, which overflows with nature-themed educational displays, interactive stations, and our animal ambassadors. 

Whether you missed an event or program, or are looking for a way to spend your day, there are many different activities to stay busy at Beaver Creek so everyone can connect with nature in their own way. 

If you’re interested in participating in any of our upcoming events, visit our website for more information!

Holiday Crafting for Kids

By: Claire Anderson, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern 

On Saturday November 18th, Beaver Creek kicked off the holiday season with their annual Holiday Crafting for Kids event. With the help of volunteers from ECLIPSE (a group from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) and our AmeriCorps Environmental Educators, the Nature Center was transformed into a room full of holiday spirit and excited kids ready to make fun, naturey holiday-themed crafts. 

At this event, kids were able to explore multiple different craft stations at their own pace where each station was stocked with recycled and reused materials.

The first craft was ornamental corn cobs that were decorated with construction paper, hole punched leaves, and lentils. 

The second craft was jingle bells made out of egg cartons. Kids were very creative at this station and added pipe cleaners so that their jingle bells could hang on their Christmas trees.

The third craft gave kids the opportunity to make toilet paper roll snowmen which they got to decorate with fun, sustainable materials. Some kids even made earmuffs and scarves for their snowmen!

Christmas tree pinecones were the fourth craft, and although there were lots of messy green hands, the trees looked beautiful with sequins, sparkles, and pompoms!

The fifth craft was paper cup owls where they used real feathers making the owls look very realistic. They also added eyes, legs, and beaks!

When the kids were finished with their crafts or needed to take a break so their creations could dry, they enjoyed hot chocolate and popcorn while listening to holiday books at storytime. This was a relaxing and fun way to get into the holiday spirit!

The event was a huge success and everyone was able to bring home new holiday crafts to decorate. If you missed this event but are interested in attending another crafting program check out our events calendar for more information.

Our First Motus Tower Ping!

By: Jeanette Kelly, BCR Citizen Science and Education Director

Last month you heard about Beaver Creek Reserve joining forces worldwide in bird conservation by taking part in an international research network called Motus. Motus Wildlife Tracking System uses automated radio telemetry to track birds. Captured birds are tagged with a small transmitter (Motus tag). A Motus tag can be detected by Motus towers worldwide! The towers can detect birds with Motus tags up to 20 km (12 miles) away. This summer we erected two Motus towers. There is a tower on top of the Wise Nature Center, look up before you enter the building, and one located at our Henke Acres Research Site.

Huge news! We have had our first ping! A ping occurs when a tower detects a bird that has a Motus tag. On October 10, a Virginia Rail (#45778) flew over the Wise Nature Center. I assumed the first bird picked up by the towers would be a Grosbeak, Crossbill, Redpoll, or Woodpecker, not a Virginia Rail. A Virginia Rail is a chicken like marsh bird somewhat larger than an American Robin. Virginia Rails are secretive and spend their days walking through the cattails of freshwater marshes searching for snails, crayfish, and frogs to eat.

Macaulay Library, ML 29069861, by Evan Lipton

By reviewing the Motus site, here is what we learned about Virginia Rail # 45778. On April 20, 2023, this Rail was trapped and banded with a Motus tag at Swan Bay in Oak Park, IL. From there it promptly traveled 115 KM (72 miles) to Dixon Waterfowl Refuge – North, located in Hennepin, IL. Number 45778 was not detected again until it pinged a Motus tower in Havana, IL, 117 km (73 miles) from where it was last recorded. Four months and 508 km later, this Virginia Rail flew over the Wise Nature Center. Why did it decided to head 315 miles our way? Why is it moving north in October. The more information we collect, the more questions we have. 

As winter nears, we do not expect a lot of activity on our Motus towers, but will keep our fingers crossed from spring migration. We will keep you posted.

Owls Under the Stars

By: Claire Anderson, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

Banded and recaptured Saw-whet Owl,
identified as an After Hatch-year

On Friday, October 20, I had the opportunity to attend Beaver Creek Reserve's (BCR) and the Natural Resources Foundation (NRF) of Wisconsin's program, "Owls Under the Stars." This program included looking at stars and planets with members from Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society (CVAS) and learning about the process of Northern Saw-whet Owl banding with Beaver Creek's Citizen Science Center. We started the evening with a presentation all about owls and other raptors found in Wisconsin. Our presenter and BCR's Citizen Science and Education Director, Jeanette Kelly, discussed the process of owl banding, what data is collected, and its importance to scientific research. During the presentation, Jeanette shared that recently a Barn Owl nest was found in Lacrosse Wisconsin, and it was the first nest found in 30-35 years in the state. 

Next, we headed out to Hobbs Observatory to look at the stars and different planets with members from CVAS, Lauren Likkel and Mike Brown. My group started inside the observatory's dome to get a better look at the moon, which we saw in greater detail than what can be seen with the naked eye. Then we went outside and looked through another telescope and saw Saturn, a planetary nebula, a star cluster called M13, and the Andromeda Galaxy called M31. When viewing Saturn at high levels of magnification, I was able to distinguish the rings and some of the moons. The other group saw Jupiter and a few other star clusters. Following looking at the different astronomical features, we went back inside to watch a presentation about stars. CVAS members described the way stars move through the night, and through the year.  I found the Andromeda Galaxy especially fascinating! This galaxy is 25 million light years away, which means that what we are looking at now is the same way it was 25 million years ago. It’s appearance is compared to a stretched out cotton ball. Thinking about how far away these entities are and how vast our universe is, is astonishing.

Saw-whet Owl identified as a 
Second year, being aged using a UV light

After the presentation, we waited in the Citizen Science Center to see Northern Saw-whet Owls get banded. It was nearing the end of the session when they caught two owls! One of the owls caught was a recapture, meaning it had previously been caught and banded by a banding team before. The other owl was identified as a female, second year, which means this owl is in its second year of life.

In order to attract the owls, the banders play a recording of the spring mating call of a male Northern Saw-whet Owl. This lures owls to the mist nets set up by the bird banders, and they are checked every half hour. Sometimes, the nets capture non-targeted species. For example, the banders have captured an American Woodcock and a Barred Owl in the past.

The bird banders showed us the process of measuring and weighing the birds, as well as determining the age and sex. The bird banders use a chart that determines the sex based on the size of the owl and the length of their wings. To identify the age of the bird they use a UV light. When the wings are under the UV light, a chemical called "porphyrin" appears as different shades of pink. New feathers will show up as a darker pink, older feathers will be lighter shades of pink, and some with no visible coloring at all. 

If you’re interested in watching the owl banding process, keep an eye on our events calendar for more opportunities. If you’re interested in going to a public telescope observing program, see CVAS’ website  for more information about upcoming events.

Fall Colors: Coming Soon!

By: Claire Anderson

Photo Credit

It often seems that the beautiful red and gold hues of fall leaves are here and gone in the blink of an eye. Planning ahead and knowing the foliage timeline can help you make the most out of the fall colors and enjoy the beautiful landscapes around you. 

According to the Smoky Mountains Fall Foliage Prediction Map, the Chippewa Valley area will be in near peak and peak colors from October 9th to around October 21st. These dates may vary slightly depending on the amount of moisture in the soil, when we start getting frost, and the weather throughout the week. Typically warmer days and cooler nights encourage brighter colors! Keep an eye on the Fall Color Report Map for updated information and see when the colors in your region may be at its peak. 

Getting outside to experience the fall colors is essential to the fall experience. If you're looking for a more creative way to enjoy the fall weather, try your hand at crafts that utilize fall foliage. An easy craft is collecting leaves that have fallen, and making biodegradable confetti with a fun hole puncher! 

You may also want to check out an apple orchard, or a pumpkin patch in the area. If you’re looking for a beautiful autumn hike, come out to Beaver Creek and check out our trails that allow for any experience level. If you're looking for a trail with a beautiful overlook our Blue and Red trails on our South campus are two longer hikes that both have breathtaking overlooks. For a quicker and easier hike, check out our Green trail!

No matter what you do this season, make sure to enjoy the fall colors and have some fun outside during the beautiful autumn days!