The Leaflet, March - April 2004

As snow continues to cover the ground, I think about the Rufous Hummingbird we last saw January 9. While hosting this tiny guest, I learned a lot about these wonderful little birds from hummingbird experts around the country. The Rufous is the best flyer of all the hummers, regularly migrating farther than any other species. Usually, it nests in mountains in the northwestern states up to Seward in Alaska. Nesting has been recorded in breeding bird surveys from Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia. Wintering grounds are in Mexico, but increasing numbers have been detected in the eastern states. Every state and province up to Nova Scotia has records of fall or winter Rufous. These hummers nest at higher altitude than any other hummer and are much more tolerant of cold. They can easily withstand temperatures down to zero. Like all hummingbirds, Rufous are pugnacious and territorial around food sources, but they take it to extreme levels, even defending food sources during migration.

The Rufous is the most commonly seen hummingbird in the southeast in winter months and has been recorded in every month except June. Bob Sargent, of the Hummer Bird Study Group in Louisiana, has recorded hundreds of hummingbirds wintering in southeastern states. He believes the birds seen here may be a sub-population that has adapted to wintering in these areas and may even be breeding in the east. Some of these birds have been recaptured three, four, and five years in the same wintering site, suggesting that they are not lost or maladapted. The birds usually disappear around Christmas to mid-January and make their way back to the nesting grounds. The last of ten Rufous Hummingbirds seen in Indiana this year was present until January 19.
More hummingbirds have been recorded in recent winters, perhaps because there are more over-wintering with all the hummingbird feeders out, or perhaps they are just reported more easily now that there are e-mail lists and other advanced communications. In any case, they do not need to be rescued or “saved” by bringing then inside. Despite books recording such efforts, this is an illegal and unnecessary intervention.

The bird we hosted was banded by Cathie Hutchison just a few days before it disappeared. As I held the tiny bird in my hand for release, I couldn’t help thinking that it was about as big as a cicada. It actually weighed about the same as that insect, only a bit over 3 grams. Female Rufous are slightly larger than males, as is the case for several hummers. Measurements taken of the captured bird confirmed its identity and age. I wish it well on its perilous journey. What amazing little mites of life they are!

A limited number of ferns occur in the woods around Lake Griffy. Some are distinctive and easy to identify while others look more alike and are more difficult to name. The ferns are divided here into three groups: common and easy to identify; reasonably common but more difficult to identify; and rare species that may not even occur in the Griffy area today.

In searching for specific ferns it is useful to know what habitat or environment is most suitable for their occcurrence. Both Charles Deam (1940) and J.H. Thiele (1982) listed the fern habitats at Griffy as Lake, Flood Areas (water-covered by winter thaw and spring rain), Successional Fields (grasses to small tress and shrubs), Young Woods (dense undergrowth of brambles to small tress with little understory), Mature Woods (large hardwood trees) and Drainage Areas (ravines and side valleys).

A critical feature of fern characteristics is the nature of the reproductive parts. These consist of the location of fruiting bodies, their distribution and shape. Ferns reproduce by spores, not by seeds. The spores are microscopic but occur in clusters called sporangia or fruit dots. In some ferns the spores are present on the undersides of leaves (fertile fronds). Other ferns have spores on specialized stalks that may or may not have leaves. These commonly rise above sterile fronds and may be quite distinct. Most ferns do not produce spores until relatively late in the growing season, making identification in the spring or early summer problematic. The largest divisions of a fern are leaves or fronds. These may or may not be subdivided into leaflets. Leaflets may or may not be further divided into pinnules.

Easy To Identify Common Ferns

CHRISTMAS fern is the most common fern at Griffy and in Monroe County. It is usually found on valley floors and lower slopes of ridges. The name derives from its being green all winter. As new fronds appear in the spring, last year's leaves gradually turn brown and die. The fronds occur in a bouquet-like cluster with two distinctive features. Leaflets alternate and each has a conspicuous ear on the upper side, making the leaflet look like the handle of a sheath knife or a Christmas stocking. The sporangia occur on the undersides of the leaflets at the tips of the fronds.

MAIDENHAIR fern is perhaps the most graceful, attractive fern at Griffy. It occurs in deep humus and shaded, sheltered areas. Each leaf consists of a stalk that divides into two recurved fronds. Each frond has leaflets on the outside of the curve. Leaves spring from a creeping rootstock.

SENSITIVE fern is large and often found in low, wet places, moist woods, roadside ditches or near lakes. The name stems from the fern dying completely after the first light frost. The distinguishing feature is the winged nature of the leaflets with narrow bands joining adjacent leaflets along the axis of the frond. The hard bead-like spore cases are on short branches of fertile leaves.

RATTLESNAKE fern has three large triangular leaves that rise from a single stalk. Each leaflet is toothed. The fertile stalk rises well above the leaves and has six or more tapering branches with yellow sporangia. This fern is fruitful in early summer, the earliest of the ferns at Griffy. It is common at the north end and the southern end of the east branch of Ridge trail.

EBONY SPLEENWORT occurs widely in fields, well-drained soil, and is commonly associated at Griffy with Lycopodium and red cedar. It is rather small with simple leaves that have eared alternate leaflets. The stalks are dark brown to black, hence the name. The fertile leaves are upright and larger than the sterile ones. Sterile leaves are short and either pendant or flat on the ground. Sporangia are short and straight.

Common Ferns More Difficult To Identify

EVERGREEN WOOD fern is fairly common in wooded ravines and on moist shaded slopes. It's leaves are 1.5-3 feet tall and arranged in a cluster. Leaflets are divided into toothed pinnules with round sporangia near pinnule midlines. It is green through the winter.

LEATHERY WOOD fern is found on rocky wooded bluffs and slopes along streams associated with sandstone. The leaves are 1.5-2 feet tall and 6-10 inches wide. The leaflets are leathery with smooth margined pinnules that bear round, marginal sporangia. It also is green during the winter.

FRAGILE fern is a rich leaf mold fern found in oak, beech, or maple woods. The leaves are short, narrow, and clumped. Leaflets are opposite, widely spaced and divided into notched pinnules. The sporangia are round and scattered near pinnule margins. The stems are easily broken.

BROAD BEECH fern is found in moist woods. The fronds are widely spaced and the leaves are broadly triangular. Leaflets are connected by wings along the stem with pinnules confluent along the leaflets. The sporangia are round and found near pinnule margins.

NEW YORK fern is closely associated with beech woods or on hard, moist sweet gum clay soils. The leaves are distant and 1-2 feet tall with leaflets tapering to very small at both ends. The leaflets are opposite below and alternating above. The pinnules are smooth-edged with round sporangia closer to the margins than the midline.

Rare Ferns

Walking, Bracken, Berry Bladder and Goldie's Wood-fern have been reported once at Griffy. Charles Deam in 1940 noted Adder's Tongue, Royal and Cinnamon Fern, Purple and Smooth Cliffbrake, Common Polyplody, and Resurrection Fern elsewhere in Monroe County.

Can you spend a couple of hours on a worthwhile project with congenial people? You have your choice of dry, damp or wet jobs and the satisfaction of helping both birds and SAS. Please call Cathy Hiatt at 339-7388. See our Calendar for event details.

The 28th annual Lake Monroe Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 20, 2003. Much to our amazement, it turned out to be a remarkably successful count, with far more species than we had anticipated.
Our expectations going into the count were very low. Our recent waterfowl counts had been very low and very few of the typical mid-winter ducks had arrived. In addition, a sharp cold snap (following much warm weather) had frozen most of the shallow-water duck habitats such as North Fork and Middle Fork. Furthermore, the late date of this year’s count reduced the number of participants by about 20, as many birders had already left for the holidays.

Despite all of this, our final tally was a wonderful surprise. We tallied 100 species--a tie for the fourth highest Lake Monroe CBC ever (our record is the 109 species tallied in 1997). This represents the fifth time we have reached 100 species, and we are the only Indiana CBC to have reached 100.

The high count with a number of noteworthy species is a tribute to very hard work by the 45 individuals working in 13 teams within our count circle. A lot of early scouting and intensive work on count day really paid dividends.

The best bird for the count was Black Vulture—the first time this species has been recorded on our CBC. This represents the 142nd species that we have tallied in the 28 years of the count. The teams working fields south of the lake had four Black Vultures in the air with Turkey Vultures just south of Heltonville. A great find!

Other outstanding birds included Red-necked Grebe (one seen close to shore at Paynetown in the early morning), White-winged Scoter (two seen off of Paynetown in the early morning), Northern Goshawk (an immature flew right over team members at Cutright in the early afternoon), Golden Eagle (a total of four sightings of subadult birds—the actual total was probably two birds, as three of the sightings were probably of the same bird—only the second time we have had more than one Golden Eagle on the count), and Brown Thrasher (one at a feeder in the Crooked Creek area).

Other very good sightings included Double-crested Cormorant (one observed off of Paynetown being attacked and killed by two adult Bald Eagles!), Redhead (two seen at Fairfax), Bald Eagle (38 sightings, probably indicating a total of 24 individuals [15 adults and 9 immatures]), Ruffed Grouse (one found in the Middle Fork area), Northern Saw-whet Owl (the total of nine individuals is the second highest count ever), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (the count of 21 sets a new CBC record), Eastern Phoebe (2), Winter Wren (one found at Cutright), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (4), Hermit Thrush (the tally of 40 ties our previous high), Yellow-rumped Warbler (an amazing 193 were tallied - our previous high was 60), Savannah Sparrow (3), Rusty Blackbird (84), and Pine Siskin (7).

Unquestionably the most exciting event of the day was a staggering flight of 5635 Sandhill Cranes. We were expecting some cranes, as more than 5000 had passed over Bloomington the previous day, but no one was prepared for another 5000! The birds were found on the ground at North Fork at first light and began to leave shortly thereafter. The team covering Paynetown and Cutright happened to be at the east end of the Cutright area at exactly the right time and witnessed the entire flight. The sky was horizon to horizon (N to S) with skeins of Sandhills for over an hour. We estimated 5500 birds in that period of time! An unbelievable sight—with those wonderful ringing calls in the still morning air.

Birds seen within three days of the count but not on the count itself (Count Week birds) included Canvasback and Merlin.

The high counts of Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, and Yellow-rumps were probably due to the prolonged warm spell that preceded the count (the freeze was not sustained enough to eliminate these birds).

In summary, it was an absolutely wonderful count, exceeding all of our expectations. Thanks to everyone who participated and to all of the team leaders for a job well done. And, as usual, our warmest thanks to Henry Wahl, who once again hosted the great potluck dinner that followed the day of field work. Superb food as usual!

Hope we will see all of you in the field next year—perhaps another record count?

Maurice Wilder, the owner of the Goose Pond and Beehunter Marsh properties in Greene County, Indiana, has decided to sell these two properties at auction sometime this spring. This auction could occur as early as April and would potentially split the properties into 20 separate parcels. These two historic wetlands were drained for farming in the 1800s. In the year 2000, Mr. Wilder placed the majority of these two sites, approximately 7000 acres, into the Wetland Reserve Program. The restoration of these two sites is underway but only partially complete. Already the diversity of wildlife utilizing these two sites has increased.

Most everyone in the county as well as the state are in agreement that something needs to be done to protect these two sites and provide for public access and tourism. The state of Indiana is still operating at a deficit and cannot afford to purchase the properties. The local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials are interested in the properties but have not received any support from the regional or national offices. Supposedly the asking price for the entire property will be in the $7-$8 million range. Possibly the last chance to keep these important wetlands in public ownership is via our two state senators. Please contact them ASAP at the addresses below and ask them to help protect these extremely valuable wildlife habitats. Supposedly this region of Indiana suffers economically compared to the rest of the state. A refuge of this size and scope would offer a huge economic boost. For more background information on this project, refer to articles from the summer of 2003 SAS Leaflets.

Senator Richard Lugar
306 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Evan Bayh
463 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Able-bodied volunteers are needed to help unload show vendor trucks and assist with setting up tables and booths at The Sycamore Land Trust’s Annual Gardening and Landscaping Show. The times of greatest need are Friday, April 16 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. AND/OR Saturday, April 17 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Contact Betsy Whitehead to volunteer or for more information at betdon@earthlink.net or 339-1782.

Volunteers will be given free admission to the Gardening and Landscaping Show on April 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and refreshments during volunteer hours. Other less strenuous volunteer opportunities are available during the show.