Page 15 - Clear Lake Mirror Reporter E-Edition 7-1-2015
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OutdoorsClear Lake Mirror-Reporter 															                                                                                                                                                       July 1, 2015 • Page 15

(Above left) A male red-winged blackbird displays his finery. (Above right) A male red-winged blackbird defends his nesting territory from a family of giant Canada geese. - Photos by Lowell Washburn.  up

Red Wings - From the ground

Common wetland resident provides                                                                                                                                             Building Dreams
not so common bird study
By Lowell Washburn                                                                                                                                                            one home at a time.
	 Many of my most interesting                                                                                                 fended his territory from rival males,
wildlife encounters have occurred as                                                                                          but then left the protection of nest             New Homes • Additions • Remodels
complete surprises rather than care-                                                                                          and growing young entirely to the fe-
fully planned activities. My latest                                                                                           male. The female rose to the occasion;                             CONSTRUCTION
example began while birding the shal-                                                                                         boldly defending the nest site against
low margins of a local cattail marsh.                                                                                         all potential threats, but never more                         641-357-4987
	 I was hoping to photograph                                                                                                  vehemently than whenever a passing
newly hatched broods of baby wood                                                                                             crow ventured near.                         Over 35 Years experience smeints@netins.net
ducks when I noticed a female red-                                                                                            	 A notable exception to the male’s
winged blackbird nervously flitting       A female red-wing gathers nesting material from the surface of a North Iowa         seemingly disengaged behavior oc-
among the reeds. Nothing unusual          wetland.-Photo by Lowell Wasburn.                                                   curred early one morning when a
in sighting a red-wing, they’re one                                                                                           family of giant Canada geese unknow-
of Iowa’s most common bird species.       	 Although ever present, the male          ing hour to puffing up and displaying    ingly invaded the red-wing’s domain.
But this female was different; appear-    did little – nothing actually – to assist  the finery of his red and orange shoul-  Launching a vicious attack, the male
ing anxious and extremely focused.        with nest construction or care of the      der plumage while singing the species’   pounded the gander with a merciless
After keeping an eye on the bird, I       young. Instead, he devoted every wak-      familiar trill. The male vigorously de-  series of hawk-like stoops. In spite of
began to wonder if she wasn’t looking                                                                                         their tremendous size advantage, the
for a place to build a nest. My suspi-                                                                                        geese took the attack seriously. Cir-
cions were soon confirmed when the                                                                                            cling the wagons, the adults herded
red-wing pulled a beak full of soggy                                                                                          their goslings into a tight ball and
grasses from the wetland’s oozy sur-                                                                                          beat a hasty retreat. The male red-
face. Lifting her cargo into the air,                                                                                         wing quickly resumed his egotistical
the female flew about 20 yards before                                                                                         displays.
suddenly diving back into the stand-
ing cattails. The bird reemerged, flew                                                                                        Enjoy more wildlife tales on-
back toward the shoreline, and then                                                                                           line at Washburn’s Outdoor
quickly returned with another load                                                                                            Journal at iawildife.org/blog .
of wet vegetation. Making the most
of this unusual opportunity, I slowly     Outdoor camps being offered for children this summer
crept ever closer until finally in posi-
tion to view the red-wing’s life history  	 The Lime Creek Nature Center and Cerro Gordo                   and six; July 13 - 17, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Registration required;
– literally from the ground up.           County Conservation Board are offering several camps for         call 641-423-5309.
	 Working more or less nonstop, it        children this summer.  Registration is required for all of the   	 •Canoeing and Fishing Adventures: Participants will
took the female red-wing two days to      camps and space is limited.  The following camps will be         learn canoeing and fishing skills and enjoy a float on the
complete her hanging, basket shaped       offered:                                                         Winnebago River.  $15 members; $20 non-members;
nest. The task would have been fin-       	 •Those Amazing Animals: Participants will learn                youth entering grades seven and eight; July 23-24, 9 s.m. –
ished even sooner had not the female      about Iowa’s different animal groups with a variety of fun,      3 p.m. Registration required; call 641-423-5309.
chosen to inspect, test, and then re-     hands-on activities.  $15 members; $20 non-members;              	 •Tiny Tot Nature Camp: Participants will learn all
ject a good percentage of the nesting     youth entering grades 3 & 4; July 6 - 10, 9 - 11:30 a.m.         about Iowa’s habitats.  $20. Aug. 4-6, 9 - 10:15 a.m., ages
material she considered. The nest was     Registration required; call 641-423-5309.                        four-six years. Registration required; call 641-421-3673.
barely completed before the first of      	 •Outdoor Adventures: Participants will learn a vari-           	 •Insectigations: Participants will learn all about in-
three, blue mottled eggs was deposited    ety of outdoor skills including canoeing, fishing, archery,      sects. $20. Aug. 4-6, 10:45 a.m. - noon, ages seven and
in the tightly woven, still drying, ever  air rifles, edible plants, navigation and survival skills.  $15  eight-years-old. Registration required; call 641-421-3673.
shrinking structure. Hung about two       members; $20 non-members; youth entering grades five
feet above the water’s surface, the nest
was faithfully guarded until all three
eggs hatched during the 11th and
12th days of incubation. Thirteen
days after hatching, all three young-
sters successfully fledged from the
nest.

    Dave’s
 Deck Care

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    & Remodeling

New Decks

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Deck Repairs

   & Ramps

Deck Cleaning

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   Dave Marreel

641-357-0227

A Clear Lake Family Owned Business.
 Serving North Central Iowa since

                   1989
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