Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid 2011

It was 10 months in the making, but I finally found an Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid.  These plants are state-endangered and federally-threatened mainly due to habitat loss.  Last fall when I was volunteering at the Nachusa Grasslands, one of the stewards pointed out an area where the orchids could be found.  I marked it with my GPS, so I would remember where it was.  The trick was showing up at the right time.  

I consulted Michael A. Homoya's Orchids of Indiana (because there isn't an equivalent resource for Illinois) and figured out the best time to return.  As confirmation, the Spring 2011 issue of Illinois Audubon magazine had an essay about this species of orchid at Nachusa. 

Joe and I picked our date to go looking and we followed our GPS waypoint back to the general location.  Even with all the advantages of timing and location, we still had to actually find a plant, which is like finding a needle in a haystack.  The most challenging part was wading through a thorny thicket and crossing a small stream.  It was worth all the blood and sweat we gave in exchange for a look at these spectacular plants!

Peregrine Falcons at Millenium Park

To me, the best part of a summer concert at Chicago's Millennium Park is the the sky show put on by Peregrine Falcons.  These lightning fast birds of prey have been tracked at sky-diving speeds over 200 mph.  Last night, one falcon in particular perched on top of the shell of the beautiful Pritzker Pavilion to enjoy the concert led by Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki conducting his Concerto Grosso No. 1 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3.  The falcon stayed in place for much of the concert.  But occasionally it would take off and zoom through the air with another PEFA. 

With 20 pairs in Illinois today, PEFAs are listed as an Illinois threatened species.  But 60 years ago there were none.  Due to the chemical DDT, they were entirely wiped out of their territory east of the Rocky Mountains.  Historically in Illinois, Peregrines were found along the Mississippi River between the cities of Alton and Grafton, as well as near the Illinois and Wabash Rivers in Jackson County. As a result of a reintroduction program that began in 1986, the urban landscape along Lake Michigan is now the best place to see PEFAs.

Pritzker Pavilion

For more information about the ongoing Peregrine Falcon reintroduction in Illinois, click this link to the Field Museum's Chicago Peregrine Program.

Historic Prophetstown Farm 2011

Here's a little vignette from a day trip to the Historic Farm at Prophetstown State Park in Battle Ground, Indiana.  There's a period 1920s farm house with a beautiful built-in china hutch.  On the grounds, there are all manner of farm animals -- cows, draft horses, goats, chickens, and pigs.  A couple of friendly kitty-cats invited petting, and a baby Barn Swallow was scolded by a parent to crouch back in the nest, which was artfully constructed and perfectly balanced on the back porch light of the farm house. 

 

They sold fresh produce grown on the farm, including some green beans the farmer had just gathered.  He told us to pick out a head of cabbage and he cut it just for us.  It doesn't get any fresher than that!  We also bought some pork burgers from them and cooked it all for dinner! Yummy!! 

I loved the farm animals. The goats were friendly and soft to the touch, but my favorite were the free-range Barred Rock Chickens!

Arctic Revue Day 11 "Caribou Pass"

We stayed three days at Caribou Pass before getting picked up.  The river droned constantly among the foothills of the northern Brooks Mountains.  Of course, these "foothills" are much higher than most places I am accustomed to in Illinois.  Migrating Caribou and other animals take advantage of gaps in the landscape to make thier joureny easier.  Caribou Pass is a place where herds of caribou "pass through" the mountains on their way to or from the coastal plain where they give birth to their young.

Caribou

Most of the movement had already taken place when we were at Caribou Pass, though we did see 2 lone Caribou.  One of them trotted right next to our camp.  It was very curious about us.  It would pace back and forth and then stare at us for a bit, then pace some more.  It was traveling south.

Caribou

Another one came through while we were coming back from our hike in the foothills.  I tried to get closer, but it was traveling north and crossed the river (too deep for me to wade through).  It behaved similarly as the other one, trotting a little, then looking back at me, never really running away.  This one had much more developed antlers.  I don't know the sex of either one, since both male and female Caribou grow antlers.  I suspect they were lone males, since there were no calves.  Several days earlier we saw a mother and calf walk along the river on top of some aufeis.   

Arcic Ground Squirrel

I really enjoyed the time at Caribou Pass.  We also saw a Moose in the hills across the river from us.  Although we saw Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles every day in the Arctic Refuge, one day at Caribou Pass, a Bald Eagle directly passed overhead.  A colony of Arctic Ground Squirrels were active in and out of their borrows near our camp, always more easily heard than seen. 

Juvenile Baird's Sandpiper

At Caribou Pass we encountered a number of juvenile Baird's Sandpipers and Semi-palmated Plovers.  Shorebird parents stick around long enough for the chicks to hatch and assist with basic feeding, but they migrate south before the young fully fledge.  The juveniles migrate south on their own later in the summer.  The miracle is that they "know" in their genes where to go and when: they would never survive an arctic winter.  I was really excited to see a trio of Parasitic Jaegers hunting the riverbed for young sandpipers and plovers.  The jaegers are sort of like a cross between a raptor and a gull.

Juvenile Parasitic Jaeger

On the day of departure, we confrimed our new pick up location, packed up our gear, and waited for the plane.  The weather was kind of drizzly and then turned to rain.  We had packed the tent, in order to be ready when the plane arrived.  We didn't want to make the pilot have to wait on us for not being prepared.  But after 4 hours of standing in a cold downpour waiting for the pilot to come, we have questioned the wisdom of our being so courteous.  Thank God for the Hely Hansen raingear!

Our self-guided expedition into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge tested our skills, endurance, and adaptability.  We didn't get as far as we planned, but we experienced a place that is wild and beautiful [and protected] on a landscape scale.  We will probably never return to the Kongakut, since there is so much more to see, but I will always cherish the memories of those 11 days of arctic wilderness.

Arctic Revue Day 10 "Arctic Landscapes"

Here's a view of the Kongakut River near the source in the high Brooks Range.  The mountains tend to be a little higher in the southern part of the range and begin to level out as they approach the Arctic Ocean in the north.

Kongakut River through the Brooks Range

Here's another view downstream as we moved north to the coastal plain.  This picture shows how braided and rocky the Kongakut River is.  I concluded that kongakut must be a word that means "boat-basher," in light of our kayak damage.  But what a place to wreck!

Compare the two pictures above with the one below, which is further north at Caribou Pass.  The peaks are beginning to flatten out.  The spot pictured below is where we ended our river travel.  Because of the damage to our kayak, we contacted the bush pilot by satelite phone (no cell phone service here) and arranged a pick-up at Caribou Pass a location where he could land.  Alas, we did not make it to the Arctic Ocean.



Kongakut River near Caribou Pass

Since we weren't traveling as far north as we planned, we had a couple of extra days at Caribou Pass.  One morning we hiked up the slopes to an expanse composed of rugged tussocks.  Tussocks are called "ankle-twisters," and they make hiking cumbersome.  Each clump of grass and forbs is about 2 feet high.



Arctic Tussocks

Here's a view from about 500' above the river looking straight across at Caribou Pass.  Around us we could see paths trammeled by migrating Caribou taking advantage of breaks in the landscape.  The mountains are separated from the tussocks in the foreground by the river valley spanning about 200 yards.  This is a vast place.

Tussocks overlooking Caribou Pass

Arctic Revue Day 9 "Midnight Rainbow"

A place of extremes, the Arctic Refuge has 24 hours of daylight in the summer.  Although the sun moved across the horizon, there was no real sunrise and sunset.  It was really strange to hear birds singing all the time. 

One night at "Caribou Pass" I heard a disturbance outside the tent.  Something was snorting or grunting nearby.  I wondered if it were a Caribou passing through the valley.  I got out and looked around and didn't see any Caribou.  But I did see a complete double rainbow in the sky across the river from our camp.

I've never seen such a clear and complete rainbow, unobstructed by any buildings or bridges or roads.  It was as if I were standing on the earth the day God put a rainbow in the sky and promised not to destroy the earth.  What an excellent image to promote permanent protection and conservation of the Arctic Refuge in the face of extraction pressures from the oil and gas industries (follow these links to the National Audubon Society for more conservation information or for urgent political action in support of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- thanks!).  

What made this rainbow even more amazing to me was that the time was 12:58 a.m.!  Due to the remote location and time of day, it is very possible that I was the only person observing this divine sign in God's amazing creation.   

By the way, based on later observations, my snorting "Caribou" was just a male ROCK PTARMIGAN!

Arctic Revue Day 8 "Gray Wolf"

One morning Joe and I were taking a very badly needed rest and trying to decide how we were going to pass through a canyon of rapids.  Our kayak is not a whitewater craft, and we had already damaged the boat, so we were extremely cautious.  The sides of the canyon were very steep and all the braids of the river were funneled into one fast deep channel with large boulders.  We packed up the boat and our gear into 4 large packbags and tried hiking over the mountain on one side, but it was too steep and the rocks slid under our feet, which is untenable when carrying 90-pound packs (and making the trip three times for all the gear). 

While we sat down beside the roaring rapids, trying figure out how we could cross to the other side, a GRAY WOLF appeared through the willows about 100 feet away and was sniffing our gear.  Then it started to approach us, showing curiosity toward us. 

We were facing a very stressful situation, and the introduction of a large predator wasn't part of the plan.  I've never been so close to a wild wolf.  It did not seem threatening in any way at all.  Its manner was totally calm.  It could have come right up to us, except I stood up and shouted, "Okay, that's far enough.  You go on.  Move away, wolf." 

Fortunately, the wolf just moved away and started crossing the river.  The same river we were trying to figure out how to cross.  I said, "If the wolf can do it, then we can do it!" 

We decided to wait until morning the next day so that the water flow would be less intense.  We were very careful about crossing the river with full packs.  But the wolf acted as a kind of angel and showed us that crossing was possible.  He's a picture of a wolf print that I found after we successful crossed (three times) with all our gear.  The print appears "embossed" as opposed to being a depression in the sand.