Saturday, March 31, 2012

Mar 31, 2012: March Photo Collage


Photo collage of daily March blog photos taken at Ada Hayden Heritage Park (Kevin Kane)


... and the locations of each of the photos

Mar 30, 2012: Photo of the Day: Sunset from Western Gate


Sunset taken from the western gate of AHHP, 3/27/12 (Kevin Kane)

Mar 29, 2012: AHHP Aerial Photos


Aerial photo of NW portion of park showing burn area (Jensen Pond left center), 3/28/12 (Evan Koester)

The Iowa DNR did some project flying on Wednesday and took aerial photography of several central Iowa locations including Ada Hayden Heritage Park.  Thanks to Jim Giglierano and Evan Koester for the photos.  I will be posting a larger selection of the days photos soon.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Mar 28, 2012: Photo of the Day: Sunset over the Prairie

Photo taken in the southwest corner of the park looking west over the hill, 3/27/12 (Kevin Kane)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Mar 27, 2012: Greening of the Wetlands

Wetland complex, southwest corner of the park, looking northeast (Kevin Kane)

Another beautiful evening at the park. The blue of the water, amber of the last of the sun's rays on the treetops, and green of the new vegetation made a colorful display in the wetland areas in the western half of the park.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Mar 26, 2012: Pic of the Day: A Great Day for Fishing











A young fisherman intently surveys the water near the notheast boat ramp, 3/24/12 (Kevin Kane)

Monday, March 26, 2012

Mar 25, 2012: Erv's Field Notes #28

Blue-fronted Dancer Male--Hayden Park, Ames, Iowa (Erv Klaas)

Sunday, March 25, 2012. 1:00 to 2:30 pm. Beautiful sunny day. Temp. 76 degrees. Gentle south breeze.

The weather this weekend has been fantastic. On Saturday, the park was visited by hundreds of runners who participated in a benefit "Run for Malawi". You can see photos at Kevin Kane's blogspot: http://adahaydenpark.blogspot.com/2012/03/mar-24-2012-race-day-at-ahhp.html

Saturday was also a "Day of Insects" at Reiman Gardens. Wolf Oesterreich and I presented our five years of data on Dragonflies and Damselflies at AHHP. Our presentation was one of 15 presentations at the fourth annual meeting of this group that attracted more than 100 people. I showed a slide of a damselfly, a Blue-fronted Dancer, that had captured an insect. One of the entomologists identified it as a member of the insect Order Mecoptera, and I was later able to identify it to species as a "hanging fly" on a web site called Bug Guide. This web site was developed by entomologists at Iowa State U. and has become the "go to" site all over the world for users to identify their insects from photos. The hanging fly has very long front legs with a hook at the end which it uses to hang from branches of vegetation. The long legs and distinctive head were clearly visible on my photo.

Wolf reported that he saw the first dragonflies of the season last Wednesday and Thursday, March 21 and 22, at the park. These dragonflies were Common Green Darners and on Thursday he observed them ovipositing (laying eggs). Entomologists believe this species migrates to the Gulf Coast for the winter and darners that appear this early in the spring are probably early migrants from the south rather than emergents from the ponds.

On Sunday afternoon, Janet and I walked up the upland trail to Jensen's Pond. While Janet sat in the swing at Rotary Overlook, I walked around the pond. One of the first birds I saw was an Eastern Phoebe. It caused me to recall that 50 years ago, almost to the day, I began a four-year field study of this species near Lawrence, Kansas that became my doctoral dissertation in Ornithology. The thesis was titled "Breeding Ecology of the Eastern Phoebe and its relationships with the Brown-headed Cowbird." The Eastern Phoebe is a member of the flycatcher family of birds and usually builds its nest made of mud and grasses on buildings are other structures. It likes protection from the elements so its nest is always under an overhanging eave of a building. In eastern Kansas it uses concrete culverts or road bridges as nesting sites. I once found a phoebe nest tucked under a rocky outcrop but natural sites in Kansas were scarce as they are in Iowa. The phoebe is a frequent host of the Brown-headed Cowbird that is an obligate social parasite. The cowbird lays its eggs in the nests of a large variety of species and the host does all of the work of raising the cowbird young. Such behavior has evolved independently several times among avian families, for example, old-world cuckoos.

This morning (Monday), a phoebe appeared suddenly in my back yard, the first time I have seen it in the yard in 37 years. It must be some kind of omen because yesterday, I saw a Brown-headed Cowbird in the yard.

Erv Klaas

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Mar 24, 2012: Race Day at AHHP

Runners wind their way around the northeast trail before heading over the bridge (Kevin Kane)

Saturday morning the park was filled with runners as the "March for Malawi" was run around the asphalt figure 8.  It was a beautiful day with a nice turnout of a couple hundred runners.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Mar 23, 2012: Another Foggy Morning

Central Iowa awoke to another very foggy morning Friday.  Visibility over the lake was nearly zero as I drove by on my way to work.

Looking east at southeast corner of the south lake, 3/13/12 (Kevin Kane)

Mar 22, 2012: Pic of the Day: Reflected Sky


Reflection of western sky at sunset on south lake, 3/14/12 (Kevin Kane)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Mar 21, 2012: Cavorting Deer












I walked at Ada on Friday (3/16) about 7 and at 7:30ish we were over by where the upland trail meets the main trail on the south point. We were on the gravel up about 50 feet or so and could see the dirt spit on the south side of the pond that is closer to the houses. So, not the main body of water. We saw two fawns or little deer (it was getting darkish) prancing around the spit, running in the water, chasing each other, splashing and generally having a great time. Then we saw a bigger deer watching from the willows and that one never went in the water. My guess is they might do that regularly and maybe at that time - 7:45 by now - so if you wanted to see them cavorting, take a hike.  Google maps for you   http://g.co/maps/v2uz7

Robin

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Mar 20, 2012: Map of Burn Area











The burn area at AHHP. (Wolf Oesterreich)
I collected the data with a Trimble GeoXH GPS unit on 17 March. A total of 27.23 acres.

Wolf

Mar 19, 2012: Bluebird Report

Eastern Bluebird, (See photo credit below)

Date: 3/19/12 10:15 am
From: Claudette Sandoval-Green
Subject: [ia-bird] Ada Hayden 03/18/12
Hello,

We walked the upland trail yesterday (3/18) at Ada Hayden about 5:00 pm, and
spotted two Eastern Bluebirds just before you get to Jensen pond on
the south side of the trail, looked like one male and one female.
Also, just past the Circle of Life we saw one male Eastern
Meadowlark and three unknowns (females or juveniles). Most likely
females he was putting on a show - on the ground just in front
of the line of nest boxes.

Claudette Sandoval-Green
Ames, Iowa


From The Birding Lists Digest
http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=message;id=406750
This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/PayDues.aspx.


Photo Credit: Eastern Bluebird,-- again from Magnolia Plantation, (Audubon Swamp), Ray Swagerty----Charleston, SC
http://cs.birdwatchingdaily.com/BRDCS/forums/p/21600/78908.aspx

I've always found these to be really skittish. It was nice to get one. Particulars, Nikon D-80 with Nikkor 80x400 AF VR at 400mm. I've cleared the card already but as best I can recall, 1/250 sec., f6.3, ISO200, spot metered on the breast. It was tripod-mounted and the nice, warm lighting was behind me. It is cropped and enlarged, and sharpened just a tad. That makes me think that I may need to check and see if I have bumped the diopter setting through-the-lens as my eye for focus is usually pretty good.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Mar 17, 2012: AHHP in the News: More on "The Oaks"


 

 

 

 

 

 

 "Plan to turn golf course into estates is first test for urban fringe agreement"

Ames Online Article can be found here.

Ames Online has a nice article on the evolving controversey of changing the land use plan to allow for development of Oaks golf course directly northeast of AHHP into 4 large residential lots, affecting both the AHHP water and viewsheds.  There are a long line of comments also that are very worthwhile to read and gauge the community's interest in the issue.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Mar 15, 2012: Wolf's Notes













Mourning Cloak, 3/14/2012 (Wolf Oesterreich)
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
I found my first butterfly of the season, a Mourning Cloak, along the west bluff spur. I usually find 1 or 2 in this area, but never this early in the season. Along the Upland Trail, below the "Circle of Life", was a pair of Eastern Bluebirds checking out several of the Tree Swallow nesting boxes.

A homeowner along the south side of the south lake, up behind the savanna woods, had burnt some vegetation in the backyard, probably illegally since we are still under a no-burn mandate. With southerly winds, gusting to 24 mph, smoke wafted through the woods and across the trail. One could still smell the smoke while crossing the bridge.

Wolf
Ames

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Mar 14, 2012: Erv's Field Notes #27

Fog lifts near the south lake outlet, 3/13/12 (Kevin Kane)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012. 2 to 3 pm. Bright sun shine, slight southerly breeze, temperature 65 degrees F.

Beautiful day. Lots of walkers, bikers and dogs. Took the upland trail today. Saw a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, Robins, Crows and at least six Killdeer. About 50 Canada Geese and a few Mallards were on one of the small ponds that still has water in the north wetlands. The flock was totally silent, and most were sleeping. Seven more geese were on Jensen's Pond. Painted turtles were out in force on Jensen's Pond. I counted 15 on a log on the west end, 1 on a log in the middle and 18 more on several logs on the east end of the pond. There was a variety of sizes indicating that reproduction is occurring. Painted turtles burrow into the soil to overwinter. They also lay their eggs in shallow nests that they excavate on shore.

Erv Klaas

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Mar 13, 2012: Foggy Morning

Fog so thick you couldn't tell where the lake ended and the sky began, 3/13/2012 (Kevin Kane)
More photos from Tuesday morning

Mar 12, 2012: Race Info @ AHHP: March for Malawi


Where: Ada Hayden Heritage Park Ames, IA

When: March 24th, 2012 10:00am Sharp

Cost: $15 before March 17th, $20 after March 17th

Race Day Check In: 8:00am at Ada Hayden Park Shelter (Race Packet and t-shirt can be picked up here)

Route: Figure 8 around Ada Hayden Lake, beginning and ending at the north park shelter.

Note: Prizes will be awarded for top male and top female finishers. Snacks and refreshments will be provided following the race.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Mar 11, 2012: Pic of the Day: Inuksuit Rebuilt

The Inuksuit sculpture has been rebuilt and fences are now down, 3/6/2012 (Kevin Kane)

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Mar 10, 2012: Wolf's Field Notes

Mallards near the south lake outlet at sunset, 2/25/12 (Kevin Kane)

Little was found on the main lakes this morning. A small flock of Lesser Scaup left the north lake and headed off to the northwest. Mallards still outnumbered other ducks and geese. As I was riding down the Upland Trail, near the north trailhead, I heard a familiar call. I quickly stopped and looked skyward. Two Sandhill Cranes circled above before heading off to the east. (I have recorded this species here 4 times before [1998, 2004, 2007, & 2008], mostly in flight.) (I spent last Sunday and Monday in Nebraska, between Grand Island and Kearney, watching and listening to the wondrous spectacle that is the crane migration.) A Northern Shrike landed in a tree in the amphitheater woods (along the Upland Trail). One was also sighted yesterday, along the south side of the south lake's west bay. Northern Shrikes have been quite common this Winter season. It's quite possible that it is the same individual each time.

During the past week I observed the following: Greater White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Ross's Goose, Cackling Goose, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Hooded Merganser. On the 7th, I found a mixed flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, Rusty Blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Common Grackles, and European Starlings (in decreasing order of abundance) in the burn area, near the north Upland Trail trailhead.

Wolf
Ames

Friday, March 9, 2012

Mar 9, 2012: Erv's Field Notes #26



Geese over the north lake at sunrise, 3/6/12 (Kevin Kane)


Friday, March 9, 2012. 1:00-2:00 pm. Clear, bright sunshine. Temperature: 38-41 degrees F. Slight breeze.

I have not been to the park for several days. I have been following Kevin Kane's blog and daily photo--really nice. The ice is completely gone from the lakes. About 200 Canada Geese were on the south lake along with a variety of ducks. I identified 3 Cackling Geese, 10 Red-Headed Ducks, a pair of Pintail, a pair of Wigeon, 6 Ring-necked Ducks, a pair of Gadwall, Mallard (about 20) and Lesser Scaup (about 10).

Other birds: a Red-tailed Hawk, many Crows, and one Red-winged Blackbird male in fresh plumage. This is the first Redwing I have seen this year although I am sure some have been around all winter.

Last Monday, March 5, I saw a half-dozen Turkey Vultures circling near Grand Avenue and 15th Street. For many years, I have noted that Turkey Vultures returned to the pine grove near Ames High School on or about March 23. March 5 is a very early record for this species.

You can see Kevin's latest blog at: http://adahaydenpark.blogspot.com/2012/03/mar-8-2012-information-item.html

Erv Klaas

Mar 8, 2012: Possible Change in Land Use Plan Adjacent to AHHP

Ames City Staff Report
Request for LUPP Amendment for Oaks Golf Course
March 6, 2012


Affected area (Oaks Golf Course) on ridge in background (Kevin Kane)

From the report:
By way of overview, this proposed amendment to the LUPP would involve changing this land use designation from Parks and Open Space to Rural Residential in order to allow development of residential estate lots. Council may want to give consideration to such factors as the City’s ability (or inability) to provide utilities to the area, impact on the City’s watershed (particularly Ada Hayden Lake), impacts on the viewshed from Ada Hayden Memorial Park, and general consistency with the Council’s adopted goals and policies.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Mar 7, 2012: Pic of the Day: Sunrise


Sunrise over Ada Hayden Park's north lake looking south over fishing pier, 3/6/12 (Kevin Kane)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Mar 6, 2012: Beautiful Day!













Gull admiring an ice reflection, 3/6/12 (Kevin Kane)
More of this mornings photos here

It was a beutiful morning in the park with warm gusty south breezes pushing temperatures up to near record highs during the day.  The ice that reformed from this week's snow and cold temps is melting quickly on both the north and south lakes.  Birds on th lake were more spread out than I had seen them in a long time.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Mar 5, 2012: Ames Reads Leoplod (video)


Opening passages read by Erv Klaas and played by Tim Southwick Johnson (Kevin Kane)
See video here

The 5th annual Ames Reads Leopold at the Ames Public Library was a great success with readings by community members and music interludes by folk singer Tim Southwick Johnson of Wisconsin.  Johnson featured his original ballads and other songs inspired by Leopold's essays.

The event was sponsored by the Aldo Leopold Foundation, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Ames Public Library, Big Bluestem Chapter of the National Audubon Society, Friends of Ada Hayden Heritage Park, and Ames Chapter of the Isaac Walton League.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Mar 4, 2012: Today! Fifth Annual Ames Reads Leopold



Fifth Annual Ames Reads Leopold
Date: Sunday, March 4th, 2012
Start: 1:30 pm End: 4:00 pm
Location: Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue, Ames, Iowa
Contact: Erwin Klaas, (515) 233-3327, eklaas@iastate.edu

The focus will be on the writings of Aldo Leopold from A Sand County Almanac that are read aloud as part of Aldo Leopold Weekend activities across the country. New this year will be musical interludes by folk singer Tim Southwick Johnson of Wisconsin, featuring his original ballads and other songs inspired by Leopold's essays.

The Ames group is led by retired ISU professor Erv Klaas. The public is invited to attend this event, either for its duration or just 30 minutes. Refreshments will be served, and copies of A Sand County Almanac will be available as door prizes.

The Ames event is sponsored by the Aldo Leopold Foundation, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Ames Public Library, Big Bluestem Chapter of the National Audubon Society, Friends of Ada Hayden Heritage Park, and Ames Chapter of the Isaac Walton League.
Related information

Learn more about Aldo Leopold Weekends at http://www.aldoleopold.org/.

Mar 3, 2012: Pic of the Day, Reflections of Winter















Looking southwest over north lake at sunset, 2/27/12 (Kevin Kane)

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Mar 2, 2012: First Kayak on an Icy Cold Lake

Courageous kayaker out on the south lake, 3/2/12 (Kevin Kane) 

Though most of the ice has retreated from the south lake, there is still a bit in the western bay and also at the outlet where floating pieces have accumulated.  Friday morning also brought a sight I hadn't seen in a long while, a lone kayaker gliding across the south lake.  A chilly morning ride!

Kevin

Friday, March 2, 2012