Osprey Nest available at Nepese Marsh

from Fermilab Today, January 26, 2012:

Fermi Natural Areas and Thorne Electric of Carol Stream situated a bird nesting platform at Nepese Marsh on the eastern side of the Fermilab site. Volunteering their services, FNA and Thorne Electric personnel hope that the structure will attract a pair of large birds of prey to nest.

Data suggest that osprey fledglings tend to stay within a couple miles of where they were born. Presently, there is a nesting pair of osprey on the western side of Fermilab's site. They have produced young, one of which may be the future tenant of the Nepese Marsh platform.

There are also bald eagles nesting on Randall Road in Batavia, which is a short flight. Perhaps, if the nesting platform does not interest an osprey, an eagle will take up residence in the coming months.

The platform was a joint effort by laboratory employees volunteering their time to complete various stages of the project, and Tom Eggleston, of the Housing Office, built the nest structure from scrap wood. Hopefully, a feathered friend will move in by spring.

—Dave Shemanske, FESS

See more photos of the nest installation online:

Nepese Osprey Nest

Heather Williams: A Volunteer's Perspective

Fermilab Natural Areas' volunteer & member Heather Williams' article, "Why I Volunteer with Fermilab Natural Areas," was published in Batavia's TribLocal online edition earlier this week!

Many thanks to Heather for all of her grant-writing and restoration workday efforts.

Read the article online.

January / February FNA Newsletter available

The latest news from Fermilab Natural Areas highlights the receipt of a grant from the DuPage Community Foundation, a tool donation from Corona Tools, and an Eagle Scout project to repair footbridges in the Big Woods.


Thanks to all of you for your support in 2011 and we look forward to many good things in 2012! As always, a high-resolution of the newsletter is available online.

January Desktop Calendar

Enjoy scenes of Fermilab's natural areas on your computer desktop! Here are instructions for downloading & installing the January 2012 calendar pictured below onto your computer:

1. Click the image above to open in a new browser window (or tab).

2. Right-click (or ctrl-click for some Mac users) on the image, and chose the option that says, "Set Picture as", (or similar words; the exact wording will depend on your internet browser) and save to your desktop. On your desktop, right click “Properties” and select the “Desktop” tab. Click “Browse” and navigate to the saved image on your desktop. Select it & click “Open.” On the “Display Properties” dialogue box, click “OK.”

3. If the image does not fit your desktop background neatly, you may have to go to your preference screen (on a Mac: System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Desktop; or on Windows: Control Panel > Display > Desktop) and choose "Fit to screen" as the display mode of your background image.

Happy Holidays & Thank You!

Many thanks to everyone for your support all year long!  From those who've provided financially to those who've come out to lend a helping hand to the natural areas - THANK YOU!

Best wishes for a wonderful 2012!

Many thanks also to Gordon Koizumi for providing beautiful photographs all year long, including these two beauties.  Gordon writes: 

I hope you have been able to get out and go for a walk. Today was a cold day but there are still very interesting things to observe. I thought I would include something a bit different from my usual photos as well. The second photo was taken with my point and shoot at the pond near the Science Education Center. What you are looking at are just some bubbles trapped in the clear ice that has formed over the pond. I thought they were interesting so I took some amateur photos of them. Although you can't see it in this photo, these bubbles look like they were left above a route taken underwater by some fairly large animal such as a muskrat or a fisher. You can see a clear "trail" where there's no underwater vegitation that leads from one bank toward the other. I have seen some weasel like creature near by very briefly not too long ago but not well enough to be able to identify it with any certainty. I've been told that a fisher has been observed. Has anyone seen him/her?

December Desktop Calendar

Enjoy scenes of Fermilab's natural areas on your computer desktop! Here are instructions for downloading & installing the December 2011 calendar pictured below onto your computer:

1. Click the image above to open in a new browser window (or tab).

2. Right-click (or ctrl-click for some Mac users) on the image, and chose the option that says, "Set Picture as", (or similar words; the exact wording will depend on your internet browser) and save to your desktop. On your desktop, right click “Properties” and select the “Desktop” tab. Click “Browse” and navigate to the saved image on your desktop. Select it & click “Open.” On the “Display Properties” dialogue box, click “OK.”

3. If the image does not fit your desktop background neatly, you may have to go to your preference screen (on a Mac: System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Desktop; or on Windows: Control Panel > Display > Desktop) and choose "Fit to screen" as the display mode of your background image.

 

Brush Cutting Workdays

We need your help. Come out and directly improve habitat for wildlife. We are hosting weekly bush-cutting workdays on Mondays from 1-3 PM. Training, tools, ecology tips, and safety gear will be provided. Meet us on the west side of Fermilab in the parking lot of the Lederman Science Center.

Many thanks to Corona tools for their donation of hand saws and loppers to FNA to help with this effort.

Read more about this effort and the tool donation at Shawna Coronado's The Casual Gardener blog.

November / December 2011 Newsletter Published

The latest FNA newsletter includes a review of the October volunteer prairie harvests, including what happens AFTER the seed is collected.  You can also read about some research efforts behind a grant application that is currently in progress and Julie Allen bids farewell to Fermilab and Fermilab Natural Areas.

Thanks for all of your efforts, Julie - we will miss you!

Read the latest news online.

November Desktop Calendar

Enjoy scenes of Fermilab's natural areas on your computer desktop! Here are instructions for downloading & installing the November 2011 calendar pictured below onto your computer:

1. Click the image above to open in a new browser window (or tab).

2. Right-click (or ctrl-click for some Mac users) on the image, and chose the option that says, "Set Picture as", (or similar words; the exact wording will depend on your internet browser) and save to your desktop. On your desktop, right click “Properties” and select the “Desktop” tab. Click “Browse” and navigate to the saved image on your desktop. Select it & click “Open.” On the “Display Properties” dialogue box, click “OK.”

3. If the image does not fit your desktop background neatly, you may have to go to your preference screen (on a Mac: System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Desktop; or on Windows: Control Panel > Display > Desktop) and choose "Fit to screen" as the display mode of your background image.

FNA will make a new desktop calendar available each month. If you'd like to share photographs for future calendars or the FNA newsletter, send us a note at fermilabnaturalareas@gmail.com.

Trying something new

Establishing uncommon trees and shrubs in restored areas can be difficult.   We often collect the seed of species such as hazelnut (Corylus americana), wild plums (Prunus americanus) or kingnut hickory (Carya laciniosa), and either spread the seed in new places hoping nature will take its course, or give the seed to organizations who have greenhouse facilities.  This fall we are assembling a small cold frame to start tree and shrub seedlings to see if we have better luck with them.  Other species we are going to plant include wafer ash (Ptelea trifoliata) and blue-fruited dogwood (Cornus obliqua). 

Pictured:  Jessica Meyers building the cold frame.



October Desktop Calendar

Enjoy scenes of Fermilab's natural areas on your computer desktop! Here are instructions for downloading & installing the October 2011 calendar pictured below onto your computer:

1. Click the image above to open in a new browser window (or tab).

2. Right-click (or ctrl-click for some Mac users) on the image, and chose the option that says, "Set Picture as", (or similar words; the exact wording will depend on your internet browser) and save to your desktop. On your desktop, right click “Properties” and select the “Desktop” tab. Click “Browse” and navigate to the saved image on your desktop. Select it & click “Open.” On the “Display Properties” dialogue box, click “OK.”

3. If the image does not fit your desktop background neatly, you may have to go to your preference screen (on a Mac: System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Desktop; or on Windows: Control Panel > Display > Desktop) and choose "Fit to screen" as the display mode of your background image.

FNA will make a new desktop calendar available each month. If you'd like to share photographs for future calendars or the FNA newsletter, send us a note at fermilabnaturalareas@gmail.com.

Photo of the Day: Red Hawk (& Talons!)

Fermilab employee Gordon Koizumi writes, "It isn't hard to imagine that a red tail hawk has some of the genes that a distant relative such as the velociraptor had when I look at raptor talons.  Attached is an amateur photo taken on the 9th [of September] when the red tail hawk was perched on the ledge on WH13W [Wilson Hall's 13th floor, west side].  If I was a rodent I would have nightmares about those talons. . . ."

Photo of the Day: Herons

Fermilab employee Gordon Koizumi photographed a green hero (above) & a night heron (below), though he says the green heron isn't green, but is a bit shy. 

Coming Soon: Prairie Harvests

The annual volunteer prairie harvests are scheduled for Saturday, October 1 and Saturday, October 29, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.  Both harvests will take place in Fermilab's Main Ring prairie, with a hot dog lunch for all participants!