Last September, a windstorm took down the flowering crabapple tree outside our kitchen window. We regretted the loss of beautiful June blooms and, more notably, our bird feeder tree. During the cold months we were entertained by an endless parade of birds outside our kitchen window and their activity brought cheer to dreary winter days.
North Shore Hwy 61
http://www.northshorehwy61.com/bm/features/shawn/building-a-chickadee-tree-and-northern-news.shtmlBuilding A Chickadee Tree and Northern News
Last September, a windstorm took down the flowering crabapple tree outside our kitchen window. We regretted the loss of beautiful June blooms and, more notably, our bird feeder tree. During the cold months we were entertained by an endless parade of birds outside our kitchen window and their activity brought cheer to dreary winter days.
And so it became my project to build a replacement tree—or at least erect something from which to hang the feeders. I bought an eight-foot wooden post and attached a couple of two-by-fours as cross members. It looked good when I put it up. The cross-members were just the right height—low enough so Vikki could reach the feeders and high enough to deter hungry deer.
Vikki hung a sunflower feeder and a suet cage from the post and hung a couple of other feeders in some willows across the yard. Within a day or two the chickadees and nuthatches discovered the feeders in the willows. A day or two later, single chickadees were coming to the post feeders.
Photo by Mike Pratt
We soon discovered that from a chickadee’s perspective, a post is not a tree, because it has no places to perch. The birds flew up to the feeder, scratched and pecked at the seeds, and then flew away. In the past, it was common for a couple of dozen or more birds to be perched near the feeders in the flowering crab.
So, now I’m challenged to somehow build a tree. I have the top of a paper birch that was felled in the same September storm, but am not sure how I’ll erect it now that the ground is frozen. But I will figure out a way to do it.
This may seem like a lot of work, especially since whatever we erect will be replaced by a living sapling in the spring. It is too much to do just for the benefit of some birds? Probably, but we’re doing it for our benefit, too. We enjoy seeing the birds outside our window and winter will seem much longer without them.
Trollers Regrouping
The Western Lake Superior Trollers Association (WLSTA) recently sent a letter to area anglers explaining the organization has new blood in its leadership. Longtime president Dave Koneczney resigned in September and the new board chair, Terry Waterman of Superior, Wisconsin, says the group is committed to moving forward.
Once boasting over 2,000 members, the WLSTA dwindled to a fraction of that number. Among the first orders of business is attracting new members, including not only Lake Superior trollers, but also St. Louis River walleye anglers. They also hope to reach out to anglers living in other communities along the North and South Shores. The group’s JAWS fishing tournament (June 5-6) will be revamped, too.
“We’re really excited about JAWS,” Waterman says. “We’ll have Pro and Amateur divisions and cash prizes.”
Moving forward, Waterman says the group must first deal with internal affairs, but they will be active in issues regarding Lake Superior fisheries management. They plan to start a petition regarding restoring salmon stocking (Minnesota stocks none), creating a fishing reef off the sandy-bottomed South Shore and changing fishing rules so trollers can use three rods per angler in Minnesota’s Lake Superior waters (they can now use two in this state and three in Wisconsin.) He’s also discovered there is frustration and distrust among anglers regarding the Minnesota DNR’s Lake Superior fisheries management.
For more information about the group or to join, log on to www.wlsta.org or call Waterman at (218) 391-7090.
Wilderness Education
Carrying on Sigurd Olson’s mission of wilderness education, the Listening Point Foundation of Ely has three educational projects that may attract more young people to the outdoors. The projects were highlighted in the Foundation’s recent newsletter.
The Singing Wilderness Environmental Education package uses Olson’s writings about the canoe country to educate high school students on camping trips, with a DVD for group leaders to help them guide campfire discussions and “journaling” (writing diary-like notes). A 30-page booklet, Sig Olson’s Wild Places, is designed for young readers (with a DVD for group leaders) and is available at no cost to campers, canoeists, Scouts and others participating in outdoor programs. Teachers involved with environmental studies can get (at cost) a curriculum for high school and college-age students. For information about the educational programs, log on to www.ListeningPointFoundation.org or call (218) 365-7890.