The Clever Killdeer

Every year it seems there is at least one Killdeer nest in the lower parking lot at Marsh Haven. This year was no exception. I had been seeing a Killdeer in the area when I would open the gate in the morning and close it in the evening. It would keep a sharp eye on me, so I was thinking there must be a nest nearby. So last Tuesday evening, I walked down to the gate to close it up and thought I’d scout around for the nest. Mom Killdeer scolded me and kept a distance. I kept my eyes focused on the gravel because I knew those eggs are so well camouflaged that I could possibly step on them before even seeing they were there. Mom never got too upset, so I figured I had not come very close to the nest. I would try another day.

On Wednesday morning I knew Merle would be out to mow, so that was the day to find the nest and flag it so it would not be damaged. Two volunteers were in that morning and they headed down to the parking lot to look around. I sent a hula-hoop from the lodge along to mark the nest. After about a half-hour, Karen spotted three eggs in a shallow scrape on the ground. She knew that it was close by when Mom started her broken wing act in hopes of luring Karen away from the nest. The hula-hoop was put in place and Deb stayed to watch from a distance to make sure Mom would cross the hoop and go back to her nest. She did, we also put some flags up and I later added a few big rocks just in case. The nest is very close to the driveway and so well hidden that they could easily be damaged by accident. 

The Killdeer that nest at Marsh Haven will spend their winters in Central America. The general range of these plovers is as far north as the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon and Quebec, as well as the southern part of Alaska. They can be found year round across the southern half of the U.S. and parts of Peru. Both parents will incubate the eggs for about 23 to 29 days and both parents will feed the youngsters. They can fly at about 25 days old.

So every day when I come and go, I see Mom (or maybe Dad) Killdeer sitting on her nest surrounded by a hula-hoop. I hope her eggs will hatch soon and that this Killdeer family will stay safe at Marsh Haven!

References: The Joy of Killdeer in Spring, Summer 2014, Marsh Haven Monarch

Welcoming the 2015 season!

Goodness, it seems like it was just November and I was thinking how the months would drag on until springtime. Well here it is April already and we are ready to open the doors on a brand new 2015 season! There were so many over winter projects, and of course, I did not accomplish all of them, but we made some major progress.

Thanks to a grant from Thrivent Financial, we were able to purchase plastic storage boxes. One of the biggest winter projects was emptying out the storage cabinets and spreading all the items out on the classroom tables. I then grouped all those items together and placed them into the boxes. So now when I need markers, they are all in one box. When I need googly eyes (and who doesn't need those at least once a day!) I can go right to that little box. The next step in this process is to inventory and label each box, but 80-percent of the project has been completed!

Marsh Haven's curator, Paul Nelson, crafted a counter out of all re-purposed/reused pieces and we will offer our visitors an area to purchase some snacks and beverages. We encourage them to sit at the lovely little tables to enjoy their snack while watching the birds and ground squirrels frolic outside. We also have a television where we can show the feed from the nest box cameras and informative DVDs.

There is a white board to share all the birding hotspots or news of what has been seen on the marsh. If you've spotted something amazing, come on in and let us know!

Tomorrow is the start of the volunteer work weekend, and we've had a tremendous response in people replying that they are planning to attend. Marsh Haven is such a fun and unique spot and I'm so glad that other people are just as excited about the new season as I am. I hope to see you at Marsh Haven very soon, stop in and see what we have for you!

Marsh Haven Nature Center opens on Monday, April 13 - weekdays noon to 4 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sad news from Marsh Haven

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of one of the most dedicated volunteers and supporters of Marsh Haven Nature Center. Lillian Griffith passed away early Tuesday morning, January 27. Lillian was a devoted volunteer who staffed the gift shop almost every weekend for many, many years. Each weekend she filled the bird feeders, cleaned out the hummingbird bird feeders, and made sure our feathered friends had fresh seeds, nectar and jelly. She helped with tracking inventory, the set-up and take down of the gift shop every season, and tracked all the volunteer hours for many years.

As I walked through the nature center today, Lillian’s influence and generosity were to be found almost everywhere. The Bird Gallery was named after Lillian and her sister, Mary Griffith, back in 1993. The main building is named the Vine/Griffith Education Building, and we are pleased that Lillian was able to see the brand new sign with her name on it go up this fall.

Lillian also loved our animals and spent time feeding critters each weekend. She seemed to especially enjoy watching the tortoises and they were always happy to receive pieces of banana that she would cut up and put on their plates.

The people at Marsh Haven are part of a Marsh Haven family and Lillian Griffith was a huge part of that family and she will be missed. Her generosity and kindness will live on for many, many years to come and will make a difference to many people, so from myself and on behalf of the Marsh Haven family -  thank you Lillian, we will not forget you!

There is a bird in my bathroom and crickets in my coat

I’m not sure how many people have experienced hosting a sick bird in their bathroom or walking around with a bag of cricket tucked into their coat, but it’s all in a normal day’s work at Marsh Haven Nature Center. Driving home keeping crickets warm inside my jacket on this cold winter day got me thinking about the strange experiences I’ve had since becoming a part of the nature center. Some of these don’t even seem all that strange to me anymore, which is mildly concerning!

One of our doves appeared ill one day, so I took him home in a hospital cage with a heating pad on the bottom to create more warmth and a cover to keep out noise. I wanted him close by to that I could watch and observe his condition. He did visit the vet who gave us some antibiotics and antifungal medication and within a week, he was feeling much better and back to his old, happy, cooing self. But, for a week and a half, this bird lived in our bathroom - safely away from the dogs and in the only room with consistent heat and humidity. Visitors were told, don’t mind the bird in the bathroom, he’s only here to visit. This wasn’t the first, or I’m sure the last animal visitor to our home.

Today I stopped at the pet store to buy some dog food and picked up a bag of crickets so that I could feed Fred, the tarantula, later in the day. It was a bit chilly and I didn’t want the insects to freeze before getting them to the nature center, so I tucked the bag of crickets inside my coat and zipped it up. I could hear them rustling around inside the bag, but figured they were pretty toasty. I also went through the drive through at the bank with my insect addition, wondering if anyone had a clue to what I was hiding away under my coat. Some might think me crazy, others might see me as dedicated, but really I just do what needs to be done at the time it all needs to happen.

Other humorous and not so funny things that I can recall happening include:

• Spilling worm juice all over my jacket, scarf and pants while moving the vermiculture bin (yes, the stains did come out in the wash!)
• Warning the family not to open a certain bag in the freezer because it contained frozen mice intended for the corn snake (there have been numerous other "surprises" in the freezer that I won't even mention!)
• Walking through tall grass and coming out the other side covered in stick tight weed seeds – (that took some time and patience to remove!)
• Taking kitchen scraps from my house out to the chickens and having the scrap bucket end up on the floor of my car (of course the lid came off!) 

I’m sure there are many more, and I will add to the list as they either happen or I remember.

Meet Mr. Magoo

Marsh Haven Nature Center is home to animals of all sizes and species. It all started with a live quail room and transitioned into our animal ambassador program. Mr. Magoo is a ring-neck dove retired from a magic show. When we acquired Magoo in October of 2014, I was told he was blind in one eye. I could tell, because of his behavior, that his eyesight was rapidly declining. A visit to our exotic vet at Spartan Animal Hospital in McFarland, confirmed that Magoo has no sight in his right eye and only a sliver of sight in his left. Otherwise he is in very good health with a body condition score of 5, which is excellent. The loss of sight is due to cataracts and our vet said there is no feasible treatment for it at this time. 

I’ve tried some different housing arrangements for Mr. Magoo to enhance his quality of life and work with his loss of vision. Finally I think we’ve stumbled upon the best situation. I put him in with one of our other doves, Mac, who came from a bird rescue. As far as I know, Mac has never been with another bird, he was surrendered by a family who could no longer keep him. Mac is very friendly and is usually the one to travel to programs representing the bird species. Mac has a large cage and has shown lots of interest in the other birds. I put the two together under supervision and it has worked out well. Mac is quite keen to have a roommate and Magoo knows there is another bird with him. 

Since Magoo does not fly because he can’t tell where he is, he is content to stay on the bottom of the cage, Mac has all his toys, perches and food/water at the top of the cage and Magoo has a low perch, food and water and several other perchable items on the ground and both birds seem quite content. Magoo had been experiencing what the vet called seizures – we were not sure if it was neurological or behavioral episodes, but so far in these new living conditions he has not had any. Let’s hope Magoo continues to do well, I’ve grown quite fond of this bird!