MONROE - Make plans for an earlier fall vacation, say Wisconsin naturalists: While it's certain the summer drought took its toll on the crop harvest, nature watchers say it will also have an effect on Wisconsin fall colors and bird migration.
John Arthur, a Department of Natural Resources unit supervisor for Green and Lafayette counties, advises tourists to "plan earlier than normal for fall colors." From his personal observations at Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area, Arthur said signs of fall are happening already.
"I'm definitely seeing a change in color advanced (in time)," he said. "Walnut leaves literally dropped in August, and that just doesn't happen. Acorns dropped early too."
Arthur estimates fall colors coming two to four weeks early.
"I would say we'll peak at the end of September, first of October," he said. "Mid-October is usually normal."
While the timing of the color change is controlled primarily by the increasing length of nights, drier than normal weather in the late summer into early fall tends to accelerate the leaf-changing process, causing leaves to fall prematurely, according to the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Milwaukee/Sullivan. The amount of soil moisture is important and will affect the amount of sugar production in the leaf cells. Some species of deciduous trees may drop their leaves before the fall color process can even begin.
A warm period during the fall decreases the intensity of the autumn colors. A wet September and October season also tends to produce less vivid colors, and leaves may drop earlier due to the wind, rain and storms.
Arthur said he is also hearing "anecdotal stories" of early bird migration. "A blue bird group that monitors them say they're a bit early," he added.
The lack of wetlands is definitely affecting the crane migration, according to Robert Ault, an avid nature watcher in Monroe. The birds needed to "find more water for wading areas," and use the water for protection to roost at night, he added.
Whooping cranes were around for almost a month in August before heading back north because of the heat, Ault said. He noted an International Crane Foundation report of five Whopping Cranes in the southwest Green County area, near Honey Creek Road and County P, and west of Browntown.
"But water areas were dried up for roosting," he said. "Areas around here that were wet for years have disappeared. Technically, they could come back through."
Ault, who said he has been hiking in Cadiz Springs area for about 50 years, noticed this year "everything is moved up about three weeks."
And something else is different.
"Everything seems awful quiet," he said, "like you shut off a faucet
"There are not as many night hawks. Killdeer flocks are way early. The summer diversity of the dragon fly is smaller - in number and in varieties," he said.
But other species are returning to the waters, such as turtles, including the threatened Blanding's turtle, and river otters, "which we have not seen in a while," he said.
The avian parade of hummingbirds, warblers, vireos and thrushes, the next species to begin their migration south, will give Wisconsin birders some great viewing opportunities, according to news reports from the DNR this week. But the Wisconsin's winged travelers will also provide experts more insight into how the early spring and drought has affected them.
"The next three weeks will be the peak of fall migration for land birds that migrate to central and south America," said Andy Paulios, a DNR biologist.
What exactly will turn up and when on the landscape and at birdfeeders, however, is uncharted territory given the warm, early spring, record heat and the drought experienced in much of the state, said Kim Grveles, an avian biologist with DNR's Endangered Resources Bureau.
"It's hard to know exactly what we'll see with migrations this fall," Grveles said. "Warm weather definitely brought the short-distance (overwinter in southern U.S.) migrants up north earlier than usual and some long-distance migrants as well. But they do not seem to be leaving for wintering grounds sooner."
Paulios suspects that migration through drought-stricken areas of Wisconsin will be more stressful this year. "My guess is that there will be less food for insect-eaters in dry years as many insects have moisture-dependent abundances ... but birds are very adaptable and may be able to move or adjust along their routes."
"Homeowners can always help by providing a water source and by providing native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that produce lots of bugs and fruit for birds to eat and shelter during migration," he said.
Gveles said that the hummingbirds she's seen in the Madison area are struggling to find food - because of the drought, the blossoms just aren't there. And because of plants not flowering due to the drought, there is less seed available for gold finches and even for migratory birds that depend on seeds, like towhees, finches and grosbeaks, she said. "So the feeders become really important," she added.
John Arthur, a Department of Natural Resources unit supervisor for Green and Lafayette counties, advises tourists to "plan earlier than normal for fall colors." From his personal observations at Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area, Arthur said signs of fall are happening already.
"I'm definitely seeing a change in color advanced (in time)," he said. "Walnut leaves literally dropped in August, and that just doesn't happen. Acorns dropped early too."
Arthur estimates fall colors coming two to four weeks early.
"I would say we'll peak at the end of September, first of October," he said. "Mid-October is usually normal."
While the timing of the color change is controlled primarily by the increasing length of nights, drier than normal weather in the late summer into early fall tends to accelerate the leaf-changing process, causing leaves to fall prematurely, according to the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Milwaukee/Sullivan. The amount of soil moisture is important and will affect the amount of sugar production in the leaf cells. Some species of deciduous trees may drop their leaves before the fall color process can even begin.
A warm period during the fall decreases the intensity of the autumn colors. A wet September and October season also tends to produce less vivid colors, and leaves may drop earlier due to the wind, rain and storms.
Arthur said he is also hearing "anecdotal stories" of early bird migration. "A blue bird group that monitors them say they're a bit early," he added.
The lack of wetlands is definitely affecting the crane migration, according to Robert Ault, an avid nature watcher in Monroe. The birds needed to "find more water for wading areas," and use the water for protection to roost at night, he added.
Whooping cranes were around for almost a month in August before heading back north because of the heat, Ault said. He noted an International Crane Foundation report of five Whopping Cranes in the southwest Green County area, near Honey Creek Road and County P, and west of Browntown.
"But water areas were dried up for roosting," he said. "Areas around here that were wet for years have disappeared. Technically, they could come back through."
Ault, who said he has been hiking in Cadiz Springs area for about 50 years, noticed this year "everything is moved up about three weeks."
And something else is different.
"Everything seems awful quiet," he said, "like you shut off a faucet
"There are not as many night hawks. Killdeer flocks are way early. The summer diversity of the dragon fly is smaller - in number and in varieties," he said.
But other species are returning to the waters, such as turtles, including the threatened Blanding's turtle, and river otters, "which we have not seen in a while," he said.
The avian parade of hummingbirds, warblers, vireos and thrushes, the next species to begin their migration south, will give Wisconsin birders some great viewing opportunities, according to news reports from the DNR this week. But the Wisconsin's winged travelers will also provide experts more insight into how the early spring and drought has affected them.
"The next three weeks will be the peak of fall migration for land birds that migrate to central and south America," said Andy Paulios, a DNR biologist.
What exactly will turn up and when on the landscape and at birdfeeders, however, is uncharted territory given the warm, early spring, record heat and the drought experienced in much of the state, said Kim Grveles, an avian biologist with DNR's Endangered Resources Bureau.
"It's hard to know exactly what we'll see with migrations this fall," Grveles said. "Warm weather definitely brought the short-distance (overwinter in southern U.S.) migrants up north earlier than usual and some long-distance migrants as well. But they do not seem to be leaving for wintering grounds sooner."
Paulios suspects that migration through drought-stricken areas of Wisconsin will be more stressful this year. "My guess is that there will be less food for insect-eaters in dry years as many insects have moisture-dependent abundances ... but birds are very adaptable and may be able to move or adjust along their routes."
"Homeowners can always help by providing a water source and by providing native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that produce lots of bugs and fruit for birds to eat and shelter during migration," he said.
Gveles said that the hummingbirds she's seen in the Madison area are struggling to find food - because of the drought, the blossoms just aren't there. And because of plants not flowering due to the drought, there is less seed available for gold finches and even for migratory birds that depend on seeds, like towhees, finches and grosbeaks, she said. "So the feeders become really important," she added.