Fall 2015 - Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge

The Overlook
Autumn 2015
www.FriendsOfIroquoisNWR.org
Photo by Deborah Odom
Seneca Pool Restoration Gets Underway
Historically, the area of the refuge that we know of as Seneca
Pool was a forested wetland that usually flooded in the spring
and then was dry for the rest of the year. After the refuge was
established, Seneca Pool was created by encircling the area
with berms to trap water to provide forested wetland habitat
throughout the year. The idea back then was that if having
water in the wetland in the spring was a good thing, then
having water in the wetland the rest of the year must be a
better thing. Following this line of thinking, the refuge
managers at the time started flooding the area for longer
periods of time into the summer. Unfortunately, the tree
species at our latitude are not tolerant of flooding during the
relatively short growing season. In fact, if a forested wetland
area around here is constantly flooded for several years, no new trees can germinate and grow and the older mature trees
will begin to die. This is what happens in every beaver swamp you’ve ever seen.
So, many years ago, the refuge staff decided to stop trying to flood the Seneca Pool into the summer and just let the water
come and go “naturally”. The problem with that scenario was that since the berms were still in place, the only way that
water could get from Oak Orchard Creek into Seneca Pool and back out was through a very small pipe. This resulted in a
slower than desired flooding of the pool when the creek level was rising and an equally slow draining of the pool when the
creek level was falling. The solution to this problem came several years ago when it was decided that the water control
structure and entire north berm of the pool should be removed to allow a natural free flow of water between the pool and
the creek. Now, we just needed to figure out how to pay for it. As usual, our partners stepped up to the plate. Ducks
Unlimited (DU) offered to apply for a North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant. With money and in-kind
services commitments from FINWR, Cargill Salt Mines, DU, and the refuge, we were able to successfully compete for a
grant to fund the rest of the project.
Currently, we have just begun removing the north berm and water control structure. We hope to have this work completed
by spring of 2016 when we will again call upon our FINWR volunteers to help us plant trees in the area that was once the
north berm. This area totals about 10 acres INSIDE:
and will be reforested to increase the size of
Page 2: FINWR President's Message / Membership info.
the forested wetland area. After the completion
Page 3: Annual Youth Waterfowl Hunt / The Webs They Weave
of the project, Seneca Pool will once again be
Page 4: Thank You to all our 2015 Contributers
a functioning part of the natural Oak Orchard
Page 5 Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program Project / Great Egret
Creek floodplain.
Excursion
Page 6: FINWR Annual Amateur Photo Contest
FINWR Board President's Message
FINWR Board of Directors
Officers:
Sandra Mendel (President)
Ann Fourtner (VP)
Taunya Abaya (Treasurer)
Jocelyn Welton (Secretary)
Board Members:
Chuck Bartlett
Ed Fiorino
Ann Georger
Gail Grigg
Sheila Hess
Bernie Kester
Ed Kramer
Jan Kramer
Tom Lunt
Celeste Morien
Michael Noonan
Lauren Tingco
Peter Warn
Carl Zenger
INWR Staff:
Thomas Roster
Refuge Manager
Paul Hess
Wildlife Biologist
Larry Balsamo
Maintenance Mechanic
Madeline Prush
Biological Technician
Refuge Contact
www.fws.gov/refuge/iroquois/
E-mail: Iroquois@fws.gov
Phone: (585) 948-5445
Dear Members,
After a lovely summer we are being treated to a showcase of color and ideal fall weather as we
prepare for our long, cold, winter months in Western New York. It is all part of the every changing
seasons that make our part of the world so special. Activity at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge is
at a peak with fall migration and hunting season attracting outdoor enthusiasts to our refuge.
Have you dialed in to Swallow Hollow Nature Trail yet? Thanks to Dr. Mike Noonan and his
CAC students from canisius College we now have a ‘Guide By Cell’ nature narrative along
Swallow Hollow Trail. You can call in and be treated to information and highlights of the trail. Dial
(585) 653-7007 and press any number between #1-13 followed by the # sign from anywhere to try
it out. This first guide-by-cell trial has proved popular and successful and we hope to add this
feature to other trails and areas of the refuge to enhance your experience while visiting Iroquois
NWR. Let us know what you think of it!
Something else you may be interested in is a new federal program announced in September
through the Department of the Interior called ‘Every Kid in a Park’. It is a White House youth
initiative to get all 4th graders and their families to experience the places that are home to our
country’s natural treasures. Fourth Graders can get a pass that allows their family free access to
hundreds of parks, lands, and waters for an entire year. For more information on how to get a pass
go to the web site https://everykidinapark.gov
I want to thank all of you for your support in helping us to adapt to electronic delivery of our
Overlook Newsletter over the past year. Bob Hazen has done an excellent job of getting us set up
to communicate with you electronically and we thank you for helping us to conserve resources and
save postage and printing costs. We can better use the money saved towards refuge projects and
advocacy. We will occasionally send out information that we think is of interest to you that might
pertain to refuge matters or Fish and Wildlife Service interests. We promise to be very selective and
not inundate you with too much email but rather attempt to keep you aware of matters.
Lastly, a reminder that our Friends of Iroquois Annual Membership Meeting is on November
7th at 10 AM in the multipurpose room at refuge headquarters on Casey Rd. I hope you will
join us for the meeting, elections, and a short program. 2015 photo contest winners will be
announced and prizes will be awarded and our Flyway Store will be open. We welcome input from
our members and encourage you to attend and share your thoughts with us.
Thank you for your support of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and for being a Friend of
Iroquois NWR!
Sandy Mendel
Overlook Newsletter
is provided 4 times per year.
Article submissions for each
newsletter are due:
early January (Winter)
early May (Spring)
early August (Summer)
late October (Fall)
Support the Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Inc. in 2016
Membership Levels:
Individual
Family
Raccoon
Otter/Red Fox
Bluebird
Heron
Bald Eagle
Double Eagle
$15.00
$25.00
$50.00
$75.00
$100.00
$200.00
$500.00
$1,000.00
Please send contribution to:
Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Inc.
1101 Casey Road
Basom, NY 14013
We can use your volunteer time also!!
Contributions are tax deductible
Annual Youth Waterfowl Hunt
This year we conducted the 42 nd Annual Youth Waterfowl Hunt. We had a great mix of new and returning hunters this year, a total of
18 kids! All of our youth hunters attend a Waterfowl Identification class so that they are educated on what they will be seeing on the
day of the hunt. The orientation also includes presentations on refuge regulations, hunting gear and a retriever demo! They were even
able to get some shooting practice in on clay targets. All that practice paid off because they all had a successful hunt with a total of 39
ducks and 4 geese harvested! Congratulations to all our new and returning hunters!
The Webs They Weave
by Sheila Hess
One of the laugh out loud funniest comedy skits I’ve ever heard is the “Spider Web Freak
Out” by Brian Regan (you can find it on YouTube). He points out most humorously how
absurd someone looks from a distance when they run into a spider web. An observer
would not be able to see the web, they would only see the unfortunate individual abruptly,
and seemingly without cause, begin to flail about, swiping at their face - a temporary full
body spasm. I laugh uncontrollably at Regan’s description of this each and every time I
hear it (Sirius XM Chanel 98). As funny as it may be, I personally do NOT enjoy how it
feels to have spider webs in my face and I avoid it at all costs. On early morning hikes,
when enterprising spiders have managed to lace winding woodland paths with their
hopeful silken threads, I encourage my husband to take the lead. Because he is several
inches taller than me, and broader, I am able to achieve an estimated 98% success rate in
avoiding the inevitable swiping and spitting that comes with these early morning treks. I
can imagine him reading this right now… “Oh, so that’s why she makes me go first.” He
probably thought I was afraid.
I am afraid. It’s really not the web that is the problem. The PROBLEM is that where
there’s a web, there’s a SPIDER. It is one thing to get a face full of silk, quite another to
have a spider crawling down your face and into your shirt collar. Thus the freak out
factor. I think we can agree that for most of us spiders crawling on our faces or anywhere
else on our bodies, without invitation, is an abhorrent idea. But I want to veer off that
topic and explore instead the webs that these creepy crawlies weave. I’ve included a list
of five fun facts below just in time for you to regale your friends on Halloween!
1. If you know how to tell a lie, then you know how to build a web. Every web
2.
3.
4.
5.
begins with a single thread. That is why they are likened to lies. Tell one lie and
then you must tell another to support the first and before you know it, you have a
web of lies. I may bore you if I try and write out the steps these industrious
arachnids take to construct their snares so I encourage you to find a computer and
watch the process. Here are links to two online resources that I found particularly
illuminating
A) How Spiders Work (includes a great visual of web development) http://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/spider5.htm
B) Writing Spider YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8v6LD0YOs8.
There are different kinds of webs – orb webs, tangle webs, funnel webs, tubular webs, and sheet webs (I hope never to collide
with a sheet web). There are even underwater webs. It’s interesting to note that spiders have great difficulty constructing their
webs under the influence of caffeine and other drugs (yes caffeine is a drug, go get another cup of coffee and admit it).
WHAT are spider webs made of? The short answer is protein. Spider web silk is primarily made of the proteins fibroin and
sericin manufactured in silk glands located in the abdomen of the spider. That may seem rather technical and dull but consider
this: spider silk is the strongest known fiber, likened to steel and Kevlar. We humans have not been able to replicate spider silk,
nor are spider farms viable (or comforting) ideas. Researchers are finding ways to make silk protein outside of spider glands
resulting in fiber strands up to 10 times stronger than steel compared for the same weight.
The strength and flexibility of spider silk is astounding (fun fact #4). The diversity of types of spider silk is equally so.
Spiders can make find threads called gossamer or thicker threads, the threads can be sticky or non-sticky. Spiders spin silk to
make webs, nets, trapdoors, fishing lines, ropes by which to travel, trails to mark territories, and mating packages laced with
pheromones or filled with sperm (Happy Valentine’s Day!). Some spiders recycle their webs by consuming them thereby
recovering and reusing the protein and energy used. A very sustainable process – go green!
Not all spiders build webs. Some hunt. There’s a comforting thought. It’s also a perfect one to leave you with. Happy
Halloween!
Thank You to our 2015 Contributors !!!
Double Eagle: Mike & Bonnie Woodward, Peter & JoAnne Jackson.
Bald Eagle: Renee Bush & Bruce McCombe, Chuck & Ann Fourtner, Paul & Sheila Hess, Sandra & Tom Madejski,
William & Susan O’Brian.
Heron: Peter Gold & Athalie Joy, Celeste Morien, Michael Noonan, Barbara Tyson, Peter Verroca.
Bluebird: Abaya Family, Anne D. Astmann, Joseph Cassidy, Amy Choboy, J.Fay & Ruth Cleveland, Ed Fiorino, Kofi FynnAikins, Bob & Margie Hazen, Margaret Hoff, Mary Hughes, Morgan L. Jones Jr., Rick Kazmierczak, Gordon &
Peggy Lamb, William Lathrop, Kalista Lehrer, Patricia Martin, Barbara Meeks, Frank & Sandra Mendel, Richard
Parker, John & JoAnn Schlegel, Betty Smith, Peter & Manya Warn,Wild Birds Unlimited, Theodore Weir,
Stephen C. Wittkowsky, Carl & Phyllis Zenger.
Otter: Ann Bunch, Don & Jean Felton, Ed & Jan Kramer, Bob & Kay Schmidt.
Raccoon: David & Jennifer Owen Adsit, Judy Derry, Mike & Krys Elam, Ella/Charlie/Rose Fourtner, Peter & Theresa
Finlay, Scott & Meaghan Green, Bob & Margie Hazen, Margaret Hollingsworth, Karin Johnson, Carol Klinger,
Allen & Doralee Lackey, Marcia Nixon, James Punch, Dorothy Rapp, Benjamin Sackmary, Mark Schiffler,
Charlie & Sue Slack, Finger Lakes WNY Waterfowl Assoc.Joan & Bob Weet, Carol Wells,
Family: Sue & Hank Beamer, Charles & Paula Bigalow, Dawn Borchert, Jean Brundage, James & Judith Bunn, Jerry
Cataldo, David & Jeanine Chatt, Lawrence Clare, Kathleen Contrino, Mary Culp, Dale & Becky Cummins, Bob
Ensminger, Jacqueline Fechner, Doug & Helen Freitag, Wayne & Susan Gall, Glen Glenias, Kim Goodman,
Linda Gramza, Gail Grigg, Carrie Hartz, Mike & Cheryl Helman, Judith Hoffman, Gregory Houseknect, Garner
Light, Scott MacGregor, Judy Murray, Rick Pawlikowski, Paul Pustulka, Jim & Pat Sanders, Karen Slote, Jeffery
& Megan Tocha, Michelle Tow, Bridgette Wagner-Ott, Richard & Maria Walcsak, Roy & Ginny Webber, Jeffery
& Jocelyn Welton, Henry & Deborah Wright.
Individual: Laurie Baldwin, Janet Beglinger, Kathy Bilbrough, Lawrence Clare, Henry H. Cook, Marcia Dirnberger, Ellen
Gendreau, Owen S. Gray, John Hoesterman, Christopher Hollister, Debi Holt, Gail Johnson, Helen Johnson,
Bernie Kester, Irene Kozma, Scott Meier, Patty Nagel, Suzanne Mullane, Kathy Owen, Gerry Rising, Suzanne
Thaine, Louise Tomczak, Joseph Wolak, Susan Wren, Carla Wright.
Additional Appreciation
•
•
•
Thanks to Dr. Michael Noonan for his donation of funds to establish a GUIDE-BY-CELL pilot project along the
Swallow Hollow Nature Trail.
Thanks to the generous donations from several FINWR members which provided funding for the transportation of
three additional classes of Buffalo School District students to INWR, enabling them to attend the Canisius
Ambassadors for Conservation program.
Thanks to the many volunteers who assist in educational outreach, advocacy and fundraising!
You Too Can Make a Difference!
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Project
Staff from Iroquois NWR and the New York Field Office completed a Partners for Fish and Wildlife project on private
property in Middleport, NY, just northwest of the refuge. The project involved restoring a wet hay field to a 2-acre
emergent marsh. The restoration area had been in a hay crop for many years, but the area was often too wet to cut hay
resulting in the area being left fallow. USFWS staff constructed a small berm and removed soil from the restoration area,
creating a wetland dominated by shallow water with two deeper holes to ensure some open water persists throughout the
growing season. Unfavorable weather and equipment problems caused several construction delays, but the final product is
a beautiful emergent wetland that will provide habitat for dozens of wetland dependent wildlife species.
Illustration 1: BEFORE
Illustration 2: AFTER
Great Egret Excursion
by Celeste Morien, field trip leader
Eleven participants came to Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge on September 19 at 5:30 PM for the Great Egret Excursion, despite
thunderstorms that had swept through the region an hour earlier. During the last rain of the evening we were sheltered under the Cayuga
Overlook platform for the introductory comments on the life of egrets, the refuge's public mission and the historical significance of
Great Egrets to the NWR system and the National Audubon Society. Our first Great Egret of the evening flew east over Cayuga
Overlook where we observed Common Gallinules, Pied-billed Grebes and numerous Wood Ducks, among other species. While the
Great Egrets are foraging in many of the Iroquois marshes during the day, they have chosen to roost to the east on the adjoining Oak
Orchard state property. After driving to the roost site, we were treated to the sight of a phenomenal 267 Great Egrets, coming to roost.
The egrets make their way from all directions to the roost in singles or small groups at varying altitudes and settle in to a spot of their
choice one by one, giving guttural croaks to announce their arrival. Sometimes they claim another egret's place among the live and
dead trees they roost in, which results in much flapping of wings and what I suppose is vocalized displeasure! Please consider coming
out for this natural spectacle next year if you have not participated yet. You will not be disappointed!
Oak Orchard WMA; Sep 19, 2015; 6:44 PM-7:43 PM; Stationary Count; Submitted from eBird
12 Canada Goose
70 Wood Duck
5 Mallard
3 Double-crested Cormorant
6 Great Blue Heron
267 Great Egret -- Actual count of roost site.
1 Cooper's Hawk
11 Mourning Dove
1 Great Horned Owl
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 American Crow
1 Gray Catbird
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
2 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
THE OVERLOOK NEWSLETTER
Friends of Iroquois
National Wildlife Refuge
1101 Casey Road
Basom, NY 14013
FRIEND’S NAME
STREET ADDRESS
CITY, STATE 00000
The 2016 Contest is under way. Visit our website for more information.
http://www.FriendsOfIroquoisNWR.org