Newsletter title

March 2010

In This Edition

Spring 2010 Docent Events

—Dennis Bires

Spring Training for Docents

—David Turner

I hope you have reserved April 10th for a day of learning at the Prairie. We have some really interesting presentations lined up for you to learn more about the preserve and the research being conducted here. The whole day will be focused on giving us a deeper insight into the preserve to share with our visitors.

Joining us will be Brady Allred and Matt Allen who will share their research projects at the preserve. Harvey Payne, and Jay Pruett will join us as well with presentations. Our own Preserve Director Bob Hamilton will finish the day with his always exciting update on the preserve.

Brady Allen has been working to better understand the interactions between fire and grazing. To do so, he has deployed GPS collars on some bison and some cattle at the preserve. He has some interesting results to tell us about and Bob tells me that He has some really cool maps.

Matt Allen works with tree ring data to reconstruct the fire history at the preserve. He says that he has records of fire going back to the mid-1700s. He will talk as well about the various elements that compose the fire regime of the preserve and how that has changed through time. I think you will find this to be an exciting presentation as well!

Please come packing a lunch. We will begin at 9:30 in the Research Station classroom and plan to be finished by 3 p.m. All docents, returning and new are urged to attend.

We are planning to have updated manual pages available to all who want them and request them; the existing binders and dividers can be reused. In order to have enough, please notify Kay Krebbs by email at kkrebbs@tnc.org to request a copy to be made available for you at the April 10th meeting. In order to allow time to print them, please notify Kay by 1 April to get your name on the list. If we do not hear from you by then, please do not expect to get a copy at the meeting. For those who cannot make the meeting, or who don’t notify us in advance, we will have some available in the docent office at the preserve for later pickup, but not many because they are expensive to produce.

If you have any questions, please contact me at drenrut@cableone.net. I hope to see all of you on the 10th!

Eastern Meadowlark

—Nicholas Del Grosso

Eastern Meadowlark picture from USGS web-site

Despite its name, the Meadow Lark is not a member of the Lark Family. It is more closely related to Grackles and Orioles and has been placed in the Icteridae Family. This is surprising because the Meadow Lark looks like no other member of Icteridae.

This bird is a common sight in open grassy country. As one walks through a pasture or prairie at any time of the year you are likely to see this bird rising out of the grasses and with swift wing beats skimming the tops of the tall grass. Eventually it will cup its wings and spread its tail gliding into its next hiding spot. When it spreads its tail its white outer tail feathers are visible. The Meadow Lark can often be seen perched on fence posts or on telephone lines along the roadside.

The coloration of the Meadow Lark is distinctive; both sexes are similarly marked and are chunky robin sized birds. They have a mottled brown back and a bright yellow breast with a distinctive black V-pattern running across the breast from shoulder to shoulder. The male has slightly brighter coloration than the female and the juveniles are similarly marked.

The Meadow Lark is a year round resident and does not participate in seasonal migrations; although severe weather may have adverse effects on foraging and push these birds from the area until the weather moderates. These birds feed on insects and seeds. They are a ground nesting bird, building a domed cup nest in heavy cover from dried grasses and stems. They normally have a side entrance and sometimes this entrance has a tunnel. During nesting the male often tends 2 females at the same time. After laying the eggs the female will brood the eggs for 13 to 14 days. The chicks are fledged within 2 weeks of hatching. During this period both the male and female will bring food to the nest.

Eastern Meadowlark nest

Landscape-wide burning has reduced nesting success as the Meadow Lark broods from April through July. This is a bird that would benefit from a patch-burn regime. It is not uncommon for the Meadow Lark to double brood. It lays 3-5 eggs speckled with reddish or purple brown spots. This bird is occasionally parasitized by the Brown Headed Cowbird. The Oklahoma Breeding Bird Atlas has documented a 6-percent parasitizing ratio of nests monitored in 1992-1996. Habitat destruction is the primary threat to this bird’s breeding success. Suburban sprawl has caused a decline in this bird’s population. As residential areas have moved into surrounding grasslands it has reduced Meadow Lark nesting habitat. A personal anecdote documenting this scenario can be seen in my own neighborhood. I have seen the reduction of Meadow Larks as my neighborhood evolved from rural grassland to a largely residential suburban neighborhood over the past 20 years. The Oklahoma Breeding Survey has also documented a decline in Meadow Lark populations in Oklahoma of 1.9 percent per year. Though the population is declining, it is not critically endangered.

There is also a Western Meadow Lark and while it is closely related to the Eastern Meadow Lark, it is difficult to tell them apart except by voice and location. In Oklahoma the Western Meadow Lark is found from central Oklahoma westward. These two species do not commonly hybridize but when they do the offspring are infertile.

The Eastern Meadow Lark is common at the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve and it is common in central and eastern Oklahoma grasslands. As the season warms look for this bird as you drive to the Preserve Headquarters. I am never disappointed as I see it glide across the tops of the tall grass or sitting on the roadside telephone lines.

Visitor Counts

—Iris McPherson

Please remind the visitors to sign the guest register.

Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Visitor’s Center Latitude & Longitude

Here is the latitude and longitude of the Visitor’s Center that you can give to visitors for entry into their GPS navigation device.

Kiosk Maintenance

The manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning the touch-screen recommend use of a soft dry cloth only. This proved inadequate for smeared fingerprints. Soft-paper kitchen towels work well, slightly damp with a small drop of soft handsoap. Application of a dry kichen towel removes any residual moisture.

Over time, a matter of several weeks continuous operation, I have noticed that the calibration of the touch-screen drifts away from the initial set-point. If you notice that the cursor isn’t under your finger when you touch the screen then restart the kiosk by unplugging it from the wall, waiting a few moments and then re-inserting the power plug. It will restart and recalibrate.

This link points to the complete Kiosk Maintenance Manual.

Back Issues

Back issues of the Docent Newsletter, to February 2009, can be found in the two green and one blue-black zip-binders, stored in the Perspex rack by the file cabinet in the office of the Visitor’s Center.

Newsletter Publication

Deadline for submission of articles for inclusion in the newsletter is the 10th of each month. Publication date is on the 15th. All docents, Nature Conservancy staff, university scientists, philosophers, and historians are welcome to submit articles and pictures about the various preserves in Oklahoma, but of course the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in particular.