Newsletter title

June 2011

In This Edition

Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs

—Nicholas Del Grosso

Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca

Both the Greater and Lesser Yellowleg can be found at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve during their annual migrations. This year’s wet spring produced ideal foraging habitat for the migrating Yellowlegs. I was able to see both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs migrating through the area in mixed flocks. The Greater is more shy and wary than the Lesser; as you attempt to get close they will continually move just out of range flying off way before the attendant Lesser Yellowlegs become concerned. The Lesser is a very brave bird standing its ground as you approach, flying off only at the last minute when you invade that invisible safe zone. I was fortunate to see both these birds several times as they migrated north to their breeding grounds. In fact eBird sighting reports listed several sightings of both species during April and May at the Preserve. During this time of the year these birds are on their way north to their breeding grounds after spending the winter months on both coasts of the United States from California and Virginia south to Mexico, Central America and South America.

The Lesser Yellowleg breeds from Alaska east to James Bay in Canada. It nests in open boreal forests with scattered shallow wetlands. In contrast the Greater Yellowleg nests in muskeg bogs from Alaska to Newfoundland. This choice of nesting habitat also explains way the Greater Yellowleg is the least studied bird in the America’s. The mosquito infested bogs tend to discourage researchers in pursuit of this bird.

Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes

Size is the most distinguishing characteristic which differentiates the Greater from the Lesser Yellowleg. As the name implies the Greater Yellowleg is the larger of the two species. It is a slim gray sandpiper 12½ to 15 inches high with a black, white and gray checkered back. It lives up to the second part of its name, with a pair of long yellow legs.

Also note the gray base of the bill fading into a solid black; this is also a good field mark to note to identify the Greater Yellowleg. In addition to the bills color note that the Greater Yellowlegs’ bill is long and slightly upturned.

In contrast, the Lesser Yellowleg is only 9.1 to 9.8 inches tall with gray and black mottled upperparts. Its legs are also long and yellow.

In addition to the smaller size the straight and solid black bill is a dead give away that you are looking at the Lesser Yellowleg. If you are still unsure, voice is actually the best distinguishing characteristic; the Greater gives three or four piercing notes. The Lesser gives two rapid, softer short whistles.

Both birds can be found at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in mixed flocks or singly. Check pans, the shores of stock ponds, streams and especially flooded grasslands. These birds are likely to be spotted wading through the shallow water, working their bills stirring up prey. During this time of the year both species will feed on small fish and other aquatic insects along with terrestrial ants, beetles and seeds.

Both the Greater and Lesser Yellowleg populations are stable. Although they are similar in appearance, they are not closely related. The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve does much more than provide a home for Bison. It protects vital habitat for native and migrating birds. If these refueling stops where not available to migrating birds it is doubtful that as many birds would complete their trips to important breeding areas which in turn help maintain sustainable populations. Often we forget that these areas are equally important to these birds as they make the return trip to their wintering grounds. The next time you see a group of yellowlegs remember that they are collectively known as an incontinence of yellowlegs. So look for these incontinences next April and May. If you are lucky you may even catch them as they migrate south for the winter this year from late July through September.

Invasive Species

—Andrew Donovan-Shead

On Thursday, 9 June 2011, Truthout published a Special Investigation: The Pesticides and Politics of America’s Eco War, in which The Nature Conservancy appeared to get bad press. Some visitors could ask questions about The Nature Conservancy’s role in controlling invasive species. You may want to be prepared by reading the article and thinking about the implications.

Opinion seems to be changing about invasive species, at least that is the impression I get from my reading. At one time invasive species were something to be eradicated, if at all possible, in order to restore an ecosystem to its prior state. Now there appears to be a trend towards seeing the cure as worse than the problem and that eventually nature will strike its own balance if left alone to do its work over time. We humans find it hard to leave things alone, especially when we see an invasive species running wild as we do Kudzu, for example, while driving through Mississippi and neighboring states, where entire trees and woodland are absolutely smothered by the vine.

The video to the right, dating from 4 October 2009, shows the effect of European Beach Grass introduced to Siltcoos Beach, Oregon.

On the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, a program is in place to control Sericea Lespedeza, which involves visual identification and spot-spraying with herbicide. Significant money is spent annually to control Sericea. In addition to herbicide, fire and grazing keeps down any new growth of this perennial legume. As Sericea Lespedeza matures it becomes less and less palatable to herbivores due to its increasing accumulation of tannins that make it bitter tasting.

Docent Coverage Of Season Days

—Andrew Donovan-Shead

Again, a small improvement over last year. Keep up the good work.

Docent Coverage of Season Days

 

Other Places to Visit

Here we provide some links to other places worth visiting.

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 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

Some printed 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.

All back issues are available electronically via the links shown below. All newsletters prior to December 2007 are available in Portable Document Format (PDF), which means that you will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to read these files. All newsletters from December 2007 onwards are in HTML format that is easily read using your web-browser.

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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.