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"Open House on the Prairie" - Sundays at Goose Pond
Grassland Birds and Prairie Blooms To Be Features of "Open House on the Prairie" Sunday June 27Enjoy a Drop-in welcome at Goose Pond Sanctuary’s Browne Prairie. Arlington, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 27. This is the third June event, see below for writeups about the prior events. MAS Field Trip leader Peter Fissel will lead a periodic meander on the mowed trail into the prairie to find grassland birds, such as meadowlarks, clay-colored sparrows, savannah sparrows, as well as many other local species.
A Double Duty Debut - Open House on the Prairie - June 13 Event Report
Mammals – mostly the underground communities – were the focus of the invited specialist of the day on Sunday, June 20. Mammologist Loren Ayers displayed some live examples of life on the lower level, and told about how they organize their lives. Open House on the Prairie Opening DaySunday, June 13, was the debut for the trails and the signs. Visitors were welcomed at the conversation setting and they learned much on short trail hikes. They were looking for insects, but the highlight of their day was watching a marsh hawk (harrier) catch a mouse, twice. The marsh hawk is an uncommon raptor that nested in the Goose Pond Sanctuary for the first time last summer.Goose Pond Sanctuary is owned by the Madison Audubon Society, and managed by the resident naturalists, Mark and Sue Martin, who reside at W7503 Kampen Rd., and may be reached at 635-4160. Cleaning Kestrel Boxes -Posted May 2010 |
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Goose Pond Prairie Burn - Spring 2010
This series of photos illustrates a Prairie Burn - the crew, technique, and spectacular blaze of prairie management by prescribed burning. Native prairie plants have deep roots and survive these burns and thrive, while the regular burns every few years help prevent the invasion of plants that would change and overwhelm the prairie ecology. Native Americans historically managed large expanses of native prairie in southern Wisconsin with fire to benefit from the wildlife that benefitted from the prairie. Species of birds that depend on large expanses of open prairie habitat have declined alarmingly in Wisconsin over past decades, and they benefit from these fire-managed restored prairies.MAS has helped purchase, restore, and manage large numbers of acres of prairie habitat in this area with help from Audubon members, partners, and the public. Your generous donations and volunteer assistance are an important part of continuing this work. Get involved today!
1. The Goose Pond crew of resident managers and volunteers start the burn at an upwind location |
2. The fire quickly becomes a wall of flame moving downwind through the prairie |
| A good burn in April 2010This burn was done at the Madison Audubon Society (MAS) Hopkins Road Prairie near Arlington north of Madison off Highway 51. After several days of waiting, it all came together on the beautiful morning of April 10, 2010. A light breeze from the west wafted across the Hopkins Road Prairie toward the east. The crew was outfitted with yellow fire retardant protective suits, helmets, face masks, and back pack water containers fitted with water-spraying devices. Shortly after 10:00 a.m. they took off in pick-up trucks for Hopkins Road, which is just one mile east of Goose Pond Road. This 40-acre restoration, planted in 1998-90, offers an interesting rolling terrain on the east side of Hopkins road. A service drive traverses the boundary, and hiking trails are maintained through the vegetation. Strip by strip the fire line made its way across the prairie, reducing about one-third of the whole restoration to a solid black blanket. Only the hiking trail and the ephemeral wetland in the middle retained the dull colors left from winter. (Other parts of the restoration will be burned in subsequent years.) The flames at times reached about six feet in height, and the dark gray smoke blew off to the east. |
3. The safety-outfitted crew manages the fire with a tanker, portable water sprayers and hand tools to prevents spreading beyond mowed fire lanes |
| Managing the Fire The leading crew accompanied the “Mule”, an especially equipped vehicle carrying a 200-gallon tank of water that was pressurized and fitted with a hose for spraying or refilling back packs. After a carefully controlled fire-break was burned along the eastern edge, Burn Boss, Mark Martin (clad in the only red protective suit) carrying a burning drip torch, ignited a strip to the west of the break strip. (Photo 1) With the wind blowing to the east, the smoke and the fire burned well with little danger of escape or hampering traffic on the road, which was posted with “Prescribed burn – do not report” signs. |
4. When the roaring blaze has reached the other side of the prairie and burned itself out, the crew gathers to celebrate a job well done! |
5. One week later new shoots of green growth are already taking off. |
| The photographer recorded from her perch atop the hill in the middle of the restoration until moving to Hopkins road for the final flicker. A photo one week later shows the green plants peeking through to start their above-ground life which will provide a show in full color from late May to October. The procedure was repeated several times at other Madison Audubon Society Goose Pond and Faville Grove sanctuaries in April, sometimes in the evening after the wind died down. The rows of trees in the background are part of a University of Wisconsin research plot |