Cattail Investigation

We had loads of fun today learning about the amazing
Giver of the Wetlands - the Cattail.

Cattails provide shelter and food for wetland creatures such a ducks, geese, red-winged black birds, and muskrats. Many people have used cattails in many ways for hundreds of years. Cattails can be used for making pillows, hats, diapers, mattresses, rugs, baskets, and clothing just to name a few. Many parts of the cattail are edible including the cattail flower at the top!

Today we gave a program out in the educational yurt, and folks made boats out of their cattails, boy did they float great! One boat floated as many as 58 pennies!

Here is a picture of some of the fantastic boats that were created.

A cool and cloudy October morning greeted visitors from the Campbell Senior Center today on a walk through the wetlands.

Holly McRae led a leisurely walk with the group along the Fern Ridge Bike Path. These visitors had been out to the wetlands before, but it was a first time with WREN! The tour began at the Meadowlark Prairie Overlook where Holly filled us in on the history of the WEW Project, partners and wildlife of the wetlands. Then we packed up and headed to our starting point at Checkermallow Access. Along the way to Terry Street, we passed by several birds including three Cormorants, several elegant White Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Kestrels, a Northern Harrier, possibly a Red-tailed Hawk, Flickers, Killdeer, Meadowlarks, and several small birds flitting around that are here to winter over in our valley.

Not to discount the grounded organisms in the plant world...Holly pointed out several species dressed in their fall fashion including Lupine, Tufted Hairgrass, golden and shimmering against the dark sky, Cattails (some gone to seed), and Aster. Unfortunately, but inevitably, we also saw the nonnatives such as the stubborn reed canary grass, the prickly teasle, pervasive pennyroyal, and thorny European blackberry. On the bright side, we also learned about some of the ways the WEW Partnership is controlling these invasive species, such as solar blocks, and prescribed burns. There were no otter sightings this time, but we did pass by the active beaver lodge near DataLogic, and what we believe is a muskrat burrow along the bank of Amazon. And of course, no walk for Holly would be quite complete without some interesting scat! Some awaited her right in the middle of the path, and its characteristics, such as tiny bones, hair, and form told Holly it was most likely wild canine, such as fox or coyote.

It's easy to say gazing around at the vibrant, rich colors of fall foliage, surrounded by heavy, dark clouds and hearing the Canada (or were they Cackling?) Geese above herald a change in seasons, that fall is the best time to be in the West Eugene Wetlands. Well, at least until the next season arrives, and we remember the fantastic opportunities for viewing birds of prey, seeing the long-missed vernal pools return, and the winter drizzles that put the "wet" in our wetlands settle in.

Summer isn't over yet!

So we had a great summer camp in the begining of the season we haven't blogged about yet. It was so much fun I couldn't let August go without letting everyone know about it. We partnered with our friends at Nearby Nature in holding a weeklong morning camp for Elementary School aged folks. We learned about wetlands, dragonflies, damselflies, and animal tracks. Our friend Rich Glauber led us in singing and dancing. One of my favorite memories of that camp is walking outside the yurt and hearing the children's voices as they sang about the wetlands. We even got to compose our very own song!

Every day we made a quilt square so by the end of camp all the campers had a beautiful wetland quilt of their own. Amazing artistry!

Thanks Wetland Campers!!!

Bike Day success!

WREN has just finished our first “Bike Day”… a long awaited dream. And what a great day it was! The weather cooperated (after several Wetlands Month weekend events in the cold or rain, the sunshine was welcome) so that the wetlands could really shine for all the folks visiting.

If you were out there, thanks for stopping by and learning about this wonderful resource in Eugene. If not, we hope you come and check out the wetlands soon. Here’s what was happening…

From 8-10am the education center design team met with folks from the focus groups to fill them in on what designs they have been considering. Our Mayor, Kitty Piercy, was there! During the rest of the event the team was available to meet the public and discuss the future education center.

At the WREN booth we were kept busy explaining the passports to folks and stamping them. Then, as people returned from their wetlands exploration, we were busy giving out a raffle ticket for every stamp collected – it was a lot of fun for us and the participants.

A shout out to all prize donators…

• Elmira Automotive (who have a “comfort station” along the trail near their shop: “Thanks Elmira!”) donated two gift certificates for auto care.
• My Coffee donated coffee and a thermos. They were also giving out smoothie samples along the trail near their shop. We can’t wait till they build a trail to their shop from the bike path!
• Doak Creek Nursery donated some native plants
• The City of Eugene Recreation donated some pool passes
• J. Michaels Books donated a gift certificate
• WREN donated a copy of Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Willamette Valley and a Mammal Scat bandana
• Café Mam donated coffee, a mug and some chocolate covered coffee beans

Thank you all!! If you participated, we will be calling the winners on Monday =)

Stream Team was there to spread the “we all live downstream” message and share how they are working to protect our waterways. A key function of wetlands is to act as a sponge to filter and slowly release water into the stream systems. Learn how you can get involved with the Team!

Invitrogen was there to inform the public about how their research and tools with molecular probes and cell staining can aid in wetlands restoration.

Paul Gordon represented the Field Operations Group (FOG) which is an interagency team focusing on wetlands restoration. There was equipment used in restoration work on display as well as native seeds. FOG does important work; this site can give you a sense of what they are up to. Thanks Paul!

The UO Environmental Leadership Wetlands Team was there to share information about the wetlands wildlife. These students have been instrumental in a very successful spring season of field trips and outreach program with WREN – thanks guys! (ps - if you follow the link, that is Holly McRae, WREN and Pat Johnston, BLM in the picture - not the Wetlands Team.)

Cary Kerst and the local chapter of North American Butterfly Association (NABA) were there to inform folks about the local Odonates and Lepidopterans which are zipping and floating all around the wetlands right now!

Here is a quote from Cary…

It was a great day with plenty of people who were having a good time and learning about the wetlands too. The hit at our stop were the larvae and the best stamp of all of them (at least that’s what some said). The kids loved the larvae, and I had a jam up a couple of times. I'd sum it up as a little girl said as she pedaled away with her dad, “That was cool!”

Lane County Audubon Society was represented near the scope that was installed at Checkermallow Access with their generous support last year. Ron was amazed at how many species were seen just from that one spot during the morning. Yup, wetlands make wonderful habitat for our avian friends!

And finally, the Cascades Raptor Center came out to share with us some birds frequently seen in the wetlands: an American Kestrel, a White-tailed Kite and a “TV” ;) Turkey Vulture. Thanks so much!

the first ever WRENefit

Last night WREN held its fist ever benefit concert – a WRENefit if you will. Cozmic Pizza generously hosted it and Mike, Cozmic’s manager, did a wonderful job running sound – thanks a ton!

Here’s a run down for those who missed it…

Liz Myers kicked things off with her bag pipes and highland dancers Jakonah and Mandara Matson-Bell. Wow. Serious skill…

Rich Glauber entertained us with his original nature songs and got some of us to join his rhythm band. Sorry I didn’t get a good photo, but you can check him out here.

Windy Hovey, who does so much for WREN and is generally behind the scenes, played some lovely classical guitar for us. She’s also a grad student – how does she do it?!

Tonn Nua played traditional Irish and Scottish music for us. These young musicians are certainly on their way!

Steve Gordon and Cary Kerst, long time volunteers with WREN, kept the crowd smiling with their fashion statement and clever lyrics. We’ll be sure to let you know about their next performance!

John Cooney, well-known in this area for his weekly broadcasts on KLCC is more comfortable in a recording studio. He graced us with his presence to read a selection focused on the West Eugene Wetlands.

Holly McRae dusted off the accordion to play us a few tunes. She was then joined by Liz, Jules and Windy – aka WRENaissance -- for a rendition of “Froggy went a courtin’”. This is the number one reason to support WREN: to keep these women who work for WREN from singing on street corners!

Then, for the headliner, Liz was joined by Kat, Matt & Vash… Circled by Hounds. What great music! We are so thankful they made it to Eugene to play for us!

Thanks so much to all the performers for being part of the WRENefit.

the big sit... sunup to sundown!

As you may know by now... May is American Wetlands Month! WREN has lots of events going on, including the big sit...

Today 5 birders worked to identify as many bird species as possible from one place. This was a fundraiser for WREN, whose education effort serves school children through field trips and classroom programs, as well as community events – all in the spirit of wetland awareness and stewardship. The birders collected pledges at a flat rate or at a per species IDed rate.

We were at Fern Ridge reservoir – specifically on the platform at the end of Royal Ave.

Here are some shots when we first arrived, just after 6am…including Cary Kerst.

Some of the highlights were seeing a family of 5 river otters! Cary saw them run and dive off an island. The rest of us enjoyed seeing them swimming in the water. Then later on, a flock of gulls caught our attention. We quickly realized what had them excited: a lone otter was loping up the trail (road) toward us! The gulls and the moving reed canary grass were our clues to its movement when it disappeared. But then it reappeared on another trail and ran away from us.

Another major highlight was getting some stellar looks at a family of Virginia Rails! Virginia Rails and Sora (which we only heard) keep hidden most of the time, so this was a real treat. Seeing their 8 chicks was amazing! These tiny jet-black puffs have the tiniest “wings” – nubs really – and the biggest feet! The parents were busy getting critters (like crayfish) out of the muck at the edge of the water and feeding the young. Right in front of us! There were several large bullfrogs in the vicinity… we were a little nervous for the chicks.

In-between the excitement there was indeed time to sit. Here are Cary Kerst and Steve Gordon:

Also feeding young in the muck were song sparrows. They would gather mouthful after mouthful of freshly hatched damselflies – wings and bodies poking out of its bill -- and pass them off to the young, who were incessantly crying for more. Red-wings were also feasting on the flies.

We spied several – perhaps 10 – bald eagles, most of them immature.

We got great looks at a bittern which was very close, perhaps 100 feet, from the platform. Throughout the day we saw several others flying by. They are pros at holding still and have camouflaged coloring. We did not hear much of the classic “gulp, gulp” though! What we did hear a lot of was pie-billed grebes and marsh wrens. Lot of noise for such small birds!

Later in the day the sun came out… here are Emily Steel, Rick Ahrens and yours truly, who happened to get a shot of the same view taken in the early morn…

Towards the end of the day after not seeing a “new” species to add to the list for quite some time, Rick spotted a raptor high in the sky. By the time I got a look at it he had IDed it as a peregrine falcon. I noticed that the wings were completely at its sides for a moment. Then it went into a sharp dive to the ground, wings tucked! Wow! It scared some shorebirds but didn’t get one. Awesome!

All in all 60 species were identified by the group as a whole – either seen or heard by someone. For collecting pledges made on a per species rate, birders may use the list of species they heard and saw. Here is the list, although a few are not “official” because they were seen during Emily’s walk (marked with a *) far from the platform. Read Steve Gordon's post on OBOL here.

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shovler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy duck
Pie-billed Grebe
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Virginia Rail
Sora Rail
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt*
Greater Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitcher
Ring-billed Gull
Black Tern*
Mourning Dove
Vaux’s Swift
Rufous Hummingbird
American Crow
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Marsh Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted chat
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow*
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch

Thanks to everyone who made this possible! We raised over $900 for WREN!! Way to go! Happy Wetlands Month!