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Happening at the Crossroads
December 7, 2007
by Coggin Heeringa “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime
When all the birds had fled
That mighty Gitchi Manitou
Sent angel choirs instead.”
This
charming Christmas carol uses a 16th century French tune, but the
lyrics were written by Jesuit missionaries to the Great Lakes region.
In trying to explain Christmas to the Huron Indians, the black-robed
fathers used images from nature.
While many birds have fled
Crossroads at Big Creek and the Door Peninsula, some birds remain
during the Moon of Wintertime. In fact, some birds actually migrate
into Door County in December. I’ve added snow buntings, pine siskins,
and pine grosbeaks to my list in the last couple days. Generally, we
see these northern birds during winters when the seed crops are poor in
Canada. This is one of those winters. This is bad news for finches, but
great news for birders.
And this is an exciting time of year for
birders. This week is the annual Christmas Bird Count. According to the
Audubon Society (www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/history), “Prior to the
turn of the century, people engaged in a holiday tradition known as the
Christmas "Side Hunt": They would choose sides and go afield with their
guns; whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred)
quarry won. Conservation was in its beginning stages around the turn of
the 20th century, and many observers and scientists were becoming
concerned about declining bird populations.
“Beginning on
Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer in
the then budding Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition-a
"Christmas Bird Census"-that would count birds in the holidays rather
than hunt them.”
We at Crossroads join some 50,000 birders
in this annual Citizen Science effort. The Sturgeon Day Christmas Bird
Count will be held on December 15. Experienced birders should call
Charlotte Lukes at 920-823-2478 to sign up for a territory.
However, Crossroads invites beginning birders and families to join us
for part or all of the day.
At 9 AM and at 1:00 PM, birding groups
will leave the Colllins Learning Center. Participants are welcome to
drop out at any time. At noon, folks are invited to bring a bag
lunch, and we will watch birds from the expansive windows of the CLC.
[I’m embarrassed to report that we saw more birds last year from inside
that we did in the field.] Crossroads will provide warm beverages.
The
Collins Learning Center and Wisconsin Wildlife Exhibit are open Mondays
and Thursdays 1:30-4:30; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from
11:00-3:00; and Saturday and Sundays from 1:00-3:00. The trails are
free and open to the public. Hikers and dog walkers are reminded
to stay off groomed ski trails.
The
Collins Learning Center at Crossroads is located at on County Highway T
across from Whitetails Unlimited. To reach the Leif Everson Observatory
and Stonecipher Astronomy Center, use the Utah Street Entrance. If
skies are clear, call 746-5896 for a recorded message announcing
whether the observatory will be open.
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