Happening
at the Crossroads
October 12,
2009
by Coggin
Heeringa
Happening This Week at Door County’s Crossroads, “Blue Jays Wear White Hats”
The
Master Plan for Crossroads at Big Creek has designated several areas of
the preserve as future forests. With that in mind, we are paying more
attention to acorns… seeing them as potential oak trees. And this year,
we can’t help but notice the worm holes in the acorns.
Actually,
the holes are made by acorn weevils, insects that kill the oak tree
embryos. One would think that weevils would be detrimental to oak tree
survival. But, as we all are learning, natural interrelationships are
stranger than fiction.
This
time of year, the blue jays which will winter here [not the flocks of
raucous birds that are migrating through] are busy gathering and
caching seeds and nuts. In doing so, jays expended huge amounts of
energy.
Researchers
had always assumed that the birds got their abundant energy by
consuming some of the acorns while they gathered them. But acorns are
not really all that nutritious. Oh, they are a life-saving food source
during famine we call winter, but acorns hardly have enough calories to
fuel the energetic activities of jays in autumn.
One
activity is burying acorns – nice solid acorns – the ones that still
have the potential to germinate next spring. When they find an acorn
containing weevils, jays gulp them down on the spot. And the protein
from the insects give jays the vigor they needed to hide the rest.
Not
all of those hidden acorns are found. Some will grow in the spring and
our forests will be continually rejuvenated. Those disgusting weevils
provide sustenance for those annoying blue jays which plant our beloved
trees.
If
you want to learn more blue jays, you won’t want to miss the Lecture
“Blue Jays Wear White Hats” on Saturday, September 17 at 1:00. After a
short illustrated program, participants will be welcome to take a hike
to see these beautiful birds in the wild. The program is free and open
to the public.
Saturday,
beginning at 7:00 pm, The Door Peninsula Astronomical Society will
offer a viewing night for the general public in the Star Garden of the
Crossroads Astronomy Campus. Members of the society will be happy to
help folks explore the night sky. Please use the Utah Street Entrance.
Sunday
afternoon at 4:00pm, folks who need a bit of exercise after the game
can join the naturalist on the final nature hike of “the season.”. The
Green and Gold Hike will celebrate fall in general, but the aspens and
evergreens in particular. Don’t worry – we’ll offer lots of late fall
and winter hikes.
Crossroads
is a donor supported learning preserve welcoming learners of all ages
to programs in science, history and the environment. The Collins
Learning Center, located at 2041 Michigan Street in Sturgeon Bay, is
open 2:00-5:00 daily.
Saturday, October 17, 1:00
Lecture (with optional hike): “Blue Jays Wear White Hats”
Blue
jays are a species people love to hate, but they actually turn out to
be beneficial birds. An illustrated lecture in the Collins Learning
Center will be followed by an optional bird hike in the preserve. Free
and open to the public.
7:00
Viewing Night at the StarGarden
The
public is invited to join members of the Door Peninsula Astronomical
Society for a viewing night in the StarGarden. DPAS will help introduce
you to the beautiful night sky. Free and open to the public. CLEAR
SKIES ONLY.
Sunday, October 18, 4:00
Green and Gold Hike
Folks
who need a bit of exercise late afternoon can join the naturalist on
the final nature hike of “the season.”. The Green and Gold Hike will
celebrate fall in general, but the aspens and evergreens in particular.
Meet at the Collins Learning Center.
Many of
the Past News articles may be retrieved from this directory,
indexed and named in the following manner: 080101-news.htm
where
the first two numbers are the year, the second two the month and the
last two the date.
