13-year Cicadas

Upon returning from our vacation to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, we were welcomed home by the droning trill of thousands of cicadas. 2011 is the emergence year for so-called Brood XIX, the Great Southern Brood of periodical cicadas. One species of Magicicada, these cicadas (not locusts, that's a whole different order) live underground for 13 years, feeding on the sap of friendly tree roots. By some unknown signal, they then all emerge in May and June to quickly fly around, eat, mate, and lay eggs in a matter of 5-6 weeks. A strange life cycle, to be sure, but apparently a successful one. 13- and 17-year periodical cicadas are found only in the eastern U.S. and nowhere else in the world.

I am incapable of picking out to which of the 3 (or four?) species that these Habitat Home cicadas belong. Apparently, one species differentiator is the song, sung only by the males. So I have included here an audio recording for those who might care (see link below). This recording includes an obvious bird in the background, but both the chirps and the drone are from these cicadas, mostly in the crab apple tree where these photos were taken.

For more information, see:

• Susan Post and Michael Jeffords article on Illinois cicadas (from Illinois Steward, Summer 2004)
• Wikipedia article on Magicicada
• Wikipedia article on Brood XIX (The Great Southern Brood)
• 17 second audio recording from the crab apple tree

Iris and Golden Alexander

After seeing how iris was invading the cemetery in the prior post, I spent the day removing iris from several natural areas at Habitat Home. I love iris, they are beautiful and so easy to grow. But they are not native and look rather out of place in a native habitat area. They can wander about and form large patches eliminating the native plants. I removed any iris from the large native areas that are being restored to native habitats (savanna, prairie and the meadow).

The iris in the above photo, however, is in a front bed planted with both natives and exotics. This iris blooms at the same time as the Golden Alexander, Zizia aurea. That is all it does, it looks lovely while they are both blooming. It adds no value for birds or insects or mammals. Even the deer leave iris alone. I wish I could.

Prospect Cemetery Prairie

Thanks to a recent Facebook post from Grand Prairie Friends, we decided take a short ride to Paxton to see some spring prairie flowers. The site is right off the road and one enters though the unlocked memorial gate. There is no path so we just wandered about the cemetery complete with old grave stones lying about. The site has a serious Day Lilly and Iris problem which is being worked on. It was so enjoyable to see plants that once were native to this area that, sadly, one seldom sees any more.

prairie phlox, Phlox pilosa

false toad-flax, Comondra umbellata

yellow star-grass, Hypoxis hirsuta

wood betony, Pedicularis canadensis

hoary puccoon, Lithospermum canescens

This site is a reminder of what we have lost. It was sad to see the barren adjacent farm field, the plastic factory across the street, the landscapes of the neighborhood homes and the neglected tombstones lying about. All signs of what our society is up to, except for some folks at Grand Prairie Friends who make an effort to maintain some of the few remaining high quality prairie remnants in our area. The folks at Habitat Home thank you.

Wolf River Apple Tree

Our three apple trees are loaded with blossoms this year. These are the blossoms of the Wolf River Apple tree. We also have a Honey Gold and a Lodi apple tree. All three apple trees are standard size trees which we planted in 1993. They are reminders of an idea of having an orchard at one time. I am however glad that we did plant them. They do provide food for many animals and birds and add beauty to the site.

Great Egret

Yesterday the whole bottom field was flooded. This is the area that we burned last month (see the previous post).

Today as we watched the flood waters recede we were delighted to see this bird in the bottom flooded field. Great Egrets (Aredea alba) were once threatened in Illinois due to both habitat loss and the desirability of their feathers for ladies hats. But today, egret feather hats are no longer in style and many habitats have been restored to suit the egret. They like marshes, wetlands, and river floodplains where they patiently walk about seeking frogs, fish and snakes. This egret successfully stabbed a frog and walked about with the frog clamped in its bill, as shown in the photo above. It dipped the captured frog in the water every so often, then squeezed it between its bill. After about ten minutes of this it finally swallowed the whole frog. The egret stayed around all day and was joined by a great blue heron and a pair of Canada Geese.

Day after 16th Annual Prairie Burn

The view from our deck this morning.

Yes, we do burn every year because the area is a floodplain and produces so much vegetation. Please note the intentionally unburned areas on the right and very back of the prairie, leaving some bird and insect habitat intact.

Annual Prairie Burn

This was the 16th burn of the tall grasses (Big Bluestem, Indian grass, Switch grass, and various forb stems) in the bottom floodplain at Habitat Home. We were a little reluctant to do the burn yesterday (Friday, March 25th) as there was not much wind (wind speed 5 mph with gusts to 8 mph) and it was cold (39 degrees). However, neighbors Tom, Sue, Rachel, Jake and friend Phillip, neighbors Betsy and Peter, and Master Naturalist Eileen were all able to help out despite the short notice. (It is spring break after all!)

We gathered together at 1 pm. Lex was the burn boss and explained the plan to the group. Everyone was outfitted in cotton clothes, boots, gloves, flappers and handkerchiefs. Water, both for drinking and fire suppression, was readily available. The local volunteer fire department was notified as were the neighbors. The burn was started against the wind, along the west edge and south borders, then moving to the upwind side along the east and north edges. It was one of the most classic burns, actually putting itself out when the various lines met. We were treated to high leaping flames and the heat from the fire was welcomed on such a cool day. The 5 acres were burned in less than 90 minutes. Thank you neighbors for all your flapping, and thank you Rachel for the photojournalism and permission to use this photo.