Spring 2002

Letters to the Editor

CLEAN THE POOP
I found your article about Canada geese by Nancy Shepherdson (CW, Winter ‘02) to have an unbiased approach that is all too rare. I count myself among those who like to see Canada geese in urban areas. They provide an element of the wild amid the condominiums and industrial parks: they have a freedom that reminds us that the Chicago suburbs were once undeveloped.

I know of several people who have an irrational hatred of geese, seemingly simply because they exist. What they forget is that people share this planet with many fellow animals. Canada geese are out where we can see them while other animals are stealthy and usually remain hidden from our view. To many people, the answer is to kill the geese, so I count the use of humane methods of controlling geese as a step forward.

I have visited the Chicago Botanic Gardens with geese and without geese. I would prefer to see some geese present. When the geese were allowed to roam, the gardens had a look more in keeping with nature rather than a place created as an ornament for people. Waterfowl pausing to stop at the gardens lent a completed look for me, so I am with the Wheaton Park District and would simply clean up after the geese.

David A. Wend
Buffalo Grove, Ill.

TENTACLES CLEARLY VISIBLE
I was surprised and delighted to read about the fresh water jellyfish (CW, Winter ‘02). Surprised because I never realized that this experience was so rare and delighted that this event happened to my daughter and me.

Some 25 years ago at Lincoln Park Zoo we decided to take a paddleboat ride on the lagoon at the well- known spot in front of the restaurant. During the trip I noticed small jellyfish rising and then descending with tentacles clearly visible. The jellyfish were a little larger than the diameter of a nickel. Well, if you are fresh water zoologist enthusiast you don’t have go to some exotic slough — just rent a paddleboat and hope you’ve hit the optimal time for jellyfish viewing.

Gerald Firak
Park Ridge, Ill.

REMARKABLE CRITTERS!
I enjoyed the article on geese (and what they love/hate) immensely. Geese live here and some people appreciate that, others don’t. I’m more informed about aspects of this issue than before.

Also, I’d wondered about freshwater jellyfish since we found our first exposure to these critters locally last summer. I’d never seen or heard of them before. They’re quite beautiful and so soft you can’t feel them brush past. There were LOTS of them gently undulating around us as we swam. So beautiful. It’s nice to know more about them.

Last, the piece on winter butterflies was amazing. What remarkable critters we share the world with. Thanks for an enlightening issue.

Ken Morehead
Durham, N.C.

SQUIRREL FIND
Two articles in your Winter issue were of great interest to me — Franklin’s ground squirrel and the freshwater jellyfish.

During the 1930s, I hung out and fished in Sherman Park but never heard of the jellyfish. At the same time we fished and swam in Maple Lake near 95th and Wolf Road. I heard people claim that they were stung by jellyfish. I thought they were really stung by water-boatmen, an aquatic insect whose sting was familiar to me. I was about 11 years old at the time.

In 1946 I worked at Boy Scout Camp Kiwanis. We swam in Tuma Lake [in the Cook County Forest Preserves], as did the kids from Sokol camp. We had jellyfish in August of that year.

During the 1970s and 80s, I was Director of the Sand Ridge Nature Center in the Calumet City/South Holland area. Someone brought in a jellyfish he found in one of the ponds formed by the strip mining and spoil heaps near Coal City and Braidwood. We kept it in an aquarium for several weeks where it looked and acted just like an ocean species. Suddenly it was gone and we found no trace in the tank.

[Also back in 1946] I rescued a squirrel from a grass fire. I thought it was a young grey squirrel and was interested because we only had fox squirrels in the woods. A few weeks later I took him to the Field Museum where I was told, "Wow, this species is not found east of the Mississippi." Well, I took him back to camp and released him where I saw several more in the grassy valley. Today that grassy valley is covered with trees and shrubs and no more Franklin’s ground squirrel.

In the 1970s, I excavated an archaeological site with the Field Museum in Ottawa Trail Woods at 45th and Harlem Ave. The area was a pretty open savanna and dozens of Franklin’s ground squirrels were our neighbors. When I went back there in the mid-1980s, I found that the forest preserve had stopped mowing much of the area. It is now grown up with trees and shrubs. No more savanna. No more Franklin’s ground squirrels.

I also liked the mourning cloak article and always looked for early spring holes made by the yellow-bellied sapsucker. Sap running from these holes attracts mourning cloaks and many other insects.

Edward Lace
Wilmette, Ill.

Correction: Harold Frederickson should have received credit as a founder of Migratory Bird Management in "Wild & Messy" (Winter '02). We regret the omission.