Natural Events

by Jack MacRae

Here’s what’s debuting on nature’s stage in Chicago Wilderness

Early Winter

Sparse browsing.

Photo: Dave Jagodzinski

Dieting Deer

Whitetail bucks and does substantially reduce their food intake at the start of winter. Being in rut, they’ve got other things on their mind. Despite the fact that they need dramatically more energy to stay warm in cold weather, deer eat little during mating season. They will browse on current annual growth of woody twigs, but more important to their survival, deer tap into a reserve of fat they grew while eating high-calorie acorns in the fall. By the time new vegetation appears in spring, white-tailed deer may have lost 20 percent of their weight.

Empty Nesters

Early winter is a great time to take a visual inventory of abandoned bird nests in your front yard, back yard, and all your neighbor’s yards. The trees have few leaves to obstruct your view, and the snow and blustery winds of midwinter haven’t taken their toll yet on the stick and mud structures. It’s common to find the nests of catbirds, goldfinch, cardinals, and blue jays close to houses. You may be surprised to see where the new generation of birds were hatched and fledged this past year.

Middle Winter

Pileated woodpecker.

Photo: Brian Tang

Little Foxes

Glen Ellyn foxes mate in January. Following a gestation period of 51 days, the females give birth to their kits (also called pups) in March. Their homes are secretive; the well-concealed entrance can be smaller than a 16-inch softball. The eternally cautious female will typically move her family to new dens several times over the next few weeks. This practice is fraught with danger, but it is one that fox moms have been doing forever. Last March, a two-week-old pup was rescued from a west-suburban driveway where it had been left behind. Fortunately it was located — hungry, frightened, suffering from mange and conjunctivitis — and brought to a fox doctor for treatment. The little fox recovered nicely and was placed with a nice fox family in town.

Strong Grass

Of the many, many plant species that live in our region, only one — marram grass — can withstand the winter winds that whip across exposed sand dunes. The extensive system of tuberous roots grips the shifting grains of sand and keeps the plant anchored despite the relentless winds that can cover or uncover a plant in hours. This cool plant actually thrives on being buried in sand, which stimulates the rhizomes to grow vertically toward the surface.

Late Winter

Big Birds

In the final weeks of winter, pileated woodpeckers are the pinnacle of avian elegance. Both male and female dress in basic black tie and tails with stylish white accents on the shoulder, neck, and under the wings. They both sport dashing scarlet crests. Their faces are striped horizontally, and he has wicked red lines extending back from his bill. I think they’ve got wild, crazy eyes. Local reports of pileateds are scarce, but appear to be on the increase. The Cook County Forest Preserves in both the upper and lower stretches of the Des Plaines River Valley have had reliable sightings in recent years. Top-notch photographer Brian Tang spotted a pair in the heart of the Palos Preserve and an individual in Palos Park Woods, North Grove #1. I know where I’m going to be looking this winter.

Ross’ goose with Canada goose.

Photo: Photo: Rob Curtis

Too Cute

The Ross’ goose is one cute goose. The smallest North American goose, about the size of a mallard, adults are white with black wing tips. They have short necks, little pink bills, and small round heads with tiny black eyes. They’re not common — Chicago Wilderness isn’t in the path of their traditional migratory flyway — but they have been showing up in the region with increasing frequency. Last year in the first week of March, my co-workers Ron and Wendy and I took an early lunch to watch the five Ross’ geese that had been reported from a Fermilab field. Unlike many of their goose brethren, Ross’ geese are strict vegetarians.