DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 247 119 SE 044 715

AUTHOR Stone, Sally F. TITLE Illinois Natural Heritage Conservation/Education Kit. Special Theme: "Remember These Precious Few." Illinois' Endangered and Threatened Plants and Animals. INSTITUTION Illinois State Board of Education, Springfield.; Illinois State Dept. of Conservation, Springfield. PUB DATE 84

NOTE - 84p.; For other titles in this series, see SE 044 716-718. AVAILABLE FROMDepartment of Con servation, Forest Resources and National Heritage, 605 Stratton Office Biiilding, Springfield, IL 62706. PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use - Guides (For Teachers) (052)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. - DESCRIPTORS *Animals; Biology; Conservation (Environment); __LeGonse_r_vation Education; *Ecology; Elementary Secondary Education; *Endangered Species; *Learning Activities; *Ornithology; Physical Environment; Science Education IDENTIFIERS *Illinois; Plants (Botany)

ABSTRACT This educational kit is designed to help teachers familiarize their students with the natural resources of Illinois. Materials in the kit are suitable for a wide range of grade levels and can be used in indoor and outdoor settings. These materials include a booklet and a set of 15 classroom activities. The booklet, written-at an approximate fifth grade level, contains descriptions of 58 threatened and endangered plants and animals in Illinois. Information provided includes how and where the species, lives and for what reasons it is facing the possibility of near or complete extinction in Illinois. The descriptions are arranged in sections according to the, habitats in which the species are found. These habitats include: (1) prairie and open field; (2) forests; (3) wetlands and water; (4) dunes, cliffs, bluffs, and caves. Each section begins with a brief description of the physical characteristics of the habitat and the forces that in many cases are rendering .habitats unsuitable for the species that depend upon them for survival. Instructional strategies and support information are provided for_ the 15 activities (which, may be duplicated for student use). Activity topics include ecology studies, bird appreciation, a transact study, and others. CJN)

*********************************************************************** * * Reproductions supplied by ED-RS are the best that can be made * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION. EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) O This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. .Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality.

Points of view or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official ME Position or policy-

LTHE ILLINOIS SPECemBER us! NATURAL THES-ILUNDIS ENDANGERED HERITAGE AND THREATENED I PLANTS AND ANIMALS CONSERVATION/ EDUCATION KIT

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION 111ILLINOIS BOARD OFEDUCATION

In "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY ItItte O eAutditi;)%, uI 1301tuEr

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." . Illinois Department of Conservation

Forest Resources and Natural Heritage

111inois' Endangered and Threatened Plants and Animals 4.

Mit 4 ar These Precious Few Illinois is bles- animals is to have a clean, healthy habitat in which to sed with numer- reside, the species are arranged according to their, ousvarietiesof required habitats.Each,section _begins with a brief plantsandani- description of the physicalcharacteristics of each mals, Causing us habitat, as well as the forces that in manycases. are sometimes to for- rendering habitats unsuitable for the species that depend get the hundreds upon them for survival. The habitats required for of species of survival by' these species include: prairie/open field, floraand fauna forest, wetlands/water, and dune/cliff/bluff/cave. which for numerous reasons nolonger can be found in Ehe Prairie State--some which no longer can Me -found on The centerfold of this issue contains a full-color the face of earth. We sometimes forget, too, those plants poSterdepictingthe58 animals andplantsde- and animals which are struggling to keep a foothold in scribed throughout this publication. A complete listing our statesome just barely holding on. of the Illinois endangered and threatened species is provided on the, reverse side of the centerfold poster. Currently there are well over 400 plants and animals that still exist in Illinois, but whose" populations are `Endanged' species are considered those plants and extremely low in numbers. 'These constitute "These animals .facinthe very real prospect of disappearing Precious Few," those species that either are classifiedas threatened or endangered. from the state\ whereas 'threatened' species are those in, peril of becomihg endangered. We therefore have what Following, you will find accounts of some of the amounts fo a two -stage system which allows us to threatened and endangered plants and animals of become aware .of `the problem as it affects a pdrticular Illinoismany of which also are included on a similar specie'S before it becomes severe. listing on a national basig. Unfortunately, liniitations of spaceprohibittellingeachofthesespecies''life This brief antholgy is presented to reaffirm the stories--the 58 species here representing only a small state's commitment to all threatened and endangered ,sampling of "These Precious Few." plants and animals innate right to survival in Illinois. This issue constitutes a barometer of where we are now, In telling the life story of each thredtened and a scorecard of how our \\threatened and endangered endangeredspecies, the accounts relate where the species 'are doing in IllinoiS. Perhaps somewhere down species lives, how it lives, and' for what reasons it is the road we' can look back at\ where we are now and see facing the possibility of near or complete extinction in^ the progress that has been made in preserving "These Illinois.Since the common need of all plants and Preciou, Few" for all those who, will follow us.

Sally F. Stone, the author of "These Pre- and Robert F. Eschenfeldt for the line drawings cious Few,'"' has observed first hand the decline containedin"ThesePreciousFew."Color of plant and animal species. For the past two photographs are courtesy of: Don Wright, John and a half years she has worked in the Endan- Schwegman, Carl Becker, Anthony Les, Robert gered Species and Heritage Wildlife programs for Welch, F. N. Hamerstrom, Roy Lirkes, Leo the' Department of Conservation.Currently - Johnson, Walter J. Breckenridge, Craig Faanes, she serves as the communications coordinator for Jon Cates, Patrick Redig, Lee K. Nelson, John - the Natural Heritage program. MacGregor, R. Town, Nebraska Game & Parks A special thank you goes to Bob Bridges, Commission, GeneralBiological,Inc.,and Eric Decker, Michele George, Ray Zoarietti, Maynard Reece.

2 THESE PRECIOUS FEW y.

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,d, 4' ...1.1 eOasis Below Forest's C OPY Settlers on the Illinois prairie remainingIllinoisforest has and Spanish oak. found even the smallest clump of survived becauseitisstand- The Northern Coniferous For- trees an oasis on the shadeless ing on ground too rocky, steep est(cone-bearing evergreens or landscape. Because .woodlands or wet to, allow clearing. shrubs) is present in a few scatter- were special, generations of the Three-fourtlis of the Illinois ed locations in northern Illinois samefamilywerecarefulto forest is upland, comprised mainly and is characterized by tamarack, preserve tracts of forest on their of oak,hickory,mixed hard- arbor vitae, Canada yew, white property. Woods and scrub hardwoods. The pine and white birches. To the south, west and north- remainderisbottomland hard= 4 A forest is much more than west of the prairie, forest was woods and pin oak flats. Three the Apes that comprise it., A forest abundant,totaling more than United States forest regions cross is composed of several different 14million acresin1800. The into the state. The Eastern Decid- parts, all of which form a complex trees were so plentiful Illinoisans uous Forest (trees that shed their ecosystem capable of providing saw no harm, in clearing as much leaves annually)isthelargest, food and shelter for plants and timber as they could to make covering south central and south- animals that residethere. The roomforfarmland. By 1900, ern Illinois, including the Shawnee tallest' reaches of a forest are the 10 million acres of forest had NationalForest.Treesinthis high branches of mature trees. beencleared.Now,le3sthan forest are principally oak, tulip These branches form a canopy 3.2 million acres of forest remain tree, sugar maple, American beech over the forest, affording protec- inIllinois.Whatislefthas and black gum. tion for plants and animals, from beenpreservedmainly byin- ,The SoUthecstern. Coastal wind and rain as well as shade for dividuallandowners,national Plain Forest ,covers the lowlands the-plants that need it. The middle forests, state _parks; -and forest. ofsouthernIllinoisandis layer. of a forest is the understory preserve districts. Much. of the characterized by cypress, tupelo of smaller, trees. Often dense with THESE PRECIOUS FEW 3 5 foliage, these trees provide excel- features of a forest offer a two on many more blessings, including lent cover and sources of food for dimensional habitat, stretching in -wonderful opportunities for camp- wildlife. The forest ground cover many direction's on the ground ing and hiking, and a vast array of iscomposed, mainly of mosses, and climbing to great heights as paper products. However, forests flowers and shrubs. This layer is well. This.is why a forest can serve must be managed as a balanced the home and hunting ground for as, a home for the raccoon who environment, where air, water and many species of insects, birds and likes to criss-cross the forest floor living conditions for all its dwel-. mammals as well as some amphib- in search 'of food as well as for the lersare considered first.While ians and reptiles. brown creeper, a tiny bird who quality must be maintained, so Not allthe vegetation of a spends all its time creeping up and must size.Forestecologistsin forest is living. Dead trees, whe- down tall trees in search of tasty Illinoisare working to preserve ther standing or lying on the tidbits. forests in large blocks, so forest ground, provide nesting cavities For most concerned people, creatures that travel far and wide and food for a variety of plants the sheer beauty of forestsis will not have to leave home to and animals. Together, the many reward enough. Yet, forests heap find their evening meal.

GOLDEN MOUSE recorded until the spring of 1878 The gplden mouse loves to near Mt.. Carmel in Wabash coun- spruce up its lovely orange-brown ty. These warblers still nest in fur, 'taking great care to bathe, several counties of southern --combandsty16:-avoryha' body. On the other hand, the mon colored cap, Swainson's nest mouse is a slob as a hotisekeeper. in deep, shadedbottomland Like a spoiled teenager, it loves woods where there is water; dense to eat in bed and leaves bits of shrubs, vines, thickets and rotting food scattered about its room. If timber. One plant almost 'always its' home gets too smelly and present. in their homes--and prob- messy, it moves into another of its ably very important to the Swain- 'many nests until the first home son's warbler--is giant cane.

airs out. . . Golden mice live in many of The swampland food supply the counties of southern Illinois. forthewarblersconsistsof insects,spidersandthe green Theysetuphousekeepingin worms found on water plants. woody areas and fields that are The Swainson's nest is a rough _ near water. Traveling at night to harvest seeds, berries and nuts, scraggly- mess of muddy leaves and they Must be extremely careful usually cradles about three eggs. becauseeven moonlight. makes Swainson'swarblerslivein theni easy ...for skunks, coyotes, GOLDEN MOUSE Illinois from April to September, o foxes and owls to see. These mice from their mother as she travels. then take off on their fall migra- are fast and skilled tree climbers, The young nurse up until their tion to their winter homes in Cuba usingtheir long tailsto wind fifth week of life, 'a time when and Yucatan. During their summer around twigs for balance. they are able to mate. stay, they are magnificent song- Thegolden mouseisone sters, sitting atop a singing perch, The golden mouse nest is built memberofthewhite-footed on the edge of a canebreak or into a tangle of vines, a briar bush mouse group. Scientists use these singingfromtheground,the orin the fork of a tree. The mice in experiments relating to performing Swainson's warbler is a female uses,her teeth and claws to epilepsy andotherdiseases. unique -Sighti- the warbler's head finely shred every twig, weed or These experiments someday may and bill .pointed straight up, the cloth that is used to build the lead, to treatments and possibly beak opened and trembling, the nest.. She also plugs the entrance evencuresfortheseillnesses. entire body quaking as, if totally to the, nest with a ball of stuffing' Meanwhile,conservationistsare absorbed in musical reverie. to protect the two to four babies working to' keep the beautiful A bird primarily of the south- from nest-robbing predators like golden 'mouseinIllinoisby eastern U:nived States, the Swain- shrews and snakes. If the mother providingitwith good habitat son's never has been a common hastomoveherfamily,the sites. warbler in most of its range. Plans young attach ..themselves to her SWAINSON'S WARBLER tosaveitsnestinghabitatin nipples with their mouths; their The first sighting of a Swain- Illinois call for managing good and hcld so strong that they can swing son's- warbler in Illinois was not healthy growths of giant cane; 4 THESE PRECIOUS FEW controlling timber cutting at and puted mystic powers. It has been near the nesting' sites and limiting toutedforcenturiesbythe human interference at the nesting Chinese as an aphrodisiac and a grounds. healer of the sick. The generic name' for theplant, Panax, is LONG-EARED OWL derived from two Greek words The long-eared owl is the quiet which translate "all cure." owl. So silent and reluctant to Sinceearlycolonialtimes, flush, in fact, that observers find North American wild ginseng has it difficult to detect the owl in the been collected over much of the dense evergreens where it usually United States and exported to the roosts. When approached by man Far East where demand for the or any. other potential dartgrr, the plant still is high. In recent years, owl creates its own special type of ginseng tea, shampoos, and bever- camouflage. It stretches its body ages have become extremely popu- from talon to head and pulls its lar in the United. States. Even feathersintightlyagainst ethe though the demand fOr ginseng is body. The slender,stillobject risingandpricessoaring;the looks more like a broken branch supply of wild ginseng plants is than an owl. shrinking. In Illinois much-of the An observer might never guess shady hardwood fore§ts that once theLwas_around if not_for_the____ hosted sn murh ginseng now is owlpelletsscatteredoverthe LONG-EARED OWL gone, and what remains is only needle carpeted forest floor. Pel- sparingly stocked with the bright letsareindigestible partsof before they can fly. Owlets sitting green plants. animals that the owl has 'eaten..; on a tree" branch surprised by an 'Growing mostly in moist soil The owl regurgitates these small intruder willraisetheir wings, on ravines or down gentle slopes, pads of fur, feathers, and bones and snap their bills loudly, and hiss the life cycle of ginseng involves they are a tell-tale clue of the owls and spit like angry house cats. If many years. Once a ginseng -seed presence. this doesn't scare the intruder falls to the forest, floor, it lays The long-eared owl inhabits away, they flop over on their dormant for 18 months to two most parts of temperate North backs and strike upwards with years before it finally germinates America.Itis an uncommon to. their talons. As a last resort, the inthe spring of the year and rare winter resident and a rare owlets charge the intruder, begins to grow. During the follow- summer dweller in Illinois. The screaming loudly on fiercely flap- ing year, the plant grows to a lastsuccessful statebreeding ping wings. height of only a couple of "inches record for a long-eared owl was in The adult birds are equally as and its tiny leaves and stem die off Clinton County in 1977. bold.. No other bird defends its with the first killing frost. The The long-eared owl requires young with more outrageous per- hearty underground root, how- habitat with dense trees where it formances and weird cries. If an ever, survives through the winter laali hide throughout the day and owl is threatened on its nest, it to sprout a larger plant the next hunt during the night. Using its glareswithyelloweyesand year. Upon the third or fourth long wings andtalltolightly spreads its feathers out into a pro- year of its growth, the ginseng power itsslim body, the long- tective fan surrounding its' body plant, now standing from .eight` to eared owl easily can thread its way and nest. Other times, an owl and 15 inches high, opens its blossoms through a tangled forest in search its mate will threaten to attack an and bearsits berries. Amidst a of prey--usually a small rodent. intruder with outreached talons cluster of pale green blossoms, its The large nest of the long- while muttering a long line of owl berriesaregroup?d, each one eared owl is made of small sticks profanity. holding one to three seeds. In mid= and needles,and is delicately lined If the long-eared owl is to win- to late August, the berries turn with the downy feathers of the ter or breed in good numbers in bright red, a sign that the seeds are adult.-he nest almost always is an this state again, the forests of Illi- matured. Soon the berries fall Ao old crow or squirrel nest left over nois need to be carefully managed. the ground and are either picked from the previous breeding season. . GINSENG - apart by wildlife or left to rot. Hatched With their eyes The rough, scraggly root of, Once the berry pulp falls away, closed; the three to five downy ginseng has,,enticed Mankind since the seeds enter the soil. covered yz,ung, are atfirst slow . beforethe, dawn of recorded The age of a ginseng plant can and shy, but soon venture off the history. Its leathery root has been be determined by examining the nest and into the branches even ground into medicines with re- root. When thefoliageona THESE. PRECIOUS FEW 5 7 plant dies each year, a- scar is left on the plant's collar, between the stem and the root. Also,. in the fall,the root shrinks, leaving a "growth" ring on the root. The age of the plant depends on how many scars or rings its root bears. The exportationof ginseng from the United States is being carefullymonitoredunder the termsoftheConventionon International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Meanwhile, theIllinoisDepart- ment of Conservation is cooperat- ing with federal agencies to insure thatcommercialcollectionof ginsengdoes not outstripour supply of this highly sought after plant. EASTERN WOODRAT, EASTERN WOODRAT The Eastern woodrat shares nest inside .,a crevice, ledge or 1912 and 1918 may have started the nickname of "pack rat" with bluff. It uses its nest, a six to 10 the woodrat's decline in Illinois. allother woodratsbecauseit inch mass Of softgrass, bark, The hard winters of 1976 through constantlyispacking away ob- cotton rags and other soft materi- 1979 added to its plight. Biolo- jects. The woodrat is likely to drag als,untilitdies. The woodrat gists are working to help_ the home and stash broken pieces of cleverly builds a,gridwork of twigs woodrat by protecting areas where china,mirrors,coins,kitchen over the,openingto.confuse they. live from human interfer- utensils,-eyeglasses, gum wrappers intruders. The hduse also boards a ence. But the chance of another and cowchips. variety of other creatures includ- cold winter always will threaten Woodrats live in Illinois within ingcrickets, millipedes, and the pack rat. theShawneeNationalForest. "wooly bear" caterpillars. There are probably less than 100 During the spring mating sea- SILVERBELL woodrats left in protected woody son, both the male and female Showingsilverywhite and areasalong rockybluffs. The woodrats rub fluid from a gland hanging in clusters, the bell-shaped woodrat is a victim of many of the on their bellies onto the ground to flowers of the silverbell give this creatures that share its habitat, attracteachother. Once they eleganttreeitsname.Fairly including coyotes, foxes, skunks, meet, the male usually moves common throughout the Carolinas bobcats, weasels, owls and snakes. temporarilyintothefemale's andGreat. Smokey Mountains, When the woodrat is alarmed, it house. Even' though he is a guest, silverbell grows in Illinois only .in thumps one or both of its hind the two oftenfight with one forestedravines near the Ohio feet or its tail on the ground. The another. After the female gives RiverinMassacandPulaski pattering on the leaves probably is birth and begins to nurse her one counties.Thefolkname; for meant ,to warn other woodrats of to four blind, deaf and naked silverbellinthesecountiesis danger. young, she gives the male his "wahoo," meaning a shrub or The woodratpatrolsafter eviction notice. Where woodrats small tree. Standing at a maximum dusk,usingitswhiskerslike are scarce, as in Illinois, the male of 30 feet in Illinois, this slender sensitivefingers to' detect both might have to trek up to a half- tree has reddish-brown bark over- treasures and food. The whiskers miletoget home.Its normal laid with whitish stripes. Because vibrate continuously and the. nose walking range is only a. 30 foot of its ktiowy flowers and bark, neverstops3niffing,especially radius from its house. many home and commercial land- when the woodrat is ir. reach of its Woodrats in Illinois have one scapersplantitfor ornament- dinner, which always is one of thing intheir favor. They are al purposes. plants, seeds or nuts. Since it hates living in the best 'areas in the state During April and May, bees to come out in bad weather, the for them. They need to live in the make regular visits to the delicate pack rat stores a large stash of most southern zones becaUs.e they silverbellflowers. The blossom food for rainy days. cannot survive harsh winters. In soon dies off, but a four-ridged The eastern woodrat builds its fait, severe winters as long ago as brown fruit forms in its place. By 6 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 8 late summer and fall, the fruit prey under its tail or carefully pull before taking its place atop the eitherfalls off oriseaten by off the wings and gobble up the nest.. squirrels. With a little luck, the ..grub, all without missing a flight Young kites often stand at the seed inside the fruit is knocked beat. edge of the nest and test their loose and falls to the forest floor. Mississippikitesarrivein wings by spreading them over and The forested areas inIllinois south-central United States in the over. The adults feed the young where silverbell lives are small and spring, after wintering in South birds by tearing insects and small should be strictly protected to America. The kites that settle in reptilesintobitesizenuggets. insure this handsome tree's pres- southernIllinoischoose dense Mississippikitesleavetheir ence in Illinois. forestsfornesting. During the, forest homes to hunt over open or courtship, nest-building and early BACHMAN'S WARBLER abandoned fields. Between morn- One of the rarest birds in egg incubation, the male kite is ing and evening hunting activities, known to pamper the female by the kites perch for hours on 'a North America, the yellow-faced, bringing her insects and tearing off black-throated Bachman's warbler dead limb and occupy themselves is now on the threshold of extinc- the wings for her. Both mates are by preening and basking in the sun. tion. skilled carpenters and they' tear One early ornothologist has cal- Residing in a dense woodland branches and twigs loose from led the Mississippi kite "thegem of swamp of SouthCarolina, the trees with their beaks and talons. the sky." To keep this bird in II- only known populatiOn of Bach- These materials are used to build a linoiS, large tracts of bottomland nott high in a sycamore, sweetgum forests near swamps and major man's warblers is clinging to life. or cottonwood Even though these warblers once tree. The kites river systems need to be preserved. exchange two-hour shifts 'sitting ti nestedin southeastern Missouri 'on the e and occasion-Wry-la' s. When one bird comes W _BLED POGONIA ern part of Illinois, there have to relieve the other, it brings a Like a pinwheel, a whorl of leafy branch and tears off the green leaves crown the stem of peen no state' records for this leaves species in over 30 years. to pad around the eggs whorled pogonia. Resembling no Bachman's -warblers perch and feed from the tops of the tallest trees in their swampland homes. They do not flit from branch to branch like other .warblers-; they move rather slowly in comparison and patiently pick insects from leaves withgreat thoroughness. WhenaBachman's warbleris frightened,itwill issue a sharp alarm note, jerk its tail about and fly far and fast, making it practi- cally impossible to follow the bird through the forest. Populations of`Bachman's war- blers always have been dangeroUs- ly low and these warblers have continually lost habitat toswamp timber cutting and agricultural drainage. Nonetheless, incase the Bachman's warbler makes a come- back, and once again extends its range toward Illinois, biologists re- commend preserving bottomland forests to assure this warblera suitable habitat.

MISSISSIPPI KITE The Mississippi kite can catch a flying.. insect after diving hun- dreds of feet through the sky. The sure-footed bird can then tuck its

THESE PRECIOUS FEW 7 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (Adult and Immature) other orchid, long slender sepals should be destroyed. statesandCanada andcentral dangle like shoestrings from the Illinoisans'leviedguns and Mexico. main petals of. its purple flower. traps at th'e bobcat without regard The bobcat needs large wood- Whorled pogonia is common for the, devastating numbers of the land areas that 'are broken by in the southeastern. United States. bobcat that were being killed,. protected river bottoms and open As- far north as Illinois, the orchid Many years passed before it Was brushy areas and hollows if it is to is extremely rare. Whorled pogo - realizedthathuntingofthe rebuild a healthy population in nia was not discovered in Illinois bobcat shOuld. be carefully regu- Illinois. 'Meanwhile, we can -help until 1967, growing in ravines and lated. Unfortunately much of the the bobcat by, rejecting its long, along small .stream beds, three misunderstanding about the bob- standing reputation as a "varmint" good-sized populations now are cat persists today. The bobcat is and continuing to protect it as a known to exist in the Shawnee not a threat to man; all the big cat beautiful wild native of Illinois. National Forest. wants is to' be left alone--free to Unlike most orchids, whorled hunt and to mate. TAMARACK pogonia isa colonial plant. An The three foot long, 15 to 30 A native American member of underground network of stems pound bobcat stalks its prey at the pine family, tamarackis a send 'up groups of pogonias each night.Its tremendous strength, medium to large tree, standing up spring. By late April and May,- coupled with its razor sharp claws to 100 feet.tall. Supported by a some of the plants are bursting and dagger-like teeth, guarantee a trunk with a diameter of 11/2 feet, with open flowers. Most of the low failure rate once the cat has itsspiraling crown of branches plants, however, depending on the scouted out a victim,. usually a forms a lofty peak' like that of a severity of the last -winter, develop small bird or rabbit. Anyone who Christmas tree. a-whorl of leaves but fail to show has seen a housecat pounce on a Tamarack _grows in bogs and a flower. mouse can imagine- the stealthy swamps across much of Canada Pollihation is carried out by leap of a bobcat onto a rabbit. and southwardintothe Great insects,mostlybeesthatare The bobcat also is able to take Lakes states. In Illinois, the tree attracted to the showy flowers. big game. Leaping from a ledge or now lives only in Lake and Mc- Following pollination, the ovary from behind -onto the back of Henry- counties. Once more com- of the flower grows into a brittle an unsuspecting deer, the cat can moninIllinois,tamarack has brown fruitthat lookslike a bringit down, sometimes only suffered from a combination of drawn string purse. FUlly matured after riding on thg deer's back crippling factors. Populations.have by late summer, the fruit opens at through thefores£,biting and been damaged when their watery the top and seeds scatter with the clawing into its neck' all the while. homes, were drained or flooded. wind for ,miles.After the first More commonly the bobcat' kills Tamarack also faces grave compe- killingfrost,theplantceases weak fawns, and old and dying tition from an introduced shrub activity and melts into the winter deer, and does not shy away from called glossy buckthorn. Growing decay of the forest. eating carrion. indensethicketsaroundthe Thenaturalecosystemsin Deep inside a cave, a rocky ankles of tamarack, glossy buck- Illinois that support whorled po- crevice or a holloWed-out log, the thorn. makes it impossible for the gonia should be protected from bobcat makes its den. To this cozy tree to lay seeds on' the forest erosion and flooding. The orchids hideout the adult 'cat, brings live floor. Tamaiack also has suffered should becarefully guarded prey so the bobkittens can learn heavy losses at the jaws of bark against collection by commercial toslaytheir own food. The beetles. and one stand was de- florists because their numbers are bobcat occasionally will take time stroyed by fire. too small to withstand the harvest. to wrestle with the kittens who Before the frozen terrain of lovetoplayinsidetheden. northeastern Illinois has a chance BOBCAT ., Thebobcatisthoughtto' to thaw each spring, the needles The bobcat brings to mind" occur most commonlyinthe of tamarack already are peeking rich images of the early 1800's southern counties of Illinois, WA. out. By May, oblong yellow buds when pioneerssettledthe raw has been found Sporadicallyin appear on 'the. side o,f twigs' and woodlands and prairies of Illinois. almost every other , area of the branches.Theseare -themale The bobcat was common and at state. No matter the location, the cones laden with pollen. The tiny the top of its food chain. There bobcatisextremelyscarcein, female Cones are red or greenish. were many small birds and mam- Illinois. Because this spedies is so When fertilized by pollen, female mals for the bobcat to hunt, but good at avoiding people, no one cone's and the seeds inside them none that threatened it in return. knows exactly how many bobcats begin to mature. By autumn, the But the powerful cat' frightened still roam its natural range,.which cones are chestnut brown and thesettlers.They. agreedthe includesmostoftheUnited bursting with ripened seeds. Seeds bobcatwas a"varmint"that States-excepting the southeastern are Carried out of the cones on THESE PRECIOUS FEW, 9 small "°den\scales that catch the foreboding metal fortresses, small WHITE -BASSWOOD wind and sail through the forest. meadows were plowed under for Rising up to 70 feet in height, Painting a beautiful collage of vastgrainfields and tracts of white basswood is crowned by coldrs for the fall, the needles of timber were shearedto make widelyspreadingbranches and tamarackturngoldenyellow room for yet more cropland. The brown bark -cut by deep scaly against the green of the forest. barn owl was left without a home rows, and small greenish yellow 'One of the few conifers to shed its or hunting grounds. The farmer no clustersofflowers. The hairy leaves, the needles soon drop to longer looked' to the owl for whitecoatingunderneaththe 'the ground. Throughout winter, rodent control, employing pesti- heart-shapedleavesgive .* white the fallen seeds lay dormant on cides instead.Thepesticides basswood its name and separate it the forest floor. They must be worked sowell that the food fromitscousin,the American exposedtothecoldweather supply of the barn owl shrank and basswood. before they can germinate in the the animals it did find to eat often' White basswood gm:4s fairly spring. were laced with -deadly chemicals. commonlyintheAppalachian About half of the stands of Mountains. Froiri those highlands, tamarack in Illinois are protected therangeof whitebasswood. in Illinois Nature Preserves. and in snakesalongtheOhioRiver a county .forestpreserve. The `The Barn OWE Valley through the southern tips' remaining stands ,are on,private of Ohio, Indiana and IllinRis and property. Managers are working A Cat With Wings', finallysatlegh intothe bzark with these landowners to assure Mountains of ,Missouri. The three that thistall tree prevails as a standsof .whitebasswoodin beautifuiandvaluablefeature--in- southern Illinois are like markers the bogs and wetlands of northern along-this trail. Since these Illinois Illinois. Lack of foodisa problem trees are outside the species' high because barn owls always are ground. range, they have had a -hungry. Owlets in the nest can eat rough time of survival in Illinois. BARN OWL . 'as much as their own weight in food But the Illinois trees have found Nature had invented a better 'each night. To feed such ravenous their most favorable homes in mouse trap long before mankind youngsters, adult owls embark 'on moist ravines along the Ohio River set his mind to the task. It's name hunting trips as soon as night falls. bluffs and in the Shawnee Hills. isthe barn owl. Catching 'mice With keen eyesight, at. least 35 Sometime in June and July, comes, easyfor the barn owl, times and probably 100 'times as 'the fragrant-five-petaled flowers of which often is called a 'cat with acute as man's, and a remarkable 'whitebasswoOdopenupin wings.' sense of hearing,- the barn owl can shaded forests. Bees pollinate the Found in most parts of NOrth chase its prey through a dense sweetlynectared,flowersand America, barn ,owls have become forest even on a moonlesS, over- members of the basswood -family increasingly rare inIllinois over cast'night.Itsswift apprOach often are called "bee trees." 'By thelast10 or' 20. years. When usuallyis 'never heard by the mid-summer, the woody nutlets of smallfarmswerea common victim because the barn owl's fruits are ripening and are fertile feature on the Illinois landscape, feathersaresheathed, with with seeds.: About the size of a barn owls were plentiful' and they velvety -pileof 'down, mufflingalarge pea, the 'fruit has turned lived in harmbny with the farmer. sound to less than a whisper. from green. to browrl as it ma- The old wooden barn, the barn- The recovery plan forthe barn tured. Sometimes the fruits cling yard and the nearby meadow gave owl in 'Illinois calls for protecting -, to the branches throughout the the owl and its family a home and itshabitat- and potentialnest- followingwinter. \ More _often places to hunt. in turn, the owl ing sites from disturbance. Illinois- though, they are eaten by sqUirrels savedthefarmerheavypest ans can help by placing manmade or are blown to the ground. In control costs by killing h'undreds nesting boxes in the top of barns, either case, the, seeds are broken ofrats, mice and ,insects each silos or any other large building loose and scattered to the forest :-breeding season. 1The farmer was where grain spills and rodents are floor. glad to have thig "flying 'mouse-. likelyto'gather.TheIllinois Of. the three populations of trap" that can kill more mice in' Department of Conservation white basswood in Illinois, two are onenightthan w dozencats. would appreciate any reports Of protected withinIllinois Nature As farming changed, the:barn barn owl nests in the state. Look Preserves, although one consists of owl failed to keep in step. Small. for the nests and the White-dowiay onlyasingletree. The third family farms became consolidat- young anytime _ddring the year, populationisinthe Shawnee ed,andalmost overnight, old but usually during the' spring and NationalForest.Managers - are barns gave Way to tightly'-sealed, summer.' handicappedin 'protectingthis 10 THESE PRECIOUSTEW

I-; follow what it believes to be wounded, easy prey rather than continue look- ing for the nest. When the bird has enticed-the intruder far away from the nest, it abandons its act and flies away. The sweet song of Baclunan's sparrow is arranged in a series of melodious phrases that are' chorused by perfectly pitched- trills: The rich song has up to 12 phrases but lasts for only two to three seconds. The birds ,sing only during the summer. When fallapproaches the birds, especially the ones that summer in northern areas like Illinois and In- diana, move down into the southern states and live out the winter in silence and warm weather. The Bachman's sparrow needs a good supply of 'abandoned fields

close tb trees to.continue nest- ing in Illinois. Biologists recom- mend a controlled program of burning to maintain and develop the most suitable plant growth on the 'few abandoned fields that are left for this "hermit" sparrow.

BACHMAN'S SPARROW YELLOWWOOD treebecause itisliving in an were being Clearedfor farmland. The wood of the yellowwood environment very different from After once nesting occasionally in tree is, tightly grained, hard and that of its natural range. The main northern and central Illinois, and yellow, and its lumber is ground efforts will involve protecting the More commonly in southern Illinois, up to make a clear yellow dye._ habitat where the trees now stand. this reddish sparrow distinguished by Smooth, gray and lean, its trunk its purplish -back, now nests only supPortsawideumbrella.of BACHMAN'S SPARROW rarely in the southern reaches of the branches: Reaching 40 to 60 feet Deep within the virgin pine state. in height, yellowwood stands bare forests of the old south, one of Bachman's sparrows, nestin duringwinter, but puts on a the sweetest of all bird songs faith- abandoned fields that haVe grown up handsome garb of green leaves and fully graced every summer morn- in goldenrod, asters, grasses and delicate white flowers in spring. ing and falling twilight. But try, as shrubs, The nest is built on the Deep within the Cumberland they might, observers like John ground and is well concealed by low. Mountains of eastern Kentucky, James Audubon and his friend and bushes. Both parents feed the young yellowwood has survived for mil- naturalist, John Bachman, could the standard Bachman's sparrow lions of years. Standing on lofty catch but a fleeting' glimpse of diet of seeds and insects. The adults peaks,.. yellowwoodandother the vocalist. Even today, Bach- everything they can to keep the exact _vegetation have escaped the 'OA- man's sparrow is noted as one of location of the nest a mystery. In- ciers that repeatedly covered the the world's most delightful choris- stead of flying directly to the nest, an lower, elevations of North Ameri- ters, and a bird whose life story is adult lands some distance from it and ca, including Illinois.Following shrouded in secrecy. then sneaks on foot through, tangled theretreat. oftheseglaciers Bachman's sparrows thinned underbrush to the nest. yellowwood 'migrated down from out in the southeast when the vast If. anintruder comes near the'. the mountains, along the Tennes- pine forests were sheared down nest, the adult creeps away frorn,the , see River finally to join .theOlio' after the 1890's. About the same nest in the same manner, popping up Riveratthe .tipof southern time, Bachman's sparrows living. from..under a bush just long enough Rising out of ravines and along the northern edge of their to catch the attention of the intruder. along moist wooded slopes of the range in Illinois were being threa- Then the bird fakes injurya crafty ShawneeNationalForest,78 tened as grasslands and forests ploy designed to get the intruder to yellowwood trees now are growing THESE-PRECIOUS FEW 11 13

1 inIllinois. -Many of the trees appear to be sick and near life's However, many of the feeble trees are producinghealthy sprouts and forest ecologists hope that this seemingly poor condition may just be a natural part of yellowwood's growing cycle. Fragrant flowers burst forth on the thin sprigs of yellowwood eachJune.Attractedbythe showywhiteblossoms,insects rushintothepetals'reaching arms. In hopping about the inside of theflower, the insects rub pollen from the stamen, or male partoftheflower,onto the stigma,afemalepartof the flower. As summer wears on, the blossoms break off leaving the ovary of the flower behind. The ovary grows into a tough-skinned fruit which looks very much like a greenbean.Fullymatured in August or September, the fruit COOPER'S HAWK fallsto the ground. Birds and rodents pluck the stored seeds and tragedy. The story began a temporary residence in central and from within the fruit and carry long time ago when small barn- northern Illindis during times of them about the forest. yards populated with free-roaming migration and occasionally during Forest ecologists want to learn chickens were a common feature the winter. more about the life requirements on theAmericanlandscape. Cooper's hawkssettleinto of yellowwood. Efforts already Known tokillas many as 12 hardwood forests upon t:,e finish are underway to protect the fertile chickensina singleday,the of their spfing migrations. They valleys, slopes and bluffs where Cooper's hawk was a notorious prefer area clearings meadows the trees now grow. Meanwhile, outlaw to the farmer. A contract where they can spot and chase prey new seedlings are coming up and if went out against the then com- such as quail. Their nest usually is the adult trees can manage to hold mon "chicken havirk" and large located some 40 to 50 feet above on, yellowwood islikely to re- numberswereshotonsight. the ground in the upright crotch main a keepsake from the past. in In truth, the Cooper's hawk of a tall tree. After three to six theShawneeNationalForest. kills more fair game from its own eggs are laid,the parents pad habitat than it takes from rural shredded bits of bark around the feedlots.Onereasonforthe eggs, and await the 24-day incuba- COOPER'S HAWK Cooper'shawk'sdeclineover tion period. The Cooper's hawk has a way much of North America is the First covered in snowy down of riding belly up and feet first to reduction of available prey. As and later with patches of bone- snareitsprey.'Gaining ona more natural areas vanished, fewer brown feathers, the young hawks birdorsquirrel,theCooper's small birds and mammals remain- have a. great appetite. At the age hawk assumes the position for ed. As a result, larger predators of six weeks, one youngster can attack: Bowing its head, it brakes liketheCooper'shawk have devour theequivalent of eight its terrific speed by dropping its starved off. Dwindling food sup- house sparrows per day. Once the spread tail and hanging back its plies coupled with the presence of young hawks leave the nest, they rounded wings. Closing in, the pesticides in the environment both often group together on fallen logs hawk pushes its legs so far forward are causes for the plight of the and carry on a conversation of itstalonstagthe victimlong Cooper's hawk in Illinois. shrillwhistles. They take turns before the weight of the hawk After once nesting commonly flapping their wings, practicing for forces the talons deep into the over much of Illinois, this hawk on- the time when they will be the victim's flesh. ly rarely raises its young in the superb flyerstheir parents are. Success at hunting has brought southern and northern parts of the The recovery plan for the Cooper's hawk both reward state. The Cooper's hawk takes up Cooper's hawk in Illinois calls for 12THESE PRECIOUS FEW 14 Qt. carefully managing forestareas the southwestern nook of the both mates. They prefer to usean and protecting known nesting sites state.FOrtunately, both native old nest. If one is available they from disturbances.- Removal. of stands of shortleaf pine in Illinois lay a fresh sprig of greenery in its harmful pesticides from the envi- 'are. in protected sites. One stand is inner cup, to mark the nestas ronment is also critical for the -in 'an Illinois Nature Preserve, and theirs. If a new nest ;_f, 40.tilt, the survival of the apecies. a large population grows, in the hawks locate a strong fork in a tall Shawnee National Forest. tree, usually an elm, birch, maple SHORTLEAF PINE or beech. The large nest is built of sticks and is lined with soft mosses Tall,wide-trunked and red- RED-SHOULDERED HAWK and lichens. dish-barked, the shortleaf pine is - a benefit to animals of the forest. The red-shoUldmed hawk is During the 28 days the two to When food is scarce, white-tailed seldomseen outside of southern three eggs take to hatch, the two deer feectolf the tender shoots of linois today. In times of settlement, mates sharenest-sitting 'duties. young trees and turkeys occasion- however, this medium sized hawk While one broods, the other hunts.' ally feast on the small seeds that was the most common hawk in the Starting from a high perch where fallfrom the cones.SCaltered Illinois forest. the hawk can spy creatures from thickets of smaller _pinet provide afar, it swoops low over the trees excellent Cover for a variety of The loss of many acres of and dives through the branches to wildlife. forest across the eastern United snare its prey. Frequently, one States is the primary reason why mate will bring a fresh catch to its A common tree in the south- red-shouldered hawk populations partner. Shredding a mouse .or eastern United Stites, shortleaf havedeclinedthroughoutthe snake into bite-size pieces, the pine is harvested and used for species natural range. In Illinois: dining bird slowly eats the meal building materials and pulpwood. thered-shoulderedisafairly withoutstirringoff theeggs. Shortleaf also grows abundantly common year-round resident only in the Ozark Hills of Arkansas and in the. southern counties where Covered with silky white to Missouri. Long before Illinois was thereisstill good-sized forests. buffy colored down, the young sett' d, seeds from these Missouri hawks spend their days in the nest trees crossed the Mississippi River Eliewhere in the state, this in constant activitystanding up, and founded a native stock of hawk is rare. A small number of fluttering about, preening their shortleaf pines in the prairie state. red-shoulderedhawksnestin growing plumage- and frequently The great, towering trees.have not northeasternIllinoisand some screaming. After being fed by the had an easy time surviving in cross northern and central Illinois adults the youngsters lay down Illinois, where the climate is much during migration. The red- and doze in the sun. To strengthen harsher and colder than in its shouldered hawk always seeks out their muscles for flight, the young southern range. lowland woods where thereis birds stand at the edge of the nest water: A .swamp, bog or river and flap their wings. Finally at During March and April short- bottom makes for a good hunting aboutsix weeks ofage,the leaf pine prepares to sow, seeds for ground for -rats,mice,snakes, fully-feathered birds hop out of the future. Male cones, shaped' frogs and fish. the nest onto the branches. Soon like small purple spikes are busy P. they are fluttering through the making pollen. The forest floor Red-shouldered hawks mate woods, but they stay with their soon is carpeted with pollen and for life and return to the same parents until they have learned to, nearbypondsandlakesare nesting area each March. Carrying fend for themselves, usually in likewise blanketed with the chalky out a dramatic courtship routine, autumn. At this time, many Of the yellow powder. Meanwhile, the the birds climb up to 1,000 feet in Illinoisbirds,especiallythose tiny rosy-pink female- cones are the air, circle broadly and cry out nesting in the northeastern coun- holding a cargo of future seeds. ashrill"kee-ah, kee-ah." With ties,risetotheskies, swerve After the wind carries pollen to wings and tail broadly spread, the eastward, and follow the long theseseeds,thefemale cones birds swing toward each other and chain of the Appalachian moun- beginto grow intofullsized then quickly pull away. If one tains southward-to warmer winter- cones. The cones will not mature mate falls low, the other gives ing grounds. and bear, out their seeds until the chase in- a thrilling nose dive. following fall. Lunging lower and lower, the. The recovery plan for the birds finally brake and sweep into red-shouldered hawk in Illinois is Although the pines once were the branches of a tree for mating. to protect lowland tracts of forest, more plentiful in Illinois, only two especially where there is a good standsofshortleaf remainin Securing a nest is the work of supplyoflargenestingtrees. THESE PRECIOUS FEW 13 15 Priceless Prairie P1ts,

There is precious little prairie falo, elk and antelope roamed its and the forest lay a special type . left in the Prairie State. Corn and miles,andso many prairie of habitat known as savannah. Soybean fields that checkerboard chickens boomed each spring Supported by a good bed of grass theIllinoislandscape certainly that the bold, sweet songs of the and sprinkled lightly with trees, do not qualify as prairie simply meadowlark, dickcissel and bob- savannahs offered a habitat for because they are wide, flat and olinkpractically were muted. prairieplantsthatrequired treeless: True prairies, except for During some summers, the shade. Savannahs offered a tran- a few patches scattered hereand' prairies burnedspectacularly sitionzoneforthose animal there, are things of the past...in withfires so bright that one species that alternate between Illinois. . settler wrote that you could read openareasandforestsfor WhenthefirstEuropean fine print while standing 1 1/2 hunting and nesting. Savannah settlers came to the .middle parts miles from the fire. But fire is type habitats still ate found in' of North America, they found theprairies'friend, riddingit Illinois, usually beside prairie or grasslands that ranged from Indi- from time to time of trees and near where prairie once ranged. ana .westward to the Rockies; shrubs while leaving -the roots of In the old days, there were and from Texas northward to prairie grasses and flowers cool three types of prairie. in Illinois. Canada. and safe under the ground ready. Today, we have remnants of each

They 'borrowedtheFrench . to sprotit back up with. the next of these prairievarieties. The word . "prairie," meaning spring. . largest, which covered the central 7 meadow, to christen the new Illinois was on the eastern part of the state was the tall-grass lands. Dominated by grasses; the. bOrder of thisvast- grassland. prairie. On thisprairie; grasses prairie was dotted by broad- More than two-thirds of the state likebigbluestem andIndian leaved plants and colorful. wild: was under grass, the remainder in grasS reachedheights of seven flowers. Countless herds of bid: forest. Between the grassy areas feet or more during the summer. 14 THESE PRECIOUS FEW Sand prairies, located in the sand field" habitats, such as pastures, LOGGERHEAD' SHRIKE depositsoftheIllinoisand alfalfa and clover fields, and old Like an eagle or hawk the log- Mississippi rivers, contained gras- fields, which partially substitute gerhead shrike has the power to kill ses and broad-leaved plants that for prairie. birds, mice and snakes. But unlike were adapted especially tsfrliving Pastures,- ifnot overgrazed, these other birds of prey,-the shrike in dry conditions.Hill prairies; afford habitat for a variety of in- has no sharp talons to held down- which occupied the south and sects, amphibians, reptiles, mam- its food for easy feeding. To make westfacingbluffsofmajor mals and birds. Alfalfa, clover and up for 'this, the shrike sticks the streamsandrivers,contained other forage crops provide seeds body of its victim on a thorn or mid-sizedgrasses such aslittle and other plant materials for food, fence barb and tears awLy the flesh bluestem and side-oats gramma as well as good wildlife cover dur- with its beak. The shrike likes to which, reach height's of two to ing the growing season. Usually, pack away a pantry° of food. A three feet. old fields eventually grow up in thorn bush sporting several dead Virgin prairie of Illinois was trees and brush, but before they and hanging birds, or a fence line destinedtochange,however. become too heavily forested they decorated with as many as 15 Beneathallthegrassesand can be good habitat for grassland snakes is not an unusual sight. flowers, lay the rich, dark soil Plants and animals. Old fields also Because of these habits, the shrike that would becoMe the best in can be restored to prairie. often is called the 'butcherbird.' the world for cropland. At first, While a great many people are Loggerhead shrikes are' known thesettlers were at a loss to working to restore prairie in Eli% over most of the United Sfates. breaktheprairiewith -their nois, thereisalso a significant Formerly, shrikes lived through- woodenplows,butwiththe prairie preservation movement a- outIllinois,buttheirfavored invention of the steel plow in foot. Both private and public or: habitat along hedgerows' has di- 1850, they took- to the prairie ganizations are working to pre- minished in northern and central with fervor, determinedto serve the prairies that we have left areas. Shrikes now are year-round ci-angeitintofarmlandthat to ensure that future Illinoisans residents only in the southern third would pay a good dividend. Once will be able to see the landscape, of the state and in parts of western they succeeded, they were anx- plants and animals that play such Illinois. ious to protect their land and an important part in our natural Nest building in osage 'orange developed ways to prevent grass heritage. hedgerows, red cedars and rose fires. With the absence of fire, most. of the few prairies that had somehow escapedcultivation, eventually grew up in trees and brush.Asaresultthegreat Illinoisprairiehasshrankto .its present size of a few thousand acres sprinkled about the state. Fortunately,, a good amount of the remaining prairie is protected inIllinOis Nature Preserves, but more than- half of it remains in tinyparcels--liningoldrailroad beds, inhabiting hillsides too steep to mow and finding life in forgot- ten pioneer cemeteries. For the plants and animals that once thrived on the Illinois prairie, the loss of -most of their habitat has had varied effects. The prairie chicken clings- to life, on prairie sanctuaries managed for its benefit. The prairie white-fringed orchid struggles precariously on scattered patches of prairie and the wild bison has disappeared from theprairiestateforever. However, some species have been able to adjust to the loss of the prairie by moving to other "open LOGGERHEAD SHR IKE 17 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 15 bushesbeginsin March. Both adults are skilled architects and their nest of thick twigs lined with hair,rootletS or rags lasts well after the brood 6f four to six youngarehatchedinApril. During the breeding season, the maleis'very attentive to the female, bringing her choice bits of food,driving away crows and bluejays from' the' nest, and taking histurnsittingon theeggs. Loggerheads like to perch on high branches, fence posts and telephone wires where they. can keep an eye on the open country where they hunt. Their eyesight is extraordinary even for a bird. They have been known to lift off a perch and 'speed at 28 mph 'for 50 to 70 yards and snag a grass- hopper. The loggerhead shares a bad reputation with larger birds of . prey for killing songbirds. How- ever, birds make up only a small partoftheloggerhead'sdiet. Furthermore, shrikes have been helpful to farmers by eating mice and rats that ransack grain bins: The loggerhead shrike is an- other bird that has suffered from the effects of pesticides like DDT. Among other things, DDT affects SHORT-EARED OWL themotor patternsof young shrikes causing them to be less whistles out a long series of "toot- oldest owlet is sometimes up to "skilled in killing prey. In addition toot-toot." Below, hidden in gras- two weeks older than the young- tocarefullycontrolling thea- ses, a female short-eared owl is est.. During times of famine, the mount of pesticides allowed to watching and listening. To impress oldest sometimes will .devour its enter the environment, recovery her, the flying owl turns tail up smaller sibling. efforts for the loggerhead shrike in and plummets downward. Not At . the age of two to three Illinois call for managing areas for intending tofallfar,the owl weeks, the owlets 'begin to stray. hedgerow and thorny bush quickly swoops back upwards, off the nest and hideintall growths. braking his dive by pulling his grasses. Their cinnamon colored wings before him and clapping down usually protects them from SHORT-EARED OWL them together. From the-ground, discovery, but if they are detect- The short-eared owl inhabits the wing-clapping sounds like the ed, they roll over on their backs every continent except Australia. fluttering' of a small flag in the and "play possum." If this doesn't The short-eared migrates through wind, and looks as if the male is work, they continue to lay on Illinois during the spring and fall. applauding his own aerial court- their backs and strike upward with with a very small number of them ship display. their talons. To protect their nest, spending the summer in central The nest of the short-eared the ..adults also play-act. If their and northern Illinois, where they owl is a slight depression in a nest ,is threatened by an intruder, reside in marshy and fallow fields. grassyfield, usually girdled by one adult will rise to the air and A male short-eared owl flies weeds and an' occasional feather. dropandtumble towardthe slowly on silent, flapping wings The female lays four to nine eggs ground repeatedly, as if it has just toward_his destination. Reaching over aperiodof two weeks, been shot. The owls hope to 200 to 300 feet above the ground, beginningincubation when the convince the intruder to follow a the owls takes an easy curve and first egg is 10d. As a result, the seemingly wounded and easy, prey, 16 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 18 rather than continue its approach fifth jump higher so it ,can scout It can be helped by carefully de:-

toward the exposed nest. for danger. . ciding which maintenance policies Short-eared owls hunt during Disruption. of the natural hab- at the site involving mowing and the day and night, bid most itat has contributed more to the construction are best designed to commonlyduringthetwilight jackrabbit's backslide than attack restore foraging and 'cover areas hours of dawn and dusk. They from. other animals and disease. for the jack. hunt in groups in the winter and These factors have cut the hare's singly in the summer. The owls numbers drastically even in the 'PRAIRIE ROSE GENTIAN use two different techniques to states where it is most common, A raretreatfor the early share their chief quarry, meadow -Wisconsin, Minneibta and IoWa. settlers to Illinois was the prairie voles.One approachiscalled The :jackrabbit feeds on ,rosegentian, waving gently on "hawking" because the owl pa- grasses, clover, and some herbs.and thin-leavedstems,seemingto trols low over. the ground. Sudden- grains, but, during the winter, it blush red from its hiding place in ly, without warning, it drops its will resort to eating buds, bark, the, tall, golden grasses of summer. talons into the neck or back of a and twigs of woody plants. When Along with the .native prairie, mouse which is swallowed imme- the jackrabbit rests, it tucks its prairie rose gentian has all but diately. Other times, the owl waits irich, seven pound body into disappeared from the prairie,state. in. camouflage, its brown colors a stand'ofvegetation of in the Only one population is left in a blending into the stubble of a sand. These protective molds are prairie remnant that is kept free field.Inbothcases,the owl called "forina." Since the jack- fromdisturbancealongsidean usuallyturnshisbiground- rabbit is a hare and not arabbit, its abandonedrailroadbed. There ed head slowly like a radar anten- young are not born naked or blind may be moreprairierosein na to hear the slightest movement. but fully fUrred* and wide-eyed, southern Illinois, but no one has Biologists believe the exceptional- usually in June. yet.discovered it. lylargeearopenings on the The 'jackrabbit gets its name Littleis known abbut the short-eared owl help it to hear the froM the jackass because they natural history of this wildflower. rustle of a mouse hidden in thick. both have long, floppy ears. Hope- It stands from six to 16 inches vegetation long before it can see / fully the jackrabbit will 'prove as high. In July of its first year, the the prey. stubborn as its namesake in sur- plant comes up, puts on green Outside of the raccoon, which viving at the' Savanna Army Dept. leaves but dOes not bloom before eatsitseggsand young, the short-eared owl has few natural enemies. Recovery efforts for the short-eared in Illinois will center around protecting theOwl from senseless shooting and preserving large tracts. of grass and marsh habitats.

WHITE-TAILED JACKRABBIT During the 1940s and 1950s, white-tailedjackrabbits were a common sightamidthe sand prairiesof theSa,rannaArrriy DepotinJoDaviessCounty. Nowadays, jacks are rarely seen th6re and biologists fear that the only known population of white- tailed jackrabbits in Illinois is in gravedanger. Thewhite-tailedjackrabbit

has to jump for its life every day.. Dodging, spinning, bounding 20 feet at a time, and speeding up to 45mph,the jackrabbit often givesitspursuer the slip. Even - whennotbeingchased,the jackrabbit makes every fourth or WHITE-TAI LED JACKRABBIT I9 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 17 it. dies in the heat of late suminer. chickens are hustling onto an area eggs. On about the twenty-fourth-or In its second year, it comes up. and where they will "display" magni- twenty-fifth day of incubation, the blooms a glorious display of pastel ficent feats in order to outshine first egg is pipping, and the hen pink-red petals encircling a cup of each other in the eyes of the be_gins_re.athing_under_her,...breastLE. yellow stamens. During this 'sec- prairie chicken hens. Each cock every few minutes to turn the egg. ond summer, it also throws down pickshisownterritory,then The 'following day, a sizable hole its seeds. Itis important for the squaring' offat the others, he appears in the shell and the beak second year plant to hear its seeds thrusts his head forward, raises his of the embryo can be seen-inside before it dies because it will not tailandspreadshis* drooping the egg. The impatient hen picks sprout up a third time. wings. The feathers on his neck jut away pieces of shell from' the Because the prairie rose takes out like swords. The cock drums opening, as if trying to speed up

two growing seasons to produce hisfeet and begins to . dance, the process, but it is the embryo seeds, itisespecially vulnerable taking a short run,- pivoting and that finally cracks open its shell todestruction.Ifplantsare then spinnihg in a circle. All the and kicks free of its shell mem- picked, mowed, or grazed upon while,big orangeairsacs ,be- brane. Soon the chick is pecking during their first year, there are no side the neck are inflatedlike at its mother's beak and eye, and seeds to replace the lost plants. balloons and the cock uses this to climbing up her slippery feathered Botanists are working to save this cut loose with mighty "booffis". back. The remaining chicks hatch cplorful delight of prairies past by This is why the" breeding area is within a few hours of the first and' protecting the tiny railroad prairie called a "booming ground." the hen leads her 'brood away whereitnow livesfrom any When the hens arrive at the from the nest to search for food turbanees or changes in habitat. and covei7. Thechickshunt booming grounds, they seem to for insects, their main food, while act unimpressed asthecocks the hen eats seeds, grain, flowers, displayallthe more furiously, chasing them, whooping at them leaves and bud twigs. The' hen*, and even bowing to them by keeps her chicks under control by using her voice. If the chicks hear . laying their heads on the ground. her call "brirrb-brirrb," they usu- The hensusuallymate with ally come to her at once. On the one cock -butsometimesthey other hand, if a sharp-shrill ,call is do so with several. issur-d the:chicks cower down in After mating, the hen builds a the grass and freeze until danger nest of dead grass, stems and has Passed. During the hottest part leaves in a grassy area, and lays her of the day and the damp cold of

PRAIRIE ROSE GENTIAN GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN InearlyApriltheprairie chicken begins the peak of its annual mating ritual. Before dawn braks on the prairie, male prairie GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN 18 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 20 the night, the hen gathers her chicks about her body for protec- tion. .. As the. prairie has been turned intofarmlandand cities;---the prairie chicken has lost the habitat itneeds.There now arejust, slightly more than 300 prairie chickens left in `a 'state that once was home for millions. All but a `Prairie Chickens' lifehold is precarious' few of the surviving birds are liv- ing on or near sanctuaries managed by the. Illinois Natural History Survey and the. Illinois Depart- ment of Conservation in Jasper and Marion Counties. At the two ILLINOIS MUD TURTLE (with research transmitter) sites,which total about 1,640 acres, biologists work with area ILLINOIS MUD TURTLE farmers to grow nesting cover pilessandovertheentrance, One of the rarestanimals totally enclosing herself as she lays of red-top, timothy, brome and inthe United States, theIlli- nativeprairie two to six hard-shelled eggs. A grass.Managers nois mud turtle lives above the shoreline littered with broken egg make sure that the dead or residual ground less than 100 days each shellsmeans ihatskunks and vegetation from last years growth- year. raccoons have once again discov- is at least 12 inches high to shelter Hibernatingthroughout the ered her hidden stash of eggs. the female and her nest. winter, Illinois mud turtles make Hatching in September, the young Whilelargerpopulationsof their spring debut in April on turtles are about the same diame- prairie chickens exist in Oklahoma, the sandy regionsof. central ter as a quarter.. Attached to their Kansas and Nebraska, their hold on and northwestern Illinois. At first, lower shell is a bright yellow yolk life in Illinois is *precarious at, best. the waterinrie-arbysandy- sac, brimming with food for the Success at the Marion and Jasper bottomed ponds, lakes and back- youngster's first few weeks-of life. County sanctuaries is hampered by a waters stillis tbo cold for the Adults are absent from the combinationof adversefactors. temperatUre-sensitive turtles, hatching scene. They have been ' Predation upon eggs andyoung by but by mid-May, the turtles can buried in cool pouches beneath skunks, opossums and minks has be seen swimming through the the ground since late July and reached serious levels in the last few water or basking lazily in the sun. August, escaping the summer heat years.Aggreasiye ring-necked The water world suppliesthe and waiting for cooler weather. Pheasants areharrassing the turtles with a rich menu of fish, Sometimes,theturtlesremain chickens on the boonaing grounds crayfish,insects and fairy -underground through fall and into and laying their eggs in the chicken's shrimp. A favored food-gathering their hibernatiOn period: To sur- nests. Since the pheasant eggs hatch techniqueofthelittleturtles vive an',underground life for two two days sooner than the chickens', is to plow furrows through the thirds of the year, the turtles slow the chickens usually, abandon their silt and leaves at the bottom down their body functions to a own eggs and nest. Despite these pro- , of the pond, picking outbits bar. e idle, enabling them to survive blems,aspring1980census of dead fish flesh from the ooze, withlittlefood or water. The of the chickens on the sanctuaries Camouflaged againstthe 'dark Illinois mud turtle, however, showed a gain of more than 100 birds bottom-,theturtlesare hard has a unique abilityto catch since the spring of 1979. Encouraged tosee and catch.If captured food and eat while they are under- by thoseresujts-,management by humans orpredators,the ground. biologists and area citizens are work- turtlesejectaprotective,' All of the known Illinois mud ing harder every, day to see that the nauseating scent. turtles in the world live in Iowa, sanctuaries are kept free of distur- By mid- to late June, feinale IllinoisandMissouri.Iowais_ bance so that these last remaining turflesarebusydiggingout host to about 1,300 turtles at Big flocks of prairie chickens will be nesting caves in the sand. Aftera Sand Mound in eastern Iowa. The preservedinthistheirnative turtle has dug with her fore-legs Illinois population is considerably homeland. into a hole, she turns around and smaller. A 1979 exploratorytean- -1 21 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 19 ofbiologistscombingcentral a "poverty" habitat and simply farming practices have played a and northwesternIllinoisfound has vanished from these areas. part in this birds' demise, because only 37turtles,in 12 ,different During the.,first warn days of .upland sandpipers have been bene- locations.Fortunately, three lo- April, the underground roots of ficial to croplands since they eat catiOnsare > onstatemanaged Mead's milkweed pushtiny destructive grasshoppers, crickets, lands,whererecoveryrecom- sprouts up through the soil. By andweevils.Long-legged 'sand- mendations can more easily be June,the flowers arebursting. pipers even lend a helping hand to carried out. open. The blossoms are pollinated cattle by picking horseflies and At one 'location during the by one .or more insect species, (nit cattle ticks off their itchy hides. summer of 1979, biologists placed the identity and whereabouts of Upland-sandpipers spend their tinyradiotransmitters on the these mysterious benefactors is a summers in the central United backs of several turtles.. The fol- riddle. Botanists speculate that the States and Canada and arrive in lowing spring, biologists were able plants are faring so poorly either Illinois from their South American to locate the hibernating turtles because they are so scarce that the winter homes usually by May. beforetheydug. outof.the insects cannot find them or that Upon their arrival, wild courtship ground.Thisinformation .told the insect responsible for pollina- routines of hopping and twittering them. a great deal about the soil tio h has,disappeared. ateachother 'begin.Another and habitat conditions that the Learning more about how mating ceremony occurs when a turtlesrequireforhibernation. Mead's milkweed is pollinated is bird circles high into the sky and USing the radio transmitters, biol- an important step botanists want whistles a shrill cry that can be ogistscontinuedtotrackthe to take in helping it to survive. In . heard for a mile. Suddenly the turtles throughout the spring and the 'meantime, the prairie rem- love -struck,bird folds its' wings and summer to learn even fore about. nants .where this wildflower lives plunges to the earth like a falling the' criticallife requirements of inIllinois. should be protected star. On the ground or perched on the Illinois mud turtle. from habitat changes. a pasture fence post, sandpipers The overall problem for the Il- UPLAND SANDPIPER sing a more musical "love song" linois mud turtle has been the dis- "About 1880, when the sup- which is full of sweet, lullaby type appearance of its habitat, sandy ply of passenger pigeons began to melodies. - areas with shallow, undisturbed fail, and the marhetmen, looking A sandpiper nest is'a clump of ponds, as a result from agricul- about for some other game for dead grass set' into a dip in the tural drainage and cultivation. Bi- the table of the epicure in spring ground. Three to five young are ologists willtry to reverse this and summer, called for plover, hatchedinJune.The downy trend by protecting' these areas thedestructionof the upland chicks have such long legs that from construction,recreational plover (upland sandpiper) began they look almost like newborn activities, and agricultural chemi- in earnest. The price increased. calves. Adults, especially the male, cal,; and fertilizers. Inthe'springmigrationthe are fiercely protective of the young- MEAD'S MILKWEED birds were met by a horde of sters and if danger nears a family Mead's milkweed is one of the market gunners, shot, packed in group, the adult will sound a sharp rarest plants in midwestern United barrels and shipped, to the cities." alarm note and the young scatter States. A plant of the moist prai- .-from the notes of in many directions. As soon as the

rie, Mead's milkweed is known to Edward H. Forbush (1912) . chicks are ready to fly, in July or occur in five midwestern states. It Today's protective game laws early August, the birds gather in recently has disappeared from two would never allow the type of flocks, and begin' their 7,000-Mile of these states, but still is found in abuse the upland sandpiper once -trip to their winter homes, always two Illinois locations. In Illinois, suffered. Once plentiful, following traveling at great heights during Mead's milkweed grows along an two decades Of market 'hunting, the night with their beaks pointed exposed bluff in Saline County the upland sandpiper literally had like compasses toward the south. and in the wild grasses along a rail- been 'huntedtothe edge of The Department, of Conserva- road bed in Ford County. Mead's extinction. tionhasaskedamateurand milkweed probably never has been In recent history; the greater professional ornotholigists across common inIllinois, but it once problemfacedbythisprairie Illinoistowatchfor. breeding,. grew more plentifully in the moist nesting bird, which is the color of ,upland sandpipers in an effort to black soil. of prairie. As this fertile dead grass, has been widespread learn more aboutthisspecies' soil was taken up .by cities and. disappearanceofpasturesand nesting and habitat requirements. farms, habitats that once were lux- hayfields. Since farmers are graz- In the meantime, efforts to aid the urioushomesforplantslike ing less livestock, these areas have upland sandpiper, known as "field .Mead'smilkweed have become vanished to make room for row plover" or "prairie dove," will plantghettos.Thestubborn crop farming. concentrate on managing large Mcacl's milkweed refuses to live in Itisironicthatchanging tracts of grasslands. 20THESE PRECIOUS FEW 22 . WHITETAILED JACKRABBIT

PRAIRISIWHITE:FRINGED ORCHID

,

1. UPLAND 'SANDPIPER WHITE'' LADY' SLIPPER

THESE PRECIOUSFEW- 21 WHITE LADY'S outward like tiny white fingers. vomits and flops over on its back SLIPPER ORCHID A plantof wet grasslands pretending to be dead.A few The white lady's slipper is a along the Mississippi. Valley to minutes after the intiuder leaves, wonderfully attractive orchid--its the Great Lakes Region, prairie the snake slithers safely away. leafy -green stem standing about white fringedorchid was once Western hognose lives in sandy six to 10 inches high and sup- found across" the northern two- habitats near the 'Mississippi and porting a single flower. thirds ofIllinois.Prairie white Illinois Riyers in north and central Whitelady'sslippergrows fringed orchid grows in only five Illinois.The snakes are about 28 wild on prairiesof thestates or six patches of what is left of inches long, jet black 'on -their bordering the great lakes. Once a the Illinois prairie, usually along belly and heavily blotqhed with common ornament on theIlli- unmowed railroadbeds orin dark spots on their back.They nois prairie, this wildflower now pioneer cemeteries. have long teeth and strong jaws, isextremely, rare inthe, state. Prairie white fringed orchid is but rarely bite. The grasslands which one sup- aperennialplant,coming up Mating occurs in May. An tforted white lady's slipper now from the same root stalk each average of 24 eggs are laid in June liebeneath our sprawling cities June or July. In order to produce and July and hatch two or three. andfarms.As this orchid has aseed,itsflowersmust, be months later. become lessand lessavailable, pollinated by the hawkmoth. As Awakening from their winter gardeners and orchidists, eager to duskapproaches,theorchid hibernationinmid-April.,the captureitsbeauty, have raided releases an attractive .odor and snakes remain active until the first even protected sites to get the sweet- tasting nectar to entice the chillydays of October. This plants.Atthedozenorso nocturnal hawkmoth to its pet- stout, slow-moving snake leaves patches of prairie where white als. wide tracks in the sand. A dip in lady's slipper still is found, these Topreservethisbeautiful the sand indicates where a snake orchids sometimes total only two wildflower in Illinois, the prairie has used its turned up snout to dig or three plants, but continue to remnants where it now lives need out a toad. Two sharp teeth, one grow with vigor.Livingin to be protected. Managers are on each side of the snake's upper unfarmed and ungrazedwet working to preserve natural grass- jaw,- are used to puncture the skin grasslands,whitelady'sslipper lands by preventing the growth of a toad in order to swallow it,. avoids dry conditions.It often of trees and brush which shade because toads usually bloat their grows around the grassy edges of out the sun-loving prairie plants. bodies up with air when they are a bubbling underground spring. captured.Other menu items *for Each year white lady's slipper the Western hognose include comes up from the same roots WESTERN HOGNOSE SNAKE mice,birds,lizardsandsmall that sprouted the previous If the western hognose snake snakes. spring.These roots spread out was a poker player,itsurely Primary recovery recommenda- undergroundandtheplants would bluff every hand.When tionsforthisunusual snake come up in clumps. Its flowers confronted by an intruder, this involve acquiring and protecting bloom in mid-May and June and snake flattens it neck and head to sandy regions. A public informa- arepollinatedbysmallbees. look like a deadly cobra, hisses tion campaign is planned. to let Attracted by the sweet fragrance . and strikes. ferociously.But the everyone know that just beCause of the blossom, the bees enter harmless snake usually never hits many snakeslikethe western thelip or pouch in search of its would-be victim, and when the hognose have triangular heads or nectar, even though this orchid intruder is not scared away, the other frightening features or hab- produces no such treat. hognose snake plays its trump its,the vast majority of these, Foitunitely white lady's slip- card.Shaking its body about, it peacefulreptilesareharmless. perorchidgrowsinseveral Illinois NaturePreserves'and Forest Preserves. At these places, managers can protect, the orchid from disturbances such as con- struction, mowing, and collect- ing. PRAIRIE WHITE FRINGED ORCHID Prairiewhite fringed orchid has a leafy green stalk that grows from one to three feet tall and 10to30flowersthatcurl WESTERN HOGNOSE SNAKE 22THESE PRECIOUS FEW 24 Following is the complete listing of speciesof fauna and flora which of Illinois. Endangered species are endangered or threatened in the state are.any species which is in danger of extinctionas a breeding speciesin the state. Threatened spe6es are any breeding specieswhich is likely to become seeable future in Illinois. a state endangered species. within the fore-

ea

MAMMALS - ENDANGERRD FISH - ENDANGERED Gray Bat Bigeye Chub Tufted Bulrush Indiana Bat Bluebreast Darter Alkali Bulrish Eastern Wood Rat Bluehead Shiner Weak Buliush White-tailed Jackrabbit Harlequin Darter Bullrush (7 specie-s) Longjaw Cisco. Netted Nut Rush MAMMALS - THREATENED Bearded Wheat Grass River Otter FISH - THREATENED Marram Grass Bobcat Cisco Three-awn Golden Mouse American Slough Grass Rice Rat Longnose Sucker Drooping Food Reed Alligator Gar Manna Grass BIRDS - ENDANG Pugnose Shiner Northern Manna Grass Blacknose Shiner Double-crested Cormorant. Rattlesnake Grass Snowy Egret Bantam Sunfish Beard Grass Great Egret Lake Whitefish Salt Meadow Grass Little. Blue Heron' Lake Sturgeon Northern Panic Grass American Bittern Hemlock Panic Grass Black-crowned Night Heron MUSSELS - ENDANGERED Long-leaved Panic Grass Mississippi Kite Panic Grass (7 species) Higgin's Eye Pearly Hairy Bead Grass Cooper's Hawk Orange-footed Pimpleback Red-shouldered Hawk Pink Mucket Pearly Bead Grass (2 species) Swainson's Hawk Rough Pigtoe Pearly Grove Bluegrass Bald Eagle Bluegrass , Osprey Sampson's Pearly Weak Bluegrass Tuberculed-blossom Pearly Marsh Hawk White Cat's Paw Pearly Wolf's Bluegrass Peregrine Falcon White Wartyback Pearly False Melic Grass Greater Prairie Chicken Eastern Blue-eyed Grass Yellow Rail Mountain Blue-eyed Grass Black Rail Richardson's Rush Purple Gallinule PLANTS - ENDANGERED Vasey's Rush Piping Plover Marsh Horsetail Hairy Woodrush Eskimo Curlew Meadow Horsetail Running Pine Arror Grass Upland Sandpiper Common Bog Arrow Grass Wilson's Phalarope Ground Pine Bog Clubmoss Slender Bog Arrow Grass ,Forster's Tern Wild Hyacinth Common Tern Southern Grape Fern Daisyleaf Grape Fern Turk's CaP Lily Least Tern Indian Cucumber Root Black Tern Dwarf Grape Fern Log Fern Downy Solomon's Seal Barn Owl Nodding Trillium Long-eared Owl Oak Fern New York Fern Trillium Short-eared Owl Ill-scented Trillium Brown Creeper Long Beech Fern Rusty Woodsia White Camass Bachman's Warbler Powdery Thalia Yellow-headed Blackbird Virginia Chain Fern Moccasin Flower Bachman's Sparrow Trailing Juniper Jack Pine Small Yellow Lady's Slipper White Lady's Slipper BIRDS -THREATENED Shortleaf Pinc Red Pine Showy Lady's Slipper Common Gallinule Orange Fringed Orchid Bewick's Wren Small Burhead Wood Orchid Arrow head Veers Tubereled.Orchid Loggerhead Shrike Water Arum Hooker's Orchid Swainson's Warbler Thismia Prairie White Fringed Orchid Brewer's Blackbird Prairie Spiderwort Purple Fringed Orchid Fienslow's Sparrow Winged Sedge Crested Coralroot Orchid Golden Sedge Small Whorled Pogonia AMPHIBIANS. REPTILES - ENDANGERED Swollen Sedge Whorled Pogonia Dusky Salamander Plantain-leaved Sedge Snake-mouth Silvery Salamander Sedge (24 species) Yellow-lipped Ladies' Tresses Spotted Turtle Galingale Hooded Ladies' Tresses Slider Knotted Spikerush Spring Ladies' Tresses Illinois Mud Turtle Spikerush (3 species) Mud Plantain Broad-banded Watersnake Rusty Cotton Grass Grass-leaved Pondweed Eastern Ribbon Snake Tall Cotton Grass White-stemmed Pondweed Baldwin's Frimbristylis AMPHIBU.NS, REPTILES - THREATENED Spotted Pondweed Vahl's Frimbristylis Fern Pondweed Illinois Chorus Frog Umbrella Grass Western Hog-nosed Snake Stiff Pondweed Mottled Lipocarpha Vasey's Pondweed Whip Snake Grass Beak Rush Great Plains Rat Snake American Burreed Beak Rush (2 species) Green-fruited Burreed (Continued on page 26)

25 THESEPRECIOUS.FEW 23 t.

SANDPIP 4

4. 2%, ei .014/ virvire CHICKEN HUB

7;.Z\(.1.- / TERN 4'1'1 RIBBON NAKE )D COOP HAW

HIGGIN'S EYE PEARLY.MUSSEL

LITTLE BLUE HERON SILVERBE TM§postershows'°some`of theliving~,: > preulidemiee,thPileertis, the decline and.extinCtiOn;O(PiOrtr. species, and a lois in the diversity afir nature. Few people.realize that thlirkiii issta place, and what it means. With.Our limttek7.4 knowledge, we can't guess althe value plants and animals to the futUre..VIledegt,.. what endangered. species might disease, or provide a new food Odra population. Ecologists say we Mutt tain.'tl diversity of our living environmentiianlene for evolutionary change. 'Akour predent:World is product of past diversity,:so will the richeest a beauty of the tetere-dePehtLett..t90Y!qA40 There lie's° an.ethical ryas* : they have a right tosu a right, simply becautethefihave Pere pt! time, because they are aliveA's" .= OULDERED Why are these species in .treUblef.The; answer is that we are destroying they live, their habitats: We'can help species for the future by learning morea life histories, by providing.plaCe -.;f,-4 and by strengthening our statee lawtfoe. Hifi": jiiot, UD

ILUNOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY. IWNOIS ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTION BOARD ILUNOIS. DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION Water Willow Yellowwood Moschatel Boykin's Dioclea /American Burnet Blood leaf Beach Pea American Mountain Asb Bristly Sarsaparilla Prairie Clover Barren Strawberry Virginia Snakeroot Leafy Prairie Clover Dwarf Bedstraw Woolly Milkweed Buffalo Clover Balsam..to-C:1R Mead's Milkweed Horned Bladderwort *i:Auttincri Willow Oval Milkweed Flat-leaved Bladderwort 'Dune Willow Climbing Milkweed Small Bladderwort Wooly Buckthorn Allegheny Barberry Kiinkakee Mallow Pitcher Plant Speckled Alder Globe Mallow Mock Orange 'Yellow Birch Sweetfern Northern Gooseberry Gray birch Small Enchanter's Nightshade Early Saxifrage Stickseed Small Dundrops Water Hyssop Slender Heliotrope Broomrape Downy Yellow Painted Cup Marbleseed Clustered Broomrape Cow Wheat Arrowwood Large WoodSorrel Yellow Monkey Flower Royal Catchfly Golden Corydalis Large-flowered Beard Tongiie Great Chickweed Hale's Corydalis American Brookline False Heather. PLANTS.- THREATENED. Pink Corydalis Northern Grape Fern Pinweed Heart-leaved Plantain Water Marigold Small Plantain Bradley's Spleenwort Carolina Thistle Black Spleenwort. Silverbell Tree Hay-scented Fern Thoroughwort Bigleaf Snowbell Bush Clammy Cudweed Ground Juniper White Basswood Arbor Vitae - Tall Sunflower Rock Elm Lakeside Daisy Tamarack Wild Lettuce Hemlock Parsley Twig Rush Western Wild Lettuce Small Wild Carrot Spike Rush White Melanthera ErYngo Beaked Rush Water-pennywort Bulrush Prairie Dandelio n Mock Bishop's Weed (2 species) Missouri Orange Coneflower Nettle Rice Grass Goldenrod (2 species) Corn Salad (2 species) Swamp Red Iris Bunchberry Marsh Valerian Grass-leaved Lily Chckoo Flower Canada Violet False Asphodel Whitlow Grass Hairy White Violet Green Tritium Silvery Bladderpod Primrose Violet False Hellebore Hairy Marsh Yellow Cress Plains Violet Grass Pink Yellow Cress Phlox Spotted Corral-root Orchid Squirting Cucumb-er Sangamon Phlox Tubercied Orchid . Round-leaved Sundew Pink Milkwort Ginseng BuffaloberrY Halbred-leaved Tearthumb Narrow-leaved-Green Milkweed Bearberry Caret's Heartsease Climbing Milkweed Wintergreen Smartweed Jame's Clanitnyweed Highbush Blueberry Sour Dock Yellow Honeysuckle Large Cranberry Fameflower Red.:berried Elder Deerberry Jeweled Shooting Star Slender Sandwort Spurge Loosestrife Strawberry Bush Seaside Spurge Creeping Loosestrife False Tarragon American Chestnut Bird's-eye Primrose Aster Nutall's Oak Spotted Wintergreen Schreber's Aster Screwstem Pipsisseya Narrow-leaved Sunflower Prairie Rose Gentian Round-leaved Shinleaf Cliff Goldenrod Northern Cranesbill One-sided PYrola . Patterson Bindweed Shore St. John's Wort False Bugbone Sea Rocket Northern SL John's Wort Blue Jasmine Narrow-leaved Sundew St. John's Wort Letherflower Leatherleaf Kalm's St. John's Wort Spearwort Willow Oak Marsh St.,John's Wort Seaside Crowfoot Rock Chestnut Oak One-flowered .Hydrolea Supple-jack Blue Sage Phacelia Redroot Pale Vetchling Pale Hickory Alder Buckthorn Downy Willow Herb Sessile Water Horehound Shadbush Star-flower False Dragonhead Purple Avens Golden Seal White Mountain Mint Narrow-leaved Crabapple Prairie Buttercup Mountain Mint Cinqu'efoil Queen-of-the-Prairie Hedge Nettle Arching Dewberry Bog Bedstraw Hairy SYnandra Purple- flowering Raspberry Sullivantla Smooth False Indigo Rubus Odoratus Marsh Speedwell Price's Groundnut Dwarf Raspberry Stnrax Tennessee Milk Vetch Bristly Blackberry Water Elm Yellow Wild Indigo Dog Violet

*A complete listing of endangered andthreatened plants by common and scientific the publication, "The Endangered and names is contained in Threatened Plants of Illinois" availablefree from the Conservation Department address shownon the back cover of this booklet.

26 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 30 "Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question of whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth its cost in things natural, and free." -Aldo Leopold Sand County Almanac

The passenger pigeon, once numbering in the millions, to- day is gone from earth. Effort To Save Our Heritage. The Illinois Endangered Species Act was passed in or a.significant portion of its range. 1972. The Act established the Endangered Species ILLINOIS ENDANGERED SPECIES : Protection Board which is dedicated to the protection cies which is in danger of extinction as a bre-elding sper- of endangered and-threatened species in Illinois. cies in Illinois. The definitions of Endangered and Threatened ILLINOIS THREATENED, SPECIES: Any breed- species are as follows: ing species which is likely to become a state endan-. FEDERALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES: Any gered species within the foreseeable future in Illinois. species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. , The Department of Conservation 'is developing FEDERALLY THREATENED SPECIES: Any educational,research, management, and recovery species which 'islikely to become an endangered plans for these species. These programs will be suc- species within the foreseeable future throughout all .cessful if you and other Illinoisans contribute. What You Can Do For These Precious Few will (for birds during breeding sea- Preserving our remaining "Pre- Arrange programs on natural son only) help in evaluating their cious Few"endangered and resources for groups in your com- relative abundance and aid in plan- threatenedspecies'ispossible munity. ning management programs for their benefit. If you have informa- throughdedicated. commitment -Support legislation in the II- . -by government, private organiza- linois General Assembly and in tion on confirMed sightings of any tions and individual citizens. Congress that promotes-natural re- endangered or threatened species, Following are some ideas you sources conservation. contact: can do to help: --Learn to recognize Illinois' Department of Conservation --Join in organization interest- endangered and threatened spe- Endangered Species Cocirdinator ed -in natural resources preserva- cies. Information on sightings of .605 Stratton Office Building tion. endangered and threatened species Springfield, IL 62706 'THESE PRECIOUS FEW 27 32 Wildlife Abounds In Vanishing Wetlands Whenthelastglaciersin tion from pesticides, waste pro- inches of water for the shallow Illinois melted about 15,000 years ducts and silt. Additionally, the marshes, with vegetation including ago, they left behind 1.4 million vast majority of wetlands have grasses,bulrushes,cattailsand acres of lakes, rivers and wetlands been drained to make room for smartweeds; and areas with from that, later provided Illinois Indians farming and commercial develop- six inches to thfee feet or more of with fish, meat, fur and wild rice. ment: Today fewer than 500,000 waterfordeepmarshes,with, These rivers and lakes became acres of Illinois' wetlands remain. similar vegetation, but with more criticalarteriesforcommerce Plants and animals have been open areas and including pond- when early French and British set- hit hardest by the loss of these weed,coOntail,duckweed and tlers arrived in Illinois. The settlers wetland/water habitats. Almost all water lily), swamps (areas with up discovered the wetlands, especially plants and animals depend on to six inches of water commonly the river bottoms, contained in- wetland/water habitats for at least found along small sluggish streams crediblyrichsoilforfarming. some of their life requirements, in forested areas and eharacterized As word of the .rich Illinois while others depend solely on by shrubs and trees), and hogs soil spread back east, more and such habitats for survival. (areas,normallyfoundinthe more settlers arrived to take up Wetlands include: seasonally :glaciateddepressionsof north- farming, and increased amounts of flooded basins orflats (usually eastern Illinois which, because of land were drained, cleared and timbered bottomlands along larger poor drainage, almost always( are plowed. streams which are dry most of the waterloggedwithstandingor The generoui soil has been a year, but flooded during high river slowly. moving water and covered mixed blessing, however. Though , stages); wet meadows (seasonally with a spongy layer of mosses). Illinois has reaped great wealth flooded meadow bottoms where Water habitats in Illinois are from farming and related indus- vegetation is mostly grasses, sedges comprisedofopenwaterways tries its lakes and rivers have paid andrushes),shallowor deep such as lakes and ponds (bodies of th.' price by suffering heavypellu- marshes (marshes with up to six standing water), and streams and 28 THESE PRECIOUS FEW rivers (bodies of flowing water). countless ways. Wetlands absorb wildlife. Groupedtogetherbytheir flood waters, filter silt and acids Though the profits from wet- common bond of water, wetlands from water and continually, re- lands/water are tremendous for all and waterways provide some of charge water tables. Rivers, lakes livingthings,theseareasare the most productive homes in the and streams provide passage for themselves, terribly fragile living world' forplants and animals. commerce, opportunities for rec- systems and should be protected They also are beneficial to man in reation and supplies of fish and carefully from harm.

DUSKY SALAMANDER protected by a nature preserve, sunning stations on rocks -and PeopleinMedieval times the other colonies need to be logs every summer.But if the believedthat salamanders could protected from uncontrolled, tim- baskingturtlesaredisturbed, march through fire because their cool, ber cutting and water pollution. they quickly slide into the water slimy skin could shield them and hide under a bank, in weeds, from the flames. However, the SPOTTED TURTLE or buried in the muddy bottom. onlymagic performed bythe Theshellofthespotted Like most aquatic or semi-aquatic dusky salamander is a quick disap- turtle bears the colors of a jet turtles,' spotted- turtles swallow pearing act. These salamenders . black night sprinkled with bright insects,tadpoles,frogs, worms areextremelyhardtocatch, golden stars. and snails with a culp of water. because they slide so sleekly under The spotted turtle occurs in Spotted turtles are not rocks, through leaves and out of thenortheasternandeastern entirelywatercreatures,how- sight. United _States, and Illinois is on ever. They make slow, lonely The dusky salamanderis the extreme western border of its jaunts over land for no apparent abundant across eastern United range.A fewspottedturtles reasonexceptthatdryair States, but only a few colonies of living, in Illinois were recorded in evaporates pesky leeches, allow- this salamander live in extreme' 'the Lake Michigan area before ing them to fall off the turtles. southernIllinoisinPulaski Chicago and its suburbs became In June of1980, aspotted County. soheavilypopulatedandde- turtle was found in Will County Thisfatsalamanderisyel- stroyedmuchoftheturtles on Lockport Prairie, a valuable low to light red, to brown, 'and favored habitat. Ponds, marshes natural area that hosts' another has brown markings. The favorite and. swamps bordered by woods endangered species, leafy prairie habitat of the dusky isin and and meadows have fallen victim clover. If investigations at the around a rocky spring or stream to industrial and urban growth site show a population of Set snugly into a heavily forested during the last 30 years.As a spottedturtles,managerswill ravine.Thisquick,alertand result, spotted turtles have nearly work to protect their habitat, as hardy creature has no Problems vanished from sight in northern wellastheentireecosystem, snagging. spiders, -worms and Illinois. fromdevelopment andrecrea- even other salamanders for food. With the firstcrisp days of tional activities. During fall, the smaller female November, spottedturtlesbur- dusky lays er clutch of 20 to row into. muddy banks or pond SLIDER 30 eggs near the water. She stays bottomsforalongwinter's with her eggs, supposedly to pro- The Illinois slider is a mixed hibernation.Emerging in spring, breed of turtle, having developed tectthem, although she some- the turtles busy themselves -with timeseatsdead onesherself: from the hieroglyphic turtle and courtship and mating.. The male the Missouri slider. Etched upon After about two months the eggs turtle chases the female throtigh _ hatch, but creatures very different the green shell of the- slider are the water.Two males will fight . bright goldenlines, which 'look from the adult salamanders wrig- overafavoredmate, 'tackling gle away from the eggi' and into very much like ancient Egyptian each other and biting at the soft hieroglyphics., '- thewater.These larvae. have fleshy parts around the head and gills and breathe more like fish legs. During June, the female Thoughthesehybridturtles than salamanders. Before a' year digs a nesting hole in the earth once lived in many of the major isout,though,the larvae lose near the water.She lays two to rivers and lakes of southern Illin- their gills and become full fledged four eggs andburies' them ois, they now are very rare in salamanders. They may live up carefully,tohide them from Illinois. The last slider recorded to 10 years: marauding raccoons and skunk inIllinois was found at Horse- The dusky salamander is Hatching in September, th shoe Lake in Alexander County, very sensitive to habitat distur- young resemble the adults, but in 1951. When this lake went dry bances. Thoughonedusky are, adorned withfewer spots. in '1930, many of thesliders colonyinPulaski County -is Spottedturtlesvisitfa livingthere werekilled.Since THESE PRECIOUS FEW 29 33 tl)en,developmentatthe lake hasincreasedbecause the lake andthesurroundingareaare part of a popular state park and hunting area. Moreover; drainage operations at ponds and swamps inthe same region, as well as channelizationeffortsatsome nearbyrivers,havekeptthe sliderfrommakingastrong comeback in Illinois.

The yearlylifehistory*of the slider begins in spring when the turtles awaken. from winter. BLUEBREAST DARTER. hibernation. Approximately nine 'hard white eggs arelaid in June. HatChing in late summer, Tokeepfrom, beingswept LONGJAW CISCO the young turtles are round like downstream, bluebreast darters The longjaw ciscoformally silverdollars,andthecentral havelostthe gas - filled, swim was common in Lake Huron and keel of their shell is very weak. bladder that most fish have. The Lake Michigan, althoughthere making them easy prey for large bladder helps to suspend fish in is no valid record of this species from birds,fish,snakes andother the water and without this' buoy, the Illinois portion of Lake Michigan. turtles. Sliders feed on crayfish, darters sink to the bottom where Populations of longjaw ciscoes de- tadpoles.insects,deadfiSh the press of the current helps clined in these lakes because of and water plants. Even though them to rest securely on their intensive commercial fishing sliders hide from humans, these fins. For- extra protection from and predation by the sea lam- bodily colored turtles are easy to thedirectcurrent,thefish prey. , spot if they are caught off guard. sometimes hide between rocks or Although biologists now are behind large boulders. able to control the numbers of Biologistshopethatpeople sea lampreys with the use of a enjoying the outdoors 'soon will The spawning season of the specialchemical,thelongjaw> recognize some of these turtles blue breastdarteroccursin remains extremely rare in Lake once againinIllinois.Inthe May and June.Malesselect Michigan and Lake Huron. meantime. the aquatic homes of and defend small territories around sliders should be preserved and Very little information exists largerocks where femaleslay about the ecology of this north- kept readyfortheir homecom- hundreds 'of eggs. After the eggs ing. ern, cold water fish. Averaging hatch,the young darters tend 12-14inchesin -length,this to stay near smaller rocksin slender, silveryfish moves in- BLUEBRF,AST DARTER themore quietpartsofthe shoreinJuly and August to river. prepare for spawning. 'By No- Scattered populations of the Bluebreastdarters can live vember,ciscoeslay eggs over bluebreast darter are found in hard bottoms of sand or gravel in rivers of the east-central United onlyinclean,clearwater. States. The flashy bluebreast is Because of this, biologists regard depths ranging from the shal- worn only by the males of the darters as excellent indicators of lows to nearly 100 feet deep. the overall environmental quali- The,unguarded eggs scatter species. Decorated for the breed- across the bottom and hatch in mg season,themales of the ty. At present, the Middle Fork many species of darters parade Of the Vermilion river is a high 10 to 12 weeks. Both young and brilliant pinks, reds, blues and quality river; but it constantly is adult ciscoes feed on plankton, yellows. threatenedbychemicaland large crustaceans and occasional- pesticiderunofffromagri- ly on small fish. The bluebreast darters. living cultural land. To insure that the If the longjaw cisco is to be in the Middle Fork of the Ver- river continues to meet the' living protected, the sea lamprey must milion River in Vermilion Coun- requirements of' the bluebreast be kept under control.It also ty exist on.. the extreme 'western darter, and the other rare organ- would be wise to control fishes edge of the fish's range. These ismsfindingshelter there,its like alewife, smelt and bloater darters have adapted to liVing in waters should be carefully pro- chub because they compete with this swiftly moving rocky river. tected from pollution. thelongjawciscoforfood. 30 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 34 i RIVER OTTER fish and fish. Gallinules are uncommon mi- River otters- appear to love to Unfortunately,otterssome- grants in Illinois, but they nest in play: Splashing and swirling in the times compete with man for fish. some of the few remaining north- water, otters play follow the leader It is not unusual for an otter to be. easternIllinoismarshes. The and tag much like kids at a sum- killedfrombeingcaughton gallinule nest, built of grasses and mer swimming hole. It seems their fishinghooks orinnets,but rushes, is 11/2 feet in diameter and greatest joy is to zoom head first fishing accidents have been the floats on a platform of dry reeds. down a mud or snow bank. Otters leastof, theotter'sproblems. Theadultbuildsa gangplank carefully grease a good sliding bank Early settlers trapped the otter for leading from the edge of the nest by picking out every rock and stick. its valuable fur, depleting much of into the water so the six to 12 Then they pack the surface down by the population. During this centu- young can scoot in and out of the sliding' down the bank over and ry, waterways have been polluted nest soon after they hatch. Occa- over with their slick wet bodies: and natural shorelines destroyed sionally when young birds are in River ottersliveinIllinois totheextent thatottersare the.water they do not notice.the alongtheMississippiandIlli- unabletofind decent , shelter.. approach of enemies likelarge nois rivers, and in some smaller -Trapping otter ,perw,is-illegal, snakes, frogs or turtles. A quick waterways of southernIllinois. and 'conservationists are Arying'to swim, a race Liii--the gangplank and River ottersprefertolive .ir"----Cle;;1up the Illinois and Missis- a dive under the hen's warm wing woody areas beside clean water. sippirivers,aswellasother savesthelifeof- many young Their den is dug into a shoreline waterways. If clean, fresh and gallinules. The 'Parent carefully or stream bank, or into the hollow ,protected places for the otter to dries the black, downy chicks and base of a tree standing along the live and play. in can be brought caresfor them until. they are shoieline. back, this species will stand .a good about one month old.At that Like an underground cave, the chance of making a comeback in time the adult is ready to mate entrance to the den alwaysis Illinois.' again. under the water surface.' This pro- COMMON GALLINULE Gallinules move about a marsh tects the two to four pups from Commongallinuleslivein by swimming secretively through predators such as bobcats,-.coy- deep water marshes, amid the thedenserushesandcattails., otes, great horned owls and bald cattails; bulrushes, and scattered When standing still, they use their eagles. Young otters stay with muskrat houses. The gallinule lont toes to keep from sinkingin their parents for a full year in sometimesisconfused with a- the deep mud.These toes also ordertolearnthesecrets of nother marsh associate, the famil- come, in handy when the gallinules swimming andhuntings.Before iar American coot, but the 14-inch, pop out of the water and scurry the year is up, an otter pup, grows black, slender and sharp gallinule 'over lily pads in search of snails, to be 3'/2 to 4% feet long, an has an unmistakable bright scarlet insects and worms. Gallinules also excellent swimmer and a success- .bill, while the coot has a white feed on seeds, roots and the soft ful hunter of snails, clams, cray- bill. juicypartsofwater plants. They fly feebly and awkwardly, danglingtheirlegsabout and landing in an almost belly-flop manner. Come fall, gallinules leave the marshes of Illinois and head for winteringgroundsfartothe south. Illinois' deep water marshes must be preservedif the state hopes to continue attracting these birds for summer nesting.

EASTERN RIBBON SNAKE TheEasternribbonsnake makes only one demand--a place to live that is blessed Arith clean,

undisturbed water. . The marshes and prairie ponds common toearlysoutheastern Illinois were ideal homes for this RIVER OTTER .snake. But after the turn of the THESE PRECIOUS FEW 31 century, towns, cities and large early morning and early evening, farms swallowed up many natural sounds like a stake being driven wetlands. Sometime during this into deep mud, a second name for process, the Eastern ribbon snake the bittern is 'stakedriver.' disappeared fromsight. -Ifthe Americanbitterns have be- snakestilllivesinIllinois,its come rare in Illinois because so whereabouts are unknown. many marshes have been drained Asitsnameimplies,the to make way for roads, houses, Eastern- ribbon snake lives in the shopping centers and cropland. eastern half of the United States When a marshis drained, the and is similar in appearance to a creatures that call it home usually longstrandof striped ribbon. cannot find another nesting shel- The E-fistern ribbon snake grows ter. As a result no young are raised to be18-26 inches long, with to carry on. To aid bitterns and itsslendertail making up at other marsh inhabitants, marshes least athird of its body.Its inIllinois should be preserved. three stipes are yellow and its belly is yellowish or greenish. - KANKAKEE MALLOW Ribbon snakes favor wetlands Kankakee mallowbears a that are flourishing with plants strong resemblance to the holly- and sunshine. The snakesare hock you might have growing, in .good. at climbing over logs and your garden. Bekinging to the rocks, and they are speedy swim- same family, both plants are mers.They.feedprimarilyon known for their tall, many-leaved small fish, frogs and'salamanders. stem and grand showy-flowers. Their young_ are born in July or AMERICANBITTERN Onlytwopopulationsof August.. .. Kankakee mallow are known to T . Inhopes Eas-:ern like.a dagger. exist in the world. 'One is on that the .A .,.. 1 ,. ribbon snake may still. livein The 4thilt bitmszfood_to tle-,....-Peter's Island in Virginia and the Illinois wetlands should be given young-..byla --its-beak doiniii.'on,.,;',.:_the.zois foundon a small bed,-;.; the ..:-nes. .. Haking its body ter-' -4-:,4)c, high priority as important area to --....,,...r--K-.?-..t --': rislatiC:in ..,theKankalke preserve in the future.. %.4,,rificallyt,Ia, 1 and regurgitating a freshly RR/ in...4,;,Karikakee' \Cc urity: '-,-eaught meal of fish and frogs. The Growing on the sniall cliff§ and young bird sticks its beak into the in the abandoned farm pastures parent's beak and sucks up the ofAltorf'sIsland,Kankakee AMERICAN BITTERN' meal. wallow thrives in good numbers TheAinericanbitternisa The behavior of mating bitterns alongside Carolina rose, redbud, master of disguise and hard tc isspectacular. Two birds stalk goosebe'rry,hickoryandSt. spot. Looking for a bittern means slowly toward each other and John's wort. Mainly because of putting on hip boots Wand wading stop about 20 feet apart. Quickly, the Kankakee mallow's presence intoa marsh. Thisbirdsits they rise into the air and fly at on, the island, Altorf's was one of quietly andtriesto imitate a each other at .full speed.In mid the first natural" areas in Illinois clump of cattails by pointing its air, about six to eight feet off to be brought under the protec- slender neck and bill upwards. The the ground, the birds tankle to- tionoftheIllinoisNature rusty-coloredstreaksalongthe gether at beak and foot. Sudden- - Preserves System, and today is neck helps camouflage the bird. ly,theybreakapart andfly .. known as the Kankakee River American bitterns .nest in some back to their starting places, only Nature Preserve. of the larger marshes in northern to repeat the showy routine after On both skies of the island, andcentralIllinois. The nest a short rest. thelowliffiestonebluffsare isbuilt of loosely tangled reeds The. bittern is a uniqUe singer; decorated with the large purplish and floats on the water. The three sucking in air and lifting its head, flowersof Kankakee mallow. to five young are awkward, ugly a bittern starts with a few short , The blossoms, which bloom in chicks and if the female parent is notes that sound something like a . June, are ready to bring forth. away, theyareeasy . preyfor hiccough. After the lungs are full, their fruits by August. Tucked minks,muskrats, water snakes, it' belts out: Plunk-alunk.'The within each floVver, a capsule- hawks and owls. When the adult pumping sound has earned the shaped green fruit about the size bittern is at home, however, only bittern the nickname of 'thunder of a quarter is turning brown a foolish enemy will confront this pumper.' Since the thudding with ripening seeds. Old empty fierce fighter. Its bill can cut a foe voice, heard from a distance in the fruit skins scattered about the 32' THESE PRECIOUS FEW 36 DUSKY SALAMANDER

I I - 1116wit'"

3.7 _ Waning. Wetlands DOUBLECRESTED Support Some Of immoloziam `These Precious Few' 3.

BLAMCROWNE6 NIGHT HERON

, 41*

LITTLE BLUE- HERON COMMON GALLINULE

KANKAKEE MALLOW

HIGGINS EYE t. LAKE.STURGEON PEARLY MUSSEL4- -37 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 33 6 ground are lastyears evidence wooden nest platforms was in- that the fruit soon will open and stalled in the river near the dead scatter its seeds to the wind. trees in the hope that the cormor- Botanistswillcontinueto ants would switch over to the monitorthehabitatof- the `artificial tree' for nesting. During Kankakee mallow to insure that the late spring of 1980, 36 cor- it *continues to reproduce at a morant nests were counted at the healthyrate.More and more site, including ten nests on the plants are growing in the old artificial tree. farmfieldseachyear,even Cgrmorants arrive at the Car- though the- fields, are beginning roll County site each April and to grow up in bushes and small quickly begin courtship activities. trees. - However, if the mallows Beating the water wildly with are to linger there in the years to their wings, the courting birds come, these upland pastures will HARLEOUIN'DARTER attempt to impress each other by have to be managed as open threatened by growing silt build- paddling along the surface, diving areas. up and pollution from agricul- underneath,surfacing,spinning tural chemicals and insecticides. about wildly and playing catch HARLEQUIN DARTER The Embarras should be kept with floating debris. Harlequin darters are among free-flowingandascleanas The female 'cormorant builds a the rarest of the 148 species of possible to protect not only the well-madenestofsticksand darters.An uncommon fish in harlequindarter,butseveral weeds. 'When one bird comes to the southwestern United States, otherrareanimalsthatfind relieve the other on the nest, the the harlequin darter was discov- refuge in its waters. ' incoming bird bows royally to its ered for the first time in IllinoiS DOUBLE-CRESTED mate, and both birds step off the in 1964. Found along a 20-mile CORMORANT nest. Using a series of snakelike stretch of the Embarras River in Black and gleaming with oil, movements, one bird winds its Cumberland and Jasper counties. double-crested cormorants appear long neck totally around its mate, harlequin darters never have been to be covered with scales as they caressing it from head to tail until found elsewherein the state. sit perched in dead trees. Looming the pampered partner settles down Preferring to live in clean water forward on webbed feet, they coil onto the nest. Theyoung, when movingswiftlyover a sandy theirnecks- back holding open first hatched are naked, blind and bottom, harlequin darters make pairs of arched wings. Their long so helpless they cannot lift their their home in piles of drift logs, hook-tipped beaks cut by sharp own necks. Within a few days, sticks and other debris. jaggededges,theyseemlike they are covered with a jet black A handsome fish, the reddish animals left over from the prehis- down that attracts and absorbs tan harlequin darter grows to be toricpast. .However,thereis heat so strongly that the young from one and orhalf inches to nothing mysterious about these are easily scorched if not constant- three. inches long. Across its creatures, they're just bathing in ly shaded by the adult. At first the back are stripes and blotches that thesunalongtheMississippi young birds drink fishy soup from are brown in the summer but River, opening their wings ,to dry. the adults beak, but after a few bright green in the winter. Very Cormorantsoccupymany weeks they can reach down the little is known about the breed- parts of North America. They adults throat for larger bits of fish.. 1 inghabitsofthisfish,but require waterways for fish feeding, When the yming are fully, feather- biologists believe the male keeps androcks,cliffsor treesfor ed they take to the water. Soon an his bright green stripes through nesting. If a tree is not dead when opening in their nostrils closes so the spring and summer season. a colony of cormorants move in, it that they can dive beneath the Asif dressed royally for the soon dies from the bird droppings. water. A young' cormorant* can occasion, the male also wears a InIllinois,cormorants nestin catch fish and swim before it can bright red-orange band through three dead trees sittingin the fly. his first backfin. Mississippi River in Carroll A fishing cormorant sits low in No otherIllinoisriveris County. Several years ago, biolo- the water, then turns tail up and suited so Well to the needs of the gists determined that these trees dives deep and stays under water harlequinasisthe Embarras. eventually wouldfallintothe for a long time. With its long The water is clean and clear and Water or be sheared off by floating slender bodyandpowerful, the wooded areas along the river ice, eliminating the only known webbed feet, the cormorant easily provide the sticks and leaves into nestingsitefor cormorants in outswims mostfish,especially whichthesedartersliketo Illinois.During thewinter of when it flaps its wings and 'flies' tunnel.Yet today the river is .1976, a telephone pole rigged with underwater. Surfacing with a fish 34 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 38 caught sideways in its 'beak, the cormorant -tosses the fish about until it lands headfirst in its throat so the fins do not tear the cormor- antsthroat. When leavingthe water, a cormorant spatters across the surfacelike an overloaded afial plane trying to pick up speed for take-off. Towards the end of the summer, the young birds join the adults in a V-formation and the birds wing a slow, heavy flight to the south Atlantic or Gulf Coast for the winter. Success with artificial nesting structures at the Carroll County colony has been so encouraging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has erected three more structures in the river. A pole already has been installed at Shabbona Lake where cormorants have' been re- portedbutnotseennesting. Biologists hope that a combina- tion of nesting poles and protec- tion for their habitat will strength- DOUBLECRESTED CORMORANT enthenestingpopulationof double-crested cormorants in Illi- Illinois,livinginsomeclear BLUEHEAD SHINER nois. streams in Indiana and in Ozark BIGEYE CHUB streams of Missouri. The blueheadshiner was discoveredinUnion County's The bigeye chubisdistin- Wolf Lake in, guished by its unusually large eyes Inadditionto pure water, the mid-1950's. and a black stripe running from idealbigeye, chub habitat must It was the first time that this head to tail. fish had been recorded anywhere Because it depends have a healthy supply of aquatic. in the world. on its great eyes to find food, this vegetation.These plants attract chub must live in sparkling clear insectsforfishestofeedon. Tragically, Wolf Lake has since water, bedded with clean sand or Though the bigeye' usually lives become an environmental catas- fine gravel. near the rapids of a stream, it trophe.On two occasions since Massive amounts of soil. run- avoids the direct current, keeping 1974, railroad cars moving along -,off, from farmlands into streams more to the gently rippling areas. the edge of the lake have over- have ruined much of the habitat turned and dumped deadly chemi- of the bigeye chub throughout ,its Bigeye spawn in late spring or calsintothewater,causing central and eastern United States early summer. The slender, silvery massive fish and vegetation kills. range. Coveringthebottom minnows grow to a maximum of In1975,a waste spillfrom a with layers of silt, these runoffs about three inches by the end of pc. order company further polluted reduce the amount of diSsolved their second summer. the 'lake.Since these accidents, oxygen in the water and muddy fishbiologistshavebeendis- the water, making it hard for the High quality water conditions appointed in their efforts to find bigeye to, see the tiny inverte- vill have to be restored toour the bluehead shiner. .Firates it-feeds upon. -creams,especiallythe Vermil- Once anabundantfishin Embarras, and Little Wabash Biologists believe that a small southern and eastern Illinois, tho rivers,if the bigeye chub is to community of bluehead shiners bigeye has been found in recent mal:.!a comebackinIllinois. may still be alive in Wolf Lake. It years only in the Salt and Middle It will be especially importantto is probably the last remnant ofa forks of the Vermilion River.In continueandexpandthe 'soil once widespread population which fact, this fish may be gone from conservation effortscurrently eventually died off as the environ- Illinois. No *specimen has been being prac;Aced bymany farmers mentchanged. Theunique found since 1961.Bigeyes still are inorder tocurbtheharmful habitat of Wolf Lake.and the lack- foundintwostatesbordering effects o3Sil runoff. of human interference prior to the THESE PRECIOUS FEW 35 pollutionspills are keys to the tiny, fish's survival there: Wolf Lake is an oxbow of the Big Muddy River. The 1,000-year- oldlakeislong and narrow, and is thick with lily beds and American lotus. There are no cypress and tupelo,which are common planti.inother ,local lakeswhich donot. have ,the bluehead shiner. Fortunately the blue-capped, minnow-sized shiner now has been foundinArkansas, Texas and Louisiana. Biologists theorize that if more lakes with habitat like Wolf Lake'sarestudied, new populations of the bluehead will Ar'llitkom be found in Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. Biologists need to find speci- mens of the bluehead shiner in Wolf Lakeinordertolearn more about the fish's life require- ments.While finding a bluehead might help biologists determine what is needed to save this fish, Aollirr" biologists, are worried that their BALD EAGLE effortS to net a specimen have ,until hunger compels them to look -hatched in April or May, are covered failed, simply because they have forfloatingdeadfishor the with down, but the young birds not searched the deep waters of carcasses of deer, rabbits, or ducks quickly put on mottled brown the lake.Future efforts to search lying on the ice or along the for the bluehead shiner will be feathers.It will take three y_ears shoreline. Other times, the eagles for the juvenile birds to grow the concentrated in the deepest parts mount to the sky and scan the majestic plumage of the adult of the lake to find this rare fish. water for surfacing shad or other with a bright white head, and tail. -fish.Diving down, the eagle snags Only BALD.EAGLE one or two of the thefish withits' talons. In strongest eaglets survive.Their In 1782, Americans chose the January and February, when the time in the nest is full of play baldeagletosymbolizetheir rivers freeze over, the eagles move and exercise, walking and jump-, nation.The Illinois school child- to areas be w ms where the ing about, and learning to use ren of 1976 must have believed water is kept movin and unfroz- their talons by picking' up and they were helping to carry on the en. tossingsticks.Gradually,the dream of their ancestors when Bald eagles rarely use Illinois 'young begin to jump above the they contributedtheir pennies, asanesting ground, although nest a few feet and spread their nickels and dimes to help buy the nesting. was common when their wings.As the days pass, their 0E.k Valley Eagle Refuge in Rock numbers were greater.Biologists . jumps get higher and higher and Island County and the Prairie State believe that if the _population of their wingspread gets' closer to Eagle Refuge in Hancock.County. eagles increases across its range, the seven foot spread of the More bald eagles spend the eagles may begin nesting in Illinois, adult. Finally an adult bird winter in. Illinois than in any other again.But for the present, most hovers high over the nest with a state. During 1978, more than of the eagles that winter in Illinois taste-tempting fish.The eaglets 1,400 bald eagles were counted leaveforWisconsin,Michigan, jump high for it and end up along the Mississippi and Illinois Minnesota and Canadafor the opening their wings and follow- rivervalleysandonwildlife *nesting season. ing their parent in graceful full refuges in southern Illinois. The Eagles mate for life and use flight. best way to spot bald eagles is to the same nest for many years. A Across the bald eagle's North look for their snowy heads dotted typicalbaldeaglenestisbig American range, its problems are high inthe trees along water- enough for a couple of men to many. Their habitats have been ways. Here the eagles sit for hours stand in. The two to three eaglets, disturbed or ruined by construc- 36 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 40 s. tion and human activity.The softly;. the older bird returns and is found from the Gulf of Mexico -pesticide DDT .is banned now, stands on the( edge of the nest. up the Mississippi River to Horse- but in some parts of the. country Raising its black crest, the adult shoe ,Lake in southern Illinois. No DDT still works its -destruction fluffsoutitsfeathers, halfway snakeshavebeensightedat upon eagles, killing many birds spreads.its wings, shakes its body Horseshoe Lake and nearby ponds and so completely robbing others and regurgitatses a fishy dune of Alexander County during the, of their calcium supply that their the youngsters:If the young are past 20 years, but biologists are. eggs often are too fragile to keep very small, the .adult first digests hopeful that the snake stillis from cracking. the food, th&I usingits beak there. -- Since Illinois is fortunate to like a bottle,. pours fishy soup into The broad-banded watersnake host so many of the eagles during the mouth of the young bird. At isidentified by the wide dark thewinter, many Illinoisans two to three weeks of age, the, bands wrapped around its -yellow feel we have a national responsi- young birds clamber out onto_the to red-brown body. The snake has bility to ptotect the biid. Most branches. Though they are skillful a triangular head and a hefty important, eagle refuges inIlli- climbers, an over-confident young \ body.Females give live birth to nois must be protected from birdsometimeswillslipand - 10 to 15 wriggling young in late disturbancebecausethe' birds beccime helplessly caught in' bind summer. -will leave if-bothered. Careful-; -of-branches-.------The bones-in-the-head-and jaw monitoring of water pollution Black-crowned night herons of the broad-banded water snake and the use of pesticides also is fish in a different sort of way from are loosely fittedto. allow the needed. In addition, citizens and other herons. Instead of waiting mouth to stretch widely as the law enforcement officialscan motionless for prey, night herons snakegobbles downitsfood cooperate to stop illegal shooting stalk about, briskly scouring the whole. A great swimmer, the and trapping of the bald eagle. water for a victim. A quick sweep snakeeasily '- cancatchfrogs, of the curved neck, and the heron salamanders,crayfish and fish. BLACK-CROWNED vacuums up a fish or frog. Many people resent the snake NIGHT HERON Night: herons also are faster, because they figure itkills too Black-crownednightherons more graceful flyers than most many fish. However, broad-banded live in most of North and South herdns. In flight, they 'can sail snakes, like most other snakes America. Thebirdtakesits as smoothly as gulls and soar to kill mostly weak and sick fish. name from feeding mainly under great heights like hawks. To- Doing this, they help keep fish the cover of darkness. Squawking wards the end of the breeding populations in control, and rid in full cry as it flies about, this season, herons are ready to put the fish population of contagiously small, stout heron claims nick- their flying talents to test. Scatter- sick members. names such as Quawk, Squawk ing away from the rookeries in The broad-banded watersnake and Qua bird. late summer and fall, the herons often is confused with the poison- Rare in Illinois, night herons search for new feeding spots and ous cottonmouth.However, the nestina few .colonies in the eventually wing their way into the broad-banded snake is harmless. If northeastern ancentral parts of southern United States ,and South a human' attacks this snake, the the state.Nesting colonies are America for the winter. biteitinflicts may be painful, called heronies or rookeries, and Black-crownednightherons but it is all in self-defense.The canbefoundinbottomland once nested commonly through- real preference of the broad-band- forests near water or in marshes. out Illinois. Though the birds ed snake is to peacefully bask in' Food-gathering spots such as havenaturalenemies suchas the sun on a floating log, and slink ponds or lakes must be nearby. hawks and raccoons, their greatest into the water without a ripple or At the Illinois rookeries, which -foe has been man. Urban develop- sound if a human, or predator can be shared with other herons ment has ruined many feeding and approaches. and egrets, a couple hundred adult nesting spots. These birds also are The recreational use of Horse- andyoung herons crowd the threatened by the use of pesti- shoe Lake probably is one reason limbs of small shrubs and trees. cides. Senseless harrassment of why the broad-banded watersnake Amidthesouraromaof the birds continues at one or more has all but vanished thereThe rotting fish and bird droppings, of the rookeries left in Illinois. Department of Conservationis the month of June in a heron Survival of these herons in the working to make the popular rookery abounds with the sounds future will depend on protecting statepark apopular spofor ofmottledbrown youngsters. their habitats from construction, recreation, but also a safe area for Bouncing about in their loosely pollution and human- activities. fish and *mildlife. By managing the built stick'cradles, the young birds BROAD-BANDED area to suit man's needs, as will as impatiently await the return of WATERSNAKE those of other life forms finding thehuntingadult. Croaking The broad-banded watersnake refugethere,the broad-banded

. THESE PRECIOUS FEW V 41 watersnake can be assured a sui,;able home in Illinois. Even if only a few snakes are left, they can, with the aid of a healthy habitat, keep a foothold in Illinois and possibly make a comeback in the future. LAKE STURGEON Belongingtoa group of primitive fishes that evolved about 300 million years old,' sturgeon always has been highly prized by man. In 'ancient Rome, sturgeon was reserveddor the grandest ban- quets and Henry I of England banned the eating of sturgeon at LAKE STURGEON any table except his own. The early American colonists put up upstream in late spring to spawn. ern reaches where it survived by thousandsofkegsof cured During the mating ceremonies, filteringtinybits, oforganic sturgeon each season, and today, the fishes frequently jump out of material from the water.When sturgeonfleshstillishighly the water, splashing and twirling theseriverswerelocked and sought and sturgeoneggs are about in a noisy display. The dammed,' their northern 'portions desired the world over as caviar. female rubs her belly over rocks became- morelikelakesthan and stumps to force her eggs out. rivers. As a result, the currents in Lake sturgeons range' across A mature female may lay as theseareas changed from fast- central Canada and down a broad many as 885,000 blackish' eggs, movingtosluggish,andthe triangle to Alabama. Once com- each one enclosed in a sticky slow-movingcurrents could no mon in Lake Michigan and in the envelope that adheres to nearby longer maintain the habitat need- large' rivers of Illinois,several objecti. After the male swims ed by the Higgin's eye pearly environmentalproblemshave over the eggs and fertilizes them, mussel. caused lake sturgeons to become the eggs hatch in just five -days. The life cycle of the Higgin's extremely rare in Illinois. Water The tiny larvae' which hatch are eye involves many stages. Mussels pollutionandheavysiltation lessthanone-half inchlong. do not reach sexual maturity until have driven sturgeons from the Cleaning up our water is the they are four or more years old. rivers and lakes where they once keytopreseriiingthelake At thattime,a male mussel fed over the clean sandy bot- sturgeon and all other fishes in releases sperm intothe water. toms. Man -madedamshave Illinois. We, also need to review Somewhere clownstreara,-a female blocked their passage to spawn- carefully any plans to channel, draws water laden with sperm into ing grounds, and sturgeons, have dam or change in any way the her incurrent opening or siphon. suffered from over-harvest by natural flow of our lakes and The sperm meets 'her eggs on l?er commercial fishermen. Over-har- rivers. gills and here the fertilized eggs vest is especially harmful because develop into unique 'larval forms adult sturgeons cannot reproduce HIGGIN'S EYE PEARLY MUSSEL known as glochidia.These tiny until they are 15-20 years old. If During the winter, when the larvae are shaped like a miniature too many older fish are taken water is low or when its habitat is replica of the adult.But the from the water, re-population is threatened physically, a Higgin's glochidia are different from the hampered. eyepearlymussel'clamsup,' adults,lackingaheart,liver, Growing to a maximum of refusing to grow. Upon the return digestive tract and other organs. eight feet and. a- weight of 310 offairconditions, the mussel, When thegillsof the female pounds, this-fish .slowly swims- a breaks its rest period and as it become 'gravid' or bursting with few inches above the bottom. begins to grow its shiny; porcelain mature glocidia, she is ready -to Dangling from its long snout are colored shell, a heavy black line is release them. four, fleshy barbels. These sen- formed from deposits of lime. Sincetheglochidia- cannot sory organs aid in feeling out, The. Higgin's eye pearly mussel swim or crawl, the female Higgin's morsels of food. Once a target is is a rarely found native of the eyehasdeyelopedaremark- located, the mouth puckers up, IllinoisandMississippiRivers. able way of sending them on their pushesforward and sucksin Before these rivers were tampered way.She opens her shell slightly worms, clams, snails or insects. with by man, Higgin's eye resided and sticks out two fleshy flags of Lake sturgeons often swim commonly in, these rivers' north- tissue.Each flag has a black dot 38THESE PRECIOUS FEW 42 on one end and when the female moves them around, they look like two tiny fishbattling the current. When a fish Strikes at the mockfish,thefemalesnaps her shell, squirting a stream of glochidiaaboutandintothe mouth of the fish. The fish now will serve as a host for the still developing larvae. However, not all fish are right for the larvae of Higgin's eye:If the larvae are to sv.rvive,-a sauger must be the-fish to receive them. The glochidia at- tach themselves to the fish by _clamping down the edges of their shellstothegills -orfinsof the fish. Soon the tissue of the fish builds up around the glochidia forming-a cradle-like cyst wherein they begintogrow. Feeding on the tissue of the fish,- the glochidia develop their vital organs and feet. After several weeks the glo- chidia, drop from their host to the bottom of the river, and .become free-living mussels. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicehasformed .aUpper YELLOWHEADED BLACKBIRD Mississippi River Bivalve Recov- predators. The yellow-head nest is the other down and pecks at ery, Team to develop a restora- fastened to cattails about one to himusually for no more than tion plan for the Higgin's eye and three feet above the water. WoVen about 30 seconds. other endangered mussels. As a of sedge grass, the inner cradle of The recovery plan for the memberofthatteamand the nestis padded with finer yellow-headed blackbird calls for through efforts of its own, the grasses for the three to five young. preserving their favored habitat, DOC will be working to protect the deep-water marshes. areas of suitable habliat for the Yellow-heads feed on plants Higgin's eye pearly mussel. and insects that live in the marsh. In the fall, however, the birds . YELLOW-HEADED venture out onto nearby fields ALLIGATOR GAR BLACKBIRD and eat leftover grains and seeds ' Alligator gars live from the Despite the elegant plumage and 'do the farmer a favor by Gulf of Mexico tosouthern of the male yellow-headed black- eating many of the insects that Illinois in backwaters, lakes and bird, it sounds out over marshes plague cropstands. bayousalongtheMississippi with rasping croaks and squeaks in River basin. Gars are an ancient crude contrast to the sweet song of Even though yellow-headed group- of fishes with fossil forms its .cousin and marsh roommate, blackbirds nest in colonies, each recorded that are at least 100 the red-winged blackbird. malebirdvigorouslydefends Million years old. The alligator gar his own nesting territory, some- is the largest of the gars, growing Yellow-headed blackbirds times a space as small as a clump up to 10 feet long, and weighing once nestedfairly commonly of cattails. Two males pace 300 pounds. This freshwater giant within the marshy regions near- along the imaginary fence-line of has, a broad snout and heavily Chicago,butnesting colonies their territories like feuding city toothed jaw,likethatof an now are found only occasionally neighbors.One bird will fly at alligator. in Lake, Cook, McHenry, Rock another, flapping his wings vio- The last two records of this Island, and Cass 'counties. Yellow- lentlyandstickinghisbill gar in Illinois were recorded in heads nest only in deep water mar- straight up in the air to issue a backwaters of theMississippi shes because the water protects warning. The birds seldom River in Alexander County and their young from non-swimming attack, but if they do, one pins in Randolph County. THESE PRECIOUS FEW 39 An extremely fierce hunter, a Though fairly good numbers gar skims close to the surface of of little blues migrate through the water, with its rani-like beak Illinois, only one breeding colo- aimed at a school of small fishes. ny or crookehe is known to exist Propelling itself with its fins, the in a wooded tract of 'Madison long, slender, brownish or olive County. Two hundredlittle green 'fish looks very much like a blues have been counted at the drifting stick or log. Surprising rookery the herons share with its victim, the gar lunges side- two other endangered birds, the ways and takes the smaller fish snowyegret and greategret. between its jaws. Flocks of little blues arrive at Gars are 'able to stay near the the rookery each spring. Bowing surfacepartiallybecause they from the uppermost limb of a haveanoxygenrichswim tree, a male little blue heron bladder. This bladder also helps greets a" female in courtship by them to breathe.air much like dancing from branch, to branch animalswithlungs,enabling towardher,courtseying' with them to survive instill waters wings half spread, and curving his where thereislittleoxygen. long neck and raising a fan of LITTLE BLUE HERON Gars spawn in shallow water plumes behind the shoulders and during the spring. Female gars neck. Uttering a special cry, he often,the heronssettleinto lay' hundreds of gUmmy, dark performs a 'greeting ceremony' bottomlands 'along the Mississip-, green eggs which stick to weeds that both sexes carry out each pi River and around Horseshoe and other objects. After hatch- time they meet. After mating, Lake.The. little blue stalks the ing,young garsattach them- the pair of little blues' sit side by water's edge in silence, searching selves to vegetation by means of a side, one resting its head peace- for prey.'Each step is carefully suction device on the ends of their fully:ontheothersflanks. measured as the heron's.. keen snouts. Both young and 'adult gars Shortlythereaftereachpair yellow eyes scan the shallows for occasionally break the surface to begins to construct a nest, in a a fin, foot or wing. Suddenly the expel waste gas and swallow air for small tree.The male collects bill dashes foward and pierces a the swim bladder. small sticks and brings them to fish, frog or insect. If more prey Since alligator gars' compete the female. isabout, thelittleblUe runs with man for some of the more During the incubation peri- briskly through the water snag- tasty fish, many people see this od, herons take turns sitting on ging up more food with each garasanuisance.However, theeggs. After one birdis stride. alligatorgarshelp maintain a relieved from the nest, it goes to By mid-summer, the herons natural control over growing and fetch several sticks and returns to' are anxious to find fresh hunting unbalancedfishpopulations. give the sticks to its mate. The grounds and sincethe young Garsneed undisturbed,quiet brooding bird builds the sticks now are able to fly, they break backwaters along major rivers in 'into the nest while it sits, wasting camp and migrate northward. Illinois.If the Mississippi. and no time before the hungry chicks Possibly because the youngsters Illinois rivers are channeled to hatch. d'o not know from past years the make roomforheavy_ barge , The young are covered with locationofthebest'feeding traffic, suitable backwatei areas pure white down and soon begin spots, they migrate farther than will. disappear. The best chance to grow white feathers.In this the adults. At the first threat of of keeping the alligator gar in the plumage, the young herons closely coldweather, the heronsfly state will be to, avoid changing, resemble snowy egrets.Itwill south for the winter. overusing, or polluting the state's be two, years before they wear Little blue herons are shy large rivers. the deep blue and maroon plumage and retiring. Rookeries at several LITTLE BLUE HERON of the adult birds. At 30 days of locations in - Illinois have been Little blue herons are found abandoned after civilization en- in or near wetlands throughout age, the young scamper onto the nesting tree branches, climb about. croached on the heron's private the southeastern United States way of life. The current nesting and in Central and South Ameri- and drop to the. ground to begin learning how to hunt for food. site in Madison County and the ca. From the southern U.S. feeding stations along the Ameri- coast, little blues range westward Eachmorning,littleblue can bottoms must be protected to the Gulf of Mexico and up the herons leave the Madison County from human interference if 'the MississippiValley to southern rookery to search for waterways little blue heron is to continue. Illnois. where they can find food. Most raisingitsyounginIllinois.' 40 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 44: ' e ) ." ./ , ''.*t ,1 ; , 1-,?' ...`14-1.4"f41 '"rt$ ,k

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abitat vens tieSpecies Beaches, dunes, cliffs, bluffs the sandy stretch of sand, free of 'stone cliffs are abundant. inthe andcaves are Uncommon . in vegetation, running closest to the Shawnee Hills and are scattered Illinois. Because they are unique, water. The primary dune is the generally throughout the rest' of they provide habitats capable of- ridge of sand, bedded by grass and the' state. Limestone cliffsoccur tupporting Unusual plants and stubble, immediately beside- the throughout. Illinois where bed- animals. Bird's eye brimrose, dune sandy area and towards land. The rocks crop out,. but they are most willow, eastern. woodrat, Indiana tertiary dune is closer yet to the, . commonly found along the Illinois bat and peregrine falcon are just a mainland and has a' sparse to dense and Mississippi rivers. Dolomite few of the special species that find cover of .low shrubs, trees and cliffs are almost entirely limited to homes in these habitats. In addi- grasses. ;Both types of dunes are stream valleys in the northern part tiontobeingunusual,. these formed by wind blovin Sand and of. Illinois. Whatever1 their type, habitats share -a common bond- sometimes are relatively steep on cliffs have, littleor no soil. On the they all are pretty rough places to their land-facing side: The shore- other hand, bluffs have good beds live.. The species that inhabit them line habitat of beach and dune of soil and loose rocks. These have adapted to living in such provides 'a habitat that is open to steep slopes "graciously overlook austere surroundings, but many thesun and wind,but close many of 'therivers, lakes and have failed to adapt to changes to the resources, of the water and streams of the state. brought about by man. the cover of the dunes.' A caveis \ an underground In Illinoi, beaches and dunes. Cliffs .and bluffsappear crevice, usually not penetrated by 1" are found along the Lake Michigan throughout Illinois. Cliffs are the sunlight, and large enough for at shoreline. The overall shoreline steep, outermost face of bedrock' least one person to enter. The habitatis comprised of three Mounds and hills. Cliffs in Illinois environment inside a cave is ideal :ili parts, the beach, primary dune usually are either sandstone, lime- for hibernating species, such as :4 . and tertiary dune.. The beach is stone or dolomite cliffs. Sand- bats,becausethe temperature .)...!

THESE PRECIOUS FEW 41 -i- -I,J.f-t . i , . :-1.1,14 beneath the earth's surface re- by erosion, flooding, and strong cyclists and hikers who sometimes mains constant. The largest cave winds, plus problems arising from unintentionally damage the fragile systems in Illinois are in St. Clair, off-road vehicle traffic, housing environment. Caves are subjectto Monroe, Randolph and Jackson and commercial development and infrequenttave-ins,buttheir counties,butcavesalsoare heavy recreational activities. Iron- greatestenemyhasbeen the common in the Shawnee Hills and ically,. the natural erosion and activities of man, mainly mining along the Mississippi and lower flooding that formed cliffs and andthesportofspelunking. Illinoisrivers.. Caves that have bluffs will be their demise. Bluffs formed in' limestone and dolomite often are put into pasture and this Yet, despitetheirwoes, are the biggest and most common increasestherateof .erosion. beaches, dunes, cliffs, bluffs and caves in Illinois.' Furthermore, cliffs; and bluffs are caves all are special natural areas Beaches, dunes, cliffs, bluffs, some of the most scenic spots in Illinois, each a unique, delicate and caves are not alwaysb the inIllinois and they often are environment capable of giving a easiest places to live. Beaches and developedinto home sitesor home to some of our most 'special- dunes continually are. threatened visited by horse riders,- motor- ized plants and animals. BIRD'S EYE PRIMROSE cannot surviveln. the shallow soil, mon shooting star has a tough At first glance the blossom of the habitat is especially suited and one. The flowers of the two plants bird's eye primrose looks like that is free from competition for 'the differ in color* also. But 'the most of a daisy. Pink or white petals bird's eye. importantdifferencebetween encircle a round yellow dot, called Bird's eye primrose appears in these two fllinois wildflowers is the "bird's eye." Thp slender stem thecanyoninlate May and that the common. shooting star is sprouts from a rosbtte of green flowers until the end of July. Its found readily, while the jeweled' leaves and rises to a height of only delicate flowers are pollinated 'by one rarely so. three to five inches. Along steep insects which are attracted to their The distributiondistribution of jeweled cliffs, bird's eye primrose does not beautiful,yetsimpledisplay. shooting star' is widely scattered growupright toward the sun, After pollination, the ovary of the across. the easternhalf of the ratherit shoots out from the flower grows into a brown cylin- United States. At:each Iodation cliffside at a right angle. der-like fruit. the plant grows near a major river, Bird'seyeprimroseisa Towardsthelastdays of in Illinois, the Mississippi. Its pre- northern wildflower, growing on summer,' five. valves at the top of sence near riversis due to its the tundra of Alaska and in the hard, spotted fruit open and the preference for growing along cliffs chilly regions of northern Canada. ripened' seeds within are free to and bluffs that girdle such water- The plants range into the United' leave.If the' seeds were heavy, ways. Small 'popu'lations of jewel: States only as far south as the gravity would send them sailing ed shooting star grow along the Great Lake's region.InIllinois, down the cliffside into the water. moist, mossy bluffs overlooking bird's eye grows along the walls of Fortunately the seeds are extreme- the Missiskppi Riverin north- Apple River Canyon, a unique lylightweight and they settle western and west central Illinois. river canyon in JoDaviess County. down around the base of the The plants grow in areas of the Insummertime,theApple parent plants. state that are classified by geolo- River is little more than a stream 'Apple River- Canyon is classi- gists as "driftless areas," meaning trickling between steep,50- to-75- fied by the Department of Con-' that the areas that escaped glacia- feet, -canyon walls. Hundreds of servation as an especially valuable tiOn during the Ice Age. Jeweled bird's eye primrose plants growing natural area because of the animal shooting star and the other rich in long, narrow strips decorate the and plant life finding refuge there. flora living in "driftless areas!' are cliffsides. The-plants grow in these Most of the canyon in which millions of years older than the strips,sometimesonlyafew . bird'seyeprimrosegrowsis flora living in parts of Illinois that inches wide, because that is where protected within the Apple River were once covered .with ice and alkaline water is seeping from, the StateParkandbotanistswill have had vegetation sprout up limestone .walls. This moist alka- continue to monitor their living sincethen.Becauseoftheir linehabitatprovidesanideal situation to help the tiny wild- advanced age, plants from "drift- growing place for the plants. The flower survive in Illinois. lessareas"arevery important soil is extremely shallow in these to scientists who study the ecolo- stripsbut the tinybird'seye JEWELED SHOOTING STAR gy, genetics and distribution of primrose finds plenty to meet its= Jeweled shooting star should plant life. modest needs. In fact, the shallow not be confused with its look-alike Clusters of jeweled shooting soilworkstotheprimrose's and close relative, the common star 'bloom in early spring. The advantage.Sincelarger,more shootingstar. Jeweled shooting showy blossoms appear to be ar- dominatingplantsinthearea star has a' frail fruit, while corn- ranged inside out. Normally the

42 THESE PRECIOUS FEW , 4 h INDIANA BAT cialized as tourist attractions, and Indianabats use two very even made into_kfalloUt shelters. different 'homes' during the year. Allthisis 'being done at the During the summer they nest expense of flying mammals. under thebark of trees, and Conservationists want to save throughout the winter, they in- the 125 to 150 Indiana bats still habitlimestone caves. hibernating in the LaSalle County Just inside the mouth of an mine by protecting the cave from abandoned limestone cave in La- any human activity during the Salle. County, the onlir colony of winter. They also wish to work Indiana bats in Illinois settle down with other states to protect the for a period of hibernation lasting summer homes of the Indiana bat. from aboui September to April. Here inIllinois, conservationists Before the bats bed down they wouldliketodevelopmore build up several layers. of fat,, habitat areas in our forestS to sometimes as much as a third of boost the small number'of Indiana their body weight, to tide them batsthatstayinIllinoisfor over the winter. The bats hang summer nesting. together in clusters and seldom DUNE WILLOW move. As long as the temperature Blowingandbowingover stays between 35 and 40 degrees sandy beaches is the dune willow. above zero, the bats sleep soundly, The stem of this .wild shrub grows breathing only once every five to a towering height of 10 feet. JEWELED SHOOTING STAR minutes. In this drowsy condition, Clusters of small flowers borne on the bats are helpless and if they catkins are scattered throughout stamen and stigma of a flower are are plucked down from the roof its many wide, fine-toothed leaires. tucked inside a cup of petals, but of the cave by a htiman, they can These leaves are gray and hairy on; in' the case of the jeweled shooting barely move. It' takes about 15 the underside and 'are somewhat star,five stamen reach forward minutes of squeaking; stretching heart - shaped,especiallyatthe wh.ile the petals of the flower fall and trying to bite the attacker base of the plant, which is why behind and reach in the opposite before the bat cr., perk up enough dune willow is also called heartleaf direction. to fly away. When spring arrives, Indiana Dune willowisfoundin Whenapollen-ladeninsect batsinstinctively 'wake up and scatteredlocations aroundthe visits a flower, it lands on these migrateto summer homes. A western Great Lakes region. In stamens and pollen either falls or summer populationof Indiana Illinois, it grows with sand grasses isrubbed by the insect down bats recently. wat:Uscovered in and other willows along.the low toward the base of the petals Indiana,where Le bats were dunes facing Lake Michigan in where .the ovary is hidden. Fol- setting up a nursery for their Lake County. Dune willow once lowingpollination,theovary young underneath tr e loose bark grew more commonly around the grows into a brown paper-thin of a dead buttery.,..lickory tree. Chicago- lakefront, but as' the city fruit.When the maturedfruit cnly surnme- records for this opens in late summer, tiny seeds bat inIlh ~ ,)1F in Cook and are released. Despite their small -Jackson cauaties.Biologists do -size, the seeds are relatively heavy not know as much about the and normal wind cannot carry breeding habits of the Indiana.bat themfar.Usuallytheysettle as they would like to know, but around the ankles of the parent they are certain that the bats like plants, but sometimes they are to settle during this time into swept down the cliffside by a rain. woodlands bordered by streams Jeweled shooting star grows; for where a good supply of insects can the most part on privately owned be found. landinIllinois. in the future, From Florida to Vermont to botanists from the Department of Illinois,this dark brown bat is Conservation will be available to battling against tremendous odds. help landowners manage the bluff- Few, if any, of the caves the bats" side habitat of jeweled shooting use are free from human invasion. star in order to keep this flower in Caves are being mined, explored Illinois.- for science and for fun, commer- INDIANA BAT THESE PRECIOUS FEW 43 tt.

Harsh Envivinments BIRD'S EYE PRIMROSE Hosts A Variety Of Special Species

PIPING PLOVER

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54 tf . Is re d ,11 a' a. .se. . = - t! IOW a`... - - PEREGRINE FALCON 44. THESE PRECIOUS'FEW 48

N_/- reached- out and consumed many; -lastthirty years, this powerful GRAY BAT of the natural sand areas, this raptor has fallen victim to DDT, a There may be many dark and plantandothershavenearly deadly pesticide once widely used wet cavesinsouthernIllinois disappeared.' Soil erosion also has in the United States and around where gray bats spend the sum- played a part in the plant's de- the world. The peregrine suffers mer, their time for raising young- - mise. One entire population of from pesticides even though it but biologists know .of only one dune willow was wiped out when does-noteat -themdirectly. largecaveinHardincounty. a sand dune eroded and slipped Falcons eat smaller birds that are Gray bats spend their summer into the lake at Lake Bluff in Lake carrying large amounts of .DDT, days. hanging upside down from County. from ,having eateninsects and the roof of their cave. During Buried in the moist sand, the worms that have absorbed pesti- early summer, the females prepare roots of dune willow sprout up cides from feeding on sprayed to give. birth by separating from new shoots in the spring. Flower- plants. The situation became so the males and grouping together in ing by May and Jdne, the blos, bad during the height of DDT, use a cluster known as a "maternity soms pollinate themselves with the that a fresh, clean and unpolluted ward." The males are left hanging help of gusty lakeside breezes. home for the peregrine falcon together in a "bachelor club." At Male flowers hold a pocket of practically was impossible to find. the moment ofdelivery, : the pollen while female flowers -cradle Falcons died in large numbers. female stretches out the thin skin tiny future seeds. These seeds wait The ones that survived were so around her wings like a catchers for pollen in order to grow. When sick and weak that many of them .mitt to snatch up the baby -as it the wind blowi pollen from the were unable to nest until four to drops, out head first. The tiny, male flower to a female, pollina- six years later. When they did naked and blind baby clings inside tionisaccomplished, and the nest, egg development was retard- its motheri wing to nurse and catkins bearing male flowers dry ed by the pesticides, the shells so grow. The mother is devoted and up and blow away. Since the wind ..thin that the eggs. simply cracked affectionate to her single young may also blow pollen to other open as they were laid. The overall and will defend it against all forms willows in the area, this. willow peregrinefalconpopulationin of danger, whether it is a dog, a can produce many mixed-breed NorthAmerica dropped more fox 'or a man. At three weeks of willows. than 50 percent from the pro- age, the young bat takes a few Though only about 15 or 20 1939 population of 650 pairs. practice flights and from then on duhe willowplantssurvivein There are only twenty "aeries," is able to hunt, for insects with the Illinois, many of -these grow in places alongcliffs where pere adults,alwaysatnight,along Illinois Beach State Park and some, grinesnest,leftin the United stream and creek. beds. may growina nearby nature States.. A good number of these Graybatsthatspendthe preserve; At these protected sites, are in the western Rocky Moun- summer in. southern Illinois mi- botanistswillbeworkingto tains. Falcons no longer nest as grate in flocks to Kentucky caves preservethiS woody plant by they once did inIllinois. They for winter hibernation. Some gray controlling sand erosion and by usually are seen migrating across batsfromotherstatescross prohibiting vehicular traffic across the state during the spring and Illinois about this same time on the dunes. fall. their way to wintering caves in For centuries, peregrines have Missourrand these bats sometimes PEREGRINE FALCON been the favorite bird for the stop to 'rest. in four west central Only 12 to 13 inches from sport of falconry. When falcons Illinoiscaves.. In 1977, mining head to tail, the peregrine falcon becamescarceduetoDDT, started up again in one of these dive's through the sky in pursuit of falconrybecameathreatto caves in Adams County and the prey at a speed of more than 200 survivingfalcons when persons cave quickly is being ruined as a mph. Rapping its victim with a eager for the birds climbed cliffs gray bat rest stop. mighty blow from the feet, the and robbed nests of eggs and Thelargesummer cavein -falcon punches out its life in a young. Hardin County also is in trouble. flash. The prey, always a bird, Mankind owes the peregrine Quarry mining near the cave is dis- whistles down through the air, falcon a great debt. Their battle turbing the bats. Another threat is deadlongbeforeithitsthe for survival is not over. Biologists spelunkers,_people who explore ground. The proud peregrine does in Illinois want to help the falcon caves for sport, invading the cave not stop. The corifident predator return to nesting on the cliffs duringthesummer,the most will return at its leisure for the along the Illinois and Mississippi crucial time for gray bats trying to feast. rivers by taking falcons that have birthandraise, theiryoung. Watching the peregrine fakon been raised in captivity and setting Poisoning from pesticides car- perform makes thisbird seem them free in theseIllinois. ried. on insectsis yet another unconquerable. Yet, during the "aeries." reason why gray bats' everywhere 49 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 45 tiny legs carrying them so swiftly- over the sand that they look like tufts of vegetation blowing along the beach. Feeding on tiny aquatic ani- mals, a piping plover runs toward thewater. searchingforfood brought in by the last wave. It then quickly runs back before the next wave can splash it. Scanning the sandfora.- movement, a hunting plover stands withits GRAY .BAT head cocked to orie side and its neck stretched forward until it are losing .the struggle to survive. lost much ofitshabitat and In .Illinois, the population at the snatches a bit of worm or insect practicallygiven up nesting in from the sand and swallows it Hardin County cave has dropped Illinois. from 10,000 bats in 1960 to only whole. one or two thouSand batsin Arriving on their sandy nesting grounds Even when moving, the gray 1979. Alarmed over thede- inthespring,piping brown color of the plover makes it cline, conservationists-recommend plovers begin elaborate courtship hard to spot on the beach. 'In- that a state or federal agency rituals. male bird crouches low, stead, a plover reveals its where- purchase the Hardin Countycave spreads his wings and chases after abouts by singing over the crack and the land around it. They also . afemale.Reachingher,he of the waves and the whirl of the would. like to close of the four straightens up, puffs out his chest wind. It pipes .a pleasing song that caves in west central Illinois. Since- feathers, stretches his neck up- sounds like "peep-peep-peeplo." If the bats have more than one home ward and beats a rapid tatoo with a plover is sighted, it usually is cave during different times of the his feet ,on the sand. Both mates bobbing along on the beach, its year and in different states, a prepare a nest which is little more head toward the sand and its tail cooperative recovery plan among than a dip in the beach surface. stuck upward. concernedstatesneedstobe developed and implemented to While one bird leans forward and Piping plovers leave, their nest- save the gray bat. digs up sand with its feet, the ing grounds in mid-summer and other does the same a few yardsa PIPING PLOVER travel to the South Atlantic and way. Both work while whistling a Gulf coasts of the United States Most common in the eastern short high pitched sound. When United States, the piping plover for winter. Though, they stay in one nest is dug to their satisfac- Illinois only for a short while each once nested in good numbers along tion, they abandon the other and the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan. year, it would be unfortunate to the female lays four buffyeggs in losethisbeautiful-voicedbird Once quiet and undisturbed, these the completed nest. sandy beaches now are popular from the state's greatest shoreline. paths for. recreational vehicles and To help the piping plover nest in Just a few hours after hatch- good numbers in Illinois, nesting sites for industrial development. ing, the lightly tan coloredyoung- In the buStle, the small plover has areas should be protected from sters scurry from the nest, their disturbance.

50

46 THESE PRECIOUS FEW At The Enviromiental Crossroads Illinois was very different be- changed environment totally in- portance of preventing the extinc- fore the arrival of the fir-st Afri- hospitable. The impact on plant tion of ..-particular species of wild- cans and Europeans late in the species often was less dramatic, life and plants. Some speciesap- 17thcentury.Human activity but alterations in the numbers and pear to have little value to us. Yet then had affected the state very variety of even the smallest plants a form of life of little apparent im- little, and its forests and prairie and creatures went rapidly. for- portance may actually containa appeared 'much as they had for ward. chemical component or genetic many thousands ofyears.Its formula which could be of great streams ran clear, and plants and value to us in medicine, in agri- animals, birds and fishes were pre- culture, and 'in many other ways. sent in great profusion and diver- We must always remember sity. that human beings are only parts The American Indian, for the of a great "web of life" that in- most part, lived in a state of bal- cludes all living things, no matter ance with his, environment, utiliz- how small and unimportant they ing the annual yield which nature seem to be. Once that web of life provided without damage to the is broken by the extinction of any basic resources. Almost nowhere of its parts, the tbtal structure is within the' Illinois country was weakened, and if a sufficient num- there pressure placed upon natural ber of extinctions occur, might it- resources which caused species of self collapse, leaving mankind the plants or animals to become, ex- master of all, and ultimately; the tinct or endangered. master of nothing. This was soon to change. The We attempt to protect endan- stage was set, then, when Pere gered species in many ways. The Marquette and Jolliet first explor- law can require that public action, ed the Illinois country in 1683, as in the building of a highway or for the rapid development of a lake, be accomplished only if en- UPLAND SANDPIPER great inland' empire of farms and dangered species are not further factories, railroads and highways, In the course of three centur- jeopardized.Beyondlimitson and all the material developments ies man moved from being simply public action, there is great' need of a complex civilization. another actor on a broad environ- for private restraint and for indi- The forests fell as rapidly as mental stage, to the position of vidual concern for endangered spe- the technology of the time per- master and guardian of the entire cies in all that we do. mitted. The verdant prairies were environment, often with the pow- The responsibility of the next turned. .Towns and cities appear- er of life and death over its other generation in regard to endangered ed, and extensive railroad and inhabitants. In that position we and threatenedspeciesisvery highway networks linked com- find ourselves today, and we find great, for it will hold the power of munities together in a way that also that we must face the fact life or death over many forms of fostered growth. that many species in the years im- life that now exist. It is the next Swamps and wetlands were mediately ahead either will de- generation and those that will drained and community waste dis- cline and perhaps disappear, or follow that will be the chief bene- posal and industry changed aqua- maintain their numbers ,and even ficiaries or the losers, depending tic resources still further. With the prosper or reappear, depending upon 'the success of our concern growth of industry, the air became upon the care and attention we for the species which now are darkened anal' polluted, and great give the natural world around us. threatened and endangered. With quantities of coal' and oil were We stand today E. t.an envi- proper care and attention to the taken from the ground. ronmental crossroads, facing great world around us, we can exist in The changes, all undertaken danger of the further extinction of harmony with all other forms of with the best intentions, and 'most many. species. But we have the po- life, and, as we do, we will benefit contributing Mightily to human tential for preventing further loss enormously from maintaining the progress, had a profound impact and even for 'restoring manyen- web of life in all its richness and on the numerous species of plants dangeredspeciestonumbers complexity. -and wildlife formerly abundant in which will guarantee their contin- David Kenney Illinois. uation. Director NIany.animal species found the Some persons question the im- Dept. of Conservation 51 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 47 "These Precious Few" takes an in-depth look at the endangered and threatened species of Illinois fauna and flora. This booklet originally appeared as the December 15, 1980 issue of "Outdoor Highlights", officiiil publi,;Ltion of the Illinois.Department of Conservation.

Additional copies of "These Precious Few" are available by writing:

Department of Conservation Forest Resources and Natural Heritage 605 Stratton Office Building Springfield, Illinois 62706

"These Precious Few" is part of a comprehensive conservation/education kit available free to Illinois teachers. To request this kit, write to this address: ° Natural Heritage Conservation/Education Kit Illinois State Board of Education 100 North 1st Street Springfield, Illinois 62707

"The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expressidh be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the composer; but when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again." William Beebe, 1906

48 THESE PRECIOUS FEW 52 APRIL NATURAL IMAGE MONTH.

REMEMBER "THESE PRECIOUS FEW" NATURAL HERITAGE MONTH: April is Natural Heritage Month in Illinois, a time to study the natural resources of the state and to re- affirm our dual role as their guardian and partner. With the emergence of the warm wonderful days of spring, the overhead migration of myriads of colorful birds, and the celebration of several er iironmen- tal observances as Earth Day, Arbor and Bird.Day and Bird Appreciation Week, there could be no better time to commemorate Illinois' living natural legacy. Though, some of the activities included in this packet center around the special days of April, these materials are always topical and can be used 'at any time of the year. ABOUT THIS EDUCATIONAL. KIT: This special educational kit is designed to help teachers familiarize their students with the natural resources of Illinois. Materials in the kit are suitable for a wide range of grade levels and can be used in indoor and outdoor settings. There are fifteen versatile activities featured in the instructional guide and through the instructional guide and the color booklet, "These Precious Few", students can gain exposure to well over one hundred species of plants and animals as well as ecological systems rang- ing from caves to marshes.

THESE PRECIOUS FEW _ A special feature of this packet is the inclusion of a color booklet, "These Precious Few". This booklet is written at an approximate fifth grade level and is intended to acquaint students with Illinois' en- dangered and threatened species and with the ecological conditiohs wherein they are existing.7liese, PreciousFew" contains the life history of 58 endangered and threatened species, a full listirig of the state's endangered and threatened species and a color poster. STEP INTO THE WILD A new conservation button, entitled "Step Into The Wild" is included in each packet. Students who complete "The Endangered and Threatened Species Word Scramble" and mail their completedexer- cise to the Illinois Department of Conservation, will receive a "Step Into The Wild" button for theirown keeping. To speed mailing, teachers are asked to gathei requests for the buttons and send them in together. LET US HEAR FROM YOU. This is the first conservation education kit of its kind to be available to Illinois teachers. In order to prepare future kits and similar materials, we need to know how you found this packet as a teaching resource. Piease write to this address with your comments and suggestions. They will be gre 'tly ap- preciated. Communications Program Division of. Forest Resources and Natural Heritage Illinois Department of Conservation 605 Stratton Office Building Springfield, Illinois 62706 5:4 This Illinois Natural Heritage Conservation Education Packet is jointly Sponsored by the Illinois Department of Conservation and the-Illinois Board of Education and is endorsed by the Illinois Advisory Board of Con- servation Education. Materials in the packet were prepared by Sally F. Stone, Communications Coordinator, Division of Forest Resources and Natural Heritage, Illinois Department of Conservation. Illustrations were provided by Robert F. Eschenfeldt, Squires Ad Agency and Art Studio. The drawing of a red-shouldered hawk on page 29 was done by Bob Bridges of Springfield, Illinois. Kits can be obtained by writing: Natural Heritage Conservation Education Kit Illinois State Board of Education 100 North 1st Street Springfield, Illinios 62777

54 ENDANGEREDAND THREATENED SPECIES WORD SCRAMBLE

The-names of 18 endangered and threatened species are included in the puzzle.below. Names are written up, down, diagonally, forward and backward. If.you find and circle all of the names and mail yoUr completed exercise to the Illinois Department of Conservation,'we will send you your own "STEP INTO THE WILD" button shown below.

B-AREVOLPGN I P I PT.13 E

DL NE K C I H C E I R I A R P K. OLUNT I ND I ANAB,ATC I W-GBOBALDEAGLELSOHO I U EA L L EB RE V L I S O R SAQJYRJ EF U D R R W T PS STZNAYEL LOWWOODED AOSMR.PZAAABQCNTR A BR FKGHOQSRENFR-SS.E EGBSYUTS.LTHUGA,MHH

TAMAR,ACK I O D J I B Y A R

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W.U0FD:QWKRFJ Z UT I VG ZBI GEYECHUBKJ Z EDO ZWOGOIDENMO.USEBRI

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(cut-out) BACKGROUND !REFORMATION FOR TEACHERS Each exercise in this instructional guide is ready to of many yak able parts can be adapted to many be copied anc: given to students. The following in- other habitat types, for example, a prairie, or a cludesinstructions and support information wetland. teachers may find helpful when working with he ex- ercises. PRAIRIE HABITAT SCENE AND ENDANGERED AND THREATENED POLLINATION AND SEED SPECIES WORE SCRAMBLE DISPERSAL EXERCISE The prairie ecology, section explores the processes This exercise gives students an initial rpportunity to whereby plants reproduce and the ways in which look at the names of some of ll'lnois' endangered animals play a part in and benefit from 'those, pro- and threater ed species. Each of the species includ- cesses. The prairie habitat scene represents a true ed in the scramble are depicted on thr aster includ- and undisturbed prairie, and should not be used to ed in "These Precious Few". Teachers should mail portray any other type of grassland habitat such as a completed exercises in bulk- to the address shown meadow or old field, though some of the animal on the cover of this guide. species are found in these other open field habitats. Many of the blooming plants shown in the scene do JOURNAL OF SARA not actually flower at the same time but are shown This feature can be used to introduce the concept of doing so, for purposes of the exercise. The prairie "natural heritage" to the students. The natural ecology section is an excellent compliment to the heritage of Illinois can be defined as the living land- prairie feature included in "These Precious Few". scape that greetea the pioneers who settled the Ask students to explain why a plants ability to suc- state. It includes the plants and animals native to cessfully undergo the process of pollination affects the state and also the land and water systems its well being Ask them to identify actual and poten- wherein they developed and survived. The natural tial problem plants written about in "These Precious heritage of Illinois also embraces the interactions Few" have or could have with the process of pollina- that are carried out by organisms including man, tion. . within various natural ecosystems. Through Sara's WETLAND/WATER HABITAT journal, students can learn a great deal about the way the settlers felt about and interacted with the SCENE AND FOOD PYRAMID state's natural systems and its native inhabitants. EXERCISE By going back to what Sara relates about Illinois' natural -history, her account .can be used as a The wetland/water ecology section examines the ex- familiar and easily understandable reference while change of food energy amongst plants and animals working with each of the exercises included in this sharing an ecosystem. Bald Eagle, bobcat and red- instructional guide and with the text of "These' shouldered hawk are the highest level predators. Precious Few". A 'good follow-up activity to Sara's Mink, river otter, little blue heron and yellow-headed journal might be to have students write their own ac- blackbirdarethe secondhighest consumers. count of Illinois' natural heritage. Dragonfly, spring peeper, largemouth bass, northern water snake, mudpuppy, pond crayfish and map tur- FOREST HABITAT SCENE AND tle are the third highest consumers and leaf beetle, muskrat, fat mucket, mayfly nymph, oro snail, FOREST HOTEL EXERCISE zooplankton and water boatman are the fourth The forest ecology section' is designed to give highest consumers. . students an understanding of how a forest habitat is This exercise can easily be adapted to any type of made up of many different parts, each playing a ecological community. Students may construct food criticalpartinmakingthefbrestahealthy pyramids from the forest and prairie habitat scenes ecological community. This section can be used to included in this guide or they can choose a par- further clarify the principles that -are underlined in ticular habitat and a cast of plant and animal the forest feature included in "These Precious Few". species and construct their own pyramids. The When working with this section, be sure to point out wetland/water habitat feature included in "These how detrimental the absence or removal of any part Precious Few" outlines the various types of water- of the forest scene can be to the whole of the forest based habitats, namely wet meadows, swamps, mar- community. For instance, if all the dead or fallen shes, ponds, streams and rivers. timber were to be removed for firewood, many plants and animals would be left without homes and ENVIRONMENTAL feeding.stations. The habitat scene was prepared' to DECISION MAKING represent an average Illinois forest and can be used in conjunction with any forest related activity or This exercise gives each student .an opportunity to discussion. The Forest Hotel exercise or the princi- assess an area of environmental, concern, to ex- ple of a habitat as a complex community corisisting amine options for its use, and to make a recommen- 56 dation based upon his/her own findings and judge- Ask the students to list all of the non-renewable ment. To complete this exercise, students can work resources of the earth and ask them to explain why from an actual natural area which includes a forest, conservation is so- important with these and all a grassland and a wetland or they can use the resources. Earth Day is a good time to have students habitat ecology information provided- in "These start aluminum, glass and paper recycligg projects. Precious Few" or in this instructional guide. If they Point out that they, like the earth, can help recycle work from a natural area, they may be able to con- precious resources. Facts such as the following, will duct a transect study (see Environmental Investiga- help them see the magnitude of even small efforts. A tions) to obtain the needed information. three-foot-tall stack of newspapers, folded :to half- page size as they are when we buy them, weighs ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION - about 120 pounds and represents the wood pulp of one tree. A ton of newsprint uses 17 trees and, if the A TRANSECT STUDY trees are pulped under the sulphite process, 275 A transect study can 'be conducted at almost any pounds of sulphur,_350 pounds of limestone, 60,000 place. This type of study is a way of learning about gallons of water, 9,0009 pounds of steam and 225 an area without having to explore every squareinch kilowatt hours of electricity. of it. This exercise familiarizes students with a sten; dard and widely accepted form of environmental in- vestigation. It is up to individual teachers to explain ARBOR AND BIRD DAY the different' reasons why a transect study would be In 1949 the Governor of Winds proclaimed the last necessary. Teachers may wish to develop amock Friday in April as "Arbor and Bird Day". Since then, situation. For instance, the students can pretend Illinoisans have observed this day by planting trees, that they are developing -an environmental impact and shrubs and by conducting activities in schools statement -for an area wherein plans to construct a and elsewhere to commemorate trees and birds and major bridge are pending. the necessity of their protection. Though the Arbor and.Bird Day exercise- centers around a dead tree, it FALCON GAME can teach students how important trees are to A good follow -up activity to this exercise is to have natural communities. students pick another species and construct a The Illinois Department of- Conservation sells pine similar game involving it. seedlings at cost to state chartered organizations; such as Lions clubs, 4-H clubs, Jaycees and other -BIRD APPRECIATION WEEK public service groups which will distribute the seedl- ings to elementary schools for educationar Arbor EXERCISE AND BIRD - Day activities. Orders for trees should be placed by COLORING PAGE March 15 in order to insure delivery by Arbor Day. Orders must be for a minimum of 250 trees and The beaks and feet depicted in the Bird Appreciation should be accompanied by a letter explaining the Week Exerciseare meant torepresent broad sponsoring agency's program. Order blanks and categories of birds and students should be. en- price lists are available from DOC Regional Offices, couraged to point out additional beak and feet types county agriculture and extension advisors, the Soil belonging to the categories shown. Each of the birds Conservation Service or Agriculture Stabilization included on the Bird Coloring Page are unnamed. and Conservation Service. Information also may be Students -should look at the centerfold poster in obtained by contacting the Department of Conserva- "these Precious Few" for their names and colora- tion, Division of Forest Resources and Natural tions. / Heritage, at the address shown on the cover of this EARTH DAY guide. Dedicated to protecting our environment, the first CLEAN STREAMS MONTH Earth Day was launched in 1970. While working with The materialincludedin the Clean Streams Month ,the Earth Day-exercise, be sure to point out that exercise was in part_provided by the Illinois En- though many of the earth's resources are recyclable, vironmental Protection Agency. If your class is plan- they are not without limits. For example, during ning a project for Clean Streams Month, The Illinois 1980, Americans used 235.5 billion, gallons of fresh Environmental Protection Agency-can provide infor- water every day. Nearly half of this amount, or 105.2 mation and assistance; Write: billion gallons was not replaced by snow or rainfall. William Hammel To make up the difference, wells are now tapping underground reservoirs, some of which contain Public Participation is gradually Illinois Environmental Protection Agency fossil water 25,000 years old; this 2200 Churchill Road depleting immense subterranean reserves like the Springfield, Illinois 62706 Ogallala aquifer, which stretches nearly 160,000 (217) 782-2752 square miles beneath the Great Plains.

57 December 29, 1840 Dear Journal: want of civilization on the river, except for 'an occasional poor log hut. Sounds along the river are few, save its own Today our family celebrated a special anniversary. It sounds of passage and the chirping and cooing of birds. has been two years now since we traveled' up the Father of And from every angle, the river is bounded from above by Waters and put ashore at Kaskaskia Landing, Illinois. I the heavy trunks and limbs of /he ancient forest, seeming will never forget the last leg of our journey from Penn- to guard its peaceful isolation. sylvania. It was a bright clear Sunday morning when I awoke in As the boat traveled northward, the river grew nar- a room at an inn in Bird's Point, Missouri. From my bed I rower, with great limestone bluffs rising beside it up to two could look out two windows on opposite sides of the, room .and three hundred feet. After we passed both Grand and see two mighty rivers, the Ohio, which we had just Tower and Chester, the latter being the point where the traveled down and the Mississippi, on which we hoped to Mississippi is said to be the narrowest, about 840 feet,we embark. The Ohio, glistening in the sun, was flowing free, finally arrived at Kaskaskia Landing. The boatwas headed save the masses of driftwood that studded its waters. The into the bank, 'a plank ran out, our luggage .tumbled Tather of Waters was covered with an almost entire mass ashore, the order was given to go on, and there our little of ice,--its waters making mysterious gurgling noises but family stood, quite alone as the sun was sinking over the ptishing along slowly. The shores of both rivers were lined woods of Missouri and darkness coming on apace. After with dark, dense forest. From far and near, the woods scrambling up the muddy bank of the river, out bodies crackled with the sounds .of firing, guns, the-hunters out plastered with mud, we saw a small roofless but on the early to kill deer, it being Sunday was of no avail to these edge of the woods. Two young men were standing beside men of the Western wilderness. the but and when my father asked them if they couldar- Two boats came in tandem down the Mississippi Ti om range to have our luggage carried. to Kaskaskia, they St.Louis that day. Thelead,boat, because of the brought around two horses and a small wagon. Undera treacherous ice, had not a board left on her paddle wheel. clear frosty night sky, we set off .down a rough track Nonetheless, the captain of our boat was determined to through the woods. It was not long before we reached a proceed upstream toward St. Louis. large 'clearing, whereupon we saw the lights of Kaskaskia Assisted by his crew, the captain worked into the night in the distance. . fixing trees to the bow's of the boat to ward off the ice. Ear- The next morning I. had a chance to -see one of the ly the next morning we shoved off. Except for the two oldest settlements in the West. Kaskaskia was settled by the times we ran aground trying to avoid the ice, the boat .French in 1685 and was' the capital of the district as long as made way, though slowly, and Ifell to watching the the French continued in possession of the country. The features of the river. town is built on .an isthmus of 'about three miles wide, There is something lonesome, though beautiful, about formed by the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers and is the Father of Waters. Its wide waters are dark and boiling.. situated on the right bank of the latter. The peninsula he- Its jagged mud banks are constantly .tumbling into the tween the town and the junction of the rivers constitutes water along with young trees. Much. of the country is low the lower extremity of the famous American Bottom. Said. and swampy. Large piles of dfiftwood are jammed' up to cover an area of 450 miles, the Bottom is a wild and rich against the numerous islands clad in cottonwoods. At land,' in some places densely wooded and intersected with some plaCes where the shore does gain a bit, usually at a ponds and back-waters, and inothers,consisting of bend in the river, bald-headed eagles and turkey buzzards prairie, interrupted by groves of pin oak, hickory, persim- collect to pick apart beached carcasses. There is a total mon and paw paw. Eager to push on from Kaskaskia toward our destina- Believe it or not, it is fire that giVes life to prairies. Illi- tion, we hired a wagon and crossed Kaskaskia River by nois is a country where forest and prairie compete for a ferry. After a long hard pull up the bluff, which must have share of the land and the annual fires prevent the groWth been about 300 feet high, we looked eastward over the Illi- of trees on the prairies. The fires also burn off the matted nois country. Clothed as far as we could see in forest, the layers of dead grasses so that the tiny stems of flowers can land fell back from the bluffs and eventually leveled off. push up through the ground stirfaCe the following spring. After we had traveled a crude road through the forest for Though the fires shear the prairies of all their vegetation, about ten miles, we came upon several grassy openings, a the roots of its grasses and flowers lay safely underground sure sign that the forest would soon give way to the true ready to come up at a later time. king of the Illinois country, prairie. Unfortunately, fire is no friend to the prairie family' Plum Prairie is where our family settled to take up who needs to protect their home, barn and fences. There is farming. Though life in the West is full of "makin do", I a law now forbidding anyone to "set out fire" on the have come to love this state shaped like an arrowhead and I prairie. If fire does break out and come toward a home, am learning more each day about its natural features. the people set afire the grasses near the house and fan the Prairies are a wonder that no one from the East can fully flames away. That way the fire continues to burn but is imagine. In late summer, the grasses reach upward same swept in the opposite direction from the house. But most three to four feet, tall enough to easily conceal an army of of the time now, the settlers are able to control wild fires men on horseback. The prairie is free of trees but rich with on the prairies qtar their settlements and in these areas, grasses and flowers of every scent and hue. Most of the trees are startindto grow up. surface of the prairie is gently'rolling while other parts lay low and are wet or "splashy" as the natives call it. Prairies Settlers in this part of Illinois use the prairie for two vary in size from a few acres to 12 miles across. A traveler main purposes, grazing cattle and growing Indian corn, entering upon a prairie may see a dark line of trees or a dis- wheat and oats. Prairie does not bear much eating and will tant cabin in one direction but in all other directions, the soon become "eat out" or bare of its grasses if a large Itraveler's vision is unbounded by anything except an occa- number of cattle are kept on it. Prairie is plowed in sional meadowlark or plover. The arc of sky above the spring. When the prairie is broken for the first time, a prairie is always 180 degrees. special prairie plough is used on the stubborn land. The With every fall, the prairies burn.. When the Indians rind is so- tough that the plough is often out of the ground lived here, they set the prairies afire in order to chase up as much as it is in. Fortunately for those doing the plowing herds of buffalo. The Indians are gone now except for the slightest displacement of the 'soil destioys the prairie isolated villages, but when lightening hits the thick crop of grasses and though the work is, tedious, the prairie needs . grasses indry clear autumn, prairies ignite with fury. No only to be broken once. sight is more spectacular. Flames, leaping and roaring over The buffalo or bison has disappeared from the the grasses; the prairie becomes an ocean ablaze. The sky prairies of Illinois. The home of this noble animal is lights up like a sheet of hot red metal and the country is lit wilderness and as this land has become settled, the buffalo for miles. During many of our fall days here in the West, has movedwestward. At the turn of this last,century, there the atmosphere becomes dry. and smokey and the sun is were still plenty of buffalo in Illinois. The narr6w paths shorn of its rays. This is called Indian summer and many they pounded in the earth between the inland prairies and believe that the burning of thousands 'of acres of prairie the major rivers are still carved in the land. The elk; as causes this peculiarity. well, has vanished from the Illinois country. Wolves are most commonly seen on the-prairie. Packs burrow and is frequently found in the hole of a groundhog of wolves can be heard through the night, howling and or badger or sometimes in a hollow tree. The quail or par- yelping. When these animals turn from their,- natural prey tridge also seems Jo accompany people and its numbers in- to a fatrner's sheep, cattle or young hogs, they are held in crease with settlement. These birds are caught by the scores evil odour. Though widely feared, they seldom attack peo- in nets of conical shape. Two riders on horseback corral ple, and then only when pressed by hunger and in large the birds and place a net over coveys of ten to twenty birds. packs. The wolf is said to be a coward at heart and when The barred owl is held in contempt because of its trapped, will allow itself to be beaten to death. The govern- night-time raids on chickens. Chickens are allowed to nest ment offers a bounty of four dollars a scalp for wolves. in the tops of trees surrounding the house and it is said that Prairie chickens can be seen in flocks of hundreds on if an owl succeeds in carrying off one chicken one night, it some prairies. Their "buhl-booing" can be heard for a will return- until nary a fowl is,left. Many a time, the mile on a calm morning. Prairie chickens are very good. farmer watches on a moonlit night and shoots the owl on eating. During cold weather, they are easily caught in great 1 the approach. I do believe, however, that onlya few birds numbers_ with traps. Sometimes a hunter will shoot one, of this species turn henrobber foi if all barred owls were, it but it is generally thOught to be a waste of powder and lead. would ,be quite impossible to keep fowl without shutting them up every night in a hen house. Bears and cougars are soon killed out in prairie The noble wild turkey is plentiful in many parts of the districts so they are more often found in the refuge of the state. The wild turkey is the wariest of game and to hunt dense forest. Beavers, once thought to be in great plenty this bird, one must have a power of limb very fast. I knovy are now nearly extinct from the state: The raccoon of one instance of a turkey being chased by a man on abounds and is very destructive to Indian corn, which it at- horseback for over three miles. tacks as soon as milk is in the ear. The skunk is frequently seen on the prairies and in the woods. He leaves his hobe Fishing with a seine is often practiced in ponds and about dusk and wanders about insearch of prey lagoons that receive a new supply of fish from the rivers. throughout the night. Woe to anyone who comes near this Shooting fish with ,a rifle from a bank or an overhanging creature because if his-or her clothes are sprinkled with =he tree is a pastime often resorted to by sportsmen. A fish is fluid of the skunk. fired upon when it rises to the surface of the muddy water to bask in the sun. A fish is sometimes killed without being "The wide sea hath drops too few to wash touched by a bullet, the concussion of the water, it would them clean again." seem, is enough to do the job. During seasons of migrations, lakes and ponds are nearly covered with multitudes of swans, cranes, geese, The American hare or rabbitis becoming more and ducks. These wild fowl stir up great havoc carrying out populous as the country is settled. This animal does not their feeding and mating routines. Most of our neighbors do their own hunting but there prairie fires they lighted to outrun the herds of buffalo. are some whose sole occupation is hunting. The real hunter Though the Indians knew famine in its seasons, they took is the pioneer of American civilization. He is the first to what they needed from the rich land. Yet, even in the midst challenge the ownership of the wilderness with the red man of abundance, they were not wasteful. The animals too, and with the wild creatures. And like them, the hunter is they thought, had souls; they must not be insulted or their intolerant of the approach of a settlement. The sound of spirits broken. When a beaver was eaten, the bones were the axe in the woods is hateful to the hunter; and no sooner not thrown to the dogs, lest other beavers shouldbe in- does the smoke of a settler's fire enter his neighborhood, sulted. Before the Indians set out to kill buffaloes, they sat then, packing up his scanty belongings, and placing them down for a while and cried tears for them. And the herbs in a primitive wagon, he and his family seek a more accept- were the belongings of the earth and when they borrowed a able home in those solitudes where nature still holds un- small harvest, they asked her pardon. disputed sway. They say that once a person acquires a habit of "I take these thy hairs, wandering the pathless wilderness in search of game, it Nokomis, grandmother, takes such a hold that he rarely shakes it off. The old and I thank you and ask your pardon." hunter's eye is never at rest. While he is talking to you, his eyes are wandering from object to object, and if he is stan- Alas, dear journal, it is now time for me to close for ding, he is constantly shifting his position, and with his this wintry day. Darkness is coming on fast, though 1 can head and Shoulders crouched from habitual caution, his still hear the sounds of the men out working the chopping eyes repeatedly survey the entire circle of vision. bee. Mother says that 25 men' are competing in the chop- The white man is the second hunter to work this land. ping bee today. Since dawn, the forest has been exploding The red man was the first. Lacking horses,. Indians chased with the sounds of axe blows and ever and anon, a tall their game on foot. Like the great birds of prey, the In- monarch of the woods has thundered to the earth. dians were skilled hunters whose talons were arrows, Somehow, it all seems very fitting on this special day of whose speed was in their cunning, whose strength was the commemorating our family's move to Illinois.

THINKING FURTHER:

1. In the above account from her journal, Sara writes 9. What uses did the settlers make of the prairies? Sara about the natural heritage of Illinois. How do we writes that the prairie'?ed only to be broken once. define the term natural heritage? What does she mean? 2. Sara refers repeatedly to the Father of Waters. What is 10. Sara writes that wolves came into conflict with farmers she referring to? How do you think the use of this and that they were greatly feared. Knowing this, can name came about? you give some of the reasons why wolves no longer live 3. Sara writes that her family started up the MissisSippi in Illinois? River from Bird's Point, Kentucky, a place where the 11. Sara writes that prairie I hickens were easily caught in Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet. What is the course large numbers. In what .ways did their habitat help, of the Ohio River, the course of the Mississippi River? make them easy to catch? 4. Knowing that most travelers from the East usedthe major rivers to travel westward, can you guess at the 12. Sra writes that bears and cougars were soon killed out in prairie districts and that they sought the refuge of route Sara's family must have taken from Penn- the dense forest. What protection did the forest offer sylvania? the bear and cougar? Bears and cougars are now extir- S. Sara writes of the American Bottom in her account. pated from Illinois. What does extirpated mean? What What are the boundaries of the American Bottom? does this tell you about what has happened to Illinois Does it still exist? forests since 1840. . 6. On the way from Kaskaskia to Plum Prairie, Sara 13. Sara writes that populations of rabbits and quails writes that they traveled through dense forest until the seemed to increase as areas were settled. Can you ex- forest gradually began to give way to prairie. What is plain why some animals can live more easily near peo- the name of the transitional habitat that is found bet- ple than others? DO you know of some animals that ween a forest and prairie? Usually, there is a goodbed seem to be able to live near cities and towns? Do you of grass and scattered trees in this type of habitat._ know of some animals that can only live in wilderness? 7. Sara writes that life in the West is full of "makin do". 14. Sara explains how different animals hunt to obtain Why does she refer to Illinois as the West instead of .their food. She also writes about the human animal as the Midwest? a hunter. Explain the role of people as predatorsin the 8. Sara writes that fire is the prairie's friend. How can natural histoiy of Illinois. this be? Sara also writes that in areas where fires are controlled, trees are starting to overtake prairies. How 15. Sara writes that the real hunter was the pioneer of can you explain this? American civilization. What does she mean? 61 FOREST IS A HOME ADDRESSFOR: 1. Cooper's hawk 7. gray fox 13. eastern box turtle . 19. walkingstick -2. southern flying squirrel 8. shelf fungus 14. red-bellied snake 20. redbud shrub 3. Kentucky warbler 9. black carpenter ant gallery 15. eastern mole 21. wood nymph 4. screech owl 40. fall webworm caterpillar 16. green June beetle 22. golden moine° 5. eastern gray squirrel 11. white-tailed deer 17. Virginia bluebells 23. mockingbird 6. white oak 12. spotted salamander 18. blue-eyed mary. 24. American robin 25. flowering dogwood

. . 11101111111 THE 'FOREST HOTEL

Study 'closely the forest scene drawn on the op- eastern box turtle,white-tailed deer, white- posite page. Try to think of some wayr; in which a breasted nuthatch, gray fox, brown creeper, and forest is similar to a hotel and using the drawing as a walkingstick. reference, answer the following questions. 6.The first few floors of a.hotel are similar to the 1.A hotel has many floors. What are the different shrub layer of a forest. Both are above the floors or layers of a forest? A hotel has many ground level but are low in comparison to the gueSts who stay on the different floors. Who are higher floors of the hotel or the taller reaches of the residents'of the forest and on which floors a forest. Because the shrub layer of a forest is do they stay? thick with branches, vines, and leaves, this is 2.The basement of a hotel is usually dark and where the nests of Which of the following' are moist\ Likewise the beneath found. barn owl, 'American robin, bullfrog, Ken - the forest is moist and dark. A hotel has stout tucky, warbler, cardinal, gray ,fox, mockingbird, beamsjn its basement to.support the building. A red- bellied snake; and golden mouse. forest basement has strong to 7.The mid-level floors of a hotel are similar to the support trees and shrubs. mid-level of a forest formed by the small trees or 3.Circle each of the following that live at least understory trees. Branches in these trees are some of the time in the basement of the forest. often good perchesfor raccoon, cardinal, ants, eastern mole, snails, songbirds. In the forest scene drawn on the op- common box turtle, green June beetle, crickets, posite page, all of the following are songbirds centipedes. except: Americanrobin,Kentucky warbler, mockingbird, Cooper's hawk. 4. Fallen leaves, small plants and rotting logs fur.- nish the first floor or lobby of a forest. In a hotel, 8.The highest floors of a hotel usually contain the the lobby is where visitors from many of 'the apartments and penthouses ofpermanent floors meet and move about. The lobby of a residents. Likewise.the highest branches of the forest is also a bi.isy place. Which of the follow- tallest trees in a forest contain the homes or ing move through the lobby of a forest Just as nests of many animals. Which of the following people move through the, lobby of a hotel. bob- place their nests in the tallest branches of the cat, bald eagle, southern flying squirrel, 'gray fox, forest.. Kentucky warbler, Cooper's. hawk, spotted salamander, raccoon, white-tailed deer, eastern gray squirrel, great blue heron, cardinal, people, eastern Mole. golden mouse. 5.In a hotel, people move up and down by way of In spring and summer, the highest branthes are an elevator. In a forest, animals move up and covered with 7 Like a roof over a down t:sc way of tree Which of hotel, these and branches form thefollowinguse these "TreeElevators". a canopy over the forest protecting its residents eastern fox squirrel, american robin, opossuM, from and 32

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PRAIRIE/OPEN FIELD HABITATS ARE A HOME ADDRESS FOR: 1. American kestrel 9. robber fly 17. pale prairie coneflower 25. bumble bee 2. upland sandpiper 10. hoary puccoon 18. eastern meadowlark 26. sawtooth sunflower 3. cucumber beetle 11. honey bee 19. nodding wild rye 27. bobolink 4. blue racer 12. wild hyacinth 20. praying mantis 28. Indian grass 5. prairie vole 13, badger 21; greater prairie chicken . 29. compass plant 6. side-oats grama 14. young thirteenlined ground squirrels 22. 'wild false indigo 30. eastern meadow fritillary butterfly 7. little bluestem 15. thirteen-lined ground squirrel 23. hornworm caterpillar. 31. plains pocket gopher 32. ,needle grass 8. flesh fly . 16. aphids 24. purple prairie clover, POLLINATIONAND SEED DISPERSAL

The prairie habitat drawn on the opposite page provides miles away; or the seeds are carried by a squirrel, or a good scenario for examining the processes of pollina- pushed around by insects, or blown by the wind or tion and seed dispersal. From April to late September carried down streams or rivers. Many platys have wings about 17 new species come into flower each. week on a on their seeds so they can be carried abo.,:z by the wind. prairie. They bloom for a short while, move into seed pro- Some have hooks on their seeds which catdh io the fur duction and finally into their final duty, seed dispersal. or feathers of visiting animals. Thus, though plants stay WIND AND INSECT POLLINATION still, their seeds are short and long range travelers. To produce fertile seeds a plant usually needs pollen THINKING FURTHER from the stamen td be brought into contact with the -1. Name each of the plants shown on the opposiig) page stigma so that the ovary can be fertilized. The stigma is that are pollinated by insects; which are wind - part of the female organs of a plant and the stamen part pollinated? of the male organs. The two most common methods of 2. Name each insect pollinator included in the drawing. pulling off this exchange of pollen is by insect and by wind. What are some other insect pollinators that are not shown? In order to attract insects to their blossoms, insect- 3. Of the plants shown in the drawing, how do you think pollinated plants have very beautiful flowers. Many emit each disperses its seeds? Name the animals that play a sweet aroma of nectar and some even feature dark a part in seed dispersal. lines (pollen guides) on their petals to lead the insects to the hidden nectar on which they feed. While an insect feeds on nectar or pollen, pollen brushes off the stamen onto the insect. Then when the insect settles on the stigma of the same flower or on the stigma of another , flower of the same species, the pollen is rubbed off the insect onto the stigma. The pollen then travels down the tube of the stigma and fertilizes the ovary where the eggs are stored and these eventually become seeds.

stigma

stamens (6)

Bee pollinating ovary the flower of wild hyacinth

Wind-pollinated plants have rather uninteresting flowers and large stamens which dangle on long stalks. The wind can easily shake these stamens and knock the pollen into the air. The stigma are also large and have features somewhat like feathers, so that their feathery edges can trap pollen in the wind. Petals on wind- pollinated flowers are either very small or not there at all. This keeps the areas around the stamen and stigma free, allowing the stamen and stigma every chance to put out and receive pollen.

SEED DISPERSAL As plants mature, the ovary usually gives way,to some type of fruit, which cradles the seeds. To disperse these seeds, plants depend on many different methods. Sometimes a fruit ripens and bursts, freeing the seeds to fall or blow with the wind. Other times, a fruit drops to Needlegrass is named for its sharp-pointed seed ("the the ground and the pulp rots and the seeds enter the needle") and its -long twisted awn ("the thread"). The soil; or the fruit is eaten by a bird and the seedsare awn is sensitive- to moisture changes and as the spread when the bird either spits out the seeds ur moisture of the soil changes, the awn actually drills the passes them out in its droppings, sometimes many seed into the ground. -65 _ 14 IA/OLAND/WATER HABITATS ARE A HOME ADDRESS FOR: 1. bald eagle 8. American lotus 15. zooplankton 22. largemouth bass 2. river otter . 9. spring peeper 16. pond crayfish 23. beaked burhead' 3. common arrowhead 10. water boatman 17. mayfly nymph 24. bobcat 4. little blue heron 11. mudpuppy 18. American bulrush 25. marsh mermaid weed 5. yellow-headed blackbird' 12. orb snail 19. leaf beetle 26. mink 6. common cattail 13. phytoplarikton 20. northern water snake 27. muskrat 7. dragonfly 14. fat mucket 21. leafy pondweed 28. map turtle 29. red-shouldered hawk i. A FOOD PYRAMID

A wetland or water habitat is a good place to ex- animals prey upon other organisms stationed in amine how plants and animals exchange food their own level. For example, the mayfly nymph energy. Each of the plants and animals drawn on the preys upon zooplankton, which consists of many opposite page have a place in the food pyramid tiny crusteceans and rotifers. After you have com- shown above. None of the Species are labeled. Look pleted your food pyramid, you may wish to draw closely at the unlabeled drawings, match them with lines from each an141 to the plants or animals it those shown on the opposite page and mark down consumes. Use a different color of crayon or pen for the names. SOrne of the animals are not even shown. each animal. `Find the missing animals on the opposite page and place them in the pyramid by drawing and labeling them in the correct level. Before you begin, carefully THINKING FURTHER consider this information. 1.Define the terms herbivore, carnivore and om- Deriving energy from the sun, plants, including nivore. microscopicplantsorphytoplankton,arethe 2.Why is an animal as big as the muskrat located primary food producers. Plants form the base of the at the same level as the tiny orb snail? food pyramid. At the top of the pyramid are the highest-order predators. Between the base and the 3.Why are there so few species at the top df, the top, are the intermediate consumers. Each of these pyramid? preys upon one or- more of the animals or plants 4.What happens to a plant or animal if it dies and shown below it and each is preyed upon by onor is not eaten? How does this process work the more of the animals shown _above it. Some of the exchange of food energy?

G'P ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING You are a member of the City Council of Anyville, Illi- duct a study of the sixty acres and to review all the nois, a growing industrial city bordered on all sides proposed options for its use. At the next City Coun- by rich farmland. Miss Matilda Jones, a native of cil meeting, you will make a recommendation for use Anyville has just passed away and left the dity 60 of the Jpnes property and you must be prepared to acres of land. At present, the land is open only to justify your decision. Though Miss Jones did not hunting, hiking, nature study and fishing and is clos- specify how she wanted the land used, she did state ed toallvehicles. Several different groups in in her will that the land should be used in the most Anyville have subinitted proposals to the City Coun- valuable manner possible. To conduct your study.of cil for future use of the land. As Chairman of the the Jones property use this worksheet. Some items Land Use Planning Committee, it is your job to con- have already been completed for you. - ''.'r,',4sywi,..".% STEP ONE- ,y wt, .', ":. ...:',..!.`'20 acres Grassland DIAGRAM THE PROPERTY Al cts...." :: .., %.': -::!:',':: ..' ', :-: v -.::::::%::,.,- !: ...... t, r.i. A.. ,.10;17,0-I. Forest ;etve.4-:. 7: . 30 acres 4"10 acres Marsh

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STEP TWO-INVENTORY THE AREAS III. Marsh Areas . I. Forest Area (A) What is the make-up of the marsh area? (A) What is the make-up of the forest area? Clean, fairly shallow water bounded by rich vegetation of cattails, rushes and lotus. Mature Hardwoods. (Elm, Oak, Hickory species) (B) What forms of life live in the forest area? (B) What forms of life live in the marsh area? Pl9nts Mammals Birds Plants Mammals Birds 1. 1. 1. .1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. . Amphibians/Reptiles/Fish Insects Amphibians/Reptiles Insects 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2. (C) How valuable is the marsh area? (C) How valuable.is the forest area? 1. to plants/animals? 1. to plants/animals? highly valuable fairly valuable not very valuable highly valuable fairly valuable not very valuable 2. to people? 2. to people? highly valuable fairly valuable not very valuable highly valuable fairly valuable not very valuable IV. The TOtal Property II.Grassland Area (A) What is the mike-Up of the grassland area? All factors considered, the combined areas of forest, grassland and marsh make the Jones pro- Abandoned farm field grown up in grasses, weeds and perty: shrubs. This area was once prairie. 1. to plants/animals? (B) What forMs of life live in the grassfand area? highly valuable fairly valuable not very valuable Plants Mammals Birds 2: to people? 1. 1. 1. highly 4aluable fairly valuable not very valuable 2. 2. 2. Amphibians/Reptiles Insects STEP THREE-LIST THE OPTIONS 1. 1. The following are recommendations that have been 2. 2. submitted to the Anyville City Council for use of the (C) How valUable is the grassland area? Jones property. 1. to plants/animals? 1. Cropland highly valuable fairly valuable not very valuable 2. Nature Preserve 3. Wildlife Production/Public Huriting.Area 2. to people? e Housing Subdivision highly valuable fairly valuable not very valuable 5. City Park STEP FOUR-EVALUATE THE OPTIONS . (C) From itspresent condition to a Wildlife Pro- I. Cropland duction/Public Hunting Area, the Jones. pro- perty would change onot change its value: (A) How would the make-up of the land'change? 1. fo'r plants/animals? from valuable to valuable. 2. for people? from valuable to valuable. (B) Would the number of- plants/animals living on the land stay the same, increase, or IV. Housing Subdivision decrease? (A) How would the make-up of the land change? 1. If increase, why" 2.If decrease, why? (C) From its present condition to a cropland, the Jones property would change or not change (B) Would the number of plants/animals living its value: on the land stay the same, increase or decrease? 1. for plants/animals? 1.If increase, why? from valuable to valuable. 2. for people? 2.If decrease, why? from valuable to valuable. (C) From its present condition to a housing sub- division, the Jones property would change or II.Nature Preserve not change its value: (Only photography, hiking and nature study per- '1. fcr plants/animals? mittedno vehicles) from valuable to valuable. (A) How would the make-up of the land change? 2. for people? from ' valuable to valuable.

V.City Park (B) Would the number of plants/animals living on the land stay the -same, increase or (A) How would the make.-up of the land change? decrease? 1.It increase, why? 2.If decrease'why? (B) Would the number of plants/animals living (C) From its present condition to a Nature on the land stay the same, increase or Preserve, the Jones property would change decrease? or not change its value: 1.If increase, why) 1. for plants/animals? 2.If decrease, why" from valuable to valuable. (C) From its present condition to a city park, the 2. fo'r people? Jones property would change or not change from valuable to valuable. - its value: 1. for plants/animals? III. Wildlife Production /Public. Hunting Area from valuable to valuable. (No vehicles, hunter presence during seasons), 2. for people? (A) How would the make-up of the land change? from valuable to valuable.

STEP FIVE- MAKING A DECISION (B) Would the number, of plants/animals living, on the land stay the same, increase or My recommendation is to use the Jones property as decrease? a 1.If increase, why? 2.If dedrease, why" I feel that this is the use that is the most valuable to

for these reasons. 1. 2. 3. 694. ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS A TRANSECT STUDY

You have been assigned to conduCt a biological in 1. Place a transect line on your map. A transect line ventory of a particular area. Your job is to determine is an imaginary line through the study area. The the physical charaCteristics of the 'and and the start and end of the line can be marked with a forrns of life residing there. large rook, stick or stake. . STEP I - MAPPING 2. Mark on your map several information collecting stations along the transect line. Locate 'stations in 'areas along .the transect line so that a representa- tive cross section of the area will be studied. 3. Using you'r map, mark the actual placement of the information collecting stations in your study area...,

STEP III - COLLECTING INFORMATION At each station collect some information on the physical characteristics and inhabitants of the place. MEASURING WIND

IIII I 1.1 C)c? M -.II cattails Mowed tall trees picnic lawn grasses table 1. Get to know the boundaries of the study area. You can use this simple device to compare wind Walk over :ne area - acquire a feel for land forma: velocities from one place to another. The size of the tions, natural and manmade structures. angle between the string and the ruler will indicate 2. Construct a working map of the area. In plotting the intensity of wind. At each station, measure wind items' on the map, such as shrubs, trees and velocities at ground level, waist level and above the head level. . grasses, use consistent symbols. STEP II - ESTABLISH A TRANSECT LINE TAKING TEMPERATURES ,'I',.0 Allow your thermometer about 3 minutes to register ,, If/I a reliable reading. Take temperatures at varying ,, I,,I. ,,,,,,, levels. ,,77,,,,,,, air temperature, shoulder height ,, ,, , ,-,,,,.,,, ,,,,, ,.,77,,,, surface temperature, mea,.dre with thermometer i ,%,, ,%.,,,,,iIS flat on the ground. . , , , soil temperature, measure at about 4 inches Ot'" ' I,''.I jilfilt.111 , ,, I/ I , , ,.1 it li II/ below the surface. .1/ //

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"I\111111111111g; locations of information collecting stations 70 DESCRIBING S9IL . DESCRIBING THE INHABITANTS Use a spade to turn over a small portion of soil. An PLANTS old spoon or knife will work in a. pinch. Record the moisture, texture.and color of the soil. Ground cover plants. Use a coat hanger wire to isolate a sample plot anywhere within several feet of MOISTURE the station marker. Within the sample plot. Dry: falls apart and sifts between the fingers Slightly moist: appears moist but does not stick together when squeezed 0. Very moist: squeezes freely and water is obvious Wet: water drips TEXTURE Soil is usually a mixture of varying sizes of particles. The abundance of particles of a certain size helps define a soil type. By examining your soil sample, can you determine if your. soil is one of these basic types.

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Sand - Silt - Clay - Laom - coarse soilfine soil extra fine medium soil Wrap a piece of tape around each plant collect; particles soil particles ed and put the number and name on the tape particles Put the plants in a plastic bag COLOR Also note soil color. Generally dark soils contain more decayed plant and animal remains than lighter soils. MEASURING SUNLIGHT

SHRUBS AND TREES Remove a twig with leaves from each of the most common plant types within several feet of the station marker. . Count the numbers of each plant type and record whether they are trees or shrubs Estimate the proportion-of shade to sunlight at each Putthe number on a piece of -tape 'and wrap it station. around the twig Very Sunny - most of the ground surface is The twigs, should be placed in a plastic bag covered by sunlight Sunny: about 3/4 of the ground surface is covered by sunlight

, Moderately Sunny - equal amounts of sun and shade on the ground surface Shady about 3/4 of the ground surface covered by shade Very Shady - most of the ground surface is covered by shade ANIMALS Insects, bees, ants, grasshoppers, butterflies The presence and activity of Many forms of animal gnats life can be infeiTed from many signs: Investigate ant hills slowly and critically by looking under things, among , cocoon leaves and twigs and by digging under the lifter on caterpillars .the ground' surface. chewed leaves Birds: Songbirds, geese; ducks', herons, hawks and more songs egg shells 3. foot prints 4. bones - 5: nests _ feathers halfeaten seeds droppings

2. 3. 4.

REPTILES/AMPHIBIANS/FISH burroWs tracks skins bones

Mammals: deer, rabbits, cats, dogs, mice, muskrats, humans and more tracks holes burrows droppings bones trails and mouse runs fur nut shells muskrat houses

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

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411.0 411P'- alk, (1111.. 410` CV' a 461, STEP IV RECORDING THE INFORMATION transect. The information you record may be used Fill out a data sheet similar to the one shown below for many years by many people and its. value will de- . for each informatiod collecting stationon your pend greatly on how clearly you record it.

DATA TRANSECT STUDY SHEET '.. Location. Date. Station Number:

WIND . . Ground Level Waist Level Above Head

Air: Very Sunny Temperature Sunny SUNLIGHT: TEMPERATURESurface Moderately Sunny Temperature (Circle One) Shady Soil Temperature Very Shady

MOISTURE: Slightly Moist Very _ Wet (Circle One) Moist Moist SOIL TYPE: Sandy Silt Clay 'LoamColor (Circlene) . PLANTS: Describe or sketc your observations:

ANIMALS: Describe the animals or signs of animals you found in your areas on the back side of this sheet.

STEP V - LOOKING AT THE INFORMATION We said..at the beginning that yourmiss.ion in con- 4. Do some plants grow only in shady areas? Do some ducting thiS transect study was to prepare a. grow only in sunny areas? Do some grow in both? Is biological inventory of a particular area. your corn- a plant likely to be more abundant if it grows only in pleted data sheets represent thatinventory and your shady areas, in sunny areas, in both? mission is, largely completed. But what do the Do some animals live only in wooded areas? Do results tell you about your area and its natural in- some live only in grassland areas? Do some live only habitants. Look over your data sheets and answer in wet areas? Are there any animals that travel from the following questions. one type of area to-an-other? For instance, are there animals that move between the' forest and the 1. Why is wind velocity generally stronger at above grassland and even to the wetland. Is an animal like-- head level? How do animals use this to their advan- ly to be more abundant if it.lives only in the forest," tage? only in the grassland;only in a wetland, or if it lives in 2. Does plant cover .affect ground temperatures? Give a variety of habitat types? an example to support your answer. Are some animals present near humans and human Do certain plants seem to grow only in certain soil activities?Are some animalspresent types? Are there some plants that grow in mote than only far away from humans and human activities? Is one soil type? How can a soil type affect the animals an animal likely to be more abundant if it can tolerate present in an area? humans and human activities? FALCON GAME Number of Falcons Total Surviving Name Falcons Three subspecies of peregrine falcons are 12346678910 found in North America- the Arctic peregrine in 1. Alaska and Canada, Peale's' peregrine in the PadificNorthwest and Aleutians, and the . American peregrine in the.,rest of the continent. 3. Adult peregripes are 15 to 20 inches, long from head to tail and have a wingspread of. about 43 .4. inches. Preying on birds, they -may live for 12 - years or more in the wild, but a more dormal life 5.' _ spanisprobably. four or five years. The , peregrine nest is customarily located in the 6. .. side of a high cliff. Peregrines tend to use the same cliffs or "aeries" for nesting year after 7. year. 8. Peregrines once nested on the dliffs bounding theIllinois and Mississippirivers.In the 9. mid-1960's the falcons, their numbers drastical- 10. .. ly cut by DDT and other pesticides, disap- Aommt, peared as nesting birds from all areas east of the Mississippi River. Peregrines are nowseen player's name. A player who loses all 10 in Illinois only during times of migration. . falcons must drop out of the game. DIRECTIONS: 6.Continue playinguntilallplayers have -1.. Use one Oinner and a playing token for reached FINISH. Player finishing with most each player. Insert pencil in, spinner as surviving falcons-istheWtNNERTTho shown. players have the same number of falcons left, the WINNER is the one who came to 2.Put players' names on score sheet below. FINISH first. 31 Player with token No. 1 spins first. Side which lands on table shows number of spaces td move. 4 Player'must follow directions on step which / / token landson. / 5. Each time a player loses a falcon, cross out one falcon on the score sheet after that /

// /

\ \ \

Spin Using Pencil \

GAME' BOARD PLAN C9 0

74 --- BEST COPY WERE GAME 1. 22. START SITUATION Blank 2m1e STATEMENTS

.41.0.rue

12. 23. Blank Space Blank Space / \ Flitt,..1/4 Space ...... ' ....:...... -.""''...... - ...... , -...... " 3. ^ 13. .-- A sportsman Illegally shoots a peregrine The year Is 1947. There are an estimated \ . i / 500 to 1,000 breeding pairs of falcons living In falcon because he thinks all "hawktype" birds / \/ \ many parts of North America. (Since the widespread 24. kill too many game birds. (The Peregrine falcon is natural predator of songbirds, pigeons, and waterfowl'a I1\\ use of DDT and other persistent pesticides Is BlankSpace, , and does not deplete game bird populations) pat beginning In 1947, MOVE AHEAD 5 SPACES, (CROSS 011151 FALCON). '-..,,. PLAY THAT SPACE AND THEN MOVE .0". \ BACK 9 SPACES) / ...... -/ .. --: ------"'"'" "". . ..- 23. /. 4. '14. / Trie year Is. 1972. Mold uses of DDT' In tiig Stao:e somo other countries are Blank Space Blank Space banned. Howcwrr, DOT is still used in Central and \ South Arrir:.:10.% MOVE AHEAD 2 (PACES, PLAY .../ ThAeL;PACE AND THEEt ri'-'011E ..-- HACK 4 SPACES) ------...------..---- 15...... , 26; 5. It is ri^ 5.prIng Four mung peregrines.. / A teem of mountain climberkexplore a cliff A female peregrine falcon eats too many N hatch 'hc ",:r 6%, ierzm United States. Side where a pair of falcons are setting up an \/ birds contaminated with DDT and other post- Biologists ;.:.w.,r.verogrIneti are the first aerie. The presence of the humans drives the falcons \icicles. When she lays her clutch of 3 eggs, the )\ to be hatched In the i'..asr xrnee the mid 1960's. away and they fall to breed. , retarded egg shells (caused by the pesticides) crack , The successful penoto wore captive bred in (MOVE BACK 3 SPACES)- 7 .,.._ ,_ open before the chicks botch. ,/ Cornell Unive:10.04 "hwyk barn". .." (MOVE BACK 8 SPACES) .'' (MOVE Al *140 2 !".e.PACES) -- - --..,....-_,...... -..... ,...... -I ---- ...-;-- \------.,*'''' 16. z An "elementary school student in MAIM 7" A peregrine falcon dies after eating too ..` Stoning, Illinois, reports to the class on the lite ./ ( many birci that had DDT and other persistent \ history of the peregrine falcon. The class learns that , pesticides in their bodies. These pesticides are 27. the peregrine falcon eats only birds, lives and nests /( passed on fhough food chains and build up to high I Blab* Space along cliff sides. and is one of the world's. leiels In the bodies of meat-eaters most magnificent and skilled flyers. N. such as falcons. (CROSS OUT 5 FALCONS) (MOVE AHEAD 2 SPACES) / '...... * ...... - ..... J.... el/ ...... ** .. / \ ..---- 17. 7. A resort facility is constructed on a \ Blank Space 28. cliff side where a pal: of falcons have \ set up an aerie for many years. ./ \ 1 Blank Spice N. (CROSS OUT 2 FALCONS) -...... !. ... /

18.* . In the spring of 1980, Scariett and Rhett, /.. The yaar is 1985. Because of DDT and other persistent pesticides, habitat destruction two Cornell-reared peregrine falcons now living . 8. N and shooting, there are no nesting peregrines left N wild, ralse two chicks atop the tallest building In , east of the Rockies. Less than 150 pairs are still Baltimore. Maryland. (MOVE AHEAD 1 SPACE. ) Blank Space nesting In the mountainous areas of the west \ EXPLAIN WHY A PEREGRINE WILL SOMETIMES , \ ACCEPT A TALL CITY BUILDING INSTEAD OF from Washington to New Mexico. / / (CROSS OUT 3 FALCONS) A CLIFF AND MOVE AHEAD 2 MORE SPACES)...... -- -.....

..------_. . ./ 19. While diving through the air In chase of N. O. i prey, a peregrine falcon surpasses a small 30. . BlankSpace aircraft, /torching a speed of over 200 miles per hour. Blank Space \ (MOVE AHEAD 3 SPACES) '-,... / ....., ...... -- ...... , ---- ...? 0. 20. /". A falconer uses' a peregrine falcon in the / The year IS 1980. Nearly 400 peregrines 31. sport of falconry. Prized, for Its strength, beauty \ The decade is the 1980's, ( and flying skills, the peregrinefalcon has been used, f.ave been raised in Cornell University's for centuries in the United States and around the "hawk barn"; many of these have been "hacked" longlasting pesticides other than DOT / Into the wild. (MOVE AHEAD 2 SPACES. are still being used. world in the sport of falconry. (GO SACK TO START) (STAY PUT) -...,, DEFINE "HACKING" AND MOVE / N. AHEAD 2 MORE SPACES) ...--'' ...... , .....- . =Wpm!

...---' 11. -...... ---' ..2. A Person climbs a cliff sideanc steals 2 The year is 1970. Cornell University opens young peregrine falcons from tneir nest. Thud / \ its "hawk barn" where they hope to propagate ( . 7 32. ' person wants to use the falcons for the sport of peregrine falcons to release to the wild. The goal \ falconry. (Although falconry Ispracticed In the U.S.. /f Is to rebuild the peregrine falcon population FINISH \ ills unlawful to take peregrines from the wild) / in the eastern United States. ".... . (CROSS OUT 2 FALCONS) \ / N...... / t (MOVE AHEAD 2 SPACES) ..,/ --...... BIRD APPRECIATION WEEK BEAKS AND FEET FOR EVERY NEED A bird's beak and feet are adapted to the special ways in species listed for the beak categories, how does each which that bird makes its living within its particular bird's beak help it to preen its feathers, arrange its nest habitat. Define- the term "adaptation" and explain how and obtain and manage its food? For the birds listed for that term applies to a bird's beak and feet. Then study the feet categories, how does each bird's feet help it each of the categorie,s of beaks and feet shown below. travel and catch and carry its food? How many toes do Name one species that belongs to each category. What most birds have and how are they arranged? is the habitat of each species you have chosen? For the

PERCHING

SEED EATERS INSECT EATERS

FISH EATERS

0

WATER AND NECTAR EATERS BIRDS OF PREY 76 MUD SIFTERS BIRD COLORINGPAGE EARTH DAY Except for the energy it receives from the sun, the down old ones:. In fact, in the earth's biological earth is a self-sufficient system. Just with the tools system, there is no such thing as newyou could 'it has at hand, the earth can produce snow and rain even say that the earth is clothed in "hand-me- and give nurture to plants and animals. But thats not downs". The land, water and air of the earth are con- to say that the earth manufactures brand new snow tinually being recycled. The water cycle provides a or that it discards old rain into some kind of cosmic good example of how the earthrecyclesits sewer, just as people build new houses and tear resources.

OCEAN AIR MASS

CONTINENTAL AIR MASS

RAIN INTO OCEAN

SURFACE RUNOFF SURFACE RUNOFF SURFACE RUNOFF WATER In the water cycle, air helps purify water, water ir- cess is restored and nothing new is ever added .to rigates plants and plants help renew the air. As you the biological system of the earth. can see, everything that is used in the recycling pro-

BUILDING A MODEL 2. We have said that nothing new is added 'to the A good way to see first hand how the earth functions biological community of the earth. What hap- as a self-sufficient system is to build and study a ter- pens when something is taken away? For exam- rarium. Like the earth, a terrarium is a self-contained ple, in relation to the earth's water cycle, what environment which draws energy from the sun. happens when people clear cut forests which transpire water and oxygen? What would happen To build the terrarium, put a layer of charcoal in the if you removed the plants from your terrarium? bottom of an aquarium or large jar. Put an inch or so of gravel on top of the charcoal for drainage, then 3. How is the earth's water cycle affected when several inches of soil. If you use a rounded con- people build reservoirs which interrupt the flow tainer, the outside can be lined with sphagnum of rivers. What happens when marshes are moss. bulldozed and swamps drained. Can we expect the recycling process to continue when we dump Now select some small, leafed plants to put into the toxic wastes into the very water we hope to terrarium. Plant taller plants at the rear and smaller drink? What. would happen to the water cycle of at the front, water the soil to settle it and cover the your terrarium, if you sprayed a pollutant such as terrarium with a lid:If you want, you can seal the lid gasoline into its environment?. with paraffin or tape, but let thterrarium.sit while before sealing, asthe glass may cloud up at first., If 4.In the past, the earth has brushed aside our in- the gine does cloud, rernove the lid until it clears terventions in its cycles as pinpricks. But now, and let sit, a while before sealing. these injuries seem to be taking their toll on the earth's biological community. What proof do we THINKING FURTHER' have of this? Why are we harming the earth so much more now than we ever did in the past? 1. Using the illustration of the earth's water cycle, What can we all do to treat the earth as a partner explain the water cycle of the terrarium. rather than an enemy ?. ARBORAND BIRD DAY

LIFE IN A ROTTED LOG

Find a good-sized tree or log in an advanced stage of 8: Are there any plants growing out of your stump decay. If you choose a log, turn it over to discover or log? If so, are .they ferns, mosses, liverworts, what is living under it. fungi, mildew, flowering plants, shrubs_or sap-. Consider yourself a "forest detective" andanswer lings? Draw and label each of the plants you-find. the following questions. 9. If you choose .a stump to investigate,are any 1. Are there leaves on or near your stumpor log? birds using it? What kinds of birds are they and 2. Is there bark on the stump or log? why do they use dead and dying trees for nesting and feeding? 3. Is the wood .hard or soft?. 10. Sketch the food web of your stump or log. Be 4. What kind of tree did the stumpor log come sure to include insects, reptiles, amphibians, from? birds and mammals. 5. Is the wood moist? 1. If not for decay, what would have happened to 6. If you have chosena stump, can you tell how the the earth centuries ago?' tree died and how,long ago? After you have finished your investigation, 6/ to 7. List the invertebrate and vertebrateanimals that leave, your stump or log in the same condition that live in or feed at your stumpor log? Can yin! you found it. Turn your log over and put its bark back identify any of them by signs of their remains together so it will remain moist and natural. Though such as burrows,. borings, droppings,nests, new crevices will probably be formed as a result\ of eggs., old skins? Are any of the animals you find your tampering with the log, snakes, toads, sala- camouflaged? manders, and mice will quickly take up thenew homes. ' j'' ,1' YOUTH.-BIRDINGCHAMPIONSillPS Note to Teachers 7. Parents will not be allowed to assist contestants With the identification of birds. A Youth Birding Championship is a good way to in- troduce the sport of birding to your students. You 8. Participants may visit any part of the contest can conduct a Youth Birding Championship just area during the one hour time period and are within your school, or you scan, include several dif- allowed' to record any species observed flying, ferent schools in your area (Use the posters en- swimming or perched outside of the area as long closed in this packet to advertise the contest) If you as the participant remains within the boundaries conduct a Youth Birding Challenge at your School of the area and write us about it, we will furnish award cer- 9. Towards the end of the time period, the official tificates for the winning students. There will be a should blow a five-minute whistle and then a Statewide Youth Birding Championship held in final whistle. Students should return to the start- Springfield on the last Saturday in April. Though the ing place prdmptly and turn in their check-lists. winners ofthe local contests are, probably the ones 10. Judging. The official should count only the birds that will travel to Springfield to the statewide corn-. that are knOwn (by record of the master list) to be petitions, all your students are invited to the event. In the area. The official shOuld subtract the: These are the rules that you should follow in conduc- number of incorrectly, listed' birds from the - ting your local contest. These same rules will be us- number of correctly listed birds to arrive at a .- ed at the State Youth Birding Championships. final score. The participant with the highest 1. The competition should be open to two score Is the winner. Recognition should be given categories. Class I includes students in grades 7 to all students who participate but especially the through 9. and Class IIincludes' students in three highest-placing individuals. grades 10 through 12. 11. For award certificates, write: Division of Forest 2. Hold the competitions in the early morning, as Resources and Natural Heritage,- Illinois DhTart- soon after dawn as possible in a park or nature ment of Conservation., 605 Stratton Building, area. Springfield, IL 62706. 3. While the students are registering for the con- THE STATEWIDE- YOUTH BIRDING CHAMPION- test, have several responsible people go over the SHIPS ARE SLATED FOR THE LAST SATURDAY IN area and compile a master list of which birds are APRIL. present. PLACE. (Lincoln Memorial Gardens) 4. Students are entitled to carry a bird identifica- TIME RegistratiOn begins at 8:30. Competition tion book, binoculars, a pencil, and. ablank and awards will conclude approximately check list. Bird calls or lures are not allowed. by 11:30. 5. After the contest officially begins, the students AWARDS Trophies will be awarded to-the top three will 'have one hour to search for birds. contestants andcertificateswillbe 6. Participants must work independentlysince presented to other participants. they are competing with each other. BE THERE! 80, YOUTH GIRDING CHAMPIONSHIPS A Field Day of Birding Competition

OPEN TO ILLINOIS STUDENTS IN GRADES 7-9 (Class I) 10-12 (Class II)

Check with' your SCIENCE TEACHER for the Local Competitions

All students are eligible to compete for trophies in the STATEWIDE CHAMPIONSHIPS in Springfield on the last Saturday in April 81 4

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-

-4.1111111111mmon- Dear water, clear water, playful in all your streams, As Srou dash or loite(through life who does not love -4.=1011r7.To sit beside you? W.H. Auden ILLINOIS CLEAN STREAMS MONTH-MAY. Clean Streams Month Is a time to remember,' a time Is thern route of the water pipes 'from treatment to think and a time to act. It Is a month for remember- plant to your school? ing how, precious our Water resources are, and that 4. Where does the wastewater from your school none of the earth'sfunctions could continue 'Without them. It is a month fdr'thinking about the, condition go? of our water resources and abotit how we can 5. Do you know of someone in your area whose well restore and keep them clean in the future. And Clean went dry? Why did the well go dry? Streams Month is a time to carry out clean-up pro- 6. Are there springs in your area? Is the water safe jects along creeks,- streams, rivers _and lakes afid to drink? ponds. Is there a creek or stream near your school 7. Do you ever see articles in newspapers and mag- that is loaded with old 'tires, beer cans, and other r junk? If so,'organize a spring cIean'.up.Yoi May also azines on water pollution .and fish kills? wish to write your congressperson abou ..laws that 8. If you brought in a gallon of water from a muddy are now being proposed to protect water resources: stream, and let it sit for several days, sediment would collect on the bottom. Where does this THINKING CLOSE TO HOME soil come from? How can we keep this soil out of Water pollution is a problem that threatens-nearly the water? Is the water now safe to drink? every area in the -United States, Including Illinois. 9. Using a map, locate a major river in your area. From 1962 to 1980, over 12 million fish were killed in How might the early explorers, Indians and set- over 1,600 miles of polluted Illinois waterways. Many tlers have used this river? of these areas were probably near your home. Write down the causes of 'water pollutioo, and answer the 10. What we do here* in Illinois can effect plants, following questions. animals and people thousands of miles away. The litter on your school playground can be car- 1. If you have a stream near your school or com- ried by wind or water to a nearby stream. How munity, do you know where it, starts? Does the can collecting litter on your playground help pro- water in your stream, ever reach the ocean? tect an ocean? 2. What kind of fish and other animals live in a near- 11. Look around your schoolgrounds to find an area by stream or lake? where the land slopes. Is soil erosion occurring? 3. Does your school -get its water from a well or Where is the soil going? What can be done to from a water treatment plant? If from a well, how stop soirerosion?

deep is the well? If from a,treatment plant, what .

' 82 WILDFLOWER COLORING PAGE

yellow ladies'- slipper orchid

beardatongue

Virginia bluebells

7 blue violet

color key: gteen 2. yellow 3. orange 4. brown 5; pink 6. blue 7. purple 8. black 9. white ' . 83 NOTES