Summer News 2010

Twayblade orchid

This handsome little orchid showed up at Somme for the first time in 2008. At least that's the first time anyone reported it, and many of us have studied the flora carefully since 1980. You could miss it—at just five or six inches high. In 2008, just one plant appeared. Last year, we found none. This year three popped up, all near trails, but far from each other and from that first one.

So now it's widespread, if still rare. Perhaps a careful search would turn up a dozen more. We try not to trample around a lot. We don't need to see every plant. The ones that come out to meet us along the trails are plenty.

The books call it the "purple twayblade orchid," Some of us think the color is at least as close to chocolate. It is occasionally found in rich woods or savannas. The seeds are almost microscopic. Perhaps they blow in the wind or ride in mud on birds' feet. However they get around, it's great that they've joined us at Somme Prairie Grove.

Spring News 2010

Sandhill Cranes

After the workday on Sunday April 4th, co-steward and photographer Lisa Culp hung around for a while to enjoy the peace (and snap some photos). She decided to sit quietly by the Swale Pond, to see if she could find those illusive chorus frogs that make so much joyful noise, but fade into invisibility when a person comes close. While she was waiting, she had an experience that no one has had in decades at Somme, so far as we know. A group of sandhill cranes settled down on the other side of the pond (perhaps in honor of ecosystem resurrection, as this was Easter Sunday). There were four cranes, two pairs probably, though one managed to be just outside these photos.

For decades, these handsome cranes were "extinct" as breeding birds in Illinois—but have returned as breeders to northeastern Illinois in recent years. This is not migration season for the cranes, and these four were likely shopping for good places to nest. The Somme preserves are actually big enough to support a pair—if a bit more of the brush were gone—and we could do something about off-leash dogs.

They didn't stay very long. But Somme Prairie Grove was honored that they even gave us a try. These birds live for twenty years or more, so they may visit a place for many seasons before they decide it's right for them. In the meantime, the preserve is just a little richer for their (even temporary) presence.

Great spring burn on March 30

All the major areas north of the Central Swale were burned. Thanks to burn boss John McCabe and many volunteers and staff — especially John Yapelli and Joel Rosario.

On most years, we burn about half the preserve, usually using the Central Swale as the dividing line. Some parts of the preserve get burned less often — because they are hard to burn for one or both of two main reasons:

1. They're along a road or near the businesses to the north, so we need to hold back if there's a threat of smoke causing problems.
2. They're wet and in some years won't have dried out enough to burn on the day that's chosen. This year, the northwest corner was omitted from the burn for that reason. The fact that some of these areas burn less often allows us to compare more-frequently-burned with less-frequently-burned areas. The southeast corner, one of the least burned areas because it's close to both Waukegan and Dundee Roads, was burned with a southeast wind last fall. But about half of it was too wet to burn that day.

Watch for especially beautiful vegetation with more seed production, more butterflies, and generally more robust ecosystem health in the areas burned this spring and last fall, for the next seven months.

Owlets

These young great-horned owls are spending their downy youth high in a cottonwood tree "two stone's throws" from the edge of Somme Prairie Grove. Their parents hunt voles and rabbits for them in the preserve every evening.

Ongoing Notes

What are the colored flags about?

• Some just mark the trail system.
• Some are used by the summer interns to mark work that needs to be done or weed infestations that have to be checked again.
• Some mark rare plants that are being studied by the Chicago Botanic Garden. Please don’t walk over to look at them. Those same plants are also near the footpaths.

“No Parking” signs at the Waukegan Road pull-off.

The Village has had trouble with this “service road” area being used for overnight truck parking, garbage dumping, etc. Although serving as temporary access to the preserve, it has also been a source of vehicle trespass, dumping, plant and seed poaching, and other misuse.

Also—in time the plan is for this entire area to be closed off and vehicle access needs satisfied by a new turnoff from the expressway (with a traffic signal and the ability to turn both north and south on Waukegan). The entrance and egress for the businesses down this service road will be tied in with that, so this southern part of the service road will be closed.

Parking for Somme Woods Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, and Vestal Grove will be at Somme Woods—one block south and one block east on Dundee Road. A trail with signage will connect that parking lot to this area with a “Walk Light” crossing at Dundee and Waukegan.

New “No Dogs Off Leash” signs.

Actually the law requires all dogs to be on leash in all forest preserves at all times. This rule will get extra attention by Forest Preserve District police at this preserve because (1) this fine ecosystem is so often visited by school and museum groups, (2) some loose dogs wreak havoc on rare ground-nesting birds, (3) the many rare and endangered plants at this precious site are under enough stress and trampling already without dog traffic that could as well use a less fragile preserve, and (4) there have been complaints of dogs being aggressive with preserve visitors.

Since the signs went up in spring 2006, there has been a dramatic increase in the nesting birds of open areas. The field sparrow, a ground-nesting bird on the watch list of declining species, has visited this preserve every spring but has not nested during the recent years of heavy use by loose dogs. This year at least one pair are busily bringing up their nestlings. The black-billed cuckoo—a steeply declining bird that builds a loose stick nest two to four feet off the ground in shrubs—is nesting for the first time in decades. Three pair of eastern bluebirds are nesting; there have never been more that one pair in recent years. There are many places where dogs can be walked, but this is probably the only site in the North Branch forest preserves where these birds are nesting.

Enjoy your visit to Somme Prairie Grove. Let us know if you have thoughts or questions.