Summer 1998

[TEXT ARCHIVE WEB-PUBLISHED MARCH 2002.
ORIGINAL PRINT PUBLICATION DATE: SUMMER 1998.]

Here's what's debuting this season
on nature's stage in Chicago Wilderness

By Jack Mc Rae

AUGUST

Teach Your Children

The sandhill crane pair that have taken residence in Pratt's Wayne Woods in DuPage County are busy teaching their youngster how to be a good adult crane. This week's lesson is how to catch the young bullfrogs that are swimming in the water. The crane family does not want to be embarrassed this autumn, when they will join their crane friends from Lake and McHenry Counties and travel to their winter home along the coast of Texas.

Picky Eaters

The juvenile Franklin's ground squirrels at Gensburg Markham Prairie are having a hard time. This is their first time out foraging for food by themselves and, like most of us at that age, they're picky eaters and have found nothing that tastes good. They require the shelter and food found only in the tallgrass prairie, specifically along the prairie/woodland edges, amongst the shrubs. Listen as you walk through the tallgrass prairie for the loud, bird-like whistle of the Franklin's, a sharp ringing note that may be heard for a considerable distance.

Lucky 13

The 13-lined ground squirrels are doing well in our area. Historically, these rodents were found on the shortgrass prairie. As the landscape was altered through settlement and development, the 13-liners were able to move east. Now they are common residents of the Chicago Wilderness, living the good life on our golf courses and public parks and the grounds of Brookfield Zoo.

Flitter About

Do you remember those long summer drives the family took to visit your mother's relatives? Remember all the butterflies found plastered on the car grille? Chances are good that a regal fritillary was one of these unfortunate victims. Today, this orange butterfly is uncommon in this region as its habitat has been greatly diminished. The Braidwood Dunes and Savanna in Will County does have the appropriate habitat; specifically, it has bird's foot violets, the favorite food of the fritillary caterpillar.

Fortunately, the butterfly news is not all gloom and doom. There are some species — such as the red admiral — whose populations are holding their own, due to their ability to adapt to the urban landscape. Another example is the strikingly colored black swallowtail, whose caterpillar has found the Queen Anne's lace to be quite tasty.

Other butterfly success stories stem from the efforts of the human species. Restoration volunteers removing brush in wetland areas such as Nelson Lake Marsh in Kane County and Bluff Spring Fen, east of Elgin in Cook County, are improving habitat for the eyed-brown butterfly. A marvelous place to see a multitude of butterflies is the Parson's Grove of the Danada Forest Preserve in Wheaton, Illinois.

Crayfish Beware

The thousands of young crayfish living in the creeks of McHenry County had better watch out. The rare Blanding's turtles will be hatching soon and are going to be mighty hungry. Showing excellent culinary taste, these turtles would like nothing better than to chomp on some crawdads. Always health conscious, Blanding's turtles receive calcium from eating the shells of freshwater crustaceans.

SEPTEMBER

Hickory Nuts

For many centuries, the nuts of the hickory tree were an autumn staple for the earliest residents of the Chicago Wilderness. It's not surprising. Hickory nuts are high in protein, but perhaps more important, they taste much better than other local nuts, such as acorns and black walnuts. The sweet, delicious meat of the nut can be ground into flour and baked into dense muffins. Trivia enthusiasts will be glad to know that, when burned, hickory wood produces more British Thermal Units (BTUs) than anthracite coal.

Hatching Snappers

The snapping turtle eggs that were laid during the last issue of Chicago WILDERNESS are hatching during this issue. The baby snappers are now searching for a water home, using their primitive little reptilian brain to tell them where to go and what to do. Snappers, by far the largest of this region' s turtles (some specimens reach 50 lbs.), are common throughout our waterways. They are often unseen by the public because they spend much of their time crawling slowly along the bottom in search of carrion and crayfish.