Recent Purchase Provides Missouri River Management Potential

When the Corps of Engineers purchased about 600 acres at North Alabama Bend in July 2009, it bought a tract that will provide further opportunities to manage habitat along the Missouri National Recreation River.

Area map of the North Alabama Bend tract, with the boundary shown by the red line. Image courtesy of the Omaha District office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The "tract of land was purchased by the Corps' Missouri River Recovery Program for restoration efforts to preserve riparian habitat," according to Kelly Crane, a program manager with the federal agency. "This parcel was attractive because it is a large, undeveloped piece of land that lends itself to preservation and is bordered on the south by the Missouri River for a little more than one mile and bordered on the east by Highway 19."

"The land features some variation in elevation which allows for both uplands and lowland plants," Crane said. "There are over 300 acres of maturing cottonwood forest (along with some other mixed trees). There is some cedar encroachment on the land, but the Corps will work to remove" this invasive species. About 200 acres of grasslands will be worked to restore native species of flora and fauna.

The property will also be conducive to restoration of sandbar habitat and possibly a backwater restoration, Crane said.

"The Corps will work with a multi-agency team consisting of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the States of South Dakota and Nebraska, and many other agencies that will cooperatively determine the ultimate use of the property."

The North Alabama Bend Property was purchased for $3.4 million.

North Alabama Bend was named for the 220-ton steamboat of the same name that wrecked on October 27, 1870.

"There is a steamboat wreck approximately seven miles upstream that historians believe may be the North Alabama," Crane said. "The wreckage is not located on this site."

This tract is currently open for walk-in public access.

Observant Doctor Originates Phenology in Michigan

When Harmon A. Atkins, M.D., moved to a territory in Michigan in 1842, he decided to stay, with his tenure spanning more than four decades during which a profound interest in birds brought about a pioneer effort for historic ornithology. The doctor documented the arrival of different species, their status, and other aspects of their local natural history which he shared in a variety of ways.

Dr. Atkins arrived in 1842, having left Elba, N.Y., with nothing to indicate why he selected this particular place. At his new home, he was the first medical practitioner in the township, according to chronicles of the county history book. Though he left for a short time, he returned - owning property - and took up residence in Belle Oak, a small hamlet also shown on a map of Ingham county in 1873 as the Locke post-office.

The township was mostly covered with forest, and had sufficient growth of beech, ash, maple, basswood, hickory and black-walnut to provide the harvest of timber in abundance, according to a history of the county. The area includes Sullivan Creek and Squaw Creek.

Area maps of Locke township, Michigan.

The territory was his home, his "roving office" and the outdoor setting where he denoted a variety of birds he observed and appreciated enough to remember.

Dr. H.A. Atkins was "an old style doctor, went horseback, had his saddle bags, and believed in bleeding, and blistering. From necessity he was forced to use barks and herbs. His great knowledge of medical botany enable him to gather from woods and fields. He made a decoction of white popple bark to take the place of quinine in chills and fevers. Many of his old patrons told ... how he cured them of the 'shakes' by using this decoction. Dr. Atkins was a naturalist and his hobby was ornithology. He was a second John Burroughs in keenness of observation. He always noticed the flight of our migratory birds and would often stop when going to visit the sick to study the habits and appearances of any strange bird. His articles on birds often appeared in the local newspapers, and his 'Book on Birds' appeared and was published with Dr. Cook's work issued by M.A.C. Dr. Atkin's studies took a practical trend as he showed the farmers that the birds were great insect destroyers and should be protected instead of destroyed." — Pioneer History of Ingham County

In looking for details on this pioneer of historic ornithology, there was no information found on the manner in which the doctor kept his observations. Undoubtedly his notebook was a treasure, providing the source for presenting his observations 25 years after they were first noted during his travels about the local country.

Bird Calendar

The doctor certainly had a roving eye for three months each spring of the year, looking for his first sighting of a particular species. Some of the essential details were issued in summary tables - typically only nine or ten lines - of an article of a very few paragraphs in the Ornithologist and Oologist, a fledgling journal of the early 1880s.

The Baltimore Oriole and Scarlet Tanager were the first two species with the details issued; and both had been first noted in the summer of 1842. Then, the small green-crested flycatcher (Empidonax acadicus) first seen in 1857, followed by the Whip-poor-will (first seen in 1842), American Redstart, and Sandhill Crane. A couple of brief articles on other species were issued during the interim, including one noting how the Black-billed Cuckoo had a nest in which a Yellow-billed Cuckoo also laid eggs, and possibly incubated the entire clutch!

The following table starts with Julian Date 50 which corresponds to February 19, 1857; day 60 equals March 1; day 90 is March 30 or March 31, depending on the year; day 120 is April 29 or 30; day 130 is May 9 or 10; and day 156 is June 5, 1865. A Julian date is determined by converting a calendar day to a particular number, and is very useful in sorting dates of occurrence.

Julian Date	Acadian Flycatcher	American Redstart	Baltimore Oriole	Sandhill Crane	Scarlet Tanager	Whip-poor-will
50	-	-	-	1857	-	-
60	-	-	-	1882	-	-
68	-	-	-	1860, 1871	-	-
72	-	-	-	1883	-	-
73	-	-	-	1868	-	-
74	-	-	-	1878	-	-
75	-	-	-	1859	-	-
78	-	-	-	1858, 1873	-	-
79	-	-	-	1865, 1874	-	-
84	-	-	-	1867	-	-
86	-	-	-	1862	-	-
87	-	-	-	1869	-	-
88	-	-	-	1872, 1881	-	-
89	-	-	-	1877	-	-
90	-	-	-	1863, '70, '81	-	-
92	-	-	-	1861	-	-
93	-	-	-	1866	-	-
99	-	-	-	1876, 1879	-	-
103	-	-	-	1864	-	-
104	-	-	-	-	-	1858, 1878
112	1860	-	-	-	-	1866, 1881
113	1861	-	-	-	-	1861, ' 63, '77
114	1881	-	-	-	-	1862
115	1870, 1878	-	-	-	-	1869, 1872
116	1862, ' 65, '72	-	-	-	-	-
117	1880	-	-	-	-	-
118	1866	-	1859	-	-	1856, 1880
119	1858, 1871	-	-	-	-	1860
120	1863, '67, 68, '79	1878	-	-	-	1857, ' 71, '79
121	-	-	1860, '61, '71, '78	-	1878	1865, '67, '70
122	1859, 1869	1863, 1872	-	-	-	1859
123	1857	1866, '69, '82	1856	-	1872	-
124	1873	1879, 1881	1869, 1880	-	1861, '63, '80	1868
125	1874	1873, 1880	1858, '67, '77, '79	-	1856, '60, '70	1873, 1876
126	1864	-	1868	-	1859, '71, '73	1864
127	-	1870, 1874	-	-	-	-
128	1876	1860, '61, 67	1865, '66, '72, '73	-	1858, 1874	1875
129	1875	1875	1864, 1874	-	-	1874
130	1877	1861, '71, '76, '77	1862, '63, '75, '76	-	1866, '75, '79	-
131	-	1859	1857	-	-	-
132	-	1857, 1858	-	-	1862, 1877	-
133	-	1868	-	-	1876	-
134	-	-	-	-	1869	-
135	-	-	-	-	1864	-
136	-	-	-	-	1868	-
137	-	-	-	-	1867	-
138	-	1865	-	-	1857	-
156	-	-	-	-	1865	-
157	-	1864	-	-	-	-

The dates noted by the doctor readily indicate the times when appropriate for the particular species to arrive in Michigan. When the particular date (i.e., the julian date has several instances), this is an indication of the period when the species was most noted more often in this region of Michigan by Dr. H.A. Atkins.

There were undoubtedly a variety of factors influencing when the Doctor first noted a species, including their prominence in the landscape, ease of being noted, and those personal concerns - especially from patients - which could influence the ability of Atkins to look for birds and to take the time to make a notation in the medium which he used to record observations ...

Acadian Flycatcher

First noted on April 21 with the range of arrival dates extending to May 10, a period of 28 days.

American Redstart

Arrival dates from April 30 to June 5, with most of the arrival dates occurring through mid-May, a period of 18 days. Perhaps the June date was the result of a doctor caring for his patients?

Baltimore Oriole

From April 28 to May 11, a period of 13 days. Nothing is prominent here to indicate the variance in dates of arrival. This species appears to have the most constricted range of dates.

Sandhill Crane

Dates from February 19 to April 12, a period of ca. 53 days. There were obviously a variety of factors influencing when the cranes arrived, which would be based on weather conditions and other items apparent to the birds, and which would may not be obvious to some watcher.

Scarlet Tanager

Arrival dates from May 1 to June 5, with all but one between May 1 and May 18 (a period of 17 days), so the latter date was probably the result of some unknown influence.

Whip-poor-will

Arrived between April 14 and May 9, a period of 25 days.

These details convey an effort of observation based upon closely looking for different species - all of them were not so readily seen as the Sandhill Crane - and to note the time. The focus was not for one year, but continued for one year, then the next and onward for more than 25 years.

Watching the birds — though the statement may seem trivial based upon the historic record of accomplishment — obviously meant so much to the Doctor, that he continually kept his eye on the bird scene, made his vital notes, and eventually presented them to other enthusiasts when there was a means of publication.

Ornithological Legacy

Dr. Atkins continued to publish his bird observations. Two important papers gave details on the winter and summer birds (82 species during June to August 1884) of the township. Other items issued about his observations are given in the bird books for the state, though summarized.

Sadly, the birdly efforts of Dr. H.A. Atkins were cut short by his death on May 19th, when he was 64, having been born in 1821 in Erie County, New York. The doctor's obituary was published in latter 1885 in the Ornithologist and Oologist. Another much shorter version was issued in the Auk, a fledgling journal of the era.

"For twenty-nine years, he carefully recorded day by day the arrivals, presence and abundance of a large series of birds, and his accuracy and painstaking effort have rarely, if ever, been equaled. His notes, a few of which were inserted from time to time in our pages, were always the results of his own observations. We valued them especially for the care, so plainly shown, with which each state fact was personally endorsed." — Ornithologist and Oologist

The editor mentioned that Dr. Atkins had planned on publishing a book of observations, but was unable to achieve this.

Obviously a detailed presentation of the observations of Harmon A. Atkins, M.D. would still be a valuable contribution to historic ornithology, more than 125 years later, as they would indicate the conditions for the migratory birds at a particular place in time. The details on spring arrival dates would make an especially interesting comparison if available for species other than those given here, and if climatological data could also be evaluated to evaluate any apparent differences.

Poetic Expressions for the Eagle and Whip-poor-will

The White-headed Eagle

Expressly for The Oologist.

Behold in yon skies, with piercing eyes,

The noble king of birds;

Who swift on the wing, his glance doth fling

O'er space untold by words.

Now he pauses on high, quick to descry

Beneath him his victim;

When with a wild dash; as quick as a flash,

Down through the air doth he skim,

As with a fierce shriek, he opens his beak,

His victim to devour

 

Again in the air, - this bird's broadest lair,

From view he circles above,

His piercing sight keen, from his height supreme

Making objects doubly acute.

Not a cloud in the sky; In the air not a sigh,

On this cool, pleasant, calm day.

The water is clear; not a sound do you hear

But the scream of the Eagle far away.

 

His head and his tail their white do unveil,

As he proudly sweeps along.

With pinions wide spread and uplifted head,

Ignoring all birds of their song.

W.

June 1875. Oologist 1(4).

The Whip-poor-will.

On a low bough, above the window sill,

Sang yester eve a lonely whip-poor-will;

An allegretto strain until the close,

Repeated o'er and o'er without repose.

 

And did he weary of the woods, and long

To pipe in haunts of men a little song

And wed it to the moonlight pale and still?

Whip-poor-will! whip-poor-will! whip-poor-will!

 

Ah! who was Will that he should come to woe?

Perchance, a Quaker bird - t'was long ago -

The changing year their promises fulfill

To every May is sent the whip-poor-will.

 

In tender shades of green the earth is drest,

The sun sifts gold around the simplest nest;

And all the bird are joyous; why must he

Mid cherry blossoms pipe a threnody?

 

Ah! who can tell - not all in night time sing,

Not all are larks with sunward soaring wing;

In nature's concert each his part must fill,

And the great master taught the Whip-poor-will.

October 1883. Ornithologist and Oologist 8(10): 80. Reprinted from the Boston Journal, June, ' 83.

Results of Tern and Plover Survey of Lower Niobrara River

A summer survey of Least Terns and Piping Plovers along the lower Niobrara River noted both species occurred commonly at a number of locations.

The count done on June 17, 2009 via airboat counted 127 terns (22 nests) at eighteen different locations, and 80 plover (28 nests) at ten locations within the 40-mile stretch of the river from Highway 137 to the Spencer Dam.

A followup survey was done on July 30th. Probable nesting success was noted during the second survey as a number of chicks or fledglings were observed.

The greater numbers noted, according to information provided by the Nebraska Public Power District, were:

Terns	Nests	Plovers	Nests	July Survey Notes
26	4	17	4	- 25 adult Least Terns, with 8 fledglings, 8 nests, and 4 chicks 12 days old
21	5	10	1	- 4 adult Least Tern with 4 fledglings - 1 Piping Plover
20	6	16	8	colony gone
18	5	10	5	- 2 adult Least Tern with 2 fledglings - 2 Piping Plover adults
10	1	4	0	colony gone
10	0	17	8	sandbar gone

During the late-July survey, at a site where there had been 3 adult terns and two adult plover in June, there were 8 Least Tern adults, with two fledglings and two nests, as well as three adult Piping Plover and one nest.

There was no apparent reason for the two colonies to be gone, according to summary report of the survey results.

Surveys in this area have only been done the past five years on a consistent basis, according to Jim Jenniges, an environmental specialist with NPPD. "This year’s June count of adults was very close to average, nests were down a little but not significant."

The survey is done each season as part of the statewide census to count adult birds in June and is not intended to document nesting.

Mark Peyton with the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, and Mark Czaplewski with the Central Platte Natural Resource District also helped to conduct the surveys.

Passenger Pigeon Poetry

"The migratory or wild pigeon of North America was known by our race as O-me-me-wog." By Chief Pokagon - Simon Pokagon - of Michigan, a full-blooded Indian, the last Pottawattomie chief of the Pokagon band. From The Chautauquan," November, 1895. Vol. 22. No. 20. Reprinted in The Passenger Pigeon, by W.B. Mershon.

Me-me-og, The Wild Pigeon

In springtime when the rosy hand of morning light

Unfolds the curtain of an April night.

And golden clouds float in the liquid blue.

As guardian spirits, weeping crystal dew,

The frightened woodsman, in wonder list'ning stands!

Thinks a whirlwind is abroad in the land!

Darkness increases, his eyes grow dim.

And as he seeks shelter from the impending wind,

Suddenly his fears are turned to joy, for he sees

Sweeping through and high above the forest trees

Millions of pigeons, on their north-bound way,

Almost shutting out the morning light of day!

Captain O.W. Rowland. History of Van Buren County, Michigan. Volume 1.

Purchase of St. Helena Island to Benefit Many Species

A key tract of land recently purchased by the Corps of Engineers will provide multiple benefits for a variety of flora and fauna along the Missouri National Recreation River along Nebraska's northeast boundary.

The St. Helena Island tract - comprising 2400 acres and seven miles of river frontage - was purchased in July by the Conservation Fund, with ownership transferred to the Corps in November.

The tract was purchased for $10.6 million, according to Mike George, a program manager with the Corps. This is a bit more than $4400 per acre.

This is the first tract of Missouri River property purchased through a cooperative effort with a land trust, and was "a real successful partnership," George said.

The property consists of cottonwood and cedar forest, grassland and cropland. It sits between the Missouri River and a steep bluff and may have been host to an Omaha Indian village in the early 1800s, according to information from the Conservation Fund.

Several prominent features make this an especially important purchase, George said. These include:

1) The property is adjacent to three islands where Least Terns and Piping Plovers nest. Ownership will protect the river bank, and prevent and development adjacent to the habitat of these threatened and endangered species.

2) Their property was historically an island, so the former riverside oxbow and chute setting provide an opportunity for recreating shallow water habitat, which would be beneficial for the endangered Pallid Sturgeon.

3) The riverine cottonwood forest will be conserved for use by Bald Eagles, and a wide variety of other bird species, including neotropic migrants.

4) This tract had been identified as a priority acquisition by the National Park Service due to its visual aesthetics and the extent of forest present.

Area map of the St. Helena Island tract.
Image courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District Office.

In the next few months, a group will be established to make management decisions for the property, said George. Representatives from the National Park Service (which oversees management of the Missouri National Recreation River), the state of Nebraska, the area natural resources district, and local/county agencies are expected to be involved. The group will prepare a master plan for the site which will maximize the benefits which can be derived from the site's ecosystem.

St. Helena Island is expected to be open for public use in the autumn of 2010, as the current landowner will be growing crops for one additional season.

Historic view of the St. Helena Island area. From the 1893 Missouri River Commission map.

An area map and related information will be provided on the Corps' website in coming months, to help the public get further information.

Birder's can readily assist with the management of the property by conducting bird surveys to help site managers realize what species are present, which could be helpful in determining management efforts to improve habitat.

In the immediate vicinity in September 1806, the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition mention the Wild Turkey and Greater Prairie-Chicken. In May 1834, Prince Maximilian noted the Whip-poor-will and White-throated Sparrow during his boat travels down the river.

Some species known to occur - based on a survey more than 25 years ago at St. Helena Bend - include the American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole, Bell's Vireo, Belted Kingfisher, Brown Thrasher, Brown-headed Cowbird, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Catbird, Mourning Dove, Orchard Oriole, Ring-necked Pheasant, Song Sparrow and Yellow Warbler.

Funding for the acquisition was included in the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, which was recently approved by Congress and provides funding for Corps' programs, including the Missouri River Mitigation Program, through which this property was purchased.

Tern and Plover Nesting Failed in 2009 on Niobrara River Section

The 2009 breeding season was a failure for Least Terns and Piping Plovers along a portion of the Niobrara River.

Based on three surveys done by seasonal biological technicians of the National Park Service office in Valentine, there were no young raised on the lower section of the Niobrara National Scenic River, according to a report just released by the agency.

The section between the Norden Bridge and the Highway 137 Bridge had been surveyed in six to 12 mile segments between June 16th and July 21st, by agency staff floating in kayaks.

On the first survey, five terns and nesting plovers were noted along the river only between the Highway 183 and Highway 7 bridges:

Table 1: 1st Census (6/16-6/25)
River Segment	Date	Mean Flow (cfs)	Terns/Nests/Eggs	Plovers/Nests/Eggs	Unknown Empty Nest
Norden to Meadville	6/25	885	0/0/0	0/0/0	0
Meadville to Hwy 183	6/18	1010	0/0/0	0/0/0	0
Hwy 183 to Hwy 7	6/16	1200	5/0/0	4/4/14	2
Hwy 7 to Carns	6/17	1120	0/0/0	0/0/0	0
Carns to Hwy 137	6/19	926	0/0/0	2/0/0	0

An increased number of these two species were noted on the second survey in latter June and early July:

Table 2: 2nd Census (6/29-7/7)
River Segment	Date	Mean Flow (cfs)	Terns/Nests/Eggs	Plovers/Nests/Eggs	Unknown Empty Nest
Norden to Meadville	7/7	841	0/0/0	0/0/0	0
Meadville to Hwy 183	7/6	922	10/0/0	8/0/0	4
Hwy 183 to Hwy 7	6/29	848	9/4/10	6/7/22	9
Hwy 7 to Carns	6/30	823	0/0/0	0/0/0	0
Carns to Hwy 137	7/2	754	4/0/0	0/0/0	0

A third survey on July 21 to the river segment where birds had been nesting, did not find any terns or plovers.

The sandbar where the birds had been nesting "appeared considerably altered from the previous visit at the end of June," the report said. "There had been a severe thunderstorm on July 13th, with precipitation exceeding two inches; this may have at least partly accounted for the absence of bird signs."

There was also a higher water flow in the river this season, in comparison to last year.

"The river flows in 2009 were considerably higher than in 2008 (a range of 754-922 cfs versus 580-707 cfs for the second census each year)," according to the report.

Overall, the numbers found increased this season in comparison to 2007 and 2008, the survey results indicate.

Results of Adult Census
	Adult Interior Least Terns	Adult Piping Plovers
2007	4	6
2008	6 (0, 6)	1 (0, 1)
2009	28 (5, 23)	20 (6, 14)

No young of either species had been raised in 2008, according to a NPS report issued last year. Three Piping Plover were hatched in 2007, according to Pamela Sprenkle, the resource management specialist for the NNSR.

Available results indicate a wide-range of known breeding success along this section of the Niobrara River in recent years:

2009-- 0 PP - 0 ILT

2008-- 0 PP - 0 ILT

2007-- 3 PP - 0 ILT

2006-- 0 PP - ? ILT

2005-- 10 PP - 4 ILT

2004-- 7 PP - 4 ILT

2003-- 11 PP - 4 or 5 ILT

2002-- 9 PP - 1 ILT

"No full-time resource manager was employed by the park beginning in the spring of 2007," Sprenkle said, "so discussions were held with resource management staff at the Missouri National Recreational River to determine the best way to handle the summer monitoring. Both because of the reduced personnel available and because of the low numbers of hatchlings encountered in the previous year, it was decided that an adult census would be a reasonable substitute: '...this would allow for population comparisons to previous years and when there is a significant increase in bird numbers, then maybe incorporate the nest/productivity checks.'"

"We (including the folks at the Missouri National Recreational River) decided to continue emphasizing the census over systematic followup visits to the sandbars," she added. "I am re-examining the protocols in conjunction with the development of a long-term resource stewardship strategy."

These surveys are conducted by NPS personnel in conjunction with the agency's management of the Niobrara National Scenic River. Park personnel monitor this 40 mile section each year.

Additional species noted during the surveys were: American Bittern, American Goldfinch, American White Pelican, Bald Eagle, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Belted Kingfisher, Black-capped Chickadee, Bullock's Oriole, Canada Goose (including goslings), Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Common Nighthawk, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, House Wren, Indigo Bunting, Killdeer, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Pied-billed Grebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, Spotted Sandpiper, Turkey Vulture and Yellow Warbler.