1 May 2020

FOCUS

Newsletter of the Mayslake Nature Study and Photography Club

Hosted by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County www.mlnpc.com

naturephotosclub@gmail.com

Freshwater Mussels with

Naturalist Pam Otto May 4th 7pm

ZZoooomm MMeeeettiinngg

Hidden amid our area’s sand and gravel streambeds like one of their best-kept secrets: freshwater mussels. These filter-feeding organisms help clean the water, and also provide food for animals like raccoons and muskrats. Their glossy shells once were prized for making buttons, a practice that nearly led to their extinction. Today they’re waging a comeback, but still face threats from siltation, invasive species and other facets of modern life. This talk will include a look at the mussels’ cultural and natural history as well as an examination of their fascinating, fish-dependent life cycle. Pam Otto is the outreach ambassador for the St. Charles Park District. She holds master’s degree in outdoor education from Northern Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree in Foods in Business from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She worked in the field of trade publishing for 15 years prior to her “rebirth” as a naturalist in 1999. Since that time she has worked at the Kane County Forest Preserve District’s Tekakwitha Woods Nature Center and at the Fox Valley Park District’s Red Oak Nature Center in North Aurora. She joined the naturalist staff at St. Charles in September 2007.

Upcoming Programs

May 4th

– Freshwater Mussels by Pam Otto and

Image of the Year Winner Reveal

June 1th

– Capture 1: Alternate to Photoshop –

David Schooley

Images courtesy of Pam Otto

2 May 2020

Competition September 16th Our next meeting is a Club competition. Even if you are not submitting images, please attend as this is a great opportunity to view images of your fellow members. Also, the critiques include valuable discussion of photo techniques. Each print and digital image entered into the competition will be commented on. The three judges will rotate giving comments, with only one

Message from the MNSPC President

I hope you are all healthy, safe and following the latest CDC and Illinois guidelines. I, like you, am frustrated with having to stay home especially as the weather is changing. But, there is light at the end of the tunnel and restrictions seem to be easing. We can begin to explore in forest and nature preserves once again.

We have been investigating the use of video conferencing and have rescheduled the April 6th meeting to May 4th with Pam Otto. I encourage everyone to refer to the email you’ll receive with the link to the May 4th Zoom meeting at 7pm. We will be turning off video and initially muting everyone so as not to overload network and audio. We encourage people to type in their questions via the Q&A screen in Zoom. We will review this at the beginning of the meeting.

If this video conferencing session turns out well, we will schedule a session for June and possibly July. We will continue to monitor published guidelines and FPDDC Mayslake access to determine when an appropriate time for in-person meeting. We will be conservative with respect to returning to “normal” practices given our membership demographics.

As noted last month the following activities have been postponed until a later date:

The May Members’ banquet scheduled for May 4th has been canceled. We do not think it would be advisable to have an open buffet even if the current state guidelines are relaxed. We may try and schedule this for the fall or for the Holiday party.

The Amphibian and Reptile Photo Shoot likewise has been postponed to a later date, possibly in the fall depending on The Frog Lady’s and Mayslake Estate availability.

Hopefully in a few weeks months this situation will resolve and we once again can start leading our lives. In the meantime, stay home, stay safe, stay healthy and save lives.

Steve Ornberg

3 May 2020

Tech Tidbit

Gail Chastain and Janice Henry were experimenting with Photoshop distortion effects that resulted in some unique images. One of these was the Twirl Effect. More information can be found on this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/pwsjgqI4eaY The second effect was “Magic Circles“ that Janice introduced us to. Attached are the PDF instructions on how to create these. Note, these effects become very addictive and you can also experiment with including both of them together in an image.

Twirl Effect Magic Circles

2019-2020 Image of the Year

The voting is now closed for the Image of the Year. We will be showing a slide show of the Top Ten finalists and announce the Image of the Year winner at the May 4th video conference meeting. The 42 images that won awards over the competition season (September 2019 -

January 2020) can be viewed on the club Flickr page: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmM3G2Lq

4 May 2020

MNSPC Groups.io

We currently have 53 club members who have accepted the invitation and joined the new club communication tool MNSPC@groups.io . It is simple to use and replaces the Yahoo Groups that we used in the past. The Yahoo Group is now closed and will no longer be used for club communications. For those who have not joined yet, you can still join by finding the invitation email and clicking on the accept link. Since the sell-isolation began, we have been sharing a daily photo. These have been great because members have been trying different photo processing techniques that result in interesting images. If you do not wish to receive individual emails, you have the option to chose a digest format. Visit https://groups.io/g/MNSPC and click on Subscription.. You will see the screen below with the default email delivery set to Individual Messages. You can change this to Full Digest, Group up to 12 messages together as one email instead of being sent individually, or Daily Summary, a morning summary of the group's messages from the previous day.

Hello MNSPC Members, Even with our nation in lockdown, there is still so much to see and photograph. We are in the midst of another beautiful spring with everything waking up and start to bloom. For example, on my local neighborhood daily walk, I spotted this adorable bunch of little mushrooms and dandelion flower. Maybe it’s not the most photogenic of things for some to admire, but for those of us who love fungus, it’s a gorgeous specimen! If you’re looking for some creative inspiration while at home, be sure to check out our Groups.io emails. Our members are not only talented photographers, but are kind, hilarious, and knowledgable. I’ve found the photo shares, etc. so much fun to keep up with, and I think you will agree that it’s worth a look. So, until we meet again, stay safe and healthy. Happy Photographing, Cheryl

5 May 2020

Nature Corner

Nature Corner aims to educate about animals,

flowers, plants and trees. Each month we will

include a plant or animal photo and a few

words about the subject so you may be able

to identify it when you see it.

Everyone is encouraged to submit a photo to

Sheila Newenham via the club e-mail for

inclusion in an upcoming newsletter. Include

the name, location and date if relevant, and a

little information about the subject.

Bev Bartos

Red-Winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus)

I have been spying and hearing the Red-winged Blackbird in my backyard this spring. Agelaios means “belonging to a flock” and phoeniceus means “deep red”. Identification: Breeding males are larger, stocky birds with a red shoulder patch bordered in yellow. Females are brown heavily streaked overall, with a yellowish mask around bill and paler on breast.

Sound: “conk-la-ree” “oak-a-lee “konkkeree” with emphasis on the last syllable with a buzzy trill. Sounds between males and females are “cheer” “peet”

Habitat: Red-winged Blackbirds spend the breeding season in wet places like marshes. You may also find them breeding in drier places like sedge meadows, alfalfa fields, and fallow fields. In fall and winter, they congregate in agricultural fields, feedlots, pastures, and grassland.

Range: Widely distributed across the country. Some areas such as Western United States and Gulf Coast reside year round. Usually the first bird to return in the spring.

Food: Red-winged Blackbirds eat mainly insects in the summer, sometimes probing at the bases of aquatic plants with their slender bills, prying them open to get at insects hidden inside. In fall and winter they eat seeds such as ragweed and cocklebur as well as native sunflowers and waste grains.

Behavior: Male Red-winged Blackbirds spend much of the breeding season sitting on a high perch over their territories singing their hearts out. Females tend to slink through reeds and grasses collecting food or nest material. Red-winged Blackbirds nest in loose groups in part because appropriate marshy habitat is scarce. Typically 5-15 females crowd their nests into one male’s territory. Females mate with the territory holder, though many also mate with nearby males

Nesting: Females build the nests by winding stringy plant material around several close, upright stems and weaving in a platform of coarse, wet vegetation. Around and over this she adds more wet leaves and decayed wood, plastering the inside with mud to make a cup. Finally, she lines the cup with fine, dry grasses. One nest examined by a naturalist included 34 strips of willow bark and 142 cattail leaves, some 2 feet long. Three to five greenish-blue streaked eggs are laid per clutch. Incubation is 11-13 days. Chicks are independent in 2-3 weeks. Juveniles reach adulthood in 2-3 years.

Submitted by Bev Bartos

*Sources of information: celebrateurbanbirds.org, allaboutbirds.org, birdsna, audubon.org

6 May 2020

May OUTINGS

Get yourself out there! And then share your images to be included in the next newsletter. Email images along

with your name, image location +/- image title to drsnewenham@gmail.com

Several parks and preserves are reopening effective May 1st. The CDC physical distancing guidelines are still

in effect. If you cannot maintain the physical distancing guidelines, wear a face mask/covering. Be safe!

Will County Forest Preserves reopen. Before you go check the web sites:

https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/

Cook County Forest Preserves are open except as noted: https://fpdcc.com/coronavirus-disease-

covid-19-events-locations-precautions/

Most DuPage County Forest Preserves are open except as noted:

https://www.dupageforest.org/coronavirus?hsCtaTracking=7c09f1fc-c9f0-4216-8377-

f1ff915acc99%7Ce6889992-2fa2-4cd7-a58f-65bbddf4d6bf

Indiana Dunes National Park seems to be open for now with a few parking lot closures. Refer to their

web page: https://www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

The following Illinois State Parks are open effective May 1:

o Northwestern Illinois: Argyle Lake State Park, Jubilee College State Park, Lowden State Park, Morrison-Rockwood State Park, Rock Island Trail State Park, Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area

o Northeastern Illinois: Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park / North Point Marina, Chain O' Lakes State Park, Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail (includes Buffalo Rock, Channahon, Gebhard Woods, and William G Stratton), Kankakee River State Park, Moraine Hills State Park

o Additional state park info: https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/closures/Documents/COV-19/PartialParkOpenings.pdf

Wisconsin State parks are also due to reopen on May 1st https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/

Chicago Botanic Garden is closed until July 1st (bummer).

Morton Arboretum is closed at least until May 31st https://www.mortonarb.org/visit-explore/plan-

visit/coronavirus-covid-19-prevention

Cantigny Park is closed until further notice. Refer to page for the latest updates:

https://www.mortonarb.org/visit-explore/plan-visit/coronavirus-covid-19-prevention

MNSPC Membership Renewal

May 1st is the time of year when we typically request members renew their membership. Attached is the

form and instructions for submitting your renewal. This year however is far from typical. The Board has

decided that instead of delaying distribution of the renewal form we would instead

Move the due date to July 1st

Waive the $10 late fee

Allow people with financial hardship to renew and pay when possible, and

Retain the same fees. We will try to reschedule canceled events so we have the same events as a typical year

7 May 2020

Did You Know?

NEED HELP IDENTIFYING WILDFLOWERS?

Everyone loves spring wildflowers, and most of the early wildflowers bloom in woodlands (most prairie and wetland wildflowers bloom later). As nature photographers, we like to identify the flowers correctly, and that usually means we need a field guide. If you are a beginner, want a handy reference or a way to review the flowers you haven't seen for a year, you might like this four-page guide from the Field Museum, which can be downloaded for free.

https://fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/guides/guide/575

There are guides to many other subjects, as well: birds, trees, mosses, sedges, you name it. Go to fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org to see them all.

For the guides I use most (butterflies, dragonflies, oaks) I like a hard copy, so I print them on inexpensive 8 1/2 x 11" photo paper. They are handy for review purposes and could probably be cut up and made into flash cards, though I have not tried that.

If you are really into wildflowers, though, you'll want a good field guide. There are many good ones, but if they are more than a few years old, the scientific names will be out of date, so my go-to flower book these days is Wildflowers in the Field and Forest by Steven Clemants and Carol Gracie. Older books like the Field Guide to Wildflowers: Northeast and North Central North America by Peterson and McKenny can be ordered online inexpensively. If you buy used, you can get it in hardcover; new ones are paperback.

By Jack Shouba

Dutchman’s Breeches Prairie Trillium (not found in prairies,

but in prairie states)

8 May 2020

MNSPC Member

Adventures

This column highlights the

nature photo experiences of

our intrepid members. Seeing

where members have been

and what they have been

doing may pique your interest

in visiting some of these

areas. We encourage

everyone to contribute a

nature-related story for this

column. Please email Sheila

Newenham at

drsnewenham@gmail.com

with a few of paragraphs and a

couple of images about your

experience.

Black Partridge Forest Preserve is Closed by Gail Chastain

That’s the bad news, Black Partridge is closed. So with Plan A out of the question, we had to figure out Plan B. What follows is a photo diary of the day, the hunt and the experience!

The day started interesting when I went out early to fill the bird feeders. I looked up to see a squirrel on the railing of the gazebo, staring at me, and I mean really staring hard at me. If ever there looked like a mad squirrel ready to pounce on me, it was him. He was completely still, with only his tail twitching, but seemingly ready to jump. So I reminded him who pays for the bird seed and then finished what I was doing, while of course keeping an eye on him. I guess I’ll have to take my camera with me from now on.

So off we went to Black Partridge for spring flowers. Imagine our disappointment when we arrived to find it not only chained up, but also a police car there. I guess they don’t want us anywhere near it. We drove a little further west where to another preserve that was closed also. After driving around, we decided to head to Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, which ended up being a good choice.

It was open! We parked, even practicing our social distancing with our car, and headed out. Turkey Vultures were overhead and Steve, as he always does when he sees them, reminded me to “Look alive!”. We followed some small trails that led down to the river. Not much was growing or blooming, but rather it was the in-between period when the snow melts and before the green comes. But in all seasons, there is beauty to be found and so that was what I needed find.

Neither did I. But I walked closer to see what was going on. She yelled down at us, “Did you see the Duck-billed Cranes?” I replied “What?” “I think they call them Duck-billed Cranes.” She yelled again. “Did you say cranes? Could you mean Sandhill Cranes?” I asked. She agreed and then proceeded to very excitedly tell us all about the 8 cranes, where she was, where we could find them, and that she saw AND heard them . . . (wait for it) . . . yesterday. Today they were not there.

At the lake, there were two geese gliding by, both male and female Red-winged Blackbirds, and a couple of Song Sparrows hopping along the dry grasses. The sky was completely overcast, so a picture of nice blue sky with fully white clouds was out, but

it was the old grasses and the lake that attracted my interest. While we were at the lake, I heard someone calling. I turned to see a woman waving at us. Steve looked at me and said, “I don’t know her.”

9 May 2020

yesterday. Today they were not there.

We shared in her excitement, thanked her for letting us know and said we would check that spot out. Isn’t it amazing how much we need human contact to just tell someone/anyone these things? Even a complete stranger over six feet away will do.

We walked around mostly enjoying the small human made trails, taking pictures of the landscape, but also appreciating the smaller things. An old bird’s nest, dried seed heads, Red-wings scolding us, puff balls, and empty snail shells. As we walked back to the car, from up high we were treated with the sight of two Wood Ducks flying to the spot we had just been.

Although it was Plan B, it was a nice plan. Then, we came home to find out social distancing has been extended until the end of May. I think I will also be looking for any complete stranger to talk to.

I hope you enjoyed the images and our story.

Addendum: See what Steve found at Fermi!! The Duck-billed Crane. You never know what weird experiments they are going there. (BTW it’s a joke).

Duck-billed Crane by Steve Baginski

Addendum: See what Steve found at (located redacted to protect the rare bird) - The Duck-billed Crane. You never know what weird experiments are going there. (BTW it’s a joke).

Virginia Bluebells in bloom in a Kane County Forest Preserve on April 28

th

10 May 2020

2020-2021 Officers and Committee Chairs The following members have graciously volunteered their service to the club in

the following positions.

President: Steve Ornberg Vice President: Ramu Bijanki Treasurer: Chuck Klingsporn Secretary: Barbara Dunn

CACCA Delegate: Karl Knapp (Marcia Nye)

Competition: Ron Szymczak (Lee Balgemann, Bill Ludemann)

Education: Fred Drury

Equipment: Dave Schooley (Bill Dixon)

Exhibits: Fred Drury

Forest Preserve Liaison: Cheryl Rausch

Membership: Jeff Wooley

Nature Study: Chuck Peterson, Jack Shouba, John Janunas

Outings: Beverly Bartos

Publications: Sheila Newenham

Social: Christine Dewey

Webmaster: Steve Ornberg

The Club Budget for the New Year

Our club constitution requires that a summary of each year’s new budget be presented in the May issue of FOCUS. This is it. Also as required, the Board approved this budget in early March, before all of the COVID-19 restrictions and precautions were put in place. The budget planning presumed programs and activities similar to prior years. As we all know now, that isn’t going to be possible for the foreseeable future. So, there will be more volatility in our finances than would otherwise be the case. We are fortunate that our cash reserve should be adequate to cover whatever changes are necessary as we adapt to the new world. Steve and the Board are working hard to find ways to stay in touch with members and to provide content and activities that are informative and useful.

Now, on to the numbers in the budget. Expected revenues and expenses are equal at $3,200. On the revenue side, the major items are Member Dues at $1890, the annual dinner in May 2021 at $600 and an expected Photo Class generating $250.

As to major expenditures, there are two items in the Programs category totaling $1,000. We expect the catering cost for the annual dinner to be $600 and there are other smaller costs for web site maintenance, competition, liability insurance, CACCA and PSA memberships and supplies.

As usual, if any member wants to see the printed budget or wants more information, I will be happy to accommodate. Contact me by email at northrockies@aol.com or call my cell phone, 708-927-7215.

Chuck Klingsporn - Treasurer

11 May 2020

2020-2021 Membership Renewal The club’s 2020 fiscal year runs from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021

Individual Membership $30.00 Family Membership $30.00 for the first member, plus $15 for each additional member at the same address

Please make checks payable to: Mayslake Nature Study and Photography Club

Please mail to: Jeff Woolley 602 South Bodin, Hinsdale, IL 60521-3917

NOTE, enter only your name below if personal info has not changed.

Cut & mail to Jeff >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Family Name_________________________ Amount enclosed_______

First name(s)____________________________________

Street Address___________________________________

City, State, Zip___________________________________

Preferred Phone No. ______________________________

Email __________________________________________

NOTE: If you are joining or rejoining as a couple, for our membership records, please provide the name,

cell number, and email address of your spouse below…..