Rest Pond Doing Its Job

Self-seeded millet in the foreground with desirable
perennials (dark green) dominating in the deeper water

I received one of those memorable messages on my phone on Friday. Roy let me know that he had just been out in the Rest Pond assessing how much flowering rush (a nasty invasive plant) we may have deal with out there. Back in June and July, we took several boat rides out for that same purpose, and the initial signs were ominous.

However, Roy's discovery late last week: what we thought were flowering rush starts a couple/few months ago (when only 4-10" long and largely submerged in a couple feet of water) proved to be almost all cattail. "I don't know what else to say other than this is as good as it gets.  I only found one plant of flowering rush . . . the amount of cattail & bulrush coming up through the millet and smartweed is outstanding. The millet is also putting out a second seed crop as the terminal heads get stripped."

The restoration of these 40 acres couldn't be coming much better. It comes down to a combination of planning, vision, existing site conditions, good fortune, favorable weather, and some dumb luck. We know a lot of it is out of our control, but especially when it progresses like it has here, we'll take it!

A 10 x 10' island of Walter's millet pioneering in the Rest Pond

It's extremely gratifying to see some predictability in nature's response. What is unfolding is really what we had hoped to see -- the residual seed from last year's millet crop has resulted in new plants this year that may dominate as much as 20 of the 40 acres; smartweed, another highly prized, seed-rich waterfowl forage, dominates maybe another 10 acres; and then the final 10 acres or so is transitioning to desirable perennial plants, most notably cattail and soft-stemmed bulrush. We are also starting to signs of other attractive plants like Walter's millet (right) and arrowhead interspersed within the annuals.

A punt boat "path" through smartweed on the west side of the Rest Pond; the transition to fall red means
flowers are evolving to edible seed -- this crop is every bit of 6' tall and should be a magnet for passing ducks and geese

While I didn't take any photos, I spent Sunday evening in the blind (#15) with my brother and nephew. It was another memorable night. The teal didn't cooperate, but I can honestly say I've never seen more wood ducks and mallards fly over my blind. We witnessed literally thousands of big ducks cascade into the evolving buffet between 5:00-8:00 PM and watched just as many pull out and fly south for the night -- with guts full of seed. The Rest Pond is doing its job.

I took this blurry image on my phone; click to enlarge to see what several hundred mallards look like
-- these were pushed out of the Rest Pond to the Tower Marsh late last week as we finished up seeding the dike
(it was the largest congregation I had seen on property this year; we saw multiple times more this past Sunday night) 

What a Difference a Rain Makes: The Dinky Track

The view looking south from the center of the 100-acre Dinky Track earlier this week

Barring a catastrophic dike failure (which we thankfully did not and should not experience), the thought that a single rain could cause flood damage to a wetland might sound strange. But the last line of my July 16, 2017 post (the day we flew seed over 50 acres of the Dinky Track) was pretty prophetic . . . to continue the biblical theme . . . "P.S. Thunderstorms are in the forecast again for this afternoon."

Just a few short hours after the seed rained down out of that plane, the actual rain came down. And it came down in big drops, close together. The thunderstorm was sustained and within a few short hours more than 2" of water fell. Usually, this wouldn't cause major problems with a millet seeding when water can be taken off a unit. But because we were just on the jagged edge of "dry" enough and because we couldn't get it dry quickly enough (in part due to extremely soft sediment holding moisture), we've now come to discover that much of the seed rotted. The landing strip of relatively bare mud above is a testament to too much water at just the wrong time.

Per usual in marsh management, one has to take some
bad (e.g. Swamp Loosestrife, above) with the good;
such is life in a world riddled by invasive species

But as is so often the case in nature, there is a silver lining. We had a hunch that the Dinky would respond differently to a late drawdown as compared to the adjacent Tower Marsh. That's why we flew millet onto 50% of the Dinky versus more like 15% of the Tower. What we didn't anticipate is that both units would show positive responses from the seedbed (the seeds naturally residing in the shallow soil).

Based on our hike earlier this week, the Dinky has much of the same nut sedge that we are observing next door (a good thing). Where the millet is lacking, we are also seeing other good pushes of smartweed and beggerstick (more good news). There are also some hints at some desirable perennials -- most notably soft-stem bulrush (again, a good thing).

We knew we were going to be dealing with some invasive loosestrife, both purple (below) and swamp (left, and in isolated stalks to the right above). As we discussed from early on, the purple is largely being held in check by a friendly beetle. There are a couple initially daunting stands in the Dinky now, but as the photo below illustrates well, the beetles are doing their jobs. And as for the swamp loosestrife, they are really only prevalent on the very tops of old, rotting root clumps (on "high ground" islands no more than 18"x 18"). We are scratching our heads a bit as to the best management approach with these buggers (no, the beetles have no appetite for swamp loosestrife), but the good news is, they don't tend to spread overly quickly, and they are really only sporadically present in most of the unit.

A fairly sizable (~1 acre) stand of purple loosestrife trying to establish within Phragmites that was sprayed in 2015;
note browning and highly stressed plants in middle of frame (being attacked by the Galerucella beetle) and the
bright-colored plants behind -- in the cue to be consumed/killed

Bidens, or beggersticks, can be a bit of a nuisance when wearing fleece or neoprene (seeds stick to everything) --
but the ducks happily feed on them come fall, so we welcome their presence in the natural succession plan

Roy estimates he saw as many as 1,000 shorebirds (big numbers but not huge diversity) earlier this week;
rain in today's forecast might make Friday's viewing worth breaking out the field guide and camera -- to be continued

I could go on and on cataloging the plants we are seeing now and the various outcomes that could evolve. But as Roy keeps saying, "This is a one week at a time proposition." We watch the weather, watch the response, and adapt accordingly.

Dry Enough for a Walking Tour: The Tower Marsh

Changes are literally visible by the day when it comes to what is growing in the Tower Marsh at present; and the tiny seedling starts in the foreground are a surprisingly positive indicator of what might be to come (click to enlarge)

The Tower Marsh, an 85+ acre expanse that hasn't been much but shallow water (12-30" deep) ringed in Phragmites since we took possession of the property, is in the midst of a change that hasn't been witnessed in decades . . . like maybe three. For the first time since the '80s (we think), this management unit is dry enough to walk on foot.

Periodic (~weekly) rains over the last couple/few weeks have saturated the mud on at least a couple occasions. Last Friday, for example, a 0.5"+ of rain covered the expanse shown above with skim water in the morning, only to see it evaporated and/or absorbed by afternoon. This makes for some sticky walking in places, but it is the perfect incubator for a late season drawdown.

As I've written about in the past, we seeded the eastern ~10 acres of the unit with millet just a short month ago (a few weeks later than we had originally intended). The result of that seeding appears as the very light green in the background of the photo above. A shot "from the weeds" is included below. This introduction of millet was intended to create desirable cover along the Phragmites-dominated eastern dike, while leaving the majority of the new exposure prone to whatever resides in the seedbed. Our fingers have been crossed and based on our initial discoveries, we're excited!

The eastern end of the Tower is now a far cry from bare mud; it has been exposed the longest and is now dominated by a nice mix of millet (flown in), nut sedge, and soft-stem bulrush (seedbed generated) -- these areas are now supporting plants 12-18" tall

A closeup of the area above shows just what we were hoping for -- a healthy mix of "fruit"-bearing annuals (nudge sedge, pictured to the left) and even some desirable perennial species.

If you click on the image to the left to enlarge, you may be able to make out the rounded, darker stems of soft-stemmed bulrush. The largest of these plants are getting close to a foot and a half, but most are <12" and can be quickly covered in the more aggressive annuals. The good news is they are there, and they are taking root.

The other good news is that even on bare mud, the bulrush is present. In fact, it really seems to be the dominant plant in areas where water has just receded. Seedlings that are <3" tall can be difficult to identify to species, but with some experience and a good camera, you can train your eye to ID the usual suspects.

Below, I have included just a few select photos from of the other discoveries from our hot walk onto the mud. I'll try to detail what we found on the far east unit (the "Dinky Track") soon. While we implemented a similar management tactic, things are looking markedly different over there.

Demonstrating its propensity to germinate about anywhere that it can find a foothold, these two individual Japanese 
millet seedlings are joining a handful of bulrush on the inside curve of a decaying snapping turtle shell

Even one of my favorite wetland plants, arrowhead, is showing itself in very isolated clusters in the Tower

This perspective is most striking because two seasons ago it was a sea of Phragmites 10-feet tall or more; the sun-faded sticks and one isolated plant are all that remain after an aerial herbicide treatment (late August 2015); with the water now down, we are seeing the immensely positive response from the millet, nut sedge, and bulrush

Summer Marches On

A healthy mix of perennials (cattails, soft-stemmed bulrush, etc.) are now making their presence known
among a good crop of annuals (largely millet, smartweed, and nut sedge) in our 40-acre "Rest Pond"
-- Roy shared this photo while I was away

I thought I'd better check-in just to confirm that I hadn't sunk into the muck in some quiet corner of the marsh somewhere! Two bouts with a bad back sandwiched between an eight-day road trip to Florida and Virginia have somehow allowed two weeks to pass since I've been able to be on-site in Erie County. Hard to believe.

Roy and Nate have stayed plenty busy, so their hasn't been too much time with the camera. We have a family reunion weekend starting today, but I plan to be back at it next week. I'll not only dust off the camera, but backfill on some of the recent events from the second half of July. Per usual, there are tons of irons in the fire . . .

The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest (Lk 8:8)

If you haven't already, take a peek back at posts from the last two weeks and you'll better appreciate the significance
of this image; the millet was flown in this morning by the good folks at Gibbs Aero Spray

Thought I'd just provide some visual confirmation. The balance of this season's millet seed order -- all 1,500-lbs of 2,500-lbs total -- was dropped over a 50 acre area of newly exposed mudflat this morning. One major management goal for this year officially completed. We targeted about 40 acres in our eastern-most "Dinky Track" unit and then put the balance over about 10-acres of the east side of the Tower Marsh (although there may have been twice as much mud showing in this unit by the time the plane arrived).

Our primary focus with the millet is in the ~100-acre Dinky Marsh. This morning's seeding in the Tower was more to augment natural annual and perennial plant growth in what we anticipate to be a more fertile seed bed. Time will tell whether our hunch is accurate. If it is, we'll continue to let it grow; if it isn't we can isolate the Tower and re-flood.

I didn't actually make it out to the property this morning. I was out last night to survey the situation, and I opted to join the family at church just as the plane was doing its work. I had to smile when I heard this morning's readings:

Is 55:10-11
Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14
Mt 13:1-9

Pretty apropos.

P.S. Thunderstorms are in the forecast again for this afternoon.

We Finally Have Mud Showing; It's Millet Time

I don't know what I like most about this image from Nate: the expanding exposed mud, the hundred or-so egrets
happily feeding in the receding water, or the dragonfly that got caught flying away from the camera lens (click image to zoom)
-- today, I think I have to vote for the mud

Well, we reached two important milestones today: (1) we got to turn our air conditioning off in the house after what seemed like forever (I'm not a big fan of AC, but I have a low threshold for tropical humidity); and, (2) WE FINALLY GOT TO SHUT OFF THE DIESEL PUMP! That's right, the stars finally aligned. Because of truly tireless vigilance on the part of Roy . . . and Nate . . . & neighbors, as needed, the pumps kept running. And despite more than 6" of rain over an 18 day period, we finally brought water levels down enough to expose mud and aerially seed millet.

In truth, the millet won't be flown on till tomorrow or maybe even Sunday -- just because of scheduling conflicts with the pilot. And we may run the pumps (diesel and stationary electric) a bit more over the weekend, just for extra insurance. More thunderstorms are already on the horizon by the end of the weekend.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Libellula pulchella

But what we've pulled off thus far (literally, pulled off) is pretty amazing. I tracked rainfall and water levels very carefully since June 27th. This was the day that we could shift gears from about two months of effort on the neighboring marsh to our own water management. Even using conservative pumping rates (3,000-gal/min, average, combined between both pumps), we are looking at tens of millions of gallons of water moved from a ~140-acre area of our East Marsh in under three weeks. 

To put this volume in perspective, here's a visual. I was fortunate enough to grow up on a 10-acre lake/pond in south Toledo. While there are isolated areas of the pond that are 10-14' deep, most of the basin is more like 8' deep (excluding the side slopes to the bank). If we assume the basin averages 8' deep, which is probably about right, we just conveyed the equivalent of that entire pond, every last drop -- TWICE!

You may be able to sense the exuberance and relief I feel today. Why is this so important? How did two archaic pumps keep up with all this precipitation to set the stage for this? How do these management steps encourage natural processes? 

I go into decent detail in the recap of last year's efforts on a 40-acre unit on our West Marsh. But essentially, this allows for the introduction of a plant that can help reset the clock and re-calibrate a habitat. Because of decades (like 4-5 decades) of suffocating infestations of invasive plants, it will be a challenge. But the introduction of millet should help promptly create micro-habitats, provide a carbohydrate-rich food source, stabilize a water column, introduce a fresh layer of "clean" compost (once dead), and help introduce seeds of desirable aquatic plants (thanks to visitors on the wing) that will put these acres on a much more diverse and productive path moving forward.

This feels like the end of a chapter, and the beginning of another for much of the east side of the property. As with this entire project, time will tell how it is ultimately to be written.

SYRIAN BROWN BEAR -- Animal portraits © Joel Sartore

P.S. I participated in the first of two premiere showings of Rare last evening at Wildwood. My wife joined, and I couldn't agree more with her comment: This is not your typical nature show. It really raises awareness, and stirs a desire to do more for conservation.

We are doing another showing this Sunday afternoon at 2:00 at Wildwood Metropark. It's free and open to the public. See the post from earlier this week to learn more. I will also be participating again in a panel discussion on how to bring conservation to your own backyard. Whether you can make it Sunday or not, please check out the 3-part series on WGTE. You'll be glad you did.

Millet from the Heavens

Sometimes you can practically feel the heat from a photo; the mercury had already hit 89 degrees when this image
was taken just after 8:00 am yesterday morning (the afternoon high was somewhere in the mid-90s)

Brian Gibbs of Gibbs Aero Spray in Fremont makes this work
look easy; 600-lbs of seed evenly broadcast in <20 minutes

For the second year in a row I spent about 20-30 minutes on the morning of my birthday (yesterday) watching millet seed get dropped from an airplane onto the fresh mud of a recent drawdown. Last year, we targeted the 40-acre "Rest Pond" on the West Marsh. This year, we turned our attention to a 30-acre swath that serves as the "Center Unit" of our East Marsh.

Because of some ongoing issues on an adjacent property, we have been forced to pump more or less continuously for weeks without much visual progress. Last Thursday, we directed our attention on the Center Unit and -- by closing off pipes to the rest of the eastern side -- focused the entire pump on this relatively small cell.

Dedicated pumping coupled with very warm, dry weather took 12-24" of water more or less shimmering mud by Monday. Evaporation of just about all but the deep water canals (foreground of the photos) made for pretty ideal seeding conditions by yesterday.

There is a pretty extensive explanation of the motivations for this management technique provided as part of last year's project summaries, but in essence, millet serves as a cover crop that can act like an emergent wetland plant, and because of fast growth and robust seed production provides a handful of really beneficial attributes in very short amount of time.

Within 60 days, this seed should grow into a thick canopy that stands 6-8' tall. This quick response offers near immediate shelter/habitat for a surprisingly broad range of wildlife. Many stems and a complex root structure help "stabilize" the water column, making it clearer and more conducive to germination and growth of other beneficial plants. By the middle to end of August, each individual plant should produce heavy seed heads -- laden with literally thousands of carb-rich seed -- that should attract waterfowl (and blackbirds!) in big numbers. As the visitors dine, they also replant the substrate beneath them with other desirable plant seeds that have passed through individual digestive tracts. Finally, as the millet (an annual) dies back in the fall and winter, it provides a clean, rich substrate for all the newcomers to develop in -- not just next spring but over subsequent growing seasons.


P.S. If the stars align perfectly, we may end up seeding another 50 acres on the East Marsh with millet yet this month. We are running out of time though. We need to get a lot of water moved and the clock is ticking; if we don't seed by the end of June, the seed isn't apt to mature in time to maximize the benefit.

Three Birds of Note: Ibis & Pelicans

This glossy ibis was one of four that visited the millet late last week. By Saturday morning, they were accompanied by an equally rare relative, a pair of white-faced ibis.

Birding is all about timing. Right place, right time. And speaking of time, I just haven't had much to report on several exciting visitors over the last several days. But before I do, some backstory . . .

Millet by Thursday afternoon
(note egrets in mud to right of channel,click to enlarge)

Last Thursday, we started the West pump in an effort to expose more "mud" in what was 40-acres of millet last fall. We were at a tipping point. What might have been 4-8" of water over 20 acres to start the day shrunk to maybe half as much water over half as much area over the course of the entire day of moving water.

Our goal in pumping this unit at this point in the season is to expose more soil to direct sunlight because even a few inches of water can prevent the germination of the desirable vegetation we are trying to promote. It's somewhat of a cat and mouse game with precipitation.

This stage of a drawdown tends to be pretty dynamic -- not only in terms of the change in water levels, but in how the wildlife responds. I unfortunately couldn't be there myself, but Roy tells me that by early afternoon, the dwindling water was simultaneously visited by 146 great egrets (he counted!) and four individuals that literally had cars pulling over on the Route 2 overpass. Glossy ibis are known for their curved bills and their propensity to East Coast living. This burgundy to black wader looks like something out of Dr. Seuss, and it typically resides along the Atlantic Coast, from Maine to Florida, into the Caribbean and even Central and South America. But according to the ODNR, this species may not make it into Ohio for multiple years at a time, so seeing four at once (three in one blurry camera frame) was pretty exciting!

Eager bird watchers (apparently alert even when driving by at 65 mph) congregated on the shoulder of our exit with spotting scopes from Thursday until Saturday morning -- when the ibis ultimately pulled out. Fresh rains pushed the water up another few inches, making a mealtime dip uncomfortable even for the larger egrets. [They are like walking staff gauges; great egrets only like water <6" deep, while great blue herons will frequent water up to 12" deep.]

But before the rains fell, one particularly enthusiastic and seasoned birder from Cincinnati confirmed Roy's hunch. Four ibis had become six, and the last two to join the party were an even rarer visitor, the strikingly similar white-faced ibis. The two share feeding behaviors, and both apparently like to wander far afield of their typical range. The white-faced is widely distributed west of the Mississippi, and even takes up year-round residence in mid- to southern South America. Unfortunately for us, they don't like to have their pictures taken!

Documented on "East Medusa Marsh"
through former site Aves.net

One final birding note worth noting: as we closed up shop for the evening today, we were treated to a flyby from three of the biggest birds one can see in Ohio: the American white pelican. With a wingspan up to 9.5', they are tough to miss, but again, they are not a common sight in the Buckeye State. I have come across historical photo evidence that they have been documented on our East Marsh in the past. While they seemed to give it a look (breaking their wings to interrupt their telltale glide), they apparently had their minds set on something even further east -- even further from their typical range.

Pretty neat stuff.

The Joy of Matted Down Millet

What could possibly be exciting about this image? Note the subtle greens under the water and
the duck feather in the lower left corner, and I'll explain . . . 

Well, you might have to be a bit of a wetland freak to truly be excited by this photo. (I'll admit, I'm guilty as charged.) But when Roy passed this image along -- and several others just like it -- this week, I know we were both thrilled at what we are seeing.

I spent some of last evening adding some content under the "2016" tab above. The West Marsh Dike Rehabilitation story (scroll down just a bit on that page) provides some helpful additional context to today's photo. But essentially, because

(1) we were able to draw water off a 40-acre area that has historically been called the "Rest Pond" (because no hunting was allowed in it to provide refuge for ducks), and because
(2) we were able to rebuild a large earthen dike directly adjacent to the pond to better influence what grows in it, we were able to
(3) seed and nurture a bumper "crop" of Japanese millet within these 40 acres.

All of this happened last summer, but the millet "strategy" wasn't just beneficial for a single season. Even though this plant is not native and is an annual (only grows for a single season), it has some remarkably useful attributes that persist. I will get into more detail as I continue the 2016 summary, but essentially, this grass-like plant converted what was a shallow pond of "chocolate milk" (muddy water) into a 2016 waterfowl buffet. The millet offered great cover. It grew in dense stands to 8' tall. But the seed-heavy terminal ends of the lush growth sagged temptingly into 2-3' of water, creating convenient openings for glutinous dining.

While the ducks gorged on millet seed in late summer through fall, they executed on two critical goals: (1) they spilled enough millet to provide a chance for decent self-seeding of some millet for 2017, and (2) they deposited all the seeds of all the other desirable plant species we want introduced into the Rest Pond as contents passed through the ducks' digestive tracks. (That's right, seeds do get carried by ducks -- and very effectively, I might add.)

So the feather in the photo above is symbolic of our unsuspecting restoration partners -- in this case, ducks. And the green represents this spring's first harbingers of new and diverse life in what will be a really fun restoration story to continue to witness. Isn't nature grand?