Crossing the Dead River

Northern shrike photographed by John Cassady.

The south end of Illinois Beach State park is like no other place in the entire state. The northern third of it consists of a pine savanna over a rich prairie understory. But not one of the pines is native- they are what remains of what might be considered the first attempt to engage in ecological restoration in this area. In the early 1870s, a nurseryman named Douglas felt that a sandy stretch with no trees needed to be improved. It is said that he loaded bags of tree seeds on his horse and as he rode the swells and swales, he tossed out handfuls. Today, only Austrian and Scotch survive and they are gradually disappearing, a function of senescence and the periodic burning that that is essential to the native plants.  

This area over the years has produced an incredible array of rare birds. (Here is a case where what is best for birders may not be best for biodiversity- the foreign pines are inimical to the rare native plants and insects, attract the birds. One year red-cockaded woodpecker spent the fall here (many hundreds of miles north where it had ever been seen before) and the next year it was replaced by a brown-headed nuthatch, a  fellow member of the southern pine forests. Just tow years ago, a Clarke’s nutcracker showed up for a few days. 

The southern two-thirds consists of pannes, a globally endangered plant community that grows in swales, nurtured by the mineral rich water of Lake Michigan. There are numerous swales paralleling the lake, but one is particular is broad and almost always filled with water. Rails, short-eared owls, and Ammodramus sparrows often flush from the margin. 

For many years a system was in place where serious naturalists could received passes to cross the Dead River and enter the area. More recently however it has been closed to virtually everyone. Those of us who know the “south pines” pined that we could not access this gorgeous region. Beginning last year, birders were once again allowed in for about a month and a half in fall under a system of guided trips. 

Last week was my turn to lead one of these walks. It was on a weekday and only three people had signed up. Having a small group is actually pretty nice. Before we even crossed the river, we had a merlin and sharp-shinned hawk. At the mouth of the river were two sanderlings and just offshore a small flock of scaup. The pines yielded a woodcock, red-breasted nuthatches, and two great-horned owls, which are regulars.  

As we moved beyond the pines and walked the swale edge, we began flushing sparrows, but they were too quick to identifiy. There tails were too long for the rare ones- Nelson’s, LeContes, or Henslows- and indeed we were eventually able to shush out a nice group of swamps. A peregrine falcon appeared from the south and shot over us. 

The best bird, though, was spotted by one of the other observers. She thought it looked like a mocking bird. It was a northern shrike, my first of the year. We watched it jump around the branches of a shrub before it took off across the swale right in front of us. At the end of a four hour walk, we did not see anything rare, but for me the site is so gorgeous it is a joy just to be there. 

On Saturday, Al Stokie led a small group into the area and did see something rare. While his two companions worked the pines, Al walked along the beach and saw a totally unexpected Plegadis ibis struggling to stay inshore as the wind tried to push it far over the lake. No one knows how the ibis fared, but Al sure was happy.

Swamp sparrow photographed by John Cassady.

          

Tags: Dead River, Illinois Beach State Park, northern shrike, panne, swamp sparrow