Well Wisconsin Radio

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Hello and welcome to Well, Wisconsin Radio, a podcast discussing health and well-being topics with experts from all around the state of Wisconsin. I’m your host, Alexis Krause, and today my guest is Aaron Lowenhorst. Aaron is currently a park manager at Devils Lake State Park and has worked in the parks field for over seven years.

He grew up in Southern California and has been an active bird watcher since he was eight years old. Aaron used to live in a special area in the mountains and would join the Audubon Society as they would walk around his hometown. From the time he received his first binoculars and bird book, he has enjoyed learning and birding ever since.

Aaron also enjoys sharing birding with his friends and family, some of who were once terrified of birds, and now enjoy the lifelong hobby. After going to school in North Carolina for outdoor education, Aaron has implemented dozens of programs about birding from small introductory classes to raptor programs.

Aaron, thanks so much for being here today at William Lenny Lake Farms Park. Well, thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here. Yeah, it’s great. We are outside today and it’s a beautiful fall day. We have some sunshine. We have a lot of people in the audience. So thanks for being here. Would you mind starting our conversation off today with telling our listeners a little bit about birdwatching, what it entails, and how your experience can differ based on the location you’re birding in?

So I would say that birding is one of the most humble hobbies you can imagine in the United States, where you can utilize, uh, your knowledge about birds in almost any corner of the country and take it with you, whether you’re going grocery shopping to the store or going, um, on your everyday commute to going to specific locations on your vacation time specifically to see birds. Birders are come in a wide range of people everyone from people who just love to watch them fly to birders who are willing to spend their life savings To see that one bird that just flew in from South America or something like that Birders Or bird watching in general, um, has a wide variety of opportunities.

Um, if you’re a basic, um, knowledge or if you’re just starting, um, you can start, um, in your backyard. Um, if you want to, to go all in, you can invest in, in thousands of dollars worth of equipment and, and go to Antarctica to watch the penguins if you want to, um, I recently saw that there was some binoculars for sale that were like, $5,000 and I’m like, I don’t think I’d ever be able to afford that but someone out there is gonna use those to see that bird in such clarity and it’ll just be a wonderful. But yeah, so basics the birding are you’re you’re enjoying the outdoors.

You’re seeing what’s around you. Um, if you get a good glimpse at a bird that’s coming in, you might be able to identify that bird, um, either by its colors or by its size or shape. And then, um, that might be it. Or if, if you’re really interested in birding, you can, you know, it off of a list and continue moving forward and watching that bird wherever it goes.

Um, so you can do that either in your backyard or you can do it in a variety of outdoor locations to regional parks, state parks, um, pretty much wherever you go, you can take this hobby. I love that. So it’s accessible to all different ranges of people, anywhere you are. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve, I’ve seen or conducted birdwatching from the top of, um, 14, 000 foot peaks to I’ve actually burning while snorkeling, which is really odd.

I’ve even watched a Pilead woodpecker fly under me while I was ziplining once. And, uh, yeah, it, it really can do it anywhere and you can just, it’s always on the back burner of your mind, ready to see that next bird. Well, you sound like a pretty adventurous person. Today, we’re at, as I mentioned, Lunney Lake Farms County Park to move with the birds.

Can you describe what this might include today? What birds we might see? Yeah, so this is a wonderful location. Um, it’s very beautiful today. We’ve got a slight breeze, um, where we’re looking at right now, you can see the lake. And you have variety of birds out in the water. We also have a lot of trees, um, oak trees and, and different walnut trees in this Savannah.

So we have a really great advantage being here and that there’s a large diversity of ecosystems and different habitats and what are called eco tones. Um, so an eco-tone is a transition zone between habitats and those are great places to look for birds because you get the birds that are in deep in the forest coming to the edge.

You get the birds that are out in the field coming in back and forth. It provides a lot of places for birds to move back and forth, whether they’re looking for food or for habitat. We also have a lake, which is gorgeous. And as a lot of birds are moving through Wisconsin, this is going to be a place where we could see a lot of cool things.

Um, so again, if you’re looking for a place to go birding, um, you’re just going to find birds in different locations based off of their specific adaptations, and we’re in a location where there’s a lot of opportunity for different birds to come in. I’m excited. So could you share some tips on how those listening across the state can enjoy the practice of moving with the birds, whether they’re hiking, canoeing, kayaking?

Yeah. So the first and most important thing that would encourage people who are wanting to get into birding is being present. Um, We live in a society that is so busy and everything is constantly moving that simply to take time to be present and observant of the world around you is going to be your best tool.

Um, and it could be anywhere, whether I’ve, I’ve seen, uh, Cooper’s Hawk. And a Walmart parking lot, take out a pigeon and feathers were flying anywhere. And maybe I was the only person to notice that. And it was incredible. But if I hadn’t been necessarily looking around and just taking that time, I may have just missed an incredible moment of nature that took place in a parking lot.

Um, so that would be the first thing is just. allowing yourself to slow down slightly. Um, the second thing I would say is don’t let the amount of species out there be a barrier to enjoying what you’re seeing. Um, there are some estimates that there’s over, um, 800 species of birds in North America. Now, if you’re comparing that to Pokemon Go, I think there’s over a thousand species of, of Pokemon Go out there.

Um, but people still. Go for that next Pokemon. Um, but with the birds, it’s very difficult to identify some of these species and some people that it’s, it’s, it makes it difficult, makes it hard to, to get started, but I would say just allow yourself to enjoy the simplicity of, and the beauty of the bird that’s right in front of you.

And just, I don’t understand its behavior. Um, one of my favorite birds is the indigo bunting. don’t know if you know what that looks like, but. Yeah. I have watched an indigo bunting on top of one of the bluffs at Devil’s Lake, sitting on a dead tree branch, just pop right off and free fall 30 feet before it began to fly again, and just seeing the wonder behind a bird enjoying being a bird.

So, you want that spark, that love, that fascination, to really be something that, um, gets you motivated, gets you wanting to observe out, um, when you’re going around. Um, I think also the last thing I would encourage people is just keep it with you. It’s like if you’re going out for a hike, bring birding with you.

If you’re going to the mall, if you’re going shopping, take birding with you. Um, remind, um, the people around you to just, be looking around you don’t know what you might see Um, and you don’t necessarily have to have binoculars with you. That’s something I’ve been learning a lot recently with having a two year old and the four year old is it’s very difficult to actually Look through the lens of binoculars when someone’s climbing on top of you. So I have to learn to enjoy birds in other ways.

I like that tidbit of just being present. We always forget to be present these days and this is something that brings you back into what’s going on around you. What are some of the health benefits associated with moving while watching with the birds on their migration journey? Yeah, this is a great question and I think that It’s like any order other Practice and habit that you do.

It’s what you invest into it that will help you to get the benefits out of it um I think at the most basic foundational level, um, burning is getting you outside and enjoying green space and helping you to restore your attention. Um, there’s the idea of attention restoration theory of just being present and calm outside that is, is wonderfully therapeutic to the mind.

Um, and that’s just a very basic level, just being outdoors and being present. Now, um, most people have heard about getting their 10, 000 steps in a day. And, um, for most birders, uh, that’s easily accomplishable, um, depending on what you’re trying to do. So that movement involved with just walking around and being present.

Um, some people are carrying their children on their shoulders, and that’s an additional health benefit while trying to bird. Um, But I would also say that, um, there’s that physical aspect to it, um, just being out moving, utilizing your, um, observational senses. Um, it’s huge also cognitively, where, um, if you really are interested in birding, um, you can either have a bird book with you or an app or something where you are learning to identify the birds.

If you have different tools, you can learn about the audio, um, uh, memorization or just learning how you can identify birds by ear. Um, and so it’s something that you’re having to utilize many of your senses, uh, to be able to start engage with the environment around you. And it’s a huge way of just, uh, allowing your mind to be able to do what it’s naturally wanting to do on a daily basis instead of looking at a screen.

Um, The last, um, aspect of this is a benefit that I, I’m just so privileged to be able to speak about is, uh, the connectedness or the relationships that you can build through burning, uh, birding. And, um, I can say that, like, since, um, I was little, just learning about the community of these people who are willing to go at all lengths to see that one bird that just flew in is pretty spectacular.

These people are passionate about, um, just being able to experience, um, these wonderful creatures. Um, but in my personal life, um, when I first met my wife, even, um, she, um, Did not like birds whatsoever. Um, she, uh, wanted actually nothing to do with birds, but, uh, she saw my passion for birding and, um, I, it’s probably one of my favorite things in the world when all of a sudden I see my wife looking at something and she identifies a bird and I’m just so proud of her.

She is able to do that. Um, My, uh, my brother in law, uh, he also didn’t really know very much about birding and I, I, I showed him, he actually, interestingly enough, uh, introduced me to a part of the Merlin app that I’d been, I’ve been using the Merlin app for many, many years. And I never knew that you could just hold it up, use the microphone to ID birds.

Well, he told me about, Uh, six years of me using this app about that feature, and I was very grateful for it. Um, but he said that it’s, again, something that he carries with him wherever he goes, and it’s really transformed his experiences in the outdoors. And, um, even down to my kids. It’s like, um, when my daughter, um, uh, was about two years old, she could identify more birds as a two-year-old than I think that, uh, most adults can and I was quite proud.

I did a good job as a father. No, but it just to be able to see them get excited running around with their binoculars saying I’ve got my bird eyes or or just saying daddy, ‘what’s that bird’ or things like that? It’s probably one of the most special things and I think that it’s it’s a passion that is you can share in that way very easily.

Um, and I, it’s something that I love to be able to share with, with anyone else who wants to experience it. That’s wonderful. I’m excited to learn more about birds myself. I bet your daughter knows more birds than I do at this point. What kind of gear and equipment or information is helpful birdwatcher?

You talked about the Merlin app a little bit, but anything else? Yeah, I think, um, at a most basic level. I would like to say that you don’t need binoculars to do birding, but it really does help to have binoculars or some way of actually seeing the birds that are out there. Um, I have a fairly good eyesight and.

I can ID things that’s pretty far away. Um, but to really experience the birds, having a good set of binoculars is, is, uh, a great way to, um, get into the field. And, um, most binoculars are not too expensive that, um, just, um, understanding the magnifications and what you’re looking for. Uh, but it’s, it’s not too difficult of a gateway to get into.

Um, yeah. So that’s, um, I mean, again, you can spend a lot of money if you want to, um, I would definitely encourage people who, who can do it because it’s, it’s wonderful, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money. Um, the other way is, um, trying to find a way to do the identification, um, whether that is, um, drawing.

Some people really love to, to, to draw. Draw a description of what they’ve seen, and that’s a great way of really understanding different characteristics of birds. Um, some people like to use book apps. That’s how I started. Um, because when I started birding, um, I don’t think the apps were created yet. Um, and what I loved about that, and what I actually encourage people to get a bird book, is that it’s a lot more.

It takes time and effort to actually go through and compare what you’ve seen with the the different species that are out there. A lot more than just necessarily typing something into an app or scrolling through. And a lot allows your mind to start forming the different understanding of the categories that you’re looking for.

Um, but an app is wonderful. I’d have to say being able to, um, be going on my lunch break, going outside and just holding my phone up and confirming that bird that I, I thought I heard is just really a pleasure and it makes it a lot easier. Um, so whatever way that you want to go about it, um, there’s a lot of different ways, but those are some of the basics.

Um, People also, um, can get a journal, um, I don’t know if, uh, uh, many people are interested in taking the time to write it down. Some people, uh, do what’s called a big year where they want to try to see if they can write down as many birds as they see each individual species throughout the whole year and get, uh, uh, a count.

That can be a great way to compete with some of your family members if you’re a competitive person. And then you can get the bragging rights of the most birds of the family, which high props to you. Um, Yeah, that’s, those are some of the different options, but I think again, these are all tools and just make sure that your tool is not getting in the way of actually looking at the bird.

So are there any things to watch out for or potential barriers to consider when planning to birdwatch? Yeah. Um, it’s a great question. I think, uh, the most basic barrier that you’re, you’re running into is time. And that’s a big barrier for a lot of us, um, with anything really, is taking the time to being willing to, to, and observe what’s around you.

Um, there are other barriers that you kind of have to consider if you’re really wanting just to take the time to specifically bird, and that’s like, alright, what other location am I going to? What’s the time of day? Um, certain birds will be out at certain times of day. What are the weather conditions? Um, are my kids going to want to participate or not?

Um, even some barriers. Um, there have been some hikes I have gone in with my family where, um, my wife, uh, was jealous of how interested I was in the birds and not in her. Um, so you do want to make sure you’re paying attention to your family members needs as well. Um, so it’s just important to, to know. What you’re doing out there in the sense of, of being just open minded to the fact that you might be able to see a couple of birds and that might be all for the day, or if you have the time and space, you can go hardcore parkour and do as many birds and 10 hours as possible.

And you can go until you don’t want to go anymore. Um, but yeah, I would say that the biggest barrier though, is just giving yourself the time and space to do it. Um, and just making sure that, uh, you are getting a little bit prepared about. All right. Am I going to be able to see anything in this area? Um, sometimes you have everything lined up that you think it’s gonna be perfect conditions and it’s not.

Um, sometimes you get a swarm of warblers around you. We had no idea was there and it’s just like craziness and you just are overwhelmed because of how unanticipated these things were. Yeah, there’s a lot to keep in mind that as you’re going out and about. Could you tell me about some of the habitats that Wisconsin offers to birds and why you like them?

Yeah. So, um, I, uh, again, I grew up in Southern California, um, and that part of the country has a really unique, um, set of birds, um, that are not really found anywhere else in the country along the West coast region. Um, I went to school in North Carolina and that has a lot of the East coast birds. And then you get some Southern birds.

Um, Wisconsin, um, is a wonderful location where you get a merging of so many different species of birds. Um, we have. A huge diversity of landscape in Wisconsin that really allows you to see a lot more birds than you would in other Midwest states. Um, so for example, we have the lakes. So we’ve got Lake Superior in the northern region.

We’ve got, uh, the coast of Lake Michigan. Um, we’ve got the central sand Plains and we’ve got the river. So we’ve got the Wisconsin River and the Mississippi River, and we’ve got the lower Savannah areas of Wisconsin like that. We’re here now. Um, and each of those regions, you can find different types of birds, um, that are unique to those regions that you won’t find in other parts of Wisconsin or, or, um, the Midwest.

Um, so even just regionally, we have a huge diversity. Of, um, of opportunities to see different birds, let alone what will come in on a migration in the spring and fall. Um, that’s a whole nother factor. Um, so regionally speaking though, um, we have like these different landscapes and different habitats that help birds that are more specialized in those specific ways.

Um, so like with the Great Lakes, you’re going to get a lot more seabirds and, and waterfowl and you’re going to get, um, in the central part of Wisconsin, you’re going to get, A lot of the forest birds or the birds in the prairies, um, that you’re not going to find along the coast and so just kind of, um, Getting to understand a little bit more about Wisconsin, you’ll see that it’s, the birds are as unique as Wisconsin is.

You’re going to find different birds in those different regions. Um, and also the diversity we have as far as um, the seasons go is pretty fantastic. So, um, In the summertime, we’ve got a lot of warblers, a lot of different migratory species making their way through. Um, this is almost a corridor of birding, um, because of the Great Lakes, um, we’ve got a great opportunity in that way with the coming of the birds in the spring and the fall.

Um, but also in the wintertime, not many people think about a lot of the birds that are moving south from Canada. Are moving into places like Wisconsin. So we’re getting some of those Northern species that you wouldn’t get in other parts of the United States that are pretty rare. Um, so things like the, the great gray owl or, um, um, the saw wet owl, those are pretty, really cool winter species to be looking forward to, um, that while the, the migration is coming, we’re kind of in the tail end of it.

Um, just to get ready for the species that we’re going to start seeing in the wintertime is pretty exciting. So you’ve got that. You’ve got, um, The general regions, you’ve got the seasons, but unless you’ve got those micro features, like you might have a forest or a habitat nearby, um, where you’re going to get some different birds in different regions.

That’s pretty cool. I love Wisconsin and I’d love to plug Wisconsin anytime I make a new friend who’s not from the area. So this is one more thing I can put in that. Yeah. And don’t forget devil’s lake. Devil’s lake is one of the best places to bird. I’ll just throw that out there. So. Could you tell me a little bit more about the bird migration patterns in this area?

Um, how have they changed over time? Well, I don’t know a whole lot about how they have changed over the decades other than that. Um, my observations of the bird are over the past few years have, um, they’re really affected by the weather and the seasonality of what they face. So birds will sometimes in the spring come too early and all of a sudden they are affected by winter storms and ice that come through.

Even this past year, I saw several, uh, green trees or, uh, tree swallows, sorry, uh, tree swallows moving through in a snowstorm. And I was like, oh, those poor tree swallows. I really feel sorry for you. Um, at the same time, um, in the fall, uh, you might get an extension of a season if we’ve got a really mild fall season, all of a sudden you’re still seeing Sandhill cranes all the way through the December and you’re like, what’s, you What’s going on here?

Are you still going to hang out or are you going to go home or what we’re going to do? Um, this past, I think February, I saw my first turkey vulture in the Dells and I’m like, you are here way too early, but we had an extraordinarily warm spring this year. Um, so one of the thing about migration is I feel like.

Somehow these birds through multiple factors have a better understanding of what those weather patterns are ultimately than we do. Um, sometimes it’s very consistent. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a, um, a night hawk or a common night hawk. Um, those are one of my favorite birds. They, they are, they are to me the harbinger of fall, um, this past, uh, probably three years I’ve, I’ve counted like the date in August when I see my first one and I see my last one and there are some dates in between that August, 18th to September 20th, where I’ll see thousands in one day.

And the next day I won’t see any, but somehow they know in that pattern of when to make their way through. Um, this year has been pretty special. Um, we’ve had a lot of birding days. There’s a couple of places you can see that will track the birds as they, they go through the migration. Um, like. For example, on average, there’s probably about 10 to 15 million birds going through the sky every given night in the migration season.

Um, but for some reason, right in the third week of September, there was like 85 million in one night. I don’t know, but I do know I had a really spectacular day. I think it was on September 20th, where I saw close to 1500 broad wing Hawks doing a magnificent spiraling circling, um, as they were making their way through.

So it was around that time. I had no idea that that was the time, but we might see something else like that before the end of the season. So. The migration patterns, you have to just kind of be observant because they will change from season to season, but over the long-term, it’s really just how they’re affected by the weather.

Where are some of the best places to bird watch in Wisconsin? I know you talked about Devil’s Lake for a moment there and you love being at Devil’s Lake. Um, but are there some of the most common places to find rare birds around the state? Yeah. So I think, um, Places to be really looking for are those flyways, um, where you see a lot of birds making their way through.

Um, in a migration season, that’s where you’re going to get those rare ones, the ones that you don’t stay over the summer or stay over the winter. They’re just passing through. Um, I would say the Mississippi River is a huge one because, um, birds and their migration, they’ll follow the rivers and even highways and roads a lot like we do.

And we navigate across the country. They’re utilizing these established in the sense pathways to be able to get from point A to point B. Um, what’s really crazy is when a big storm system pushes them off course and all of a sudden you get birds from a different part of their migration coming way out of, um, the Their normal path, but I would say it kind of depends on what you’re looking for If you’re looking for maybe an elusive shorebird Definitely looking in waterways looking along rivers or along Lake Michigan if you’re looking for a warbler.

I don’t know if like deep in the forest somewhere. You’re looking for those like transition zones where you might get like birds on the side of a hilly area or a cliff. So I mean there’s a lot of different areas where you’re gonna find birds it kind of depends on the species and the time and the opportunity.

It’s I think you’re gonna find some rare species wherever you go Well as we wrap up here Are there any additional tips or tricks that you have for spotting birds or words of wisdom for anyone wanting to move into this birding hobby? Yeah, I would say, um, kind of like what I was mentioning before is, is start with a way that gets you excited.

Um, so incorporate birding into something you’re already doing. So if you like to walk every morning, bring your binoculars. And then if you see something, just try to observe it and make some mental notes or some written notes about what it, what you saw. Um, if you go biking and that’s your thing. Um, you may need to stop while you’re biking because when you’re biking you’re going pretty fast, but you can always stop and utilize a little bit of time to, to incorporate into your brooding activity.

Um, something that I do on my lunch break, um, uh, is, is sometimes I’m able to step outside and, and look around, um, so you can incorporate into something that you do on an everyday basis. Um, also, I would say, ask to see if any of your friends or family members are already into birding. Um, somewhere I read that, like, birding is like the second or third most popular hobby in North America, that millions and millions of people are birding every year.

Um, I don’t know if this is accurate, but somewhere of like 80 million people bird every year in North America. Um, so the likelihood of one of your friends and family members already loving it is huge. So, just ask them, how do I get started in this? Can I go out with you and just see what you know? I tell you what, I am not at all, the foremost expert in birding, but I love to be around people who are, and then they see things that, um, even though I’ve been birding for many, many years, they see things and hear things that I never knew were possible. And all of a sudden, um, uh, you get to learn or add another bird to the list.

Um, but yeah, so that’s kind of the second thing. The final thing I would say is just be open to the wonder of it. Um, Like just being open to the fact that these birds are demonstrating some of the most marvelous, uh, adaptations in nature to watch swallows fly or watch a peregrine falcon jump off, go off of a cliff toward another bird, or even watching, uh, the turkey vultures, uh, as they circle around in their formations as they’re gathering in the morning or seeing the turkey vultures as they’re sunning themselves.

Um, there’s just those little things and, and just taking the time to appreciate the fact that these birds live their lives and do incredibly marvelous things is probably, um, just a great way to start appreciating it. Some of these birds are traveling thousands upon thousands of miles in their journey.

And we just get an opportunity to see them for a moment. Um, and that’s just, uh, something to really be, um, grateful for and appreciative of. So, um, yeah, that, that would be probably the biggest tips and tricks I would have for you is, is just start to fall in love with it. Um, don’t be concerned about if you’ve, your best friend has, you know, saw the coolest vermilion flycatcher ever and you didn’t get to see it.

Um, or someone saw the snowy owl in Madison and you just haven’t been able to get time off of work in the wintertime to go see it, but it will, the birds will come. You just be present where you at, you’re at. And, uh, the, those opportunities will come and you just enjoy them. I think that’s one of the most wonderful things about birding is you can’t plan it, you can’t predict it. And you just have to enjoy it when they come.

Well, Aaron, thank you so much for being here with us today and sharing a bit about your passion and the knowledge you have about birding. Absolutely. Thank you very much.

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