Benedict Prairie

The Benedict Prairie Unit of The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Stations consists of about six acres, actually 100 feet wide and one half mile long, on what was once a railroad right of way on the old Kenosha-Silver Lake-Beloit branch line of the Chicago Northwestern Railroad

Goldenrods

The Goldenrods, with their abundance and diversity, produce one of the most brilliant natural wildflower displays in our area from mid-August to November. In North America there are about one hundred species of these plants occurring in such habitats as upland woods, marshes, bogs, abandoned fields, dry roadsides, prairies, railroad rights-of-way and even open cliffs and sandy beaches. Approximately twenty-one species are found in Wisconsin

In Quest of the Elusive Ovenbird

The Ovenbird was selected for intensive study at the UWM Field Station for a variety of reasons. First, it is closely adapted in all respects-morphological, physiological, behavioral- to the upland forest environment, reaching maximum numbers in climax forests, such as the maple-beech forest which is under special investigation at the station. Second, because of its song it can be accurately censused and annual variations in numbers can be detected. Third, unlike most of the hard-wood forest birds, which spend most of their time in the tree canopy, the Ovenbird both nests and feeds on the ground, thus making it more susceptible to capture by mist nets or other trapping techniques. Fourth, its annual cycle of physiology is of special interest. It is a long-distance migrant with a pronounced fat cycle; the members of the population are very highly synchronized physiologically. Fifth, there are still some mysteries in the life history of the Ovenbird, the most notable being: where do the adults go at the end of the nesting period while they are molting

Winter Bird Studies At The UWM Field Station

The winter trapping program was begun in the winter of 1965-66 and was expanded and conducted more systematically in 1966-67 and 1967-68. The primary objective has been to determine accurately the daily and seasonal changes in body weight and depot fat in the Chickadee and Junco. Secondarily, we (my students and I) have been interested in the winter population densities of these birds, their organization into social groups and flocks, their movements and range of activity in the local area