MY PELICAN BRIEF

   "Was it through your know how that the hawk learned to fly, soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts?...Did you command the eagles flight?...Who do you think gave weather wisdom to the ibis?" -Job     

   Pushing off from shore, camera in hand, head peeking just above a log built up

Photo by Gabe Parnell

with leafy branches, face streaked with mud. I'm letting the current carry me close to a group of pelicans around the corner. My floating debris disguise doesn't fool them at all. The whole group takes flight at first sight of me.

   Covid-19 has shut down some of our usual spring/summer searching for the clearest lakes in Wisconsin to freedive, snorkel & spearfish in, which are usually what my blogs are all about:(www.wisconsinclearlakes.blogspot.com)
   As my always inspiring sister Kathryn says, playfully, but truly, of any negative scene: "Turn that bugger into lemonade, best ya can."
    Still wanting to get my water fix, plan B (lemonade) has turned this spring into the  "Year of the pelican."
   Sparked by my interest in getting close to pelicans, I've taken to snorkeling in nearby murky waters to photograph them and other surface sights.

 Graceful White Incredible Hulk
    I don't know of a bird that looks so cartoonishly awkward yet flies with such grace as a pelican. Their "V" group sky soaring formations, fittingly called "squadrons" are impressive.
   But there's something breathtaking about their suspended glide as they come in for a landing on massive 9ft wingspans. (2nd only to the condor in North America. Eagles have a "mere" 7 ft wingspan).
   Seems the laws of physics are being violated as this hulk of a bird extends its glide for an endless stretch before finally dropping landing gear. Suspended animation. A type of magic!
   They also do this levitation trick when traveling longer distances over open water -inches from the water -expertly using updrafts.

   As I watch this great display of flight, my hat instinctively goes off to the Creator and the words to the opening quote come to mind.
   Found in the biblical Book of Job, this quote comes from the Creator's longest speech ever given to a person and most of it is about the wonders of creation and God's great enjoyment of it and care in creating/crafting every angle of it.

No Fake News Here!
   In our especially troubled times this might not seem relevant. But the soul satisfying, restorative effect of spending real (versus virtual) time in direct contact with the divine fingerprint, i.e. nature, can't be underestimated as a sanity reset; an escape TO reality; nothing photo shopped, artificially enhanced, smoke screens or hidden agendas.
   Here you find the perfect balance between beauty & effeciency.
No "fake news" to sort through...REFRESHING!

   Hard to find a more captivating natural wonder then this huge, white, eye catching bird -The American White Pelican.

Why Are We Seeing More Pelicans??
   The pelican population in Illinois,
Wisconsin and the eastern midwest has increased dramatically in the last 15 years.
   Bird studiers (ornithologists) say a lot of this has to do with a weird event that happened at the Chase Lake National Refuge in North Dakota.
   In 2004, 30,000 pelicans (North America's largest population of nesting pelicans) suddenly & for no apparent reason, abandoned their nests in the middle of the nesting season from this North Dakota refuge. An unexplainable migration to the midwest & east -happily toward us.  (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/07/04/in-north-dakota-pelicans).    This event, combined with the increased draining of wet lands in the western part of the united states for agriculture, causing pelicans to head east in search of other suitable waterlands, & the reduced use of pesticides, has caused the eastern midwest population of pelicans to skyrocket! From 2005 to 2013 the breeding population of Wisconsin pelicans has increased 275%! -& is still steadily increasing.
 
   By far, the highest population of pelicans to be seen in Wisconsin is in the east central area. They migrate through the whole state, but only nest in this area; besides a small number on the mississippi river in western Wisconsin.
   Prime spots to see them are from Beaver Dam Lake to Horicon Marsh area & Lake

Winnebago & Lake Butte des Morts area near Green Bay. 

   In Illinois, though they are seen in many areas, they only nest in an area on the Mississippi river, south of Savanna & north of Fulton.
 
Back To The Water
   With the increased sightings of such an awesome bird I've been trying to think of a way to get closer to them.
   Binoculars and telephoto lenses are great and less intrusive, but if you've read any of my other blogs you know I am a proponent of close personal contact with the natural world.
   After my initial floating debris failure I eventually came up with "Spy Goose." Couldn't find any pelican decoys or any suitable simulations. You often see pelicans hanging out near Canadian geese. So I turned a shell type Canadian goose decoy into my disguise.

  Snorkel, fins & my ruse has turn murky water into a cool playground for exploring and photographing.

 
   After getting pretty close to a great blue heron on my maiden trip on the Rock River

I knew I was onto something.  I'm just beginning to explore its sneak potential, got more tweaking to do, but so far I'm liking the results. 
   You can see some of what I've got so far in the YouTube video at the end of this blog. (All shots are actual distance -no telephoto).

Bird Island -Midwestern Galapagos!
  Seeing all these pelicans turned into a quest to get a glimpse of pelican family life. After a couple failed searches for nesting pelicans in Wisconsin & Illinois, we -myself & my endlesssly patient, always encouraging wife Cheryl 😘- found what I call "Bird Island."      (I'm keeping the actual name and

location of this particular island a secret -my disturbance was enough).
   Bird island was to me one of my greatest ever wildlife experiences!
   Me and my Spy Goose friend/cloaking device/invisibilty blanket, got me to the edge of Bird Island.
   The smell of bird poop and the sound of squawking birds was overwhelming! Curiosity got the best of me. Had to take a closer look.
   Exiting the water I was immediately torn between feelings of invasion of privacy and dumbstruck awe as I bounced between saying "Sorry" &..."WOW!"
   Trying to keep my intrusion to a minimum I put my camera on a long selfie stick to get closer shots and walked carefully. Pelican eggs and babies were everywhere, along with young

cormorants and some white egrets. Hundreds of seagulls we're flying above me. I took a few videos and left shortly. Must admit it was hard to pull away from this fantastic display of life!

Get off that Island! 😠
   On a final note; there are rules about harassing nesting birds. I spoke with the Department of Natural Resources on the subject.
   Was told it is a gray area regarding what constitutes harassment; "If the birds are agitated by your presence then back off, use common sense, give them more comfort space."
  I could see from my offshore Spy Goose position -before I set foot on the island- that there was a lot of natural commotion -bickering & squawking going on. My appearance on the island of course caused a reaction. I just expected more and would have backed off with a more adverse reaction. I advanced slowly. If my presence seemed too disturbing, I backed away.

   I was told that persistent presence of predators and human presence such as camping or frequent hikes can cause pelicans to nest elsewhere.
 
   There's a lot to see & enjoy from a distance in a boat with binoculars near nesting islands.

   I know I pushed the limits -trading some of their comfort to satisfy my curiosity. Definitely mixed feelings, but I'd like to think my brief visit was within their tolerance level -causing no lasting harm.
 
Good Trade? 🤔
 
   Maybe I gave them a good trade. They now have a story to tell future generations about the goose (Spy Goose) that came to the edge of their island, birthed a human, who briefly walked amongst them, returned to the water & got swallowed up by another goose that swam away.

Here's the YouTube Spy Goose link:

     

WESTFIELD BASE CAMP; Wolf Lake & Munching On Seaweed

"A little tranquil lake is more significant to my life than any big city in the world." -Munia Khan

Photo by Bryan Witek

BASE CAMPS
  Heading to our Westfield base camp/"pivot point" i.e., from where we stay in Westfield in Marquette County Wisconsin, there are clear lakes

nearby in several directions to choose from; Crystal, Wood, Lawrence, Moon, & the "8 lake District."

  Early on in our search for clear water lakes, we learned the importance of having backup lakes when our targeted clear water lake turns out to be not so clear.
 
 The 8 Lake District
  Today we're visiting the "8 Lake District" near Oxford, in Adams county -consisting of  8 lakes within a 4 mile radius: Jordan, Parker, Goose, Deep, Peppermill, McDougal, Crooked & Wolf. All decently clear. I've got my heart set on Wolf lake; considered the clearest of these lakes. We've been in Parker & Wolf. Have only done shore peeks into the water at the other lakes. They all look inviting, but we keep returning to Wolf lake.

 Love This Lake!
  A lake's got to push all the right buttons for us to revisit it; water clarity, light boat traffic, fairly easy access, plenty of my target fish -crappie, & some other intangibles. Seems the adventure of checking out a new lake drives our lake wanderings.
 This being our third trip to Wolf lake says something. Love This Lake! The last two times we were there, it was OUR lake -not another soul to be seen the whole 3 hrs we were there.
   Not a big lake; 42 acres. I've been around only about half of it. Speargun in hand, once I start seeing my fish of choice, I move slowly, dialed into their movements. All senses on full alert.
   Freediving rivets your attention into the moment by the very nature of the activity. Add the stalk mode of spearfishing & you have a further type of altered state & a great part of my own enjoyment of lake adventures. All the more valuable\therapeutic during these high stress COVID-19 days!

  I realize harpooning your fish dinner is not for everyone. I enjoy rod & reel fishing, but on the excitement scale, there's a lot to be said for entering the fish's world with "One breath, One shot," -as the spear fisherman's mantra goes. Also, when the goal is to make a meal out of the fish (vs sport fishing catch & release) I like the "selective take" angle of spearfishing -the only fish I traumatize are the ones going into a frying pan.

  Today my focus is on gathering a side dish of underwater greens ("macro algae") to go with our fish dinner. I'm looking for Tape or Eel Grass, or known by its more appetizing name Wild Celery. This will be our first time trying this.

   Here's our take on Wild Celery: Very bland, which we wouldn't have minded, as you season to taste, but the texture was pretty tough -gotta admit to a bit of face contortion while chewing 😜. Could be we need to harvest younger leaves or cook it differently.
    Not bad as a tea. Unique, weird taste, but ok. A little sugar made it better.
   Was still a very satisfying contribution to a meal gathered from these waters by our own efforts.

  Birds' Eye View
 Wolf lake, & most of the other lakes in the Westfield area, sit in an ecosystem called the Central Sand Hills, marked by -you guessed it -sand & hills.
   A high flying eagle (or Google Earth 😉) flying north from south central Wisconsin would see plenty of corn, soybeans & dairy cows, an increasing amount of pine, aspen, and, thanks to glaciers leaving a landscape that drains poorly, our eagle would be seeing more bogs, swamps &...LAKES! 
   The Wisconsin river, with its awesome sand bars, snakes its way through part of this area. Canoeing this river was a favorite trip when our kids were young. Plenty of sand bar islands to stop at, claim as your own, play on, picnic & swim.
   About 2 hrs (1 hr car speed) after passing the Madison lakes our eagle sees several lakes close together; the Oxford "8 Lake District". Deciding to spiral down for a fish dinner, he picks one lake -Wolf lake. He finds no boats, some outstandingly clear water & a human/frog thing -me.
 
  Fish Eye View
  As I slip below the surface at Wolf lake, I'll pick up the perspective where our eagle left off:
   Water still cold here in May -cold enough to make me wince as my exposed face submerges. Water is a very clear 15-20+ ft of visibility. Started seeing crappie near the edges of the weeds (pondweed, milfoil, coontail) in 5-10 ft of water to the right/south of the boat launch. Waiting for bigger ones makes me pass up a lot of shots & enjoy fish watching -good amount of bluegill, largemouth bass, a few small northern pike & a big snapping turtle.
    I pick up a rhythm -relax on surface for a couple minutes, take a deep breath, duck dive to the bottom in a promising looking area, be still & watchful, wait for curious fish to approach. Hold breath untill discomfort sends me up for air, repeat.
   Greatly enjoyed swimming through openings in strange light green translucent billowy clouds of algae like stuff, suspended off the bottom  -Finally made good on that childhood desire to fly through nimbus clouds.
  Easy access via the 1 boat launch. Not only is this a "No Wake" lake, no motors of any kind are allowed -gas or electric.

Getting There:  
  Couldn't find GPS for the boat launch, so came up with this nearby address to get within sight of the boat launch: "3154 County hwy A, Oxford Wisconsin."



Brief notes about other lakes in our Westfield pivot point:

• Parker lake, Adams County. One of the "8 Lake District" lakes I mentioned earlier.  Access point to the lake is at the wayside park off of rt 82. Diving amongst the many downed trees in the bay to the left/north east of the wayside park was a highlight. I love weaving & gliding amongst fallen trees. Plenty of seaweed cover for fish along this north shore. 
• Lawrence Lake, Marquette County. Not great for snorkeling or diving. Water usually only moderately clear. Busy with boat traffic. We loved the cottages rented out by Tall Pines Resort. Was a special experience diving near our own little cottage, from our own dock, capped off by a delicious fish fry by our own fire pit. Saw plenty of bluegill, bass & crappie. 
• Crystal lake, Marquette County. A favorite lake. One of Wisconsins' clearest lakes. 23 min north east of Westfield. Did a
  
  whole blog on this lake: https://wisconsinclearlakes.blogspot.com/2018/07/crystal-lake-amish.  Not easy access (the lake is a 300 yd walk on a trail from the parking lot) but worth the effort. A lake that, before leaving it, always makes me pause, look back & say -"love that lake". 
• Moon (also called Birch) lake, Marquette County. Didn't care for it. Snorkelled the entire west shore from the boat launch looking for fish. Didn't see many. Lacked bottom depth variation. Seemed a constant shallow depth lacking interesting features, seaweed clumps & fish population. 
• Wood lake, Marquette county. 20 min to the north of Westfield. Just throwing this one out there as HPFC -"Having Potential For Coolness." Have only gazed into the waters from shore. Was too windy when we were there. Since hearing "Wood lake's water is so clear it's hard to get close to the fish," I've been longing to check it out.     
• Pearl Lake, Waushara County. I found Pearl lake to be a clear and pretty lake worth exploring more but the boat traffic was too much for me. Focus on a weekday visit or at least going outside the 11am to 4pm water skiing time. I found a nice drop off & weeds to attract enough fish immediately to the left of the boat launch to keep me occupied the whole time. After Pearl lake consider a visit to the nearby Red Granite quarry for the amazing cliff jumping! Pearl lake is a bit far to be included in the Westfield base camp (38 min southeast) but adding the cliff jumping at the quarry to your scene makes the area worth the visit. 

Get to all these lakes by putting in name of the lake, county & boat launch into GPS.

 When staying overnight in the Westfield area we like Pioneer Motor Inn motel in the town of Westfield.

   Evening pizza & atmosphere at the Tall Pines Resort on Lawrence lake -about 15 min from Westfield, is a relaxing highlight.

WESTFIELD AREA
   From Madison       1hr 30 min
   From Milwaukee   2 hrs
   From Wausau        1 hr 15 min
   From Green Bay     2 hrs
   From Chicago         3 hrs