Panorama | Fall 2018

panorama

Fall 2018

Nocturnal Adaptations Page 4

Science of Fall Color Page 7

Fossils in Lake Michigan Page 10

WELCOME HELEN BOOMSMA Executive Director

Fall is here and with it comes a variety of experiences for the senses. Birds migrate, deer scrape, and squirrels and chipmunks scurry throughout the Center in preparation for winter. Trees turn incredible colors and eventually their leaves fall to adorn the forest floor.

In this edition of Panorama we celebrate those very trees and their leaves, exploring the science behind fall colors. From our tower you can view both those bountiful trees and the waves of Lake Michigan. In the following pages you can take a step back in time while learning about the 400-million-year-old fossils that wash up along our Lake Michigan shore.

As of 2018, we’ve spent 15 fantastic years inside our building, the Dorothy K. Vallier Environmental Learning Center. We’ve made significant steps in welcoming new people to connect with nature, starting early with our Nature Preschool, which also opened in 2003. Previous and current staff members have been integral in the growth of the Nature Preschool movement worldwide, and we continue to guide and inspire blossoming Nature Preschools.

I’m pleased to welcome our new Board President Aliah Berman. Aliah has served on the board since May 2016 and is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion with Aurora Health Care. Together we will work with leadership and staff in implementing the Center’s five-year strategic plan, “Trails to Innovation.” Key plan priorities include: Accessibility to Nature for All, Conserving the Land through the Lens of a Century, and Creating Meaningful Visitor Experiences.

Speaking of trails, we’re excited to welcome you to explore a new section of wheelchair accessible gravel and boardwalk connector trail, which will be completed by November 1. These trails invite all people to wander through savanna, prairie, and wetland habitats, increasing the variety of experiences we offer everyone. In whatever way you arrive at nature, I invite you to join me on the trails and immerse in this season of sensory splendor.

Welcome to our new Board Member Amy Giuffre | Harley-Davidson Motor Company

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers Aliah M. Berman President John Grunau Past President Benjamin T. Pavlik Treasurer Meg Kinney Secretary Jane B. Bell VP-Development Mark Siler VP-Governance Board Jonathan T. Bloom Shane Delsman Heidi Dondlinger John E. ‘Jack’ Gebhardt Timothy J. Gerend Amy Giuffre Margarete R. Harvey Kevin J. Kane Debra Katz Dennis Kois Diane O’Connor Justin K. Patrick Sanderson S. ‘Andy’ Read Benjamin F. Rikkers John Schaub Carol Wolcott Past Presidents John H. Kopmeier, Jr. Philip R. Smith Dennis L. Fisher Terrence K. Knudsen Thomas J. McCutcheon Thomas B. Fitzgerald Randolph H. Dean Stephen F. Geimer Thomas J. Drought David K. Hoover John S. McGregor Margarete R. Harvey Timothy J. Gerend Honorary Directors Edwin P. Wiley Director Emeritus Dorothy K. Vallier (1910-2013)

Schlitz Audubon is an independent, locally supported partner of the National Audubon Society.

Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

SEASONAL SIGHTINGS Visit the Center and discover the beauty of fall!

TOM FINLEY Director of Education

So much about an autumn hike at Schlitz Audubon refreshes the soul. Activity abounds! Rewarding sights of travel-ready birds and butterflies welcome those inclined toward a morning jaunt. A variety of warbler and other songbird species, as well as waterfowl, are preparing for journeys to southern climes. It is both a fond wave goodbye for those of us remaining in Wisconsin, and an acknowledgement that nature has its own rhythms and patterns.

Yet sight is only one sense that is piqued during time spent out of doors. The crisp sounds heard while walking through fallen Maple, Ash, Oak and Basswood leaves along the trail are entertainingly loud – a favorite for children. Have you noticed that humans are not the only ones who make such noise?

Squirrels, both Red and Gray, and smaller striped chipmunks are scurrying about on their endless quest to find energy-rich acorns and other nuts in preparation for the coming winter. If you are exceptionally quiet, you may even hear a White-tailed Deer moving through the leaves before you encounter it. Leaves pack less crunch after a rain, making that the perfect time to search for deer. You might glimpse a male with antlers in the rut season looking for a mate, or possibly, one of the young born earlier this year and experiencing autumn for the first time.

Wild Turkeys, once extremely rare here, but now virtually ubiquitous, make an entertaining clatter while scratching the lowest

Wild Turkey

layers of the forest in search of food. Turkeys eat both insects and plant matter, as they too add essential body mass for the lean winter season ahead. Decaying trees fallen to the forest floor feature a variety of fungi with fleeting colors and textures.

Those utilizing our accessible boardwalks, which we are actively increasing in footage, are just as likely to experience these moving natural encounters. Happy Hiking!

Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

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RAPTORS

MADDY SISLOW Raptor Educator

Owls are widely regarded as elusive and stealthy nighttime predators. Of the approximately 450 known raptor species worldwide, it is the roughly 200 species of owls that are nocturnal.

This hunting strategy requires special adaptations that differ from other raptor species. Eleven species of owls are commonly found in Wisconsin, and five of those species currently reside as permanent educational animals in our Raptor Program.

Low-light situations mean that owls need an enhanced sense of sight. This is aided by the size of their eyeballs. Human eyes take up 5% of the space inside of our skulls, whereas owl eyes take up 75% of theirs! This is especially apparent when looking at an Eastern Screech Owl, one of the smallest species in Wisconsin.

If an owl was the height of an average human, their eyes would be as large as softballs. Owl eyes also have a higher density of light-sensing receptors called rods.

As it often goes in nature, there is a trade-off for having incredible eyesight. Owls also have a low density of color-sensing receptors, so they are basically colorblind. Though owls have large eyes and precise nighttime vision, they lack ocular muscles to move those eyeballs. This means that an owl is constantly looking forward, and must move its entire head to see what is happening on the periphery.

Owls are famous for the solution they have regarding this problem. They have flexible necks, allowing them to turn their head up to 270 degrees left or right. Owls accomplish this due to the unique structure of their neck. All mammals, sized from mice to giraffes, have seven cervical vertebrae. This means our necks are not especially flexible, often keeping us from turning our heads past our shoulders. Owls, however, have 14 cervical vertebrae that are smaller and able to rotate more easily. Their jugular veins are also highly elasticized to not cut off the blood supply to their brain while turning their heads. The Great Horned Owl offers a regional example of this behavior, as their tufts visually exaggerate this capability.

Not only do eyes and necks serve owls well when hunting, but 4

so do their ears. In fact, most owls rely more heavily on sound than sight when hunting. Many of Wisconsin’s owl species must use sound exclusively to hunt during winter, when their prey is underneath snow. They can pinpoint the location of prey using their ears, and capture animals through the snow and ice with their razor-sharp talons.

Many species of owl, including the Barn Owl, have asymmetrical ear openings. When sound is coming from one direction, the waves reach the ears at slightly different times, allowing the owl to pinpoint the source with incredible accuracy from any direction. Since human ears are on the same horizontal plane, we generally have trouble finding a sound source if it is directly in front of or behind us.

All species of owl, regardless of ear symmetry, have a “facial disk.” This is a stiff ring of feathers around the face of the owl, and it acts like one large outer ear. While looking at the face of the Barred Owl, this is especially apparent. The feathers concentrate sound waves into the ear openings, and the bird can control how the feathers are shaped to filter sounds coming from different directions, much like a maneuverable satellite dish.

In order to hear and capture their prey, owls must minimize the noise they make while hunting. Not only will they refrain from vocalizing, but their wings have built in sound-mufflers. Tiny fringe feathers, which look similar to eyelashes, are located on the leading edge of owl wings to disrupt the air moving over and under the wing, thereby minimizing the noise. One experiment conducted by BBC sound engineers used an array of extremely sensitive microphones to measure the sound produced by a flying Barn Owl. Not only were the wingbeats unregistered by human ears, but the sounds recorded by the microphones were infinitesimal.

Owls are spectacular creatures that are brilliantly adapted to the dark. Check our calendar for our programs where you can learn about owl adaptations – then go explore our trails in search of wild owls!

Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

RAPTORS

FACIAL DISK Stiff ring of feathers around the face of the owl. These feathers act as a maneuverable satellite dish, allowing the bird to filter sound.

LARGE EYES Owl eyes take up 75% of the space inside their skull. Their eyes have a higher density of light-sensing receptors called rods.

EXTRA VERTEBRAE Owls have 14 cervical vertebrae, compared to 7 in humans, allowing them to turn their heads 270 degrees.

FRINGED FEATHERS Fringed feathers allow nearly silent flight so owls can surprise their prey.

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NATURE PRESCHOOL

Nature Preschools ­— A Growing Movement CATHERINE KOONS-HUBBARD Preschool Director

Back in 2003, when our current building and Nature Preschool opened, the concept of a Nature Preschool was relatively new and unknown. We brought in one of the few experts in the country to lead our program. Prior to coming to Schlitz Audubon, our first Nature Preschool Director, Patti Ballie, taught early childhood environmental classes at the Shaker Lakes Nature Center and started The Early Childhood Outdoors Institute at Fontenelle Nature Association. Patti is still heavily involved with Nature-based Early Childhood Education and is seen as one of the leaders in the nation.

When we opened our Nature Preschool, teaching children through a nature-based lens was hardly a new idea. Friedrich Fröbel developed the concept of kindergarten in 1840, encouraging young children to literally tend to their own outdoor gardens.

In the early 1900s, Maria Montessori promoted the idea that children should care for their environment, which included both indoor and outdoor spaces. Waldorf education places a great deal of value on creativity and imagination, with an equally strong emphasis on natural materials. And the Reggio Emilia approach, which was developed in Italy immediately after World War II, centers on building community and respect and learning through exploration and play. All of these pedagogical principals influenced our original Nature Preschool curriculum back in 2003, and we continue to be guided by them today.

tors from throughout the country and beyond have visited us to learn about topics as various as our classroom layout, our curriculum, and approaches to assessment.

In 2012, we joined a small group of educators at the Chippewa Nature Center and Preschool in Midland, Michigan, for the first formal Nature Preschool Conference. This conference inspired the creation of the Natural Start Alliance, which is now a branch of the North American Association of Environmental Education. In August of this year, our teachers attended that same conference in Chicago, which has now grown to more than 350 participants from around the world. This three-day event concluded with a field trip to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool, which is considered a flagship program and a source of inspiration to those just starting out. We are proud to have contributed to the best practices guidelines for Nature Preschools across the country and continue to offer our strategies at presentations and workshops, and guidance to others working to start their own nature-based programs.

As the Nature Preschool movement evolves, we continue to place learning, community, and environmental awareness at the forefront of our curriculum. Inside our three classrooms, 144 students participate in Nature Preschool each year. That means more than 2,000 students in our community have grown up incorporating nature into their daily lives! The ripple effect is that The Nature Preschool movement has grown substantially since these students go on in life to spread their knowledge and curi2003. Today, more than 250 Nature Preschools operate through- osity, whether they’re discovering butterflies, cleaning the beach out the United States, and more have popped up across Europe, with their family, or even embarking on a career in conservation. especially throughout Great Britain. Educators and administraFall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

FEATURE

The Science Behind the Cascade of

FEATURE

Fall provides a vast array of breathtaking colors to witness at Schlitz Audubon.

During September, October, and November, we watch trees transform from mostly green to a palette of fleetingly vibrant colors. Part of the fun of the season is the anticipation of not only which colors we will see, but how the environmental conditions will render these pigments before our eyes.

ED MAKOWSKI Communications Specialist

The most brilliantly colored autumn tends to be a product of sunny days, cooler nights, and average moisture. The colors we see often have more to do with the environmental factors of weeks ago, and the plants are responding to those prior variables. A hot fall or late summer, or one with less than average rain, tends to result in less brightly colored leaves.

Extra rainfall tends to pull leaves from the trees earlier than usual.

Trees and woody plants grow year-round. Although the younger branches of trees can grow throughout winter, in cold weather the majority of tree growth takes place below ground in the root system. In order to live, chlorophyll needs light. Trees with lighter bark do have chlorophyll inside of the bark, so trees such as Poplars will continue to produce sugars, stimulating above-ground growth (albeit on a much smaller scale) throughout winter.

Observational phenology science has provided a predictive cascade of which species succeed one another in changing colors every fall. Senior Ecologist Don Quintenz observes that when Red Maples begin to turn colors people often hypothesize that we will have an “early� fall. Red Maples, however, are the first tree to turn at the Center every year. Our change begins with Maples and Sumacs, and concludes with Willows and Tamaracks late in the season.

In preparing for colder weather, trees rely on photoperiod, which is the amount of unbroken darkness they receive, to indicate when to begin the transformation. As the amount of nighttime darkness increases, the transformation toward winter begins.

Photosynthesis and Color Chlorophyll is the producer of photosynthesis, a process during which chloroplasts take the energy of sunlight, combine it with water and carbon dioxide, releasing the oxygen and creating sugar. Chlorophyll is green, providing the color in leaves throughout summer. Leaves, however, are not efficient in the cold of winter. Leaf cells would freeze, so plants have evolved to shed anything not entirely necessary leading up to cold weather. In that process of self-preservation, the sugars migrate to the plant roots. Deciduous trees create what is called an abscission layer at the stem of the leaf, functionally severing the leaf from receiving nutrients. One could think of this as an internal scab, or a clot. This location is where the stem weakens, and where the leaf will eventually fall from the tree, providing our name for the season.

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Which Colors and Why Chlorophyll is good at masking other pigments, which is why we see so much green throughout summer. As chlorophyll evacuates a leaf other pigments become more readily visible. The pigments all plants will produce are genetically determined. Once chlorophyll retreats, carotendoid colors (yellows, oranges, orange/reds) become more apparent. Carotenoid pigments are always present, in fruits, vegetables, leaves, and flowers; all plants that photosynthesize.

Reds, blues, and purples, in plants are called anthocyanins and are created as a response to sunlight (think of blue being also called cyan). Anthocyanin colors function as solar protection, aiding in filtering sunlight to protect the plant from sun damage. These plants tend to be the most showy in fall.

A great example of bright anthocyanins are Red Oaks, such as a Red Oak near the parking lot.

Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

FEATURE Depending on the alkalinity or the acidity of the leaf sap, anthocyanin colors can change on a spectrum from red to blue. On the alkaline (also called basic) side of the pH scale we see purplish to blue, while the acidic side produces red pigment. This is determined by plant chemistry and the genetics of the tree.

Anthocyanins are produced from excess sugars, as the weather turns cool. Carotenoids are not dependent on pH levels the way anthocyanins are. Brown colors are provided by tannins, and brown isn’t exactly a pigment, more of the absence of a defined chemical pigment.

Seeing Fall Colors at the Center Depending on what you’re looking to find in fall colors, we have multiple marvelous vistas. The paramount location is from the top of our 60-foot observation tower, where you’re able to gaze upon a wide variety of colors from above the tree canopy.

If you pay close attention to the leaves of certain trees and woody plants, such as Dogwoods, you will be able to tell a distinct difference between leaves with shade and leaves that receive no shade. The portions of an individual leaf that are shaded will be different colors, often showing the distinct shape of the leaf above which performs the shading! If the leaf receives shade, therefore not creating excess sugars that turn into anthocyanine pigments as a response to sunlight, you will be viewing the carotenoid colors, which are ever-present. The process of color change in trees relates directly to where the sun strikes the tree (or doesn’t). The tops of trees often change View from the Center’s observation tower. colors first, as they receive the most sun, shading the leaves below. For this reason, trees can appear certain colors from a distance, but while standing up close those same colors may The boardwalk around Mystery Lake is a sublime location as not be visible. you can glimpse two visual bouquets at once; trees and sky are reflected in the rippling water. The observation deck overlookThe timing of peak color depends entirely upon what trees are ing our North Ravine Trail provides a stunning location for quiin a given area, because the timing of color change varies with et contemplation and appreciation for the ephemeral colors. the types of trees. For example, a forest dominated by maple trees will turn at a different time than an area dominated by Just as two sunsets are never quite the same, this year’s auoak. Each species takes on its own color hues in fall, and once tumn colors won’t be identical to any that have come before. one becomes attuned to these specific color differences, one Visit us often throughout fall to witness the evolving tapestry can identify trees on color alone from long distances. of luminous yellow, bold purple, and warm orange hues.

Example of a Dogwood leaf that was covered by another leaf. The section of the leaf that was covered did not create excess sugars to turn into anthocyanin pigments, so that portion remained green.

Written with contributions from: Sandy Manning, Don Quintenz, and Tess Stahler

Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

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EDUCATION

THE GREAT LAKE MICHIGAN TIME MACHINE JESSY KNOX School Programs Manager

When you hike down the bluff to Lake Michigan, you’re taking a trip back in time to the Silurian Period, which took place more than 400 million years ago. This was long before the Lake Michigan we know existed. This entire area was covered by a shallow salt water sea, known as the Silurian Sea. The Silurian Sea was teeming with swimming and flowing life such as Crinoids, Cephalopods, Brachiopods and various corals.

The creatures and corals of the Silurian Sea were preserved because they became fossilized, and today we can find the fossilized remains of these creatures washing up on the Lake Michigan shore.

others are still fixed inside of rocks.

We have the glaciers to thank for our fossils. Thousands of years ago, massive glaciers carved so deep they reached into sediment from the Silurian Period. When glaciers melted or receded, they left behind the Great Lakes inside that massive etched basin.

Common finds along our shore include Brachiopods, which are bivalve shelled animals, Cephalopods, which are mollusks, and a variety of corals, such as Rugose Coral, which look like thimbles.

Our most common find is the Crinoid, an animal that looks like a plant stem holding a cup of tentacles that would snag food that For fossils to be created, typically the life form becomes buried be- drifted by. What we find from the Crinoid is a fossilized separatneath layers of water and earth. When shielded from oxygen, or- ed piece from the stem or stalk, often in a circular shape, and so ganic matter resists decomposition. Instead, minerals can seep in nicknamed the Cheerio fossil. and solidify, eventually taking the place of organic tissue. In time, animal structures are completely replaced by minerals, which If you locate fossils, we ask that you enjoy experiencing and taking photographs of them, but please leave fossils on the beach eventually harden into the fossil we find. for everyone to find. We wish for as many people as possible to During formation, fossils are surrounded by layers of sediment, experience the thrill of discovering a 400 million year old artifact. which gradually turn into stone. Often times the fossil and the surrounding rock layer are made up of different minerals that With each step toward Lake Michigan, you’re walking closer to erode or wear away at different rates. As the rock around the the Silurian past of 400 million years ago. Join us in exploring the fossil is eroded away, the fossil inside remains intact because it history that washes ashore. is a harder material. Some fossils we find have been completely eroded out of the rock layer they were once frozen inside of, while All fossils photographed were discovered at Schlitz Audubon.

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EDUCATION

DEVELOPMENT

Connecting to Nature

MEZZANINE ART GALLERY

Plein Air November 15 — January 27

MELANIE JOHNSON Director of Development

In our goal to provide meaningful nature experiences for all, we’ve been converting segments of our trail system to become wheelchair accessible and ADA-friendly. In the past three years, we have grown our accessible trail to more than two-thirds of a mile, and we’re working to reach our first full mile by fall 2019. Thanks to the generosity of a number of donors, our accessible trail system is continuing to grow!

If you’ve visited the Center lately, you’ve likely noticed work happening on the 1,570-foot connector trail that’s been taking shape over the summer months. Extending west from the parking lot, the trail travels across the prairie to the eagle’s nest, past the wigwam, and ends at the entrance road. Next year, we will install a crossing at this point to connect with another forthcoming new segment that will extend all the way to the entrance booth.

When the connector trail opens this fall, it will feature crushed limestone and large sections of boardwalk to span areas currently prone to spring flooding. The woodchip trail that currently runs roughly parallel to the new segment will be closed and restored, using plants displaced by the construction of the new trail segment.

With the addition of the connector trail segment, we will also be one step closer to completing an accessible loop that will ensure that visitors using mobility devices can access the best of our high-quality habitats and educational vistas. Visitors will be able to travel from our entrance on East Brown Deer Road, to the Dorothy K. Vallier Environmental Learning Center, as well as explore offshoot trail segments connecting to include Mystery Pond, the Amphitheater, and the south ravine.

By mindfully making the Center more accessible, we are helping ensure that visitors of all ages and abilities can take advantage of all the Center has to offer. In addition to enhancing our physical environment, we’re intentionally cultivating partnerships that will be integral to achieving our inclusivity goals in the years to come. In 2017, for example, we debuted SPARK!, a program for people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of memory loss, and their caregivers. New potential partnerships are also being forged with groups like the Veterans Administration and Vision Forward, and we look forward to establishing relationships with these and other organizations that will allow more people immersive access to the restorative powers of nature.

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Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

During this fall and winter, the Schlitz Audubon Gallery will feature work by local painters Lynn Rix and Pamela Ruschman. Both artists visit the Center throughout the seasons to paint en plein air, which means to paint in the open air. Regardless of the seasonal conditions, these dedicated artists carry their easels, brushes, paints, and canvases on location to practice their craft.

Join us in celebrating these renderings of the Wisconsin landscape on Thursday, November 15.

The Schlitz Audubon Gallery is open during the Center’s regular business hours, and located on the second floor mezzanine, which is wheelchair accessible via the elevator. Paintings will be for sale with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Schlitz Audubon. This exhibit will be on display November 15 - January 27.

CALENDAR Adult Program Family Program Preschool Program Wheelchair Accessible Member Price Non-Member Price Registration Required

Payment is due at time of registration.

Refunds will only be given to those who cancel 14 or more days before a program. If Schlitz Audubon cancels a program, refunds will be given.

Thursday, October 4 | Prairie to Pond Thursday, October 18 | Fall Leaves Thursday, November 15 | Turkeys Thursday, December 6 | Getting Ready for Winter Session 1 | 9:00am – 10:15am Session 2 | 10:30am – 11:45am

Explore nature hand-in-hand with your little one. This program is designed for children ages 2 – 3 years old and their adult.

M: $15 NM: $20

Raptor Saturday

Saturday, October 6 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm Saturday, December 1 | 1:00pm - 2:00pm

October Join us in learning about owls and their unique adaptations by meeting our seven resident educational owls.

December A few of our native Wisconsin raptors will teach you about their species’ strategies for winter survival.

Free with membership or admission Sponsored by:

Photo Club*

Wednesday, October 10 | 5:00pm - 6:00pm Wednesday, November 14 | 5:00pm - 6:00pm

Participate in a community of photographers taking a monthly hike to explore the seasons at the Center and photograph the nature we discover.

M: Free NM: $10

Bird Club* Wednesday, October 10 | 6:30pm - 9:00pm Wednesday, November 14 | 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Co-presented with Milwaukee Audubon Society.

October Wisconsin Society of Ornithology board member, Tom Schultz, will teach members about sparrow identification.

November UW-Milwaukee student Erica Gerloski will share recent research collected on the Ovenbird from Riveredge Nature Center and provide an update on campus bird collision data from UWM.

Free to all

The Gardens of Claude Monet: Spring* Invasive Species Identification and Ecology*

Sunday, October 7 | 10:00am - 12:00pm Sunday, October 14 | 10:00am - 12:00pm

Join conservation staff for this two-class workshop to learn to identify invasive species, discover why they’re harmful, and consider managing the invasives on your property.

M: $30 NM: $40

SPARK!*

Tuesday, October 9 | 1:00pm - 2:30pm Tuesday, November 13 | 1:00pm - 2:30pm Tuesday, December 11 | 1:00pm - 2:30pm

This program is designed for both people experiencing cognitive changes and their care givers. SPARK! celebrates how the simple beauty found in nature enriches our lives.

Thursday, October 11 | 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Spend an autumn evening sampling beers by Milwaukee craft breweries while meeting our birds of prey. This event benefits our Raptor Program; for ages 21+.

Register online at www.schlitzaudubon.org Hand-in-Hand*

Fall Flight Night*

M & NM: $60

The Fascinating World of Spiders* Friday, October 12 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Join Senior Ecologist Don Quintenz on a hike to see the many incredible ways spiders catch their prey and avoid being caught.

M: $7 NM: $12

Forest Conservation: The Legacy of the CCC in Wisconsin* Thursday, October 18 | 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Glendale residents James and Scott Henderson, father and son authors, will provide an overview of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Wisconsin, including camps in the Milwaukee area.

M: Free NM: $10

Fall Colors Hike*

Tuesday, October 23 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Join Don Quintenz for a stroll through the beautiful fields and forests of the Center during the peak of color and learn how nature’s palette creates all the colors of the rainbow.

M: $7 NM: $12

Native American Energy Healing* Thursday, October 25 | 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Thursday, October 11 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Dottie Diggs will share her new slide show of the Gardens of Claude Monet, the world famous French impressionist painter.

Learn about a powerful healing method seldom seen off the reservation through Dennis King, who comes from a lineage of Oneida healers.

M: $10 NM: $15

Audubon Babies* Thursday, Thursday, Thursday, Thursday, Thursday,

October 11 | 10:00am - 11:15am October 25 | 10:00am - 11:15am November 8 | 10:00am - 11:15am November 29 | 10:00am - 11:15am December 13 | 10:00am - 11:15am

Children are never too young to enjoy the wonders of nature through guided hikes on the trails filled with sensory explorations (6 - 24 month olds with adult).

M: $10 NM: $15

Nature Mondays*

Mondays, October 29 - December 3 | 1:00pm - 3:30pm

This six-week series is hosted by the Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool for children ages 4-6 and focuses on age-appropriate nature experiences in the Preschool’s wonderful indoor and outdoor classrooms.

M: $200 for full session NM: $250 for full session

M: $12 per pair NM: $17 per pair

Free to all

Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

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CALENDAR Autumn Astronomy with Binoculars* Monday, October 29 | 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Bring your binoculars and join us for a look at autumn constellations and planets. Telescopes will be on-hand!

M: $10 NM: $15

Xtreme Raptor Day Saturday, November 3 | 9:00am – 4:00pm

Turkey Time*

Animal Movie Night*

Saturday, November 10 | 9:30am – 11:00am

Friday, December 7 | 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Learn about Wild Turkeys through books, activities, crafts and a hike.

M: $10 per child NM: $15 per child

Milwaukee: A City Built on Water with John Gurda*

Thursday, November 15 | 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Join us for the Center’s annual festival, celebrating all things Raptor! All 17 resident birds await you on the trails.

Join us to hear John Gurda present his book Milwaukee: A City Built on Water. Books will be on-hand for purchase and signing.

Adult: $15 Youth: $8

Film Screening of Racing To Zero: In Pursuit of Zero Waste* Thursday, November 8 | 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Racing To Zero is a quick-moving, upbeat documentary presenting new solutions to the global problem of waste. Presented with Outpost Natural Foods.

Free and open to all.

Registration is required.

M: $10 NM: $10

Fall Hootenany* Friday, November 16 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Celebrate the autumn season with dancing during a performance by Frogwater and visits by our resident owls!

M: $10 NM: $15

Join us for smore’s, live animals, and a movie inside of our Auditorium; check our website for the movie on each date listed.

M: $10 NM: $15

Fun in the Winter Sun*

Friday, December 28 | 9:00am – 11:30am

Bring your children ages 6-12 to enjoy your winter break with a craft, an animal, some artifacts, and a hike followed by hot cocoa.

M: $20 NM: $30

Word with a Bird

Every Saturday and Sunday 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Each Word with a Bird program focuses on the specific skills, traits, and adaptations that make that bird such a unique creature.

Free with membership or admission

Conservation Hike*

Hatha Yoga Class*

Family Owl Prowl*

Join Marc White, Director of Conservation, to walk the land and explore the Center’s current conservation initiatives.

De-stress your week with our yoga classes.

While the weather and sun remain, we will practice outdoors at the Pavilion.

Join our Raptor staff in exploring the Center grounds while looking for signs of these elusive creatures of the night.

Saturday, November 17 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Friday, November 9 | 5:30pm – 7:00pm Rain Date: Sunday, November 11 | 5:30pm – 7:00pm

M: $15 NM: $20

Saturday, November 17 | 9:00am – 10:30am

M: Free NM: $10

Every Wednesday from 5:30pm – 6:45pm

M: $100 for 10 weeks NM: $120 for 10 weeks

Squirrel Talk

Southern Flying Squirrels are an elusive small mammal native to Wisconsin. Meet the Center’s resident flying squirrel, Amelia.

Free with membership or admission

RAPTOR DAY

Saturday, November 3 9:00am - 4:00pm Adult $15 | Youth $8 Join us for a festival celebrating everything raptors! All resident birds await you on Center trails. Birds fly right overhead during Free Flight Demonstrations. Sign up for a personal meet & greet with your favorite raptor and get a photo!

All proceeds support our resident raptors.

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Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

More details at www.schlitzaudubon.org

THANK YOU THANK YOU In Memory Of Betty Ames Geri and Marvin Olson Cydnie Chiuminatto Chloe Chiuminatto John Christiansen Sara Pikofsky Jack Dyer Don and Patti Quintenz Ken Fehrer Marilyn Bontly Don and Patti Quintenz Sally Fischer James and Susan Fischer Susan Macal Gerald Neinfeldt

Sarah Elizabeth Frank Griffen and W. Spencer Frank Alice Ellen Gabriel Christine Steeb Berendina Grevers Geri and Marvin Olson Richard “Dick” Jacobi Anonymous (2) Jean Downie Helene and Steve Gyarmaty Judith Huf Terry and Carole Knudsen Warren H. and Judith Kukla John and Martha Lunz Geri and Marvin Olson John and Debbie Pearce Jane Shero Betsy Vokac Joan Wessel Judith A. Wick

In Honor Of Dr. Joseph Kretchmar Sharon Goldberger, Samantha & Jason, Rebecca & John, Edwina & Mark, Jeremiah & Elizabeth AJ LaPointe Geri and Marvin Olson Mrs. Carol Lawrence Linda and Bill Wenninger Suzanne “Noonie” LeFeber William Eastham Dorothy M. McNeill Emily Runbeck Denise Mueller Paul L. Beck and Dianne S. Neubeck John A. and Barbara A. Goelz Jennine Kenny Jacob W. and Ana Kleppin Sherry Kulhanek Jon Neubeck and Meridith Mueller Iris Anne Preuss Wisconsin Division of Public Health Stephanie and Patrick Wisneiwski Charles and Jacquie Yedinak Bill Ramm Pat Bakula George Walcott Jean Downie

Abbie Cashman Jade and George Cashman Georgia Cashman Jade and George Cashman Jackson Dean Kevin and Cindy Matthews Mary Ann Greenebaum Sandra and Damin Saltzstein Jack & Marti Laubach Don and Patti Quintenz Jason and Laura Shimko Pat Burke Vicki Thoen Lucia Villar Katelyn Peter Sarah Yudkovich Margie and Tom Krauskopf

Raptor Sponsorships Aero – American Kestrel In Memory of Sally Fischer Wallace Family

Glory – Bald Eagle

In Honor of Jeff Lewandowski Spring and Nick Holz Houston

Malary – American Kestrel In Honor of Michael Bootzin Sue B. Holcomb

In Memory of Dory Sue B. Holcomb

In Memory of Al Bernander Sue B. Holcomb

Mimi Kayden Pat Bakula

Nicco – Broad-winged Hawk Jessica Sessums

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Admission

FREE admission to Members Adults: $8 | Youth $5 (ages 3 — 17)

Hours

Open 7 days a week | 9:00am - 5:00pm

Credits for Panorama | Fall 2018 Director of Marketing Nancy Quinn Design | Illustration | Photography Zoe Finney

1111 East Brown Deer Road | Milwaukee, WI 414-352-2880 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

Editing | Select Writing Ed Makowski

Fall 2018 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

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Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

U.S. Postage

1111 East Brown Deer Road Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53217

PAID

Milwaukee, WI Permit No. 4168

FALL 2018 PANORAMA

T H G I FL T er re cent u t a N on udub a z t i Schl

H G I N

Thursday, October 11 6:00pm-9:00pm $60 per person spend a fall evening at the center with local breweries and our birds of prey.

More info at schlitzaudubon.org 1111 E. Brown Deer Road | 414-352-2880