Christmas Bird Count
By Kimberley Roll

Kimberley Roll and her husband Jeff and friend Greg McCallister participated in the SANJO CBC (Southern Adams Northern Jay Ouabache Christmas Bird Count) on January 1. Their territory was the Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve. 

January 1 was a mild day with temperatures in the 40s F but there was fog in the morning and rain by 11:00 am. These are her photos of some of the birds that Kimberley captured with her camera. Field counters are dedicated people who go out every year for the CBC in all kinds of weather to document the birds that are seen in this area. 

Blue Jay. A common bird that was seen in good numbers this year. 

American Tree Sparrow. Seen in this area in the winter months. 

Red-bellied woodpecker. One of our native species of woodpeckers. 

Bald Eagle on one of his favorite perches. Bald eagles are now a bird seen and recorded every year on the Christmas Bird Count. 

Owl pellet

Pileated woodpecker. A nice bird to see. Several were recorded on the CBC this year. 

Red-tailed hawk. A common hawk here all year round. 

Song sparrow. One of our native sparrows that is here all year round. 

White-crowned sparrow. One of our native sparrows. 

 Where In We Examine Early Christmas Bird Counts
By Terri Gorney Lehman

The Cardinal Chapter of the Indiana Audubon Society was formed March 17, 1948. The chapter was named for Gene Stratton-Porter's first book, "Song of the Cardinal." By the 1980s, it was known as the Cardinal Club. Members were mostly from Berne and Geneva. 

The first officers in the organization were Mrs. Karl Hilty, president; Mrs. Mamie Schenbeck, vice president; Mrs. Wilbur Nussbaum, secretary-treasurer.

The earliest known Christmas Bird Count (CBC) by the Cardinal Chapter in Adams County was in 1948. A total of 14 species were spotted and 846 birds were counted. In comparison, the January 1, 1973 CBC had 43 species and 4,137 birds on the list. 

In 1956, on the annual Christmas Bird Count, thirty-nine species were recorded including a snowy owl and 100 Lapland longspurs. According to the Berne Witness, those participating were: Dr. and Mrs. Von Gunten, Paul and Jerry Macklin, Mrs. James Lybarger, Mrs. Sidney Buckmaster, Mrs. Paul Shoemaker, Mrs. Helen Atz, Mrs. Lester Price, Mrs. Paul Felber, Miss Dorcas Sprunger, Mrs. Augusta Dubach, Mrs. William Schenbeck. 

Around 1968, the date of January 1 was established for the count and it has been this date since this time. That is seventy-three years of bird counts in Adams County as either a county count or a National Audubon Society circle.

January 1, 1974, CBC there were a total of 3,497 birds seen, including: a bobwhite, Eastern meadowlark, red-winged blackbird, and a vesper sparrow. Those who participated in the CBC were: Earlene and Dorothy Moser, Elmer Moser, Vickie Andrew, Mrs. Gordon Augsburger, Lloyd Biberstein, Mrs. August Dubach, Mrs. Phoebe Edington, Mrs. Madge Hemphill, Mrs. Karl Hilty, Timothy Lambert, Mrs. Lester Price, Mrs.. Orlu Martin, Harry Moser, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Munro, Mrs. Wilbur Nussbaum, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Oswalt, Susan and Julie Oswalt, Mrs. Kathryn Renner, Greg Rittenhouse, Mrs. Mamie Schenbeck, Frances Smith, Grace Smith, Mrs. Menno Stauffer and Mrs. Neola Stauffer. 

The Cardinal Chapter of IAS joined the Amos Butler Audubon Society on April 7, 1951, for a trip to Jasper-Pulaski to see the Sandhill cranes. Today Sandhill cranes use Limberlost Conservation Area during migration in the early spring and late fall. We have even had them listed on recent CBC. In 1989, there was a program on the re-introduction of the bald eagles in southern Indiana. Today, eagles are a common sight in Geneva. In 2021, Geneva had four active eagle nests; Linn Grove and northern Jay County each had one. 

In 2014, I became the compiler for the Adams County Christmas Bird Count. Larry Parker was the compiler before me and Earlene Moser the compiler before that. For the 2015-2016 CBC, I changed it into a circle for inclusion into the National Audubon Society's records and to include all of the Limberlost Conservation Area and Ouabache State Park. The circle is called SANJO CBC (Southern Adams Northern Jay Ouabache). I was happy that Earlene and Dorothy Moser, Elaine Bluhm and Larry Parker who were members of the Cardinal Club helped with the CBC.  Carl Yoder, who was a longtime supporter of the Friends of the Limberlost was also a member of the Cardinal Club. 

Continuing the tradition begun by the Cardinal Club, members of the Robert Cooper Audubon Society of Muncie, Mississinewa Audubon Club of Marion and Stockbridge Audubon Society of Fort Wayne as well as local people who help with count either in the field or bird feeder counters. There is always room for new people to help with this count.

In 1973, Stockbridge Audubon Society started the tradition of a chili dinner. I started that tradition in 2014 when I took over as compiler. It is nice time to gather to meet new people and greet old friends.

I have been able to find some of the history of the Cardinal Club and the bird counts in Adams County from articles in the Berne Witness and the Decatur Democrat.   

CBC chili lunch at the Limberlost Visitor Center. 

Bald eagle over the Wabash River during a sleet storm on the January 1, 2021 CBC. Photo by Randy Lehman. 

Tree sparrow 2021. Photo by Terri Lehman.

Warblers of Rainbow Bottom

By Vena Hare

Vena Hare has been regularly hiking Rainbow Bend and Bottom and photographing her adventures. Vena has the patience and persistence of Gene Stratton-Porter with photographing birds. Warblers are some of the hardest birds to photograph as they move quickly in the foliage and they are usually at the tops of the trees. We hope you will enjoy some of her photos of warblers in their fall plumage.

We thank Don Gorney for the positive ID of the birds. Warblers in the fall can be some of the hardest birds to identify.

Cape May Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Wherein we examine the attraction that villains and outlaws have to wild and wooly wetlands like the Limberlost Swamp

By Curt Burnette

In her book, Freckles, Gene Stratton-Porter created a character called Black Jack, whom she describes as a villain whose "face is coarse and hardened with sin and careless living." He is a tree poacher in the Limberlost, cutting and stealing trees from property owned by the Grand Rapids Lumber Company. He is a dangerous man, who even goes so far as to kidnap Freckles.

In A Girl of the Limberlost, Gene created another character called Pete Corson, who is a member of a gang of troublemakers, who frequent the Limberlost. Although he helps Mrs. Comstock catch moths one night in the swamp, he cautions her that her lights will summon others who will ride like fury to get there and "they won't be nice Sunday school men."

These men are works of fiction, but the Limberlost Swamp and other wetland areas which were remote and difficult to access actually did harbor criminals and outlaws. At the end of August and the beginning of September of 1900, police from Muncie and Portland searched the Jay County portion of the Limberlost---the Loblolly---for several days in an attempt to capture the Keating brothers. The brothers were wanted for the murder of a Muncie man, who had been stabbed in the neck with a knife. The search was unsuccessful. But a bloody pair of trousers and a blood-stained knife were recovered from the residence of a brother-in-law who lived near the swamp. 

In the vast Grand Kankakee Marsh of northwest Indiana, there were two islands located deep within which were notorious hideouts for counterfeiters, horse-thieves, and murderers. Big Bogus Island and Little Bogus Island got their names from the bogus coins the counterfeiters made there. The islands were surrounded by water and marshy terrain, which made it very difficult for law enforcement to sneak up on the lawless inhabitants. The outlaws, however, knew of a hidden sand ridge located just beneath the surface of the water that zigged and zagged its way to their hideaway. At the one spot where the ridge ended before it reached the islands, the resourceful outlaws constructed a 300-foot long submerged log corduroy road on the muck of the marsh bottom. This "hog-back highway" allowed  them to come and go easily while officers of the law were floundering through deeper water on their horses. 

Many other types of rugged, inaccessible terrain have been used as hideouts. One of the most famous is the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass in the mountains of Wyoming, where for more than 50  years famous outlaws, such as Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, were able to successfully elude the posses sent after them. Wetlands, however,  have always been one of the best spots for the lawless to hide, from the pirate Jean Lafitte in the vast swamps south of New Orleans, to Black Jack of Gene Stratton-Porter's fictional version of the Limberlost Swamp. 

Source: Berne Tri-Weekly, October 2013.

Limberlost Swamp Nature Preserve on the Jay County side. 

Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve sunset

Birds of Loblolly in photographs by J and Karen Swygart

Gene Stratton Porter would be amazed at the birds that now call Limberlost home at least part of the year. The bird list is over 225 as of this writing. 

We are fortunate that J and Karen Swygart share their photos of their Limberlost adventures. 

Heron silhouetted against the sky.

Egret at the Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve.

Egrets

Cedar waxwing 

Indigo bunting. One of the most lively singers at the Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve.

One of the adult bald eagles at Loblolly Marsh seen in one of their favorite perching trees.

Juvenile bald eagle at the Loblolly Marsh. 

Sandhill cranes just off of the Limberlost Swamp Nature Preserve. Sandhill cranes have been seen at both Limberlost and Loblolly all summer. 

We take a look back seven years ago this month to when the Friends of the Limberlost purchased the Electronic Sign for the Limberlost State Historic Site.

Wherein a description of and commentary on the new Limberlost Visitor Center electronic sign is presented in vintage style

By Curt Burnette

The Limberlost Visitor Center, being a relatively new feature of our fair city of Geneva with a quite youthful age of only one and one half years, is now graced with an addition which might best be described as "newborn", having been installed less than two months ago and only becoming operational with the past month of this report. This being an electronic sign--a most marvelous device conceived by the ingenious minds of our modern technological era.

This electronic sign is housed within a large and attractive framework of gold and brown, which puts forth the name of the Limberlost State Historic Site Visitor Center clearly and displays the Luna moth logo prominently for motoring passers-by to see. Significant portions of this sturdy frame illuminate when darkness falls, so that even as the hustle and bustle of the day begins to diminish, it continues to attract the eye of all traveling near it.

However, it is the sign itself which quickly draws the avid attention of all who look that way, it being an object of much beauty and interest in its own right. This wonder of electric lighting is composed of numerous small lamps of a type of construction known as LEDs, which, under the direction of a small computing electronic brain, is capable of creating the most colorful and amazing displays of an informative nature. When the stout lads who oversee the historic site wish to inform both the local population and passers-by from numerous localities of an impending event which they might find entertaining and educational, or even if they merely want to extend their most pleasant best wishes for a holiday season, all they must do is instruct the electronic brain in what they desire, and it instructs the electronic sign to produce this desired result. The displays which burst forth dazzle the eye with their multitude of colors and vibrant motions, skipping merrily from time to temperature to hours of operation to the latest exciting upcoming event.

This marvel of illumination science is the first of its kind in our small community, no other business or institution having anything of a similar description. Genevaites can be justly proud of the fact that no other state historic site in all of Indiana can declare to be in possession of a signage device like it. Surely Geneva has gained another distinction which its citizens can warmly embrace.


Source: The Berne Tri-Weekly, June 2014.

Kimberley Roll has captured some of the favorite birds that we welcome back to Limberlost in the spring. Thank you for sharing your birding adventures at Limberlost for all to enjoy. 

Bank swallow with nesting material in the beak. 

Barn swallow with nesting material in beak.

Male indigo bunting. We look forward to hearing his lively song in May.

Male indigo bunting

Common yellowthroat. This bird is a welcome singer at the Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve.

Dickcissel. With the restoration of the wetlands, we are seeing more of these birds now.

Several cormorants have been seen at the Limberlost Swamp Nature Preserve.

Cormorant

Sandhill Cranes

Orchard Oriole

One of the adult bald eagles in flight. They are year round residents at Limberlost.

Beautiful male yellow warbler. He is a common singer around Limberlost.

Great egret

Unusual sight for May: a male and female harrier. They are winter residents here. 

We hope you enjoyed some of the birds this May at Limberlost!

Viewing Earth From Space

By Adrienne Provenzano

April 22 is designated as Earth Day! If you are looking for some interesting views of the planet, check, out the website Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth! 3.5 million images of Earth have been captured from the International Space Station, which obits the Earth every 90 minutes. Another 500,000 images have been gathered by astronauts on missions dating back to the earliest NASA missions with crew --Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle. You can take a look at the free database of still images and videos at https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/  Browse through existing collections by topics such as Earth as Art or search for particular locations, including daytime and nighttime views. There are also opportunities to participate in citizen science projects!

This year NASA's Earth Day theme is Connected by Earth: From Big to Small We're All Connected. By visiting https://masa.gov/earthday you can find lots of resources, including an Earth Day Took it and information on how NASA data is used to study animal migrations, vegetation, and more! If you're looking for an interesting Earth-based project connected with space, you might enjoy being part of the 2021 Community Tree challenge, April 15-May 15. Participants can measure tree height and share the data online. This information is then compared with satellite data. The tree challenge site also lists many family-friendly nature activities to enjoy. the program is organized by GLOBE, the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment program, https://www.globe.gov

GLOBE was founded on Earth Day 1994, and provides a variety of activities for hands-on learning of Earth's systems. Data is collected worldwide and then shared online. Elementary GLOBE includes storybooks available in 6 different languages, with observation and data collection investigation activities geared towards students in grades K-4. Topics include clouds, hummingbirds, and soils. 

Happy Earth Day!

Adrienne Provenzano is a Friend of the Limberlost, Advanced Indiana Master Naturalist, and NASA Solar System Ambassador 

International Space Station

International Space Station Zinna. 

NASA Apollo 8 December 24 photo of the earth.

Wherein the new Limberlost Visitor Center is chronicled in vintage style.
(modeled after newspaper articles of Gene Stratton-Porter's Geneva years)

By Curt Burnette

To the gratification of all Genevaites and other local citizens of the surrounding environs who have been faithful observers to its construction while eagerly awaiting its completion, Geneva's delightful new attraction, the Limberlost Visitor Center, is now open. This beautiful 4000 square foot building is clad with Alaskan cedar, but not in the usual lap-siding pattern of which we all are so well acquainted. Instead, these quite attractive boards are arranged in a West Coast style know as "rain screen." A gap between and behind each board permits them to dry in a most efficient manner after each rainfall and therefore impart to them a longer life. the Limberlost State Historic Site is the first location in the fine state of Indiana to have a structure with this particular type of rain screen design. The rustic golden Alaskan cedar marvelously compliments the red cedar logs covering the Limberlost Cabin where local author and celebrity Mrs. Gene Stratton-Porter and her husband Mr. Charles Porter, himself a local businessman and citizen of note, resided so many years ago. 

The interior of this building contains three noteworthy areas. Visitors enter the central area through a wonderful glass foyer where handicap-accessible restrooms and drinking fountains await. Beyond the foyer lies a grand and open room with a splendid cathedral-style ceiling. Within is housed the Friends of the Limberlost gift retail establishment and several enlightening exhibitions about Mrs. Porter, her career, her family, and her beloved Limberlost. To the rear of this lovely hall a small bird-viewing room is discreetly placed for the pleasure of the ornithologically-minded. 

The western end of the Center houses a fine storeroom, office facilities for the illustrious Historic Site staff, and a classroom/multi-purpose room appointed with audio-visual equipment of the most updated capabilities. This pleasant classroom can be cleverly arranged with chairs and tables for programs, presentations, meetings, and gatherings of all manner and purpose. The eastern end contains an office for the sturdy and dedicated Nature Preserves staff, a kitchenette, a room housing furnaces and other devices of mechanical nature, plus another, albeit smaller, multi-purpose room.

Limberlost staff undertook the arduous but satisfying move into the building in mid-January and threw open its doors to the public by the end of the month. A dedication and grand opening ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, April 27 at 11:00 am. This festivity will truly be a community-wide celebration as our new attraction will not only welcome visitors to the Historic Site but also to the area at large. A bodacious brochure rack in the grand hall abounds with information about Geneva, Berne, Adams, and Jay counties, and the Hoosier State as a recreational and tourist destination.

The Visitor Center is the latest step in the most worthy effort to restore and promote the Land of the Limberlost. Mrs. Porter's writings made the Limberlost famous around the world. The heyday of her immense popularity and the magnificence of the might swamp are gone now, but the Limberlost Cabin remains, her books are still read and admired, and the Limberlost Nature Preserves still provide access to the wonders of nature she so enjoyed. The Limberlost Visitor Center is the gateway into her world an is quite deserving of a visit. So govern yourself accordingly. 

Source: Berne Tri-Weekly, Limberlost Notebook column, March 2013.

[Note the ground breaking ceremony for the Visitor Center was held in October 2011. As then Site Manager Randy Lehman said it started as a dream he drew on a napkin and it took several years to raise the funds to build it]. 

Moving day January 2013:  "Limberlost version of Abbey Road"  Ken Brunswick (then East Central Regional Ecologist), Randy Lehman (then Site Manager), Curt Burnette (Program Developer and Naturalist) and Dave Cramer (then president of Friends of the Limberlost). Photo by Bill Hubbard.

Wherein A Swamp Man Heeds the Call of the Limberlost
by Curt Burnette
"Eh labas! Comment ca va?" ("Hey there! How's it going?") This s how I was greeted by my Cajun co-workers years ago when I worked at a swam tour just outside of New Orleans. To which I would reply, "Ca va bien or comme si, comme ca or ca va mal ("It's going well or so-so or it's going badly") - depending on how I felt. 

My Cajun co-workers were the captains of the boats that took tourists down the bayous and into the swaps southwest of New Orleans. My job was to do educational programs under the tent where the tourists waited before they loaded onto those boats. I had interacted with Cajuns any times when I was the curator of the Louisiana Swamp Exhibit at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, but had never worked so closely with them on a daily basis before. I was embraced by them and accepted into their world, so in a way I became an honorary Cajun - Cajun Curt, the Hoosier on the bayou. I even own a Cajun dictionary and a Cajun canoe known as a pirogue. 

I spent many years exploring and learning about the swamps and marshes of southern Louisiana. They are fascinating, legendary, famous places: the Atchafalaya, Honey Island Swamp, Manchac. I missed them when I returned to Indiana after Hurricane Katrina. When I got back to Indianapolis I re-entered the zoo world by working at the Indianapolis Zoo for several years. During that time, the closest I cam to fulfilling my love of swamps and wetlands was using baby alligators while doing education programs. After I quit the zoo, I thought my swamp days were completely over. 

But then, as I searched for new work, I discovered a job possibility that actually involved a swamp - a swamp made famous over 100 years ago by an Indiana writer. The Limberlost State Historic Site was looking for someone to fill their naturalist and program developer position opening. I was intrigued. A fascinating, legendary, and famous swamp seemed to be calling me. I applied for the job, was interviewed, and offered the position. I took it and so I cam to the Land of the Limberlost.

By the time it had become famous, the Limberlost was mostly gone. During the time Gene Stratton-Porter was writing about it, it was disappearing. But the Land of the Limberlost survives and the local citizens of that land still care about it. When I arrived I saw the on-going effort to bring back a version of the legend that fit the current world and I was impressed. After 10 months on the job I am still impressed. Next month I will tell you more about why I like what I see and why I like where it is going. Au mols prochain, mes amis (see you next month, my friends). 

Note: Last month Curt Burnette celebrated nine years at Limberlost as naturalist. This is a look back at his first Limberlost Notebook column for the Berne Tri-Weekly. 

Source: Berne Tri-Weekly, Nov 2012

Curt looking into a giant sycamore tree.

Curt portraying Paxson, Gene's #1 Swamp guide, at the Mural festivities September 2020.

Curt leading a hike in 2020. Young hiker asks a question.