LETTERS TO THE
EDITOR
CHICK WEATHERS THE STORM Your insert with information on cerulean warblers (“NHC Field Notes,” Winter 2021) jogged a memory of last summer. This cerulean warbler chick was found by my grandchildren after a high wind thunderstorm in the town of Wagner, in Marinette County. We watched it for several days, as the adult birds kept feeding it after it had hopped to shelter in our woodpile. It survived and fledged within a week. Bruce Solberg Green Bay Thanks for the email, Bruce. It’s a great reminder of how important it is to resist the urge to “help” when you see a seemingly abandoned young animal. For more on how to “Keep Wildlife Wild,” see the story on Page 8.
HERON IN THE MORNING I was going through my photos from a trip last July to Lac Vieux Desert near Phelps and found one of a great blue heron I took during the early morning hours. I thought you might be interested in seeing it. Dane Thompson Marshfield Write in by sending letters to DNRmagazine@wisconsin.gov or WNR magazine, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.
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WRENS READY FOR THE WORLD My wife, Jill, has had very good luck attracting and fledging wrens in her unique wren house. Over the years, we have watched numerous fledglings take their first flight. It is not unusual to see three, four or even five little heads poking out to see who will be the first brave one to take off. Within hours of this photo, they were all out in their new world. Jeff Baker North Prairie
FISHER HISTORY I’m a long-term, avid reader of Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine. During the fall of 2020, I was able to obtain the attached photo of a mature fisher on my trail cam in Langlade County. The history of the fisher in Wisconsin is a worthy story. Kim Debenack Appleton Thanks for sharing, Kim; we confirmed the ID and fisher details with wildlife biologist Shawn Rossler, the DNR’s furbearer ecology expert. The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a member of the mustelid family (also known as the weasel family) that historically ranged throughout Wisconsin. It disappeared from the state by the 1930s, extirpated by logging, forest fires and unregulated trapping. In the 1950s and ’60s, the DNR and U.S. Forest Service reintroduced the fisher in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest region and established fisher management areas. By the 1980s, the state’s fisher population had rebounded enough to allow a limited harvest, with a special permit required, and the fisher is now a regular sight in forested areas of Wisconsin. Scan the QR code to learn more about fisher harvest permits.
