Illinois Natural History Survey Report

              bottomland forest we could appre-ciate
the diversity of trees and the
many species of birds that used
this area for overwintering, or as
an important stop on their migra-tions
south. One year our group
recorded over 350 Red-headed
Woodpeckers overwintering in
this portion of the Cache—a large
number for this species whose
global population continues to
decline.
I also remember being at
Grassy Slough in the spring when
a large number of Willets and
other shorebirds were present,
and one late fall when Short-eared
Owls, Northern Harriers, and
other hawks worked the fields and
wetlands. The Cache has a great
diversity of habitats, and each
year brings additional changes in
the flora and fauna as restoration
and succession continues.
Survey research over the last
15 years in the Cache and Shaw-nee
Hills has demonstrated the
impact of habitat fragmentation
on Neotropical migrant birds, and
has lead to management changes
that are resulting in more un-broken
forest habitat which will
enhance the reproductive success
of a number of forest nesting
species. The work reported here
by Dr. Jeff Hoover has lead to
increased appreciation of the
need to manage water levels to
enhance the reproductive success
of the Prothonotary Warbler and
other wetland species. We will
continue to look for opportuni-ties
to inform those involved in
the restoration of this area and
other wetland areas around the
state through our research and
outreach efforts.
David L. Thomas, Chief of INHS
R e p o r t s
Autumn 2006
No. 389
INHS Research Assists
Restoration Efforts
in the Cache River
Watershed
2
Warblers Provide Link
Between Behavioral
Ecology and Conserva-tion
Biology
3
Molecular Phylogeny of
Cuerna Leafhoppers
Suggests Hybridization
4
A Cache Full of Activity
6
INHS Researcher to Be
Inducted into Illinois
Outdoor Hall of Fame
8
New INHS Publications
9
Species Spotlight:
Jack-O-Lantern
Mushroom
10
The Naturalist's
Apprentice: Make a
Mushroom Spore Print
11
INSIDE
This issue of Illinois Natural
History Survey Reports high-lights
some of our research,
education, and outreach efforts
in this unique habitat in southern
Illinois. A number of the staff
reporting on their work in this
issue participated in the Cache
River Symposium, which fo-cused
on highlighting work over
the last 10 years to advance the
restoration of this internationally
significant wetland ecosystem.
I was pleased to participate
on the planning committee for
this conference. The Illinois
Natural History Survey (INHS)
is proud to be a part of the major
restoration efforts occurring on
the Cache, and to continue to
be involved in the development
of this ecologically significant
habitat.
I have had the pleasure in
my tenure as Chief of the Survey
to join various staff members
on the Cache. An outstanding
memory is walking on a cold
December morning to the over-look
at Wildcat Bluff. There
we started counting all birds
heard and sighted for the annual
Christmas Bird Count, and as
the first light dawned we looked
over the expanse of bottomland
forests with the Cache River
winding through it and saw
basically only wild America.
You really felt that you were in
Illinois a few hundred years ago,
and that the Pileated Woodpeck-ers
we saw flying below us could
have been Ivory Billed Wood-peckers.
And later, walking the
Cache River Watershed
The Cache River watershed in winter as seen from Wildcat Bluff. Photo by
James Anderson