Village@work

Laura Baird, Stewardship Manager

The monarch butterfly is one of the most celebrated insect species in North America and a flagship species for grassland conservation. Like many insects, monarchs have suffered steep declines in recent decades due to habitat loss. This is further complicated when considering monarch habitats stretch from southern Canada to central Mexico. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) formally declared monarchs to be an endangered species in late July. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nearly one billion Monarchs have been lost in overwatering sites in Mexico since 1990!

Each February, monarchs emerge from their overwintering grounds high in the forests of central Mexico and fly north, mating and laying eggs on milkweed as they go. Several generations of monarchs go through their life cycle while repopulating most of the United States and the southern portions of Canada.

Monarch Life Cycle

1. Eggs hatch in about four days.
2. Caterpillars emerge and eat milkweed for two weeks.
3. Caterpillars transform into a chrysalis and hang for ten days.
4. An adult monarch butterfly emerges, feasts on nectar and looks for a mate for two to six weeks.

The Next Generation
The monarchs we’re currently seeing are considered the fourth generation of the year, and their lives are a bit different from the previous three generations. This generation, born in September and October, are currently migrating south, back to the Oyamel Fir forests of central Mexico. The monarchs born here at Shaker Village travel over 1,500 miles to join millions of other monarchs from across North America, where they will then rest together for six to eight months before flying north and restarting the process next year.

Here in the United States, modern agricultural practices and development has led to a loss of both milkweed, the only food source of monarch caterpillars, and fall wildflowers, which adults need to fuel their journey south at this time. Their overwintering grounds in Mexico have also been impacted by expanding agriculture. Climate change has also threatened the species, creating more frequent droughts, floods, and intense storm events that threaten the plants monarchs rely on throughout their range.

Research is Key
A number of nonprofits are doing their part to protect monarchs and collect more data to learn about their complex lives and migratory patterns. One of the largest monarch-specific nonprofits is Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas. They run the Monarch Waystation program, dedicated to increasing monarch habitat in the United States, whether it be on a large scale (the entirety of Shaker Village’s prairies are registered as a Monarch Waystation!) or in your own backyard (you can visit our small demonstration Monarch Waystation beside the Meeting House). 

Monarch Watch has also run a monarch tagging program since 1992. The tags are small stickers applied to a hindwing. When tags are recovered (usually after the insect’s natural death), the code on that tag identifies the butterfly and where it came from. The monarch tagging program is providing data to answer several key questions about the timing of migration and mortality ratios regarding size and origin of the butterflies. Recovering tags is difficult and rare, but a butterfly tagged in The Preserve at Shaker Village in 2015 was recovered the next year in El Rosario, Mexico the next year! We continue to tag monarchs in cooperation with Monarch Watch each year in hopes our efforts can contribute to the overall success and hopeful resurgence of these regal butterflies. 

How to Help
If you’d like to help then we encourage you to join our Monarch Butterfly Tagging workshop at the Village on October 1. We’ll take an easy hike through The Preserve and learn how its wildflowers serve as an important habitat for butterflies and other essential pollinators, then help tag monarchs to track and monitor their annual migration.

Ben Leffew, Preserve Manager & Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager

In 2009 Shaker Village got out of the industrial farming business and focused more on wildlife habitat and passive recreation via the trail system. We began converting fields once used and abused by overgrazing and mismanagement to native grasses and wildflowers with technical and financial support through private land programs with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). This was the unofficial beginning of what we now call The Preserve at Shaker Village and we are constantly working to improve the habitat for the wild things that call this area home.

Harmful or Helpful?

You might be thinking; how do we know if what we’ve done to the landscape is hurting or helping wildlife?  

We use population surveys for birds, small mammals and insects – essentially anything we can count in a scientific manner or anything that has an established protocol. The bulk of our wildlife monitoring centers around birds. They act as indicators of habitat quality because if they don’t like what you’ve done with the place, they’ll fly somewhere else to find a suitable habitat. Unfortunately, suitable habitats are becoming harder to find as habitat loss is the main driver for most declines in wildlife populations, birds being no exception. According to avian biologists, grassland birds are in steep decline due to grasslands also being prime farmland and building construction sites.

Bird Banding Station

One of the coolest things we get to do as part of managing The Preserve is working with our partners at KDFWR at a Bird Banding Station established on the south side of the property. The station was built in 2009 to evaluate how our land management activities affect songbirds.

Before any habitat work took place, this area was a typical “old field” habitat – abandoned pastureland with mostly nonnative cool season grasses (Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue), plus some volunteer trees and wildflowers that had moved in on their own hedge apple aka osage orange). While many of the surrounding fields were converted to native grasses and wildflowers starting in 2009, the banding station’s field was left alone until 2012 to gather baseline data about how birds use typical old fields. This allowed for a more scientific approach so we could compare bird population dynamics before and after a field conversion. It was also important for future management decisions since we did not have the luxury of gathering baseline data before the conversions began.

Bird banding occurs during breeding and migration seasons from May through October following protocols set forth by the Institute for Bird Populations and under the supervision of permitted avian biologists. This limits the number of people at a banding station and makes it off limits to the public. Ten mist nets are opened at sunrise and checked every 40-60 minutes for four hours. Birds are identified, weighed, measured, aged and sexed when possible. During the nesting season, the breeding condition of birds is checked. During migration, the fat deposits on the birds, which are vital sources of energy, are checked as well. Birds are fitted with simple aluminum leg bands which identify them with a unique code. The bands are secure and long lasting but loose, comfortable and lightweight so they don’t impede natural behavior.

13 Years of Findings

So, what have we learned from 13 years of banding birds at Shaker Village? We’ve captured 108 different species of birds, 18 of which are considered Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Kentucky. Migration capture rates have been consistently higher since the area was converted from cool season to warm season grasses, indicating that the landscape has become more attractive to migrating songbirds and provides them better nutrition.

Recaptures provide the most interesting data. In 2020, we recaptured an indigo bunting and a field sparrow, both of which were originally banded in 2015 and were at least seven years old at the time of their recapture. Individual Tennessee warblers have been caught repeatedly during the same migration season, indicating that Shaker Village serves as a stop-over site for migrating birds to stay for a while and fatten up before continuing their journey south.

We hope to continue our research efforts with KDFWR as long as possible. Learning more about how songbirds use The Preserve allows us to make data driven decisions supporting habitat improvement. 

Executive Chef Dylan Morris

As we roll into growing season here at Shaker Village, I’m looking forward to the early crops coming into The Trustees’ Table from our onsite garden. Our amazing Farm Team works for hours on end to make sure we have the best harvest, and nothing excites me more as a chef than knowing our produce is grown close to the restaurant. In our case, the Shaker Village garden is literally located steps away from the restaurant. The garden is certified organic and the plants are grown directly in the ground. I believe there’s a deeper flavor in all vegetables when they’re grown in soil verses water as some producers have moved to hydroponic growing techniques.

A couple of things stand out in the early stages of the season, the biggest probably being the salad greens. With this harvest of greens that has started flowing into the restaurant you’ll be seeing more and more seasonal salads like the spring Blueberry Salad we have on the menu now. This salad is composed of mixed greens, fresh blueberries, local goat cheese, roasted walnuts and our house-made white wine vinaigrette. When I was writing this menu item I really wanted to bring a fresh, and bright salad to the table for spring. With the brightness of the blueberries and vinaigrette, I believe we did just that, not to mention the many health benefits of blueberries.

As we continue to receive produce from the garden this year you’ll see more dishes focused on the use of our vegetables, taking seed-to-table dining to a new level. I hope you’ll pull up a chair at The Trustees’ Table soon.

Make a reservation to dine for breakfast, lunch or dinner here.

Laura Baird, Assistant Preserve Manager

We’re on a constant mission to improve our trail system to make it safer for our trail users, our wildlife, and the land itself. Help us achieve our goals by following some basic trail etiquette on your next trek through our 36-mile trail system.

BEFORE YOU GO…

• Call ahead. To protect our trails and our trail users, there will be days when all or part of the trail system is closed. Even when the trails are open, there may be times when parts of the trail are inaccessible due to high water.
• When you arrive for your hike, pick up a trail map from the Welcome Center. Read trail descriptions carefully and make a plan on which trail(s) you’ll be visiting.
• Did you bring a dog? We love dogs! But we can only allow them on River Road Trail, Palisades Trail, inside the Historic Village grounds and along paved roads. For the safety of our horseback riders and our wildlife, dogs are not allowed anywhere else on the property. Even when you are in a dog-safe area, dogs must stay on leash at all times.
• Many of our trails require creek crossings, so prepare to get wet! Avoid low-lying trails during periods of wet weather and carefully watch your children when the creeks are high or surging.
• Enter the trail system from any of our three trailheads, and check the sign here before you start your journey. There may be announcements posted at trailhead kiosks.
• Snap a photo of the map, as you may lose your trail map during your visit. Drop a pin! This is useful anytime you park your car- open up Google Maps or Apple Maps on your smart phone and long-press (click and hold for a moment) on your location on the map. Your coordinates will be saved. If you have trouble navigating back to your car, your phone can now help steer you back the right direction.
• Wear sturdy shoes and bring water, even on a short hike.

ON THE TRAIL…

• Pay attention to your surroundings. This is important for your immediate safety, will lower your chances of getting lost, and will help you retrace your steps in the unlikely event that you do get lost.
• Stay on marked trails. Many areas of the Preserve are inhabited by sensitive plants and animals and every footstep could be damaging.
• Practice Leave No Trace principles – pick up your trash and take nothing but photographs. This means no picking flowers, collecting bones, moving rocks, etc.
• Don’t disturb wildlife. This is their home – you’re only visiting! Keep your distance and keep the noise low to ensure a great wildlife-watching experience.
• Hikers yield to horses, meaning you should step to the side and allow horseback riders to pass when you meet on the trail.
• Cyclists yield to both hikers and horseback riders. If you happen to be on two wheels during your visit, come to a complete stop and step aside to let other trail users pass.
• Hikers, horseback riders and cyclists should all be in single-file, not side-by-side, especially when on a narrow, forested trail. This limits damage, makes it easier to stay on trail and allow other users to safely pass if necessary.
• Don’t sneak up on other trail users- say hello! This is especially important if you find yourself behind a horse on the trail, as horses can startle unexpectedly. Announce yourself calmly and never approach a horse without its rider’s permission.

AFTER YOUR VISIT…

• Check yourself. Ticks are active year-round in our area.
• Let us know what you’ve seen on your visit to the Preserve. Tag #shakervillageky in your social media posts.

We’d love for you to join us on our upcoming Walking in Wildflowers trek along the Kentucky River Palisades to view spring ephemeral wildflowers in bloom. And, you can help us keep the Preserve looking pristine by volunteering for Stewardship Saturdays. See you on the trails!