BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND”
If you live in Illinois or another Midwest agricultural state, you’ve probably zoomed by flooded farm fields in the spring or fall on an interstate highway without giving them much thought. But Fluddles, filmmaker and blogger Bob Dolgan’s new film, demonstrates their importance—especially in a state where 90 percent of the wetlands have been destroyed. The film shows that the fluddles provide key habitat for migrating birds and other animals. They also filter and clean water, as well as reduce nitrate runoff—a great thing because Illinois farms are a major contributor to Gulf of Mexico hypoxia due to fertilizer runoff.
Fluddles also profiles Illinois farmers who are either expanding existing fluddles on their lands or removing less productive farmland from use and turning it into wetlands. It was fascinating to see farmers discuss their family’s changing relationship with the land over decades, as well as learn about the developing relationships between farmers and conservationists from The Wetlands Initiative, Ducks Unlimited, American Birding Association, Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and other organizations to create or expand fluddles.
In addition to its educational aspects, Fluddles features beautiful scenes of many different species of birds. Some of the birds that use fluddles include Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipilated Plovers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Pied-billed Grebes, Mallard Ducks, Sandhill Cranes, Trumpeter Swans, American Bitterns, Mourning Doves, American Golden Plovers, Ring-Necked Pheasants, Wilson’s Snipe, Killdeers, and Solitary, Pectoral, and Least Sandpipers.
Fluddles (Running Time: 41:01) is a thoughtful and beautiful meditation of both what we have lost in our natural world in Illinois and beyond and what may be regained if we open our minds to the possibilities. Bob Dolgan is an evangelist for nature, especially birds, and we are lucky to have his films. I recently talked with Dolgan about his movie and the importance of ephemeral wetlands.
Q. For those who have not seen the movie, what are fluddles, and why are they important to the natural world?
A. “Fluddle” is a combination of the words flood and puddle. It is a word coined by Illinois birders in the 1990s to describe a flooded area, often a flooded farm field. It’s generally a temporarily flooded area and often unwanted or unintentional. You also might hear them referred to as wetlands, marshes, or mudflats. They’re important because we’ve as a society drained most of these places, and they are considered undesirable—90 percent of Illinois wetlands are gone. But we need more fluddles for a variety of reasons, starting with wildlife and namely migratory birds. There are many species that use these areas as stopover habitat or nesting sites. A few of the more familiar species are Killdeer, Solitary Sandpipers, Mallards, Blue-winged Teals, and Sora, but there are dozens. Second, fluddles or other similar wetlands hold and filter water, this reduces flooding and erosion, results in cleaner water, and refills underground aquifers. Last, modern agriculture uses fertilizer that results in high levels of nitrates and phosphorus in watersheds. The vegetation in these fluddles removes nitrogen from the water.
Q. What is one thing that you learned in the process of making the film?
A. I learned a lot, but I’ll try to narrow it to one thing. I learned that are still vast tracts of wetlands and even prairie downstate, even as we’ve lost so much. Much of it is on private property and visited more by land owners and hunters than the typical birding crowd that I am around. These are relatively unspoiled places. The first fluddle that I visited on private land, in the Summer of 2022, was like a secret wilderness, there were bullfrogs, sandpipers, rails, and a diving bird called a Pied-billed Grebe. I could have sat all day at that spot. Seeing that gave me some hope.
Q. What can the average person do to protect and restore wetlands?
A. There are several steps people can take. First, sign up to be a habitat volunteer for a forest preserve district or a conservation organization. It might not be that you’re directly working on a wetland, but it all makes a difference. Second, if you are a property owner, think about incorporating a rain garden or bioswale to capture run-off and keep it from overwhelming our waterways. You also might want to invest in a rain barrel and avoid using fertilizer on your lawn. Third, become a breeding bird monitor with a group like Bird Conservation Network because their data provides insight into how our birds and, in turn, wetlands are doing.
Q. How can people view and/or purchase the film?
A. We have four showings coming up. Otherwise, go to www.turnstoneimpact.com/fluddles.html or visit Vimeo to rent or buy for a small fee.
NORMAL, April 22, 2024, Normal Theater, 7 p.m.
In partnership with Grand Prairie Bird Alliance
CHAMPAIGN, April 26, 2024, Champaign Public Library, 4 p.m.
In partnership with Grand Prairie Friends & Champaign County Audubon Society
WILL COUNTY, May 3, 2024, Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, 6:30 p.m.
In partnership with Forest Preserve District of Will County
CHICAGO, May 9, 2024, Music Box Theatre, 7 p.m.
In partnership with The Wetlands Initiative and Chicago Parks Foundation
Here’s my interview with Dolgan about his last film:
Birding Blogger and Filmmaker Releases “The Magic Stump”—a Must-See Documentary
Copyright (non-interview text): Andrew Morkes; Bob Dolgan holds the copyright to his interview responses
Copyright (photos): as credited; main photo (clockwise from top left): Bob Dolgan; Sandra Uecker, USFWS; Bob Dolgan; Krista Lundgren, USFWS
Looking for some great nature destinations in Chicagoland? If so, check out my book, Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. It features amazing destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Click on the title to learn more. The book has 306 pages and 210+ photos and is only $18.99. Nature in Chicagoland received great reviews in the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Daily Southtown, This Week in Birding blog, and Beverly Review.
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ABOUT ANDREW MORKES
I have been a writer and editor for nearly 30 years. I’m the founder of College & Career Press (2002); the author and publisher of “The Morkes Report: College and Career Planning Trends” blog; and the author and publisher of Hot Health Care Careers: 30 Occupations With Fast Growth and Many New Job Openings; Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men: More Than 30 Great Jobs for Women and Men With Apprenticeships Through PhDs; They Teach That in College!?: A Resource Guide to More Than 100 Interesting College Majors, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by the library journal Voice of Youth Advocates; and other titles. They Teach That in College!? provides more information on environmental- and sustainability-related majors such as Ecotourism, Range Management, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Sustainability Studies, and Sustainable Agriculture/Organic Farming. I’m also a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school.
In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 60 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series) and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades and Cool Careers in Science series).
Here’s a list of the environmental-focused titles that I’ve written:
- Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit
- Wind Turbine Technicians (Great Careers Without a Bachelor’s Degree series)
- Environmental Scientists (Cool Careers in Science series)
- Renewable Energy Careers (Cool Careers in Science series)
- Environment (Getting Started series)
- Solar Power Technicians (Careers in Infrastructure series)