Breeding Bird Surveys

I've started doing some breeding bird surveys on the ranch. It's always fun to see what's out there. I heard and saw quite a few red-winged blackbirds. They like to get together in big flocks at times and create quite a racket.

Even noisier are the yellow-headed blackbirds. They love to hang out on the bulrushes, make their noisy calls, and then chase each other around.

The female yellow-headed blackbird has some color to her but is not nearly as showy as the male.

This rock dove (pigeon) was on the road and didn't seem to mind my presence. When I took a closer look at the photo, I noticed it had bands around both of his feet. Who is studying rock doves and why?

In some willows next to a small pond on the ranch I saw a flash of yellow and discovered a pair of yellow warblers hanging out. They are small but colorful.

I'm usually surprised by all the diversity on the ranch--at first sight it might seem like there's just cows, horses, and ravens, but with a little more looking, it ends up quite interesting.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

We saw this lump lying on the road the other day. Sort of looks like road kill, doesn't it? 

But it twitched, and we knew it was alive.

And then it lifted its head and revealed itself as a harbor seal. Nope, not quite, but in the fuzzy photo it sort of looks like a seal that's hauled itself out on an iceberg.

This little guy is a yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris), one of the laziest animals in the world.

You see, although the marmot might look busy digging out the road and eating nice green vegetation, it will soon disappear from sight. That's because it goes into its burrow and hibernates for up to 9 months of the year. 

What a life!

Baby Owl

While many birds are still singing their sweet songs trying to attract a mate, some birds have already had their young hatch. And in the case of the Great Horned Owls, the young are fledging, trying to fly and leave the nest. We found the owl above in the pasture right near our driveway.

It was flopping around and couldn't get off the ground by itself. I think it eventually did because we didn't see it the next morning. Great Horned Owls nest nearby every year, and it's always a treat to see their big, goofy babies.

Pronghorn Antelope

During our wanderings searching for snakes and wildflowers, we came across some pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana). They might resemble deer from a distance, but they're a bit smaller than mule deer, have differently shaped horns, and a big white rump. Pronghorn are also the fastest creature in North America. In the world, only the cheetah is faster. 

Pronghorn have been around for a long time, and they probably evolved to be so fast to get away from predators that are now extinct--like the American cheetah. They are well-adapted to eat sagebrush and can digest it better than other ungulates.

Although pronghorn are really fast, they aren't good jumpers. When they come to a fence, they often go under it. It's a bit strange to watch a pronghorn crawl under a fence. You can learn lots more about this cool animal at Wikipedia. 

Searching for Snakes

Desert Boy and I joined a group searching for kingsnakes, along with other snakes and lizards a few days ago. We knew it wouldn't be easy, but we were ready.

Desert Boy started off trotting down the road. He found a puddle, and it was hard to convince him that we should go any further. But eventually we did.

The wildflowers were stunning. I was surprised to find four different penstemons. Above is thickleaf beardstongue (Penstemon pachyphyllus). Do you see the really hairy staminode (hairy thing sticking out of the middle of the flower)? That's one of the ways to help tell penstemons apart. First look at color, then if the stems are hairy or smooth, and then if the leaves, corollas (flower petals), and staminodes are hairy or smooth.

This penstemon has a smooth staminode. It's called Owens Valley beardstongue (Penstemon confusus). I really like the stripes on the inner parts of the petals.

The bright red of this penstemon sets it apart from the other ones we saw. It has the great name of firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii).

And one more...Tunnel springs beardstongue (Penstemon concinnus). It was a lot shorter than the other ones and had hairy stem and leaves. 

Okay, I know we were supposed to be looking for snakes, but they were a bit elusive, while the wildflowers were so eye-catching. We did keep our eyes on the ground, though, and eventually we saw...

...a lizard! This is a sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus graciosus). Do you see the stripes running down his back?

Here is Meg searching up high on the hillside opposite us. People went up and down, looked under dead trees and in rock crevices. Everyone spread out to cover as much ground as possible.

Desert Boy got a bit worn out from all the traipsing up and down the hillsides. But with a snack, he was ready to go again.

We went up to some rocks and found large clusters of Kingcup cactus (Echinocerus triglochidiatus). To my utter amazement, Desert Boy walked through them with nary a fall and a spine in his hand.

On the way back down, we saw a different lizard. This one doesn't have stripes lengthwise like the sagebrush lizard, but instead has stripes going across his body. This is a western fence lizard (Sceloperus occidentalis). 

When we got down the hillside, we reached a little spring, and water was running across the road. You can imagine Desert Boy's delight.

He was in the water faster than I could say "No," which is pretty darned fast.

The only problem was that while I was photographing wildflowers, he somehow managed to find a muddy spot and fall down in it.

And before I knew it, he was in an even bigger mud hole and was scrambling to get out of it. 

By this time I knew he was completely coated with mud, and it didn't matter if he got any dirtier.

Oops. Might as well get entirely coated with mud. He wasn't too happy when I told him we had to start heading back to the truck, about a mile away. And he was going to have to walk the entire time because I didn't want to pick him and all his mud up.

Fortunately, we came across some snake hunters who had better success.

They had caught a night snake (Hypsiglena torquata) and put it in the smaller plastic container, and a Great Basin rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis lutosis). The rattlesnake rattled incessantly, so we put him back and took a closer look at the night snake.

And we thought we might get even a little closer...

The biologist is showing the snake to Desert Boy and explaining how to handle him.

Desert Boy reaches over to touch.

And then decides he can probably hold the little snake all by himself.

He didn't talk while he handled it, just watched in fascination.

The snake may be wondering what all the mud is about. It typically hangs out in drier areas.

So even though we didn't find any snakes ourselves, we felt pretty lucky to get to see a couple close up that others caught. 

Up Higher on the Mountain

We've had some warmer weather, and I'm amazed how fast the snow has been melting. The snow level is already about 9800 feet, which seems fairly high for mid-May. It means it's easy to go up on the mountain without extra gear. Some of the aspens are just starting to leaf out.

And if we look closer, we can see a red-naped sapsucker working on a new home.

The flowers are out in full force, like this mountain butterweed (Senecio integerrimus). It's newly recognized common name is lambstongue ragwort. Sorry, but that's just not a good name for such a pretty flower!

I like the symmetry of the flowers.

Hidden down on the ground are mats of leaves with little whitish things hiding amongst them.

Upon closer inspection I can see some flowers hiding out among the three-leaved clover. This is a native species of clover, hollyleaf clover (Trifolium gymnocarpon). 

Another good indication that it's warmer is that the creeks are rising fast. The one above is a tributary that usually looks like it has a trickle of water going over that log.

Here's a link to a different creek not too far away that shows how it's gone from 1 cubic foot per second (cfs) to 15 cfs in about a month's time: Lehman Creek gage. It will get even higher before it peaks. 

Summer's coming, ready or not!

Desert Destination: Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to celebrate the 50th birthday of Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, located about 140 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. I really like this area and have visited before, but this was the first time I got to spend more than a few hours. For the birthday celebration, the wildlife refuge invited people to come for the weekend and take free classes and camp out.

There is a pay phone at the refuge--one of the very few concessions to modernization. It is very primitive and far out in the middle of nowhere, so travelers should go prepared.

I got there Friday night in time to witness the full moon rising. It looked particularly beautiful coming up over the desert mountains, lighting up Fish Springs Flat.

The Pony Express marker reminds us that this area has been important for a long time. I bet the Pony Express riders enjoyed full moons--it made their gallops across the desert so much easier.

Usually the refuge is closed to camping, but on this weekend it was allowed. I took my bike, and when I got up in the morning went for a lovely ride along the impoundments.

I got an excellent view of this American Pelican, complete with its breeding bump on its bill. Both males and females grow this bump to show their interest in breeding, but at the end of the breeding season, it is shed. Talk about taking dressing up to a new extreme!

These heavy birds, 10-17 pounds each, were often seen soaring overhead, their nine foot wingspans making them conspicuous.

On Saturday morning, refuge manager Jay Banta welcomed everyone and introduced the instructors.

People had come from many different areas, and we were all eager to learn. I chose the aquatic birds class, and there was also land birds, history, and botany classes. Notice the coats--it was cold! A north breeze kept us shivering--but it also kept the bugs away. When the breeze slowed down, I got bitten to pieces.

There were quite a few Red-necked Phalaropes bopping in the water. They have reversed sexual dimorphism, meaning that the females are larger and more brightly colored than the males. The males are a duller color because they are the ones who incubate the eggs and care for the chicks.

 The Long-billed Dowitchers were busy probing for insects.

Our group spent a lot of time like this, looking through binoculars and spotting scopes to see what was out on the marshes.

We found a little bird island, where cormorants were sitting on nests and a pelican was coming in for a landing.

It was windy and chilly, so the pelicans hunkered down.

Except this one. She was a bit of a showoff.

The American Avocets were busy searching for invertebrates to eat.

One of the best parts of the trip was that we got to go into areas of the Refuge that are often closed. Although we saw some really dry desert, like these alkaline flats, it was impressive how much of the nearly 18,000 acres were covered with water. It was obvious why this refuge is such an important stopover for migratory birds--it really is the only sizable water body in over 50 miles. Many birds also breed here.

The geology tour not only looked at rocks, but also examined where Fish Springs water comes from. The Utah Geologic Survey has recently drilled monitoring wells and done extensive water quality sampling. They believe that most of the water comes from nearby Snake Valley, as refuge manager Jay Banta explains in this post.

Many of the groups got to see this rattlesnake, curled up under a bush right next to the refuge headquarters.

Lizards abounded, including this baby horned lizard.

And everyone who went out to the marsh could see plenty of bullfrogs sunning themselves. They were huge and disgusting. They are nonnative, brought in prior to the refuge for a bullfrog farm. Frog legs, anyone?

In the afternoon there were more classes: archeology with a trip to one of the refuge's caves, geology, history, and botany. I chose the botany class and learned five new families of aquatic plants. It's a rare day when you can learn one new family, so five made it quite a treat!

One of the plants we looked at was this spiny naiad (Najas marina), which is common in some of the springs. We also looked at a variety of terrestrial plants, some of which were blooming.

In the evening we had a potluck dinner and then some of the people who had previously worked at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge spoke, including the first refuge manager. He and his wife had come out when there was no indoor plumbing, in fact there wasn't even an outhouse. There was no water supply except the springs themselves, and of course there was no electricity. They came in November with a one-year old and another baby on the way, and somehow managed to survive and even come to love the place. This refuge manager, Lynn Greenwalt, not only got the refuge off to its start, but eventually became Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1974-1981. 

Another speaker was Bob, who has been retired for 20 years but was better at finding birds than any of the rest of us despite wearing hearing aids. Bob and his wife didn't stay at the refuge for long because his wife disliked it so much, but he found the place so enticing that he drove from Arizona in his new hybrid car to attend and reminisce about his short stay. 

Kim was acting refuge manager in the 1980s while the Fish and Wildlife Service searched for a manager. At one point she was the only employee left out at Fish Springs, which she said was one of the best times in her life. 

Listening to the stories made me realize how much special places like Fish Springs means to people. So many of the fish and wildlife refuges are located out in the boonies and require a special type of person to live out far from civilization and protect what's out there. They also require special groups of friends who are willing to come out and visit and educate people about why those places should be protected.

Sunday morning I woke up early and took another bike ride to enjoy the morning sights and sounds. I disrupted a group of snowy egrets and a black-crowned night heron.

There were more classes offered Sunday morning, and my only regret was that I didn't have time to take more classes, because they were all excellent. It was great getting to meet the variety of people who had traveled to the middle of the desert for a fun and educational weekend.

Happy Birthday, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge. I hope the next 50 years are just as good, if not better, than the first 50.