2019 Backyard Bird List

It's time!! That's right, it's time to be counting the birds in your backyard. We've kept an annual tally for a number of years now, and 2019 was a fantastic year, with a total count of 45 species (see list at end of post). That's 10 more than we've gotten in recent years. Why so many in 2019, when there was a lot of news about bird populations declining (see this Scientific American article and this Audubon article)? Well, we're not counting total numbers, so we it's quite possible that the number of birds in our backyard have decreased. We're just counting species, and everyone in the family has gotten better at birding due to this yearly challenge. It's not uncommon for someone to see a bird and have it be a topic of discussion at dinner or to check the list to see if it's already on it. Birds may also be doing better in our remote part of the Great Basin because it is so remote. Development takes place at a very slow scale, with about one new building per year in our town. At that slow rate of growth, there's still plenty of habitat for the wildlife.

The Backyard Bird Challenge is super simple, just observe what's in (or can be seen or heard from) your backyard.

Last year this osprey showed up in May. We don't see many ospreys, so it was a real treat.
 

Western meadowlarks are common around here, but they are harder to detect when they're not singing for a mate. I've seen them not far from our house, but not in view of our backyard yet. It won't be long until they're singing and easy to detect.

Long-billed curlews are a species in trouble, but they are doing well out here on the ranch. They are a fun bird to watch, as they look a little awkward and make strange noises.

We have Great Horned Owls hooting regularly in our yard. Two years ago we were lucky enough to have them nest in a tree, but last year they went somewhere else. We're crossing our fingers they will be nearby this year.

American Kestrels are another species that are in decline. Fortunately we have a breeding pair in our yard almost every year. They move their nest around. I was lucky to get this photo of a pair last spring. I couldn't even see the lizard until I cropped the photo (which had been shot with a telephoto lens). I hadn't seen any lizards on the ground at that point, but the kestrels had.

Here's last year's list. This year's list is in the sidebar. We're up to 12 species so far as of early March.

1. Common Raven (1.1.19)

2. Black-billed Magpie (1.1.19)

3. Pinyon Jay (1.1.19)

4. Chicken (1.1.19)

5. European Starling (1.1.19)

6. Northern Flicker (1.3.19)

7. Eurasian Collared Dove (1.7.19)

8. Dark-eyed Junco (1.8.19)

9. American Robin (1.8.19)

10. Great Horned Owl (1.9.19)

11. House Sparrow (1.10.19)

12. Bald Eagle (2.17.19)

13. Red-tailed Hawk (3.1.19)

14. Canada Goose (3.2.19)

15. Sandhill Crane (3.4.19)

16. Killdeer (3.24.19)

17. Turkey Vulture (3.24.19)

18. American Kestrel (3.30.19)

19. Western Meadowlark (3.30.19)

20. Pine Siskin (4.8.19)

21. American Goldfinch (4.12.19)

22. Yellow-rumped Warbler (4.14.19)

23. Sharp-shinned Hawk (4.15.19)

24. Great Blue Heron (4.23.19)

25. Barn Swallow (4.27.19)

26. Western Kingbird (4.27.19)

27. Brewer's Blackbird (4.26.19)

28. Yellow Warbler (4.27.19)

29. Mallard (4.27.19)

30. Yellow-headed Blackbird (4.27.19)

31. Rough-winged Swallow (4.27.19)

32. Osprey (5.6.19)

33. Bullock's Oriole (5.2.19)

34. Northern Mockingbird (5.10.19)

35. Hummingbird (4.12.19)

36. Western Wood-Pewee (5.12.19)

37. Thrush (Swainson's or Hermit) (5.12.19)

38. Western Tanager (5.12.19)

39. Western Bluebird (5.12.19)

40. Cattle Egret (5.24.19)

41. Common Nighthawk (6.7.19)

42. Common Poorwill (6.7.19)

43. Long-billed Curlew (6.12.19)

44. Mountain Bluebird (12.15.19)

45. White-crowned Sparrow (12.15.19)

Our last species of the year was the White-crowned Sparrow, which we probably would have gotten earlier in the year if we had been a little more observant. It's fun guessing what we might get this year!

If you decide to do your own Backyard Bird Challenge, good luck!

Hunter Safety Class

Desert Boy wants to go hunting, and a requirement to get a hunting license is to take a hunter safety class. I decided to take it with him, as I never have before. A friend got us the books from the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) office. You can also take hunter safety online for most states. Since Desert Boy is under 21, he was also required to take an in-person eight-hour hunter education class. Since I was going to be driving him and be there anyway, I signed up too. The class was initially full and we were on the wait list, but then we got in.

We had to either complete the 32-page booklet or the online class with quizzes before the in-person class. We had a study guide to help us complete the booklet, and I was impressed with how well written it was and engaging with lots of illustrations.

The study guide covered parts of various types of guns and bows, plus how to hold them for hunting.

When we went to the in-person class, we found 22 participants. Half were female, half male. There were only two adults in the class, me and another mom.

The class focused a lot on gun safety. We practiced how to clear and pass a gun from one person to another, how to load a gun into a vehicle, how to get in and out of a boat with a gun, how to go under a fence with a gun. We also practiced various gun carries, our zone-of-fire, and getting a safe shot (with a laser on a TV screen).

Our instructor was the county sheriff, who is an avid hunter. I thought it was very smart of him to be teaching this class, as he's instructing the newest gun users in the county how to be safe and getting to know them a little better in the process.

We also touched on staying safe while out hunting. Since the county sheriff's office oversees search and rescues, we heard some stories of things that had happened over the years. In fact, the class had lots of pertinent stories to illustrate different points. And lots of humor. 

We talked a bit about carrying capacity, and how the number of animals that can be hunted each year are determined. Because I'm an ecologist, I found this part especially engaging. We also covered conservation and ethics.

The study guide covered wildlife identification of various animals we might see.

Some interesting stats from the day: population of Nevada: 3.5 million. Percent of population who hunts: 13%. Percent of success for juvenile hunters: 15%; percent of success for adult hunters: 45%; percent of success for bow hunters: 12%. We also covered how hunters should interact with landowners and non-hunters. Respect was the main concept.

Desert Boy was not expecting that the class would be so much fun. The instructors used a nice dose of humor and there were lots of interactive components. We ended the day with a test that we both passed. Now we can apply for tags starting in mid-March. I probably won't this year, but Desert Boy is excited about it.

I highly recommend Hunter Safety Class to anyone who is interested in hunting, whether they think they might get a tag this year or not. It covers more topics than you might expect. I don't come from a hunting family, and my husband has limited time for it, so I got a lot out of the class, and I'm glad to see how comprehensive it is.

Improving the Sagebrush Discovery Trail

Just west of Baker, Nevada is a lovely little trail we call the Sagebrush Discovery Trail. It's about two miles of old two-track road that follows along some irrigation ditches.

 Here's a map, with the Sagebrush Discovery Trail in purple on the top side of the map. As you can see, we had some fun with naming different sections of the trail.

 You can find more info on The Snake Valley Trails Partnership website. Periodic workdays are held to improve the trail, and one occurred last weekend. We wanted to improve the trail where it had flooded last summer and where 1,500 sheep had walked on it. The pathway had gotten a little narrow in places.

Fortunately some raking helped remedy that.


It was also time to move some rocks. The kids excelled at that.

One of our issues is that there are so many rocks. The Snake Valley Trails Partnership has partnered with the BLM and over the next couple of years will be improving the trail with a layer of gravel, interpretive signs, benches, an exercise circuit, trailheads, and more. 

Right now it's a little primitive, but an hour of work made it a lot prettier!

The kids even removed some trash that was in the ditch. 

The trail is easy to access, right next to town, and dog-friendly, so I love taking our dog there. Hopefully as the trail is improved, more people will enjoy this great spot.

New Exhibits at Lehman Caves Visitor Center

 

Lehman Caves Visitor Center has some new exhibits! The theme is Discover the Dark, and part of it is about Lehman Caves and part is about the dark night skies. Park staff have been working with contractors for the past two years to make this exhibit come to fruition. Funding came from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA).

The exhibits opened February 15, 2020, and I took the family (and a friend) up the next day to see their reactions. The kids immediately stopped for a long time at the cave map, asking if they could touch the 3d model (yes!, but gently).

The girls then saw the flashlights and grabbed them. Then they got distracted by the microscope.

The reason for the flashlights is to Enter the Dark (Ingrese a la Oscuridad---all the signs are in English and Spanish). 


On the other side of the curtains there is minimal lighting, and you can use the flashlights to find cave creatures.

If you listen carefully, you can hear bats squeaking. Take a look up to see some simulated ones!

The tunnel isn't long, but it's fun.

On the other is the mini-laboratory (with my friend Kristin's awesome art of cave critters). The exhibit isn't fully completed, so Desert Girl had fun looking at her fingers under the microscope.


I encouraged the kids to look at the giant cave creatures along another wall.


I don't think they read much, but they had fun touching! The cave creatures are nice and low for kids to be able to reach easily.

 Another exhibit that invites touching is Protecting the Night Sky, which lets you flip a light switch to simulate how light pollution dims our view of the night skies.

And in Cave Conservation, you can touch half a stalagmite. It's already looking shiny after a few days of touching, compared to the protected part under the glass. Hopefully this will show folks how important it is not to touch in the cave! (p.s., That's a photo of some lint cleaning in the cave in the background!)

Over in the astronomy section is a giant planisphere to show you what's up in the sky on certain dates at certain times. 

There's also a guessing game related to animals that are out at night. Mainly the kids just wanted to swirl the circles, though.

Desert Boy kept going back to the 3d model of the cave. He really liked that. (None of them read "How Did Lehman Caves Form?", which is in the background and really fascinating.)

I love that there's a big cave shield prominently displayed. Lehman Caves has so many cave shields! They are currently being counted.  Most are attached to the wall or ceiling, but there are a notable number that rise from the floor.

The Western National Parks Association (WNPA) bookstore has also been redone and looks so good.

The visitor center isn't very big, but there's a lot of cool info there now about the cave and dark skies. Hopefully everyone can learn something new and get a taste of what the cave environment is like! Plus there's more to see that I didn't show (don't want to give it all away!).

The Lehman Caves Visitor Center is open every day, from 8 am to at least 4 pm. Check the Great Basin National Park website for more details. Also, if you'd like to go on a cave tour, it's best to book ahead, as the tours were sold out for President's Day weekend. If you come on weekdays during the winter, the tours are much smaller, and you get some specialized info. Have fun Discovering the Dark!

2020 Lint Camp

Every winter, deep in Lehman Caves, a group of volunteers gathers to clean lint. What?? Yep, the lint that falls off our clothes, hair, and other gunk gets left behind in the cave. With each person going through the cave leaving about a belly-button full of lint behind, and 33,000 people going through the cave, that's a lot of lint!

Fortunately a dedicated cadre of volunteers steps up to the task of removing that lint. The main tool is a paintbrush or toothbrush and patience.

When lint gets into little cracks and popcorn, tweezers become the tool of choice.

When possible, it's good to start high and then move lower.

Although people walk on the trail, the lightweight lint drifts higher, and removing it from those high spots can be quite a challenge.

It's not all work. Sometimes we have to take a break and see if we can squeeze through a concrete block!

The cleaning also involved getting dust and debris out of the entrance and exit tunnels and near the cave doors. Ideally maintenance will do this weekly throughout the year.

Folks came from five states to attend lint camp. Great Basin National Park provides housing, oversight, and the tools. The volunteers provide dedication and time.

Another reward can be seeing cool cave creatures, like this Lehman Cave pseudoscorpion (Microcreagris grandis Muchmore).


In addition to lint, the volunteers on the second and/or third day can also help restore natural cave floor. This is slow work, pulling out old trail debris from popcorn and rimstone dams, but it's also quite rewarding.

This year we had some strong black lights brought in. Can you see the blue and white lint on this popcorn?

Here are some rocks along the side of the trail. Under normal light you can't see much on them, but the black light shows another story.

After lots of hard work, participants are treated to a trip through the Talus Room, an off-trail section of Lehman Cave.

And it's always fun to get a group photo!

Thanks to the many wonderful volunteers who helped with this year's lint camps!