November 2008 Archives

If you hadn't heard, the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) was set to have an auction for oil and gas leases in December for sites on Federal land in Utah. Included were some parcels that, if the drilling rigs and wells had been put in place, would have been within view of some national parks. Imagine hiking three miles to view or photograph Delicate Arch (Arches National Park) and having an oil well visible smack in the middle of the view/photo???? Other parks that would have been affected included Canyonlands National Park and Dinosaur National Monument.

There's still going to be an auction for leases, but at least some of the most "offensive" parcels have been removed from the list. There may be more parcels removed before the auction takes place. And, since the article was specifically about locations in Utah, no word about the uranium mines they were planning just outside Grand Canyon . . .

I was just watching an episode of NOVA on PBS the other night that was about E.O. Wilson and he was being interviewed down in the Dominican Republic. In the background I could here last week's quiz bird saying "here I am - where are you - here I am" - one of the mnemonics for the Red-eyed Vireo (they must have shot that scene in the winter). This week we're out of the forest and on the water for our mystery bird.

Good luck and great birding!

Here's hoping that it is a happy day for you, wherever you may be on this day. Here in southern Utah I've been watching the snow fall (and doing a little shoveling, too). Very soon I'll be joining some of my coworkers and friends for a gathering here at the park where we will partake of the usual fare associated with this day. At no time will I be watching a bunch of silly men chasing a funny looking pointed ball around a field. Though later I will have a look at the TV because NatGeo is running three 1-hour shows that should be of interest (about Everglades, Grand Canyon, and Denali National Parks).

Today was, as it turned out, a great day! I got to go out to a region of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that is noted as something of a "bone yard". But, as I would soon learn, there was more to the place than just bones. Clams, petrified wood, turtle shells, and even a live reptile. The rocks, sandstones and mudstones were from a period over 80 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. What is now southern Utah was a land of rivers, streams, and swamps, inhabited by creatures like Parasaurolophus, Gryposaurus, and Troodon.

Clicking on the thumbnail will open up a nine image Flash slideshow with photos from the day's trip. (Click on the "i" info button to learn about the photo.)

So, did you happen to catch tonight's premiere of The Wolf That Changed America on Nature?

Wow. Had me welling up a few times.

Sadly this story, unfortunately, continues today. People (and I use the term loosely) continue to want them hunted down and killed, especially in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Not to mention Alaska, where that slimy witch (I won't stink up this place by mentioning her name, but the one who was on the losing ticket as candidate for vice-president) allows them to be shot from airplanes and helicopters. Of course, here in Utah they still pay bounties for the killing of Coyotes - they'd probably pay big bucks if there were wolves here . . .

(Though I try to be optimistic and wish these attitudes would go away, I don't hold out much hope that I'll see it in my lifetime.)

Funny, as involved as I have been with matters of the environment over the years, I don't recall ever hearing the name of the antagonist in the story, Ernest Thompson Seton. The positive aspect of the sad ending to the wolf's life was that Seton's life was forever changed by his experience. Mentioned in the program was the fact that, some years later, he was involved in, among other things, getting legislation passed to protect migratory birds (The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918) - a great law, indeed.

I was, however, disappointed in learning during the show that he was also involved in the founding of the Boy Scouts. The show failed to mention, however, that he resigned early on due to disagreements with the other co-founders. And, from what I've learned about him since watching the show, I would hazard to guess that he would probably be appalled (according to this bio he was a Theosophist) by what the organization has become*.

* From what I understand about the organization, the "BSA" is largely associated with conservative religious institutions. And most people I know associated with said institutions don't agree with my personal perspective on matters of the environment (they are, for the most part, the kind who are okay with killing wolves and coyotes, drilling or mining anywhere and everywhere, cutting down old growth forests, climate change deniers, etc.). I don't think, after reading about the man, they are the kind of people Seton would want to sit around a campfire with, either.

Unfortunately, even if I would have had a camera with me, it is unlikely there would have been time to get off a shot, but, yesterday, as I was getting ready to leave work, I saw a Long-tailed Weasel bounding across the parking lot. I've seen them around the park from time to time but, what was different was that it was the first I've seen in winter "plumage". White as fresh fallen snow except for the very tip of the tail, which looked as if it had been dipped in black ink. Sweet!

That raptor perching on a wire down in south Texas last week was a Harris's Hawk. This week we have a bird found mostly east of the Rocky Mountains and, if you're in the southeast, there might be one in your yard right now. Good luck and great birding!

Having been here some 18+ months now, one place I haven't really done much with has been Fairyland Point. Located north of the huge amphitheater known as Bryce Canyon - about a mile north of the visitor center - the viewpoint, naturally, overlooks Fairyland Canyon. Not that I had never been up there, I just never got out early enough to exploit the morning light. My bad. As you can see, it is a pretty spectacular place. Much like the park's main attraction, the view is to the east looking toward the morning sun but, if one sets up the shot correctly and taking care to make sure to shade out the sun to eliminate lens flare (light bouncing around on the lens's elements), there are numerous opportunities to get shots like these that glow with reflected light.

The other thing I did on Monday was go on a wild goose swan chase. There had been a report late last week that some Tundra Swans were over at Panguitch Lake west of here, but long gone by the time I got there. There was plenty of waterfowl (coots, Bufflehead, 3 species of grebe, Canada Geese, Mallards, and a non-breeding plumage Common Loon among others) to be seen, but all too far out in the lake to photograph. I really wanted to see and, hopefully, photograph the swans. Oh, well, maybe another time.

I was back and forth on the subject for a while, but a couple of weeks ago I decided that since I was going to be here a while, I should have something to do besides surf the 'net and read. So I now have satellite television for a little entertainment. For all that money I only watch a handful of channels, limiting things mostly to stuff that educates and informs. Specifically channels like National Geographic, Discovery, PBS (Nature and Nova), a small smattering of politics, and channel 215 - the NHL Network - has Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays. I don't foresee myself watching the "traditional" networks and, especially Fox (no matter how good people tell me "House" is). In the case of Fox, it's a question of ethics and ownership's complete lack of same (they have some pretty vile creatures - "human" being to good to describe the likes of O'Reilly and Hannity - working at their news network).

But enough pontificating. Did you happen to catch "American Eagle" on Nature (PBS) last night? Great show. Look for it in your neighborhood if you didn't see it - I know the Salt Lake affiliate will be repeating the program a couple of times over the next week, so maybe your local channel will, too. Lots of great video including some scenes I recognized were in Homer, AK (though they didn't mention it by name); I could tell they were shot outside the Eagle Lady's place on the Spit. Fantastic "Eagle Cam" scenes, too.

Only complaint was that, while I'm okay with the program's title, they were referring to the birds as if "American Eagle" was the name of the species. It my experience, most people who call them "American Eagle" instead of "Bald Eagle" are the same type of people who have a nationalistic view of the world. And that I find that view troublesome (oops, he's on his soapbox again).

Okay, so last week's quiz was pretty easy, Northern Cardinal. But why did I choose a well known North American species for the quiz (and the answer to the bonus question)? I picked the cardinal because they are the State Bird of Illinois, home of President-elect Obama. This week a bird-on-a-wire to test your identification skills. Good luck and good birding!

In honor of Halloween we had a Black Vulture staring us down in last week's quiz. Our bird this week should be pretty easy, so the challenge is to take a minute or two and answer this question: Why did ol' Kevin choose this particular species for the quiz this week?

Good luck and great birding!

Are you fired up?

It is time to change this nation.

It is time to change this world.

For the past several days, at campaign rallies across the midwest and east, McCain has begun introducing his guy "Joe the Plumber" as an "American hero" and "role model".

WTF?

Real "American Heroes" are the tens of thousands of men and women like my (grand)nephew who are deployed around the world in our armed forces or who have died in the cause of this country. Too many of them killed, wounded, or (permanently) scarred mentally in that misbegotten foray into Iraq. Role models are good men and women like my late father: a hard-working, kind, and unselfish man (who also dedicated 20 years of his life to the U.S. Navy).

Tax evaders who aren't even licensed as plumbers and lie to us about the business they say they are going to buy don't qualify. "Joe the Plumber" isn't even a Joe (guess it sounds better to the unthinking masses than "Sam the Plumber').

This guy is neither hero nor role model. He is a liar and a fraud.

As are the candidates he supports, whose total mischaracterization of this clown I find to be nothing short of repulsive.