. . . of Utah Prairie Dogs have emerged from their burrows within the past several days. This is - I guess it goes without saying - one of them that posed for a few shots for me. I didn't have much time to hang around since I have to work shortly, but it looks like it has been a pretty good year for them. I know the folks in Resources dusted for fleas yesterday in the colonies to hopefully reduce the chances of plague - a disease introduced by westward expansion of us 2-leggeds - from spreading and potentially wiping out a colony.

In other news, I need to update my Utah "year bird" list soon as I have added a couple of species (Mourning Dove and Lesser Goldfinch); tomorrow's quiz will feature a bird I've seen frequently but photographed for the first time a couple of days ago. See you then.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday, New Jersey governor Jon Corzine signed into law a bill placing a moratorium on the harvesting of Horseshoe Crabs that carries stiff penalties ($10,000 first offense, $25,000 for subsequent offenses). Hooray for New Jersey! Now if Delaware would just follow suit, things would be so much the better (well, that and an Endangered Species Act listing from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that is long overdue).

One item I learned from an op-ed piece is that the way this new law is written, the burden of proof that all is well gets shifted:

Driven by the steeply declining populations of the red knot, the new law shifts the scientific and legal burden from DEP to show that the species is harmed, to the fishing industry to show that any horseshoe crab harvest will not harm the recovery of the red knot and several other migratory birds.

I like that. We should do this across the board and make all industry financially responsible for proving that their actions won't harm the environment. Fat chance it will happen anytime soon, at least not without a major shift in the way Americans think. Not when you've got clueless people like the one who was the first commenter (of only two as I write this) in the first article I linked to above:

Maybe part of the problem is the Red Knots eating the eggs. If the eggs can't hatch then it only makes sense the population of the horseshoe crab will go down.

Why comment when you have absolutely no concept about what is going on here? It's not like this hasn't been going on for thousands of years. I lost a few perfectly viable brain cells from the searing stupidity in that comment; I'm amazed this person can actually turn on his/her computer. (Hey friend, why don't you go back to watching Survivor or Dancing With the Stars and let the thinking people run things around here for, oh, say the next few thousand years. Okay? Maybe our species will survive then.)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was my Best Birding Day So Far This Year; I was hopeful that I would hit 30, but came up 3 short in the end. On a positive note, I added 4 new species to the year list, bringing that total to 45; all were within the range of the Bryce checklist area, too. The additions are Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe (a big surprise I found hanging around the edges of a pond where I was checking out the ducks), Vesper Sparrow, and Savannah Sparrow. The only (bird) species I managed to photograph was this male Greater Sage-grouse. They should be lekking soon, if not already, and the spot where I shot this one seems to be a major hangout for them. This was the third time I found them there and, who knows, it just may be one of the leks . . .

Birds weren't the only thing happening today, either. Since it was quite a bit warmer and the winds were a little calmer than yesterday, the Utah Prairie Dogs were up surveying the scene again. I am kind of surprised that I have not seen any chipmunks yet and, to date, only one Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel. Maybe later in the week if the weather holds (though the weather has already proven that it can be schizophrenic this time of year 'round these parts).

(Today's birds: American Robin, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Mountain Bluebird, Greater Sage-grouse, Ferruginous Hawk, Western Meadowlark, Townsend's Solitaire, American Kestrel, European Starling, House Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon & Gray-headed), Red-tailed Hawk, Western Scrub-jay, Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Canada Goose, Wilson's Snipe, Western Bluebird, Steller's Jay, Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Mallard, Golden Eagle, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I didn't do much bird chasing on my day off today, but did go check out the Utah Prairie Dogs to see what they were up to. There are a lot more out and about now as the weather continues to warm; some of the colonies that were not active are now showing signs of stirring, with the occasional head peering out from behind a mound of snow. This one knew there was nothing to munch on near the hole and had ventured out to where the snow had melted beside a road. Looking at those paws, it appears things are a little on the gooey side, too.

While I wish I could say that I had seen them (better still, wish I could get a photograph), but all I can come up with for now are more tracks. The difference in these tracks and the last ones is this: these are about 100 feet from the front door of my trailer. Apparently momma and her kittens have been roaming around North Campground sometime in the past couple of days (top one is a kitten; the last one, according to the books I've checked, would be the front paws side by side when "bounding") . We had snow Saturday night so that means these were made since that time or they'd be covered just like the first set I found. There's also some prints in the mud near the campground's restrooms a 100 or so yards away - they've been wandering around here just a little. Spooky in a way, yet kind of exciting; will definitely have to keep a closer eye on Roxy when we're outside . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council has done the right thing and reversed their decision from last month regarding the harvest of Horseshoe Crabs on Delaware Bay and has set the limit at "zero". I think the state of Delaware is still going to permit the taking of 100,000 males and I am unaware of any attempts to reverse that at this point, but a least with the NJMFC decision the crab population will have a chance to recover a little, which can only be good in the long run fro the Red Knot.

In the meantime, we are still waiting for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to make a decision on listing the Red Knot as an endangered species. They were petitioned (again) a little over a week ago, maybe something will happen soon and that would probably bring things to a halt in Delaware, too.

(Hat tip to John at A D.C. Birding Blog for this latest Red Knot news.)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I said in the last post, my main mission was to shoot some stills of the Utah Prairies Dogs and here are a couple of the keepers. It took a lot of patience to wait for these three to get lined up. They were in and out of the hole, sometimes a fourth would make an appearance but hang out in the back, or they wouldn't all be looking the same general direction. But I stuck with them and it paid off, even if the one on the left is squinting a little (I bet you would be too after being holed up for 4 months, then coming out to all that bright white snow . . .)

This "kissing" is a somewhat common behavior and a form of greeting/recognition of another member of the coterie. It really isn't so much a "kiss" but touching incisors. Though they live in colonies, each coterie has its territorial boundaries; if it were an interloper a fight would likely take place (though in late summer and fall they will often share "common areas" at the edges of their territories).

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I received a link to this article about Whooping Cranes and wind farms via email a few minutes ago.

Have to rush off to work but will look at it in depth later . . .

There's a lot about this article that troubles me. They are talking about 40,000 turbines along the U.S. section of the Whooping Crane migration corridor and it sounds like nobody is looking at taking any kind of proactive steps to protect these birds. There is no question that, as a society, we have to move in a new direction as far as our energy needs are concerned but, damn it, we absolutely have to evaluate how we are going to protect habitats and biodiversity along the way. We simply can't keep destroying things. While we don't know at this point what, if any, effect this will have on migrating Whoopers, we have to find out and take steps to protect them (and any other species our activities could potentially impact). If that means shutting down the wind farms for a few days while they pass through, then so be it. If a Whooper dies because of the activities of a power company, they should have to pay dearly.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday I was on my way home from a little adventure (which I'll get to in a minute) and, as I passed by one of the meadows in the park, I cast a skeptical eye in that direction and wondered when "they" would be making an appearance. It took all of about 500 feet to get my answer. The Utah Prairie Dogs had gone below ground to hibernate in late October, so it was right at 4 months since I had last seen one. I've since checked out 3 colonies in the park and there is activity at all of them, and I saw activity at another colony outside the park. The snow is still pretty deep so finding food must be a little tough. Even with that, this one looks pretty plump and must have had a lot of food stored away.

The tree at left was the object of my adventure yesterday. I happened upon it about 10 days ago while leading a snowshoe hike out near Bryce Point and it is one of the more mature examples I've seen here. The others I've seen are, for the most part, rather spindly, while this one had some bulk (trunk about 10 to 12 inches in diameter) . With the rate of erosion here as high as it is, Bristlecone Pines (Pinus longaeva) don't live as long as they do in the White Mountains of Eastern California, where a tree called "Methuselah" is about 4,800 years old, they can still live longer here than everything else around. The oldest one known at Bryce Canyon, now unfortunately dead, lived about 1,600 years. Bristlecone Pines are the oldest living single organisms on the planet.

Far from being an expert, I'm guessing this one is maybe 1,000 years old based upon size and what I have read about their rate of growth. If I'm right, it means this tree would have been a sapling during the time of the Fremont Culture (Ancestral Puebloans who inhabited portions of Utah concurrent with the more famous Puebloans - formerly called Anasazi - who inhabited the Four Corners region) and Europe would have been mired in the Dark Ages. Kind of cool when you think about it. Of course that's nothing when you realize Methuselah would have been a sapling during the time of the pharaohs . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NASA held hearings yesterday as part of an environmental assessment associated with plans for a private launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center. As I understand it, one of the proposed sites would effectively shut down operation of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Abandoned launch pads abound south of the present shuttle launch complex, so it is hard for me to imagine why they would have to destroy pristine habitat. There were two meetings yesterday and the overwhelming majority of attendees at them voice their opposition to this site proposal, as I would have been had I been there:

"That you would even consider it boggles my mind," Wes Biggs of Orlando told NASA representatives seeking public input at two back-to-back hearings in Titusville City Council chambers. "The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge isn't just another refuge. It's one of the jewels of the federal wildlife system, and it is known worldwide."

(You tell 'em Wes!)

"If NASA builds Site 2, NASA will become my enemy," Biggs said at the afternoon meeting. "Really, that's how I look at it. Just the idea that NASA would consider as a last resort building on Site 2 boggles my mind. I don't know if you've got an understanding what type of firestorm you'll get if you do this."

Besides the fact it is just a great place to go birding, I am especially partial because it is the place where I "discovered" birds back in 1999 and saw my very first wild Bald Eagle shortly after that. I love the space program but, like Mr. Biggs, I would be one very unhappy fellow if this went down. Nor to mention that it would probably kill the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, one of the largest in the country - I just can't imagine the amount of money it would pull from the local economy. There are times when there's a long parade of cars winding their way along Black Point Wildlife Drive.

Another thing that concerns me is it sounds like this "Site 2" will be in pretty close proximity to the largest remaining concentration of Florida Scrub-jays. Listed as "Threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, this could be a bad thing for them, too. They have been squeezed out of other areas at an alarming rate and, at least with the last governor of the state, nothing much was done to help protect the "Scrubbies".

If I can find a link for written comment, I'll post it here because this is such a monumentally stupid idea.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to this article the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council has decided to lift the ban on the harvest of Horseshoe Crabs. I have get to work but will update later today - this can't be good news if you are a Red Knot.

Update: A Stacked Deck
Tonight I could finally read all of the article I linked to above and it appears the Knots didn't have a chance. It seems this council was short 2 "public-at-large" members, 5 of the members represented the commercial fishing industry, and the remaining 4 the recreational fishing industry. The vote was 5 to 4, naturally. Hopefully someone - the NJ governor, maybe - or some government entity (though I won't count on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under the current administration) will step in. And there may be some legal challenges, too. One can only hope.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just received an email from American Bird Conservancy about a program that will be showing (in selected areas) on the PBS program Nature this Sunday, February 10 titled Crash: A Tale of Two Species.

Knots, champions of shorebird migration, rely on Horseshoe Crab eggs on the shores of Delaware Bay for the energy reserves to complete the northbound leg of their migration and the first critical weeks of breeding season in the Canadian Arctic. Years of over harvesting of crabs - primarily for bait and fertilizer - have imperiled several species of shorebirds, but nothing like the 90% decline in the Red Knot population in about 10 years. Will the greed of a few humans wipe this bird from the planet forever?

(Some say the impact on the local economy from ecotourism - in the form of bird watchers - is said to far outweigh income from the crab harvest - I say let the fisherman find another job.)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 01:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I sure didn't like seeing this bit of news this morning: Scientists Scramble to Save U.S. Shorebird. Another 3000 Red Knots are unaccounted for with this year's count being a mere 12,300 birds (down from 100,000 in the mid-80's).

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I noted a couple of posts back, my trailer is parked about 1/2 mile away from one of the prairie dog towns (or colonies) here at Bryce Canyon. The 3 Utah Prairie Dog photos included with this entry are all from that area and maybe next week I will get around to visiting the really big one here at the park (estimated to be about 150 of them). In addition to the 3 towns of which I am aware that are inside the park, I stumbled upon a couple of others in the Dixie National Forest adjacent to Bryce. By the time I wrap things up here I should have more shots of Utah Prairie Dogs than I will know what to do with.

These first 2 images are the same animal; in the first it had been doing some digging at the opening of the burrow when it stuck its head up to have a look around. Must have been satisfied that all was well and went back to digging. A few minutes later it stood up at the edge of the burrow and, for the most part, just stood there looking off to the west. I shot this image while it was responding to the barks of another one that had been vocalizing on the other side of the road. (The posture kind of looks like it either had an upset stomach or had been kicked in the groin).

This was a "dog" on a mission. When it first caught my eye it was standing with a few blades of grass and I decided it must be eating. But the longer I watched, the more grass it kept stuffing into its mouth until it couldn't stuff any more in and then ran off to duck into a burrow. I showed the image to some of the ranger's and it was decided that it was probably a female gathering material for the nursery. They also noted the critter's "pear" shape - an indication that it is probably expecting . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)