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Toree’s Stories
On
Science and Nature……and Life
Column 16 - The GBBC Follow-up
Almost every day
at lunchtime I go outside to sit on my deck in the sun, listen to the birds and
read the newspaper. Today, as soon as I sat down, a bird began to sing. I
wasn’t able to spot him but identified him through his unique song. Today I
heard the Canyon Wren, whose
unmistakable song is a descending cascade of clear, liquid notes.
He’s a small bird
– 5 ½ to 6” long, rusty-colored with a white throat and breast, a striped tail
and long, slightly curved beak.
This bird is
generally found on rocky hillsides and steep-walled canyons. It feeds on
insects and spiders, using its long beak to probe into crevices. There are
plenty of spiders to feed on in my yard and he won’t have to look very hard!
This may have
been the same bird that I saw a couple of weeks ago that I identified as a
Bewick’s wren. Today he sang his signature song, leaving no doubt as to what
type of bird he is. It’s getting closer to spring and the birds are starting to
sing their mating songs. I’ll be keeping an eye out for him, as he seems to be
hanging around.
Last column I
talked about the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Hopefully many of you got a
chance to get out into nature and count some birds. I’d be interested in
hearing from anyone who participated – what birds you were able to find and
where. Contact me at toree.saveourplanetearth@gmail.com to
share your experience.
I go out walking
without fail twice a day, early morning and again at dusk and am always on the
lookout for birds, plants and other wildlife. During the weekend of the GBBC, I
carried a small notebook to record my observations and promptly lost my pen!
One bird I
noticed in abundance was the Pygmy
Nuthatch, the smallest bird I see, measuring only 4”. This tiny bird
gathers noisily in flocks, creeping in jerking motions along limbs and trunks,
looking for insects to eat. They roost communally, keeping each other warm
during cold nights.
His body and
wings are slate grey; he has a brown head, ending in a well-defined line at the
eye, with white underparts.
I have only seen
these birds out on the trail; they don’t visit my bird feeders like the
white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches do. Every morning as I pass by, they
chatter and flit from tree to tree, scolding me for entering their space.
I also recorded
Steller’s jays, dark-eyed juncos, and one spotted towhee. Data is still being
recorded on ebird.org and birdcount.org but again, the count broke records for
participation. So far 131 countries around the world have joined the effort,
compared to 110 countries last year.
The most
checklists are coming from the United States with California having the highest
number of participants.
The most numerous
species reported is the red-winged blackbird, at over 1.5 million individuals.
Three of the species recorded on the most checklists are the Northern cardinal,
the dark-eyed junco and the mourning dove.
One interesting
thing is the documentation of the irruption (rapid or irregular increase) of
the snowy owl, which apparently is moving in large numbers from its normal
Arctic habitat, into Canada and the Great Lakes area of the United States.
This two-foot
long owl with a five-foot wing span is almost entirely white, with yellow eyes
and a black beak. He eats three to five lemmings a day, supplementing this diet
with other rodents, rabbits, birds and fish.
Perhaps this
irruption has something to do with the extreme arctic cold that has occurred
this year in the North and in the East – even the Great Lakes are close to 90%
frozen. Waterfowl from those areas are being spotted inland by participants of
the GBBC.
This is the first
time I have participated in the GBBC but it won’t be the last. For those of you
interested in pursuing other citizen-science projects, remember our local
resource, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science. Visit the website tinsweb.org
for more information on area projects.
Column 15 - The Great Backyard Bird Count
Coming up this
weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), an opportunity for any person
to become a “citizen scientist” — an ordinary person who aids scientists in the
understanding of the natural world. It’s free, fun, easy and for the birds!
The 17th
annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place February 14-17, an event that
unites bird lovers all over the world. Last year, over 34.5 million birds were
recorded by participants in 111 countries, with close to 135,000 checklists
being submitted. That’s cooperation and that’s really cool!
Here’s what to do
if you want to participate:
1.
Start
by creating an account at www.BirdCount.org or www.ebird.org, where you will also find step-by-step instructions and
tips.
2.
Follow
the directions and map your location.
3.
View
the supplied list of birds to be watching for in your area.
4.
On
one or all of the days, spend at least 15 minutes scouting, counting and
identifying birds. Take pictures if you can; if you get a good one, you can
enter it into the GBBC photo contest.
5.
Go
back to your account and enter your list(s).
Don’t despair if
you’re not an expert birder. Prior to heading out into the field, download the
free Merlin Bird ID App for your phone at merlin.allaboutbirds.org. The app includes professional bird
photos, sounds, range maps and will customize the search to birds specific to
your area. It will ask you five simple questions on characteristics of the bird
you are seeing, hopefully leading you to be able to identify it.
I queried Kirk
Hardie, Co-Executive Director and Director of Science Education at the Tahoe
Institute for Natural Science to develop a list of birds that we might expect
to see here in the Lake Tahoe area during the count. This is not a
comprehensive list but between us, we came up with these birds to watch for:
1.
Steller’s
jay
2.
Mountain
chickadee
3.
Red-breasted,
white-breasted, and pygmy nuthatches
4.
Clark’s
nutcracker
5.
Dark-eyed
junco
6.
White-headed
woodpecker
7.
Brown
creeper
8.
Common
raven
9.
Spotted
towhee
10.
Mourning
dove
11.
Bald
eagle (if you’re very lucky!)
12.
Evening
grosbeak
13.
Canada
goose
The suggested
bird list that you will find when you sign up is much longer and includes birds
that will only be seen here in the summer but having both lists handy when bird
watching could help you identify the birds that you see.
The GBBC is a
joint effort between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society,
with partner Bird Studies Canada, along with many other international partners
and is sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited. Scientists use the data collected to form a
“big picture” of what is happening with bird populations world-wide. You can
browse the data collected from past GBBCs at birdcount.org.
This data
collected from ordinary people like you and me helps scientists track the
movement of species around the world and to determine how bird populations are
affected by environmental changes. No single scientist or team of scientists
could come close to harnessing all of the information that is compiled in the
four days of the GBBC.
The GBBC was
started in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society and
was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds AND
display results in near real-time. The
two organizations launched the eBird platform in 2002 to engage participants in
recording bird observations year-round. In 2010, eBird expanded from North
America to invite global participation. Last year, eBird and the GBBC merged,
enabling the count to go global for the first time.
This year’s count
begins on Friday so familiarize yourself with the tools that are available on
ebird.org, the portal for entering your observations. Now that you’re addicted
to bird watching, you’ll want to continue to record your future bird sightings
into your free eBird account. In a few years, you’ll have an impressive
collection of species that you have come to know and recognize. This year’s
Great Backyard Bird Count could be just the beginning of a fascinating new
hobby. See also tinsweb.org for other local citizen-science projects.
Column 14 - Bewick's Wren, House Wren, Mountain Chickadee
Today was a day
of many firsts—I saw a new bird for the first time, I heard him and was quickly
able to locate him, and it was the first new bird spotted in the winter! I
always go outside at lunchtime and immediately heard a new bird sound coming
from behind the house. I think he was actually showing himself off to me because
he flitted quite openly over logs and sticks behind the house while I watched,
chirping as he went.
He had a reddish,
long tail with black horizontal stripes. He was small and I thought he was a
kind of nuthatch that I was not aware of. After he flew off, I began searching
my bird books and resources on-line and I think what I saw was a Bewick’s Wren.
This small bird
is common in the West and Southern Central United States and also Mexico but
has virtually disappeared in the East. He has a long slender bill, white
underparts and is greyish brown on top with a noticeable white eyebrow. He
holds his long tail upright, another thing I noticed as I watched him while he
flitted about, which he flicked from side to side.
The experience
brought to mind a similar bird that I have been watching for a couple of years
but only identified this past summer and that is the House Wren. Small and mostly flecked brown with a shorter tail and
bill than that of the Bewick’s wren, it is rather fierce for its size. In fact,
it is possible that the house wren is responsible for the disappearance of the
Bewick’s wren in the East because it has been known to remove eggs from the
nests of other birds, even killing nestlings or throwing them out of their
nest. Amazing behavior, considering this bird is only about 4 ½” long, beak to
tail.
I had been
listening to the male sing in the area for a couple of months but could never
get a good look at him because he would hide as soon as I trained my binoculars
on him. He has a distinct song and a burring, metallic-sounding call note which
caused me to discover him.
One day I got
lucky—I was partially hidden so I had time to really look at him and was able
to identify him at last! I also got to see his fierceness in action once when a
chipmunk ventured too close to their nesting site. Both birds flew around the
chipmunk, buzzing and chattering. The chipmunk seemed not to care. It scurried
up a tree, into a hole in the trunk where he remained for a minute or so. He
came out, down the tree and scampered away, the two birds buzzing around him the
entire time.
The house wren’s
life span is about seven years so I hope they will be back in the spring. I
love his robust song, coming from such a tiny bird, even if he does throw
babies out of their nests!
A favorite bird
of just about anyone who notices birds at all is the Mountain Chickadee, the Western variety of the Black-capped Chickadee, which is found in the North. This striking
small bird has a black and white striped head, grey sides and whitish underbelly.
He sings a song that we have all heard and many people call it the
“cheeseburger” song—a sweet, whistled 3-note tune that coincides with the
cadence of “cheese-bur-ger”. This song is sung mainly in the spring when the
males are looking to mate and are claiming territory.
Chickadees are
bold and inquisitive creatures and are likely to perch on humans or accept
sunflower seeds from an out-stretched hand. Apparently up at the meadows on Mt.
Rose Highway, the mountain chickadees have become so used to people they will
join you for lunch!
Birding season is
actually just around the corner. I start noticing increased activity usually
sometime in February, depending on the weather. This odd winter has certainly
made life easier for the birds, more difficult for the merchants and has most
definitely been hard on the ski resorts. Join me in saying, “Let it snow!”
Column 13 - Scholarships .jpeg)
We are fortunate to live near this national treasure we call
Lake Tahoe, enveloped by nature. I love all the creatures that thrive here—the
plants, the flowers, the trees, the birds. But today I’d like to pay homage to
the people.
I moved here about 25 years ago as a single mother and alas,
single mother I remained. I managed to raise my three children, keep them fed,
clothed and housed and even supplied with necessary gear like iPods. But
college tuition was never going to be in my reach. Education and knowledge have
always been important to me and that notion was instilled in my children from
the very beginning. “You will go to college, you will have a plan and you will
have to find a way to pay for it yourself!” They grew up on those words.
My oldest son, Rusty, decided to join the military as an
opportunity for growth and as a way to fund his education. The military has opened
up doors for him, creating situations that he would not have explored on his
own, giving him discipline and drive and a desire to be physically fit.
My daughter, Melanie, decided to pursue scholarships. And
this town delivered. She received enough scholarships to pay for her education
and keep her afloat during the 5 years she spent in college. She was careful
with the money, even managing a semester in Spain and a summer semester in
Costa Rica to perfect her Spanish, in which she is now fluent.
She graduated from the Orvis School of Nursing with a
Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Nevada, Reno, with Honors
in December, also earning a minor in Spanish and I couldn’t be more proud. She
has a job with a hospital in Reno in the telemetry department which will begin
in February.
She’ll be an excellent nurse. She has compassion, is willing
and able to work hard and she’s dedicated to helping others, perhaps in part
because she had a special-needs younger brother growing up.
Another young lady who has been busily earning her wings
with the scholarships she was awarded is Kerry Walsh. Kerry also was raised by
a single mother, her father having passed away at much too young of an age.
Mother and daughter fell upon hard times and became homeless. A wonderful
Incline family took Kerry in, ensuring that she could finish high school.
Kerry also had to be careful with her money so she took her
general education classes at Truckee Meadows Community College, transferring to
UNR to finish her degree in Psychology. She is currently pursuing her Masters in
Public Health, on-line with San Jose State University, aided partly by a
private scholarship from an Incline resident.
Kerry plans to pay it forward and use her public health
degree to become more involved in the community through community outreach
programs. Her ultimate goal is to help
people in the community live happier and healthier lives.
Is this an amazing town, or what? And these are two amazing
girls who overcame adversity—through hard work and the generosity of a village,
these girls have achieved so much.
Success does not come without hard work. Melanie held two
jobs and never had the experience of living on campus. Kerry is currently
working full-time while earning her masters. But they have proven that it can
be done. For those struggling with finances, encourage your children to work
hard in school, maintain good grades, do volunteer work and apply for
scholarships.
To all the people in this area who generously contribute to
the many scholarships that are awarded each year—I send you a heart-felt thank
you! I thought it might be nice to hear “the rest of the story” and see that
your money is well spent. Together we are creating the future keepers of
society, the builders of bridges, ambassadors of progress. I like to think that
my children and others will return to the village one day to give back to the
next generation of promising students.
We’ve all heard the saying — It takes a village to raise a
child. Thank you, Incline Village!
Column 12 - Bears
A piece of me dies every time we kill another bear because
it’s so unnecessary. Then, I cringe when I hear the term “death threats” because
I know that people are mistakenly linking these actions with the Bear League,
and they couldn’t be more wrong.
The Bear League has done so much to help bears; furthermore,
the organization does not promote or condone offensive behavior such as this.
Many people associate themselves with the Bear League, myself included, who are
not official members. Some of these people indulge themselves in behavior that
goes against everything the Bear League stands for and is trying to accomplish.
Sadly, when people foolishly make threats like these, they
end up hurting the bears. When people harass other people in the name of the
Bear League, it besmirches the name of the Bear League and chips away at the
legitimacy of the organization and hinders its ability to do the good work that
it does.
The Bear League has the ability to diffuse a bear situation
without killing the bear. Involving the Nevada Department of Wildlife, however,
often results in a dead bear. A dead bear certainly does solve the problem,
doesn’t it?
But what is wrong with us? We are not a barbaric society,
are we? We don’t need to solve our problems by killing, do we?
The Bear League’s method may not immediately solve the
problem—it takes more effort, more diligence, more awareness, more time. And
the bear may leave the current situation only to begin making a nuisance of itself
in another location.
So then, we begin again, and do it again and again until the
bear finally gets the message and moves away from civilization, back into the
wild. That sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? How much effort should we expend
to save the life of one bear? In my opinion—As much as it takes.
We all do stupid things and I am no exception. Back in 2009,
I kept giant bags of bird seed in a large bin outside my front door. I had a
few visitors in the night—raccoons and a bear and realized I had to move the
seed inside. One bear didn’t get the memo and he paid a visit one night in
February.
Somewhere around 3 or 4 in the morning, there arose such a
clatter! I leapt out of bed, thinking there must be a bear on the deck.
It was a bear all right, the biggest bear I had ever seen! He
was so big that he couldn’t turn around on the porch. He had thrown the gate
off the top of the stairs like it was made of matchsticks and he was determined
he was going to take the bin with him, even though it was empty.
He was pulling on the bin, trying to drag it to the stairs,
not realizing that they were both too big. He was not at all concerned that my
houseful of dogs and I were barking our heads off as I beat on the door.
Determined to scare him away and realizing that this wasn’t
working, I opened the door. We were face
to face—I think he was more surprised than I. I immediately shut the door—I’m
not completely crazy, but that small action convinced him that it was time to
go.
He backed up and down the stairs he went, never to return.
That’s how I met Bubba, whom many of you may remember. He became a legend
sometime after that—breaking into homes and a church and he became a “Wanted
Bear—Dead, not Alive”.
My point to this story is this—if we do things that attract
bears to our homes, then we need to realize it and change our behavior. And if
I can scare away a bear like Bubba by simply opening a door, why do we need to
continually kill these animals?
Bubba may have been an exception—he caused a lot of damage
and scared a good number of people. However, we are terribly wrong to be
automatically killing these “problem” bears. With a little more effort, we can
find another way. Call the Bear League (530) 525-7297
 (530) 525-7297 to find out how you can
become part of the solution.Column 11 - Red-tail Hawk, Osprey, Eagle
There is a handsome fellow I run into sometimes on my walks
and his name is Hoss, so dubbed by the late Bill Bohn; therefore Hoss he shall
remain. He is a red-tailed hawk. I
may have also known him when he was young as I had a juvenile visiting my bird
feeders a couple years back, trying to catch lunch. He was never successful, at
least not when I was watching.
One time, though, years ago, my daughter and her little
friends happened to be watching out the upstairs window and saw a bird of prey
catch a small songbird and proceed to eat it in the driveway. They were
horrified, but compelled to watch.
Mostly the hawk eats small mammals, such as mice, rabbits
and squirrels, but will also eat spiders, grasshoppers, earthworms and fish. I
keep hoping that Hoss will eat those pesky squirrels that keep eating my tulip
bulbs…..
I was fortunate to capture this photo of a hawk eating a
gull in the parking lot of a Safeway in South Shore. He displayed his signature
red tail while guarding his food, staring at me, daring me to try and take his
hard-earned meal. What a beauty he is, and large. His wing span is generally
around four feet.
He mates in the spring, the female laying two or three eggs
in a thick nest high up in a tree or on a ledge. The female primarily incubates
the eggs for about a month while the male keeps busy feeding her. They both
work to feed the young for six weeks; the young are totally fledged at four
months. Red-tailed hawks mate for life, taking another mate only if the other
dies.
Another bird that mates for life is the osprey, which can be found around Lake Tahoe in the summer. This
bird is distinguished by his white breast, white head, brown wings and a brown
stripe through his yellow eyes. He’s an impressive sight soaring overhead with
a wingspan of 4-5 feet or more.
Its nest is a large pile of sticks, built in the open on a
pole, ledge or dead tree near water. The female lays two to four eggs which are
incubated for five weeks. It can take as long as five days for all the
hatchlings to emerge and as much as 2 ½ months to fully fledge.
The osprey circles the water, chirping as he hunts, hovering
for a moment before diving feet first, to pluck his prize from the water. He
has barbed pads on his feet and will orient the fish for optimum aerodynamics
as he’s flying to a perch or back to the nest. Unlike other birds of prey,
which eat small mammals or insects as well as fish, the osprey eats only live
fish.
The osprey is basking in the warmth of Mexico by now but
will be back in the spring. Until then, we have the bald eagle to entertain us, which are more prevalent at Lake Tahoe
in the winter than in the summer.
The bald eagle, along with several other birds of prey, was
endangered and on the brink of extinction back in the 60s, mainly due to the
use of pesticides but also because of hunting, electrocution and the loss of
habitat. Thanks to the intervention of the government, the eagle has made a
tremendous comeback and was removed from the endangered list in 2007.
Its nest is the largest of any bird in North America,
measuring as much as 8 feet across and 13 feet deep. The nest is used more than
once, added to each year, for up to five years, before its massive weight can
no longer be borne by the branches it rests on.
The bald eagle breeds earlier than other raptors, laying typically
two eggs in late February to mid-March, hatching from mid-April to early May.
The young eagles gain sexual maturity between four and five years of age, at
which point they also will display the signature white head and tail. They
often return to where they were born to breed.
If only we humans could learn from these large raptors—the
bald eagle also mates for life.
Column 10 - Chips the Bobcat
Perhaps many of us remember the Chips Fire near Lake
Almanor, California in August 2012. I remember hearing about the bobcat kitten
rescued by firefighters working in the area. In researching for today’s column
on bobcats, I came across many stories about this lucky kitten, dubbed “Chips”
by the firefighters who rescued her so I decided to pursue the rest of the
story.
Members of the Mad River Hand Crew were patrolling the north
end of the fire on the last Saturday in August and happened to notice a bobcat
kitten by the side of the road, seemingly dazed and confused and circling a
stump.
They stopped to investigate and the kitten began following
them. There was no sign of an adult bobcat nearby so they decided to bring her
back to their fire camp near Chester, California. And here began the passage to recovery for
this four-week-old kitten, who surely would have perished if not for the
intervention of the fire crew that day.
Chips fire officials contacted Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care
(LTWC), a non-profit organization on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, founded by
Tom and Cheryl Millham. The rehab center sent Anna Thompson, a Feather River College
biology instructor, who also serves as a volunteer, to the camp, where she was
met by an off-duty firefighter, Sean Bailey, who irrigated the kit’s eyes. It
responded to the special formula for bobcats that Anna had brought so Chips began
her 175-mile journey to the wildlife care center in South Lake Tahoe.
LTWC veterinarian, Dr. Kevin Willitts, treated the injured
bobcat for second-degree burns on her paws and for eye infections. Over the
next month, Chips gained weight and healed from her wounds.
In late September, Chips was deemed well enough to get a
roommate, a male bobcat about a week older than she, who was found orphaned in
Lassen County. The two cats took to each other and soon were tumbling and
wrestling in their enclosure at the wildlife center.
The goal of wildlife rescue is to eventually release the
animals back into the wild, and each step that these dedicated people make is
geared toward that end. Cheryl was sad to see them go, but in early November
2012, the two young bobcats were transferred to the Sierra Wildlife Rescue
Center in Placerville, California, where they would spend the winter in the
company of other bobcats.
As any good little bobcat should, over the winter, Chips
became cautious of human contact, socializing and interacting solely with her
den mates, eventually growling, snarling and lunging at humans who attempted to
contact her. Success!
In April 2013, Chips was released into bobcat territory in
the Lassen National Forest in Plumas County and hopefully is leading a normal
bobcat life, which entails hunting for rabbits, mice and squirrels. She will
have claimed her territory with urine markings and by clawing on prominent
trees.
She should have secured a primary den and will have other
secondary shelters on the edges of her range. She will most likely begin
breeding in the spring and will raise her young, usually two to four kittens,
without the aid of her mate.
One little bobcat, leading a normal bobcat life, thanks to
the many people who care, beginning with the firefighter who noticed a confused
kitten by the side of the road.
Lake Tahoe Wildlife Center really began in 1978 when Cheryl
saw a photo of a woman holding a baby raccoon in Women’s Day magazine in an
article talking about an up-coming training seminar to teach local citizens how
to care for orphaned and injured wild birds and animals.
Cheryl, her husband, Tom, their daughter, Connie and a
friend attended the seminar. Upon their return to South Lake Tahoe, they began
contacting entities that would come in contact with orphaned and injured
wildlife, informed them of their plan to raise and rehabilitate these animals
and asked for their help.
The rest is history. LTWC has cared for more than 23,000 critters
and has released over 14,000 back to the wild.
To
see videos of Chips and other rescued animals, and to learn how to help this
organization care for wildlife, visit ltwc.org.
Column 9 - Cats
I never intended to have cats but somehow I ended up with four. They each found me in unique ways but I’ll
tell you the story of how I came to adopt a stray cat roaming my neighborhood.
Several of us noticed him but we could not get near him and assumed he was
feral. We decided to try to catch him.
My friend,
Jacquie and I went after him with a cardboard box, a towel and a vague plan to
trick him into the box through a secret entryway into her garage. Needless to
say, that didn’t work. I called Washoe County Regional Animal Services in Reno
and they volunteered a trap, which they were kind enough to bring up to us and
we had our cat within hours.
I have two
females who hate each other and every other animal that crosses the threshold,
and a giant orange tabby named Felix who does his best to ignore the cranky
females. Scrapper, so named by Jacquie, decided that he was going to adopt
Felix as his “bud”, since the females made it very clear they wanted nothing to
do with him.
Felix at first
was stand-offish but Scrapper persisted and soon they were constant companions.
This little Scrapper (who is actually quite large now that he has a steady
supply of food) has added a vast amount of excitement and zaniness to the
household. Every day he brings an opportunity for laughter. It’s chaotic and crazy
and sometimes the “Eau de Litter Box” threatens to overwhelm, but life is always
interesting when you have cats.
One time,
Scrapper got shut in the basement at bedtime. That night, while the rest of us
were sleeping, or trying to, Felix was roaming the house, howling. Later I discovered that Felix, in addition to
the howling, had shredded the roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. I now make
sure to check the downstairs before shutting up for the night!
My point to
this story is that there are many adult cats in our local shelters who would
love to provide every home with this much crazy fun. The Pet Network in Incline Village usually
has 60-70 cats at any one time which can swell to about 150 cats during “kitten
season” in the spring. The Nevada Humane Society in Reno generally has about
300 cats awaiting adoption.
The
organizations work together, along with Washoe County Regional Animal Services and
several other area agencies, with the Nevada Humane Society alone placing about
9,000 animals per year into forever homes. We are fortunate to have such
excellent agencies working for our domestic animals.
Incline’s Pet
Network was instrumental in the now famous rescue of the “Dumpster Babies”. In addition to that fabulous story, any
volunteer or staff member will have many heart-warming stories of other
successful adoptions to tell visitors. The Pet Network has a nice selection of
pet supplies and foods, the purchase of which benefits the organization and the
many animals it helps. They also offer grooming, boarding and veterinary services.
The Nevada
Humane Society, located on Longley Lane in Reno, bills itself as a no-kill
shelter, creating a no-kill community. The organization was incorporated in
1932, in response to the suffering of stray animals that were rounded up
periodically and kept in giant pens. Two courageous citizens back then
convinced the City of Reno that better conditions were needed and the Nevada
Humane Society was born.
I learned from
the Nevada Humane Society website that black pets are adopted half as often as
other pets. Two of my outrageously funny cats with most interesting
personalities are black, one of which is Scrapper.
Both agencies
have a “wish list” section on their websites for toys, beds, food and other
essentials as well as offering ways to make a donation or volunteer. Visit
petnetwork.org or nevadahumanesociety.org to discover ways you can help or
better yet, make a trip to your local shelter and bring home one or two of
these fascinating animals and see for yourself how much fun life can be with a
cat!
Column 8 - Great Horned Owl, Saw-Whet Owl, Spotted Owl
A fascinating bird of prey that can be found in this area is
the owl. A great horned owl flew in
front of my house one time in the middle of the day, landing in my neighbor’s
tree where he perched for a short time, swiveling his head. I think he was
looking for the part of a mouse I found in my driveway a short time later! An
owl can turn his head up to 270 degrees, right or left, from the front-facing
position.
The great horned owl is the most common owl in North and
South America and has adapted itself to almost a complete range of habitat.
Different subspecies of this owl have been named—the one I saw was probably a
California great horned owl which is dark brown, with a tawny brown face and
glowing yellow or orange eyes. All subspecies have pointed, ear-like tufts on
their heads. He’s a large owl—about two feet long, weighing about three pounds
with up to a five-foot wing span. Compare this figure to the 3 ounces of the
Northern Saw-whet owl, whom we shall meet in a moment.
The perfect territory for this owl will include a forested
or secluded area for nesting, with a nearby open area for hunting. They hunt
mostly small to medium-sized mammals but will also prey upon porcupines and
skunks. As with all owls, great horned owls have an incredible digestive system
which allows them to eat small prey whole, later regurgitating pellets of bone
and fur.
They breed in late January or early February and this is
another bird that mates for life. They don’t waste time building a nest; rather
they adopt a tree hole, hollow stump or small cave and perhaps add a few
feathers where they lay usually two eggs.
Two other beautiful area owls I’ve never been lucky enough
to see but I found someone who has, are the California spotted owl and the Northern Saw-whet Owl. South Shore
photographer Jon Paul, jonpaulgallery.com, was out early one morning looking to
“shoot bear”—on film, of course. What he found instead was a pair of baby
Northern Saw-whet owls, peering at him from a tree branch. To see the photos he
captured that day, be sure to visit his gallery on-line.
Northern Saw-whet owls are a member of the “small owl club”,
which includes the pygmy and elf owls. He’s about the size of an American
robin, around 7” long and weighs on average about 3 ounces. Owls and other
birds have hollow bones, reducing their weight in relation to their size.
To see or hear this small owl, you’ll need to be out late in
the evening or very early in the morning, as he’s strictly nocturnal. He sings
a song of monotonous, tooting whistles only in late winter and early spring.
The California
Spotted Owl likes older growth forests in part because they like the moist
conditions present in dense forest canopies. This population is currently on
the decline, and recently was voted by the California Fish and Game Commission
to become a candidate for listing under the California Endangered Species Act.
Even while the California Fish and Game Commission voted to
protect this owl, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine
Fisheries Service approved a plan that would allow Fruit Growers Supply
Co. accelerated logging of occupied spotted
owl habitat
in California’s old
growth forests.
The Fruit Grower’s plan calls for “total forest liquidation”
and allows them to “take” (yes, kill) more than 80 northern spotted owls. Three
environmental organizations have filed a lawsuit against these agencies and one
can only hope that justice and reason will prevail. Really, kill close-to-being
endangered owls?! Certainly we need food and certainly we need areas in which
to grow it but killing our precious wildlife is not the way to do it. I’d eat
bugs before I would approve that.
Jon was lucky, indeed, to spot this beautiful owl. Be sure
to see all his pictures at jonpaulgallery.com. Visit
save-our-planet-earth.blogspot.com and the Bonanza on-line for links to
pictures, sounds and more information about these majestic creatures.
Column 7 - Incline Elementary Birding Club
It’s never too early to begin birding, I discovered, when I
had the pleasure of joining a group of energetic birders in Incline Village one
recent morning. This was a group of about 12 little people, led by Kirk Hardie
from the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) and Olivia Cushing, Science
& Outdoor Education Coordinator for Incline Elementary School, along with
two AmeriCorps volunteers, Amy and Robin.
We were an impressive group as we set off down the road,
making our way to an empty lot where McCourry meets Northwood. Our first
encounter was with a banded caterpillar on the sidewalk, black on both ends and
yellow-orange in the middle—possibly a spotted tussock moth caterpillar or
woolly bear caterpillar. A woolly bear caterpillar hibernates during the
winter, producing cryoprotectant in its tissues and freezing solid. Once it
thaws in the spring, it will feed on plant matter until it has enough energy to
pupate and become an Isabella tiger moth. Once a moth, either species has only
days to find a mate and produce eggs.
As we meandered through the trees, we were fortunate to spot
a pair of ravens high up in a dead tree, giving the children an opportunity to
use their binoculars. Ravens are large, completely black birds, larger than
crows, with a throatier, deeper caw
than a crow. They are smart, social and playful birds, sometimes exhibiting
problem-solving behaviors. Juvenile ravens have been observed in orchestrated
play, even taunting other species. They get more sedate as they age, just like
humans. They are opportunistic feeders, eating almost anything, which might
explain their long life span in the wild—typically 10-15 years. In captivity or
in a protected environment, they can live as long as 40 years. They mate for
life and have dozens of different vocalizations they use to communicate with
each other.
It was gratifying to see the children so engaged and enthusiastic
about the various sights and sounds of nature. They proudly showed off their
birding journals, in which are listed the birds they have spotted during their
outings including the American Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Pygmy
Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Red-tailed hawk.
Their eyes sparkle, their voices rise in excitement as they
scour the sky for subjects. It’s easy to view these young learners as future
“Keepers of the Lake”. We are blessed to live in this glorious blast of nature
and all must do our part as stewards of Lake Tahoe. The more a person learns
about his surroundings, the more engaged he becomes, creating a stronger
connection to the earth. Along with this connection comes a fierce desire to
protect it and all its inhabitants.
This adorable little birding club is but one of the many programs
that the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science has to offer. For the elementary
schools, there are in-class programs where students can learn about bugs, bats
and birds. These programs are highly engaging and hands-on and focus on the
native species around Lake Tahoe.
For the adventurous, inquisitive explorer, TINS offers day
camps in the summer. Campers ages 6-8 get to poke around looking for bugs in
tree bark, under logs and in the surrounding foliage. They learn about what
bugs eat and what their role is in their particular ecosystem.
There are camps for older explorers who will learn about wildlife ecology, forest ecology,
water ecology, and geology of the Tahoe basin while hiking, kayaking, and
learning from various natural science experts.
They also offer field trips for elementary through high
school students, visiting local nature areas to learn about topics such as bird
banding research, winter wildlife survival, and general nature discovery.
Tahoe
Institute for Natural Science has programs for adults, including nature walks,
slide shows and presentations on many nature topics. In addition, interested
amateurs can partner with scientists to collaborate on research projects. Some
current studies include an annual butterfly count, mid-winter bald eagle count,
the Christmas Bird Count and other projects involving specific species. Look
for “Citizen Science” on the web site for details on how to participate. Visit
the web site TINSweb.org or contact Kirk Hardie at (775) 298-0065
(775) 298-0065, kirk@TINSweb.org for more information about
these and other programs.Column 6 - Bear Smart Incline VillageThere is a new game in town and it’s called Bear Smart Incline Village. Actually, this group formed as a committee about two years ago with a mission of eradicating bear/trash encounters. If the easy source of food can be eliminated, the bears will remain in the wilderness to forage for food, thereby reducing bear/human encounters, which ultimately endanger the bear.
Volunteers scoured the town at all hours, looking for trash
issues. IVGID provided a trash hot line so that volunteers and concerned citizens
could report improperly closed or over-flowing dumpsters, residential trash
problems or areas where a wildlife trash violation had occurred. The group was
trying to foster awareness of existing trash ordinances through counseling
individual businesses about proper trash disposal and reporting repeat
offenders so that fines could be levied.
It was a painful process at times but much progress has been
made. Businesses in the Raley’s and Incline Village Centers have built new
enclosures for trash and recyclables, scheduled additional dumpster pickups to
prevent over-flowing trash, even purchased new bear-proof dumpsters. Property
managers have taken additional steps to inform tenants and vacationers of the
importance of proper trash handling.
Bear Smart Incline Village has evolved into a non-profit
organization dedicated to proper trash containment with a part-time employee
who randomly inspects dumpsters and mans the IVGID Trash Hotline, (775)
832-1221. Volunteers and paid volunteers are on-call to perform trash cleanup
and post notices of violation. This new organization is being initially funded
by IVGID with the expectation that fines levied and trash cleanup fees will
offset some of the costs.
Take a look around town and the progress will be apparent in
the proliferation of bear-resistant containers and dumpsters. Please join me in
giving a hand to our own Madonna Dunbar, Resource Conservationist, IVGID Waste
Not program, who is largely responsible for the tremendous strides Incline
Village has made in the areas of recycling and bear-safe trash handling.
Madonna uses the Bear Smart bear safety programs as a model
for many of her policies. The Get Bear Smart Society is a registered Canadian
charity promoting management policies that reduce human-bear conflicts, an
organization based in Whistler, B.C. Canada. In the last decade, Whistler, due
to the implementation of Bear Smart programs, has been able to reduce the
number of “conflict bears” killed by 50 percent, despite an increase in
encounters. The Get Bear Smart Society strives to work with all agencies and
organizations that have similar goals for minimizing bear conflicts, believing
it is important to work together to build bear smart communities.
Bear Smart Incline Village is attempting to build a model
for other communities around the lake to follow, an experimental program that
seems to be working. What if we could build a lake-wide committee, communities
working together to synchronize our trash management programs?
I still remember my first bear encounter which was about 15
years ago. I happened to go out onto my deck around 6 p.m. and saw a bear at
the bottom of my stairs. At that moment, my neighbor’s dog noticed the bear and
began to bark, which scared the bear into the street. Intrigued, I followed it.
He ended up at one house which happened to have a tasty garbage can in the
driveway. This was a time before we had any programs in place. We all put our
garbage out the night before, no one had “bear-safe” containers—we just picked
up any trash that got spilled by bears or dogs. In short, we didn’t know any
better.
This bear was having a wonderful snack out of this garbage
can, oblivious to the half dozen or so people who were now watching him. The
family of the house whose garbage was being eaten came out onto the upper deck
to watch. A small child peered through the slats of the deck and squealed,
“Ooh, Daddy, look at the big kitty!”
We’ve come a long way since then, yet still have further to
go. Eventually Bear Smart Incline Village will reach out to the rest of the
communities around the lake to develop a comprehensive, lake-wide plan. If you
see someone in an orange vest with a clipboard and a camera, picking up trash,
it could be a volunteer for the program, working to keep our bears safe.
Column 5 - Northern Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood Pewee“Quick-THREE-beer!” This is a common phonetic representation of the song of the olive-sided flycatcher. When you hear his distinctive song, begin looking for him perched at the very top of a tree. Between songs, he’ll make fluttering forays for bugs, returning to the same perch. He is a large flycatcher, 7-8 inches, mostly gray with a white patch on his breast. He also makes a pit-pit-pit sound, and repeats it at short intervals.
The numbers of this bird are declining, probably due to
destruction of its winter habitat. We can help by seeking out shade-grown
coffee, which encourages growers to keep the trees which provide the shade. Find
out more about this at nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/coffee/.
This bird has the longest migration of all the flycatchers,
arriving here late in the spring. He winters in Northern South America and I’m
pretty sure he has packed up and moved away from Tahoe for the season as I
haven’t seen “my bird” in about a month. But he’ll be back and you’ll be ready
because now you know what he sounds like.
A flycatcher that looks similar to the olive-sided is the Western wood-pewee. Both birds are grayish-olive
with white markings. The wood-pewee has white wing bars versus the white breast
patch of the olive-sided, he’s smaller and has a different song. The pewee I
saw and heard for the first time this season. I identified him through his song
by listening to my bird tapes, because even though I saw him and heard him, I
never saw him singing. The song happened to play as I half listened
while I worked and I finally knew who was singing that song! At the same time I
realized that the small flycatcher I had been seeing was not a baby olive-sided
at all but a completely different bird, the Western wood-pewee.
I’m not very good at this, you see. Now you’re thinking, “….and YOU are trying to teach ME about birds!?” Yes, it’s true but we are learning together, that’s what makes it so fun. I utilize many books, websites and tapes in my effort to learn and I’ll share with you some of these, without which I would still be scratching my head, thinking, “What IS that cute little bird with the delightful song?!” I use on a regular basis allaboutbirds.org, sponsored by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Here you can see pictures of the birds, hear the various songs and calls, watch video, see a range map, or purchase the Cornell Guide to Bird Sounds.
Other on-line resources for learning about birds: identify.whatbird.com
for identifying by sight and sound, where you’ll also find “Interesting Facts”
and other pieces of information and natureshare.com where you can share
your own sightings with others and upload your own photos. Serious birders will
want to own tapes of bird calls. I listen to “Peterson Field Guides: Birding by Ear” and “Know Your Bird Sounds” by Lang Elliott.
A common bird you’ve probably seen but most definitely have
heard is the Northern flicker, also
known as the red-shafted flicker. The flicker is a medium-sized woodpecker,
overall brown with black spots, crescents and bars sprinkled throughout his
plumage. As is typical of birds, the female is less colorful and the male has a
noticeable red moustache. In flight, a white spot on the rump is highly visible,
also red on the underside of the wings.
Flickers primarily eat insects and are the only woodpecker
that frequently feeds on the ground. They nest primarily in cavities in trees. Both
sexes excavate the nest cavity which can take up to two weeks. The female lays
6-8 eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 11-12 days.
Listen for the characteristic drumming of the woodpecker,
followed by a sustained “laugh”: ka-ka-ka-ka, which typically lasts for several
seconds. He’ll pause for a few seconds then give another call. This song you’ll
hear mostly in the spring, when he’s establishing a territory and enticing a
mate. Flickers have a call note, sounding like “kyeer”, used for keeping track of each other when foraging.
Visit the Bonanza web site, tahoedailytribune.com/NorthShore
for links to these bird songs; also save-our-planet-earth.blogspot.com for
links to all the birds previously covered.
Western Wood
Pewee (thinkstock #176836383)
Northern Flicker
(thinkstock # 158862773)
Olive-sided
Flycatcher
Toree Warfield is an avid nature lover,
and writes this column to teach and stimulate interest in the marvels that
surround us. See save-our-planet-earth.blogspot.com to read columns and to find
links to bird song recordings, additional photos and other content.
Lake Tahoe is home to many species of colorful and interesting birds. Last week we looked at the Western Tanager and Audubon’s Warbler. This week I’ll introduce you to three more of my favorite birds: the Fox Sparrow, the Green-tailed Towhee and the Spotted Towhee.
I first heard the song of the Fox Sparrow in February of 2007. I walk early in the morning and at that time of year, it’s quite dark when I set out but there was this incredible bird song coming from the manzanita bushes. Every morning, there he was, hidden in the bush, singing. It took about a month before I was finally able to see him. As the spring wore on, he emerged from the brush to perch on the very top of a branch where he sang and he sang. I got a good look at him with binoculars and noticed that he was mostly gray with rust-colored accents, including a spot on his head, which enabled me to finally identify this vocal songster.
That year was the only time I heard a Fox Sparrow in February. I typically start to hear his song in late March or April. I don’t know if this particular bird was lost or just excited to begin breeding but he sure brightened up those few weeks in February for me. Now I know that spring has sprung when I hear the sweet song of the Fox Sparrow.
This bird tends to sit on the tip top of a tree or bush. He looks from side to side as he sings, flicking his tail. At first he can be shy, and will dart back into the brush when he sees me looking, but eventually will get used to regular visitors. His song is inspirational to me, speaking of hope and joy. Find the link on the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza website to hear this and other bird songs.
The song of the Green-tailed Towhee is similar to that of the Fox Sparrow. He is an olive bird with yellow/green accents on the tips of his wings and tail, a white throat and sporting a rust-colored spot on his slightly tufted head. He scratches under dense cover in the brush for food and even nests on the ground or in low, thick bushes. He is one of the smaller towhees, with a length of 6-7”. The females are similar in coloration, with a slightly duller crown. They typically have two broods per season, incubating for about 12 days, with the kids out of the house after about 14 days.
A larger towhee and much more visible is the Spotted Towhee. This bird is 7 to 8 ½” long with a black head, striking white belly, white spots on his wings and rufous- (rust) colored sides. The female builds the cup-shaped nest on or near the ground in dense bush, laying 3-6 white eggs, with reddish brown and lilac spots. At least two broods are laid per season. This is one busy bird!
On my evening walk, I enjoy what I call the Towhee Serenade: two or three male towhees are singing from the brush, taking turns. The towhee makes several interesting sounds and I’ve heard him do one after the other in a single chorus: a simple trill, a whiny squawk, a chipping sound and my favorite, a metallic trill. It is an experience to hear a few of them singing together.
I must warn you, birding is addictive! It’s also not easy. It has taken me years of listening, recording and searching the internet to be able to pick out individual bird songs and to recognize birds by sight. But I’m a slow learner and everyone has to start somewhere so if you’re interested, definitely pick up a digital recorder, some binoculars and a field guide to birds. And listen and look up!
|
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| Western Tanager |
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| Audubon's Warbler |
Lake Tahoe is home to a marvelous collection of flora and
fauna but how many of us know what we are actually seeing? When I first started
putting out bird feeders years ago, I remember saying to myself, “Look at all
those birds!” Before long I realized that there were actually several different
species of bird dining at my bird feeders and I could not name them.
Out came the binoculars and the bird book and I was hooked.
Since then, I’ve learned to identify several birds both by sight and by
listening to the songs and calls. This past month I had the good fortune to
spot two birds that I’ve never seen before and these I will share with you
today.
The Western Tanager
is a black and yellow bird with a red head, and sports white wing bars. This is
the breeding male. The female Tanager is duller, mostly greenish-yellow with a grayish
back and wings and less noticeable white wing bars. This bird is abundant
around Lake Tahoe but surprisingly hard to spot, given his bright colors.
Probably the best indication that you’re in the presence of a Western Tanager
is by knowing his song. Find examples of his song at
save-our-planet-earth.blogspot.com; also visit the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
online.
Western Tanagers eat fruits and insects and mainly forage in
foliage, which is why you must look up to see them. They nest in large, mature trees, at points greater
than 10 feet off the ground. Bring your binoculars! I heard him long before I
saw him.
Another bird I heard for a month or so before I found him
was the warbler. Around the beginning of June I began noticing a song that I
did not recognize and I could not find the bird making the sound. I carry a
digital recorder with me on my walks and record bird song that I hear, hoping
that eventually I’ll be able to identify the bird. One day I was able to spot
him! A distinct bird, he was gray and white with bright spots of yellow. My
trusty bird book pointed me to the Audubon’s
Warbler and I confirmed the identification by his song.
This pretty bird dwells in open coniferous forests in the
summer, foraging for insects in the outer tree canopies. They build a cup nest
in a tree and lay 4-5 eggs. In the winter, they often travel in large flocks,
eating berries in warmer climates than Lake Tahoe. It would be truly magical to
see a large flock of these stunning birds.
A good field guide is essential to being able to identify
the birds that you see. I refer to “A Field Guide to Western Birds”, Roger Tory
Peterson, sponsored by the National Audubon Society. There are also apps for your
smart phone. Find the link to this app: “Audubon Birds: A Field Guide to North
American Birds” on natureshare.com.
You can post your own sightings on natureshare.com, a site
which isn’t limited to birds, but where you can find trees, insects, fish,
butterflies, flowers and more. Share your love of nature with many other nature
enthusiasts and reap the benefits of the combined expertise of people from all
over the country.
Another indispensable tool is a small digital recorder I
carry with me in a little pouch whenever I’m outside. Leaving home without it
is a sure way to hear that song you’ve never heard before! The recorder I use is the Sony ICD-PX820. I
chose this model because I can transfer my recordings to the computer, making
sharing with others much easier. It’s not much larger than a pack of gum and
costs less than $80.
Hopefully I’ve succeeded in inspiring the sleuth in you and
fueled a desire to know more so grab your binoculars and let’s get birding!
Hear the sounds and see pictures of the birds:
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