Thursday, April 29, 2021

Western Grebes at Harriman Lake

On this warm, sunny afternoon along the Front Range, my wife and I took a walk around Harriman Lake, in southwest Metro Denver.  Dammed at its west end and bordered by marsh along its eastern half, the lake always attracts an interesting mix of water birds.

Now that most winter residents have departed for their more northern breeding grounds, waterfowl were represented primarily by American coot, mallards, double-crested cormorants and a few pied-billed grebes; a couple of great blue herons also stalked the shallows.  Of most interest was a flock of eight western grebes, diving for fish in the center of the lake.  Having wintered on coastal bays of Southern California and Mexico or on lakes of the Desert Southwest, these gregarious birds return to the Great Basin and surrounding States to breed.  Colonial nest sites are established in the marshy shallows of ponds and lakes, where platforms of aquatic vegetation are attached to the reeds.  Once hatched, the chicks will ride on their parents' backs until able to fend for themselves.

Though not observed this afternoon, the western grebes will soon engage in their courtship behavior, racing across the surface of the lake in an upright posture while carrying a piece of nest material in their bill.  Those of us fortunate to have observed this seasonal dance know that it is one of the more distinctive and memorable avian displays on our planet.

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Pink Moon at Dawn

As the first light of dawn spread across the eastern horizon this morning, the full moon was setting in the southwest.  This is the Pink Moon, named for the many pink-colored wildflowers that usually bloom in April.

This year, most of the Central U.S. has experienced a sluggish spring as waves of cold air have invaded the Heartland, delaying the leafing of trees and the flowering of shrubs.  Having just returned to our Littleton, Colorado, farm, we found that the landscape is more suggestive of late March than late April and are anxiously waiting to see how many more trees (especially ash trees) we may have lost following the deep freeze last week.

Meanwhile, our lone natural satellite makes her scheduled rounds, beautifying the scenery when flowers cannot.  We humans have long relied on her cycles, reassured that at least one aspect of our life is predictable. 

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Against the Wind

Another drive across the Great Plains, another battle with punishing winds.  As we drove west toward Colorado today, strong, southwest winds raked the Plains, demanding a steady grip on the steering wheel and slowing our progress.  The culprits were low pressure over Southern Colorado and high pressure over the Southern Plains, which funneled these winds across Kansas.

I often admire and sometimes pity those who live in that windswept landscape.  While the remote homes are frequently sheltered with junipers and pines, the whistles and rattles must be nearly constant.  And then, of course, the strong winds make any form of weather more severe, from the desiccating heat of summer to the life-threatening wind chill and ground blizzards of winter.

Then again, these winds are partly responsible for the development of the vast prairie ecosystem that once covered the Great Plains.  By drying the soil, dislodging seedlings and fanning wildfires, the relentless winds kept the forest at bay; combined with the trampling and grazing of massive bison herds, the prairie winds favored the evolution of a rich biome of grasses and wildflowers, home to a wide diversity of animals.  Finally, while crop fields and ranches have replaced most of the prairie, the winds now drive modern turbines, providing a clean and endless source of energy.

Friday, April 23, 2021

A Warning at Phillips Lake

Over the years I have filed a number of posts regarding Perry Phillips Lake, a city park in southeast Columbia, Missouri.  Once a farm lake surrounded by a pleasing mix of grasslands, marsh and woodlands, the local ecosystem has been steadily eroded by "human development."  Initially confined to the area east of the lake, the construction of homes, apartments and commercial buildings has been spreading along its southern shore as well, leaving a narrow greenbelt between the structures and the lake.

Officially a regional birding "hotspot," the park has become less appealing in recent years as a parade of joggers and dog walkers move along the loop trail and the natural vistas become suburbanized.  In concert, birding has become "less productive" though sightings are, like anywhere, highly variable.  On this cloudy, chilly afternoon, I encountered an adult bald eagle, an osprey, an American kestrel and a decent mix of waterfowl; eastern meadowlarks and northern mockingbirds are always fairly common at the Park, joined by eastern kingbirds and a large number and variety of swallows during the warmer months.

Unfortunately, another sighting also caught my attention today; a low, black plastic fence now surrounds the grassland west of the lake, designed to prevent runoff as new construction begins.  In effect, the Park is a microcosm of Earth; natural habitat is continually destroyed by human agriculture, commerce, housing and recreation.  Our unbridled population growth is decimating the natural diversity of our planet, altering the climate and threatening the welfare of all species, including our own.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Earth Day at Garth Nature Area

Garth Nature Area is a landscape of ponds, wetlands, floodplain woodlands and hillside forest in north Columbia, Missouri.  As one might expect, it is an excellent destination for naturalists and an appropriate location to celebrate Earth Day.

On this cool, sunny morning, my wife and I walked along its network of graveled trails, noticing the handiwork of beavers along the way.  We first encountered two pair of Canada geese herding their fuzzy goslings and soon observed a prothonotary warbler, the first warbler I have seen this spring; other sightings included turkey vultures, blue-winged teal, a red-tailed hawk, painted turtles and the usual mix of resident songbirds.  But the highlight of our visit was a remarkable number of ruby-crowned kinglets, spaced along the main loop trail.  These tiny, active songbirds are fairly common in the Midwest during April, traveling from wintering sites in the Southern States and Mexico to their Canadian breeding grounds; usually observed alone or in pairs, their congregation was an unexpected treat. 

On this annual commitment to conservation, it is best to meet nature on her terms.  Festivals, speeches and political declarations have their benefits but they cannot replace immersing oneself in a natural ecosystem, where we witness the diversity, fragility and interdependence of life on our planet. 

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

April Snow in Missouri

It is snowing in central Missouri this morning and the snow will mix with rain throughout the day; up to three inches of accumulation is forecast.  If I was back on our Littleton, Colorado, farm, I would expect April snow but not here in Missouri.

A broad atmospheric trough is responsible for the invasion of cold air, dipping across the U.S. from the Front Range to the Ohio River Valley.  Low pressure, having formed along the cold front, is sweeping warm, moist air up from the Gulf of Mexico and over the cold air behind the front.  While the snow is surely unwelcome in late April, the hard freeze tonight will do more damage to plants and threaten the welfare of migrant songbirds that feed primarily on insects.

No doubt, climate change deniers will point to this outbreak of wintry April weather as evidence that global warming is a liberal delusion.  But the loss of snow and ice cover in the Arctic will have dramatic effects on atmospheric patterns that we have come to expect; the severity of storms, floods, droughts, wildfires and, yes, cold weather outbreaks, will likely increase across our planet. 

Saturday, April 17, 2021

April Chill at Eagle Bluffs

As an unusually cool spring persists across the Heartland, a friend and I paid another visit to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area where we were greeted by low clouds, damp, chilly air and muddy terrain.  Hoping to finally encounter an influx of shorebirds, we were disappointed once again, observing only a few killdeer and a dozen greater yellowlegs.

On the other hand, waterfowl were abundant, dominated by American coot and blue-winged teal which were joined by northern shovelers, green-winged teal, lesser scaup and pied-billed grebes.  Six bald eagles patrolled the refuge where we encountered our first white-faced ibis and great egrets of the season.  A dozen great blue herons also graced the floodplain, far fewer than we would normally observe by mid spring.

Indeed, the chilly weather seems to have placed a pall on the seasonal appearance of birds at Eagle Bluffs.  Perhaps it is my imagination but, when it looks and feels more like March than mid April, the bird population falls in line.  A prolonged stretch of warm, sunny weather would surely be welcomed by birds and birders alike!

Thursday, April 15, 2021

The Buck and Katy Pools

The Buck and Katy Pools of Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area lie separate from the major portion of the refuge.  This annex, of sorts, is just south of McBaine, bordered by the Perche Creek levee, to the west, and the Katy Trail levee, to the east.  A mosaic of fields, cropland and shallow pools, it is accessed by a graveled loop road, approximately 1.5 miles in length.  The forested bluffs of the Missouri River Valley rise to the east while floodplain woodlands encircle most of the refuge.

Used more by duck hunters than birdwatchers, this area of the Conservation Area is certainly less spectacular than the main portion but, on the other hand, does not receive the dust spewing traffic.  Indeed, when not open to the hunters, it is a pleasant destination for "sky watching" as migrant flocks of geese, pelicans, ducks and hawks move above the Valley.  If pools and mudflats have expanded across the area, it can also be excellent for waterfowl and shorebird watching.

On this bright, mild, April afternoon, hundreds of blue-winged teal dominated the scene, joined by a few green-winged teal and a lone pied-billed grebe; once again, shorebirds were nearly absent, represented by only a trio of greater yellowlegs.  Flocks of turkey vultures soared along the bluffs, a single red-tailed hawk patrolled the floodplain, barn and tree swallows strafed the pools and the first fish crows of the season (at least for me) squawked from the adjacent trees.  I was the only human visitor.

Monday, April 12, 2021

St. Vincent's Volcano

St. Vincent is an island near the southern end of the Lesser Antilles, a tropical archipelago that lies along the eastern edge of the Caribbean Plate.  These islands are volcanic in origin, produced by the subduction of the American Plates beneath the Caribbean Plate as the Atlantic Ocean continues to open.

La Soufriere is a volcano that forms the northern half of St. Vincent Island.  Geologic studies indicate that the volcano has developed over the past 600,000 years, including six major eruptions since 1718; the last of these began on April 9 and may continue for weeks (if not longer).  Toxic, volcanic ash is currently falling across the island.

Most of the beautiful, tropical islands on our planet are volcanic in origin and many remain active or, at best, dormant.  Those who live on or visit these parcels of paradise must accept the risk of eruptions, however infrequent they may occur.

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Where were the Shorebirds?

On this mild, sunny morning following a day of continuous rain, a friend and I headed down to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area with the expectation of finding a good variety of shorebirds.  After all, reports on eBird during the preceding week indicated that large numbers had been observed and April tends to be the peak month of the spring shorebird migration.

Driving through the refuge, we found what appeared to be ideal shorebird habitat: flooded fields and ephemeral pools covered much of the floodplain though water levels in the central canal and permanent pools were high, more attractive to waterfowl than to shorebirds.  Indeed, we did observe thousands of ducks and coot, some Canada geese and smaller numbers of grebes, white pelicans, cormorants and great blue herons but our shorebird sightings were limited to six killdeer.

How to explain the sudden dearth of shorebirds along the Missouri River?  Perhaps storms to our south or today's northwest breeze put the breaks on their migration.  Perhaps they found ideal feeding conditions elsewhere and will soon return.  Most likely, we were just unlucky, perhaps missing an influx of these migrants by only a couple of hours.  Birding "success" relies on both knowledge and luck.  We'll try again soon.

Friday, April 9, 2021

Toad Days

Engaged in yard work on this beautiful April day, I nearly stepped on an American toad as it made its way across the lawn.  Stirred from its winter slumber by the recent warm weather and heavy rains, this common amphibian will soon be joining his/her cohorts at a seasonal pond.

Males will arrive first, trilling to attract potential mates.  Eggs and sperm will then be released into the fishless pool, giving rise to small black tadpoles which will undergo metamorphosis to toadlets within 60 days.  Mating season generally lasts into mid summer, weather permitting.

Adults and young will then disperse across the landscape, consuming a wide variety of insects and other terrestrial invertebrates.  The toads, themselves, may fall victim to snakes, herons, raccoons, hawks (especially red-shouldered hawks) and, of course,  careless humans. 

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

A Feast for the Senses

Having returned to central Missouri, I enjoyed a glorious April day, mostly from our back deck.  A good book (so far) and a glass of wine augmented the experience!

Vibrant birdsong flooded in from every direction.  The fading blossoms of magnolia trees and the new flowers of redbuds provided a colorful background as the faint smell of cut grass wafted in from a more industrious neighbor's yard.  A pair of carpenter bees zoomed about the deck, an eastern gray tree frog called from his nearby perch and squadrons of turkey vultures soared overhead, enjoying the warm, south breeze as much as I was.

Of course, this idyllic day in early April does not portend a carefree spring.  Thunderstorms are due by early morning and cooler temperatures will follow.  But it is best that we accept nature's gifts when they are offered and today was a feast for the senses. 

Sunday, April 4, 2021

An Easter Road Trip

On this Easter Sunday, I planned a road trip.  I would have preferred a leisurely journey through hilly farmlands with quaint homesteads, old barns, placid livestock, gurgling brooks and parcels of forest.  Unfortunately, that would not be the case.

Instead, I was due to speed eastward on the concrete ribbon of Interstate 70, crossing the bleak landscape of the High Plains.  Relatively featureless, the semiarid Plains are disrupted only by dry stream beds, tree- shrouded farm houses, the massive turbines of wind farms, occasional juniper-pine snow-breaks and small towns clustered around grain silos.

Worse yet, strong south winds pushed afternoon highs near 90 degrees F and, stepping from the car, one faced a blast furnace; while billboards warned that I might be heading for hell, it seemed that I was already there.  Then there were the maskless locals and truckers at rest stops and convenience stores, prowling about as if to intimidate liberals that were passing through Trump Country.  Yes, it was an Easter road trip to remember! 

Friday, April 2, 2021

The Mellowing

By April, a higher sun and regular precipitation have softened the landscape and greenery gradually climbs from the lawns to the treetops.  Early flowers and musical birdsong lend their support to the mellowing of our environment as the harsh grip of winter recedes to the north.

Those of us of a certain age are especially attentive to this transition, feeling fortunate to have survived another winter and witnessed the rebirth that the new season brings.  Having mellowed ourselves, we are content to enjoy the resurgence of life around us and less enamored with the consumption and competitive strategies that characterized our youth.  Personal relationships, past and present, now seem far more important.

Well beyond the spring of our own lives, we have a greater appreciation for nature's cycles and the ultimate demise that we all must face.  We know all to well that life is short and that the simple gifts of spring should not be taken for granted.