Journey to the Northern Lights

While the term "bucket list" has become a cliche in American culture, most of us have certain goals that we hope to achieve before we are too old, frail or dead to experience.  For my wife and I, one of those goals is to witness the Aurora Borealis, a spectacular natural phenomenon that we have managed to miss despite having visited Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland, southern Alaska, Vancouver Island and the northern Great Lakes region.

Tomorrow we will leave Colorado and head northeast across the Great Plains.  Our destination will be the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, specifically locations along and near the Keweenaw Peninsula.  While our primary goal is to see the Northern Lights, we plan to explore the varied ecosystems of that region and anticipate that other sightings will also prove to be highlights of the trip.

Of course, as always, getting to and from the destination may also provide natural spectacles that characterize the North American autumn.  Whether we see the Aurora Borealis or not, it will certainly be an enjoyable and rewarding journey.  More on our travels in the coming days.

Addendum:  As it turns out, a major solar flare occurred two days ago and  the peak Auroral borealis show was forecast to develop last night.  Perhaps our journey to the Northern Lights is a bit late but we remain optimistic.

Cancel Culture and Truth

Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of controversy regarding efforts to block free speech, often by colleges and student groups that should be bastions of intellectual freedom.  While hate speech and purposeful misinformation should be abolished, opinion must be protected in the interest of truth.

Indeed, doubt and dissent have been the cornerstones of science, directing human society away from the dangers of mysticism to the enlightenment that the scientific method has wrought.  To suppress thought or opinion that might be offensive to some is to threaten the vital role of intellectual freedom.

Finally, history is factual and most of it unfolded at a time when mysticism suppressed the early awakening of scientific truth.  To deny its relevance, or to take its events out of context, is to fail to learn from our past mistakes and misguided assumptions.  We should embrace our history, not bury it to shelter innocents from the realities of our social and intellectual evolution.

A Wave of Wigeon

The autumn waterfowl migration is gradually increasing along the Colorado Front Range and, at South Platte Park this morning, American wigeon led the way.  I counted about 90 of these distinctive, surface-feeding ducks, more than double the number of any other species.

Among their cohorts were mallards, gadwall, northern shovelers, ring-necked ducks, buffleheads, green-winged teal, hooded mergansers, American coot, pied-billed grebes and a lone female pintail.  Due to a strong south wind that will push our afternoon high to 70 degrees F, most of the terrestrial birds remained hidden in the shrubs and thickets.

American wigeon breed across Alaska, Canada and the northern U.S. and winter along the Pacific Coast and across the Southern U.S. and Mexico.  They favor shallow rivers, ponds, lakes and bays were they feed primarily on aquatic plants; they may also consume insects when foraging in fields.

Flashback Post XXV

Four years ago today, I published a post that received a good deal of attention.  No doubt, the reason for its popularity was that it spoke to a universal human experience.

See: The Power of Love Denied 

A Chilly River Walk

It was a cloudy, almost cold morning in the South Platte Valley.  The gray overcast muted the fall colors and the river was very low but the chilly conditions significantly reduced human traffic on the hike-bike path.

Mallards dominated the waterfowl but the autumn migration is beginning to accelerate; gadwalls, American wigeon, buffleheads, green-winged teal and a pair of hooded mergansers were also observed.  Other sightings included a great blue heron, a Harlan's red-tailed hawk (the first of the season), a sharp-shinned hawk, kestrels, killdeer, a Say's Phoebe and plenty of noisy magpies, flickers and blue jays.

We are expected to warm up over the weekend but the trend is clear along the Colorado Front Range: longer nights, chilly mornings, sunny but mild afternoons and, before long, the white gold of the West (snow). 

La Nina douses the Western Fires

A La Nina weather pattern has developed in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.  Strong trade winds across the equatorial region push warm surface waters to the west; this leads to upwelling of colder water off the west coast of the Americas.

In a typical La Nina year, precipitation increases in the Pacific Northwest (including the northern half of California) and mountain snowpacks are generally deeper across the West (excluding the Desert Southwest).  Evidence of this pattern is currently unfolding as soaking rains fall from San Francisco to Seattle and heavy snows coat the Cascades, Sierra Nevada and Great Basin Ranges.

The La Nina precipitation will likely bring an end to the Western Fire Season but will offer only modest relief from the prolonged drought that grips most of the American West.  Our warming climate will surely exacerbate the drought and might even prevent the formation of future La Ninas.

The Hunter's Moon

The Hunter's Moon will shine from the night sky for the next several days.  The first full moon following the autumn equinox, the Hunter's Moon usually occurs in October and is named for the fact that the harvest season has ended and the hunting season, once vital for our survival, has begun.

Of course, humans are not the only hunters to stalk nature's ecosystems during the colder months of the year.  But even natural predators, from shrews to wolves, gain an upper hand during the harsh conditions of winter, when freezing temperatures, icy landscapes, heavy snow and a lack of natural cover stress their prey.

For those of us who do not hunt, the Hunter's Moon is thus a reminder that the culling season is underway and many of our wild neighbors will not see the coming spring.  Knowing that life is fickle, we must acknowledge that the trials of winter will take some of us as well.

Glorious Autumn Weather

We returned to our Littleton, Colorado, farm yesterday under deep blue skies.  The Front Range peaks were covered with snow but it was a pleasant 68 degrees F in Metro Denver.

The weather here has been more conducive to fall splendor than in the Midwest and colorful trees adorn the urban corridor.  At the farm, we were greeted by the "clean" landscape that dry air and cold nights produce and it was nice to settle in without the urge to get out the trimmers.

As if to signal the cool weather ahead, a pair of Townsend's solitaires, down from the mountains, chased each other about the property, dueling for "ownership" of our juniper berries.  No doubt, dark-eyed juncos and pine siskins will soon follow, joined by Steller's jays, mountain chickadees and other high country residents as winter conditions intensify.

The Loss of Civility

Four years of the Trump Administration (and its aftermath) have poisoned America.  A sizable percentage of our citizens either learned to engage in crude behavior or were simply given permission to demonstrate their innate lack of civility.

We now witness violence on airlines, confrontations with school board members, threats to election officials and, perhaps most disturbing of all, the harassment of children and their parents over the use of masks.  It is one thing to engage in respectful political discourse but quite another to make your point with brutish behavior.

Of course, the Big Lie is responsible for much of the confrontation but Trump's crude behavior while in office unearthed similar tendencies in those who rushed to his support and defense.  Unless we elect individuals who are committed to fairness, cooperation, respect and decency, this current of incivility will destroy our Democracy. 

Northern Storm, Southern Flooding

A potent storm system,, currently centered over southwestern South Dakota, dropped snow across the Western mountains and is now bringing heavy rain along a broad swath of the South-Central States.  Its leading cold front sweeps from the Southern Plains to the Upper Midwest, focusing the clash of cold, dry and warm, humid air masses that ignite the thunderstorms.

Adding to the risk of flooding, especially in Texas and southern Oklahoma, is a plume of tropical moisture, injected by Hurricane Pamela that has made landfall near Mazatlan, Mexico.  Combined with Gulf of Mexico moisture that is streaming northward ahead of the cold front, this atmospheric river may bring torrential rain to the Southern Plains.

According to the current forecast, the flood risk will begin this evening and continue through the night.  While the mountain snows were more than welcome, especially in the midst of a prolonged Western drought, the heavy rains will fall across a region already saturated by summer hurricanes and early autumn thunderstorms. 

An Overnight Crop

Following a warm, rainy night in central Missouri, clusters of Jack-o-Lantern mushrooms adorn our Columbia yard, rising from the decaying roots of past shade trees.  Named for their orange color and for the fact that they typically appear in autumn, these attractive fungi are poisonous.  In fact, their toxin is currently under investigation as a possible chemotherapeutic agent for various cancers.

In addition, Jack-o-Lantern mushrooms are among the fungi that are bioluminescent, emitting a faint, greenish glow that is visible at night.  As with other fungi, the colorful mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of a much larger organism, composed of a vast network of mycelia that retrieve nutrients from dead organic matter.  Of course, the mushrooms are transient reproductive structures and some mycologists believe that the bioluminescence may attract creatures that facilitate spore dispersal.

Not a mushroom expert, I prefer to enjoy wild species with my eyes and stick to store-bought mushrooms for my meals.  No doubt, I am missing out on the flavor of freshly-picked specimens but, for some of us, avoiding acute gastroenteritis is a higher priority.

A Morning for Raptors

Returning to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area this morning, a friend and I found that the autumn waterfowl migration is still on hold.  Canada geese and blue-winged teal, both in modest numbers, were the only representatives.

On the other hand, raptor viewing was fairly good; three bald eagles, an osprey, a northern harrier, an American kestrel and a peregrine falcon were observed on the floodplain though the more common red-tailed hawks did not make an appearance.  Once again, turkey vultures and red-winged blackbirds dominated the scene and shorebirds were limited to killdeer and a distant flock of unidentified sandpipers.

Peregrine falcons often migrate southward with the waterfowl and shorebird flocks and, we can hope, this morning's visitor might be a sign that the autumn migration may soon accelerate.  For now, we'll enjoy watching the aerial hunters.

Political Extremism

As a social liberal, fiscal conservative and Independent voter, I deplore the political extremism (in both Parties) that is sabotaging the function of Congress and threatening our Democracy.  The standoff will likely continue until one party moves toward the center and demonstrates a willingness to compromise in the interest of the American people.

I personally believe that moderates of both political parties are willing to address issues that are, in my opinion, especially important: climate change, conservation, affordable health care, quality education and human rights, among others.  Our ability to address these issues will depend on the cooperation of Republicans and Democrats, a feat unlikely to be achieved by the extremists.

While the Trump-supporting Republicans are especially dangerous, I blame both parties for the political inaction.  The effective management of the multiple, serious problems faced by our country (and our planet) will, in the end, have to come from the center. 

Our Groundhog Saga

We are more than glad to share our Colorado and Missouri properties with a wide range of wildlife.  But when it comes to groundhogs in Missouri, we are not such gracious hosts.

These large, aggressive herbivores insist on denning beneath our deck, threatening its stability.  As a result, we have trapped numerous groundhogs over the years, transporting them to wild lands south of town.  One year, however, our efforts did not succeed and the unwelcome resident died beneath the deck, forcing me to remove several planks to retrieve its maggot-ridden carcass.

We are thus a bit anxious when groundhogs manage to enter the yard despite our fencing.  They are welcome to nibble on our plants but, if we see them near the deck, the trap is set and they are enticed in with a piece of cantaloupe (which seems to be their favorite fruit).  Tiring of this routine, we have decided to concentrate on reinforcing the borders of the deck to prevent their denning.  In effect, we have all but surrendered.

Ground Surveys

It is that time of year when, as a birder, I begin scouring the ground rather than the trees.  Most of the migrant songbirds have already moved through Missouri and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of our common winter residents, most of which feed on or near the ground.

Of course, I am referring to dark-eyed juncos and winter sparrows (white-throated, white-crowned, swamp and fox sparrows, among others).  Having summered and bred in Canada or in the mountain corridors of the U.S., they generally arrive by mid October, content to spend the winter across the central latitudes of North America.

Their arrival may not match the grandeur of waterfowl flocks or the occasional influx of irruptive species but their seasonal presence is always welcome and inspirational.  We appreciate their company during the cold, gray months of winter, knowing that they, unlike most of us, are free to move on to warmer climes.

See also:  Winter Guests 

Birding & Moose Hunting

I do not often go birding at mid day but, on this cool, cloudy afternoon in central Missouri, it seemed like a good idea.  After all, one of the best birding destinations in the Midwest is close by.

My visit to Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, on the Missouri River floodplain, was a pleasant one; unfortunately, the birding was not so great.  There were lots of turkey vultures and red-winged blackbirds, one flock of Canada geese (wow!), a lone bald eagle, a dozen or so great blue herons and a handful of pied-billed grebes.  That was about all I saw from my Beetle.

During my visit, a relative came to mind.  He enjoys moose hunting and travels to beautiful, wild areas in pursuit of his quarry; though he relishes the great outdoors, he has not, to my knowledge, ever encountered a moose!  Birding can be like that; it is best to enjoy the hunt and the landscape, knowing that your expectations may not be met.

A Spectacle at Perry Phillips Lake

Visiting Perry Phillips Lake this morning, we arrived just after sunrise.  That early arrival led to an unexpected spectacle.

All along the north shore of the lake, thousands of spider webs, coated with dew and backlit by the rising sun, glistened like expensive jewelry.  More often experienced as annoying traps designed by their scary architects, the webs shimmered in the morning light; they would soon disappear amidst the vegetation as the sun climbed and the lighting changed.  Photo by Darcy Folzenlogen.

Another highlight of our visit was a lone osprey, the first I have observed in Columbia this season.  Flapping and soaring above the lake, he suddenly plunged toward the surface, snared a fish in his talons and flew off to enjoy his breakfast in a nearby tree.

A Blue Jay Explosion

Since returning to central Missouri, two weeks ago, blue jays have been relatively abundant at every park and nature preserve that I have visited; just yesterday, I observed 45 at Perry Phillips Park, in south Columbia.  I might also add that blue jays seem to be more common in our neighborhoods in both Colorado and Missouri this year.

Perhaps the increased population merely reflects a boom cycle for these birds but I suspect other factors may also be responsible.  Blue jays are omnivorous, aggressive birds that have always done well in suburbia; outcompeting other species for natural food and human handouts, they also sabotage their competition by feeding on eggs and nestlings.  As our endless sprawl continues (urban, suburban and agricultural), we enhance the opportunities for blue jays and thereby augment their population growth.

And then, of course, climate change, habitat destruction and pollution are challenging many avian species, stressing the most selective (regarding food and habitat) above all others.  Blue jays, less dependent on mature forests, natural grasslands and pristine wetlands, are relatively unaffected.  It is not necessarily "the survival of the fittest" but more like "the dominance of the adaptable." 

Seasonal Rebirth

We all know that spring is the "Season of Rebirth" as many plants and some animals rise from the dead (or at least from hibernation).  But, for some of us, autumn feels like a rebirth or, at the very least, a significant recovery.

After months of oppressive summer heat, the invigorating weather of fall is both welcome and beneficial ( physically and mentally).  Cooler, drier air, longer nights and colorful foliage are all inviting and, for birders, the autumn migration is underway.  Pesky insects have lost their vigor and, as a consequence, hiking is more enjoyable.

No doubt, many would disagree with my emotional assessment but I'll take October over June any day.  Even in Colorado, where snow may arrive as early as September, autumn is the season of my annual rebirth (and has been for 71 years).