Getting Personal on Earth Day

On this annual Earth Day, many of us will attend gatherings, speeches, demonstrations or fairs to show our support for the welfare of our home planet; that is not enough.  Our commitment to the health of natural ecosystems must be personal.

We must ask ourselves if our recycling efforts are maximized, if we make every effort to eliminate the use of herbicides and pesticides, if we limit artificial irrigation and if we have naturalized our property to avoid the use of fertilizer and to provide natural nutrition sources for wildlife. 

Just as importantly, do we contribute to conservation organizations (such as those in the right column of this blog) that have the financial, legal and political clout to combat the anti-environmental fervor of the Trump Administration?  Will we support candidates who openly acknowledge the threat of climate change and who offer policies to combat pollution, excessive consumption and the degradation of natural habitat?  That is the very least we can do for Mother Earth. 

Majestic View Park

On this bright April morning, my wife and I visited Majestic View Park, in Arvada, Colorado.  Off 72nd Ave., between Wadsworth and Kipling, the 80-acre park offers a broad view of the Mt. Blue Sky massif and the adjacent Front Range Foothills.

Two miles of paved and earthen trails wind through the Park, which harbors open grasslands, riparian woodlands, a pond and a creek-side marsh (now undergoing restoration).  Red-winged blackbirds and blue jays were the most conspicuous residents this morning though we also saw a pied-billed grebe and a large garter snake on our walk.

Majestic View Park also has a Nature Center that offers educational programs throughout the year.  Though the Park is rather small, its scenery, its variety of natural habitats and its accessibility make it worth a visit for Metro Denver residents and visitors. 

Our Summer Tenants

According to the records on my eBird site, I have observed 98 avian species on our Littleton farm since May of 2016.  Almost all have been permanent residents, winter residents, migrants or seasonal visitors.  Only two summer residents inhabit the property.

Summer residents are birds that winter to our south, arrive in the spring, nest here and then return to their wintering grounds in the fall.  Our two summer tenants are northern house wrens and broad-tailed hummingbirds.  Since returning from Missouri yesterday, I have encountered one of each.

Soon, the cohorts of these pioneers will arrive and courtships will commence.  Nesting will occur and the families will grace our farm until October.  Among all the other species, these summer tenants tend to garner much of my attention.

Addendum: Some birders might suggest that I also include brown-headed cowbirds on my short list of summer residents.  However, they merely lay their eggs in the nests of other songbirds and do not actually raise their young or reside on the property.

Back in Dry Country

Driving back to Colorado this morning, the landscape was noticeably drier than usual from the High Plains westward.  None of the rivers (except for the South Platte) held water and the grasslands had browned out, an unusual appearance for April, one of the snowiest months along the Front Range.

Of course, the desiccated landscape reflects the unusually warm and snowless winter in this region.  The small amount of snow received from the most recent Pacific storm was not enough to make a difference and has already disappeared.  Here on our Littleton farm, the shrubs and pastures have held up well but our "lawns" are not the least bit green.  In addition, the recent hard freeze killed off the unfurling leaves in many of the trees but these should recover as the temperature rebounds.

Indeed, we expect warm, sunny weather for the next week; no rain is forecast until next weekend.  As always, the dry air has its benefits: cool nights and more tolerable daytime heat.  But we desperately need precipitation, in any form; perhaps May will bring a welcome change. 

Heading West

Following a stormy night in Columbia, we headed west this morning.  A steady north wind had brought down clear, cool, dry air behind the storm front, perfect for traveling.

Farther west, in eastern Kansas, plumes of smoke rose from the Flint Hills as the annual burning of grasslands was underway.  Designed to remove invasive plants and to nourish the pasturelands, one wonders about the carbon load released into the atmosphere.

And what wildlife did I encounter today (you might ask)?  Easy: turkey vultures, great-tailed grackles and dead raccoons.  But we did see thousands of cattle!  We'll complete our journey to Colorado tomorrow. 

Damage Watch

As a powerful Pacific storm system spun its way along the U.S.-Canadian border yesterday, its cold front stretched from the Upper Midwest to the Southern Plains, producing a broad swath of tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, large hail, high winds and torrential rain.

Millions of Americans, ourselves included, were glued to their TVs and computer screens, waiting to see if their community would be damaged or spared.  Even before this storm system arrived, severe flooding had developed in Wisconsin from storms deflected northward by the Southeastern ridge.  Here in Columbia, tornado sirens blared by mid evening as a twister passed just south and east of our city.

Meanwhile, on the back side of the system, cold air plunged southward, bringing snow to the Northern Plains and, finally, to the Front Range of Colorado.  As the storm pushes eastward in the coming days, its severity will diminish as its forward speed increases; nevertheless, more flooding and wind damage is expected before it heads out to sea. 

First Summer Sparrow

Enjoying the shady retreat of our front porch yesterday afternoon, I caught site of a small sparrow that was foraging on the street and intermittently flying up into a large sweetgum tree.  I knew it had to be a chipping sparrow (the first of the year for me) due to that behavior and I soon confirmed its identity with my binoculars.

Common across most of the U.S. during the warmer months (though generally absent on the Great Plains), these attractive and rather tame sparrows feast on both insects and seeds.  Their nests are placed in shrubs or low in trees (usually conifers) and two broods are typically raised each summer.  Come October they head to the southern tier of the U.S. or to Mexico for the winter.

Most sparrows that are encountered in Missouri are permanent or winter residents.  Chipping sparrows are an exception and it is always a pleasure to catch their arrival in the spring. 

The Southeastern Drought

Due to a persistent atmospheric ridge over the Southeastern U.S., storm systems arriving from the Pacific have been shunted across the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeastern States.  As a result, severe drought has developed within that ridge; indeed, much of Georgia and Florida are in extreme drought.

A stable jet stream arc, from the Southern Plains to the Ohio River Valley and across the Mid-Atlantic region has produced the ridge.  Within its dome, air is sinking and heating up, impairing cloud formation, negating precipitation and drying out the soil.  As one might expect, the incidence of wildfires has increased significantly.

Fortunately, a potent storm system is forecast to arrive within a week, displacing the ridge and bringing much needed rain to the Southeastern States.  An early tropical storm or two would be nice as well but an El Niño pattern in the Pacific is expected to dampen this year's Atlantic Hurricane Season; on the other hand, El Niños tend to produce more precipitation across the Southern U.S. 

Church & State

As the Trump Administration attacks the first American Pope for speaking out against the Iran War and following Trump's release of his image as Jesus Christ, many Republicans and Trump supporters have finally been critical of Our Dear Leader, acknowledging that he is not infallible after all.

Yet, many if not most of these critics back the influence of religion in public schools, including Bible study, posting the Ten Commandments and other means of ignoring the separation of Church and State.  While our Constitution is clear on this matter, the Republican Party has moved past any respect for that document.

Nevertheless, I suspect most Americans support freedom of and freedom from religion.  Politicians cannot and should not impose their personal faith on others.  Moral behavior should be expected of everyone but religious beliefs, however common, must not be enforced by our Government. 

Greenery Rising

Yesterday afternoon, as a steady south wind brought warm, humid air into central Missouri, I rescued our Beetle from the garage and headed for the country.  Escorted by turkey vultures, sailing along in the cloudy sky, I did not encounter many birds or mammals but I was taken by the greenery, ascending from the lush grass, through the shrub lines and into the trees.

Our recent warm, wet weather had produced the transition from winter browns to these many shades of green, the product of chlorophyll, the fuel of life on Earth.  Absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, green plants sustain our atmosphere, long threatened by the burning of fossil fuels.

Of course, the leaves themselves feed a wide variety of life forms, from microbes to insects to mammals, ourselves included.  Following the fickle weather of March, this explosion of greenery in April is always a welcome spectacle. 

The Space Race Endures

No doubt, most Americans were pleased with the emotional and uplifting comments of the Artemis II astronauts after they safely returned to Earth.  But the U.S. Government and American corporations did not spend billions of dollars for those platitudes or for more images of our Blue Planet from space.

As some commentators admitted on TV, establishing sites to recover valuable minerals from our natural satellite is the ultimate goal and we must out-compete China and Russia for choice locations.  In other words, real estate on the Moon will become increasingly important and contentious.

One would hope that governments have learned the value of international cooperation from our experience with the Space Station.  Having drawn our lines on Earth, it would be rewarding for humans to openly share the gifts that our Moon has to offer.

Faith & Trust

Faith is belief instilled by someone we trust.  As children, we trust our parents, thereby helping to ensure our own survival.  We also tend to trust other authority figures such as teachers, priests, ministers and close relatives.

Of course, over the years, we often come to learn that our trust was misplaced.  Those who instilled our beliefs are discovered to be fallible or worse.  Ironically, it is usually the rigidity of their beliefs that we most readily discard.  Their provincial attitudes, limited education and cloistered life often trigger our doubt.

Retained faith, on the other hand, is generally reinforced by fear or by an unwillingness to disappoint those we care about.  In the end, we must trust ourselves and formulate our own beliefs. 

Don Robinson State Park

On this mild April morning, my wife and I visited Don Robinson State Park in Jefferson County, Missouri.  Donated to the State by Mr. Robinson upon his death, its 800 acres are draped across the upper watershed of LaBarque Creek, a tributary of the Meramec River.

The Park is known for its Sandstone Canyons where outcrops of St. Peter Sandstone adorn the walls and underlie the streams (see photo).  This rock formation dates from the mid Ordovician Period, about 460 million years ago, when life had not yet crawled from the sea.  Outcrops of limestone and dolomite are also found in the Park which harbors an excellent diversity of foliage, including many rare plants.

During our visit today, we hiked a 3.2 mile loop through one of the canyons, enduring a steep climb in one area.  Though benches are not provided for those of us who often use them, there were plenty of logs and sandstone blocks along the trail which, in our case, were regularly appreciated.  We highly recommend a visit to this scenic and geologically interesting Park.

Reassuring Tunes

Per the National Audubon Society, nation-wide studies over the past few years have demonstrated a significant decline in U.S. bird populations, especially those that inhabit grasslands; waterfowl species appeared to be least affected but have recently decreased in number.  Habitat loss, pollution and severe weather events (courtesy of climate change) are among the most likely factors in this disturbing trend.

Aware of these studies, I was personally alarmed by the apparent dearth of white-throated sparrows in central Missouri this winter, especially in our neighborhood.  Usually among the more common winter residents in our region, these Canadians arrive in October and generally stay until mid April.

But as we approach their usual departure week, I have been heartened by the frequency of their homesick tune, ringing through our yard.  Perhaps my seasonal observations have been misleading but the study data is hard to ignore.  Soon, in response to the lengthening days (though seemingly to the warming weather) the white-throats, fond of chilly conditions, will head north to their homeland.

 

Fueling Addiction & Crime

Concerned about the exploding participation in Sports Betting, I published my feelings last year.  Now, Prediction Markets have broadened those concerns, encouraging addiction-prone individuals to bet on almost any upcoming event or decision in human society, in America or across the globe.

Available to those 18 years of age or older, these markets offer excitement, potential financial windfalls and alternatives to traditional employment and investment.  Of course, they also carry the risk of addiction, bankruptcy and criminal behavior, including insider trading.  Unlike regulated gambling, there appears to be minimal consumer protection or fraud detection in these markets.

Heavily advertised, Prediction Markets are said to democratize participation in political, economic and social decisions and are defended as a form of "crowd sourcing."  No doubt, as with other forms of gambling, appropriate warnings and numbers to call for counseling make the purveyors of these markets feel socially responsible as they rake in the proceeds. 

Impeach Trump!

After threatening genocide in Iran, losing a war that he initiated, openly backing a dictator in Hungary, repeatedly praising Vladimir Putin and expressing his intention to withdraw from NATO, Donald Trump cannot be allowed to remain President of the United States.  What more can he do before Republicans join the call for Impeachment?

Our Dear Leader was given a second opportunity to represent America and he has failed miserably.  We cannot let this incompetent and deranged narcissist enjoy any more time in the limelight.  He has destroyed the image of the United States across the globe and, in the process, crippled our own economy.

Democrats must initiate Impeachment proceedings and force Republicans to take a stand.  They will thereby have to demonstrate whether they are patriots or cowards.  We cannot wait until November. 

Watching for Summer Birds

It is that time of year when summer avian residents begin arriving from their wintering areas to our south; indeed, quite a few species have already been reported, though I have only observed tree swallows, eastern phoebes, pied-billed grebes and a scissor-tailed flycatcher (the first seen in Columbia this spring and the earliest I have ever observed one in Missouri, on April 3).

Though my success is clearly behind many local birders, the joy of observing new arrivals is always worth the effort.  Among the species already documented by others have been green herons, soras, a Virginia rail, northern rough-winged swallows, yellow-throated vireos, yellow-throated warblers and blue-gray gnatcatchers.

One need not travel to nature preserves to observe summer residents; in fact, many can be found in the average backyard.  Join the search and join eBird to report your sightings!  Your data will help to monitor the health of our avian populations.

Deception from Space

For many of us, the highlight of manned or unmanned space flights is the opportunity to observe our beautiful home planet from a distance.  Of course, the apparent tranquility on Earth is an illusion.

Since life first evolved in Earth's ancient seas, its tenacity has been tested by cataclysmic events and the ongoing process of geologic evolution.  Though we humans, relative newcomers on the planet, have benefited from large brains, our period of stewardship has been hampered by mysticism, racism, nationalism and a quest for wealth and power.  Natural ecosystems, the source of all life on our planet, have been threatened by human overpopulation, pollution, excessive consumption and relentless development.  Now, man-induced climate change challenges the welfare of all species, humans included.

So enjoy the glorious spectacle from space and try not to dwell on the realities of life on Earth.

Easter Eagles

Birding along the Missouri River on this sunny but cool Easter morning, I observed a pair of adult bald eagles, perched in a large tree along the swollen stream.  They were fitting symbols on this holiday of rebirth, having made a dramatic comeback from the widespread decimation caused by DDT use; large raptors were especially impacted since they are apex predators.

Of course, Rachel Carson has long been honored for calling attention to the indiscriminate use of that pesticide in her 1962 book, Silent Spring.  Though its use was finally banned in the United States in 1972, DDT was still employed for decades elsewhere and remains in use in some African countries today.

Proud of our decision to ban DDT, we Americans continue to use many other herbicides and pesticides that likely accumulate in our bodies, causing disease not yet associated with their presence.  See my recent post on Parkinson's Disease.

Crossing Soggy Farmland

Following another night of steady, sometimes heavy rain, I set out for the farmlands east of Columbia this morning.  There the soil was saturated and the drainage channels, recently desiccated, were free flowing streams; shallow lakes filled low points in the fields.

As one might expect, American robins were the most common birds, scouring the muddy landscape for invertebrates.  Birding highlights included red-tailed hawks, a lone wild turkey, a pair of wood ducks and a belted kingfisher.

Though cloudy skies, chilly air and a stiff, northwest wind were not terribly inviting, the soggy landscape was reassuring after our prolonged regional drought.  I'm sure the wild, farmland residents would agree.   

Glorious Rain

Over the past few days, we have received a copious amount of rain in Columbia, thanks to a slow moving storm system that has pulled up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.  Since most of Missouri has been in a long term drought, the rain has been more than welcome.

During a break in the precipitation this morning, a friend and I visited Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area where the rain had significantly increased water levels; indeed, based on my past experience, they were above normal for early April.  Once again, blue-winged teal dominated the floodplain but we were fortunate to encounter a female bufflehead, 75 pied-billed grebes (well above usual counts for that species), two bald eagles and the first scissor-tailed flycatcher of the season; 23 avian species were observed during our two hour visit.

Thunderstorms and heavy rain are forecast to return tonight as the next Pacific storm drops in from the Northern Plains and intermittent periods of rain are expected over the coming week.  Perhaps our prolonged drought in central Missouri will finally be broken.