Winter Intects

Have you ever been out snowshoeing or skiing and noticed any insects flying around or hanging out on the snow?

I have. And contrary to what you might think, there are quite a few of them. Especially on milder days later in the winter.

Here are a couple of examples.

 Male Non-biting Midge. While out snowshoeing today and yesterday I saw many, many of these. 

Snow Scorpionfly

A Snow Cranefly (Image from here)

A Stonefly (image from here)

And these are Springtails, also known as Snow Fleas (image from here)

See? All kinds of critters out there in the winter. And seeing the many Midges out and about makes me happy also because it means the swallows will be back soon. 

Yeah!

Okay, I know I'm kinda strange...

but this just makes me happy.

In case you don't know what you are looking at - that is my gloved finger pointing to a tiny little Ermine dropping. Ermine dropping - shaped like the animal who left it - long and skinny.

I saw this little Ermine (a.k.a short-tailed weasel) bounding around the snow near an old building in the park. I stood very still and watched it as it bounded here and there, checking out this and that, disappearing beneath the snow and reappearing again a few feet away.

After it disappeared from sight, I followed it's little tracks.

Perfect little Ermine tracks.

Cutest little foot prints. 

 Hop, and down under the snow it goes. 

 Perfect little Ermine hole.

 And off into the shrubbery it goes.

Return of the Bald Eagle

One thing I look forward to every winter, other than snowshoeing and such, is the return of the bald eagle to the Heber Valley. While most migratory birds are headed south out of Utah to escape the cold and follow their food sources to warmer climes, Baldies are coming in from the north to enjoy what for them are milder temperatures and generally open water.

On this snowy day I spotted this large, dark spot in the tree. Depending on the weather and the surrounding terrain, you either look for a large "headless" spot, or a floating "golf ball" in the trees. Generally this is about as close as you get to them.

But on this day, our National Symbol was sitting in a tree rather close to the road. So I was able to snap a few closer-ups.

Well, hello.

Once you get this close, you see that in addition to their dark body and white head and tail, they have a massive yellow bill which is helpful in identifying them and in tearing flesh into more managable sizes. However, while that bill certainly demands respect (I was once bitten by an owl while attempting to pet it. After its handler said I could. My reward for such a move was a quick snap and two holes in my finger oozing blood), it isn't really the business end of this bird.

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse

December 21, 2010 - Winter Solstice. The shortest day and longest night of the year. This means, essentially, that because of the tilt of the earth, the sun is the furthest south it will be all year. And right now, the moon is also at its northernmost point in its rotation around the earth. According to the experts, this will be the northernmost lunar eclipse in centuries!

The last time a lunar eclipse happened on the winter solstice was in 1554. And according to EarthSky, there won’t be another total lunar eclipse this far north on the sky’s dome until December 21, 2485.

If you want to know if and when you can see the eclipse, check out this site - it talks all about it and lists the best times to see it. In my area, Mountain Time, it will be totally eclipsed at 12:41 am on December 21. Total eclipse ends at 1:53 am. So it's a good full hour of lunar eclipse viewing.

Lessons from nature

Are you stressed? It is that time of year when stress has a way of creeping into our lives. Not only are the holidays upon us, but it's winter in the northern hemisphere.  So on top of the regular things like work, money, school, kids, parents and holiday shopping, we are also faced with driving in terrible weather, staying warm, shoveling our walks and driveways, keeping from slipping on the ice. And how do we deal with all this stress? If you're like me, you'd enjoy nothing more than curling up under the covers and sleeping until spring. But no, unfortunately we can't really do that.

Inversion

Ick. Living in a valley surrounded by mountains, is, for the most part, a beautiful and awe-inspiring thing. But in the winter, the combination of the closed in valley, too many vehicles and factories, and high pressure creates a wonderfully aweful sludge in the air. It's a soupy muck. These are the days I'm glad to work an hour from home, high up in the mountains, where I can escape this crud.

But alas, I didn't work today. So I was able to "enjoy" the worst air quality in the nation. 

Avoiding Video Games

School being out as it is for a few more days means the kids are home, and bored, and love playing video games - the really loud, shoot 'em up, killing kind. Well, my little nerves can only take so much of that, so I took another walk along the Jordan River yesterday. Awe. Peace and quite and beauty and some good birds.

A flock of about 10 White-crowned Sparrows. Pretty little birds.

 

Another Kestrel. Probably the same one from the day before.

 

Not birds, but still very pretty to watch.

 

And one I don't often see - a Wilson's Snipe.

 

The snipe making an escape from the camera.

Other birds today included Mourning Doves, a Cooper's Hawk, House Finch, many House Sparrows, Starlings, about 25 Canada Geese, Song Sparrow, Juncos, and others.

Taking walks on winter days is quite peaceful.

It's coming!

Ready or not, here it comes! And I can't wait for it to hit this mountain valley where I spend 40 hours a week.

One of my projects for this winter is to make a short video of the many winter activities visitors can enjoy in the park. I've got the script, the story board, the camera. Now I just need the snow and the people.

Winter in these mountains is amazing, and I look forward to it.

Dinner at the Golf Course

Welcome to the All-You-Can-Eat Golf Course Cafe! We're glad you could join us today. Our special this evening is Wild Turkey. Fresh and plump, right out of the field.

You do the killing, plucking, and chopping. We'll provide the perfect location with incredible views and easy access. The snow is deep, the Turkeys are plentiful.

Turkey Dinner #1

Oh still hungry? Well, we have more where that came from. Help yourself. And bring your friends.

Turkey Dinner #2

The guests tracks (top of picture) can be seen around the dinner plate. Maybe two different patrons. While something a bit smaller visited as well (prints at the left of picture).

My first guess was coyote. But later as I was approaching a third kill site, I saw what looked like a bobcat dart off into the bushes leaving its dinner behind.

Fun stuff.

That's not right...

6,000 feet in elevation, 3-4 feet of snow on the ground, a frozen pond and the sound of a Red-winged Blackbird.

Um, buddy...just because the sun is out, doesn't mean it's time for you to come back yet.

Great Backyard Bird Count, Part 2

Because I worked all day yesterday and today, I decided to count the birds at the feeders outside the visitor center. There is a small window to watch the action, but it generally proves to be enough to get a fairly good look at what's going on out there.

The days started out pretty slowly. But it didn't take long for things to start moving. First one little Chickadee flitted in, then out. Then a Pine Siskin, shortly followed by a House Finch. Before too long, I had counted 35 Pine Siskins and smattering of other birds.



How is your bird counting going?

Bird Photography Weekly - White Crowned Sparrow

I don't see too many of these lovely sparrows at the feeder, so when one does show up, it is a fun experience.

White-crowned Sparrow with a Junco.

I love those bold stripes!

Click the link below for more birds from around the world!

Tracks

I've been putting together a program about weasels. I mean Long-tailed and Short-tailed Weasels, not the ones sharing office space with you.

Anyway, I needed to find some examples of weasel tracks, specifically short-tailed weasels, because they leave such a distinctive pattern. As they bound, they usually take one long bound, followed by a shorter bound. The shorter bound is often connected by a drag mark, creating a "dumbbell" print.

So I headed out into the park to try and find some weasel prints. The day was beautiful. I went up to the campground, where I often find several tracks of many different animals from rabbits to moose.

There were many old tracks, not worth stopping for. The first good track was that from an unidentified rabbit. Probably a Cottontail, but I didn't take any measurements to verify that. Nice, clear, clean tracks.



There were quite a few tracks of domestic dogs whose owners let them off leash to just run and play. They were everywhere. That may be why there weren't many signs of other animals.

Finally at the top of the loop I was taking, I found these.


One short little section of unmistakable weasel tracks. You can see its little feet imprints at the bottom of the picture, followed by a long space, then a drag mark, followed by another long space, and another drag mark as the weasel bounded off into the bushes.

It wasn't the most ideal location to find them. I was hoping for something more like the rabbit tracks. But it's a good start. I'll keep looking.

A Day In the Life...

I arrived to work this morning just before 8am, and there they were. A rafter of Turkeys just hanging out in the top of a tree. I've seen it before. I've watched them fly (flopping and crashing through branches) up into the trees to roost. But still it just tickles me. How these 15-25 lb birds with feet for walking on the ground, not perching in a tree, can just sit up there, in the top-most branches and hang out.

Who'd a thunk it?

A bit later in the day I took a lady on a snowshoe tour. She had never been and felt better about having a guide. We enjoyed a nice trail, great weather and beautiful scenery.


While we were out there strolling along, I noticed some rather large tracks heading off into the trees. Big, probably 3 1/2 - 4 inches round, direct register (meaning the back foot registered directly over where the front foot had been), and a pretty long stride (distance between each foot print). They were a day or two old, so I couldn't see the actual print, but there is really only one animal, with a foot that big and round, in the area. Mountain Lion. And we've had a few sightings the past few weeks. I looked up hopefully and scanned the trees, knowing full well the cat would be nowhere near there. But I looked nonetheless. One can always hope. :)

Sorry I don't have a picture of the tracks. I thought of that well after the fact. Oh well.

I will be taking another beginning snowshoe group out a little later today. I wonder what discoveries I will find with them?

Here's a few past snowshoe excursions for you to enjoy:

The kids found that running with snowshoes is possible, but quite tiring!

The Park Manager. Yes. I have a rough job.
But somebody has to do it.

Bird Photography Weekly

I ventured out today, in the freezing cold of the morning, to see what birds might be at the little local lake. I've seen good birds there in the past, so I was looking forward to what might be around.

As I walked the edge of the lake, most of it was frozen on one end, and all I saw were Mallards. I thought, "Well, Mallards are birds, after all".

But as I continued around the lake, I found what I was hoping for. Gazillions of birds out on the open water. My first look through my bins showed me a couple of Northern Pintail. Sweet. Not sure I've seen them before. At any rate, they weren't on my life list, so I was pretty excited about that, 'cause now they are.

Next in sight were more Mallards, a bunch of Gulls, and loads of Canada Geese. As I continued around the snowy pathway, fingers freezing, a stiff wind in my face, I wondered if the journey to the south end of the lake would be worth it. Then I heard a "peep" which I thought sounded like a Killdeer. I like Killdeer, and I hadn't seen one yet this new year, so I kept going. Plus I thought I saw more Pintails, or maybe Northern Shovelers out there as well.

It turns out there were loads of No. Shovelers, a few Gadwall, some Green-winged Teal, and these two lovelies: A Greater Yellowlegs, and a Least Sandpiper - no Killdeer (click the images to enlarge).

Greater Yellowlegs in back, Least Sandpiper in front.

I was pretty excited to see these two and identify them correctly. I wasn't sure of my ID, because shorebirds are not my strong suit. But others from the local listserve confirmed them for me. And I was able to add two more birds to my life list as definite IDs.

The name "Least Sandpiper" certainly fits for that little bird. It looks absolutely minuscule next to the Yellowlegs. I actually didn't see it at first, and was just focusing my pictures on the Yellowlegs until the Sandpiper moved more directly into my field of view.

Hope it's okay to include two birds to this week's Bird Photography Weekly.

Birds are cool. And you can see many more and read other's stories about them by clicking on the link below.

Sky Watch Friday

On my drive into work this morning, I had a fabulous view of the morning sky. It's been a while since I have contributed anything to Skywatch Friday, but I hope to join once again more regularly. My excuse has been that I never have my camera with me when I see a great sky photo opportunity. But now I have a new phone, and this one has a much better camera than my last phone.

So today's Skywatch photo is brought to you thanks to a phone upgrade.

The sun was just coming up, and peaking through the clouds, turning the distant mountains a soft pink. It felt like an enchanted valley for a few short moments.

Placing Bird Feeders

I've learned a little lesson in the placement of bird feeders. I worried last week just before taking several days off for Christmas, that the feeders would run out of food. So I filled them as full as I could, and left hoping all would be well, that the birds would have seed-a-plenty through the week.

It turns out it wasn't food I should have been concerned about. It was snow. I returned today to see two of the three homemade feeders missing. A huge slab of snow slid off the roof, and took the feeders with them. I knew snow slid off the roof right there, I just didn't realize they were directly in the slid-off path. So two of my feeders are burried under about 4 or 5 feet of snow. I just hope there were no birds on the feeders when it slid.

The snow slab from inside looking out. The hole I dug trying to find one of the feeders is on the right.

I tried to dig one of the feeders out, but after excavating a hole as deep and as big around as I am tall, I still hadn't found it. Sigh. All I could do was re-fill the one remaining feeder, throw some seed on the snow, and call it good. And I was actually rewarded with a short visit from a new feeder friend - a single White-crowned Sparrow.

The one remaining feeder with a visiting chickadee.

Bird Photography Weekly

This is the first winter my bird feeder has been up. I was pleased when my first visitor arrived a few weeks ago, and couldn't wait for him to bring his buddies. Surprisingly, it was a House Finch. Okay, that in and of itself isn't so surprising, as they are very common. What was surprising what that it wasn't a House Sparrow. I actually haven't had one, that I've seen, at my feeder.

I was very pleased yesterday, as I was out shoveling snow, to notice a few other visitors. Juncos. And I also have my resident Mourning Dove hanging around.

But for today's Bird Photography Weekly, I'll share a few of the Juncos, with a House Finch mixed in there as well.



My best guess is a "pink-sided" race. But the book I'm using isn't all too clear on that. I'll have to double check later.
Note: I think these are actually 1st year "Oregon" Juncos.

For a look at other wonderful, feathered friends, click on the link below!