Aldo Leopold was the "Father of Conservation" in America. He wrote A Sand County Almanac. He died in 1948, the year I was born. His Son Luna published his book along with essays in 1949. It is a publication that resonates with conservationists even today and probably will for many generations.
Aldo Leopold was inspired by the flight of Canada Geese wheeling around rural Wisconsin especially in the spring when the combination of their trumpeting call and their squadron-like, v-formation flight were a welcomed sight at the end of long, harsh winters.
His work is a must read. It is easy reading that reflects the beauty, simplicity of nature, and concern for a society going one way and wild places going another and perhaps away all together. He writes about his observations and experiences in the field. What he says resonates with me the more time I spend in the Middle of Nowhere.
While birding in Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area I had a couple of encounters that illustrate why I am addicted to the nature experience. I stopped at my regular Beaver Lake in hopes of seeing a Red-headed Woodpecker and maybe the resident River Otters.
There were 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers foraging about the many standing dead trees that died from the lake formed by the beavers. In the dead branches of a fallen tree was a Bald Eagle. This was a 4 year old sub adult that will be an adult next year. You can tell by the extensive white plumage on the head and upper body.
The eagle was intensely looking down into the water below. Much to my surprise there were 2 River Otters 10 feet below the eagle defiantly swimming and interacting with each other and exploring the perches of the dead limbs. The Otters were either oblivious to their stalker or they didn't care.
That Bald eagle was sure interested in those moving life forms below. I imagine he had lunch on his mind. But he is an eagle and a lousy predator. He is , for all his glory, a meager scavenger. I suspect that the River Otters somehow know that they need not fear the intensity of the eagle's stare. Perhaps the young eagle was having a lesson in his limitations that will come into play as a wholesome, productive mature Adult.
It is spring and waterfowl migration abounds in Northeast Ohio. As I came to another pond in the refuge hundreds of Tundra Swans began to take flight. Canada Geese flights are oh so common but to see masses of swans is still a heart stopping experience.
The Swans are moving north to tundra lakes and ponds primarily in Arctic coastal wetlands and river deltas. They are impressive birds both individually and collectively. It isn't just the birds in flight but the calling that associates it. These Swans were once called whistling swans, because of their call. Pete Dunne in his book Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion describes the call as "One of the greatest sounds in nature. An erie, haunting, winsome call that is part whoop, part sigh."
Aldo Leopold didn't just appreciate the Canada Goose flight and call. It represents a life history that is connected to all living things. His appreciation was for the Canada Goose, The places that it breeds, the places they visit in migration and the places where they winter.
The perplexed Bald Eagle, the indifferent River Otters, and the flight of Tundra Swans are the salient experiences in a simple daily activity.......in the Middle of Nowhere.
Read Aldo Leopold and add John Dunne's companion guide to your library to complement your many hours in the field.
GRAND CANYON NATIONALPARK !
.......and Reflections
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Notes From Afield on the First Day of Spring
It's the first day of spring and the weather is anything but springlike....or is it. I am pretty sure my best memory of spring was last year when the day time temperatures were in the 70's and even 80's. But when I think back over the many years I realize that this spring is pretty typical for NE Ohio.
Spring is really more about chronological progression toward summer than it is about comfortable t-shirt weather. In fact, spring is usually that challenging time of transition from the cold grip of winter and the warmth of the summer season.
Our 2013 first day of spring is cold with a biting wind and lake effect snow showers. The sun comes out and the clouds role through. Yet this spring day is right about what it should be as you travel around the Northeast Ohio middle of nowhere.
I traveled about 35 miles today and there was plenty to see. There were 19 species of waterfowl around Mosquito Lake and ponds and creeks in mosquito Creek Wildlife Area. There are plenty of migrating ducks and some looking for nesting sites in the area. A lot of ducks are paired up and, if not, courting for that privilege.
Canada Geese are paired up, cruising together on ponds or foraging in fields and corn stubble. Bald Eagles are paired, not just for breeding, but for life and eagles are sitting in their nest or hanging close by. Juvenile and sub adult eagles are numerous and congregate where ever food might be available. They will sit on the sidelines for a few years until they are ready to find a soul mate for life and raise annual families.
Northern Pike are spawning in shallow waters that will soon disappear as spring progresses. They are now laying and fertilizing eggs in flooded waters. It will be a primeval race between drying wetlands and hatching eggs to see if 2013 will be a productive hatch.
Blackbirds, absent a few weeks ago, seem to be on every fence line and moving in large foraging flocks with Brown-headed Cowbirds, Rusty Blackbirds, Common Grackles and occasionally with a few European Starlings. Red-winged Blackbird males are here now and a little later in the spring the females will arrive. Now that the boys are on territory and struttin' their stuff, the females will come and pick and choose the males with the best song and brightest red shoulders. And those female looking Red-wings you see in flocks now are most likely young males that still hold on to their juvenile, female, appearing plumage.
Yes its cold and the weather is frightful. But it isn't January and February. The birds are singing. All the creatures, while probably as tired of the weather as we are, are proceeding in spite of it all. I suspect if we are looking for good advice as we suffer with our "tardy" spring, all we need to do is look around us and we will see it is truly spring. It won't be long until a modest tilt in the jet stream will bring us all the relief we are so looking for. And when it does get warm spring showers will bring May flowers and then we'll have something else to complain about.
Spring is really more about chronological progression toward summer than it is about comfortable t-shirt weather. In fact, spring is usually that challenging time of transition from the cold grip of winter and the warmth of the summer season.
Our 2013 first day of spring is cold with a biting wind and lake effect snow showers. The sun comes out and the clouds role through. Yet this spring day is right about what it should be as you travel around the Northeast Ohio middle of nowhere.
I traveled about 35 miles today and there was plenty to see. There were 19 species of waterfowl around Mosquito Lake and ponds and creeks in mosquito Creek Wildlife Area. There are plenty of migrating ducks and some looking for nesting sites in the area. A lot of ducks are paired up and, if not, courting for that privilege.
Canada Geese are paired up, cruising together on ponds or foraging in fields and corn stubble. Bald Eagles are paired, not just for breeding, but for life and eagles are sitting in their nest or hanging close by. Juvenile and sub adult eagles are numerous and congregate where ever food might be available. They will sit on the sidelines for a few years until they are ready to find a soul mate for life and raise annual families.
Northern Pike are spawning in shallow waters that will soon disappear as spring progresses. They are now laying and fertilizing eggs in flooded waters. It will be a primeval race between drying wetlands and hatching eggs to see if 2013 will be a productive hatch.
Blackbirds, absent a few weeks ago, seem to be on every fence line and moving in large foraging flocks with Brown-headed Cowbirds, Rusty Blackbirds, Common Grackles and occasionally with a few European Starlings. Red-winged Blackbird males are here now and a little later in the spring the females will arrive. Now that the boys are on territory and struttin' their stuff, the females will come and pick and choose the males with the best song and brightest red shoulders. And those female looking Red-wings you see in flocks now are most likely young males that still hold on to their juvenile, female, appearing plumage.
Yes its cold and the weather is frightful. But it isn't January and February. The birds are singing. All the creatures, while probably as tired of the weather as we are, are proceeding in spite of it all. I suspect if we are looking for good advice as we suffer with our "tardy" spring, all we need to do is look around us and we will see it is truly spring. It won't be long until a modest tilt in the jet stream will bring us all the relief we are so looking for. And when it does get warm spring showers will bring May flowers and then we'll have something else to complain about.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Common Goldeneye
As the ice on Mosquito Lake begins to melt and recede, many ducks seek the open waters for rest and some for food. Diving ducks eat fish, mussels and other available critters in ice cold waters. Among several species is the Common Goldeneye. This bird is named after its yellow eye, distinctly visible even at a distance.
The males cruise around open waters displaying for females, and as it turns out with an expectancy of finding a mate to share the journey to northern breeding grounds in wetlands, rivers, and lakes surrounded by mature forests in northern U.S. and Canada. The loyalty of this brief relationship is not quite clear but I was able to study part the life history of these fascinating birds first hand.
Dave Hochadel and I were studying a female Goldeneye that was paired up with a male in an open water location providing a great view. The female had an unusually yellow rather than dark brown bill. This brought to question whether this female might be the more rare western cousin, Barrow's Goldeneye.
It became clear that the female in question did not show other characteristics of a Barrow's Goldeneye but was, in fact, a Common Goldeneye. After all, this bird seemed to be paired up with the Common Goldeneye male. Then they proceeded to prove their bonding.
While we watched, the male made some head bobbing gestures and swam around the female that was lying in the water in a posture that looked like she was dead. The male worked his way beside the female who quickly disappeared under the water, while the male mounted her to breed. Once the breeding was over the male literally pulled the female out from under the water by the scruff of her neck and whirled her around in a semi-circle. And, as if nothing had happened, the Common Goldeneye world returned to normal.
This chance encounter was very special because it raised many questions, and it was an uncommon opportunity to witness something intimate in nature. I wanted to know whether Common Goldeneyes breed in migration to get a quick start on northerly nesting, and whether what we saw was normal or a aberration. Finding the answer wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.
Being a retro kind of guy, I did not "google" the question. I searched for the answer among the many waterfowl books in my collection. I was looking for more enlightenment revealed from reading life histories than I was in getting the "quick" answer. Looking for the answer to my question was more educational than the answer itself, and I must admit considerably more time consuming!
I looked, in no less than, the best waterfowl guides to North American Waterfowl, the bibles used by sportsmen and ornithology students for many years........with no answer. I was disappointed and puzzled that there was no mention of the Common Goldeneye breeding. Breeding is pretty important to life histories.
Finally I went to the book shelf and picked out THE LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL: ORDER ANSERES, by Arthur Cleveland Bent of Taunton, Massachusetts, published in 1925.
The Bent Series was printed mostly around he turn of the 20th century, give or take 25 years, and the series contains a compilation of antectdotal accounts of the life histories of North American birds.
Much of the accounts were from the late 19th Century.
The Common Goldeneye account begins with "courtship" and Mr. Charles E. Alford provides an account of the breeding we witnessed in 1920. His account was far more elloquent than mine. Bent reveals that Common Goldeneyes do breed in migration and also or again on nesting grounds. The pairs bonded during migration apparently staying together, with the male leaving before the brood is hatched. There is no account of what happens when the pairs breed in their nesting area.
So I got my answer and much more information from arcane accounts. You see, the late 19th and early 20th century time period was a very different time than the late 20th and early 21st century. The species accounts were during a time when people shaped science through observation. It wasn't a time of instant answers. There wasn't any "smart" or even "dumb" phones (like mine). Naturalists didn't "google" on a laptop: they "doodled" in journals. 19th century "tweeting" was performed by bird subjects, not by aspiring authors.
Here is the most important thing I learned about Common Goldeneyes:
It's your life. You can google "the middle of nowhere" or you can experience it. The best educators, the best technologies, the best gadgets, and the next best things will never replace exploring, discovery and revelations provided by the wild things and wild places in "the middle of nowhere". Cheers.
The males cruise around open waters displaying for females, and as it turns out with an expectancy of finding a mate to share the journey to northern breeding grounds in wetlands, rivers, and lakes surrounded by mature forests in northern U.S. and Canada. The loyalty of this brief relationship is not quite clear but I was able to study part the life history of these fascinating birds first hand.
Dave Hochadel and I were studying a female Goldeneye that was paired up with a male in an open water location providing a great view. The female had an unusually yellow rather than dark brown bill. This brought to question whether this female might be the more rare western cousin, Barrow's Goldeneye.
It became clear that the female in question did not show other characteristics of a Barrow's Goldeneye but was, in fact, a Common Goldeneye. After all, this bird seemed to be paired up with the Common Goldeneye male. Then they proceeded to prove their bonding.
While we watched, the male made some head bobbing gestures and swam around the female that was lying in the water in a posture that looked like she was dead. The male worked his way beside the female who quickly disappeared under the water, while the male mounted her to breed. Once the breeding was over the male literally pulled the female out from under the water by the scruff of her neck and whirled her around in a semi-circle. And, as if nothing had happened, the Common Goldeneye world returned to normal.
This chance encounter was very special because it raised many questions, and it was an uncommon opportunity to witness something intimate in nature. I wanted to know whether Common Goldeneyes breed in migration to get a quick start on northerly nesting, and whether what we saw was normal or a aberration. Finding the answer wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.
Being a retro kind of guy, I did not "google" the question. I searched for the answer among the many waterfowl books in my collection. I was looking for more enlightenment revealed from reading life histories than I was in getting the "quick" answer. Looking for the answer to my question was more educational than the answer itself, and I must admit considerably more time consuming!
I looked, in no less than, the best waterfowl guides to North American Waterfowl, the bibles used by sportsmen and ornithology students for many years........with no answer. I was disappointed and puzzled that there was no mention of the Common Goldeneye breeding. Breeding is pretty important to life histories.
Finally I went to the book shelf and picked out THE LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL: ORDER ANSERES, by Arthur Cleveland Bent of Taunton, Massachusetts, published in 1925.
The Bent Series was printed mostly around he turn of the 20th century, give or take 25 years, and the series contains a compilation of antectdotal accounts of the life histories of North American birds.
Much of the accounts were from the late 19th Century.
The Common Goldeneye account begins with "courtship" and Mr. Charles E. Alford provides an account of the breeding we witnessed in 1920. His account was far more elloquent than mine. Bent reveals that Common Goldeneyes do breed in migration and also or again on nesting grounds. The pairs bonded during migration apparently staying together, with the male leaving before the brood is hatched. There is no account of what happens when the pairs breed in their nesting area.
So I got my answer and much more information from arcane accounts. You see, the late 19th and early 20th century time period was a very different time than the late 20th and early 21st century. The species accounts were during a time when people shaped science through observation. It wasn't a time of instant answers. There wasn't any "smart" or even "dumb" phones (like mine). Naturalists didn't "google" on a laptop: they "doodled" in journals. 19th century "tweeting" was performed by bird subjects, not by aspiring authors.
Here is the most important thing I learned about Common Goldeneyes:
It's your life. You can google "the middle of nowhere" or you can experience it. The best educators, the best technologies, the best gadgets, and the next best things will never replace exploring, discovery and revelations provided by the wild things and wild places in "the middle of nowhere". Cheers.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
......because I have to.
I have been asked by many why I am driven to go birding so much.......to see the same birds over and over again. The short answer is "River Otters". I am pretty sure that answer begs more questions than it does answer a straight forward question. So here is a longer answer that will shed some light on my short answer.
When I was just starting to attend The Ohio State University I had no idea what I wanted to study. In the mean time I went fishing with friends in Ontario, Canada on remote lakes via vintage DeHaviland Beaver and Otter float planes. On one of those expeditions I wandered away from camp and happened upon a bluff above a creek. As I stood gazing at the stream a Lynx walked into an opening and took a drink. It was amazing. I had never seen such a creature.
I had already seen plenty of wildlife including bears.....but the Lynx was something different. What I witnessed for the first time in my life was wilderness. I have never seen another Lynx again, yet the Lynx remains the cornerstone of my passion, humility, and reverence for all things wild. The Lynx is a secretive cat that is threatened because of sensitivity to human disturbance. It is a poster child for wilderness and the threat we humans are to their fragile existence.
I figured out what I wanted to study in the boreal lakes of Canada. I had no idea where that career would take me nor could I have imagined what a profound impact it would have on Larry Richardson. I am still discovering the effects of a chance and brief encounter nearly 50 years ago.
Now I have a much better understanding of wildlife, wild places, ecology, natural history and myself, thanks to my education, mastering a career path in natural resources, and practicing environmental and natural history education. But I am, what I am, for what I have learned in the field (the middle of nowhere).
Northern River Otters are a beacon of hope in Ohio. This species was practically if not completely extirpated from the State. The Ohio Division of Wildlife introduced the Northern River Otter back into selected, appropriate areas of the state with great success. The problem that threatened otters was pollution and their reintroduction a success, in large part, because of improvements by managing for clean waters they require.
This makes River Otters one of Ohio's signature species for moving in a wilder direction. It is unlikely that human disturbance will ever permit any portion of the state's return to wilderness but it is certainly a program that shows all of us how important it is to compromise what humans need with what wild things need. Improvements in biodiversity is just as important to over all human health, as it is for wildlife.
This River Otter pair I took pictures of raised a family on this pond in Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area last summer. They will do the same this year. Spring is coming soon to the beaver pond and Otters are fueling up for things to come. These guys were munching on catfish they caught under the ice and the thin veneer of slush forming on open water because temperatures are hovering at freezing.
I wouldn't have seen the Otters if I hadn't been exploring the wildlife refuge. I do my exploring by watching birds. It's true that I enjoy seeing the birds, but the fact is that I am a serious "discovery" addict. Very few days are a disappointment. The cool things I see by exploring these places are staggering. Serendipitous discoveries are the spice of my life.
So why do I go birding all the time and visit places new, old, near, and far. I love birds, and more importantly, I love wildlife and wild places. I am what I am thanks to a chance encounter with the Lynx, with wilderness, and with my own destiny. The reason I go girding over and over again is.....because I have to.
When I was just starting to attend The Ohio State University I had no idea what I wanted to study. In the mean time I went fishing with friends in Ontario, Canada on remote lakes via vintage DeHaviland Beaver and Otter float planes. On one of those expeditions I wandered away from camp and happened upon a bluff above a creek. As I stood gazing at the stream a Lynx walked into an opening and took a drink. It was amazing. I had never seen such a creature.
I had already seen plenty of wildlife including bears.....but the Lynx was something different. What I witnessed for the first time in my life was wilderness. I have never seen another Lynx again, yet the Lynx remains the cornerstone of my passion, humility, and reverence for all things wild. The Lynx is a secretive cat that is threatened because of sensitivity to human disturbance. It is a poster child for wilderness and the threat we humans are to their fragile existence.
I figured out what I wanted to study in the boreal lakes of Canada. I had no idea where that career would take me nor could I have imagined what a profound impact it would have on Larry Richardson. I am still discovering the effects of a chance and brief encounter nearly 50 years ago.
Now I have a much better understanding of wildlife, wild places, ecology, natural history and myself, thanks to my education, mastering a career path in natural resources, and practicing environmental and natural history education. But I am, what I am, for what I have learned in the field (the middle of nowhere).
Northern River Otters are a beacon of hope in Ohio. This species was practically if not completely extirpated from the State. The Ohio Division of Wildlife introduced the Northern River Otter back into selected, appropriate areas of the state with great success. The problem that threatened otters was pollution and their reintroduction a success, in large part, because of improvements by managing for clean waters they require.
This makes River Otters one of Ohio's signature species for moving in a wilder direction. It is unlikely that human disturbance will ever permit any portion of the state's return to wilderness but it is certainly a program that shows all of us how important it is to compromise what humans need with what wild things need. Improvements in biodiversity is just as important to over all human health, as it is for wildlife.
This River Otter pair I took pictures of raised a family on this pond in Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area last summer. They will do the same this year. Spring is coming soon to the beaver pond and Otters are fueling up for things to come. These guys were munching on catfish they caught under the ice and the thin veneer of slush forming on open water because temperatures are hovering at freezing.
I wouldn't have seen the Otters if I hadn't been exploring the wildlife refuge. I do my exploring by watching birds. It's true that I enjoy seeing the birds, but the fact is that I am a serious "discovery" addict. Very few days are a disappointment. The cool things I see by exploring these places are staggering. Serendipitous discoveries are the spice of my life.
So why do I go birding all the time and visit places new, old, near, and far. I love birds, and more importantly, I love wildlife and wild places. I am what I am thanks to a chance encounter with the Lynx, with wilderness, and with my own destiny. The reason I go girding over and over again is.....because I have to.
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