They're Back!

Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Sandhill Cranes are back!  They arrived back at the refuge a few weeks ago, and I’ve managed a few photos from a distance, but have not yet seen them up close, nor have I witnessed any “dancing” – or their mating rituals. 

About 21 Trumpeter Swans wintered over this year, and will soon be joined by more.  Lots of ducks on the ponds; Goldeneye, Canvasbacks, Pintails, Green-winged Teals, Cinnamon Teals, and of course the ever present and completely boring Coots.

Male Pheasants are sporting their spring plumage and becoming quite vocal, some even venturing right out onto the road to spar for territories and mates.  Migratory birds are beginning to return; Meadowlarks, Red-winged Blackbirds and Marsh Wrens are the most prominent as of my last visit, but no Yellow-headed Blackbirds yet.  Red-tail Hawks are starting to make an appearance, and the Tree Swallows should be showing up within the next few days, but most of the other song birds will most likely not make an appearance until around mid-May.  And the Osprey have returned.  I’m happy to see a new pair on the nesting platform on the bridge.  I watched the original pair build a nest there that they used for 20 years.  It sat unused for a few years and other birds snatched up all the sticks to build their own nests elsewhere, until there was nothing left of it. 

The House Finches have been singing and setting up territories for almost a month now, and a male Robin has staked out one of my ash trees for a prominent perch from which to announce his presence.  A member of the thrush family, they have such a clear and pure sound, and it’s very enjoyable to listen to. 

The Starlings are back.  I despise these birds for they commandeer nesting holes needed for our native species, and have driven away a large number of Lazuli Buntings.   But I have come to appreciate them for their vocal abilities; they can imitate quite an array of sounds – not only other birds, but also other animals as well as man made sounds. I sat and listened to a single Startling one time, imitate a cat meowing, a cat howling, a siren, a telephone, a cricket, a rooster crowing, a hen clucking, a Meadowlark, a Red-tailed Hawk, an alarm clock and maybe a dozen other sounds.  It was rather entertaining and I was quite impressed with the mimicking abilities of this single bird. Upon doing a little bit of research I found that the Starling is directly related to Mynah Birds!  Now it all makes sense and I have to wonder, is the male Starling more attractive to a female if he can imitate more sounds than a neighboring male? 

First Fritillary butterfly of the year yesterday, warming itself on the porch railing,  I watched as it slowly opened and closed its wings, and then spread them to capture the warmth of the morning sun.  It sat there for almost an hour before finally venturing off to explore its new world.  Was it cocooned underneath the porch railing?  If so, how in the world did I miss that?

The Cottonwood trees are beginning to leaf out but the willows have been slow this year.  Before long everything will be turning green and spring will once again grace us with its presence. I’ve been ready for spring since last October…

There is a lot of anticipation for a very dry summer however. Even though the Bitterroot Mountains still sport a heavy coating of snow, a very dry year is anticipated by most, due to a lower snowfall this past winter.  It could be a very bad year for fires again.  Since 1990 we seem to be on a three year cycle for forest fires – and bad ones that have lasted pretty much the entire summer.  We were fortunate however, and skipped 2012 – haven’t had a bad fire season since 2009.  But we’re due…

With so much forested land around us it’s inevitable that we would have a fair number of fires, and it is a natural occurrence with all of the thunderstorms that roll through during late spring and summer, but it also seems that n the past 25 years almost half of the fires have been human caused, either by carelessness or intent.